Sunday, 08-Nov-2009 05:03:26 CST
Global
History of Anime
Macross Hits The US
Capitalizing on the time tested idea of merchandising
the hell out of whatever you've got, the crew at Big West launched
a show whose echoes are still heard today. If Urusei Yatsura wasn't
enough to kill SSX once and for all, then Super Dimensional Fortress
Macross surely was. Macross is a surprisingly standard story that's
raised several notches higher with its character design and most
importantly, its mechanical design. When this thing came out, everyone
and I mean everyone wanted a Valkyrie toy for their very own.
Companies like Bandai and Takutoku were more than happy to grind
these things out (as a side note, Takutoku went bankrupt just before
the huge toy boom hit. Fittingly, one of their last items was a
super armor kit for a stock Valkyrie ... now VERY scarce and demanding
top dollar from anyone trying to find one). As Macross' popularity
soared, out comes the Macross Movie in 1984 (aka Do You Remember
Love? ), and the fans went through the roof. With a huge budget
and stunning animation, this film took Japanese fandom by storm.
Interestingly, this was one of the first films where lip movements
were even considered when writing the dialogue ... something that
US animation fans take for granted but is seldom if ever considered
by the Japanese. With the Macross Movie, you actually had lip sync
in Japanese. The Macross series, being about the hottest thing in
Japan at the time, was then licensed for distribution in the US.
With an eye toward getting it on television but faced with the fact
that US stations wouldn't run a series with only 36 episodes, the
decision was made to cut Macross and two unrelated television series
together.
One man's vision was responsible for Harmony Gold's project: Carl
Macek. He was able to get his project syndicated on television all
over the US (like Fred Ladd with Astro Boy before him), and his
Robotech became responsible for many of today's most ardent (Third
Wave) fans. Macross didn't stop there, though. The Macross II series
of OVA's followed, and they in turn were followed by an OVA series
which was as stunning to newer fans as the Macross Movie was to
1984's fans: Macross Plus. One of the most expensive OVA series
produced to date, this new series is a barnburner, and even that
isn't the end. The new television series Macross 7 has recently
concluded on Japanese TV, but we don't expect it to be brought over
to the US anytime soon. The good guys fight their wars with music
and musical instruments. While this is an interesting concept (and
in keeping with the original Macross storyline), it is not the most
effective imagery for the US mass market.
One other thing about Macross while we're on the subject, and that
is the name. Think about this for a second. Macross (Macintosh).
Macross II (Macintosh II). Macross Plus (Macintosh Plus). Macross
7 (System 7). What's next ... Power Macross? Macross Quadra? ?
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