Macross in Japan

[ruskiiVFaussie]

dunno why they would be afraid to admit in loving macross, best varible mecha porn to date. And growing!

Edited July 24, 2008 by ruskiiVFaussie

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I have no doubt about that but that's because I am a fan. I'm talking about people who liked it but after 20 years would have forgotten about it. The reason being it was a show they saw 20 odd years ago and might have moved on.

Compared to gundam where there is more chance of multigenerational fanbase. I mean I remember a person posting to these boards a while ago complaining that whenever they showed macross at their high school anime club people would not care much for it. "it's old" Come on. We are fans. But we are not representative of the rest of society. The other guys must have moved on.

That is up till now with macross f showing of course. But before that people were acting so depressed that macross was a dead franchise with nothing new. When there is nothing new to talk about people's interest dies off after a time. So that's why I say, perhaps people have just plain forgot all about it?

Edited July 24, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[pochimus prime]

Yeah but gundam has far more shows to remind you that it's still around.

Macross fans are like members of a secret society too embarassed to admit the still talk about a "20 year old robot show" Why? because it's so old! It's not hip! Nobody you know remembers it. Ahaha just admit it. You get teased by the little kids on the street, and it reminds you that you are too old to be watching these shows! Most people are not going to remember something they saw 20 years ago. That's a huuuge gap.

Oh and don't say macross 7 - we all know that was just a dream sequence like the one hikaru had when he was unconscious in SDF:M. He wakes up from the dream and tells misa: "I had the strangest dream about singing to whales and valkyries with faces and furry mice that were so intelligent that they could understand human language and respond to it, even technology like how to shut off the power that runs an alien prison to rescue people. Pink valkyries, Milia singing, polka dot paintschemes...strange..There were even space elves and military valkyries with boobs!"

Not really. Macross 7 did very well in Japan. It had 49 episodes (which is quite a lot for anime standards), four OVAs, the Fire Bomber had about a dozen albums, and there was even a live concert. These indicate that Macross 7 was indeed popular during its time. The only problem is that it's never brought there in the US. Personally I found the Song Energy concept a bit meh, and I really don't like Basara (I like Gamlin a lot more) but it's still top notch.

Also, I find no reason to be embarrassed liking macross since its story's one of the best ever. It has a solid cult following, even here in our country. But since we're closer to Japan than you guys are, I guess that's a bit more expected. Macross and Robotech incarnations are both known here.

"Most people are not going to remember something they saw 20 years ago." - Are you sure about this? Because there are LOTS of indications that contradict this.

What I would agree, though, is that the Macross pace is much slower than Gundam. Studio Nue seems to take its time before releasing a proper series. This is a double-edged sword, as in one hand, there's less chances of Studio Nue jumping the shark and every new series does turn out absolutely top-notch. But on the other hand, the gap of each release is quite unhealthy IMO. I also agree that newer generation is being deprived of quality anime this way. Then again, Macross is a lot more mature, even by Japanese standards, so those who grew up with Macross 7 would recognize Macross Frontier.

Edited July 24, 2008 by pochimus prime

[ruskiiVFaussie]

I just can't imagine forgetting macross even if it was that many years back, maybe it's a combination of hectic lifestyle, and anime saturation? , mabe coz i'm too die

hard like most people on this forum, but then there should be those types in japan, and the need for a big forum.

Edited July 24, 2008 by ruskiiVFaussie

[big F]

Macross will never die GOD DAMMIT

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

I remember threads talking about how macross was dead in japan and that on hobby mags all you ever see is gundam this and gundam that. Ok maybe they don't completely forget macross, but what's past is past. Once minmay, misa and hikaru died a part of macross itself died because SK wanted to end macross through killing the fans' hopes of seeing more of those three characters.

Then along came macross plus which wasn't even supposed to be macross in the begining. Then macross 7 which became too metaphysical for old school fans to like. (ie didn't have the same feel as SDF:M and DYRL)

People pleaded for a destroid sidestory, some kind of macross show all about the supervision army, and many other things because they were tired of kiddy gundam shows at that point.

They were complaining that the creators of mecha shows had forsaken them and made stories only aimed at little kids. (it started with gundam wing?) Now because of that fans of the old show by that time must have just given up and so that is why you don't see japanese version of macross world. (over time they must have got impatient and lost interest altogether)

[valhary]

macross have a better history and mechanical designs that gundam so far!!!!!!

[Vifam7]

There are plenty of Macross fans in Japan. Just because there's no MW-like site doesn't mean the fans have disappeared. Healthy sales of Macross related goods confirm that.

As for forums, the folks in Japan are behind the times in regards to forum software. Most places still use BBS-type stuff. The horrid 2-chan is where you can find much discussion though.

Edited July 24, 2008 by Vifam7

[sketchley]

I remember when I came to Japan a short 5 years ago (has it really been 5 years?!?!) and getting an internet connection was a big push - and that was only the connection that comes over the phone lines. Nowadays, they're pushing fibre optic connections, but it's not as big nor as noticeable a push as the "get your first internet connection" was, 5 years ago.

I'm not saying that the internet hasn't been available before then. Just that it wasn't very affordable except for places like universities where uni students could get it for free (after paying tuition, etc..). So that, coupled with getting affordable computers that can do 4 byte characters with ease has delayed things internet in Japan.

Though, I probably am fuzzy in my facts, and the beer in my system may be twisting things.

[transfan52]

I remember when I came to Japan a short 5 years ago (has it really been 5 years?!?!) and getting an internet connection was a big push - and that was only the connection that comes over the phone lines. Nowadays, they're pushing fibre optic connections, but it's not as big nor as noticeable a push as the "get your first internet connection" was, 5 years ago.

I'm not saying that the internet hasn't been available before then. Just that it wasn't very affordable except for places like universities where uni students could get it for free (after paying tuition, etc..). So that, coupled with getting affordable computers that can do 4 byte characters with ease has delayed things internet in Japan.

Though, I probably am fuzzy in my facts, and the beer in my system may be twisting things.

no you are quite right... you see phone service and internet is way more expensive in japan than in america... The prices of phone service in japan was originally high in because of WWII and the lack of infastructure available to support telecommunications networks. now japans infastructure is pretty good by todays standards but the phone and internet companies have kept prices high to maintain heavy profits... This is why most ppl in japan don't use hard wired phones and prefer cell phone service because it is much cheaper.

This could obviously be another reason why there isn't a huge fansite dedicated to macross, because of the sheer amount of money it would take to have a high speed private server hosted over the internet.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

This is interesting, thanks for your input guys, i never knew.

Edited July 25, 2008 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Batou]

I think Gundam got popular than Macross in many countries because there are more Gundam animation than Macross animation. Hopefully, Macross Frontier will help getting more Macross fans.

Wasn't Gundam stuck in Japan for years due to licensing and distribution squabbles? Ditto for Dragonball?

In the US, at least, you didn't see ANYTHING Gundam outside otaku circles up until a 5 or so years ago. Gundam Seed (shudder) playing on Cartoon Network was the first real exposure it got over here as far as I know. Robotech, on the other hand, introduced an entire generation to anime in the mid 80's (yes, I'm aware of Speed Racer and Gatchaman, thank you), and while most men in my generation may have no idea what "Macross" is, if you show them a Roy VF-1S, they'll immediately recognize it from Robotech (or mistake it for Jetfire, which is understandable). I think this has a lot to do with Macross' popularity in the west.

[azrael]

Wasn't Gundam stuck in Japan for years due to licensing and distribution squabbles? Ditto for Dragonball?

Not really. Bandai USA probably just needed to build a decent income to bring over all the TV series. They did start out by bringing over 0083 and 0080 which were shorter.

In the US, at least, you didn't see ANYTHING Gundam outside otaku circles up until a 5 or so years ago. Gundam Seed (shudder) playing on Cartoon Network was the first real exposure it got over here as far as I know...

Gundam Wing was the first TV series to come to the USA. 0083 and 0080 were the first to be brought over. Then came Wing. This was around the 1990s.

[transfan52]

Unfortunately gundam's popularity as a series dwindled and disappeared by 2003. The only thing that kept it afloat in america was gundam wing really...