Robelwell202 Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 I find it strange that a franchise so huge gets little mention here in the UK. That's because RT isn't that big.
Einherjar Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) I find it strange that a franchise so huge gets little mention here in the UK. From what I've seen in Robotech's legacy, it used to be huge content wise, with comics, novels, etc. making it bigger than it really was. But recently, HG took back everything they ever considered progress for the franchise and left only completed animation as the real story (stuff they really did not work on). Everything else changed from canon/mostly canon to expendable merchandise. People can still enjoy them, but to the creative staff it's not real Robotech. It's a backhand to a lot of fans meaning they wasted a lot of money following storylines that used to be official, but thanking them for their support. In turn, what they're doing with Robotech now, Shadow Chronicles, isn't seen as real Robotech from a lot of the people HG has pissed off. And with the LAM, there will probably be another version of Robotech going to replace the older versions, since it might be original for a change and free from legal snarls. Bombarded with all of this information, I'm not really sure what Robotech really is supposed to be about anymore. It's all very shallow these days. Edited January 9, 2010 by Einherjar
Funkenstein Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 DBZ was really what made Japanese animation take off in the USA. Robotech, on the other hand, got superseded by Akira and the various hard sci-fi shows like VOTOMS and Starship Troopers. Robotech was sort of where pulp science fiction books were prior to the 30's, while the newer shows brought more mature themes that you can trace to 1960's science fiction.
Bri Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) I've never really heard of robotech, till the late 90s, i'd already seen macross and gundam at that time thanks to relatives from hong kong bringing it over. I have since learned that robotech was shown in the UK but no one in my generation watched it or even talked about it. Everyone remembers transformers, thundercats turtles...........etc, but not robotech. I find it strange that a franchise so huge gets little mention here in the UK. It aired in the eighties on Super Channel which was a UK based satellite channel, some cable networks also relayed that station. Not sure how early it was broadcasted in France, they were pretty early with bringing over anime. As a result RT is pretty obscure in most of Western Europe. It had virtually no impact here on anime. The really early stuff was things like Remi: Nobodies boy, Blue Noah, Candy Candy, Maya the Bee, Sinbad, Galaxy Express, Gatchaman, Albacore(Harlock) etc. Come to think of it Macross is actually better known then RT as Macross Plus was pretty much sold everywhere when Manga video started to sell DVDs. Edited January 9, 2010 by Bri
jenius Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 DBZ was really what made Japanese animation take off in the USA. Robotech, on the other hand, got superseded by Akira and the various hard sci-fi shows like VOTOMS and Starship Troopers. Robotech was sort of where pulp science fiction books were prior to the 30's, while the newer shows brought more mature themes that you can trace to 1960's science fiction. I'm confused as to why you mentioned VOTOMS. I mean, I get that it's a hard sci-fi show (mostly) but it is also pretty ancient and I don't think it had much impact in the US. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan, but I don't think it's really relevant in a conversation about US anime.
Seto Kaiba Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) But don't forget the once-mentioned but never-actually-heard Robotech song, "My Boyfriend Is a Pilot." Wonder what that one was supposed to sound like...? About three minutes of silence... why? But recently, HG took back everything they ever considered progress for the franchise and left only completed animation as the real story (stuff they really did not work on). Everything else changed from canon/mostly canon to expendable merchandise. People can still enjoy them, but to the creative staff it's not real Robotech. It's a backhand to a lot of fans meaning they wasted a lot of money following storylines that used to be official, but thanking them for their support. In turn, what they're doing with Robotech now, Shadow Chronicles, isn't seen as real Robotech from a lot of the people HG has pissed off. Well, compared to many of the seemingly nonsensical decisions made by Harmony Gold's creative staff in the past few years, the decision to shed the confused mess of licensed merchandise that accumulated while they weren't paying attention to what their licensees were doing with a continuity reboot is a fairly logical decision. It might not have gone over well with the fans who'd spent a fair bit of money collecting those comics, but it was done for sound reasons... issues of low quality aside, the vast majority of those comics contradict each other and the core continuity of the series. It'd be one thing if they could fit those stories into a coherent whole, but with few exceptions they're independent one-off stories, none of which jive with each other. Most of them are just cheap, low-quality comics churned out to squeeze a bit more cash from a dying property. Edited January 9, 2010 by Seto Kaiba
Beltane70 Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I still laugh when I remember seeing MEMO claim on rt.com that Robotech had a huge following in the UK! However, a friend of mine in London told me otherwise.
Einherjar Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Those comics and such are so much better to keep in the story rather than starting something new and leaving the entire franchise at an ellipsis for years once again. Turns out they took all of that out with nothing to replace them with. And when they did have something, it was as low quality as what they got rid of. Edited January 9, 2010 by Einherjar
Wanzerfan Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I believe pokeman and all that jazz are responsible for the explosion of anime/ japanese pop culture in the west and not robotech, at least in the UK. Before pokemon there was hardly any anime available in the shops except for a few crap releases from manga entertainment. I've never really heard of robotech, till the late 90s, i'd already seen macross and gundam at that time thanks to relatives from hong kong bringing it over. I have since learned that robotech was shown in the UK but no one in my generation watched it or even talked about it. Everyone remembers transformers, thundercats turtles...........etc, but not robotech. I find it strange that a franchise so huge gets little mention here in the UK. look up a Robotech fan by the name of goldfish over at Robotech.com, if he hasn't gotten his ass banned, that is.
Saraphys Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I still laugh when I remember seeing MEMO claim on rt.com that Robotech had a huge following in the UK! However, a friend of mine in London told me otherwise. Oh, well I can totally see it... I mean, just look at all the UK members on Robotech.com... you have Goldie (GM Murdock)... and...
Jasonc Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 I still laugh when I remember seeing MEMO claim on rt.com that Robotech had a huge following in the UK! However, a friend of mine in London told me otherwise. Robotech, no matter how hard people try to argue this, is still a small niche product. That being said, it appears that any group larger than 20 is considered a large gathering. I only know 2 Robotech fans in the UK, and they've told me that there is next to no fanbase in the U.K. These are true Robotech fans too, not the half way fans, or fair-weather fans. It's not surprising, but it still makes me face palm everytime I see someone who knows absolutely nothing about a subject or fact, talk as if they are the authority. So, Maverick knows the insides of Hollywood, and knows that Paramount is quaking in their boots over a LARM that isn't even green lit yet. Memo knows demographics for Robotech in every country, and knows that millions upon millions of fans in the UK all are rabid Robotech fans. Little dougibendo knows that everybody who watches Macross is a pedophile. PTH knows that Robotech is better because of how they get made fun of, and because nobody knows how to debate. Now, I'm sure they'll probably read this, and think, "you know, Jasonc is right! Let's keep it up." I can only say go ahead. Keep running with the current regiment. Even the regular RT fans are getting tired of the franchise, and HG seems to be cool with letting the fanbase go the way of the dinosaur. If that's how the elites wanna run things, and that's how HG wants to let it go, I'm not gonna argue. I'm just gonna call it as it is.
Robelwell202 Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 (edited) Robotech, no matter how hard people try to argue this, is still a small niche product. That being said, it appears that any group larger than 20 is considered a large gathering. I only know 2 Robotech fans in the UK, and they've told me that there is next to no fanbase in the U.K. These are true Robotech fans too, not the half way fans, or fair-weather fans. It's not surprising, but it still makes me face palm everytime I see someone who knows absolutely nothing about a subject or fact, talk as if they are the authority. So, Maverick knows the insides of Hollywood, and knows that Paramount is quaking in their boots over a LARM that isn't even green lit yet. Memo knows demographics for Robotech in every country, and knows that millions upon millions of fans in the UK all are rabid Robotech fans. Little dougibendo knows that everybody who watches Macross is a pedophile. PTH knows that Robotech is better because of how they get made fun of, and because nobody knows how to debate. Now, I'm sure they'll probably read this, and think, "you know, Jasonc is right! Let's keep it up." I can only say go ahead. Keep running with the current regiment. Even the regular RT fans are getting tired of the franchise, and HG seems to be cool with letting the fanbase go the way of the dinosaur. If that's how the elites wanna run things, and that's how HG wants to let it go, I'm not gonna argue. I'm just gonna call it as it is. Well said, sir. Personally, I've had about as much RT/HG-dramaas I can take for a while. I'm simply burned out. I kinda realized it earlier this week, when I was involved in a chat with MEMO, and instead of answering questions about his banning practices, his adoption of Bendo as an ally, and his continual denial of facts that are present to him, he simply played dumb, split hairs, and generally dodged any effort towards a real answer. I was, to put it quite simply, disgusted beyond belief. I knew it was par for the course with MEMO, but it still hit me in a wierd way that made me realize that RT's a giant waste of time. The drama that goes on is so stupid and circular, and I just want no fruther part of it, right now. Oh, well... I guess I'll just have to content myself with Macross and Gundam-UC... Edited January 9, 2010 by Robelwell202
azrael Posted January 9, 2010 Author Posted January 9, 2010 The drama that goes on is so stupid and circular, and I just want no fruther part of it, right now. Took you 7~8 years. But thanks for agreeing with me-of-7~8 years ago. http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...st&p=812541
Jasonc Posted January 9, 2010 Posted January 9, 2010 Oh, well... I guess I'll just have to content myself with Macross and Gundam-UC... That's not a bad thing by any means. As for Gundam, not too big on the new stuff, but I've been getting re-acquainted with 08th MS team.
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