Producers at Harmony Gold combined the series Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross to create a sprawling space opera with a new plot: Robotech (1985),... more » which helped to build an audience for anime in the U.S. The story begins in 1999, when a gigantic spaceship strikes the Earth. Ten years later, Earth forces relaunch the ship as the alien Zentraedi attack, hoping to recapture it. The seesaw warfare is played against a vague romantic triangle involving brash pilot Rick Hunter, straight-laced officer Lisa Hayes, and aspiring singer Minmei. The Zentraedi have somehow lost the secret of biological reproduction, but the two races are virtually identical biochemically. The similarity is sealed by the marriage of Earth pilot Max and Zentraedi spy Miriya. Minmei's performances become a key element in the ongoing war, as the Zentraedi consider her bubblegum pop songs a form of "psychological assault." (They have a point.) Although humanity emerges victorious, much of the Earth is devastated. Lisa and Rick discover their true feelings as the new threat of the Robotech Masters appears--which leads into the second continuity. Gen-X-ers who grew up on Robotech will delight in retracing the coy romances and crude space battles; viewers accustomed to the faster pacing, snazzier effects, and more dramatic conflicts of more recent anime will grow impatient with the endless shilly-shallying. It's a classic of sorts. (Suitable for all ages; appropriate for ages 8 and up: mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles) --Charles Solomon« less
"With a stroke of success in the 80's, the Robotech: Macross series still has a place for many fans today and shares a strong cult following. Being a fan of the series as a kid, I decided to buy the whole Robotech: Macross series, but I came across the overwelming amount of editions to the series. I didn't know which to buy, so I watched them all. Here are the differences between to different boxsets (all offered through Amazon):Robotech: the Complete Macross Series
One Boxset: 6 discSells for around $60-$65
Nothing special, picture quality is not great, but bearable. Comes in one compact boxset with all the disc in it. Would not reccomend getting this edition unless you just want a copy of the series and want to spend the least possible amount of money.Robotech: The Legacy Collection: Macross Saga (Collections 1-3)
Three Boxsets: with 3 disc in each
Sells for around $40 each boxset, entire set around $120-$130
Same picture quality as the above set, but with addtional features. Comes with the most extras out of any current sets, but even then, they are so-so. I would actually recommend getting the above edition as I was not impressed with the extras, some were interesting, but it definately didn't justify the price. Your paying almost twice the price. Robotech Remastered: The Macross Saga (Volumes 1-3)
Three Boxsets: Two disc each boxset
Sells for around $25 each boxset, entire set around $75-$80
Remastered picture quality superior to both sets above, sound quality much improved. This is the set that I would recommend. The price is affordable and well worth the extra money compared to the first set. Also includes a few bonus footage. Macross: Super Dimensional Fortress (Sets 1-3)
Three Boxsets: Three discs each boxset
Sells for around $60-$70 each boxset, entire series around $180-200
Macross is the original Japanese series of the Robotech: Macross Saga. The storyline is slightly different with different music and sounds. When it was brought to the US, Harmony Gold added the Macross material with two other Japanese series to make Robotech. Macross is more "mature" and includes several scenes taken out of Robotech. Picture quality is even more crisp than the Remastered Series. I would reccomend only to die-hard Robotech fans. It's pretty expensive and lacks really any real extra features."
DVD quality, here's what to expect.
Volkswagen Blues | 01/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
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I was hesitant in buying this due to the many similar reviews complaining about DVD quality. Here's what you will (or will not) expect from the Robotech DVDs:1. Do not expect high quality DVD video or audio found in remastered movies like Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
2. It is a little grainy (but sharp) with a lot of artifacts (dust and such).
3. Color quality is somewhat "light", as if a little too bright.
4. Sound quality is TV quality.
5. In short, if you watched it on TV back in the 80s, then expect similar 1980s TV quality. In this aspect, it is similar to watching a VHS recording of your favorite prime time show.
6. If you have seen HK DVD bootlegs of 1980s anime (like Kimagure Orange Road -KOR), I'd say they are pretty much of the same audio-video quality.
7. Would I still have bought it? Now that I have seen it for myself?YES SIREEE! Overall, the quality is still acceptable (to me at least): It is TV quality. Just imagine, you are watching a TV show as you were back in the 80s. It is still better than my old Robotech VHS from F.H.E."
900 Minutes of Animated Bliss
Volkswagen Blues | 09/27/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"What you see here is pretty much what you get, and I'm not complaining. It's not elegantly packaged or loaded with extras, but this collection of Robotech's Macross episodes (all of them, 1-36) has one of the most addictive mixes of character, plot, and outright action ever to grace after-school cartoons.I bought this 6-DVD collection just days ago to scratch a lingering itch for a show that I was obsessed with when I was 9 or 10 years old. I'm 29 now, but Robotech still hasn't lost its ability to suck you right in: A spaceship crashes onto a small island and the world comes together trying to figure out how to restore it; aliens come after the ship and intergalactic hell breaks loose, leading us on a space-epic of whose emotional detail and energy Tolstoy or Hugo would definitely have approved. You've got a rising pop chanteuse, the boys who love her, the prissy administrator who'll charm you later, the fighter jocks, the Star Search moments... Ah, it's grand. Yeah, of course, it's kitschy, and in a way no 9 year old would have grasped, but it's still hours (about FIFTEEN hours, if you can handle it!) of fun.The only annoying thing--but some might not find this annoying--is that the commercial-break announcements are still there. It's nice that the commercials aren't, but they're still distracting, as are the credits at the beginning and end of each episode. Since it's a DVD, you can of course punch your way through it with ease, but it would have been nicer just to be able to float in one seamless 900-minute stream of Robotech.If you're a hardcore fan, you might do well to buy the more completely and minutely detailed Legacy Collection box sets. I've got one of them, and it's nicely packaged and full of extras (like technology sketches, plot outlines, etc.), but I'll likely be selling it now. What got me addicted to Robotech in the first place, back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, wasn't the planes, it was the people. This Complete Collection has everything I need: 900 minutes of sheer anime bliss, at a great, compact price."
One of the greatest action cartoons of the eighties
Volkswagen Blues | 01/04/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The box set contains 6 discs with all the episodes (48) of the macross saga of the robotech series. It also contains various previews for other anime movies of note. The picture quality on the dvds is not great for todays standards but still very watchable, the sound is also lacking but this is all secondary to the fact that the story line and the action on most of the episodes is ultra involving and is still fresh and original. Episodes like 'battle Hymn' are unforgetabble and will be watched again and again. I am a big fan of the series but still believe that even those who have not even heard of robotech would enjoy this dvd box set wich is one of the jewels of my DVD collection (expanding some 200 DVD)"
The Robotech Story is more than just ...... space-opera
Nathaniel S. Mccourtney | Washington, DC United States | 12/20/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think one thing most of these reviewers neglected to mention is that this is an extremely well-written narrative. It's kind of "Stanley Kubrik meets Voltron". This is a lot more than your usual anime "Evil demon must be slain" and it's certainly not cartoon demon porn. This is a bona-fide epic. One that most Westerners will find much more satisfying and palatable than the artsy high-stylization of something like Vampire Hunter D. In addition to some KILLER battle scenes that have never been matched in any cartoon since (you literally cannot comprehend the number of projectiles and combatants that are moving in some of these sequences), this show dealt with the issues of war, comraderie, death, rebirth, love, humanity and sacrifice in a complex and textured way. How many cartoons have you seen where they show the entire earth getting wiped out from ground level? Picture this: a little girl innocently talking to a smiling policeman a split second before they (and the entire population of the earth)are vaporized by a Zentradi weapon of mass destruction RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES. Can you say, "Nipponese grappling with culture defined by two atomic blasts"? I can't think of a cinematic treatment of nuclear war more horrifying than that.Let me say it one more time: IT HAS A GOOD PLOT. YOU WILL BE ENTERTAINED EVEN AS A SOCIALLY-FUNCTIONAL ADULT.If you were a fan of Starblazers or G-Force when you were a kid, then this is the masterpiece of that genre you've been waiting for."