Robotech - The Macross Saga - Legacy Collection 3
Producers at Harmony Gold edited togetherSuper Dimension Fortress: Macross,Genesis Climber Mospeada, andSuper Dimensional Cavalry Southern Crossto createRobotech(1985), a landmark sci-fi adventure that helped to establish an audience for Japanese animation in America. In the final episodes of theMacrosssegment, the Lisa-Rick-Minmei romantic triangle plays out against the ongoing Earth-Zentraedi conflict and the machinations of rebel Zentraedi captain Khyron, which devastate much of the planet.Intimations of a new threat posed by the distant Robotech Masters serve as a lead-in to the second part of the epic. A planned 65-episode fourth installment in the saga was never completed, but the first four episodes and some additional footage were combined into the featureRobotech II: The Sentinels, the final installment in theRobotechcontinuity. The supplemental "Elements of Robotechnology III" disc includesThe Sentinels, a trailer for it prepared for the 1987 Toy Fair, and a rather self-serving commentary by writer-director Carl Macek. Members of Gen-X who grew up onRobotechwill delight in retracing these romances and battles; it's a classic, of sorts. Viewers accustomed to the more rapid pacing, dynamic action, and sophisticated direction of recent anime will tire of the endless shilly-shallying. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles.--Charles Solomon