Gservo
29th July 2002, 02:45 AM
In late 1982, Super Dimension Fortress Macross began airing on Japanese television and became an instant success. At its heart, the original series is both a love story and a war story. Unlike other Japanese robot shows, the mecha in Macross are not the main focus of the story. What sets this series apart from most others is believable characters. They are people who have real problems who grow and change over time. Macross became such a hit in Japan that the next step was a feature film. Released in 1984, Macross '84: Do You Remember Love? was a beautifully animated retelling of the TV series, and it was very successful as well. Though fans were hoping for a new series, the only thing they got was the 1986 music video Macross: Flashback 2012, which was a combination of new animation and footage from the TV series and movie. In America, fans are probably more familiar with Robotech. In 1985, Harmony Gold released Robotech, which was actually an amalgamation of Macross and two unrelated series: Superdimensional Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada. The three series were shown together to meet US syndication rules. In combining three separate series to make one coherent story, many changes were made. By the way, many names were changed for Robotech, so we're providing a key to the changes. The edited Robotech series is now available on DVD, while the original uncut subtitled version is available on DVD from AnimEigo.