Robotech

Robotech was one of the first Anime to be released in the United States. Robotech, dubbed into English and released by the Harmony Gold[?] corporation, fused the story lines of three different Japanese anime series (with some modifications): Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Century Southern Cross[?], and Genesis Climber Mospeada[?]. The reasoning for combining these unrelated series was that the American TV stations had a minimum number of episodes for weekday syndication, and none of the three series met that requirement alone. Moreover, there was pressure from the American toy manufacturer who had licensed these three series to present them all as a single packaged product.

This combination resulted in a storyline that spanned three generations: The characters in the Macross saga, their children in the Southern Cross saga, and their descendants in the New Generation saga. The result is a surprisingly coherent story that resolves plot threads left unresolved in the earlier series. In particular, Southern Cross was originally intended to be a massive, be-all-end-all space opera, but ran out of money before it could be completed. Its inclusion in Robotech actually increased fan respect for Southern Cross.

There was also a novelization series, written by "Jack McKinney", a pseudonym for Brian Daley[?] and James Luceno[?], which included extensive quotes from fictitious books and fleshed out the chronology in more detail.

Harmony Gold attempted to produce an original sequel series called the Sentinels, but only three episodes were made. The project fell through due to problems with the toy licensing and changes in the Japanese yen-US Dollar exchange rate, among other reasons.

Two different versions of the Sentinels saga were chronicled in the McKinney novels and a comic book series.

External Link

• The official robotech homepage (http://www.robotech.com/)

Episode List

• The Macross Saga
  1. Boobytrap
  2. Countdown
  3. Spacefold
  4. The Long Wait
  5. Transformation
  6. Blitzkrieg
  7. Bye-Bye Mars
  8. Sweet Sixteen
  9. Miss Macross
  10. Blind Date
  11. First Contact
  12. The Big Escape
  13. Blue Wind
  14. Gloval's Report
  15. Homecoming
  16. Battle Cry
  17. Phantasm
  18. Farewell, Big Brother
  19. Bursting Point
  20. Paradise Lost
  21. A New Dawn
  22. Battle Hymn
  23. Reckless
  24. Show Down
  25. Wedding Bells
  26. The Messenger
  27. Force Of Arms
  28. Reconstruction Blues
  29. Robotech Masters
  30. Viva Miriya
  31. Khyron's Revenge
  32. Broken Heart
  33. A Rainy Night
  34. Private Time
  35. Season's Greetings
  36. To The Stars

• The Robotech Masters
  1. Dana's Story
  2. False Start
  3. Southern Cross
  4. Volunteers
  5. Half Moon
  6. Danger Zone
  7. Prelude To Battle
  8. The Trap
  9. Metal Fire
  10. Stardust
  11. Outsiders
  12. Deja Vu
  13. A New Recruit
  14. Triumvirate
  15. Clone Chamber
  16. Love Song
  17. The Hunters
  18. Mind Game
  19. Dana In Wonderland
  20. Crisis Point
  21. Day Dreamer
  22. Final Nightmare
  23. The Invid Connection
  24. Catastrophe

• The New Generation
  1. The Invid Invasion
  2. The Lost City
  3. Lonely Soldier Boy
  4. Survival
  5. Curtain Call
  6. Hard Times
  7. Paper Hero
  8. Eulogy
  9. The Genesis Pit
  10. Enter Marlene
  11. The Secret Route
  12. The Fortress
  13. Sandstorms
  14. Annie's Wedding
  15. Separate Ways
  16. Metamorphosis
  17. The Midnight Sun
  18. Ghost Town
  19. Frostbite
  20. Birthday Blues
  21. Hired Gun
  22. The Big Apple
  23. Reflex Point
  24. Dark Finale
  25. Symphony Of Light