I first saw Robotech as an 11-year old at 6 in the morning back in early 1986, when it aired for the first time. Having grown up on anime in the form of Marine Boy, Battle of the Planets, Star Blazers, and Astroboy, I was totally blown away by this incredible series.
It was not until nearly a decade later I learned of Robotech's Japanese origins, that it was a melding of three totally unrelated Japanese anime series. That just increased my awe of this series. To take three totally unrelated series and make it into a coherent story spanning almost half a century is absolutely incredible (the only link was that Super Dimension Cavalry: Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, which constituted the "Robotech Masters" and "New Generation" portions of Robotech, were trying to cash in on the phenomenal success of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, which obtained a cult following on prime-time Japanese television).
What made the show so popular then, and still makes it amazingly popular more than 15 years on, is a combination of storyline, mecha, and characters that people connected to. Sure, there were transforming robots, lots of battles and action, but these things did not cause detriment to the storyline. Characters died, grieved, fell in love, bickered, protested, the list goes on. And these aspects made the story, and were never overshadowed by the slick Veritech fighters and alien mecha, but were instead complimented by them.
It took bold steps in the somewhat conservative realm of American cartoon timeslots - major characters died, Earth was annihilated, and characters fought the odds and won. Fans talk of how they cried when Roy Fokker died, how they cheered the RDF on as the SDF-1 and the Zentraedi aligned with them took on 4 million ships and beat them, how they cursed when Rick Hunter was pining over the annoying Lynn Minmei when Lisa Hayes was right under his nose the whole time. Fans related to the characters, the story, their trials and tribulations.
Add to this a brilliant background music soundtrack and mood-setting songs (the Lynn Minmei rendition of "We Will Win" as SDF-1 and her air group took the enemy armada head on could only be be described as inspiring) and you have a series which will stand the test of time.
Macross purists can bag it all they want, but they must realise anime would not have gained as big a foot in the door of the US market if it weren't for Robotech - anime would still be imported from Japan and viewed in college dorms and club meetings instead of seeing the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion on the shelves of the local video library or DVD store.
Robotech's popularity has not dwindled over the past 15 years, but has instead flourished, bringing new fans who may not have even been born the time the series first aired. This can be evidenced at the series' official site, with the Robotech Renaissance being born in recent times with new DVDs, collectors' items, computer games for the latest platforms, and even talk of the possibility of a new series to entice the next generation of Robotech fans.
It was not until nearly a decade later I learned of Robotech's Japanese origins, that it was a melding of three totally unrelated Japanese anime series. That just increased my awe of this series. To take three totally unrelated series and make it into a coherent story spanning almost half a century is absolutely incredible (the only link was that Super Dimension Cavalry: Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, which constituted the "Robotech Masters" and "New Generation" portions of Robotech, were trying to cash in on the phenomenal success of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, which obtained a cult following on prime-time Japanese television).
What made the show so popular then, and still makes it amazingly popular more than 15 years on, is a combination of storyline, mecha, and characters that people connected to. Sure, there were transforming robots, lots of battles and action, but these things did not cause detriment to the storyline. Characters died, grieved, fell in love, bickered, protested, the list goes on. And these aspects made the story, and were never overshadowed by the slick Veritech fighters and alien mecha, but were instead complimented by them.
It took bold steps in the somewhat conservative realm of American cartoon timeslots - major characters died, Earth was annihilated, and characters fought the odds and won. Fans talk of how they cried when Roy Fokker died, how they cheered the RDF on as the SDF-1 and the Zentraedi aligned with them took on 4 million ships and beat them, how they cursed when Rick Hunter was pining over the annoying Lynn Minmei when Lisa Hayes was right under his nose the whole time. Fans related to the characters, the story, their trials and tribulations.
Add to this a brilliant background music soundtrack and mood-setting songs (the Lynn Minmei rendition of "We Will Win" as SDF-1 and her air group took the enemy armada head on could only be be described as inspiring) and you have a series which will stand the test of time.
Macross purists can bag it all they want, but they must realise anime would not have gained as big a foot in the door of the US market if it weren't for Robotech - anime would still be imported from Japan and viewed in college dorms and club meetings instead of seeing the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion on the shelves of the local video library or DVD store.
Robotech's popularity has not dwindled over the past 15 years, but has instead flourished, bringing new fans who may not have even been born the time the series first aired. This can be evidenced at the series' official site, with the Robotech Renaissance being born in recent times with new DVDs, collectors' items, computer games for the latest platforms, and even talk of the possibility of a new series to entice the next generation of Robotech fans.