Review of Robotech: The Masters - Volume 1

Introduction

The fourth volume of Robotech is upon us, the anime epic crafted by Carl Macek for US television. He took three unrelated series, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeadia, and from them created the Robotech saga, editing them into one multigenerational story. With a new English soundtrack to match the new story, Robotech served as introduction to the world of anime for many a fan. There have been several releases of Robotech, especially in the US, but this Remastered version sees the image cleared up, the soundtrack given a DD 5.1 work over, and more interestingly, the restoration of those elements originally considered unsuitable for audience consumption. Of course, this being my introduction to Robotech, I can`t really compare and contrast.

This fourth volume contains the first half of the Robotech Masters saga, the first 12 episodes in the middle arc of the Robotech epic, re-edited and spliced together from Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, presented here on two discs.

15 years have passed since the defeat of the Zentraedi and Admiral Gloval`s heroic sacrifice. The survivors from the SDF-1 have been busy rebuilding, and society in the intermediate years has fallen into a feudal system, albeit a highly technological one. But while the humans defeated the Zentraedi at great cost, they have yet to face the Zentraedi`s overseers, the Robotech Masters, whose supplies of protoculture are running low and who now arrive in the solar system, greedily eyeing Earth`s protoculture resources. Dana Sterling, daughter of Max Sterling and Miriya, is now a young warrior, recently graduated from the military academy, and prone to getting into trouble. Nevertheless she gets placed in charge of her Southern Cross unit when the Robotech Masters launch their first attack, and acquits herself well.

This volume sees the Masters arrive with overwhelming force, and the Earth Defence Force having to come to terms with their superior technology. We see that Dana Sterling has something of a subliminal connection to the invaders, one that helps her find their weak spots in battle. She consequently finds herself on important missions, where her headstrong attitude and disregard for orders help her prevail against the odds, whether it`s in desperate defence of Earth, rescuing captured comrades, or volunteering to take the battle into space.

Video

Robotech is presented with a simple 4:3 regular picture. For an animation that is over 20 years old, the picture is remarkably bright and vibrant, with a minimum of print damage marring the image. The image quality does vary though, grain is prevalent at times, and the animation is determinedly old style, though certainly well accomplished. This volume isn`t altogether pristine however, as tape artefacts are apparent in some episodes. Robotech Masters, derived from a different series has a completely different animation style and design from Macross, and the difference becomes apparent early on when there are some flashbacks to the first series. I felt that the animation wasn`t as accomplished as in Macross, with repetition of scenes and a certain lack of fluidity in the action sequences. Once again, the restoration process is marred by pixellation, here on the latter half of the second disc. It gets particularly dire in episode 46, Stardust.

Audio

Just a single English track, but it has been given a DD 5.1 Surround polish. The dialogue is mostly clear and front focussed (although it occasionally gets a little muffled when there is a lot going on.) The surrounds are put to hefty use for the action sequences, with explosions, swooping fighter planes and bullets galore making themselves felt around the soundstage.

With just the show`s main themes playing over the action, I found myself curiously nostalgic for Minmei`s warbling. The themes begin to feel quite repetitive here, and it doesn`t help maintain the interest. Again the English dub is acceptable, although some of the dialogue is more than a little creaky. Also subtitles are absent once more.

Features

Not a thing.

Conclusion

With three different series edited into one, and starting with the rather splendid Macross, it would be a little naïve to expect the following series to live up to the established standard. Even after almost thirty years, Macross manages to entertain, down to the strength of its characters and an interesting story. However, even with the deftest of editing, you can`t change the fundamental heart of a story, and even though Robotech Masters goes to some lengths to establish Dana Sterling as the daughter of two characters in the earlier series, it doesn`t stop this first half of the series coming across as tedious and dull in comparison.

Many of the links between the two stories are provided through the narration, and they are quite obviously different series when it comes to the style of animation, as well as the worlds that they take place in. Quite naturally, you won`t see any of the characters from Macross, and the show conveniently glosses over the absence of the Zentraedi, even though the Zentraedi and humans wound up living and working side by side in Macross. Much more fundamental is that the Macross saga maintained the interest because of its characters. The characters grew and changed through the course of the story, and we got to see both sides of the war, from the human and the Zentraedi perspectives. The first twelve episodes of Robotech Masters lack any of that depth, with the characters presented on only the most superficial of levels, and their interactions minimal to the point of non-existence. Perhaps the most developed of the characters is Dana Sterling, the heroine of the piece, but that`s only to the point of presenting her as a fun loving maverick, who succeeds by breaking the rules and disobeying orders, yet gets away with it all the time. The mysterious foe remains so for much of this volume. We don`t get to know the Robotech Masters at all for the first nine episodes, by which point I was utterly bored with the whole experience.

This being the Remastered and Extended Edition, you would expect there to be some extra footage, although not having seen the original broadcasts, I don`t know exactly what has been restored. I can take a guess however, that Dana`s regular relaxing showers didn`t make it past the censors originally. You can see them in all their, um, glory here.

The juvenile characterisations and simplistic story of Macross that hold up so well in the light of nostalgia are positively Shakespearean in comparison to the Robotech Masters. I can understand if having seen this as a child originally, the desire to recapture that nostalgia could compel someone to purchase this. Indeed, that will probably be the target audience. I could even recommend Macross as a sterling example of how good animation could be in the past. But on the strength of this first volume, Robotech Masters just comes across as tedious, not a patch on the first series. This one is definitely a case of try before you buy.