New Macross series and/or movies please...

[Firefox]

Through out the years I could wee that Macross as a brand name is getting less and less momentum (at least the area I live in). Hasegawa models and Yamato toys had done a great job in bring back the momentum but it did not last for too long.

The number of Macross fans in my area is shrinking since the last three years. Many of them has either switch to Gundam, Transformers or other anime. Many of the old members of Macrossworld has left the forum as well. As a Macross fan, it sadden me. I still remember the good old day where updates in Macrossworld were so frequent and there were news on Macross almost on regular basis.

Even though Macross Zero series has done some good jobs, but the period spread between each series has taken its toll. I don't know what the Japanese are thinking. One of the market rules is not to let your target customers/audiences to wait for too long. One must always keep it going when the target customers' interest is high. Another example is Supersylph Yukikaze. At the begining, many people were interested in it and the hope was high. For now, many may still remember it, but the interest may not as high anymore. If the interest goes down, it will affect sales, the next better continuous project (if there is) would be even harder to come by.

In contrast, Gundam and Transformers are doing pretty well. They have regular series and new toy/model designs to keep the interest. They also diversified their product design to capture younger customers while retaining the now matured customers. Alternators/Binaltech from Transformers are a successful example to keep the old fans who are now more matured.

I hope Macross would have similar strategy to keep the fans' interest. Longer series and/or more variety of products (not just re-coloring) are some of the keys to build up and keep the fans' interest.

This is just my little opinion...

Edited October 7, 2004 by Firefox

[KingNor]

i guess you dont remember the really REALLY slow times before the big boom a few years ago.

i'm not that worried and honestly, i'd like it if ONE of my favorite's from my kid-hood didn't get mangled in a new re-imagiend version now-a-days.

Macross kinda reminds me of THE MAXX. A pretty un-well known comic that ended up as a cartoon on MTV. all of a sudden a bunch of people who had NOTHING invested in the storyline were all into it for all the wrong reasons.

I'd like to see new stuff. I don't need any remakes or new versions of Macross.

[Renato]

KN is right. If it seems like the Macross "hype" is dying down, that is probably true, since this golden age can't go on forever. But be aware that Macross World was born at around the time that Yamato released its first toy -- the YF-19 -- thus kickstarting the current situation.

Ever since then we've been in a second Macross boom. What about all those years that went by without anything happening at all, rejoicing when one finally tracked down something like a Joons (at the time -- Fools Gold: just as good as the real thing)?

Well, it has to end sometime. But I don't think we'll see the end of Macross itself, there'll probably be another boom in a few years' time, who knows? Looking at the 1/48 line, I wonder if this design could ever be improved upon.

But you never know, maybe we'll get 1/48 Fire Valkyries and Stealth Valkyries by Yamato once the M7 generation become full-time salarymen.

As for the series, I guess what we really need is a new TV series. But the reason Kawamori doesn't seem to want to go down that route is probably because to get good ratings you have to compromise a lot these days....

Edited October 7, 2004 by Renato

[Firefox]

Yes, there was a long wait between the early 80's and early 90's. Since the Yamato YF-19, the momentum was getting ahead, but how long did it last? Yamato 1/48 VF-1 is marvelous achievement and it is our dream come true. But since then, 1/48 line are mostly re-color. Many members had voiced out that it had oversaturated the market. The price for 1/48 in some shops has gone as low as US$85.00 ( I bought one then )!

Macross Zero has long been released and it is almost reaching the end of the series, yet the first transforming toy of the series is not even on the market (though it's coming - but without a confirmed date)! Luckily, Hasegawa did save some of the days with their models line-up. Otherwise, Macross Zero could more or less like the Supersylph Yukikaze.

I happened to talk to an old Macrossworld member some times ago. He used to be a great Macross sellers, but now his shop is full of Gundam, Transformers and other anime stuff. He just told me plainly that he can't survive for long if he only sells Macross as he used to be. Before the re-issue and the Yamato line, he was able to cut many deals as the original items could fetch a very good price. With the new Macross items and re-issues, the price of the original items drops dramatically and YET the new product variety is too limited and it usually did not come in conjunction with the series and there are always delay. Though the Hasegawa models did help out but it is not as widely accepted as toys.

I'm giving my perspective of Macross as a brand and marketing view. Having new items and re-issues are good for the general public as it makes Macross items more affordable. But irregular launch date without synchronisation with promotional media (tv series, movies, etc) and limited product variety, one is killing the distribution line. And thus it also kill the most effective way to keep up the interest - mouth to mouth recommendation and the brand name.

Of course, Macross won't just disappear, it may resurrect from time to time. But if, each resurrection has smaller fan base, it is really not good for long. My wife used to stay in the most rural area when she was a child. She had then heard and seen Transformers and Gundam before, but sadly not Macross. I really hope there is something could be done to maintain the interest and brand name of Macross.

[MAXXxxx]

Macross kinda reminds me of THE MAXX. A pretty un-well known comic that ended up as a cartoon on MTV. all of a sudden a bunch of people who had NOTHING invested in the storyline were all into it for all the wrong reasons.

mmm, I still like that one, very weird and all, but I loved it.

as for macross it's too little release in too long time --> can't hope to compete with the new 1ep/week shows , no matter how bad those are...

but that's liff.

[Smiley424]

With all the talk of customized mecha in Mac7 and valks being owned by civilians in the Star Trek Syndrome thread, I want to see a new series follow like a mercenary/explorer bounty hunter group that fly their own "tricked" out valks. Have it set around the time period when Mac7 occurs so that we can get a nice selection of valks to work with (finally the VF-4 will get more significant screentime ). Have the characters work and interact with the seamy underside of the Macross Universe: bounties, hits, smuggling, pirating. I guess what I'm looking for is some kind of crazy combination of Macross, Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star.

[Panon]

I'd rather have no Macross that something made just for the sake of being new and furthering a franchise.

Macross has been about quality over quantity and having series that are all unique in the own way, rather than churning out series after series based on a successful formula or style on a regular basis.

[macplus]

I'd rather have no Macross that something made just for the sake of being new and furthering a franchise.

Like the crappy M7 right?

[Skull Leader]

But be aware that Macross World was born at around the time that Yamato released its first toy -- the YF-19 -- thus kickstarting the current situation.

Err, I'm fairly certain that MW was around for at least a year before that... because I was posting on the very first board around late 98 or so (at least as near as I can remember) And before that most of us were on Alt. fan. Macross.

Edited October 8, 2004 by Skull Leader

[nathan]

I think there is a lot of lack of interest on the part of fans. There's nothing really to get behind. Most of Macross consists of small 4-5 episode series that most fans would miss if they blinked. The only real big Macross series is 7 and many Macross fans haven't really gotten behind M7. Personally I haven't really gotten behind much of anything new in Macross other than some of the designs.

I got this list from another thread and changed it to reflect my views.

Macross TV -great

Macross DYRL -great

Macross Flashback 2012 - ok

Macross II - liked it but not great

Macross Plus - was watchable but don't really care for it.

Macross 7 - depending on the episode and story arch it was either ok or barely tolerable.

Macross Encore 7 - ok

Macross Dynamite 7 - kind of liked it

Macross Zero - Doesn't really interest me.

With so little "quality macross" and so many other good anime our there macross is going to be forgotten.

I could see a new version or the orginal Macross. Not only would it bring in new fans as well as old but it would hopefully more acurately blend the official story and official designs from the TV series and the movie along with 2012. I could easily see the new series running at least as long as M7. In fact I hope for one for those very reasons.

As for other Macross series I'd like to see something longer than 5 episodes long. I'd also like to see a ground war. Something where the VFs are the secondary mecha. I don't want to see pilot's who've never even seen a mecha before operate it with no problems.

As for Transformers. I still like transformers and beast wars was pretty good although confusing at times but there's so many other transformere series now that I haven't a glue what's going on. I wouldn't mind trying to watch them to give them a chance but they're not on in my area and I dont have cable.

Edited October 8, 2004 by nathan

[azrael]

I think there is a lot of lack of interest on the part of fans.

*snip*

Remember, Macross isn't shoved down our throats like Gundam. Big difference in terms of marketing here.

The only real big Macross series is 7 and many Macross fans haven't really gotten behind M7.

Depends on which set of fans we are talking about. But again, marketing comes into play. Macross has never been marketed to the point where I see it on the cover of every magazine on the shelf.

I could see a new version or the orginal Macross.  Not only would it bring in new fans as well as old but it would hopefully more acurately blend the official story and official designs from the TV series and the movie along with 2012.

Remake the original? Why? We've got games that do that.

I could easily see the new series running at least as long as M7. In fact I hope for one for those very reasons.

I would love a long series, but that would be up to the studio to decide. As I see it, CG VFs is the way to go but, that takes time and money. TV series are, generally (with the exception being GitS:SAC, but SAC was stretched out to 2 episodes per month, giving the production crew plenty of time and money to produce it), not funded as well and are under time constraints. Most TV series production schedules run about 1-2 months ahead of the air date.

I'd also like to see a ground war. Something where the VFs are the secondary mecha.

Unfortunately, VFs are Macross' trademark mecha. If we want a ground war, we would be watching Gundam.

[nathan]

Depends on which set of fans we are talking about.  But again, marketing comes into play. Macross has never been marketed to the point where I see it on the cover of every magazine on the shelf.

True. Many are and Many aren't. That's why I didn't say all or most. Just many. And Macross hasn't really been marketed much as there hasn't been anything to market.

Remake the original? Why? We've got games that do that.

1 For the reasons I said. To make one unified Macross story. Not one official story and one official design.

2. The video games aren't readily available nor can everyone afford all of the game consoles and operating systems it'll take to play them. While the animation is available on the 20th aniversary disc unless your's is subtitled you don't know whats going on. And they don't really retell but add too the story in small ways or are considered alternative universes.

3. Bring in new fans who don't like the older animation.

4. To see events and mecha that exist inthe officail timling animated. Wouldn't you like to see the fall of the Protoculture Empire and the beginnings of the Space war between the Zentraedi and the Supervision Army? The development of the destroids, building of the mars base and earths fleet, and the test flights of the VF-1? How about the rebuilding of the factory satellite and the construction of the Megaroad 1 and the deployment of the VF-4? There's a lot of Macross that is in the timeling but never animated. I know I'd like to see them. There's also a lot of unexplained things or things explained that don't make sense that I'd like to see clarified.

5. To see SDF Macross on USA TV without HG having a say about it. They'll have the Macross Saga and we can watch the Official difinitive version of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, with the Official Story and Design. And HG can go boil thier heads!

6. And as all merchandising and sequals are for this new completel BW/SN Macross we'll be able to see all the other sequals as well without resorting to bootlegs.

I would love a long series, but that would be up to the studio to decide. As I see it, CG VFs is the way to go but, that takes time and money. TV series are, generally (with the exception being GitS:SAC, but SAC was stretched out to 2 episodes per month, giving the production crew plenty of time and money to produce it), not funded as well and are under time constraints. Most TV series production schedules run about 1-2 months ahead of the air date

True. It is up to them to deside. I was just stating my hopes. A new version of macross could extend to 48 or more episodes. And while I'm not going to expect it anytime soon I'd still love to see it.

Unfortunately, VFs are Macross' trademark mecha. If we want a ground war, we would be watching Gundam.

That's true and explains why the Cheyenne and the Octos are variable. Still the destroids were deployed earlier than the VFs. I'd like to see them in action with the gradual increase in VF numbers. I don't nessiccarily believe we'd be watching Gundam just because its a ground war. Dougram is supposed to be a well done ground war with mecha. A ground war in Macross could be like that or it could be something totaly different. It would depend on the story. Even just using more ground mecha because there's a shortage of VFs would be nice. Colony Miilitia forces or something.

What I don't want to see is another rewriting of history and more advanced mecha in an earlier time period. Basically what we see in Macross 0.

(Yes I know the "Official" explaination for the VF-0 but it doesn't work and there's no room in the official time line for it to happen. Nor does it explain the Anti UN Forces developing variable technology. Reanimating Macross and having that in the series would solve that problem. It'd be a great story too.

And I know the CGI animation makes things look more advanced but how can those air breathing engines make manuevers like that without stalling out? And flying semi variable destroids and variable submarines? The destroids in Macross can't do anything like that.)

[AlphaHX]

the Destroid Cheyenne is variable!?!?!

did i miss something???

[Dangard Ace]

the Destroid Cheyenne is variable!?!?!

did i miss something???

Yeah. It turns from a Destroid to a pile of junk real well.

[azrael]

2. The video games aren't readily available nor can everyone afford all of the game consoles and operating systems it'll take to play them.

They are readily avaliable, in Japan. The target audience is Japanese, not American. The product may be designed to enter an easy transition phase to an American audience, but the design is still Japanese, and that is who they will produce for.

[ewilen]

4. To see events and mecha that exist inthe officail timling animated. Wouldn't you like to see the fall of the Protoculture Empire and the beginnings of the Space war between the Zentraedi and the Supervision Army? The development of the destroids, building of the mars base and earths fleet, and the test flights of the VF-1? How about the rebuilding of the factory satellite and the construction of the Megaroad 1 and the deployment of the VF-4? There's a lot of Macross that is in the timeling but never animated. I know I'd like to see them. There's also a lot of unexplained things or things explained that don't make sense that I'd like to see clarified.

No, I don't need to see the entire background of the Macross universe animated in boring detail. We know most of these facts well enough; presenting them in a straight narrative fashion would just be a tedious rehashing if there isn't a good tale to tell. That isn't to say I wouldn't mind exploring them in other ways--e.g., in the course of an anime where the UN Spacy contacts the Supervision Army.

For your needs, I think some sort of print encyclopedia would be a more useful presentation. But as has been made clear over the course of several threads, it's doubtful that Kawamori is really all that interested in building a complete, consistent, detailed "world", unlike Tolkien (unfortunately) or Lucas (fortunately).

5. To see SDF Macross on USA TV without HG having a say about it. They'll have the Macross Saga and we can watch the Official difinitive version of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, with the Official Story and Design. And HG can go boil thier heads!

6. And as all merchandising and sequals are for this new completel BW/SN Macross we'll be able to see all the other sequals as well without resorting to bootlegs.

Nope, reanimating Macross will not help with the HG embargo. If it did, then HG would not have been able to block the Macross Plus toys. (If you have questions about this, please read the licensing thread and/or post there.)

[LePoseur]

I for one am so glad that Macross has not gone the way of Gundam. It's been crap, crap, crap for almost 10 years now. The saddest thing about Gundam is even though it's completely devoid of any originality its marketing muscle smothers out smaller productions.

While no one should be fooled into thinking that either show doesn't have making money in mind, I tend to view the Macross franchise as still having an artistic vision behind it. (except for Macross II which seems to me to have been a Gundam style money grab.) If Kawamori doesn't have a new story to tell, I'm glad he doesn't force it.

One other side note, I love Mac 7, but I really was disappointed by Dynamite. Sure it looked nice, but... oh well. Anyhow the thing that interests me is that I've seen many people's ranking of the series and it seems that a lot of people who hate Mac 7, think the OVA was OK. Any reason behind that? Just curious.

Edited October 11, 2004 by LePoseur

[Firefox]

As for other Macross series I'd like to see something longer than 5 episodes long. I'd also like to see a ground war. Something where the VFs are the secondary mecha. I don't want to see pilot's who've never even seen a mecha before operate it with no problems.

Yeah, I want to see something more than 5 episodes and the period of waiting between each episode dramatically cut down. And definitely not a person that has not seen a mecha before but able to pilot it without problem, unless the series or movies are targeted for 13 years old and below.

[mikeszekely]

I (and I may be the vast minority here) would rather not see a remake of the original Macross. Why should Studio Nue and Big West waste their time and resources to create a story that's already been created? Why should I spend money to acquire said series, when I already spent good money on the Animeigo release of the original version? Just so the creators can revist some subplot they intended to include, but never got around to? Or maybe just to have prettier animation? No thanks. The animation might not be the best ever, but SDF Macross is fine the way it is.

Besides, there's plenty of other unexplored areas of the Macross universe. If Studio Nue wants to make more Macross, let it be brand new.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

What I would like to see is the destruction of the UN by a new anti UN threat whereby the zentreadi (rebels who are like kamjin) rise to power somehow and manage to start thier own underground resistance to the UN and manipulate a great number to follow under thier rule. (this would be the backstory not the main story of the series)

I think given that the zentreadi made peace in SWI there would be racism amoungst many humans and this tension could be manipulated to start more wars.(remember there was a hint of this in macross plus: "You would trust a Zentreadi Half-breed?!" I'm pretty sure people scrapped thier politically correct attitude when the time came to be serious or they weren't being watched in a public place)

The music would be more melancholic and sad, and not happy like pop songs singing about love. I liked the stories in mospeada (I've only seen the robotech version) where the struggle to make do with nothing and keep up the fight on the ground is the emphasis of the series. They could do something similar to this where earth is ravaged by these neo zentreadi rebels who have taken control and humans become the weaker slaves to them (like planet of the apes? ) and must fight back using thier knowledge of mecha to stand a chance. It would be destroids only, relying on unorthodox tactics to outsmart the zentreadi and no flying around or fancy acrobatics. And there would be no time for culture since the old ways of the ancienct zentreadi would be revived and every effort and resource would be focused on manufacture of military weapons.

It would also have some humour (the character would be like hogan's heroes just joking) and each character would have to be interesting to me. Ok so it's not original but its an idea. The idea of variable destroids would mean more toys. We are so used to seeing them get blown up I think they get neglected. the humans of course would not win the war against these zentreadi rebels since the rebels will be accustomed to our own culture and there would be much conspiracy and backstabbing and deciet where even some of the humans learnt to sympathise with these rebels for a good deal. (another theme explored in mospeada)

These newer zentreadi would be much smarter than what they were in sw1 and more ruthless (they would consider themselves the pure race, the great survivors who should carry on the next generation and not mix with the weaker humans, because it would spoil and pollute thier race with weaker unecessary genes)

It would not be as kiddy as macross 7, but really serious where the heroes actually die and nobody can predict anything. (no more max type characters taking all the glory, this is a war epic where the main characters are struggling for thier lives. All of max descendants would have been killed in a bombing or somehting heh)

In summary it would be the "what if Kamjin ever rose to power and got his revenge on the weak humans after all, by starting his own underground cult, ideology and political party, and a great portion of pure zentreadi voted him into power?" story. The main theme of this story would be that the fight for independance from slavery is eternal vigilance. Love/peace can't last forever - the threat of human extinction would come back to haunt us once again and the enemies are more subversive and unpredicitable this time. It would be the counterpoint to the SW1 theme of trying to pacify the zentreadi, instead of accepting them as dangerous enemies and a threat to the control of power by humans at a time of human complacency. Not all sides would agree with the UN on many topics, and we would see a great divide and split of power once again just like the wars that were on earth before SW1 and the wars the protoculture were trying to escape in the macross movie. (with the rebels having helped start these wars in secret and manipulating leaders to thier causes)

Of course the humans (and zentreadi allies who are against the powerful new cult) would beat them when they developed more advanced valkyries, but help wouldn't come till the very end of the series when only 1 main character in the story survives to tell the tale about the earth resistance. Either way it wouldn't be a happy story despite being a victory for the humans again. But this would at least leave the series open-ended.

4. To see events and mecha that exist inthe officail timling animated. Wouldn't you like to see the fall of the Protoculture Empire and the beginnings of the Space war between the Zentraedi and the Supervision Army? The development of the destroids, building of the mars base and earths fleet, and the test flights of the VF-1? How about the rebuilding of the factory satellite and the construction of the Megaroad 1 and the deployment of the VF-4? There's a lot of Macross that is in the timeling but never animated. I know I'd like to see them. There's also a lot of unexplained things or things explained that don't make sense that I'd like to see clarified.

I would love to see the wars the aliens were having against themselves. Also to parrallel this I would like to see the wars we were having with the anti un. It's an excuse to keep the interest alive, and make money. If the Anti un had the transformable mecha before the UN it would mean some interesting fights imo. We would learn the value of weapons that could adapt to the environment and how this got incorporated into the earlier designs of future weapons but couldn't be made at the time due to costs or other reasons like human technology and knowhow slowing progress uintil alien tech came to speed up our understanding. (so it would be like these were the 'one of a kind' vehicles only the best could be trusted to use and show off. The unique nature of transformation would be treated like new subject matter again and the mystery of what the vehicles could do would hold the audience attention as opposed to having the transforms down to a standard science that is used in everything)

I would like to see the experiments the protoculture were having with genetic engineering and modification to make super soldiers and how this affected thier way of life. Would all people in that civilisation agree with its use? Was there strong opposition? What happened when all this stuff was being done in secret (if it was't officially allowed? Could the different sides trust each other NOT to make weapons out of fear, sparking an arms race of bioweapons?) Lots of little details.

In the original series the supervision army is something we never got to see. This could be confusing without some visual aids of what actually happened to make them extinct. Kind of the equivalent of tolkiens march against sauron in the first Lotr movie.

Edited October 11, 2004 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Firefox]

Yes, I agree with 1/1 Lowviz Lurker. The stories, if possible, make it something like Mospeada. The war, the struggle and occasional jokes. I don't mind the music, pop or not, it should follow the environment and situation (not the other way round).

All in all, the target audience or many of the original Macross fans have grown up.

[nathan]

AlphaHX

It's semi variable. Portions of the legs fold out so it can zip around on wheels. The arms also rotate so it can use the hands on the oposite sides of the arms.

No, I don't need to see the entire background of the Macross universe animated in boring detail. We know most of these facts well enough; presenting them in a straight narrative fashion would just be a tedious rehashing if there isn't a good tale to tell. That isn't to say I wouldn't mind exploring them in other ways--e.g., in the course of an anime where the UN Spacy contacts the Supervision Army.

Not everyone knows all the back story. I didn't until I found the Compendium and even it doesn't fit with what's official. And I don't meen a boring narative either. How could seeing the Protocultures getting wiped out be boring?

For your needs, I think some sort of print encyclopedia would be a more useful presentation. But as has been made clear over the course of several threads, it's doubtful that Kawamori is really all that interested in building a complete, consistent, detailed "world", unlike Tolkien (unfortunately) or Lucas (fortunately).

If that was available then all that would be left to do is reanimate macross to correct the parts in the story that can't happen with the official designs. And who said Kawamori had to do it anyway?

Nope, reanimating Macross will not help with the HG embargo. If it did, then HG would not have been able to block the Macross Plus toys. (If you have questions about this, please read the licensing thread and/or post there.) 

I think it would and I don't need to go ask. If other Macross couldn't get in Models, DVDs, Tapes, and CDs of M+, MII, and even M7 would not be available. The big problem was a lack of customers.

azrael

I'm aware of that but Macross has a global audience. When you only produce for a select part of your audience everyone else is going to go away which is why Macross isn't as big anymore.

I (and I may be the vast minority here) would rather not see a remake of the original Macross. Why should Studio Nue and Big West waste their time and resources to create a story that's already been created? Why should I spend money to acquire said series, when I already spent good money on the Animeigo release of the original version? Just so the creators can revist some subplot they intended to include, but never got around to? Or maybe just to have prettier animation? No thanks. The animation might not be the best ever, but SDF Macross is fine the way it is.

Besides, there's plenty of other unexplored areas of the Macross universe. If Studio Nue wants to make more Macross, let it be brand new.

Because Mike if we go by what's official the true story of Macross has not been animated. If it was just a case of including extra plot points or having prettier animation, then OAVs could do it. What I'm talking about it a unified true story of Macross. As it is now events in the official story can not happen with the official designs. If the TV series and Movie were still separate universes and all the sequal and prequals were for the movie then there would be no problem. However that is not the case. They are mashed into one universe that doesn't work. With each new Macross story the original gets more twisted and rewritten. The original Macross no longer fits in with the rest. That's what I'd like to see fixed and if I get to see a lot of other things as well, even better.

1/1 Lowviz lurker

Lets not get into this gene thing again please. Unless it's been rewritten and no ones told me Zentraedi are still genetically identical to humans. If that isn't true you'd think they'd want human genes as humans are smarter and better fighters.

I do suppose a macross story like mospedea would be possible but I wouldn't want to see a macross version of it.

Edited October 12, 2004 by nathan

[Gaijin]

Let it go.

Macross will go on...when they want it to...not when we do apparently.

[ewilen]

Nope, reanimating Macross will not help with the HG embargo. If it did, then HG would not have been able to block the Macross Plus toys. (If you have questions about this, please read the licensing thread and/or post there.) 

I think it would and I don't need to go ask. If other Macross couldn't get in Models, DVDs, Tapes, and CDs of M+, MII, and even M7 would not be available. The big problem was a lack of customers.

Hard to understand what you're saying here, but if you did go to the thread, you'd learn that M+ and MII made it over before HG starting trying to monopolize the Macross market in the US. M7 has never been legally distributed in the US (although the reasons are somewhat more complicated than just HG). Ever since HG blocked the sale of the M+ Valk toys, they have been successful in keeping any and all subsequent Macross products from licensed US distribution. (Largely world distribution, too--sole exception was M7 Trash, distributed in some European countries.)

Macross Plus has less to do with SDF Macross than any reanimation would. So if HG can block M+ toys, there's every reason to believe that they could block stuff associated with a reanimation or remake of the original series.

(Note that I'm not arguing that HG's blockade is correct, fair, or legal. Merely that it's been successful so far.)

The real proof of whether HG can continue its blockade will be whether M0 makes it to the States.

Again, if you'd like to continue this line of discussion, let's take it to the licensing debate thread.

Edit: Clarity.

Edited October 12, 2004 by ewilen

[TheLoneWolf]

Lots of good ideas regarding a new Macross series, but whatever it's about, a new series must revolve around singing (at least according to Kawamori). In the Macross universe, there are only so many ways that you can weave it in without compromising the story. Macross Plus did a great job of integrating into the story, while Macross Zero seems to be stretching it.

I hate to come off as blasphemous, but Kawamori hasn't had a 'hit' in recent memory. I have to wonder if sticking to a formulaic plot (singing saves the day) will help Kawamori develop interesting and original stories, all the while keeping his trademark Valkyries.

[Firefox]

Yup! Singing-saves-the-day plot has been a little bit over stretched. It has been used over 20+ years. Macross II used it and failed. M7 used it, the result is OK.

Could it be one day Macross is made by having another story line and focus more on the mecha's capability and design? I really hope it will. All in all, I'm the Macross fan who like it because of its mecha design, not the singing part. I'm not saying the songs in Macross is not good. They are in fact, quite good; but if the story was 'forced' to tag along the songs, it just make the whole scene weird. If singing is a weapon, they don't need transforming mecha, they need good quality speakers that could project the song into deep space to distract the enemies and use ultra range homing missle to destroy them.

All in all, IMO, M0 has a better story line. At least, the singing part incorporated appropriately to the story. And most importantly, it showcased more on the mechas' capability.

[Seven]

I hate to come off as blasphemous, but Kawamori hasn't had a 'hit' in recent memory. I have to wonder if sticking to a formulaic plot (singing saves the day) will help Kawamori develop interesting and original stories, all the while keeping his trademark Valkyries.

Didn't Kawamori conceive and direct Escaflowne? IMO that anime was a "hit" or at the very least a minor success. The music and animation were great and the story was really enjoyable. There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived.

[hellohikaru]

They could make a series based on the VFX-2 storyline.

No more vf-11maxl custom please.

[CoryHolmes]

I hate to come off as blasphemous, but Kawamori hasn't had a 'hit' in recent memory.  I have to wonder if sticking to a formulaic plot (singing saves the day) will help Kawamori develop interesting and original stories, all the while keeping his trademark Valkyries.

Didn't Kawamori conceive and direct Escaflowne? IMO that anime was a "hit" or at the very least a minor success. The music and animation were great and the story was really enjoyable. There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived.

As Lone Wolf said, very formulaic.

[Final Vegeta]

As Lone Wolf said, very formulaic.

What was the formula, in Escaflowne?

FV

[CoryHolmes]

As Lone Wolf said, very formulaic.

What was the formula, in Escaflowne?

FV

There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived.

Right there.

[TheLoneWolf]

I consider Escaflowne a hit, but it came out seven years ago. I don't think that qualifies as "recent"

[Renato]

I hate to come off as blasphemous, but Kawamori hasn't had a 'hit' in recent memory.  I have to wonder if sticking to a formulaic plot (singing saves the day) will help Kawamori develop interesting and original stories, all the while keeping his trademark Valkyries.

Didn't Kawamori conceive and direct Escaflowne? IMO that anime was a "hit" or at the very least a minor success. The music and animation were great and the story was really enjoyable. There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived.

Kawamori co-created Escaflowne with Hajime Yatate (of Cowboy Bebop fame), and also wrote a few scripts and storyboards for some of the episodes (along with Shinichiro Watanabe, trivia fans). He did not direct it, that was done by Akane... something. I forget.

[Renato]

As Lone Wolf said, very formulaic.

What was the formula, in Escaflowne?

FV

There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived.

Right there.

I didn't think it was that formulaic, I love the show -- the way all the characters have complex backgrounds and their relations make for exciting viewing, and the pacing is spot-on, much better than Macross 7 which drags on forever and SDF Macross which skips around because of the way it got screwed around with (first 50-odd episodes, then 26, then 36, etc.).

Maybe I don't think it's formulaic because I really haven't seen that much TV anime from start to finish, but in the very least I don't think you can apply the "Macross formula" to Esca.

As a side note, the Esca movie was interesting in the way it changed a lot of the TV elements around, and I like it to an extent, but as a movie in itself it's no good -- too short with a very shallow story and characters.

[nathan]

Yes HGs blockaid has been successful but it wont last forever. It's already on shaky ground. A newer version of Macross could finish it. Also M7 materials were available here. They were just in specialty shops. I didn't see any toys tho but given thier price that's not surprising. As for MO I rented the first 4 at a video store so I think M7 will be here sooner or later. And that's all I'll say about that as thread is for new series.

I do think a new version of Macross would be nice but it probably wont happen. I'd rather buy it than M0 though. However I had this idea at work. How about a series of short OVAs, kind of like M7 had. Each can be used for a background story, or to correct a story design conflict.

One episode could have Britai beign told about the Megaroad 1's dissapearence and he remembers his first meeting with Hikaru Misa Max and Ben (Cant remembe the name) Only in his flashback the "official designs" are used and the events changes slightly to reflect them. And this flash back would represnt the true "Official" version of the events and replaces that in the series.

Other episodes could be about the history of the destroid from Earth Trekker to the Variable Monster, about VF history includign the VF-5 andother official but unseen VFs. There could be one with global in command of an oberth taking on the terrorists. The early days of the UN Spacy with the official ARMDs in action. Roy's flying career. The refit of the SDF-1. Protoculture history. All kinds of stories all in a 10-12 minuet episodes.