The CRAZY History of MACROSS: The Story Before ROBOTECH

[@JohnBainbridge0]

The only thing more powerful than The Power of Love: Copyright Laws.

[@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793]

Was it because of Robotech that Macross wasn't released worldwide?

[@GideonMadu]

Mainly Harmony Gold, but yeah ​@@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793

[@soniccdx]

@@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793 can more or less that was one of the reasons

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

Earthlings can be persuaded to do anything if you offer them enough gold.

[@MJRLHobbyStuff]

*cough*F Harmony Gold *cough*

[@MikeKaess]

"Is it Guncannon?" 10/10, Brilliant. Perfect joke.

[@markplott4820]

Guncanon is not just for Show.

[@mikebandw186]

“Who would later be reborn as Pepsi Optimus Prime”. I laughed too hard.

[@dansmith16]

Pepsi Man or Machine?

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

Pepsimus Prime. 🤔

[@michaellang8408]

OK Larsen, I've got a story for you: It's 1986?, I'm at a convention holding a Robotech Comic book, a man next to me in a suit asks me what I like about Robotech, I tell him,he likes my passion for the story and shakes my hand and says " Hi, I'm Carl, what's your name?" About shit a brick! It was Macek, the man himself! Also met the voice of Minmei 20 minutes later. She was in a Kimono! These are my favorite of the series. Robotech changed my life as a teen. So thanks for the trip down Macross lane!😂

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Carl Macek went on to found Streamline Pictures, the company that gave me my first taste of uncensored anime: Vampire Hunter D.

[@jeehoonlee5150]

My biggest regret from college was losing my autographed copy of Animecon ‘91 convention book. Had it signed by Hideaki Anno and “Hal” Harahuki Mikimoto. I asked Mikimoto to draw Noriko from Gunbuster and he obliged.

[@Elios0000]

i would punched him but thats me... would be worth getting kicked out

[@chanosocarras8720]

Went to a Creation Star Trek convention in San Francisco back in 1987. They played us the debut of Robotech Sentinels. I was 12 years old and BEYOND excited!!! Also had the voice of Rick Hunter there. I got his autograph. Pre internet conventions were really cool.

[@takaakiyamada5451]

@@chanosocarras8720 Rick Hunter? Who is that?

[@nicoleseraphita7613]

As per tradition, Screw Harmony Gold. The fact that we're getting every single Macross series on Disney + but SDF and Do You Remember Love is great, but man Do You Remember Love is so very good.

[@TheShardsFamily]

Fuck harmony gold as a macross and battletech fan Luckily seems their days ate number with a Japanese court deciding the company that hame them the rights never held the rights It's why they settled againist hairbrsined for the last battletech game cause they would have probably lost the court case

[@mikeaaron2112]

It's on Disney plus?!?!?!

[@mikeaaron2112]

It's on Disney+???!!??

[@lorcannagle]

@@mikeaaron2112 They announced it about a week ago, everything except the original TV show and DYRL will be on Disney Plus later in the year.

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

@@mikeaaron2112 Not yet. No firm release date yet other than "2024" so sometime later this year. It includes pretty much everything Macross EXCEPT the original the DYRL which is entirely Harmony Gold being assholes.

[@acereporter73]

Oh, my favorite messy franchise. Meanwhile, BattleTech is loitering around outside like, "Heeeeeeeey, howyoudoin, Mack Ross?"

[@ElLoboUK]

@@EBFE Your King Crab lance are your wife and kids now

[@chrisbaker8533]

Damn i miss LAMs.

[@shinpeiro]

I am "to be in ❤" with this comment.

[@Echowhiskeyone]

I watched Robotech when it came out, loved it. Found BattleTech, loved it. Found Macross, loved it. SDC Southern Cross and MOSPEADA, loved them. HG lawsuits, have hated HG ever since. Still like the idea of Robotech, but still hate HG.

[@MayumiC-chan9377]

my husband hates Robotech like most who grew up in Japan he hated the changes and altered storyline! I love Macross and i cosplayed as Misa Hayase,Miria, Lynn Minmay,Ranka Lee and Klan klang. I love to Kareoke many of the songs too!

[@Belgand]

To think, Harmony Gold bastardized Macross into Robotech and then it still managed to get worse.

[@rotwang2000]

​@@Belgand It made sense at the time, people would rather run headfirst into a wall rather than sit through a FOREIGN cartoon ...

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

What's his opinion on black and white comics like the bloody and gritty 80's series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Toei animation?

[@MayumiC-chan9377]

@@sboinkthelegday3892 interestingly my husband was a big fan of Lone wolf and cub,Golgo 13,Lupin the 3rd and armored troopers Votoms. He didn’t hear about TMNT until his father was stationed back in the USA. He told me “While children his age was watching TMNT and other American cartoons, himself and his friends were watching Guyver,Macross,Orguss,Southern Cross,Mospeada,Golgo 13 and Urusei Yatsura. My husband is the product of an African Zulu father and a Japanese mother. So my mother-in-law is a big Anime/Manga fan so she watched anime and so did her children,

[@MayumiC-chan9377]

@@kennyboggs3676 He really didn’t like that at all but honestly he always kept to the originals. His favorites were 1960s Utlra Q,Ultraman and Ultraseven. Super Sentai wasn’t his favorite but he didn’t like that they altered so much. He didn’t like the changes done to Yoroiden Troopers (Ronin Wars). He coming to age in the 1990s so when his family was stationed back in the USA he loved what Scifi Channel did with “Saturday day Anime”.

[@arnoldmayii3563]

A couple of years ago Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeda were available on Tubi. And then one day they were gone. Screw Harmony Gold!

[@thedungeondelver]

Harmony Gold is the devil.

[@armsman5322]

the entire Robotech (English dubbed) series currently streams on Crunchyroll. (Was the stuff on Tubi the original Japanese versions English subbed?)

[@Windrave]

If Tubi had them licensed it is possible you caught them when the license expired. It's like when shows leave Netflix.

[@arnoldmayii3563]

@@armsman5322 Original sub titled

[@KILRtv]

I grew up on Robotech, but the original Japanese versions are much better.

[@alanblanks]

We'll launch an actual SDF-1 before the story gets re-told again.

[@seculartapes]

There was at least one release of DYRL in the US. I bought a VHS at the grocery store in the ‘90s of a dubbed version titled “Clash of the Bionoids”. The dubbing wasn’t great (it seemed to be dubbed in Hong Kong English)

[@ottototo8]

Can't get enough of this. The saga of a saga.

[@Darthjim73]

You did forget to mention that somehow, Macross II and Macross Plus managed a US release -briefly- in the 90s, before HG shut it down.

[@coreykirkpatrick4392]

Actually those 2 are no longer blocked by HG after that last court decision and is part of the US Disney+ content.

[@Valkyrie77]

Yeah, Harmony Gold wasn't interested in Robotech for a while and both M2 and M+ got through before they discovered there were interest and started blocking everything again.

[@bumbayker]

@@Valkyrie77 Yup. Western fans were blown away with the release of Macross II and Plus. They even asked HG if they would get Macross 7. HG almost did through a French? distributor. But Big West quickly shot it down when they discovered that HG was involved with the deal. HG knew that Macross was a threat to their Robotech brand since they haven't produced new content since their failed release of the Sentinels.

[@Valkyrie77]

@@bumbayker well, they did make that half-effort Shadow Chronicles and the cheap-ass Love Live Alive recut (but I liked the ending) but I don't know if any of them was successful. But I think the spacebattles in Shadow was really terrible compared with M Frontier, released about at the same time.

[@bumbayker]

@@Valkyrie77 Shadow Chronicles came out first in 2006. Despite it was older than Macross Frontier by a year the production value by contrast was like day and night. That what happens when they hired a cheapass Korean animation studio with a subpar budget. Harmony Fraud was planning to make sequels for it but was bedazzled by greed to make live-action movie of Robotech when the first Bayformers movie was released in 2007. Up to now their live-action movie is still in production hell after more than 15 years.

[@scottskene8387]

As a child of the 90s, I am conditioned to reply "baby, don't hurt me" any time someone says "what is love". It's just ingrained in the fabric of my being. On topic, the Valkyrie is the single most aesthically perfect transforming mecha ever designed and I will fight anyone who claims otherwise

[@sanictheedgehog]

Zeta Gundam is better, it's transformation makes more sense and has more use in it's respective series. Also it looks cooler.

[@crowtrobot313]

:"n topic, the Valkyrie is the single most aesthically perfect transforming mecha ever designed and I will fight anyone who claims otherwise" or spitfire from og transformers, damn copyright battles! :D But hell yea love me anything thats a tomcat f14 ripoff i mean homage!!

[@knghtbrd]

The US needs Macross, including the original series! (We're keeping Robotech though, even if Harmony Gold are bastards… We DO know the difference and the brand is NOT diluted by having both, HG!)

[@Belgand]

Culture is diluted by having Robotech. It should be thrown away as an embarrassing relic in favor of the real Macross. In part, I think Harmony Gold has come to recognize this. Hence their intense desire to keep the curtain intact and prevent Americans from finding out the crimes that were committed against them in the past.

[@ottototo8]

I highly recommend Macross Plus. Even if you haven't seen Macross. Music by Yoko Kanno. I think her best.

[@MykeLewisMusic]

One of my faves.

[@jerryharris6342]

Definitely.

[@morganb6717]

as soon as you spoke the words "... it's the power of love", my brain was already queuing Huey Lewis.

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

My first exposure to anime as anime was Macross. Harmony Gold actually released the first three or so episodes as Macross direct-to-video in 1984 before deciding to mash it all together into their "Robotech" project so they could sell it to TV stations instead of the direct market. I ordered that VHS from an ad in Starlog magazine and was hooked. When Robotech came out a year or so later I was very confused as to what had happened until I grabbed some of the Robotech Art Books which explained how it was three shows smushed together.

[@shaider1982]

Hope Mospeda gets covered. It's intro is quite catchy and the mecha/motorbike combos look slick.

[@JBOboe720]

The creation of the Gerwalk was actually even more interesting; when Kawamori was demonstrating a Valkyrie toy prototype, the legs accidentally swung down from under the jet mode, which reminded him of his chicken-leg robot design, and he decided to use that as the basis for a third mode. This was later incorporated into the show's fiction too; the Gerwalk was discovered by accident during Valkyrie test flights.

[@markplott4820]

YES , the "chicken walker " pre dated the Fully Transformable jet Robots.

[@ceno10101]

"the blockade is totally legal" - phantom menace

[@JLAvey]

I keep looking for SDF Macross and keep finding Robotech. I want Macross, with subtitles.

[@FavineMoore]

it's out there. I had to ride the High seas to find it.

[@smrii2487]

​@@FavineMoore this is the way

[@SupaBuma]

Yes, it's out there. I have the old DVD three box set with English subs.

[@Destroyer4700]

Are you looking for a physical copy or a digital copy?

[@braljoh]

You have to go to a pirate website, Have a good ad blocker.

[@thecunninlynguist]

After learning about how Robotech combined 3 different series into one "cohesive" story...I wS kinda amazed, especially for an 80s show.

[@richdurbin6146]

I thought Carl did a creditable job of doing just that.

[@AntonioRodriguezSilver]

It's not cohesive. Robotech could never define "Protoculture." In Macross it's the old civilization that created the various humanoid races. In Robotech, it's everything. It's an energy source! It's a culture that confuses the aliens! It's the Invid Flower of Life! It's the answer to every weird gap in the story because it's not cohesive!

[@bumbayker]

That was the norm back in the day of US localization on anime. They did it with Voltron (Dairugger XV + Golion) and Captain Herlock (Herlock + Queen Millenia). Robotech was anything but cohesive. At least for the anime as there were several inconsistencies and plot holes.

[@SeaLion8488]

@@thecunninlynguist and in only a couple months time. It’s an amazing story. Whatever you think of HG Carl made something happen that was extremely under pressure. Frankly, I loved the voice acting, the music and have fond memories of the whole series. Yes, it’s great to appreciate the original content, but there are many, many robotech fans out there.

[@ThinWhiteDork]

Just wanted to join the people asking for a video about the Macross sequels. I'd love that!

[@greenfeller]

Love your coverage and enthusiasm for the various iterations of Robotech/Macross. Managed to miss most of Robotech on Saturday mornings when it was on in my elementary years. Managed to really fall for it through the Jack Mckinney novels published by Del Rey in my middle school years. Feels like I am an outsider in all the fandoms. Keep the hits coming.

[@rimjobledouche5201]

To anyone who has yet to see Macross, you need to. It's cheesy, saccharine, and melodramatic. It is also earnest, heartfelt, and inexplicably nostalgic. It is beautifully written and will make you smile. Both it and it's feature film Do you Remember Love are both painfully, achingly bittersweet. The combination of 80's Japanese pop, transforming robots, and Mikimoto's doe-eyed character designs combine to form a truly special spectacle.

[@g.p.ryecroft]

Well, said. Not a huge fan of DYRL but love the original series (at least through about ep 27). I also love the closing credits with the photo album and that song that always strikes me as sad (like the closing theme to the Incredible Hulk decades ago). Also, the next episode promo with the narrator saying the title in English with an echo effect. Little touches like that make it extra special. Oh, and the commercial bumper. The music is more subdued than Robotech, which can work for or against the show, but usually for.

[@Neverfate]

Next up the History of Secret Galaxy's History of MACROSS' History of Harmony Gold's History of Robotech's History. It's all coming together. Either that or this mushroom tea is starting to hit.

[@tipulsar85]

The saddest part is at one point, SDF Macross was given a fresh dub as itself and not Robotech by ADV under the supervision of Harmony gold nearly 20 years ago at the time of this video's release. The only other parts that had escaped to home media are the OVAs Macross Plus via Manga Entertainment around 2001 on DVD, and the non canon Macross II: Lovers Again in the 90s on VHS and DVD (also by Manga Entertaiment) and soon again on Bluray by Animeigo.

[@mraaronhd]

I remember watching ADV’s dub of Macross online, and I really enjoyed it. One of best friends actually got me into Macross when he bought Macross II, and Plus, back in the early 2000’s. Man, buying anime back then was so expensive and was often times a crapshoot on whether or not it was going to be good, but it definitely made us into otaku.

[@Plaprad]

@@mraaronhd Still got my old DVD case from twenty years ago. A while back I decided to watch something and started looking through it. A whole lot of "Why in the hell did I buy that crap?" followed.

[@Shin_Lona]

Macross Plus is a masterpiece.

[@journ9er]

I still have those SDF Macross DVDs. Wasn't it a selling point that Mari Iijima was reprising her role of Lynn Minmay for the dub?

[@dalemark45]

@@mraaronhdI still have my copy of the original VHS movie version of Macross Plus. Manga Entertainment had its own issues, but they're responsible for igniting my love and appreciation for both Macross and Patlabor

[@ashaide]

The minute Harmony Gold came on-screen, my middle finger came up. Amazing. What an autonomic reaction! Yakh deculture!

[@Sephiroth144]

Indeed; everytime I'm driving down that part of Sunset Blvd where HG is, whoop, there the bird goes up

[@sircarew]

Thanks to AnimEgo, I was able to watch Macross and own it on DVD. I'm still annoyed that the original series (and movie) won't be on Disney+

[@thiagoflores01]

Super Fortress Macross is awesome, Macross Frontier and Macross Zero too ❤

[@thedungeondelver]

Macross Plus is still my favorite.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

What about 7?

[@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793]

​@@michaelandreipalon3597 is much slow process of a story, but is still good and peaceful story

[@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793]

​@@thedungeondelverIn perspective of the action and epic music itself. It is the first time I see some process of manipulating sound frequency in order to touch humans' emotions

[@ferallion3546]

Frontier was really good. Love Zero and Plus.

[@omnigears2062]

Burn in Hell Harmony Gold. I own all Macross’ series there are, be it official or bootleg

[@ceno10101]

Jetfire was one of the best looking transformers I had as a kid.

[@RayShadow278]

The lesson now is pirate the shit out of SDF Macross as well as DYRL, then support the official release of Macross starting from Flashback 2012 all the way to Macross Delta Zettai LIVE!!!!!! through Disney+ Even if I'm not the biggest Disney fan, anything that drums up more excitement for actual Macross and not DYRL is a big plus for me

[@bluesfier7758]

Yes but when will we see it on d+? I want to watch it now

[@thedungeondelver]

Macross > Robotech.

[@brian_s_musicfan]

I saw robotech as a kid and fell in love with the Macross saga part of it. Around the year 2015 I came across robotech on a streaming platform. I realize I could probably look up the original show and find listen to the original songs. I fell in love with with the sweet songs sung by the amazing Mari Iijima. I looked her up and discovered she's in Los Angeles still making music. I became a regular to her KZbin channel. I was so blessed to see her perform in Los Angeles. I hope someday I can buy the Macross series.

[@michaelthethird702]

I'm a huge fan of Macross. It was one of the first series that hooked me. I own the remastered DVD box set of the original Macross, Macross II, Macross Plus (OVAs & movie), and Macross Zero. I've also watched Macross 7, but don't own it. Great series. Great music. And all the romance and drama that will melt a Zentradi warrior's heart.

[@zidarose]

Just love that Macross is finally, legally, coming across.

[@zumazmusic]

Thank you for enhancing our protoculture by preserving this history for us. 😎😝

[@seancallaway5204]

I love Robotech. Sorry, not sorry. I grew up watching it. I'd rush home after school to watch every episode before starting my homework. I ALSO love Macross.

[@dmarioisajerk]

Same. I actually like the changes. But i respect and like the original.

[@g.p.ryecroft]

Me three--love 'em both! I'm surprised how closely the two shows parallel with no outrageous or gratuitous changes (compared to Battle of the Planets, which really butchered Gatchaman to make it kid-friendly. Nothing to see here, 7-Zark-7 would interject, nobody got hurt in those robot-controlled planes!. Roy just spilled a little ketchup and was back playing his guitar after Claudia cleaned him up with her tears of joy).

[@seancallaway5204]

@@g.p.ryecroft I agree except for the BotP bit. I guess I'm in an enviable position of growing up in the US in the 70s and 80s. My first exposure to anime was via the US releases of shows like Robotech, BotP, Transformers and Voltron. They fueled my love of Big Stompy Robots (esp. the transformable kind), so once I got older and was exposed to the source material, I could appreciate and grow to love them for what they were. It's kind of the opposite of loving a book and seeing it butchered as a movie adaptation (I'm lookin' at you, "Starship Troopers").

[@g.p.ryecroft]

@@seancallaway5204 Fellow Heinlein fan so I grok what you're talking about. I do love BotP and have happy memories of 7-Zark-7 and 1-Rover-1, and the voices of Casey Kasem, Ronnie Schell, et al. I was just stunned as an older person learning how the show was stripped of its impact to be kid-friendly. That said, I would love to watch some BotP again, loving it for what it is, as you well put it.

[@adrian_veidt]

Max is the giga chad of all aces in Macross. An ace pilot who beats down an enemy babe and gets to marry her lol. Max and Amuro Ray were my fave pilots in mecha

[@joester4life]

All within a few days too.

[@dansmith16]

Kirk would be so happy.

[@richdurbin6146]

They also released a series of Robotech novels that I quite enjoyed. It told the original story and continued the expedition into zentradi space.

[@g.p.ryecroft]

I haven't read those Jack McKinney books, but heard they fill in a lot of gaps, especially in the Southern Cross and Mospeada stories. They're rerealeasing them as omnibus trade paperbacks, which testifies to there being a silent majority of Robotech fans out there--me among them!--despite the hate heaped on the series by the self-appointed anime cognoscenti. I may have to check out those books!

[@jayconant3816]

Yeah I had those when I was younger they were good

[@krysskallins]

YACK DECULTURE!!!!!!

[@TheScreamMan]

Macross rules. Id love to see you do an episode or so on the Macross Sequel series!

[@jsc315]

Macross 7 is absolutely bananas. Just saying

[@g.p.ryecroft]

A KZbinr/Vimeo streamer called You Can't Unwatch It did outstanding retrospectives on all the Macross series, movies, and OVAs. His are commentaries, so very different from Secret Galaxy's investigative journalism on the secret origins and hidden histories. Great complements for one another.

[@Hyperion-Cantos]

Best episode ever ❤❤❤ Please cover the other MACROSS shows. Including MACROSS II Lovers Again ❤

[@jmhaces]

Back when Robotech was released in the mid '80's it was nothing short of mind-blowing to me as a child, and not just because of the cool giant robots fighting aliens. Thanks to stuff like Mazinger Z and Voltron I was already aware of the fact that Japanese cartoons were able to tell much more serious stories with more complex plots that sometimes even affected the series as a whole in comparison to typical western action cartoons like GI Joe or M.A.S.K. that were episodic, had no real story progression, had really toned down violence and usually included either a "funny" annoying sidekick or a "moral of the story" section at the end, or even both. But even stuff like Voltron felt mostly episodic and not that much happened to move the story along. And here you had Robotech dealing with the social and economic impact of discovering alien technology, their effect on the civilian population, war, cloning, ethics, coming to terms with the aftermath of a military conflict and having to live with your former enemies, and the importance of art. Characters grew and changed, some died, and the good guys not always won. It was a gamechanger.

[@RoyalCrustle]

Watched the show earlier this year and it's actually so good. Shame about some of the poor animation on specific episodes, but still a great time overall.

[@14bis42]

Fun facts ... -MACROSS made Giant mechas that turn into Jet Fighters , while Gundam made Giant mechas that turned into FOLDED giant mechas . -You guys made "several videos" about a show that doesnt exist ? wow . -There is no robo-thing , ... Only MACROSS !!!!! 😋

[@BigEpinstriping]

The story continues to be told. Finally, onto the good stuff! Macross is the best out of all the many retellings and permutations. Furthermore, I'm disappointed I missed out on Macross Chocolate bars!

[@xXSoulGeoXx]

the best outcome would be the death of HARMONY GOLD We are so close, but we still are denied legal ways to enjoy the series that started the Macross Franchise as a whole I am glad they gave up on Dragon Ball though, we wouldn't had enjoyed Goku and his adventures if HG was as terrible to DB as it still is with the original SDF Macross outside of Japan

[@dmisfit79]

MAKUROSU!!!

[@danealley9779]

Watched Robotech when it was broadcast in the US at 6-6:30am in the '80's. I have two VF-1 Valkerie/ Robotech Changers model kits from Revell/Ceji. This was my introduction to what I later learned was actually Macross. If it wasn't for the model kits/toys we US kids wouldn't love the Macross series today. 4:49

[@jayconant3816]

Watched it then also came on at the same time ,couldn't believe how early they aired had to watch it before I left for jr high ,was pissed I had to get up that early lol

[@UberNoodle]

Studio Nue needs to do a remake of the original series like Yamato got remade. That would get around the Harmony Gold blockade.

[@RaddSpencer]

I was a little kid when Robotech aired but it instantly became my favourite cartoon, and remained that way until the early 90's when I discovered Macross. This video glosses over the fact that the original movie, Macross II, and Macross Plus all got western releases. The original movie had a very limited release and in most markets was butchered into "Clash of the Bionoids", but Macross II was originally released in the west by U.S. Renditions, then later by Manga Video. Macross Plus followed, released by Manga Video. It wasn't until the Macross Plus toys were on their way to the west in the late 90's that Harmony Gold stepped in with their lawyers to ruin everything. Still, by that time I was hooked and had the power of the internet and the fansubbing community to get my grubby hands on every Macross release that followed beginning with Macross 7.

[@MartinW-e5q]

I AM A FAN OF ALL OF IT!!!!!!!! MACROSS The Movie....ROBOTECH The Series, the RPG, the Novelization, the Revell Models, the Matchbox Toys, Takatoku Toys......MODELS: Hasagawa, Bandai, B.F Egypt and all the others I can not remember.

[@AaronPrado-gs4hf]

congrats on your article in Forbes, been watching you a long while now and just glad to see you get some recognition long over due.

[@105Gunner]

Thumbs up for James Acaster and Screw Harmony Gold

[@phantomharlock999]

In the USA in the 90s during the dial-up days of the internet Macross lived in theater rooms in anime conventions and on copied VHS fan subs traded in person and by post.

[@hereitalkabouteverything]

in short: fuck harmony gold

[@geralddadap1761]

Agree 💯 %😊

[@ToyKennections]

Love it! Secret Galaxy videos are an inspiration for pop culture/cartoon historians.

[@Peppermint0M]

I bought Macross Plus on a two-DVD pack OVA and Movie collection as a "taster" (For £5, bargain) before I bought the many DVDs for Robotech. As I came to them near-enough an adult and already a Mecha fan, I had been signposted to them by Neo Magazine (UK based as I am). I thought Macross Plus was really cool, so cheerfully bought the whole lot of Robotech. Which I also enjoy. I will have to watch the other Macross series, seeing as even the Robotech comics that Harmony Gold are allowing seem to be coming few and far between.

[@RM_VFX]

My entire experience with Do You Remember Love was an Australian educational dub, where every reference to Protoculture was translated as "tiny pieces." 😂 I still loved it more than Robotech.

[@justinoswald8825]

Am forever disappointed when I talk about the "Power of Love" and no one else hears the musical sting.

[@Belgand]

It's a curious thing.

[@poodlescone9700]

We are going to get a new series post Macross Delta. Thanks to the troll, Harmony Gold, we get none of the show, merchandise and awesome music if it were not for the internet and KZbin. And Macross II is awesome and Macross Frontier is the best series! I don't care what anyone says.

[@darkalman]

Macross, Robotech, Battletech, and Anime fans in general all agree on one thing: F*** Harmony Gold

[@iflow593]

I love how you keep us updated about this topic. I LOVED this show, didn't realize it was a combo project but answered questions in adulthood...I want a live action done properly, maybe asking too much😒

[@deformemvita]

I'm the only American I know that loves Macross, but has never seen Robotech.

[@g.p.ryecroft]

Check out Robotech: The Macross Saga on the Funimation blurays. I think you'll enjoy it and marvel at how close it is to Macross. Good voice actors, a new more raucous soundtrack, but the same story with a few relatively inconsequential tweaks.

[@doubletee4391]

I'd like to point out they built the robots to be 50ft tall because they knew what ever built the fortress was about 50 ft tall. Now I would have built 100 ft tall robots in this case, but nobody asked me

[@davidmreyes77]

I’ll never forgive Hasbro for holding the license exclusive to use the veritech fighter design for Jetfire. Keeping us from getting US Robotech VF-1 transformable toys in America was criminal.

[@coreykirkpatrick4392]

Hasbro??? Um no it was Harmony Gold that did that, They sued Hasbro and won over Jetfire, hence Jetfire is completely different in the Transformers G1 Series than the toy. And Harmony Gold did release transformable toys, but for the most part, they wanted a 3.5" toy line, and The VF-1S they did release was supposed to transform, but Matchbox fell short in production design, and expense, so it didn't transform, but there are elements in the toy design that shows where it would have had the capability.

[@davidmreyes77]

@@coreykirkpatrick4392I think my point was that Hasbro licensed the rights for the 1/55 scale Valkyrie for Jetfire in the toyline (I know Skyfire name and animation wise was totally different in the animated series) which is why we never saw Robotech branded versions it in America at the time. What we got was either non transforming jets and those weird transforming mini VF-1’s that looked like chubby robots.

[@takaakiyamada5451]

The problem isn't just Macross turning into Robotech. The mecha designed by Kawamori were copied countless times in the United States and other Western countries. It's funny that today, Westerners have the illusion that Robotech-style mecha designs are ``Western designs.'' According to them, the Gundam-like design is "Asian-style" and the rugged Robotech-like design is "Western." Actually, both should be called Japanese-style designs.

[@davidwelch2791]

I remember watching this EPIC anime series when it first aired in the dubbed version on TV and it blew me away. I used to watch F-14's all the time since I lived near NAS MIRAMAR (TopGun) and I would imagine them transform into the RoboTech versions of the anime. God, am I old!!! Be safe and be 😎

[@jadedlotuz5095]

Damn! I grew up in this mess. I was a young child, but totally mesmerized with Robotech (and the other things that came out in the 80s from japan, but in American). Robotech, Macross, Transformers, Voltron, Starzinger, Rai the Caveboy, Ulyssies 31 and more. I Could somehow feel that those things where different from more american things at the time. But got rather confused, because I watched Robotech on like Sky Channel... but somehow got in contact with the Macross things (knew alot of asians in my neighborhood), and couldnt realy grasp what was happening? the story didnt make sense. Later (in the 1990s), I saw many of the classic masterpieces from Japan, like Akira, Porco Rosso, Macross Plus and more... and then started to learn more. But it wasnt before the around the millennium shift (2000nds) that I learned about the Robotech/Macross connection. Good video. Cheers.

[@dreamcastfan]

If Harmony Gold are preventing SDF Macross and Do You Remember Love from being released in the West, how did the dub of SDF come about? It’s got a lot of the usual dub actors like Vic Mignona and John Swasey, so I’m curious how it got made. DYRL also got a dub, but I think that one is much older and is really terrible. Hopefully both shows can get a proper release, especially DYRL as I understand that’s never been available in the West.

[@KingCasual1986]

6:58 word of advice: don’t watch Techno Police. That movie was boring as fuck!

[@hiyazaki09]

good thing i grew up by Macross not Robotech, it was showing in my Country Macross English dub toho dub to be exact 🤘🏻🤣👍🏻

[@blackc1479]

God i miss my jetfire transformer. The valkyrie is truly goat level design. Edit: i also really miss the iirc monogram kits. I had the factory w the 2 mechs, and a rifleman. Yeah i know, different IP, but thats how i think of em. It honestly surprises me that they havent made a bigger effort to reissue those and many other kits. There would be a big market in all of us who had em and want them again.

[@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793]

I haven't watch full episodes of Macross, but it is funny and peaceful. I started Macross Series since Macross Delta, broadening my view of mecha anime after Gundam Series and Web Diver

[@bumbayker]

I think you should have started with Macross Frontier if you're new to the Macross franchise. Not that you can't start with Macross Delta. But that Delta's premise is set in the aftermath of Frontier. Personally the original series Super Dimension Fortress Macross is the best starting point to the franchise since it's the foundation to every succeeding series even though all of them are a standalone story.

[@muhammadwibisonojanuar7793]

Yeah. Thanks. But I don't know much about Macross at the time of Delta's release

[@spikesagitta]

Yeah robotech and macross confused me as a kid. I'm from southeast asia, but my first exposure was to the english dub robotech...and then I watched macross as a teen, and was confused, the machines are the same, but the story was different. Took me many years, and this channel to finally made sense of it XD

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

And here we are again talking about the trainwreck we all love to watch namely ROBOTECH

[@commanderblaze9gaming397]

I’m so happy everyone has recently started to recognize Macross and coincidentally I started getting my friends involved as everyone else was

[@khandimahn9687]

I'm glad Macross is coming to Disney+. But really, Harmony Gold needs to give up. Robotech was great for its time, but nothing since has succeeded. Even a kickstarter to get a project going failed. Holding on to the originals is doing no one any good. They could make money taking their cut in letting Macross (and Southern Cross, and Mospeada) out into the world.

[@brettdavis1454]

Now to hope for a re-imaging of Macross, as has been done with Yamato

[@Gunsight-One]

This! I would absolutely lose it if they remade the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross but did it in the visual style of Do You Remember Love. That would be amazing!

[@dreadpooled]

You might want to tone down your sound effects a little bit. They tend to be too loud and disruptive over the talking voice.

[@rgx420s]

All Robotech fans should have graduated to Macross decades ago by now.

[@bumbayker]

I don't think graduated is the proper word. More like enlightened or awakened.

[@Windrave]

It wasn't fun watching a show that about space opera and real robots with a side of music slowly devolve into a Super Magical Idol Girls anime with mecha. Macross Plus was the last great Macross product.

[@Gunsight-One]

​@@WindraveI'm not a huge fan of Mactoss Delta either, but Macross Frontier was totally epic in my opinion.

[@azander1958]

​@@Gunsight-One I hope the new Macross under sunrise would balance the mecha and idols again like they did from 7 to Frontier I don't want a Macross show that relied on power of music too much

[@Kaimax61]

@@Windravenah, get lost fake fan. Macross has always been about war and songs.

[@elistratton1071]

Studio Nue wasn't involved with Mospeada.

[@pastorjerrykliner3162]

You can even tie in the Table-top RPG world with the whole "Battletech" universe that FASA created that drew heavily off Robotech and several other anime series...that Harmony Gold threw into chaos that resulted in most of the first generation of 'Mechs being "unseen" and unable to be depicted.

[@charleshammel8541]

I got into the franchise via Macross Plus OVA .... i so many questions

[@Firedrake-SP]

I honestly believe that Hasbro made a HUGE mistake for using the VF-1 Valkyrie design for Jetfire. They should have made Jetfire as a redeco of Starscream.

[@wj9hq6hi7]

A story as big as the SDF-1 itself

[@GratefulPrimate]

Pepsi Optimus Prime would later be succeeded by Pepsi Rodimus Prime by giving him the Pepsi Matrix of Leadership.

[@SingularityOrbit]

A Matrix of Leadership opened by pull-tab ring, creating new Pepsi Cybertronian life via the refreshing power of the ancient Autobot leaders of antiquity.

[@Winterydee]

Pepsi Optimus Prime would later be succeeded by Crystal Pepsi Rodimus Prime by giving him the Crystal Pepsi Matrix of Leadership... however, this was not to last long! Corrected!

[@Belgand]

*Matrix of Refreshment.

[@energyfitness5116]

But resurrected Pepsi Zero Optimus kicked off a bunch of lawsuits for infringing on Gundam Zero.

[@SingularityOrbit]

@@Winterydee Fortunately, his aluminium chassis was only crumpled, and could be recovered from space and bent back into shape. Still later, he gained a mighty pressurized engine in the form of Mentos, becoming PepsiMaster Optimus Prime.

[@peartree8338]

Wait....what....?! So this dude is the J Michael Straczynski regarding the robots in our childhoods?! Feels like I just met a dad I didn't know I had. 😂

[@Turds-f9w]

Dan aged about 20 years in the last 6. Maybe its the beard? 😂

[@damionalbarr7961]

I loved all versions of Macross and Robotech. Tried to get my hands on every version of the Veritech fighters and figures.

[@ClayHales]

I loved Robotech as a kid. I've since watched the Macross portion again both as Robotech and Super Dimension Fortress Macross. The story makes so much more sense in Macross. Trying to alter things to fit the 3 in 1 story of Robotech just doesn't make sense. Protoculture makes a lot of sense as the culture that was the prototype of the Zentradi rather than a hand wavy energy source? That said, I think the Invid portion works better in Robotech than in the original. The original is just a generic giant robot story. The Robotech version has more context, even if that context doesn't work as well in the other eras. Haven't watched/rewatched either version of the Southern Cross part.

[@melvinshine9841]

9:10 I watched the series this mech comes from, but can't remember the name to save my life. I think it was Fang of The Sun: Dogaran or something similar. It's good and it has an out of left field death scene that's messed up, even by 80s mech anime standards. If there are any two certainties with the Macross franchise is that it *loves* its love triangles and you will hear "My Boyfriend Is A Pilot". A lot. It's a good franchise that I'd recommend. Except Macross 7, that one sucks.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Oh, yeah, Dougram. That's basically the anime that used BattleTech well. I don't know, Macross 7 actually gets good on its latter parts, not unlike Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.

[@melvinshine9841]

@@michaelandreipalon359 I tried to give Macross 7 a chance, but I think I gave up by episode 6. I could not stand the main male character; it felt like he was just there.

[@darkhierophant4914]

This show kind of changed my life. I was used to shows like Scooby Doo, Flintstones, etc. introducing main characters and killing them off was such a departure from the cartoons that were on Saturday morning or after school. I instantly fell in love with this show. I still love it. It's in my top tv shows of all time. Period. I tell people to watch SDF Macross and the original series that made up Robotech. Screw the bastardized western edits of Robotech.

[@8Biit]

I remember running homme from school to watch this show, 4th or 5th grade. Developed my first crush at school, and simultaneously became so invested in the Rick & Minmay plot line my buddy, who rightfully loved the robots, couldn't understand what was wrong with me. LOL... this show still has a piece of my heart today.

[@darkhierophant4914]

@@8Biit i would rush home too. I remember being disappointed after the channel quit airing it because when repeats still aired, I'd watch them religiously anyway. Years later, i still have a sealed on card Rick Hunter.

[@2lobo777]

Hey guys is this corner for the "running home from school to watch Robotech"? Because I belong here too.

[@darkhierophant4914]

@@2lobo777 yep, pull up a chair and share your stories.

[@0PsychosisMedia0]

I remember Speed Racer and G-Force aka Battle Of The Planets (Known in Japan as Ninja Science Team Gatchaman) before Robotech. I knew thoes shows were not American as I read the credits. Didn't know where but definitely not English. Also I could tell from the art style was waaay different.

[@alpaykasal2902]

I've never been to New Hampshire, personally. Good to know it might be a megaload.

[@Junkosei100]

"My time to be a star" is not the song you are looking for.

[@allysonracadio9715]

You’ve gotta cover Macross Plus!!!

[@Sargonarhes]

I've watched both, can't say which I prefer with Gundam being my preferred mecha series... I even slide more towards AT Votoms over Macross, and don't even get me started on how highly I place Legend of the Galactic Heroes on my list.