The Unofficial Anime Fight Song

ROBOTECH LAST BATTLE

The Best of the "So Bad They're Great" Minmay Songs From The Macross Saga. When Russians are at your doorstep, find hope and inspiration with your Robotech Fight Song.

▶ We Will Win...

Battle Over ‘Macross’ & ‘Robotech’ Finally Ends

The Decades Long Rights Battle Over ‘Macross’
And ‘Robotech’ Has Finally Been Resolved

By Ollie Barder

[Source: Forbes] In a pretty astonishing turn of events, both Bigwest and Harmony Gold have agreed to work together on the global distribution of the Macross and Robotech franchises.

This has been one of the longest running legal battles in anime and I never thought I would see it resolved in my lifetime.

To put it simply, Robotech was built from three disparate mecha anime; Macross, Southern Cross and MOSPEADA. Tatsunoko Productions sold the these rights to Harmony Gold, who then edited them together to create Robotech.

The issue was that in the case of Macross, Tatsunoko Productions was not the only owner of the property. The other party involved was a Japanese company called Bigwest, that has in the years since funded the creation of new installments in the Macross saga.

There have been many legal battles about this issue of incomplete rights ownership, but it looks like these have finally been worked out between Bigwest and Harmony Gold.

While I thought this could be some kind of delayed April Fool’s joke, both the original Macross and Robotech sites have press statements to confirm this (here and here respectively). I even checked with Shoji Kawamori’s team and they confirmed this was actually real as well

Considering that the bulk of the Macross saga has been landlocked to Japan, I am just glad that both the work of Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake will finally be made more widely available.

As to the details of what this agreement entails, this is what the official press statement has to say:

“Tokyo based BIGWEST CO.,LTD. and Los Angeles based Harmony Gold U.S.A. announced an agreement regarding the worldwide rights for the legendary Macross and Robotech franchises. This expansive agreement signed by both companies on March 1, 2021, ends two decades of disagreements and will allow Bigwest and Harmony Gold to chart a new path that will unlock the great potential of both the Macross and Robotech franchises worldwide. The landmark agreement immediately permits worldwide distribution of most of the Macross films and television sequels worldwide, and also confirms that Bigwest will not oppose the Japanese release of an anticipated upcoming live-action Robotech film. The agreement also recognizes Harmony Gold’s longstanding exclusive license with Tatsunoko for the use of the 41 Macross characters and mecha in the Robotech television series and related merchandise throughout the world excluding Japan. Moving forward, both parties will cooperate on distribution regarding future Macross and Robotech projects for the benefit of both franchises.”

Regarding the details of what Macross instalments will be given a wider release remains to be seen. I have also reached out to companies like Bandai Spirits to find out whether their extensive toy and model kit lines for Macross will also be finally released globally.

In any case, as a long-term fan of Macross, I can happily say that today is definitely a good day.

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A Look at the Mighty Battleship SDF-1

SUPER DIMENSION FORTRESS

M  A  C  R  O  S  S

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"Robotech or Super Dimension Fortress Macross is an anime series many of you [under the leadership Barry Bend] have requested that we cover over the years. Well, I finally got around to watching the Macross Saga and studying the ship at the center of the show: the SDF-1."

- Generation Films

The History of Robotech

ROBOTECH

Stands as One of the Greatest

Anime Series of All Time

Robotech (1985) is an original story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series:

1. The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982–1983)
2. Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (1984)
3. Genesis Climber MOSPEADA (1983–1984)

Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required, since they originally aired in Japan as weekly series. On some television stations, the syndicated run was preceded by the broadcast premiere of Codename: Robotech, a feature-length pilot. 

This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations, as mankind must fight three destructive 'Robotech Wars' in succession with various invading forces, each of which is motivated in one way or another by a desire for a powerful energy source called 'protoculture'. While each of the three animated series used for its footage informs its content, the Robotech storyline is distinct and separate from each of them.

• The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity's discovery of a crashed alien ship and subsequent battle against a race of giant warriors called the Zentraedi, who have been sent to retrieve the ship for reasons unknown. In the course of this chapter, Earth is nearly annihilated, the Zentraedi are defeated, and humans gain knowledge of the energy source called protoculture. Humanity also learns of the Robotech Masters whose galactic empire the Zentraedi protected and patrolled.
• The Second Robotech War (The Masters) focuses on the arrival in Earth orbit of the Robotech Masters, who have come seeking what turns out to be the sole means in the universe of producing protoculture. Through a combination of mistrust and arrogance, their attempts at retrieving this meet with opposition from the humans and unleash a war that leaves the Masters defeated and Earth awash in the spores of a plant called the Flower of Life—the source of protoculture and a beacon to the mysterious Invid who scour the galaxy for its presence.
• The Third Robotech War (The New Generation) begins with the arrival on Earth of the Invid, who are lured by the Flower of Life and rapidly conquer the planet. References in the previous two chapters explain to viewers that many of the heroes of the First Robotech War had left Earth to seek out the Robotech Masters on a preemptive mission, and it is this Robotech Expeditionary Force that sends missions back from across the galaxy to attempt a liberation of their homeworld. The storyline follows one group of freedom fighters as they work their way towards the final battle with the Invid.

Fan-made Trailer for Robotech Valkyrie Project

Fan Film based on the Robotech Macross saga. This is a work in progress.

Carl Macek's Robotech Universe!

HARMONY GOLD ANNOUNCES SPECIAL
FREE THEATRICAL SCREENING OF
CARL MACEK'S ROBOTECH UNIVERSE!

Robotech 3D Movie (Complete)

Macross Memories