Robotech Remastered, Extended Edition #03 -- Review
Studio Summary
It seems as if a peaceful outcome in the war between the Robotech Defense Force and the alien Zentraedi may finally be on the horizon. A historic wedding between one of Earth's greatest heroes, Max Sterling, and the ace Zentraedi fighter pilot, Miriya, opens the doors for coexistence between the warring factions.
But that harmony is short-lived, as forces within the Zentraedi army would rather destroy the humans than live with them. Before all is said and done, heroes will die, villains will fall, and the first Robotech War will come to a bittersweet finale.
Spoken Languages: English, Spanish.
Grades
Video: B
Audio: B-
Dub/script: B-
Story: A-
Overall: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Purchase Robotech Remastered, Extended Edition #03 from our online store.
Reviewed by Johaan
Grade Notes
From a technical standpoint, there are several problems with this set of discs. One section is not remastered at all. In the area where they brought in the sequences from Southern Cross in Episode 29, the video becomes really dark and grainy. It is very noticable, and very jarring. Video grade lowered as a result.
Also, after watching Robotech Remastered and comparing it to the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross source video, I can tell that putting 6 episodes per disc verses the 4 on SDFM creates some loss to the video due to compression. The original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross looks superior.
On the audio front, Disc 06 runs hot and cold on the center channel and the levels seem a bit unstable. It's most noticeable in the first 3 episodes on that disc. This sort of thing makes me crazy, I hate when I have to keep changing the volume when watching a disc. Audio grade dropped as a result.
Review (Warning, this review contains spoilers)
So this is how the world ends ... not with a whimper, but a bang.
After a thwarted attack due to desertion, chaos in their ranks, and the defection of many members of their crew including ace pilot Miriya (who decides to marry Max Sterling, an earthling pilot of all things), Breetai and Exodore decide that it is time to open up negotiations with the earthlings. The power of the Macross, the pull of micronioan culture, and the threat to all things Zentraedi is something that can no longer be denied.
However, news of their continued failure reaches the ears of the Zentraedi Supreme Commander Dolza. After watching his fleet fail time and time again against the crew of the Macross, he decides the micronian threat is far to great to leave matters be. Breetai and Exodore's fleet, contaminated by the micronian protoculture, is deemed expendable. They will be extinguished along with the Macross and all of Earth.
This news reaches Breetai. and the situation changes the negotiations with Captain Gloval considerably. They decide to unite against a common threat, the full forces of the Zentraedi Armada.
As millions of ships surround the planet, the united forces of Breetai and Gloval set a plan in motion that will save them from certain destruction. By broadcasting Minmay's songs to the Enemy Zentraedi army, they cause enough confusion that they are able to take out the Zentraedi mothership and win the battle ... but not before the Zentraedi armada turns their guns on the earth, destroying more than 70% of its surface.
The path to rebuilding the planet will be a long one indeed.
---
My overall feeling is that this is the most heavily edited part of the Macross Saga in Robotech. There are some parts that just don't seem to "fit" right and the characters seem to revert to their old habits in places I would not expect. I will be interested in seeing how much of this story remains intact once I watch it in it's original Japanese form.
The final set of DVDs climaxes early and then uses the remaining 10 episodes to wrap up the series. The battle sequence between the Zentraedi forces and the Macross is a strong one. In fact, it is the most elaborate battle in the entire show. Although cheesy, Minmay's song does set the mood and tempo for the battle sequence, and adds to the fun... well, as much fun as you can have watching the Earth be destroyed.
After the end of the first Robotech War, the rebuilding phase begins. This part of the show is much more of a character study and much less action packed than the rest of the series. These episodes are some of the strongest and weakest in the series. The weakest ones are the episodes that are most heavily edited, bringing in bits of Southern Cross to setup the series for the second Robotech Saga. Although they did a fair job in the edit, the splice really does seem out of place because animation style is quite different ... not to mention the technical issue I noted in Grade Notes. The strongest episodes in this group show the interplay between Rick, Lisa and Minmay as their love triangle deepens. Things are going to get really messy before it is all resolved.
There are some false starts in that triangle though. Irritatingly, every time Rick almost breaks free of Minmay's grip, she comes back into his life and screws things up. Now 20, Minmay still often acts like a spoiled 16-year-old. Although Rick has grown up in many ways, he still is clueless when it comes to women. Lisa for her part is not much better and she spends a good bit of time moping about and pining for Rick. By the end you are almost begging for them to just get on with it and get together. Oh ... and don't get me started on Kyle, the guy is one step away from being a drunken wifebeater.
So you may be asking, where is the redemption for these characters? It comes in the end ... but getting there is half the fun. The depth of the characters is one of the things that drew me to Robotech in the first place. For the most part, it delivers. Sure it is old-fashioned mecha-action goodness, but the characters are endearing ... quirks and all. I can still see why this show had such an influence on me, and how it helped nudge me into this hobby.
Indeed there are places where Robotech Remastered shows its age, but there are other areas where it holds up pretty well. This is still one of my favorite bits of "classic" Japanese animation, and I really enjoyed seeing it again after all these years. I personally think that Robotech Remastered is worth the investment as a purchase, but, if nothing else, this show should at least be a rental. So much modern anime has roots and influences in this series, and it is absolutely worth a view.
I recommend it highly.
It seems as if a peaceful outcome in the war between the Robotech Defense Force and the alien Zentraedi may finally be on the horizon. A historic wedding between one of Earth's greatest heroes, Max Sterling, and the ace Zentraedi fighter pilot, Miriya, opens the doors for coexistence between the warring factions. But that harmony is short-lived, as forces within the Zentraedi army would rather destroy the humans than live with them. Before all is said and done, heroes will die, villains will fall, and the first Robotech War will come to a bittersweet finale.
Spoken Languages: English, Spanish.
Grades
Video: B
Audio: B-
Dub/script: B-
Story: A-
Overall: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Purchase Robotech Remastered, Extended Edition #03 from our online store.
Reviewed by Johaan
Grade Notes
From a technical standpoint, there are several problems with this set of discs. One section is not remastered at all. In the area where they brought in the sequences from Southern Cross in Episode 29, the video becomes really dark and grainy. It is very noticable, and very jarring. Video grade lowered as a result.
Also, after watching Robotech Remastered and comparing it to the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross source video, I can tell that putting 6 episodes per disc verses the 4 on SDFM creates some loss to the video due to compression. The original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross looks superior.
On the audio front, Disc 06 runs hot and cold on the center channel and the levels seem a bit unstable. It's most noticeable in the first 3 episodes on that disc. This sort of thing makes me crazy, I hate when I have to keep changing the volume when watching a disc. Audio grade dropped as a result.
Review (Warning, this review contains spoilers)
So this is how the world ends ... not with a whimper, but a bang.
After a thwarted attack due to desertion, chaos in their ranks, and the defection of many members of their crew including ace pilot Miriya (who decides to marry Max Sterling, an earthling pilot of all things), Breetai and Exodore decide that it is time to open up negotiations with the earthlings. The power of the Macross, the pull of micronioan culture, and the threat to all things Zentraedi is something that can no longer be denied.
However, news of their continued failure reaches the ears of the Zentraedi Supreme Commander Dolza. After watching his fleet fail time and time again against the crew of the Macross, he decides the micronian threat is far to great to leave matters be. Breetai and Exodore's fleet, contaminated by the micronian protoculture, is deemed expendable. They will be extinguished along with the Macross and all of Earth.
This news reaches Breetai. and the situation changes the negotiations with Captain Gloval considerably. They decide to unite against a common threat, the full forces of the Zentraedi Armada.
As millions of ships surround the planet, the united forces of Breetai and Gloval set a plan in motion that will save them from certain destruction. By broadcasting Minmay's songs to the Enemy Zentraedi army, they cause enough confusion that they are able to take out the Zentraedi mothership and win the battle ... but not before the Zentraedi armada turns their guns on the earth, destroying more than 70% of its surface.
The path to rebuilding the planet will be a long one indeed.
---
My overall feeling is that this is the most heavily edited part of the Macross Saga in Robotech. There are some parts that just don't seem to "fit" right and the characters seem to revert to their old habits in places I would not expect. I will be interested in seeing how much of this story remains intact once I watch it in it's original Japanese form.
The final set of DVDs climaxes early and then uses the remaining 10 episodes to wrap up the series. The battle sequence between the Zentraedi forces and the Macross is a strong one. In fact, it is the most elaborate battle in the entire show. Although cheesy, Minmay's song does set the mood and tempo for the battle sequence, and adds to the fun... well, as much fun as you can have watching the Earth be destroyed.
After the end of the first Robotech War, the rebuilding phase begins. This part of the show is much more of a character study and much less action packed than the rest of the series. These episodes are some of the strongest and weakest in the series. The weakest ones are the episodes that are most heavily edited, bringing in bits of Southern Cross to setup the series for the second Robotech Saga. Although they did a fair job in the edit, the splice really does seem out of place because animation style is quite different ... not to mention the technical issue I noted in Grade Notes. The strongest episodes in this group show the interplay between Rick, Lisa and Minmay as their love triangle deepens. Things are going to get really messy before it is all resolved.
There are some false starts in that triangle though. Irritatingly, every time Rick almost breaks free of Minmay's grip, she comes back into his life and screws things up. Now 20, Minmay still often acts like a spoiled 16-year-old. Although Rick has grown up in many ways, he still is clueless when it comes to women. Lisa for her part is not much better and she spends a good bit of time moping about and pining for Rick. By the end you are almost begging for them to just get on with it and get together. Oh ... and don't get me started on Kyle, the guy is one step away from being a drunken wifebeater.
So you may be asking, where is the redemption for these characters? It comes in the end ... but getting there is half the fun. The depth of the characters is one of the things that drew me to Robotech in the first place. For the most part, it delivers. Sure it is old-fashioned mecha-action goodness, but the characters are endearing ... quirks and all. I can still see why this show had such an influence on me, and how it helped nudge me into this hobby.
Indeed there are places where Robotech Remastered shows its age, but there are other areas where it holds up pretty well. This is still one of my favorite bits of "classic" Japanese animation, and I really enjoyed seeing it again after all these years. I personally think that Robotech Remastered is worth the investment as a purchase, but, if nothing else, this show should at least be a rental. So much modern anime has roots and influences in this series, and it is absolutely worth a view.
I recommend it highly.
