Review of Robotech: The Masters - Volume 2

Introduction

It`s time for the fifth volume of Robotech, 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 fifth volume contains the second half of the Robotech Masters saga, the final 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.

In the last volume, the Masters attack on Earth placed the forces of the Southern Cross on the back foot, and political infighting made Earth`s response even less effective. The Masters use cloned humans, bioroids to pilot their weapons, and learning that causes mixed feelings for Earth`s defenders, especially when they capture Zor, a bioroid pilot. Dana is put to work rehabilitating Zor, helping him overcome his amnesia and learning his knowledge for use in Earth`s defence, but there are many who consider Zor a spy. It doesn`t help that Dana develops feelings for Zor. Meanwhile, the supreme commander`s strategy against the Masters becomes even more erratic. The Masters are up against time itself, as their supplies of protoculture dwindle, and the alien Invid menace approaches.

Video

Robotech is presented with a simple 4:3 regular aspect ratio. 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. In general the transfer quality is markedly improved over the previous volume. Tape artefacts are practically absent, and none of the pixellation that appeared in the previous discs turns up here. There is the constant presence of compression artefacts, but they are merely an annoyance, and rarely mar the viewing experience.

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

Still nothing, not even the trailers that are constant companions of Manga`s other series.

Conclusion

The second volume of The Robotech Masters maintains the same level of dullness of the first, never once approaching the entertainment value of The Macross Saga. The only positive aspect I can think of is that this is the final volume, unlike Macross that stretched across three, and the stage is set for the final stretch with Robotech, The New Generation. I think that The Masters suffered by being the bridging series, having to tie Macross to Genesis Climber Mospeadia, and constantly referring to the back-story of the SDF-1 and Rick Hunter as well as the forthcoming Invid menace. It does this mostly through narration and exposition, with the episode previews and recaps used to drop several plot points about the SDF-1, the Invid and the overriding protoculture that often have little bearing with what is occurring on screen. It frequently seems that plot elements have been thrown together at random, and occasionally in a senseless manner.

None of this would be problematic, were it not that what happened on screen wasn`t so dull. It`s your standard good guys versus bad guys plot, with bouts of space combat action leavened with the occasional juvenile romantic subplot. Unlike Macross, it`s all repetitive and consequence free, with the characters tending towards the lower IQ brackets. These are people who are fundamentally stupid, whose actions serve only to advance the story rather than carry any emotional honesty. That coupled with the creaky dialogue serve to make this show one of those classic `so bad it`s funny` shows, and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Macross was noted for bringing a degree of plot and maturity to a medium more associated with Saturday morning kids shows, The Masters on the other hand harks back to that demographic, despite the explosive violence and the odd moment of nudity.

What puts the capper on a dismal show is the main character of Dana Sterling. You would expect your hero or heroine to be likeable, to have some degree of charm or wit that proves attractive to the viewer. Dana Sterling lacks any redeeming qualities whatsoever as portrayed by the English language voice artist. She is annoying, venal, narcissistic, stupid, petulant and bone-headed. These are her more positive qualities. The other characters are similarly shallow, and I found myself unable to care about what happened to them. With The Masters such a step down from the Macross Saga, The New Generation will have some serious repair work to do to redeem this series.

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 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.