Review of Robotech: Remastered Extended Edition 1

Introduction

Anime is currently seeing a flourishing popularity in the West that exceeds anything that has come before. There are more series available, and even more being released than at anytime previously, and the increasing number of series being made in Japan matches the explosion in output. It seems that fans can`t get enough of the genre. It wasn`t always thus, and anime`s popularity usually waxes and wanes. While today, most would complain if the original language wasn`t available, something made commonplace by the advent of DVDs, there was a time when a Japanese animation simply wouldn`t be seen in the West unless it had been dubbed into English. It went beyond dubbing, as there were cultural elements that didn`t survive the translation, and some shows were completely re-versioned for the West. The most obvious of these was Battle Of The Planets, a favourite cartoon from my youth. It is only recently that I have learnt just how much of the show was cut; Gatchaman was made in 1972, and when it was translated for Western audiences in 1978, out went much of the violence and some of the narrative to be replaced with a child friendly character that acted as narrator and filled in the hideous story gaps. The original Gatchaman is now finally available in the West, but I was shocked to learn how brutal the changes were. Someone else who felt aggrieved at what had been done to Gatchaman was producer Carl Macek. He too adored the anime medium, and he decided to adapt a Japanese animation for Western audiences, but with a greater degree of respect for the original source.

US TV demanded that for syndication, animation required at least 65 episodes per series. The animation that Macek intended to bring, Super Dimension Fortress Macross only had 36. So he purchased the rights to two other completely unrelated series, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeadia. With some creative editing, rewriting and cutting and pasting, he created the Robotech series, turning three distinct shows into a multigenerational epic saga. There was still the Western audience to keep in mind, and any aspect of the shows that may be excessive or risqué had to hit the floor. Still 1985`s Robotech serves as the entry point into the genre for many an anime fan. There have been several releases of Robotech, especially in the US, but this Remastered version sees the image cleared up, the soundtrack given a DD 5.1 work over, and more interestingly, the restoration of those elements originally considered unsuitable for audience consumption. Of course, this being my introduction to Robotech, I can`t really compare and contrast.

The year 1999 was a turning point for the world. All nations were immersed in a destructive conflict, when from the stars fell an alien spaceship almost a mile in length, crashing on Macross Island in the Pacific. Realising that they weren`t alone, the world`s nations finally declared a peace and began investigating the wrecked spaceship, certain that they had to develop a defence against as yet unknown alien menaces. Ten years later, Macross Island has become a community built around the wreck of the ship, and the ship itself has been rebuilt into the pride of the Earth`s forces, the SDF-1. It`s on the eve of the ship`s launch that the long anticipated alien attack occurs, as the Zentradi come looking for the missing Battlefortress. But humanity hasn`t been idle, and has developed the ship`s technology to aid in their defence. The new fighters are equipped with Robotech, an ability to transform from planes to massive robots, and put up a sturdy battle against the Zentradi. The aliens are too numerous though, and rapidly overwhelm the defenders. The SDF-1`s Captain Henry Gloval has to use untested alien systems in a last ditch attempt to escape. He sets the ship`s Fold Engine to warp them out of harm`s way, but the engines` effects are devastating. Not only is the ship moved, but a sphere containing most of Macross Island and the surrounding ocean as well. They end up near the orbit of Pluto, safe long enough to regroup and repair. The SDF-1 now has to take on board 70,000 refugees, who survived the attack in Macross Island`s shelters, and pretty soon the city is being reconstructed in the bowels of the battleship. Gloval must find his way back to Earth, all the while fighting off attacks from the Zentradi.

Into this mayhem falls civilian pilot Rick Hunter. He decides to visit Macross on the day of the launch, and ends up piloting a Robotech fighter during the battle, rescuing young damsel in distress, Lynn Minmei in the process. They wind up getting close when Rick crashes his plane into an unexplored area of the SDF-1, and they have to spend several days waiting for rescue. Afterwards, while Minmei rebuilds her life, and her family`s restaurant on board the SDF-1, Rick decides to formally join the defence forces as a Robotech pilot. While he isn`t off saving the galaxy at the controls of his fighter, he has to navigate the treacherous waters of his budding relationship with Minmei.

This first volume of Robotech contains the first third of the Macross saga, 12 episodes spread over two discs.

Video

A simple 4:3 regular picture is how Robotech is presented. For an animation that is over 20 years old, the picture is remarkably bright and vibrant, with a minimum of print damage marring the image. The image quality does vary though, grain is prevalent at times, and the animation is determinedly old style, though certainly well accomplished. However you can see where new scenes have been inserted at times, there is degradation in the animation and oddly, aliasing becomes apparent. You can also see where edits have been made for content, as the action suddenly slows down and begins looking like flick book animation, suggesting several frames have been removed. On the whole, while the character design is not on a par with more recent animations, the show does have an epic feel that distinguishes it.

Audio

Just a single English track, but it has been given a DD 5.1 Surround polish. The dialogue is mostly clear and front focussed (although it occasionally gets a little muffled when there is a lot going on.) The surrounds are put to hefty use for the action sequences, with explosions, swooping fighter planes and bullets galore making themselves felt around the soundstage.

The theme tune suits the show well, giving a very `wild blue yonder` feel to the credit sequences. The English dub isn`t too bad, with the character voices more than suitable. Some of the dialogue is a little suspect though. Don`t expect a Japanese track though, given the changes made to the Macross storyline to fit it into the Robotech saga. The original series is still available as Macross if you want to see it as the makers intended. A gentle slap on the wrist for a lack of subtitles however.

Features

Nothing to see here, move along.

Conclusion

I was pleasantly surprised by this re-versioning of an eighties anime, especially so soon after my mind numbing experience with Transformers Takara. Carl Macek and Harmony Gold have managed to translate the series for a Western market with care and attention, and a respect for the source material that sees much of the story and action come through intact. It`s also easy to see how so many anime fans were turned on to the genre through exposure to this series, as it contains many of the hallmarks of a successful anime. There is the wide and over-reaching epic nature of the storyline, the mecha based action sequences with plenty of explosion-flavoured eye-candy, and there are the interpersonal relationships and little stories that serve to contrast the ongoing war.

There is certainly a Battlestar Galactica feel to the story, with the SDF-1 stranded beyond the orbit of Pluto early on, and having to make room for a community of 70,000 refugees in its innards. The military aspects of the show, as seen from the bridge of the SDF-1 balance the lives of the civilians who now live inside. They also try to find their way back to Earth, all the while suffering attacks from the Zentradi. The alien menace in this story isn`t all that alien. Instead they are giant humans, whose way of life and society is markedly different from Earth`s. Their origin lays the foundation for Robotech`s overreaching storyline, the mysterious Protoculture. There also is a Land of The Giants feel when the two enemies finally confront each other face to face.

The characterisations are strong, with Rick Hunter as the hero of the piece, but one who is constantly out of his depth. He is mentored by an old friend in the service, Roy Fokker, but is eventually assigned some rookies of his own to command. The interpersonal relationships in the show are always played with a light touch, and the writers are always looking for the next laugh. It makes a nice filler in between the action sequences, but as the episodes progressed on these discs, I felt that the balance shifted too far towards the comedy. When Minmei, Rick`s almost girlfriend entered the Miss Macross beauty contest, causing some consternation for Rick, it almost became farcical, especially when it became apparent what the sight of males and females interacting had on the Zentradi. This led to a rather odd episode where the Zentradi capture some of the ship`s officers for interrogation, so they can learn the secret of their `secret weapon`. However this does have the effect of giving Minmei some competition for Rick`s affections in the shape of the SDF-1`s second in command, Lisa Hayes.

Robotech seems to be shaping up to be an engrossing story. It doesn`t pull any punches, with the battle sequences resulting in fatalities that would be unheard of in a Western children`s animation. I was also impressed with the real world physics used in some of the space sequences, suggesting an intelligence that even `sophisticated` television sci-fi usually ignores. The story flows well, and what alterations and additions there are to convert this from Macross into Robotech, are few and far between. I think the most obvious one is after Episode 6, where there is a slideshow of character images, and a narrator busily filling story gaps, but it never approaches the cut and paste of Battle Of The Planets. The restored scenes are pretty seamless, in fact the only one I noticed was a shower sequence for Minmei that never would have made it to prime time TV. Robotech is entertaining, and has an overreaching storyline that keeps hold of the interest. It`s cheesy in that typically eighties way, but it`s all accomplished well. This is well worth a look if you want to watch an anime without any of those pesky subtitles. Purists may want to look up the original Macross instead.