HG and BW reach an agreement (Link included)

[jvmacross]

[vladykins]

HAHAHA

[Einherjar]

The man responsible for Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, ladies and gentlemen.  Poster boy of the Sentinels curse in modern times.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Einherjar

[Mommar]

Well, the fact he actually showed off a DX is potentially promising.  I wonder if they'll actively court Bandai to try selling outside of Japan or if it's more smoke-screen crap to make it seem like they're interesting?

[akt_m]

Still, I'm not going to buy anything with a HG sticker on it.

Edited April 14, 2021 by akt_m

[Chronocidal]

While I can definitely imagine KC squirming uncomfortably here, part of me has a single response: good.  I can empathize with them, but having some competition in the Macross/Robotech merchandise market also has the potential to drive some improvement all around.

Will it happen?  I still think it's not too likely, but I'd love to see KC do some fine-tuning of their designs.

On the other hand, the non-Macross HMR situation just reinforces why I don't think Bandai's going to give a rat's backside about the foreign markets.  Their production lines are so laser focused on the Japanese audience, I don't believe they would ever try to adjust their output to meet international demand.

[M'Kyuun]

5 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

While I can definitely imagine KC squirming uncomfortably here, part of me has a single response: good.  I can empathize with them, but having some competition in the Macross/Robotech merchandise market also has the potential to drive some improvement all around.

Will it happen?  I still think it's not too likely, but I'd love to see KC do some fine-tuning of their designs.

On the other hand, the non-Macross HMR situation just reinforces why I don't think Bandai's going to give a rat's backside about the foreign markets.  Their production lines are so laser focused on the Japanese audience, I don't believe they would ever try to adjust their output to meet international demand.

That's my general feeling about BW's desire to expand to the Western market. They've never needed it, and at this point do they even have an interest in pursuing it? Moreover, I don't want HG grabbing a piece of that pie. They've earned my disdain over the decades by being a roadblock to Macross, except for their own subpar offerings, and I can't just forgive and forget. 

While I'd love BW to bring Macross in all its merchandising glory to the US, I honestly don't see it happening, or happening in the way that most of us would like. 

[jenius]

Maybe this means Macross the First is the next animation project.

[jvmacross]

15 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

On the other hand, the non-Macross HMR situation just reinforces why I don't think Bandai's going to give a rat's backside about the foreign markets.  Their production lines are so laser focused on the Japanese audience, I don't believe they would ever try to adjust their output to meet international demand.

Dunno...I think Bandai has a built-in "foreign" pieces calculated into their production runs.....there is no way all of those DX's on the secondary market were meant to satisy only the domestic demand...I mean, it's just one country and yet there are plenty of available product to meet anyone's demand outside of Japan....granted at spiked prices, but you can blame the folks buying extras for that....I think time will tell what the numbers really are....there is plenty of stock of DX Fockers out there...and the DX -1D stayed open for a heck of a long time.....could be we have reached saturation point and if someone really wants a DX Focker today or wanted a -1D, they definitely have/had the chance to get one...whether they were in Japan or not

[Gerli]

4 minutes ago, jenius said:

Maybe this means Macross the First is the next animation project.

It would be too good to be true.

[jvmacross]

A SDFM TV reboot would be great!...the timing would be perfect....40th Anniversary and all of the warm fuzzy feelings going around on both sides of the fence

I'd be happy with just re-animating SDFM Macross Fever style!

 

[sh9000]

I'm down for SDFM done over in new animation.

Outside of this topic, I would love a minty sealed G1 Jetfire reissue.

I don't mind if the DX line gets sold in the US through HG.  Same goes for the HMR line.  Make the first worldwide release the HMR Tomahawk.    I'll take some new 1/55 reissues and some HMR releases in vintage style packaging as well.

[jvmacross]

7 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

I'll take some new 1/55 reissues and some HMR releases in vintage style packaging as well.

Would love a re-issue to include the VF-1D and the GBP armor.....would be epic

But I would really like super-sized versions of the 1/55 toy......like double the original's size

[Keith]

4 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Especially Toynami... Harmony Gold created this whole mess to protect their then-new partnership with Toynami from competition from Bandai and Yamato.

Considering Toynami came into existence by slitting Toycoms throat & letting them drown, this is long overdue karma.

[Seto Kaiba]

3 minutes ago, Keith said:

Considering Toynami came into existence by slitting Toycoms throat & letting them drown, this is long overdue karma.

Not being a toy collector myself, I don't really have any strongly-held feelings about it... especially since I never bothered to buy any Robotech-branded stuff.  But wow even the Wikipedia article for the company makes them sound like tools. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Seto Kaiba

[Mog]

3 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

On the other hand, the non-Macross HMR situation just reinforces why I don't think Bandai's going to give a rat's backside about the foreign markets.  Their production lines are so laser focused on the Japanese audience, I don't believe they would ever try to adjust their output to meet international demand.

Not sure if you intended to lump Bandai’s SOC line in there too, but my GoLion and Dairugger (and the couple of Power Rangers Megazords they also released under this line) would seem to indicate otherwise.

About the only things I want out of this whole thing is for Bandai’s preorder process to be less of a freakin’ joke and for someone to FINALLY release an updated, more added features, more accurate, large-scale TV version SDF-1.

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, Mog said:

Not sure if you intended to lump Bandai’s SOC line in there too, but my GoLion and Dairugger (and the couple of Power Rangers Megazords they also released under this line) would seem to indicate otherwise.

About the only things I want out of this whole thing is for Bandai’s preorder process to be less of a freakin’ joke and for someone to FINALLY release an updated, more added features, more accurate, large-scale TV version SDF-1.

Oh, nah, I'm fully aware of Bandai's other lines that do get exported, but I just mean the HMRs in particular seem to be how they approach their more niche franchise licenses that don't get much publicity (if any) outside of Japan.  Macross started that line, but it seems like the only franchise involved with that much popularity on the international market.

I don't recall there being much discussion of there being issues with ordering the non-Macross HMR releases, and even some of the Macross ones haven't been all that hard to acquire, but I have to wonder if they all come from the same factory line, with similar production run sizes, and the only reason that the more popular Macross ones had any scarcity was because of the foreign market appeal (and the associated scalpers).  Is that a big assumption?  Maybe.\

I'm holding exactly zero expectations that this turn of events will have any effect whatsoever on Bandai's artificial scarcity policy.  I don't blame them completely for the situation, since their general releases are just well-known scalper bait, and I don't know how you fix that without just flat out making every single release a web-shop only item, or force every retailer to require a pre-order deposit.  I just can't see any realistic solution for that, outside of Bandai actually loosening their belts and being willing to expand their production lines, and take on a little more risk that there might be a product that remains on a shelf for more then a few months.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Chronocidal

[JB0]

13 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Yeah, I've never understood how HG ever managed to market anything from DYRL at all.  Their rights came from someone completely uninvolved in the movie, as I would understand.  Things do get fuzzy when you start delving into shared character and mecha designs though, and there's obviously a ton of overlap.  I always assumed HG just claimed merchandising rights to DYRL because they had a "legitimate" stake in the designs used.  

From what I'd come to understand, Tatsunoko would have no power to grant HG any rights to DYRL at all... of course, they didn't have the rights to grant HG most of anything else they claimed ownership of either, but that never stopped them.   Maybe they just decided that they'd test the waters with their Toynami 1/100s, and see if anyone was paying attention.

My understanding is that Tatsunoko had some merchandising rights for DYRL, and HG signed up for a license to make their Macross trademarks look more legitimate.

[Bariaburu Faita]

7 hours ago, jenius said:

Maybe this means Macross the First is the next animation project.

Unfortunately the manga bombed badly in Japan, and is not likely to happen

[jenius]

3 minutes ago, Bariaburu Faita said:

Unfortunately the manga bombed badly in Japan, and is not likely to happen

What makes you say that? I know it was never finished but I understood that to be related to the difficulty of keeping Mikimoto's attention rather than not generating any interest. Apparently there was enough interest for it to survive moving from one publication to another.

[Bariaburu Faita]

8 minutes ago, jenius said:

What makes you say that? I know it was never finished but I understood that to be related to the difficulty of keeping Mikimoto's attention rather than not generating any interest. Apparently there was enough interest for it to survive moving from one publication to another.

its on life support, as a webcomic. no print volume for sale since 2015

also, very little presence in shops when new volumes were sold. And I went to a signing, where barely anyone showed up and I was able to get ticket 1 easily. after some time where he sat at his table with stacks of unsold manga, Mr Mikimoto left early.

Edited April 15, 2021 by Bariaburu Faita

[akt_m]

8 hours ago, jenius said:

Maybe this means Macross the First is the next animation project.

I'm not sure if it would generate the necessary profit. IMO, They should just jump 100% into the Idol and Isekai bandwagon.

They need to create a new macross where an otaku (that browses the macrossworld forum) died by getting hit by a truck, then he went to the macross universe.  Then it needs some cute Idols for the harem. I could see some success here.

[JB0]

53 minutes ago, Bariaburu Faita said:

its on life support, as a webcomic. no print volume for sale since 2015

also, very little presence in shops when new volumes were sold. And I went to a signing, where barely anyone showed up and I was able to get ticket 1 easily. after some time where he sat at his table with stacks of unsold manga, Mr Mikimoto left early.

That's actually really saddening. 

7 minutes ago, akt_m said:

I'm not sure if it would generate the necessary profit. IMO, They should just jump 100% into the Idol and Isekai bandwagon.

They need to create a new macross where an otaku (that browses the macrossworld forum) died by getting hit by a truck, then he went to the macross universe.  Then it needs some cute Idols for the harem. I could see some success here.

I'd watch it.

But I still think they need to make my "A-Team with Valkyries" pitch first.

[Keith]

6 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Not being a toy collector myself, I don't really have any strongly-held feelings about it... especially since I never bothered to buy any Robotech-branded stuff.  But wow even the Wikipedia article for the company makes them sound like tools. 

Long story short, right before the YF-19 release the head of Toycom jumped ship & abandoned the existing staff with the reveal that he was starting up Toynami with a shiny new Robotech license.

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

5 hours ago, Keith said:

Long story short, right before the YF-19 release the head of Toycom jumped ship & abandoned the existing staff with the reveal that he was starting up Toynami with a shiny new Robotech license.

Thats a dick move. I also remember that. I was in high school and was eagerly awaiting the release of the Macross Plus toys. They were advertised in toy fare magazine or something like that during the time. I was of course disappointed that they were "canceled", because of HG. Thus starting my long lasting distrust and hatred for HG.

[MKT]

I'm thinking, Macross toy collectors know to look to Japanese stores to import Macross items, but not so much the more casual fans. Toys being officially available at worldwide stores would capture more attention & take-up from the rest of the fans, and hopefully this increased demand will finally compel Bandai to complete that longggggg-paused HMR Macross line.  

 

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

All I want is a chance at a perfect transformation YF-21 with fast packs at a reasonable price. Every time I see one go up on auction or something they want damn near a $1000. I want one really badly,  but not $1000 badly.  I hope some day, maybe I can get one, especially now. Although I  know it's not likely. 

 

Edited April 15, 2021 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[Chronocidal]

6 hours ago, SkullLeaderVF-X said:

Thats a dick move. I also remember that. I was in high school and was eagerly awaiting the release of the Macross Plus toys. They were advertised in toy fare magazine or something like that during the time. I was of course disappointed that they were "canceled", because of HG. Thus starting my long lasting distrust and hatred for HG.

Hah.. I remember the same experience actually, seeing the early ads for the first gen Macross Plus toys in high school during some computer lab class.

In hindsight.. I'm perfectly fine with the way things turned out on that end.  My friends and I all agreed that early YF-19 looked more like a bloated goose than an aircraft.   I'm happy to have waited long enough for the toys to become refined to their current point, and to have reached a point in my life where I can afford them.

[Kyp Durron]

22 hours ago, jenius said:

Maybe this means Macross the First is the next animation project.

That would be awesome. 

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Hah.. I remember the same experience actually, seeing the early ads for the first gen Macross Plus toys in high school during some computer lab class.

In hindsight.. I'm perfectly fine with the way things turned out on that end.  My friends and I all agreed that early YF-19 looked more like a bloated goose than an aircraft.   I'm happy to have waited long enough for the toys to become refined to their current point, and to have reached a point in my life where I can afford them.

Jesus.  The funny thing is.... you mention being in your high school computer lab class. That's were I was also! In my high school computer networking class for Cisco. 

I can afford them now as well. But.....well.....responsibilities, and also the reason I dissapeared from here for so long. But soon.....soon.....

Edited April 15, 2021 by SkullLeaderVF-X

[Einherjar]

On 4/14/2021 at 5:33 PM, Bariaburu Faita said:

Unfortunately the manga bombed badly in Japan, and is not likely to happen

Could’ve been worse.  Imagine putting the entire future of the franchise solely on a quasi-Robotech equivalent and it back firing spectacularly.  The rest of the world had to see that happen.

[tekering]

3 hours ago, Einherjar said:

Imagine putting the entire future of the franchise solely on a quasi-Robotech equivalent and it back firing spectacularly.  The rest of the world had to see that happen.

Oh yeah, I remember that.  It was called Macross II: Lovers Again.  The storyline was so derivative it felt more like a Robotech sequel than a Macross story.

Sales dropped off so sharply after the first OAV that you could actually see the budget shrinking episode by episode, and apparently only foreign investment saved it from outright cancellation.

[jenius]

Shots fired!

[Keith]

22 hours ago, tekering said:

Oh yeah, I remember that.  It was called Macross II: Lovers Again.  The storyline was so derivative it felt more like a Robotech sequel than a Macross story.

Sales dropped off so sharply after the first OAV that you could actually see the budget shrinking episode by episode, and apparently only foreign investment saved it from outright cancellation.

Macross II may have many faults, but "never" stooped so low as to be "quasi-Robotech."

Edited April 18, 2021 by Keith
Derp

[tekering]

28 minutes ago, Keith said:

Macross II may have many faults, but stooped so low as to be "quasi-Robotech."

There should be a "never" in there somewhere. 

In hindsight -- with a Japanese Blu-ray release to appreciate -- its faults may not seem too egregious, but remember all we had for years was the US Renditions dub on VHS... and Robotech had a much better cast by comparison. 

I actually have a soft spot for Macross II myself ; I'd rather watch the whole series again than suffer through a single episode of Macross 7 or Delta.  As poorly as those sequels were received, they were never so reviled as to be stricken from canon entirely.