Where would it all be without the music?

[marx]

What if someone were to obtain movie rights for macross and rip out the entire music element of the story. Would you be for or against it? If one story element was to have precedence over the other which would you prefer, the love story or the action story?

[SpacyAce2012]

Music is one of the key ingredients of the story. Removing that angle radically changes the plot.

If one story element had precedence over the other, I would lean more toward action oriented.

[eugimon]

I wouldn't be opposed, if the purposes were for a western audience oriented, live action version. I still think that a "culture weapon" of some sort could be figured out, or the music could be used to awaken dormant memories, that sort of thing. But I think it would just be silly to see a singer standing on the bridge of a warship, singing, while a giant space battle wages.

That, and the whole 50 ft tall alien angle would need to be changed, imo. The 50 ft tall human angle has been completely co-opted by schlock B movies, and I think most western audiences would just laugh themselves silly over it.

[Boxer]

Didn't a certain american company attempt this when porting it over to the states?

Besides, Macross is the only show that I know of that treats music the way it does (As a psychological weapon, and as a source of spiritual energy). They go sorta overboard in M7 (Musical weapons!), but the concept was novel in the original Macross.

Remove that, and you take out 1/3rd of Macross. Transformers and love triangles are found elsewhere (Orguss, Mospedia..)

[Kamjin 639]

The added insinuation is that "would the importing company give the music the respect it deserves?"--and unfortunately, precedent doesn't stand well for affirming that idea. I still get shudders from Ishtar's English singing voice in Macross II, and Macross: Clash of the Bionoids pretty-much decided to cut-out half of the music instead. My opinion is that expecting this kind of treatment for a non-Japanese version of a Japanese production is flawed for two major reasons:

1) Japanese animation is exported and dubbed as a cheaper way for broadcasters (and now DVD sellers) to make money as an alternative to producing their own animated series. To expend more money than is necessary to get the job done is in direct conflict with this premise of "less work for the same money."

2) I might be just a purist on this one, but dubbing (in any form) removes the original soul of the series. Especially for something like Macross--where the music effectively is the soul of the series--to dub it out would not be acceptable even if it was good.

For those reasons, were Macross or any other Japanese animation to have it's music dubbed-out--well, if it did happen, due to economic considerations--it wouldn't be the same. Did ADV redub the Macross opening and ending themes, as well as Lynn-Minmay's songs for their recently-released English dubbed versions?--I haven't seen it, nor do I know the answer, but I can take a wild guess and say 'no, they didn't,' and it's precisely for the reasons I listed above.