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SUMMARY

In the year 1999, a mysterious space ship crash lands on Macross Island. The advanced technology discovered onboard the wrecked ship proves that intelligent life exists in the universe. In anticipation of this extraterrestrial threat, a new United Nations is formed.  After unification, work began on repairing the damaged battleship.  After 10 years of hard work, the SDF-1 is ready for takeoff. During the opening ceremonies, an alien race known as the Zentradi arrive to reclaim the ship of the Robotech Masters. During the battle, the SDF-1 executes a hyperspace fold, which transplants the battleship and Macross Island into deep space.

It has been a few days since Lisa Hayes, Rick Hunter, and his squad were rescued from the Zentradi.  At their debriefing, the generals scoff at the notion that the Zentradi are more powerful than the SDF-1 Macross.  Captain Gloval feels different, and decides to return to Earth with the information gathered by Lisa and Rick.

Their arrival does not sit well with the Joint Chiefs of the UN Government.  They order the SDF-1 back in space, to keep the Zentradi at bay until they can complete their Grand Cannon, a gigantic beam weapon.

Now, Gloval must find a way to off load the Macross Island civilians before they face attacks not only from the Zentradi, but their own forces.

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.

The Spanish 5.1 isn't nearly as aggressive as the English 5.1.  It's pretty much center speaker based, with little directionality.

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: With this volume, you get a super deformed Skull 1 morpher toy!

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 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.

The Spanish cast is decent.  Unfortunately, they didn't over-dub Reba West singing voice.

FAN SERVICE: As far as nudity or panty shots go, there is none to be found here.

CONCLUSION

Everyone remembers their first anime.  For me, it was Robotech.  What made this series 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.

This volume further develops the love triangle between Rick, Lisa, and Minmay.  Right out of the song "Love Stinks", Rick loves Minmay, but she loves her cousin (ewww) who loves her back.  Lisa has a thing for Rick, but he is too hung up on that airhead Minmay to notice.  Lisa is also infatuated with Minmay's cousin, Lynn Kyle, adding fuel to the fire.  Rick doesn't like him much, so the flames are hot tonight.  Confused yet?

Lynn Kyle.  Who could blame a girl for falling for him, with his long hair, elegant good looks, and major ass kicking ability.  The only negative, he is a long haired hippy who would rather surrender and live subjugated rather than fight for freedom.  Jerk!

As I mentioned earlier, part of what made Robotech so wonderful was how it dealt with real human issues.  With this volume, we experience one of the hardest issues anyone has to face, the death of a loved one.  In just two episodes, Rick Hunter looses his best friend, and a man under his command.  We feel for him as he goes through all the sages of grief.  Many people applauded the fact that Robotech actually tackled the death of a major character, and just didn't gloss over it.

On a side note, Managing Editor Ann was cheering when Rick hung up on Minmay after his friends death.  Like a total dimwit, she prattles on about her silly life, while Rick has just suffered a very traumatic moment.  Good for your Rick!

There are many more sub-plots contained here.  From Max finding true love, to Lisa's strained relationship with her father, all help solidify Robotech's reputation as one of the best written series ever.  One of these days, I will do an in depth dissertation on the many stories contained in this masterpiece.

As much as I love "Robotech" there is one thing I can't stand; the singing voice for Minmay.  Reba West tries real hard, but she can't sing worth beans.  Her off key warbling just makes me want to defect to the Zentradi.  While I hate to compare "Robotech" and "Macross", I will say that Mari Iijima is the only one who should sing for Minmay.

While it's easy to revile Reba West for her bad singing, the writing staff shares some of the blame.  I really don't think the up-tempo "My Time To Be A Star" is the right song for the emotional departure of the SDF-1 from Earth.  Speaking of that song, how can it be a new song if she has been singing it for the last 3 episodes?  Don't get me started on the lyrics; "Stage Lights flashing, the feelings smashing!"  Arrrrrrgh!

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.  This boxset introduces the "Armored Veritech", which becomes the standard design for "Valkaryies" for years to come.

Sometimes, a show will accurately predict what people in the future may own.  If you look closely, you will see CD players, big screen TV's, and holographic video game projectors.  Okay, maybe not everything came true, but as this series was made in 1983, some of their ideas have come to pass.

The "Robotech" Remaster is a great set for those who don't have the earlier DVD releases.  Thanks to the great writing, this one is required viewing for all ages, and all true anime fans.

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