Macross 2 Producer passes away

[Tochiro]

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but the producer of Mac 2 was one of the victimes in last weeks quake/tsunami:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-03-18/macross-ii-producer-hiroshi-kakoi-passes-away-in-quake

[boyarque]

My sincere condolence goes to him and his surviving family...and all of japanese citizen who are affected by this unfortunate events.

[Neova]

My condolences to Hiroshi Kakoi's family. I loved Macross II!

[TheLoneWolf]

And another pillar of Macross history is lost.

Hiroshi Kakoi, thanks for your contributions to the Macross franchise.

[Cobalto]

Just discovered and came here to tell you, but you alread knew.

Very, very sad. My condolences to Hiroshi Kakoi's family.

Like said:

And another pillar of Macross history is lost.

Hiroshi Kakoi, thanks for your contributions to the Macross franchise.

[Jasonc]

Definitely sad news, and another reminder of the reality of this disaster. Heart and prayers to the surviving family.

[Twoducks]

Not the best Macross but I enjoyed it a lot. First Macross I saw after Robotech as a kid.

R.I.P.

Edited March 18, 2011 by Twoducks

[TehPW]

[BeyondTheGrave]

[Renato]

RIP Mr Kakoi.

I'm not sure if I had ever heard his name before, but apparently he was at the Artland studio during the 80s where the original Macross, Megazone 23, Orguss, Legend of Galactic Heroes and countless other classics were made. Artland is also very close to my house and I visit there every so often. I will offer my condolences to Mr. Ishiguro, who still runs things there, as soon as I get back to Tokyo next week. If you all so wish, I will pass on any warm messages you guys here have, since I am sure the guys at Artland will be pleased to hear that the international community is grieving their loss as well as remembering the works he gave to us.

[CrazyMartian]

If you can do that, please do so. I really enjoyed Macross II when I had the chance of watching it, and hearing about the news and then reading them myself, I really felt as if a part of my youth went away.

The next time I play the Macross II campaign on the PSP I will think of him.

[weird]

My condolences to his family.

I too enjoyed Macross 2. May not have been my favorite, but it was entertaining.

[Tochiro]

Like many people here, Macross 2 wasn't my favourite series in the franchise, but as one of the few entries that was readily available outside of Japan, it certainly had an impact on me. I actually saw it for the first time during my first ever trip to Japan in 1993. My host student at the time had rented and copied the show on VHS. I had yet to grasp even the most rudimentary aspects of Japanese, but the minute I saw that opening I realised what I was seeing - and a whole new world of stuff not necessarily released in Australia was opened up to me.

Save sent me a scan of a very short Q&A with Hiroshi Kakoi from the Nov., 1991 issue of Animage. I have included a rough translation below:

Animage: Tell us a little about the mechanical aspects of Macross 2.

Kakoi: Please view the (Macross 2) world as basically being an extension of that in the original Macross tv series. In the future of this world, Zentradi and Human technologies continued to be mixed together and Kazumi Fujita designed the shows mecha with this in mind. Also, the main characters Valkyrie illustrates how military technology from the original series has reached the point that it permeates civilian life.

Animage: How about the enemy mecha?

Kakoi: Basically, Marduk mecha were based on those of the Zentradi. The concept they were designed around was that the Marduk had improved upon existing Zentradi technology by adding their own.