Forum - View topicNEWS: Harmony Gold to Release Robotech/Super Dimension Fortress Macross DVD Set
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PurpleWarrior13
 Posts: 2025 |
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Technically, HGUSA is partnered with A&E Home Entertainment who's current distribution partner happens to be Lionsgate. In the past, it was Cinedigm (AKA NEW VIDEO), and I did see their Robotech DVDs at Wal-Mart and even K-Mart.
Lionsgate is no stranger to anime though. They distributed the Speed Racer DVDs for many years, and inherited the home video sub-license to the first 13 episodes and movie of Dragon Ball when they purchased Trimark (it reverted back to FUNimation in 2009). I am a little confused about the whole Macross situation. Is the franchise basically unlicensable in other countries as well? I love Robotech, but I can understand if you're a fan of the Japanese franchise being upset by this, but I guess this is a step in the right direction. I do hope they include the ADV Macross dub at the very least. I wonder when we'll finally see "Do You Remember Love?!" 
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GeorgeC
Posts: 795 |
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It's been two decades since I attended an AnimEigo panel at Anime Expo... this was about 5-6 years before they released Macross subtitled on DVD.
At the Anime Expo panel, Robert Woodhead, the founder of AnimEigo, had talked about pursuing the license for the 1984 Macross movie but it was a dead-end... the person in charge of licensing the film wouldn't see the AnimEigo representatives and the overall picture was of a very angry, bitter individual. If you read Justin Sevakis' columns or actually talk to company reps at panels or 'off-the-record', this kind of thing happens. For years, Toei wouldn't re-license Sailor Moon because of alleged disputes between the manga publisher and series creator or whatever the latest story was. AnimEigo sublicensed the Macross TV series through Harmony Gold but somehow got ahold of a cleaner audio mix of the series' episode soundtracks as well as an audio interview with one of the series producers/directors. The main reason to get the AnimEigo release of Macross is the cleaner audio... the Japanese audio on the ADV Films release is very tinny. The video on the ADV Macross is the same digitally restored video from the AnimEigo DVD release. My guess is that unless HG has the same audio mix AnimEigo got its hands on their Japanese audio mix will ALSO be tinny. I'm not altogether convinced that unaltered Macross would do particularly well most places. The home video sales picture of anime industry has changed radically from 10 years ago and Blu ray hasn't been the sales savior that was hoped for. I've seen most of the Macross series, and, like Gundam, half of them are good, half of them are not so-good and even forgettable. Macross 7 is so goofy in execution and has been stated to have music rights clearance issues from the beginning... I think licensing M-7 would be like asking for a mugging. Nothing's being missed, IMHO, from NOT including the ADV Macross dub on the new DVD releases. It's a fairly mediocre dub... There were much better dubs done at ADV around the same time as that one. The Gatchaman dub is pretty darn good and Pani Poni Dash was fun to listen to as well. The Macross dub was just too 'stiff' IMHO and too by the numbers. |
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shamisen the great
 Posts: 658 Location: Oregon, USA |
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I guess this is nice for those who didn't get one of the earlier Macross releases. I would much rather see some of the unreleased titles like Frontier or DYRL. I'm even curious to see Macross 7.
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H. Guderian
Posts: 1255 |
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Their IP copyright lawsuits, be it against Transformers, Macross-homage-including games, even the casual appearances in a Super Robot Wars game, have, I believe, included that they were suing to protect their brand image for Macross within Robotech. Unless they can bastardize the new material and shove it into Robotech's canon they probably don't want to touch it either. If somehow they did get any new Macross material out of Japan, they'd have to edit it down considerably, in a rather Power Rangers-esque fashio. Or they may deal with really short seasons. But Robotech went through all that for the TV market, the whole purpose of mashing 3 series into one was to meet syndication requirements which required a certain number of episodes. Unless HG could also have a TV deal lined up that isn't worth it. So would they sell the new hybrid directly to video, into the hands of a vocal fanbase that hates them? Voltron and Sailor Moon point the way. Nostalgia is strong. |
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Shippoyasha
Posts: 459 |
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I will never support this company due to the way they have severely mishandled the licensing and the toxic way they dealt with other companies and the viewers themselves.
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MagusGuardian
 Posts: 589 |
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honestly all I see this as is just HG trying to milk more money out of the cash cow they have starved to Death in and Out side of the united states, I tried watching it years ago and honestly didn't find it that awe inspiring but hey to each their own. The things that pisses me off though is that HG pretty much putting needle nose pliers to Anyone's balls when it came to anything referencing or included macross or robotech thus denying legitimize US releases of ANY of the SRW games, or hell even A.C.E which as a mecha fan infuriates me to no end whatsoever additionally it also irks me that this single company that refuses to play ball with anyother company other then the ones that are already used to their BS when it comes to legit US releases of any of the other Macross related animes, on a serious note I just want to know when the heck is HG's license going to expire if ever, if the japanese studios and license holders will do Anything and Everything they can legally to bar HG from renewing their bastardize license and when the license Does expire will that open the gates for fans of Macross and pretty much every other thing that has been denied legitimate US releases a chance at getting actual legitimate US releases of the other Macross anime series and heck even the SRW and ACE games
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tuxedocat
 Posts: 2183 |
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I'll wait and buy a used copy.
 Not supportive of HG's way of doing business.
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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Only if you buy it with Robotech. So no they don't give a crap about Macross. It's only a way to bring in some bucks after having sold for years Robotech on dvd. There's only so much you do by proposing the same boxset year after year after year. Kudos to HG for doing something slightly different this time. And some people who haven't the Animeigo Macross release nor the HG dubbed version of Macross can now get it for "normal" prices. The day they'll release MACROSS II, MACROSS, MACROSS ZERO, MACROSS 7, MACROSS FRONTIER on BD that's the day HG will respect the franchise and its fans. |
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Lili-Hime
 Posts: 569 |
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No blu ray? No sale. *pets her SDF Macross torrent*
Probably not their fault- I bet the Japanese licensor won't give it to them.... not when the Japanese BD box set is going for nearly $600 |
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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The Japanese creators have been backstabbed by HG. There's no chance in hell BW will ever give a sticker of Macross let alone upgraded audio/video materials to HG. At this point we just have to hope when the license is to be renewed Tatsunoko actually dumps HG once and for all. Of course courts in the US and abroad will have to nullify HG's stranglehold on the name Macross which has been abusively trademarked by them. In my opinion since the name Macross belongs to BW/Studio Nue since they were the ones that came up with the original concept in the first place, a licensor (such as HG) can't take possession of the name of the franchise (and the UN Spacy Kite). It just makes no legal sense. But then I'm no lawyer so what do I know. 
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FigNewton
Posts: 63 |
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And on demand "manufacturing" on DVD-R?
No thanks. |
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Wrangler
 Posts: 1346 |
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I'm glad their least publishing the original US broadcast version of the show out, my sibling let me watch one episode of his remaster one with the "enhanced sounds" i couldn't stand it.
I'm not big fan of HG, but i still like the show. I just wish someday Macross could cross the Pacific so we can watch/own rest of the stuff that been put out for last 25 years going on 30. |
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DmonHiro
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What do you mean by this? |
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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Well simply put the Japanese never SOLD the Macross franchise to HG. They only licensed Macross (the tv series) and DYRL (and this one is quite debatable). That's it. HG has no rights whatsoever over any other part of the Macross franchise. Furthermore while HG being the creators of Robotech have gone to trademark the term, they have no grounds trademarking the term MACROSS that rightfully belongs to BW/ Studio Nue since the latter and not the former are the freeking creators of the Macross series/universe. They not only trademarked Macross in most countries around the world but also tried this shit in Japan (as a way to stop the Japanese from lisencing any Macross series post DYRL around the world). Not only that but the famous UN spacy kite that's the emblem of the Macross until the Japanese changed it to something different in Frontier belongs to BW/Studio Nue. HG didn't invent it in the first place. So how the hell can they trademark names and symbols that are not theirs in the first place ? |
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Apollo-kun
 Posts: 1213 Location: City 7, Macross 7 |
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This is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. It's further proof that we will never see Macross outside of the insipid Robotech brand in North America for the foreseeable future. Is it too much to ask for a standalone release of a show from the early 80's with subtitles and a pretty box? I don't think so.
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