Robotech Remastered Series

[Skull Leader]

Most of us here are diehards who have little to do with Robotech on a whole, but I would encourage you to have a look at this....

I recently decided to look into this new "Robotech: Remastered" series that has hit the market. My first encounter was a pleasant one, as the first 2-disc set (6 episodes per disc) was a mere $19.99 at my local Hastings. That price for a 2 disc set was decent so I considered the risk justifiable and bought it.

It's very much a no-nonsense DVD set, offering nothing in the way of DVD extras (some ADV previews and that's it).

The first thing you will notice is that the opening/theme has been modified. They now use only a moment of the "film" footage at the beginning and then switch to the original Japanese Macross opening footage. While the music has remained unchanged, sound effects have been altered/revamped, and the title/credit font has been very much updated.

Opening rating: 9/10 (this really is a nod to it's Macross roots.. and in my case it's appreciated)

The resolution itself has been extremely brightened... even if they didn't use animego's stock footage to work from, the colors are very bright and in many places smoothed over. There are sections with some pixilation, which many find annoying... I'm not the audio/videophile that many people are, so I was able to let it slip. It's nothing too intense, just makes the graphics look a little choppy at points. I rather thought this was well done overall though... at some points it was clean enough that I felt like I was watching newer anime (I got a similar sensation while watching the Animego set)

Resolution rating: 7.5-8/10 (it's really well done for the most part, but every once in a great while, the pixilation steps in and makes you scream)

There is supposed to be added footage, but from what I have been able to watch so far, very little has been added (for example: in Episode #1, they added the footage of Hikaru and Roy looking at Minmay's butt as she leads her little cousin home, but THAT WAS IT... they did NOT add the earlier conversation between the mayor and his friend, Global leaving the platform, the minmay footage from Hikaru's cockpit, OR Roy shooting the Zentraedi in the back).. it seems to me that they may be intent to add footage, but only where they can get away without adding any more dialogue. I guess for Robotech fans, this is boss... but Macross fans will still be seeing a hack-job. (edit: I forgot.. in Episode #1, they DID insert the footage of Hikaru and Roy in the biplanes while Hikaru was falling from the sky)

Added footage rating: 2/10 (you don't take the second least significant extra footage and add it in while shunning all the others... no difference at all! There's still much that Robotech fans won't see)

The REAL change is in the sound effects. To hack a well known phrase: "they giveth and they taketh away..." some of the changes are quite nice... others just plain suck. Rick's fanracer now sounds more like a performance aircraft instead of a flying lawn-mower. All the jet-engine sounds have been improved a great deal and sound much better (in my opinion), while gunfire has been hacked. Gone is the well known "buzzsaw" of the gunpod... depending on which scene you're watching, you'll either hear the heavy "thump,thump,thump" similar to a .50 caliber machinegun, or some kind of pulsed laser (or something inbetween). The Missile sounds and explosions have all been changed, and in most cases for the better... some aren't so hot though. The new space-battle sound effects go from decent to downright wretched. They sound pretty advanced in some places, and others sound like they were lifted from the game "Space Invaders". I did notice a couple of nice touches where dialogue was involved... while there is dialogue in an enclosed space, you can hear a faint metal-echo which typically follows with speaking in an enclosed area, also.... dialogue volume is now directly tied to their relative distance on screen (if they're really far away or part of a crowd, the dialogue is soft, as they get closer or become alone, it increases in volume)

SFX rating: 8/10 (most are really well done... but there are a few that can ruin it for anyone)

Overall, I'll rate this an 8 out of 10. The remastering of the graphics and sfx really breathe some life into some seriously old anime. I personally do not mind the change in sound effects, but I realize there are others... more purist than myself, who will shun them altogether because they are different. While obviously there is no change in the story, I think the use of the original opening footage was a plus. The voices all seem like they were cleaned up pretty nicely, and while that means Reba West's voice is that much harsher, all of the other voices (which really aren't bad) sound much better. Although I am still a Macross purist (it will ALWAYS be better than Robotech in my mind), I can honestly say I am not ashamed to own this set and I will pick up the others as I can. If you are an American fan who seriously WANTS to believe that Robotech fans have something worth watching, I think now they do. I think it's the most respectable rendition of Robotech yet. Considering the change in opening footage and the price rate, I'm almost inclined to believe that HG is starting to listen to US Macross fans a little.

If you're even a little open minded, pick it up! You won't be dissapointed.

Edited February 19, 2004 by Skull Leader