New Robotech Series

[GodMedia]

Q: Hey guys! Does anybody have background info about the new series???? Who will be the main characters?

  - Stemali

A: Harmony Gold has announced the production of the highly-anticipated new sequel to the original Robotech television series. The storyline picks up where the 85th (and final) episode left off with the Robotech Expedition's climactic confrontation with the Invid and the mysterious disappearance of Admiral Hunter.

Featuring a cast full of characters reprising their roles from the original series, the new adventure is slated to kick off with a full-length feature in 2005 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Robotech.

  - Tommy Yune

Q: Robotech ... The Shadow Chronicles? Wasn't there an early announcement of something called Shadow Force at AnimeExpo?

  - Aragonvaar

A: Though the feature-length pilot of the new sequel was indeed announced as Robotech: Shadow Force, the growing scope of the project led to titling the overall story arc as Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.

The initial release date is scheduled for 2005 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Robotech.

  - Tommy Yune

These ship designs, among others, were also posted:

I'm sorry if this is old news. If you want to see the whole story, you need to have an RT.com membership.

Comment freely...

[azrael]

I said it once, and I'll say it again.

Meh.

[lord_breetai]

yeah there is actually a whole shadow force thread already... and those designs are mostly re-hased MOSPEADA stuff.

[dr_vandermeer]

yay.

[maxjenius81]

they may be rehashes, but its sill cool to see them get more onscreen time and amodern facelift as I was always a fan of the MOSPEADA starships and the Southern Cross ones as well, and they got even less screen time than the MOSPEADA ones

[Anubis]

old news, still on page 2

[ogami]

The second ship looks like a Gundam EFSF battleship...

[Cyclone]

The second ship looks like a Gundam EFSF battleship...

Their pre-existing Mospeada and Southern Cross ships, though the Mospeada ones have been "tweaked" for use in the new series.

[Gui]

The funniest part is that they needed 20 years to make a sequel... which uses the same old designs of the original

[CoryHolmes]

The funniest part is that they needed 20 years to make a sequel... which uses the same old designs of the original

Better to use the older stuff and maintain continuity than to come up with new and flashy designs just for the sake of being new and flashy.

[Noyhauser]

haha, Nice try CH, if they COULD come up with new stuff, they probably would. Instead they just pawn off endless rehashes of the same product. Even the "new" stuff is just a variation on old stuff: Gamma = VF-X-4 anybody? Someone I know associated with HG called the uniform and technical designs terrible that should have been left behind in the 80s. I'm sorry RT is a poor poor show, and to use an Agent one expression, shadow force's excellent new designs is just a sign of more lameness.

At least Kawamori's macross has a logical progression, has at least some grounding in realism (I think M:0 did that extremely well), and is original, instead of hacking up 20 year old designs and calling it there own. Count the number of new designs that RT has developed even in its new comic books or whatever, then look at what Macross has come up with. In M:0, for all its faults as a series, at least Kawamori was able to update the designs, making them look more modern, while at the same time placing them in the time line with believablilty (you want to argue that point CH be my guest, I'll be happy to show you how it is believable, and then I'll put robotech in its place). By your argument we would not have a YF-21, or 19, or 17, 9, 4 ect, because human technology (in your eyes) can't occur that quickly. So instead Macross would just relaunch the same designs over and over again.

And if you think that Macross is all about selling goods, I'd say that you're very mistaken, especially if you compare it to Gundam, or even your prized robotech. Kawamori I believe, really loves what he does, designing new fighters and creating new storylines. Read his interview for advanced valkyrie on the main page, and you get a sense of that. If he really wants to sell out, and make more profit, he'd just go make gundams, or sell out macross into a gundam type franchise.

Edited October 27, 2004 by Noyhauser

[Radd]

I hope those are simply quick roughs with colours thrown over them. They look suspiciously like bad CG models rendered with poor cel shading, the kind of CG you might be dissapointed to see in a videogame, let alone a tv series.

I'm not trying to join the anti-HG bandwagon here, I'd like this show not to suck, just making an observation.

[1st Border Red Devil]

The idea behind the Mospeada designs reappearing has mostly to do with the fact the story takes place right after eps. #85. Most of them have undergone a refit (they would be 20+ yr old designs in Robotech by 2044). Its called life extension.

The second ship looks like a Gundam EFSF battleship...

Its a warship from Southern Cross actually, the Algada to be specific (though we later see 3 more that the SC throw at the Zor in the final battles). No name that we know of for classification.

The warship on the bottom right hand is the Tristar-class Cruiser Leader from Southern Cross as well. I don't believe it will be reappearing for Shadow Force/Chronicles as Im fairly confident (unfortunately) that the design was retired after the Invid Invasion due to the losses to the Masters in the 2nd Robotech War. However, the REF has a new design that will replace the Tristars in their fleet, as the Ikazuchi is incapable of fulfilling the same role.

[ComicKaze]

So after everything in Macross...in Southern Cross...in Mospeada...and even NASA's X-Project Shuttle Replacement...

The stupid ship still has giant cone verniers sticking out the back for thrust hahahaha!!!!!!!!

[Radd]

I like the cones.

[ComicKaze]

I like the cones.

1960s technology

[Agent ONE]

The funniest part is that they needed 20 years to make a sequel... which uses the same old designs of the original 

Better to use the older stuff and maintain continuity than to come up with new and flashy designs just for the sake of being new and flashy.

Cop out. That reminds me of when I lived in the dorms in college and I'd see dudes come back from parties and say, "dude there were just no chicks there." That really meant they had no ability to close the deal.

[bsu legato]

I like the cones.

1960s technology

Pfft....those cones are clearly ripped from the Imperial Star Destroyer...

[Noyhauser]

Those cones are about as useful and stylish as the tailfins of a 1959 cadillac

Edited October 27, 2004 by Noyhauser

[lord_breetai]

Those cones are about as useful and stylish as the tailfins of a 1959 cadillac

I like tailfins on cars though... not those ones in particular but I do like them.

[valk1j]

There has been talk of a Sixth Sense like plot twist in this Robotech project. Hopefully that plot twist takes Macross out of Robotech and just leaves Southern Cross and Mospeada. All records of Macross in RT are gone.

[bsu legato]

There has been talk of a Sixth Sense like plot twist in this Robotech project.

Really? Any links?

[CoryHolmes]

The funniest part is that they needed 20 years to make a sequel... which uses the same old designs of the original 

Better to use the older stuff and maintain continuity than to come up with new and flashy designs just for the sake of being new and flashy.

Cop out. That reminds me of when I lived in the dorms in college and I'd see dudes come back from parties and say, "dude there were just no chicks there." That really meant they had no ability to close the deal.

Actually, I'm being serious. When I watch a western (very rarely), I expect to see period technology and clothing, not modern-day MP5s styled to look like they belong in the period.

And if you think designing something new is hard, try to come up with something while staying within the constraints of the material that's come before it. Much harder.

[valk1j]

There has been talk of a Sixth Sense like plot twist in this Robotech project.

Really? Any links?

From lurking on RT.com and RDF HQ it looks like the sixth sense thing comes from Animation Magazine. It states that it will prolong Robotech's shelf life, whatever that means. There is some new info in this months Newtype about the series, haven't seen it though.

[bsu legato]

Actually, I'm being serious. When I watch a western (very rarely), I expect to see period technology and clothing, not modern-day MP5s styled to look like they belong in the period.

And if you think designing something new is hard, try to come up with something while staying within the constraints of the material that's come before it. Much harder.

What about the old westerns that actually DID use guns and clothing that was incorrect for the period? Should modern westerns emulate that too?

[CoryHolmes]

Actually, I'm being serious.  When I watch a western (very rarely), I expect to see period technology and clothing, not modern-day MP5s styled to look like they belong in the period.

And if you think designing something new is hard, try to come up with something while staying within the constraints of the material that's come before it.  Much harder.

What about the old westerns that actually DID use guns and clothing that was incorrect for the period? Should modern westerns emulate that too?

What do you mean? I don't understand what you're trying to say.

[bsu legato]

It's quite simple, really. You believe that a new series should "maintain continuity" with the original's visuals. You then used an analogy to westerns. However, what you didn't consider is that many (if not most) of the westerns from the classic period of Hollywood westerns actually had weaponry that was either anacronistic or outright wrong for the period, not to mention clothing that was wholely invented by the costume department with little grounding in reality.

So to bring this analogy full circle, if you apply this to Robotech you'd see that things like the "rocket nozzles" on the orignal ships were, and still are, outlandish and silly. Which, I believe, was ComiKaze's point to begin with. Ie, there's nothing even remotely "period correct" about Robotech in its original form, or the sequel. Those rocket nozzles are your proverbial "MP5 in period styling."

[Radd]

I still like the rocket nozzles. Then again, I'm a big fan of steampunk and retrotech. I also must admit to liking transforming planes, and refitted WWII battleships in space.

[lord_breetai]

It's quite simple, really. You believe that a new series should "maintain continuity" with the original's visuals. You then used an analogy to westerns. However, what you didn't consider is that many (if not most) of the westerns from the classic period of Hollywood westerns actually had weaponry that was either anacronistic or outright wrong for the period, not to mention clothing that was wholely invented by the costume department with little grounding in reality.

So to bring this analogy full circle, if you apply this to Robotech you'd see that things like the "rocket nozzles" on the orignal ships were, and still are, outlandish and silly. Which, I believe, was ComiKaze's point to begin with. Ie, there's nothing even remotely "period correct" about Robotech in its original form, or the sequel. Those rocket nozzles are your proverbial "MP5 in period styling."

Okay so...

General Type guy: Is there something you want to say Bernard?

Bernard: Those ships... the cones at the back... those are kinda silly don't you think.. I mean why did we go back to using those after the first Robotech War... I mean that's not preriod correct with out made up universe and time period arn't they? We should scrap the whole fleet and build new ships before we go off and find the SDF-3, really I think we should cause we wouldn't want the MW forumers to think we look silly.

General Type Guy: Good point Bernard we can certainlty scrap whats left of the fleet and pimp out a whole new one in about a week or so... do you think that will stop the MWers from hating us?

Bernard: No of course not, but it would be totally silly and crazy and asine. I think it's a good idea lets do it.

Sorry for the sarcasam... nothing against MW Forumers I hang out here far more then on any Robotech board... but honestly I think it would be kinda silly to change all the ships at this point.

[bsu legato]

I'm not arguing for or against any of the ship designs. I just wanted to point out that Cory's premise was flawed. But his argument was more than likely a backhanded critique on Macross Zero anyway, which I'm sure in his eyes is an example of "flawed" continuity and needless retcons.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I myself would rather see them make up a brand new fourth storyline with unique units and characters with only minor ties to the previous parts... you know, follow in the "established tradition" of Robotech. Their attempts to tie everything together will just get weird if you ask me. I'd rather see a new saga with new good guys, new enemies and new mecha.

But that takes effort.

[bsu legato]

Their attempts to tie everything together will just get weird if you ask me.

Not to mention divisive. From what little I've gleaned from these topics, most of the current crop of RT material is being based on the notions of continuity put forth by one particular "faction," who i suppose has the ear of Yune & Co at HG. However, there's other groups who disagree, or at least grudginly accept whatever is being currently accepted as fact. Needless to say, whatever HG decideds to produce next year, it will have a hard time pleasing all of its fanbase.

[bandit29]

Their attempts to tie everything together will just get weird if you ask me.

Not to mention divisive. From what little I've gleaned from these topics, most of the current crop of RT material is being based on the notions of continuity put forth by one particular "faction," who i suppose has the ear of Yune & Co at HG. However, there's other groups who disagree, or at least grudginly accept whatever is being currently accepted as fact. Needless to say, whatever HG decideds to produce next year, it will have a hard time pleasing all of its fanbase.

Faction? Maybe its all those disgruntled hardcore SC fans(all five of them) who want to somehow resurrect all of the old SC characters and mechs in this new series. lol

"Its our time to shine" blah

[1st Border Red Devil]

Faction? Maybe its all those disgruntled hardcore SC fans(all five of them) who want to somehow resurrect all of the old SC characters and mechs in this new series.

Since that was a swipe at me....

It actually has nothing to do with the Southern Cross fanbase. We have more than five people smartass. Christ....

Its more about those that still cling futilely to Macek's version of The Sentinels, novel fans and the whole Early Return/Late Return debate. Then add in the few die-hard RPG fans who aren't either McKinneyists or Early Returners.

No company is going to satisfy everyone. Macross and Gundam are just as susceptible to factionalism as Robotech...or any other fanbase for that matter. It goes with the territory.

As for who is writing Shadow Force/Chronicles...it isn't Tommy Yune.

[lord_breetai]

Woot, GO BROOK GO!

Anyways yes it's not just us SC fans...

I myself like the sent movie (though not the story that flows past that point and Brook and I have argued over this many times)...

but I know that not all versions of Sent can fit with the anime... and even the movie is so so... and HG has come down softer on the movie since so many people yelled at them... but... eh.

You can probably even find fans of all the old comics who will get mad about them messing with those. You know... with a series with so many incarnations people are going to each like their own.

I've even same the same thing with the fandom of the Takarazuka Theater or the Sailor Moon Musicals... some people belive one incarnation of them is the best and nothing else since or before can live up to that... And the same thing will happen with Robotech.

But Brooks right about factionalism with Macross and Gundam...

Macross II Fans

Macross 7 Fans

UC Purist

Winger

Those are labels that apply to some fans of each series but not to all.

"If you worry about pleasing everyone you'll never get anything done"

Edited October 28, 2004 by lord_breetai