Importing Macross blu-rays from Japan

[KOG Water Dragon]

OK. I'm trying to collect various Macross media on blu-ray.

I got the Macross Plus Ultimate Edition from Crunchyroll. I will hopefully be getting the Macross Zero collection soon.

I am signed up for the Macross II kickstarter and will get that when finally released.

I just ordered the japanese DYRL 4K with english subtitles from Amazon.

I was excited when they announced Macross Delta and Frontier getting officially released in the US. but that seems to have stumbled.

So my question is, what is it like to order Delta and Frontier content as japanese release editions?

They seem to all be region free so they will play OK on US region A players?

And it looks like most Frontier media has no english subtitles, while most Delta content does? Is that fair to say? And how is the quality of the english subtitles on the japanese releases?

And I'm not too familiar with the additional materials released outside the main TV series... can anyone tell me which additional blu rays would be recommended beyond the main series?

[Seto Kaiba]

32 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

So my question is, what is it like to order Delta and Frontier content as japanese release editions?

Aside from any eccentricities specific to your preferred online storefront, the main thing you have to worry about is sticker shock from the cost of physical media and the cost of the international shipping.

CDJapan has been my preferred store for a couple years now.  I've generally had a very good, problem-free experience with them.  I've typically used DHL or FedEx for international express shipment and that's been largely problem free for me aside from one or two delays in customs.

 

32 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

They seem to all be region free so they will play OK on US region A players?

Yes.

 

32 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

And it looks like most Frontier media has no english subtitles, while most Delta content does? Is that fair to say?

Yeah, aside from I think one specific box set the Macross Frontier releases are Japanese-only while all the Macross Delta Blu-rays were cheekily given English subs in anticipation of them being purchased internationally in defiance of Harmony Gold's then-ongoing blockage of licensing outside Japan.  

 

32 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

And how is the quality of the english subtitles on the japanese releases?

Quite good, IMO.  

 

32 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

And I'm not too familiar with the additional materials released outside the main TV series... can anyone tell me which additional blu rays would be recommended beyond the main series?

The movies, mainly.  You've already covered Macross II and Macross Plus.  The Macross 7 "Complete Fire" two-volume box set has all the Macross 7 supplemental material including the Macross Dynamite 7 OVA, Macross 7: the Galaxy is Calling Me! movie, the Macross 7 PLUS omakes, and the unbroadcasted episodes sometimes referred to as Macross 7 Encore.  Macross FB7: Listen to My Song! is sold separately, and the Macross Frontier: the Labyrinth of Time is included with the blu-ray of the second Macross Delta movie.

Macross Zero's available in the US already, so you don't have to worry about that one.  

[KOG Water Dragon]

30 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Aside from any eccentricities specific to your preferred online storefront, the main thing you have to worry about is sticker shock from the cost of physical media and the cost of the international shipping.

CDJapan has been my preferred store for a couple years now.  I've generally had a very good, problem-free experience with them.  I've typically used DHL or FedEx for international express shipment and that's been largely problem free for me aside from one or two delays in customs.

 

Yes.

 

Yeah, aside from I think one specific box set the Macross Frontier releases are Japanese-only while all the Macross Delta Blu-rays were cheekily given English subs in anticipation of them being purchased internationally in defiance of Harmony Gold's then-ongoing blockage of licensing outside Japan.  

 

Quite good, IMO.  

 

The movies, mainly.  You've already covered Macross II and Macross Plus.  The Macross 7 "Complete Fire" two-volume box set has all the Macross 7 supplemental material including the Macross Dynamite 7 OVA, Macross 7: the Galaxy is Calling Me! movie, the Macross 7 PLUS omakes, and the unbroadcasted episodes sometimes referred to as Macross 7 Encore.  Macross FB7: Listen to My Song! is sold separately, and the Macross Frontier: the Labyrinth of Time is included with the blu-ray of the second Macross Delta movie.

Macross Zero's available in the US already, so you don't have to worry about that one.  

Sorry, I meant to say I was asking specifically about Macross Frontier and Delta releases that aren't the main TV series for each.

Like I don't know what Macross Frontier Galaxy Live Final 2025 and Macross Frontier Galaxy Live Final 2021 are. And I guess there's at least 2 movies for Frontier, and maybe 3+ movies for Delta? Are the movies new material or made up of TV clips?

[Seto Kaiba]

9 minutes ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

Sorry, I meant to say I was asking specifically about Macross Frontier and Delta releases that aren't the main TV series for each.

Like I don't know what Macross Frontier Galaxy Live Final 2025 and Macross Frontier Galaxy Live Final 2021 are. And I guess there's at least 2 movies for Frontier, and maybe 3+ movies for Delta? Are the movies new material or made up of TV clips?

I can't speak to the concert Blu-rays.  That's not really my thing, so I haven't collected them.

Macross Frontier has two movies: The False Songstress and The Wings of Goodbye.  The two films together form a single DYRL?-style alternate version of the events of Macross Frontier's TV series with different approaches to the characters, some original designs, etc.  It also has one epilogue OVA, The Labyrinth of Time, which is packaged with the second of Macross Delta's movies, because they were released together as a double-feature.  There is also the aforementioned Macross 7 crossover/clipshow OVA thing Macross FB7: Listen to my Song!, which is kind of a 7-Frontier mashup similar to Flash Back 2012.

Macross Delta has two movies: Passionate Walkure and Absolute Live!!!!!!.  The first (Passionate Walkure) is a DYRL?-style retelling of the events of the Macross Delta TV series, albeit without much in the way of new/original design works or radical changes.  The second film (Absolute Live!!!!!!) is an all-new original story set after the events of the first film with an emphasis on wrapping up the various dangling threads of character arcs for characters like Hayate, Freyja, and Mirage.  Absolute Live!!!!!! also came packaged with Macross Frontier's epilogue short The Labyrinth of Time.

[camk4evr]

You can get  The False Songstress and The Wings of Good-bye with english subtitles. It may depend on the release though.

[SSK]

17 hours ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

I was excited when they announced Macross Delta and Frontier getting officially released in the US. but that seems to have stumbled.

I trust Anime Limited more than Crunchyroll, but yeah, again, it's taking too much time without any communication. If I remember correctly, Frontier was scheduled to be released in fall 2025 and Delta in 2026.

But well, that's the overall story of the Macross franchise outside Japan. Still restricted to Asian and English markets despite the 2021 worldwide agreement claiming that everything was cleared worldwide. No update on Disney+ in other territories. No more language than English, Chinese and Korean.  Only France is lucky enough to get some Blurays (same as UK/US)... because Anime Limited got a French subsidiary.

[KOG Water Dragon]

OK... I had ordered this before I started asking about the Frontier and Delta JP releases... just yesterday I received a copy of the 4K DYRL from Amazon Japan. I am so beyond happy. I've wanted a good quality official subtitled copy of DYRL for a looooooooong time. It plays fine on my PS5, the subtitles seem good, visual quality is fantastic, and the package art is just lovely.

Looking forward to investing in some more JP releases, starting with Delta (since it has subtitles). A lot of the JP releases seem to have really really nice packaging.