EXO Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 would the robotech fans both hardcore and newcomers these days welcome a new series without any relation to anything macross? Current fans will watch anything with the tag on it, but under a different staff, good solid story with good animation and designs, you'll always draw new audiences to a fresher, unencumbered product. Another necessity would be to get it on an actual network that people watch. Channels like The Hub, Cartoon Network, or even Syfy or FX. Sadly for them, none of those things will ever be put into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonc Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 With the news of Toynami shrinking in size with the letting go of Daisuke, the guy who sculpted the Robotech toys, I wonder if they're moving on from doing more of the toys? It doesn't look as though they were planning on releasing their 1/100 line anymore, and by the looks of it and from the rumor mill, the Robotech toy line maybe vaporware. The sales of the Battlepods is very poor, and they are being sold at fire sale prices. That usually spells one thing, no interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zor Primus Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 With the news of Toynami shrinking in size with the letting go of Daisuke, the guy who sculpted the Robotech toys, I wonder if they're moving on from doing more of the toys? It doesn't look as though they were planning on releasing their 1/100 line anymore, and by the looks of it and from the rumor mill, the Robotech toy line maybe vaporware. The sales of the Battlepods is very poor, and they are being sold at fire sale prices. That usually spells one thing, no interest. Guess that boat with the light artillery will never leave port & so much for the Glaug...I'd bet instead of the global economic crisis this one will be blamed on the pirates that sail the South China Sea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoneWolf Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I was also disappointed to see Toynami let go of Daisuke, his 1/100 vinyl sculpts were great. It appeared that Daisuke's 1/100 Glaug/Officer's Pod prototype for Toynami was finished, so they could technically still release it even though he's been let go, though it would be a bittersweet release. Given the alleged poor sales of the recent 1/100 toys, it's entirely possible that Toynami's going to be downsizing their Robotech/Macross toy line, but I don't believe the line will completely vanish. I think we'll still see the occassional reissue or cheap toy release. Why? If Toynami were to completely stop releasing Macross toys, then that would place Harmony Gold's "Macross" toy* trademark in jeopardy. Trademarks are a use it or lose it deal. In order to keep Harmony Gold's toy trademark alive, toys bearing the "Macross" name must be continually released. * This scenario would only apply to toys, not other products like DVD's, books, etc. Guess that boat with the light artillery will never leave port The light artillery battlepod was released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkwater Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Why? If Toynami were to completely stop releasing Macross toys, then that would place Harmony Gold's "Macross" toy* trademark in jeopardy. Trademarks are a use it or lose it deal. In order to keep Harmony Gold's toy trademark alive, toys bearing the "Macross" name must be continually released. If that is the case, it woudl take a loooong time, and it woudln't necessarily have to be be toys, it could be anything with the "Macross" name like comics, DVD's, and KICK-ASS CALENDARS!!!! In fact, I don't think there was any Robotech products (let alone Macross) between 1998 - 2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonc Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Daisuke WAS Toynami's division that did those toys. As of now, it looks like they're branching off into other venues. While it sucks that Daisuke was let go (he's very talented), I'm not much for seeing Robotech toys come out. It's better that HG realize that their market is drying up, than to keep on pretending that they're doing so much with the franchise. They won't make TPB print runs here due to market, they seem to have the toys drying up...hopefully it's a trend that keeps growing. Sorry, but I'd rather have the mess disappear, than keep great products out of the states, and the rest of the world for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondTheGrave Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Current fans will watch anything with the tag on it, but under a different staff, good solid story with good animation and designs, you'll always draw new audiences to a fresher, unencumbered product. Another necessity would be to get it on an actual network that people watch. Channels like The Hub, Cartoon Network, or even Syfy or FX. Sadly for them, none of those things will ever be put into place. Doubt CN would show anything that wouldn't cater to the stoner crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freiflug88 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 With the news of Toynami shrinking in size with the letting go of Daisuke, the guy who sculpted the Robotech toys, I wonder if they're moving on from doing more of the toys? Unfortantly it sounds like Toynami is downsizing just to try and survive like Bandai, Mediablasters, etc. Doubt CN would show anything that wouldn't cater to the stoner crowd. Too bad Robotech doesn't have anything like mystic plants, space crabs that invade earth to reverse global warming, or "We will Win Get High" to cater to such a demanding audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azrael Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Unfortantly it sounds like Toynami is downsizing just to try and survive like Bandai, Mediablasters, etc. My thoughts exactly. 2012 isn't looking too good for anime, in general. If the Rowbowtech/Macross-line wasn't returning decent numbers and if they couldn't move they guy to another unit, you don't have much of a choice but to layoff. Simple business practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondTheGrave Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Too bad Robotech doesn't have anything like mystic plants, space crabs that invade earth to reverse global warming, or "We will Win Get High" to cater to such a demanding audience. Let me rephrase. if your not tim and eric, or the rights to the show are insanely cheap. Then it probably won't be picked up by cn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjar Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 My thoughts exactly. 2012 isn't looking too good for anime, in general. If the Rowbowtech/Macross-line wasn't returning decent numbers and if they couldn't move they guy to another unit, you don't have much of a choice but to layoff. Simple business practice. You could argue, in fact one person probably will, that Harmony Gold is doing better than others if only because they're posers in the anime business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mecha2241 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You could argue, in fact one person probably will, that Harmony Gold is doing better than others if only because they're posers in the anime business. You mean like this: http://robotech.com/community/forum/read.php?id=1891046&forumid=31&pagenumber=38#post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EXO Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Doubt CN would show anything that wouldn't cater to the stoner crowd. I didn't say they would... I just said that's the kind of exposure an animated show would need to garner some success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondTheGrave Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 RT and success doesn't sound right. Like a paradox of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-15 Banshee Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Do you think that perhaps a little part of it is a general apathy towards sci-fi these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azrael Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Do you think that perhaps a little part of it is a general apathy towards sci-fi these days? What do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-15 Banshee Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Well from comments above on what it takes for a cartoon to be "successful" these days, I chimed in with the above post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjar Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Well from comments above on what it takes for a cartoon to be "successful" these days, I chimed in with the above post. How about just effort? And if it's a continuing series/franchise, continuity storywise and production wise? Also, I realized that at the moment a comic book reboot for Robotech would not be a good idea right now because it would look like they were following Macross the First. You mean like this: http://robotech.com/...enumber=38#post Someone will probably have to do a talkshoe podcast to address it. Edited January 13, 2012 by Einherjar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynaman Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Do you think that perhaps a little part of it is a general apathy towards sci-fi these days? Since there is no apathy that I can see, the answer would have to be no. At least not in books, TV, or Movies, I don't keep any track of comics if that is what you are referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taksraven Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Let me rephrase. if your not tim and eric, or the rights to the show are insanely cheap. Then it probably won't be picked up by cn. I'm sure that Tim and Eric would do an interesting take on Robotech....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zor Primus Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 There's that word again...tent pole.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azrael Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 How about just effort? And if it's a continuing series/franchise, continuity storywise and production wise? Since there is no apathy that I can see, the answer would have to be no. At least not in books, TV, or Movies, I don't keep any track of comics if that is what you are referring to. I have to agree with the statements. I see no apathy toward the genre. More like, if you are serving turd from any genre, don't expect people to eat it. Smallville was on for a good 10 years. It made itself presentable to a very wide audience. It did very good work with its characters and used good stories. Inception performed great at the box office using a good story and good characters. So for the question of is it due in part to apathy towards sci-fi these days, I'm gonna say the answer is a definite "No". If you have a good story and good characters, then people will watch it, regardless of what genre it is. If any kind of Robotech-revival/reimaging/thingy happened, people would watch it if it presented itself well. It's not doing that now and probably won't until someone else steps in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF-15 Banshee Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I guess I was talking more about space sci-fi rather than more general sci-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freiflug88 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 It's the entertainment industry that has an apathy for producing Sci-fi. Sci-fi projects are much more expensive, time consuming, and complex then Cookie-cutter dramas. Hence Sci-fi producers and producions are a small minority in the entertainment sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketchley Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) ... not to mention that it's a lot more difficult to sneak product placements in as a way to offset production costs and increase revenue streams. Edited January 13, 2012 by sketchley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonc Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 There's that word again...tent pole.. Who's pitching a tent pole for Robotech? Definitely isn't me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legioss Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) Not that I'm pitching a tent pole for Robotech swirling down the toilet, which is what praising Robotech nowadays usually is, but the We Will Win EP got here this morning and it's pretty good. It's the best product that has come out for Robotech since the Robotech Perfect Soundtrack Album in 1996. This is because the source material was made at the same time as the show. I don't like the Tommy Yune art, but the music sounds the best it could possibly sound. I would not be praising it if it wasn't good. You may remember I didn't like the A&E box and have already sold it. It starts off with the version on the previous soundtracks. The sounds are clearer and positioned better, not the fake stereo or tracks taken from the show that it used to be. 2nd track is the third verse. Then they play the piano solo. Then the 4th track is the instrumental that sounds like it has another instrument in place of her voice but it's just louder. The fifth track is a guitar solo. Then they combine the song, the third verse, and the guitar solo together to make a better version that wasn't possible in the 80s. Then there's the Minmei version of The Way To Love. I remember people telling me it didn't exist when you can hear it in the background when Jack Baker takes his test and the instrumental (not on here) is in Hard Times when Rook sees Romy. The Sentinels/Movie Main Title is next and then the The Way To Love piano solo (the piano solos were on the previous release). There are "Robotech 25 years" logos all over it and it does say on the cover "25th Anniversary Edition" with a 2011 copyright. Close enough for me since I don't care about their missed anniversary. Basically, the Robotech music doesn't sound cheap anymore because it's in real stereo. The quality goes up because these songs have a lot of instruments. As for Rebecca Forstadt, she wasn't a professional singer so I won't comment on this forum about her. I personally wasn't bothered by her voice in this new recording though. The reason I wanted this was for the Sentinels Main Title and I got it but was surprised at We Will Win becoming listenable again. If you're boycotting Harmony Gold, of course you don't want to buy anything from them. I personally don't believe my purchases really matter and when they have something I won't want to get rid of later, like the AnimEigo Macross DVDs I got from them last year, then I buy it. Toynami shutting down wouldn't effect me at all because I have no room to store their floppy flimsy toys made of weird plastic anyway (I used to own an MPC Rick). I'm still trying to get rid of Robotech toys I already have. I also don't care about their comics or RPGs aside from things like a page with Annie or Dana. If they got somebody to write a novel it might be good, but then again Tommy would want to write it for them. Edited January 14, 2012 by Legioss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondTheGrave Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Do you think that perhaps a little part of it is a general apathy towards sci-fi these days? No. More likely a lack of tie-in merchandise that can be easily purchased at local big box store. As far as RT goes. Full revamp. Kill the series entirely. Then relaunch under completely different name, designs, stories etc. But that cost money. Edited January 14, 2012 by BeyondTheGrave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waters7 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Not that I'm pitching a tent pole for Robotech swirling down the toilet, which is what praising Robotech nowadays usually is, but the We Will Win EP got here this morning and it's pretty good... I actually got mine delivered apparently on thursday (I say apparently since I didn't notice until yesterday that I had the package waiting at my front door and I never got a confirmation email nor my credit card has been charged) I got to admit, the work done in remastering the track is actually very good. When you compare the normal version of we will win of past soundtracks, you can tell that a lot of effort was put on this work. For once, I applaud HG for their effort, I wish they would do work like this more often. About the content itself, I was amazed to find out that I had the "third verse" of we will win all this time. I remember downloading it from a site called unspacy database. IIRC, this third verse was part of the robotech.com beta in some way (I cant confirm this since I didn't join that website until 2003). I remeber posting a link to this mp3 in robotech.com. Juan from robotechespanol posted a AMV of Robotech with this third verse and he was claiming that he got it from some insider Then there's the Minmei version of The Way To Love. I remember people telling me it didn't exist when you can hear it in the background when Jack Baker takes his test and the instrumental (not on here) is in Hard Times when Rook sees Romy. The Sentinels/Movie Main Title is next and then the The Way To Love piano solo (the piano solos were on the previous release). Actually, this is not the first time that this song comes out in an official product If you check the pic below, the first LP from left to right was released back in 1987 (even before the official US Robotech soundtrack) in France. This LP has The Way to Love sung by Rebecca Forstadt and it also has The Flower of Life sung by Joanne Harris. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjar Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) So some of the tracks are "new" instead of new, in terms of calender art, and/or, in terms of DVD set, a re-release with touch ups? Edited January 14, 2012 by Einherjar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waters7 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 So some of the tracks are "new" instead of new, in terms of calender art, and/or, in terms of DVD set, a re-release with touch ups? I'm afraid I don't understand the question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjar Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I'm afraid I don't understand the question From what you said about the tracks, one was already circulating on the Internet for years prior to this release and another had been released before in France and other releases. I assumed that it meant the new and never before released tracks promoted in this soundtrack are actually considered “new” and “unreleased” because they were never released in the U.S. if at all before. It’s like the deal with the calendar that just came out, with artwork considered “new” when they could be art from the OSM that had never been associated with Robotech before and never seen by fans in the West. I also mentioned the DVD re-releases because the only things that actually changes between them are enhancements to the video and audio quality. Since some of the tracks have been available in some form in the past, wouldn’t it be fair to call this soundtrack, if at least some of it, an enhanced re-release? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasonc Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I wonder if they plan on paying the artist who performed the songs? Knowing how cheap they are, probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waters7 Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 From what you said about the tracks, one was already circulating on the Internet for years prior to this release and another had been released before in France and other releases. I assumed that it meant the new and never before released tracks promoted in this soundtrack are actually considered “new” and “unreleased” because they were never released in the U.S. if at all before. It’s like the deal with the calendar that just came out, with artwork considered “new” when they could be art from the OSM that had never been associated with Robotech before and never seen by fans in the West. I also mentioned the DVD re-releases because the only things that actually changes between them are enhancements to the video and audio quality. Since some of the tracks have been available in some form in the past, wouldn’t it be fair to call this soundtrack, if at least some of it, an enhanced re-release? Thank you for clearing that up. You know how HG works (they call LLA new when in reality, it is not new). The tracks themselves are not being released for the first time rather, they are being released for the first time to fans in the west and in CD format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taksraven Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 It's the entertainment industry that has an apathy for producing Sci-fi. Sci-fi projects are much more expensive, time consuming, and complex then Cookie-cutter dramas. Hence Sci-fi producers and producions are a small minority in the entertainment sector. Yeah, but when you look at the list of top grossing films you can see that it is dominated by SF, Fantasy and Comic Book films, and "cookie-cutter drama's" are pretty much nowhere to be seen...... (Unless you want to count Titanic and Forrest Gump as "cookie cutter drama's", which they are not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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