Discovery of Macross?

[ScoutTelion]

I first saw it back in 1998 on Toonami boy that brings back memories.

[Spacerat53]

Well my first exposure was with Robotech when it was on Toonami, and some VHS, and later DVDs into the early 2000s to finish it off for me. I eventually got the remastered Protoculture Collection which had The Sentinels in it and Robotech Battlecry for my PS2 compatible PS3. Since then I had been a big Gundam fanboy

My first exposure to Macross was through Macross II, and Macross Plus on Sci-Fi channel's Animonday screenings it was also around this time that I learned about Robotech/Macross's production. After that in 2011 I watched the first Macross Frontier Hybrid pack movie at a special movie screening at Las Cruces Anime Days convention which takes place at New Mexico State University where I go to school. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to play the game nor did they have it available in the video game room before they played the movie.

[nexxstrait]

1983. I saw one of the takatoku transforming valkiryes (a VF1S) in a toy shop but couldn't afford it, then at some neighbour holiday market I found a smaller version of it and my grandfather bought it to me (back at the time here in Italy sellers imported many toys from Japan even if the shows they were in weren't being aired by our tv networks). There was some engrish crap on one side, but the Macross logo was clearly there, and the VF1J battroid image on the side got into my veins. Then came other Macross toys and some years later, in 1985, Robotech. But that's another story. Oww, now I feel old!

Edited April 10, 2013 by nexxstrait

[raptormesh]

The robotech books. End of the circle, probably read that a few times. Then I saw the sentinels on tv before I watched robotech. Puzzled by the plot, I went after the RPG books for more info on the lore and mecha. All these probably happened in the first dozen decade of my life so the Alpha fighter from Mospeada is my first mecha love. I still get goosebumps recalling the scene where Scott crashed landed in his Alpha in the forest and sits there in the cockpit grieving as the rain peppered his canopy.

Then I watched Macross Plus in high school and it's been an awesome journey since.

[Deadeye_281]

I first saw Robotech in 86 on TV. I remember my older brother raving about it before I finally saw it myself. I was instantly hooked and have been ever since. Even to this day, when that charred filmstrip starts rolling and the main theme kicks in - it brings a smile of nostalgia to my face. Nothing else even came close back then. The main characters developed and people died enmasse. I was practically devastated when Roy died and Skull 001 was assigned to Rick. I never got into the other 2 series of Robotech as I always felt that they were inferior in everyway. Roleplaying game for the series followed soon after and after 1 year on TV, the series vanished. Clash of the Bionoids was next and despite the horrifying English dub, the animation was without peer. This was Macross -the real Macross - in all it's glory. I sorta drifted from Macross after that. Joined the army and was really busy for a while - still am.

Eventually, I watched Macross 2 and liked it for the most part but it wasn't until I saw Macross Plus that I was once again hooked. Isamu Dyson has got to be one of the best Mac characters of all time and his ride, the 19, is my absolute fave Valk of all time. That bird lead me to Yamato's old 1/72 YF-19 and then their 1/60 V1 Super VF-1J. I had the TF Jetfire as a kid, but that V1 VF-1 was amazing to me at the time. I still to this day refuse to watch Mac 7 as something about a guy playing guitar in his Valk strikes me as absurd. Mac Zero was a feast for the eyes and it's only now that I'm watching Mac F. I like the new series, at least from what I've seen so far. Hopefully someday, the license shenanigans between Big West and HG get resolved so that we can get complete English dubs of all the Mac series.

Eventually I moved over to the 1/48 line -and the new 1/60 V2 line and I've been broke ever since.

[barurutor]

I first saw some old episodes of Robotech on Betamax in the early 80's in the Philippines, and caught the Philippine English dub as well.

I've been hooked ever since.

[EXO]

I have to get this Philippine English dub somehow... lol.

[Valkyrie addict]

I saw Robotech as a child but forgot about it.

During the late 90's I was later reintroduced to Robotech as a teenager on my local TV station "anime afternoon", they aired that soccer anime were one goal took 5 episodes of deep thinking, then DBZ, Robotech and ended with Samurai X. My best friend knowing how much I liked Robotech explained to me about the original japanese version, took me to the local anime video rental and we rented Macross II and Macross Plus on VHS. I sorta forgot about it when I started the university but after I was finished and with the internet I searched more info on Macross, saw the new VF's design from Macross 7 and loved the VF-17 sooo much, I bought a v1 VF-1S Roy and got to see the original SDFM on youtube, found this place and started my love/hate relationship with my bank account.

I feel so old now talking about video rentals and VHS. I remember we wanted to rent the DYRL laserdisc since they didn't had a good copy on VHS but none of us had a laser disc. LOL!

"please rewind"

[terry the lone wolf]

This may surprise people but Robotech wasn't my 1st exposure to Macross but the retail of bootleg Macross toys from Taiwan that was sold in little Asian shops in Downtown Baltimore, MD. My cousin 1st bought the Macross figure and showed me the toy and I was amazed with the artwork on the box. It had Mikimoto sketches of Minmay & Roy (whose hair was colored black to make him look like Hikaru) and screencaps of Misa & Gloval with colored drawings of the Macross. I was like this would be a great cartoon and about a year or so later Robotech aired on WBFF 45 and I was hooked. I watched all 83 episodes, collected the awful COMICO comics, and collected the toys. I had to have everything that had RT stamped on it. Geppi's comic world had a Macross fan book that had Minmay on the cover for about 20 bucks; I could never afford it. Then RT was cancelled and I waited and waited for the Robotech Movie to come out but of course it never did. I moved from the city to the suburbs. I met some dudes that were into the RT RPG and I discovered Clash of the Bionoids that led to Space Fortress Macross. I moved to New York then VIZ released the Macross 2 manga and U.S. Renditions Macross 2 OVA came out...

Edited October 23, 2013 by terry the lone wolf

[Saruta]

Robotech was on Russian TV in the late 80s when I was in school - I never liked it, though. My interest in Macross was aroused in 2011 by Vocalod Gumi (therefore Frontier), watched an episode or two and reas some online stuff back then. And thius year a friend roped me into a Robotech and Macross team for a fan fiction contest. For that, I went and watched SDFM, DYRL, Frontier movies, Plus, started but failed to complete Zero, and finally started Frontier TV. And apart from Zero, never regretted it. (I don't like Zero at all, it seems extremely contrived). And joined this site too.

I just like doing my stuff properly if I do it at all, and I wanted to go with the original, too.

[Valkyrie addict]

Best advice if to avoid the last episode Macross Zero.

Macross continuity goes like this:

Macross Zero, SDFM, DYRL, FB2012, Macross Plus, Macross 7, Macross Frontier.

[Raya1823]

For me it was in the late 80's, Robotech would come on and end right before my brother and I had to catch the school bus. Then like most on MW we found a copy of "Clash of the Bioroids" at a Video store. After that, thanks to "Al" and his son "Mike" from Al's Comics in Stockton CA we were introduced to Macross: SDF, DYRL and the TOYS (bbbwwaaahhhaahhh). I remember saving my lunch money and doing odd jobs for 3 months so I could buy my first Hi-Metal VF-1S w/Super Armor. Which I still have by the way. You can say that I grew up with it, from Robotech, Macross: SDF, Macross II, M7, Plus, Zero and Frontier. Wherever I've lived I've had a VFs proudly displayed, even when I was deploy overseas during my time in the Military. Don't tell anyone in the DoD but I even wore the Macross "kite" symbol on my "Battle-rattle" on the other side of the American Flag, (LOL, i know dork, right). One of my best childhood memories is having a conversation with my Mom about the love triangle between Misa, Hikaru and Minmay. The funny part now is that, Im having the same conversation with my sons as we discuss the triangle with Alto, Sheryl and Ranka. LMAO. I look forward to what come next.

Edited November 18, 2013 by hazray13

[sreichma]

Macross Zero would have been a great story if they didn't have the "Bird People" and whole "Magical stuff woven into it" If they scrapped the whole island thing and just focused on the crash of the SDF and the development of the variable fighters within the War that was raging on earth I think it could have been one of the best in the series. As it is, we all have those stupid memories of a twisted stick and bird people on an island.

Edited December 14, 2013 by sreichma

[skullmilitia]

Yep, the struggle to unite Earth under one banner was a good story and should be told ... Better.

The Bird Human was stupid, and turned what seemed like a very not Macross like series into just another

Weird anime show.

How Kawamori went from the fun of M7 to the absurd of Zero is beyond me.

Edited December 14, 2013 by skullmilitia

[Valkyrie addict]

Macross has been downhill storywise ever since

SDFM/DYRL/FB2012 = Brilliant masterpiece

Macross Plus = Surprise classic

Macross 7 = Entertaining kids show

Macross Zero = mindfvck

Macross Frontier = sellout

Edited December 15, 2013 by Valkyrie addict

[skullmilitia]

Macross has been downhill storywise ever since

SDFM/DYRL/FB2012 = Brilliant masterpiece

Macross Plus = Surprise classic

Macross 7 = Entertaining kids show

Macross Zero = mindfvck

Macross Frontier = sellout

M7 had its good moments, Zero just had good mecha pron, and Frontier completely moved away

From the song defeating enemies. Now we sing to fold with aliens.

I'd say at this point, either overhaul SDFM with new tech animation.

Get Mishimoto to go MTF style, and tell Kawamori to stick to the designs and

Less on story model.

[Gakken85]

Used to watch Robotech when I came home from school at my grandma's house with my brother. Got into more anime in college but didn't buy any toys.

didn't really keep up with it for years until recently.

[MACROSS25]

Watching robotech in 86-87 when i was 9 in peru , the whole school was in it , sadly......the toys were ridiculous expensive until i got to the states

[Deadeye_281]

Macross Zero would have been a great story if they didn't have the "Bird People" and whole "Magical stuff woven into it" If they scrapped the whole island thing and just focused on the crash of the SDF and the development of the variable fighters within the War that was raging on earth I think it could have been one of the best in the series. As it is, we all have those stupid memories of a twisted stick and bird people on an island.

This for the win. Certainly a missed opportunity.

[jvmacross]

Macross Zero and Macross the First are just part of the grand scheme of bringing together the in-universe sound-fold science concepts.....It really all started with M7....then M0....and now MtF is introducing the concepts of fold science to "SDFM" that were introduced in MF.....we now have fold-enduced time-space anomalies in the world of Macross...and I believe this also plays out in the M30 game......and when you introduce "time travel" in sci-fi.....anything is possible

I do not think there is any going back.....I think MF did a good job at handling these more "sci-fi" concepts.....so I hope the next series follows suit.....

Maybe a new series where a group of evil fold scientists and greedy corporations want to manipulate history all the way back to the Protoculture Era.....thus introducing the Protoculture and in the course of the series, easily bring back anyone or anything they want for the sake of plot twists (like the Megaroad? kind of hinted already in MtF)......who knows.....

[Robowang]

Please forgive me if this has been posted before. How old were you when you first discovered Macross? It doesn't matter if it was Robotech or not, since it 'tech uses the same animation for the first third of their saga.

I was about 14, just getting into anime, back when it was still rare and underground. I had heard of Robotech from when I was younger, from commericals and all, but it was never on here. So, I discovered that a video store here had anime for rent. I clearly remember renting Project A-KO, but saw both Robotech II the Sentinels and Macross II (this was the VHS days) on the shelf as well. I later rented Robotech II, but honestly didn't understand any bit of it. A few weeks later I rented Macross II vol 1, and I was amazed by the space combat and storyline. I then subequently rented the later volumes when the store got them in. An anime all about transforming jets? Yeah I was definitely pleased. I later rented Clash of the Bionoids from another rental store, by this time I knew it was Macross, but still didn't know how it was related to Robotech at all. A few years later I found out the "awful" truth about the differences between Robotech and Macross, By that time, I had all 4 vhs OVA episodes of Macross Plus (still my favorite macross story to date), had purchased the "Uncut" version of Clash of the Bionoids, aka "SDF Macross: Do You Remember Love?" as everyone else in the world knows it as. Then Robotech came on Toonami (RIP) , and I was able to enjoy it knowing it as an alternate universe to a greater storyline.

Years later I was finally able to watch the original Macross series the way it was originally intended to, and enjoy it that much more

So, what's your Macross story?

That's basically my exact story right there. Except I started with the Robotech novels in 1994 or 1995. I had seen Robotech VHS tapes at the video rental store, but I never knew what they were. I actually rented them after reading the novels. Then the internet became a thing and it went from there almost exactly like your story, A-KO and all

I still dig Robotech just fine, but I'd rather watch my English dub DVDs of Macross. I have ONE major downside for each - with Robotech, I HATE the narrator. With Macross (the dub) I HATE the term "miclone." I don't care about the specifics of the translation...it should be MICRON. That bugs me even MORE than the Robotech narrator only because the Macross dub is otherwise perfect to me.

[Gubaba]

With Macross (the dub) I HATE the term "miclone." I don't care about the specifics of the translation...it should be MICRON.

Why? It's a contraction of "Micro Clone"... "Miclone" and "Microne" both work, don't they?

[CePeAi]

For me through the Revell Robotech kits and via the Battletech table top wargame.

[grigolosi]

I first saw it in 1986 as Robotech when a few friends of mine in art class told me about it. I missed episode 1 and caught episode 2 and I was hooked at that point. I then found the Jack McKinney books at the school book fair and read them so fast that I was finishing a book in a day and a half. I didn't know it was Macross until I bought the Robotech art books and there in the back it gave the full blown explanation of where Robotech came from. It wasn't until I was stationed in Japan from 92-98 that I became a true Macross fan. I saw Macross Plus commercials on TV there around the time it came out and watched it after it was released on video with english dub. I also found tons of Macross models in the hobby shops there and started building the kits. Since then it is my favorite anime and now my son has started watching it too but i think he likes Gundam more.

[big F]

Since then it is my favorite anime and now my son has started watching it too but i think he likes Gundam more.

Might want to nip that in the bud

[Valkyrie Driver]

For me through the Revell Robotech kits and via the Battletech table top wargame.

Good 'ol Battletech. I credit MechWarrior 2 with kindling my love of giant walking war machines. Gundam also helped fuel my love, but something about the designs just didn't feel right, and then I discovered that my favorite mechs from MW2 were actually borrowed from Macross through Robotech. I skipped Robotech altogether. After watching most of the Macross Franchise (I think I have every animated production to date save FB2012), I tried to watch the Robotech Macross saga while it was on netflix, but I just hated the voices, and some of the incongruities, I didn't even make it past episode 2, the characters just didn't seem as real.

[grigolosi]

Yeah the voices drove me nuts. and they made me crazier after I watched SDFM and heard the difference in the voices. Someone tried to english dub SDFM and put it n youtube. I cringed when i heard Misa's voice and couldn't click it off fast enough when I heard Hikaru's english speaking voice. They dumbed down several characters lines too with Robotech especially Minmay's.

I have tried to get my son to watch SDFM since I have the Animego box set but he saw Robotech and cringes at the word Minmay now.............thanks voice actors.

[EXO]

Might want to nip that in the bud

Lol.

[Valkyrie Driver]

The only Dub I have seen of SDFM is the ADV dub, which I have on DVD. I don't mind the crew that ADV assembled, since they did a bunch of other series that I really like as well, not specifically ADV, but that group of voice actors specifically seem to work together a lot. The best part about having it on DVD is I can have either language track so no loss there. Also, the ADV dub featured Mari Iijima reprising her role as Minmay, so that's kind of a novelty.

I really wish we could get more of the macross franchise dubbed and brought to english speaking audiences...

[grigolosi]

That would be great if we could but HG won't allow it. But I just pulled off the greatest entertainment coup in my marriage. I got my wife hooked on MF last night from overseas. Now she wants to watch the whole series........now if I can just get the boy hooked also........mwahahahahahahahahaha.

Edited July 26, 2015 by grigolosi

[Karaoke Ninja]

I'm a lot younger than most of you guys (some of you even have grandkids or something? Haha) so I didn't learn of Macross from Robotech, instead I discovered it from playing a translation of Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden on PS1. I saw the VF-1 and YF-19 in action and thought they looked so amazing with their missiles and high speed maneuvers.

So eventually I watched a stream of SDF then 7 and I ended up loving the Macross franchise more than Gundam. I seriously love this series and all it has to offer, well except for Zero. That was just...bad. Anyway I'm really looking forward to what fun things Delta will do and hope this series will continue on forever.

[Valkyrie Driver]

I'll admit Zero was a bit... weird. It's a shame that they put Roy Focker in the middle of that, it was a soup sandwich without the bread (read: hot mess). Still, I like everything Macross, and I think it's definitely worth every penny and minute I've spent on it.

[Brand-X]

I'm one of those few North Americans who discovered Macross back in the 80s, but only came upon Robotech later. My dad took me to a little video rental place where I saw Clash of the Bionoids sitting on the shelf, and being as I was really into airplanes, the box art drew me in. I rented it, then the next week I rented it again, and again, and again. I did that for years after that, my dad kept trying to ask the owner to buy the tape from him, but he wouldn't sell it (probably because he was making a fortune off of me!)

Later I found Robotech on VHS and was actually able to buy the tapes this time (Though I never actually wound up getting one of the 6 tapes of the Macross saga, can't remember which one though...) though I skipped everything after the first saga.

As for the commentary on Zero above, I always thought it would have been a much better series if they just made it about Roy pioneering Valkyrie piloting, and skipped the whole protoculture music magic stuff (I was always a bigger fan of the earlier Macross series, where music was very important, but hardly supernatural). Shin, Sara, Mao and Nora never really interested me at all. I wanted to see more of Roy vs. Ivanov.

Also, did anyone else find it a little odd that Roy had this whole love interest angle going on with Aries, when SDF Macross always made it seem to me that he and Claudia had been together in a fairly long-term, committed relationship? That's the way I took it, at least. To me it seemed weird that a year before Macross begins there's simply no mention of Claudia at all.

And wow, that got off topic quickly...

[grigolosi]

I would have enjoyed Zero more if they had focused more on the Bird Human and put more information into its background and origin. I definitely agree that whole musical magic thing was out there. The fighting over the AI fit in well showing the early VF pre production/technology proving models.

[Gubaba]

I still don't see how Zero had any real "magic" in it... I thought it was all just Protoculture super-science.