Robotech

Remastered/Extended Edition 1

Review by Matthew Anderson

85 Episode TV Series

Company: ADVision

Running Time: 300 minutes (12 episodes)

Region: 1

Rated: PG-13 for violence and mature situations

EXTERNAL EXAM

In the year 1999, a mysterious space ship crash lands on Macross Island. The advanced technology discovered onboard proves that intelligent life exists in the universe. In anticipation of a possible extraterrestrial threat, a new United Nations is formed. After unification, work begins on repairing the damaged battleship.

After 10 years of hard work, the SDF-1 is ready for takeoff. During the opening ceremonies, Captain Gloval is alerted about the arrival of a large space fleet in lunar orbit. The Zentradi have arrived to reclaim the ship of the Robotech Masters. They bombard Macross Island from space, and destroy the UN space fleet.

Rick Hunter, an amateur pilot, is attending the SDF-1 launch ceremony. Accidentally pressed into service by the attack, Rick flies into battle in a military aircraft called a Veritech. During intense combat, he makes three startling discoveries. He learns that the Zentradi are giant humanoids, the Veritech can transform into a robot, and Lynn Minmay.

Now, Rick is caught up in a war that threatens to destroy all life on Earth. If he survives the Zentradi onslaught, will he be able to hook up with the very cute Minmay?

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: Wow. The video quality on this DVD far surpasses anything made before it. The colors are no longer solid, showing the folds of the uniforms. The image is sharp, free of pixels, color bleeds, rainbows or any other defects. The quality is so good, you can see every single defect of the source print.

AUDIO: The 5.1 English and Spanish audio is pretty damn loud. There are plenty of surround sound elements to knock you around, which is cool. What's not cool is that most of the time, the sound effects overpower the dialogue and the music.

EDITS: The "Robotech" opening animation has been replaced with a new one. Scenes of death or nudity, edited out of the original broadcast, is now present.

EXTRAS: Well, you get a pack of "Robotech" trading cards!

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Robotech is an example of great story telling. Unlike Gundam Wing, which concentrated on soap opera drama, Robotech took realistic characters and placed them in tough situations. Carl Macek and the Harmony Gold writing staff did a wonderful job of adapting Matsuzaki Kenichi's original story for American audiences.

ACTING: The entire cast of "Robotech" is fantastic. There is not a single rotten voice actor in the entire series. Everyone plays their parts with the right amount of humanity. You believe every emotion that pours fourth.

The only negative is Reba West when she sings. While her speaking voice is perfect for the ditzy Minmay, her off key singing makes my entire body cringe.

FAN SERVICE: Well, the infamous shower scene is back, but don't expect any frontal Minmay nudity. You have to watch the movie for that. Of course, Lisa Hayes is a hot little number in her space suit.

FINAL EXAM

Everyone remembers their first anime, the one that got you hooked. For me, it was Robotech. The animation, the acting, and the stories all appealed to my young mind, hungry for some good Sci-Fi. From there, my world was never the same.

What made Robotech so wonderful was the way it was presented. Complex themes like love, hate, jealousy, survival, and redemption were not glossed over, or trivialized. The characters were portrayed as real people, not heroic yet vapid supermen. The situations these characters faced are ones that we all have faced at one time or another. Well, except for the giant aliens.

Everyone has a favorite character. Sure, Roy was the coolest, and Rick was the star, but for me it was Lisa Hayes. Forget that dimwit "Minmay". Lisa was beautiful, smart, strong, and extremely vulnerable. Best Lisa episodes are, "Bye Bye Mars" and "The Big Escape. Why Rick had a thing for a girl that wouldn't let him get to first base is beyond me. Hell, he got to kiss Lisa twice!

The mecha designs to this day are still fantastic. Here it is 20 years later, and the basic design of the Valkarye (Veritech) is still being used. From "Yukikaze" to "Macross Zero", very few mecha have stood the test of time like these have.

According to the press release, everything, from the video to the audio, was brand spanking new. There was also new opening and ending animation, restored scenes, and even special eye catches. Needless to say, as soon as I could, I picked up this "remastered" boxset.

I was a little surprised to discover that the remastered video was the work that AnimEigo had done for their Macross release. I was also taken aback when the much touted new opening was, again from AnimEigo's Macross DVD, the clean open from "Macross". Good thing I don't own the Macross DVD's and the first Robotech Boxset. If I did, I would be pretty ticked off.

I know this may sound nit-picky, but I don't like the new sound effects. They don't sound right, and they overpower the dialogue and the music. While it's cool that the fuzzy audio of the original has been fixed, it doesn't mean they should have changed it.

The "Robotech" Remaster is a great set for those who don't have the earlier DVD releases. If you have either AnimEigo's "Macross" boxsets or ADV's earlier DVD releases, you may want to think really hard about it. While the price is right and the quality execellent, why spend money on something you already own?

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