Yeah, same here I used to think Gloval was a Boss. Instead, his command was reckless and dangerous. You can say maybe the command pool was very low due to the previous wars. Maybe he was fast-tracked into that command.
When it comes to being a commander you're not always going to make the best decisions, that is the reality of war and of life. Napoleon once said "He who has made war without making mistakes has not made war for very long." Perhaps worse than making bad decisions is making no decisions whatsoever. Ultimately throughout the series the ship and the people on it, which were under his command, survived the war right through to the end, and that alone is difficult enough.
I've heard someone call Bright Noa from Z Gundam a bad commander. Yeah..that was quite a laugh considering Bright did things LESS destructive than Captain Gloval during Z Gundam. At least he didn't carelessly place soldiers or even people in danger. Yeah,recruiting a kid who would pilot the Gundam Mk-2 and further on,Zeta Gundam who had quite broken parents tbh along with an autistic streak doesn't seem extreme than this.
Hindsight is 20/20. A good commander has to make quick decisions in the line of fire. Yes many of his decisions led to disaster and the loss of life, but that is something that comes with command. You also have to consider that he was captaining an untested ship with an untested crew, with untested technology. Had he not made the decisions he did, the SDF1 and it's inhabitants would have all been killed early on. And considering that the only people of earth who survived the Zentradi war were the people on SDF-1, I would have happily accepted Captain Gloval as my commander.
"One ship versus a million ships" is a whoooole different ballgame when you're trying to take something intact vs simply destroying it. Especially when the occupants of said ship are basically fighting every battle to the death. That was one problem I've tended to have with Star Trek over the years.. disabling weapons and engines is WAY WAY WAY too easily done in episodes where the plot demands a ship be taken intact. The situation with the Zentradi and SDF-1 was basically the humans saying "You'll take this ship from our cold dead hands" and sticking to it at every turn. The fact the Zentradi wasted so much time attacking the ship from outside when they should have been taking it from the inside with micronized operatives shows their failure to think outside of the box *because they were bred as front line fighters* and not spies and operatives. You need to look at the grander picture of a battlefield. Tactics and logistics tell the deeper stories. All that being said, I did very much enjoy the video! And yes, Gloval had a few issues.
Yeah, That was the only thing from the Review that stuck in my head as being a bit where Michael might be a bit confused. In Robotech the Zentradi wanted to capture the fortress for the Protoculture factory. In Macross they wanted to capture it because they had reaction weaponry (A technology the Zentradi had long since lost) So they weren't looking to smash the ship to pieces and be on their merry way, they wanted to capture it to regain the technology. The destruction of earth is later ordered by Bedolza/Dolza when the Zentradi engaged with the Macross/SDF1 are shown to be contaminated. But other than that Fairly Spot on. Gloval is Fairly Cavalier and Reckless, though at the time of watching you find it hard not to sympathize since you find yourself caring about the named characters in the SDF1 and people on the ground not so much. Oh, and the Robotech book series backs up the whole Lynn Kyle and Minmay thing as an item. And in "Showdown" when asked by reporters about their getting married Kyle states that it's something he's Considered. So it's fairly obvious that there's an element of togetherness there. Michael was right spot on with that.
Also, those million ships weren't under Breetai's command at first. The SDF-1 was already back on Earth when Breetai requested that fleet, but soon after the Zentraedi ships were "contaminated" with human culture, leading to them refusing to attack the SDF-1. The first real action of the million ship fleet was as an ally of the human forces against the five million main armada of the Zentraedi.
Michael, just as an FYI - Palledium Books had printed several Role Playing Game books on Robotech. The information within those books is incredible with regards to the Mecha, characters, and the Robotech universe in general. I highly recommend them as reference material at the very least. Great art as well. There's also the Robotech novels written by Jack McKinney that are based directly on the Robotech series.
The information is generally acceptable, and the mechanics system does provide a relatively decent framework (it certainly has its flaws and shortcomings) for gaming, along with an admittedly nice multi-genre single-platform crossover capability. But as someone who had every single Robotech RPG book along with the Sentinels, Macross II, and most everything else ever printed by Palladium up until about 1999, I can say without reservation that the 'technical' aspects are at times highly questionable and a stern fact-checking is in order for their work. I mean, the most glaring example (and there are others) would be the Lancer Space Fighter in Book 1. Yeah, ignore that it is actually the Oberth-class, a destroyer-size escort ship. We'll just call it a space fighter.
agreed i did hope that the 2nd RPG from Palladium would have continued, they talked about a book of Deck Plans for all the ships and we never got it. (i have all of those RPG books and would have loved a deck plan for the SDF-1)
Yeah; I played the RPG for years, and am grateful to Palladium for it serving as another entry into Robotech for me, but the books are hardly definitive sources of information. They are rife with errors, judgement calls and attempts to streamline things.
Yeah they had the Robotech license and the books are pretty great! I have almost all the Palladium RPG stuff some of the books are really expensive since they are no longer produced at all.
Your first video was fine. The entire Robotech series is full of confusing dialogue and narrative contradictions so it's hardly your fault if something got misinterpreted. That said, the SDF-1's initial transformation was done so they could fire the main cannon or else they'd have lost the ship. The interior was modified afterward so it could transform without damaging the city. Also, Minmei had at least four songs. It just seemed like Stage Fright was her only one because it was the most annoying and she sang it all the damn time.
Dude I have been a Robotech fan since the 80's. I was one of the lucky kids that got to watch it. Your video was excellent! It was absolutely the best of the 80's, and I thought you were very researched!
Yeah the cultural differences make it an odd relationship, nevermind Kyle's abusiveness. It is a cultural difference but first cousin marriage is legal and accepted in much of the world.
Ocelotl Chimalpahin Robotech was a mistake. They should have aired those three animes separately and respectively instead of that bad cut pasting that also harm the people who invented and worked hard on those animes.
Fyi about the million ships. Breetai only had a couple of dozen ships initially and got reinforcements twice (Khyron and Azonia). They purposely never wanted to destroy the ship, only capture it. Later in the series after the pin point shield blew up the city, Breetai requested the Imperial Fleet which Azonia then comments about it being a million ships and why would he need it. The main fleet of 4-5 million ships show up at ep 26 and fight Earth, the SDF1, and the 1,000,000 Imperial fleet Sorry I’m late to the party. I just discovered your channel (and subscribed) yesterday. Great job on the RT videos 👍
I always thought the 1 million ships was part of a wide scale search over a large part of the galaxy. So a task group of ships under Breetai found the Fortress. The rest of the fleet/group were ordered to stay away to prevent contamination from culture. And it worked so well...
My man don't sweat it... Absolutely nothing worse than a fanboy with nothing better to do then pour over your video and try to find everything wrong with it. They hear stuff that doesn't align with how they want to view the series or a particular character and they become Petty and aggressive. I'd like to see a single person making a critique put the time and effort to create such a beautiful Escape so someone can shit on it. Now if you had gotten your facts wrong and didn't own up that's one thing but otherwise you have done a fantastic job and I will be waiting for the next installment. Thank you sir!
I own the series and have watched it several times. I still couldn't tell you what color Minmay's shit is because I have more important things to obsess over. Don't stroke out on us bro, no one is "lying". Also you really shouldn't be criticizing anyone in a post until you learn how to spell.
My impression was that the Zentradi fleet was purposely pulling its punches because it didn't want the ship damaged. They could have destroyed it easily. Capturing it intact was hard. This was a plot point because Khyron wanted to just destroy the ship, but his superiors wouldn't let him.
Dear Michael and Retroblasting, here are some answers/comments on WHY the Zentraedi wanted the SDF-1: 1) It was a Supervision army ship, 2)Humans could repair things so they wanted to capture the ship INTACT (I.E. They wanted to capture the SDF-1 and the humans intact so they could ensalve them to REPAIR THINGS!) 3)Humans discovered how to make Nuclear Weapons, which the Zentraedi had lost, so they wanted to learn how to make those again, and 4) Macross lore has it that the original Imperial fleet Bretai asked for was 1 THOUSAND SHIPS! Not 1 MILLION ships! This is something Robotech got wrong, not you. Hope all this helps. P.S., LOVE your videos on Robotech! THEY ARE AWESOME!
This is the way you admit when you make a mistake you address the mistake you don't insult anyone and you move on. You see this children's this is how a real adult acts. Thank you retroblasting for the excellent content you guys provide cant wait for part 3 and i still miss your Saturday's live streams
Retroblasting, You guys do a hell of a job, I appreciate your art. You cover so much over an incredible period in animation and toys. I hope "Ze Holy-Robotech foundation of Standards & Snobbery" lighten up on you guys. I know nothing about Robotech and I'd rather hear about it from you guys than anyone else. Keep up the entertaining work. ☺😃
came here to say exactly this. Robotech just wasn't a thing when i was a kid. completely passed me by. You always know that Micheal is going to do his research and be as accurate as he can. mistakes happen. get over it. And the "Foundation of Standards and Snobbery" have way more departments than Robotech. The Star Wars branch are much more widespread...
3 year old video still pulling in a new subscriber. Watched your robotech vids. I don’t care about 1 error or even 2, your videos bring me back to fond memories of my childhood! That is all that matters! Keep up the good work!!
If there is something that your channel has and that I like is the level of knowledge and preparation you put into each video that makes it enjoyable and fun to watch
The novels should be included in any discussion of the show. One for the military experience of one of the authors. Two, the Souther Cross, while being unwatchable, is really good when written by competent authors.
Continue doing things your way Michael, that's why we love the RetroBlasting channel. I thought your first part review was EXCELLENT. And this is coming from a fan that found the show (like you) later on in life. Also, I simply cannot fathom the amount of hours of prep work just to get a video of this scope off the ground. Kudos to you sir!
My take from the Robotech intro (which I just rewatched last night) was that there was already an ongoing war, and the threat of an invasion from outer space, in the form of the crashing spaceship, is what stopped it.
Hey Michael, I just want to say first before i bring up 2 small points, (which are mostly nitpicks anyway) I just want to say we have watched your channel for a long time, and it's a great channel, this Robotech episode is one of my favorites. You guys are some of the few TH-camrs out there who I can tell are genuinely great people, and your work is not rushed in any way. That being said, I do have two small complaints. 1: The thing about Mad Jack Churchill. Not everyone is going to get that reference, and knowing you you probably did not mean it like this, but it sounded like you were blaming us for not getting it. Maybe you should have given a little text at the top of the screen, like Dunkirk. 2: Kyle and Minmay. People who say they were not dating are stupid, but that first clip in your roll does not show that. You can see that Kyle is forcing himself on Minamy. They dated later though. Anyway, you guys are awesome, just wanted to point a few things out. People who say you are sloppy and half-assed are WRONG. Keep doing what your doing.
It's difficult to tell what the actual series of events is in Robotech versus Macross, since they fiddled with the story for the Robotech version and it contradicts itself sometimes as it was such a rushed job. However, as I recall in the Macross version, the SDF1 smacked down in Polynesia and that sparked World War III, with everyone trying to get their hands on it. The war was between "The UN" and "The Anti-UN." The UN managed to hold on to the island through the war, and repairing the ship was considered a major priority. The war lasted 9 years. In the Robotech version of things, the "Global Civil War" is going on at the start of the show, then the SDF 1 crashes, and that *stops* the war, because everyone realizes there's a much bigger threat out there and everyone needs to come together to be ready for it. Basically Macross and Robotech reversed those events, so confusion is understandable. It confused me for a long time, and I wasn't 100% sure on it until I saw "Macross Zero." That's a prequel set a year before Macross itself, showing the last battle of the war, and also explains how Roy Fokker became a womanizing lush. It's actually really good, despite some gratuitous nudity, if you ever get to see it. Of course that only applies to the Macross timeline, not the Robotech one. Anyway, once again, thank you for doing all this.
The Unification War, start in 2001 and end it in 2006, with struggles of remnants of the anti-UN, in later years, such as 2007 (Macross Zero), 2008 (Macross The First), and some in 2010 (when the SDF 1 was in the space).
I do not wanna step in and play devil's advocate here, because I know how hard it is to do a research video and you guys did a great job. But in regards to the discussion about 13:50 situation, the original commentor has a point in that I can also see why this is all confusing. The first city where the SDF-1 is flying low over a city and told to leave "NO LOW FLYING!" is a different city that ordered the SDF-1 to leave, then the city was destroyed later. Gloval did do that to get attention to offload the Macross civilians from the SDF-1. He was refused by the military and the people of THAT city. Soon after, because of the attention he brought to himself (Which was his plan) ANOTHER city gave his people political asylum in the 'Ontario quadrant'. The SDF-1 is soon shown to leave and head towards the OTHER city that did offer asylum. The SDF-1 was by that stage in and flying low over the city that it was invited to. That is kinda how all the confusion happened. Two different cities were shown, one that rejected them in the beginning and the other that offered them refuge but was destroyed for it in the end. If I am wrong on this, I will accept that and delete this comment as well.
gutz1981 you are correct on the circumstances oh the ship flying low to the Earth surface. I think which Michael is perhaps alluding to is that the SDF-1 should have when engaged in battle pushed off from the surface before using the reflex barrier shield. Doing so definitely put the city at risk even without using the barrier.
that sound right but doesn't disprove that he flow low over cities while being chase by enemies ships. knowing that any moment they were bound to be attack. He could had easily had landed the civies over yellow stone park or a low population area.. fled with the big ship and radio for pick up. Heck who would had scatter drop .. a few at a time so he wouldn't be down on the ground too long and near small villages that could help support survivors. its too bad they didn't have drop ships .. cause those would had help with the unloading.
@@80s_Kid_and_Collectibles I'm not saying Michael is wrong about the "Flying low being reckless" argument. I agree, its foolish. In the second city that the SDF-1 was over it was invited to and one could argue the low flight there meant the ship was soon ready to disembark ASAP before any changes were to happen. I agree its all reckless and I am not picking or choosing sides on this, I was simply pointing out what another viewer of this review was trying to explain is all. I liked the review and look forward to the next one.
@@Marveryn not sure if the novels/comics elaborated more but i think there was a fear that if Gloval did drop the civilians in like Yellowstone Park or another area without permission, the civilians would either be arrested because of the classified nature [at that time] of the Zentraedi threat to the world public or even 'eliminated' since the rest of the world thought Macross Island and the citizens were destroyed in a terrorist attack [cover up story told to the public]. Gloval and the SDF1 crew needed the 'asylum status' for the citizens to keep them safe.
Congrads guys for the first video doing so well. So glad you guys are finally tackling this space odyssey. Also, bonus points for the K9 and company t-shirt.
It was a great video. I look forward to Part 2. Thank you, Retroblasting! Each new video you guys post sparks a lot of joy. Please keep up the good work...
I’m sorry that you felt you had to explain yourself, like this... But, it adds that much more depth and insight into the work that you painstakingly put into this review, and every other piece that you’ve produced. As you said, as a fan of this channel, I know what goes into these videos. But, it’s nice to get a peek behind the curtain at times, too.
The impression I always got was that the wars were already going on, and then when the alien ship crashed on earth, the governments of the world went "whoah wait, what, aliens? Shit nevermind" and stopped their wars, and started banding together.
The antonym of "half-assed" is "RetroBlasting." Usage in a sentence: _"WoW! You spent a year meticulously restoring this beat up old car to perfect condition with authentic replacement parts? I didn't know you were going to give it the ~RetroBlasting~ treatment."_
@@MGSBigBoss77 Whatever you want italicized, put an underscore at the start of it and at the end of it, so it'd look like: _ THIS _ only without the spaces between the _'s and the letters.
You guys make such great professional content... even the theme music! Of course when you publish stuff and put it out there people will critique. However the overwhelming consensus is RB is FAN-tastic!! BTW - we share somewhat of a similar experience - I also moved to the UK (Cambridge) in 1990, at the same age as you, and have this dual UK/US identity. Cheers to you!
Thank you for making the Robotech series! When I watched Robotech as a teen (and many times later), I interpreted the opening similarly. War was going on, the Macross crashed, and that triggered global peace as they came together to work on the restoration. It wasn't until I saw the prequel that the perspective changed.
Michael French you did a fantastic job on Robotech and it was worth the wait. I loved it, it's a shame that you have to make another video because someone has to point out errors so they can feel better about themselves. Instead of just being thankful that you took the time to make a great video. If they can do better then I challenge them to do so. I know that I could not do a video as good as you and the rest of the team there so I don't try. Keep up the good work and I look forward to Dragon Con.
From a dedicated Protoculture Addict; Michael, you did a hell of a job on this review! I think some of the more overzealous fans get information between the series and Jack McKinney's novel series confused (possibly?)
It's funny, some of those curious things you mentioned (how the city was built and functions, Minmei dating her cousin) seemed odd to me as a kid when i read the novels (the show was hard to find on TV) but i assumed i just didn't understand because i was young. I enjoyed your take on everything :)
I'm not expecting a part B but I'm wondering if you could talk a little about why Gloval made the decisions that led to so many casualties. I haven't watched the series in a long time but I think he made the best decisions he could given the situation. Gloval realized the Zentraedi mission was not to destroy the SDF but capture it and they were intentionally attacking Macross island to cause more chaos and casualties. It was a Zentraedi intimidation tactic. He knew the SDF could not defeat the Zentraedi fleet nor could he surrender the SDF since the Zentraedi would most likely destroy the Earth anyway. So he made the only decision he could and fled, hoping the Zentraedi would follow them away from Earth. His scientific advisor told him he could use the Hyperspace Fold device but no one knew it would drag along Macross island since they had not tested it. He took a chance to save the Earth. And the first decision he made when he discovered what happened after the fold was to save as many civilians as he could. Those aren't the decisions of a Mad Jack. The events that lead up to the ship transforming the first time were because the fold system disappeared and it was a critical component in the power distribution system. That left the ship dead in space with part of the Zentraedi fleet approaching. Again he relied on the advice of his experts, chief engineer/scientist, who said they could reconfigure the ship to reconnect the power system bypassing the missing fold device. No one knew how that would affect the sheltering civilians since it was the first time. With time running out before the Zentraedi arrival he made the only decision he could to try and save the ship and those civilians. When they learned of the casualties they didn't transform the ship again until after they figured out how to protect the civilians. Again not the decisions a Mad Jack would make. When he arrived back at Earth and hovered over new Macross City (is that the right name?) he expected the people to welcome them home. He expected the government to happily receive the refugee civilians. Instead the government gave them the bureaucratic middle finger. After the year they spent trying to get back, suffering and fighting the Zentraedi all the way, Gloval expected his fellow humans to treat them with gratitude and consideration. Anyone would be frustrated by the reception they received. Cut him some slack for being a bit short tempered with the government representative. There is some Zentraedi lore that might explain their actions. Someone can correct this if any of it is wrong. I don't recall if this was ever stated in the animation but the Zentraedi were clone workers created by the Robotech Masters. They were originally Micronian sized but were giantized when the Robotech Masters needed them as a military force. They eventually broke away from the Robotech Masters and became militaristic nomads. Their barely remembered history warned them of their Micronian slave masters so they destroy any Micronian civilization they come across. They needed the protoculture factory inside the SDF because their own factories broke down. No Zentraedi had the technical knowledge to build a new one thus they could not chance destroying the last one in existence. Thus Bretai gave standing orders to avoiding damaging the SDF. Their battle tactics were based on intimidation. He wanted the humans to give up the ship. He expected one million ships to be enough to accomplish this. However Japanese anime military personnel are much too fearless and stoic to be intimidated. He did eventually send infiltrators after they realized humans and Zentraedi look so similar and Exedor showed Bretai they had some old dusty giantizing equipment still aboard they could reverse to micronize themselves. Enjoy your channel. So many happy 80's memories come back to me. Robotech played on one of the UHF channels at 5:00 pm weeknights in Oklahoma. I discovered it by accident and was amazed how much more interesting it was than typical after school and Saturday morning cartoons. Will you explain Battle of Planets next? That one confused me.
Robotech blew my mind as a kid.... and frankly it still does. It was so ahead of its time. I got so stressed as a kid as my school bus would drop me off at my driveway at almost the same time the show would begin. I had to run ( sprint) home to not mis the opening ..lol . I’m so thankful for Robotech/Macross as it offers so many great things.... amazing art, insane mechs, Japanelove stories, ... just a magical childhood experience. It was, besides StarWars a dynamo that kicked off my imagination. .... I’m a fan for life. Love your channel and thanks for putting it together. Keep up the hard work!
I appreciate your dedication Michael, and that you felt the need to defend your integrity. Misunderstanding creeps in when trying to convey your take on something to other people--and vice versa, when other's interpretation is colored by what they focus on. Yes, it only took 10 years to get the SDF-1 spaceworthy; but the conflicts on Earth had been going on prior to and parallel to the ship's reconstruction. The series did suffer from inconsistencies with numbers...civilians/ships/time passing, etc...which in some cases came down to vagaries over points of reference. I don't recall a number being given to Breetai's initial fleet at the series' start. Dolza removed Breetai from command for a time; when Breetai was reinstated, it was under condition that he lead the 1 million ships. That of course was separate from the 4.8 million ship armada Dolza brought against Earth and the "infected" Zentradi. One factual error that you did not address was that Minmei did have more than 1 song. But perhaps that was actually another case of your "snark": because the point is, they came up with too few songs for her, and man were they repetitive!! Her relationship with Lynn-Kyle was muddy at best. He was, foremost, an abusive business manager. The show made it clear that he had feelings for her--which initially she was repulsed by. But with the time skips and such, it's evident something likely happened at some point. The whole dynamic between them was meant to generate discomfort, I think. As for Gloval: I always saw it as "this guy just can't catch a break!" He was always trying to make the best of a bad situation, backed into corners not only by the Zentradi dogging the fortress, but his own government covering their lying butts instead of helping Macross' civilians caught in the middle! While I disagree with your conclusion, I respect how you came to your viewpoint, given all of the casualties under his watch. Robotech was a landmark series to so many, with its mature space opera/soap opera influence being felt all these years later. It does have its flaws upon examination, but that shouldn't detract from the huge impact it had on all of us who loved it then or now. RetroBlasting has always shared that kind of love--by seeing something for what it really is: both the flaws, and what made it fantastically memorable.
I loved the review. Only gripe might have been Gloval. Dude was dealing with tech he had no idea how it would work. The consequences were horrible and unexpected. Sometimes a necessity. I don't even think you pointed out the point defense system that added to the full defense system that horribly failed over Montreal. I loved it because of that. All of the failure I loved. You had people stuck in desperate times dealing with what they could do. No gripes of your review man. It was great. Love your work.
Yo RB Crew! I think you guys do a great job revisiting most of our childhood faves (toys, cartoons, anime & animated series'), so much so that fandom of ANY type of IP, franchise, book or film or TV series will show out the negative side that fandom can reveal, especially in this current era of "insta-best or worst ever" social media/interwebs hyperbole that happens with fandom (SW: The Last Jedi anybody? Lol). Usually though the pros outweigh the cons of sharing thoughts on something you analyze from a different viewpoint, and reading the comments on this video, most folks really appreciate what RB does...I know I do. Keep up the great work!
It's all good, man. :) Even though the Zentraedi had a million to five million ships, most of them were damaged. Either they did not know how or they lacked the equipment to properly repair and maintain them. They're all battered from all the battles/wars they've been in for centuries. We also see how poorly Breetai's command bridge is repaired as evidence of this. Despite many of their weaponry still in working order, those shops would've been far more incredibly lethal had they been maintained properly. Another thing is that it seems the Zentraedi severely under-estimated Earth's capabilities and Global was messy and unpredictable, which also threw them off.
Sportimus , Zentraedi were stripped of the knowledge of stuff like that from the Robotech Masters. They did not want their clone giants to have knowledge like how tech works or else they would rebel. That’s why the Robotech factory satellite was important to capture for the RDF- able to repair and create warships.
Just out of curiousity any chance of seeing reviews for Bubblegum Crisis and Vampire Hunter D?? There were a big part of my growing up. I will say I've never seen Robotech myself but I still love watching your videos about it.
I'm always amazed anytime anyone questions the integrity of Retroblasting. I follow multiple YT channels, all really good, entertaining, and informative, and Retroblasting is above and beyond the most credible, honest, and researched- and the RB videos are always a mix of entertainment and information presented in a great format. Keep up the great job !
As a legitimate Macross“super-fan” this is an excellent well researched subject. I enjoyed learning new things while considering new point of view, like Gloval being a maniac, thank you.
First great video - thank you for doing Robotech! I got the “Mad Jack” reference, a suggestion? Maybe next time throw the trolls a bone and point them in the direction of the reference. By the way, I am glad I am not the only one that wondered why Gloval is thought of so highly. Also the Minmei/Kyle story was obviously backed off for the American kid audience. Anyone that questions what was there should read the books, yea they were a couple, no questions. Anyway, great video, big fan of the channel and really looking forward to the rest in this series.
I think it was in one of the comic books, that Dr. Emil Lang found something on the ship it transformed him into a genius and he figured out how to replicate the technology using the earthly versions. Also i think he was able to use the alien technology so he kept a lot as is without turning it into a human version. As seen in the first episode they used antigravity alien tech because the version they had made failed miserably and started breaking out of the ship and floating away. So they had to use the Alien antigravity to keep the ship afloat.
Minmay and her cousin were Chinese, and until the early 80s, marriage between cousins was common in some regions of China, just as the older man was responsible and authoritative for his sisters or cousins. In the kiss of the first incomplete scene, she rejects her cousin and indicates that she will never see him that way. The second kiss is in the context of the final battle, where they try to confuse the Zentraedi with that again. Do not forget that in the movie they filmed, their characters were a love interest between them, and they kissed in that movie. Rick, was always confusing things and getting melodramatic about the uninteresting Minmay gave him , and in her immaturity, he believed that Minmay's cousin was talking in the press about marrying her .
For what it’s worth, Speaking as a long time fan of Robotech who has watched the entire series more times than I can count, your observations of The macros saga are spot on from Capt Gloval’s command decisions, to the weird relationship between Minnmei and Lynn Kyle, etc. Please keep doing you. If anyone wants to do their take on Robotech, then they can make their own videos on the subject. I throughly enjoyed the video as I have enjoyed every single retro blasting video I have watched. I’m looking forward to seeing the next installment.
I ran into the same type of thing with a few Star Trek fans when I was coloring some books for IDW. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. My response would be the line from Ed Wood-“Well, my next one will be better.” I think you guys are doing a great job.
I grew up watching the Harmony Gold version on TV, and I've seen the series (all 3 parts) many times over the years. We played the Palladium Robotech RPG growing up because of this show. With all that said, I think you did a great job. Keep these episodes coming.
Michael...think of it this way. Robotech touched so many and shaped so many in the 80s and beyond that, some devoted most of their adult lives to this series. I consider myself a super fan but I enjoyed all your shows about it. Robotech has a cult following and it deserves it. You can't please all the superfans but just understand this show touched a bunch of people and you even said it too you a long time to decide to do Robotech because you wanted to do it justice. Its a complex story and many twists. This show was a highlight of my childhood and still collect from it. Thank you for continuing to talk about a show that aired 36 so odd years ago brings newer viewers into the fold of the cult. :) keep up the good work.
The Zentraedi had opposing edicts. The first was to recapture the protoculture factory aboard the SDF-1. The second was to cut bait if encountering micronians. Micronians were occupying the SDF-1 making avoidance impossible if they were to accomplish the first goal.
I think you’re doing a great job! Part 1 was wonderful. I watched Robotech in the ‘80s, and I adored it. It’s always been one of my favorites. I’d never realized Captain Gloval was so irresponsible when I was a kid, and I found your comments in that regard to be rather illuminating. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the series! When you’re done with Robotech, how about doing a series on Battle of the Planets a.k.a. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman? It was a precursor to Robotech. IIRC, Battle of the Planets was syndicated and typically shown on Saturday mornings from 1978 to 1980....
Please keep making these videos, I’ve been waiting years for them. A mistake here and there is human but TH-cam comments is not the best way to have a conversation about right/wrong or intent on a series. Love your videos and can’t wait for more.
Retroblasting did a great job with the first part of this review series. Thoughtful and well written that looks at both the pro's and con's of this series. Keep up the good work! :)
You guys keep doing an awesome job! I’m a super Robotech fan, and I thought you had a lot of valid points about the show. I’ve been waiting for you guys to do this series of videos since back when you made the reviews on Voltron, Silverhawks, M.a.s.k., and you made snarky comments then. So I knew one day, when you guys made a review for Robotech, that there would be some frank commentary that were good points. And that’s fine. Anyway, looking forward to the next parts and that LEGO Voltron review.😎👍🏻
I'm a big fan of your channel, and I sincerely appreciate you putting this together. Hope you don't mind some additional comments on your corrections. I don't mean them to be critical of your work, but I know Robotech fairly well (one of those superfans you referenced), and can offer some updates to what you've said. Again, I do not at all mean this as criticism, just wanting to suppliment the things you've mentioned with some additional context or information. Thank you for making a video regarding Robotech. My wife and I appreciate you! I'm writing as I watch the video: --The third world war (later named the global civil war) broke out in 1995. When the SDF-1 crashed in 1999, an armistice was signed immediately, and a joint UN team was sent to investigate the ship. It was restored for 10 years. During that time, anti-unificationists were still a problem, but these people were terrorists, not a full warring faction. --Breetai was given command of a fleet of one million ships late in 2009, but not until *after* Rick, Lisa, Ben, and Max are captured and return. Their return comes when that fleet is folding back to our Solar System. His initial fleet is much smaller. --The Zentradi were specifically *not* trying to destroy the SDF-1 because they wanted to recapture Zor's protoculture matrix, which was hidden somewhere in the hull of the ship. This is the same reason that had difficulty capturing it; they were trying to avoid damaging the SDF-1 because they didn't know where in the ship this thing was. --Kyle and Minmei weren't "dating" in the traditional sense, but were certainly in some form of an abusive relationship. The three clips you referenced showed are: Kyle kissing Minmei against her will (she immediately pushes him away right after you cut the clip, and you can hear her saying "no"), she apologizes to Rick about Kyle because he's a dick, a destabilizing element that she made Rick bring onto the ship, and has been rallying anti-military sentiment. He's also her manager, so she's spending all kinds of time with him. The last clip was during the climactic battle for earth (Operation: Lynn Minmei). The plan was devised by Rick, and the kiss was specifically requested to be included by Exedore for the purpose of shocking and destabilizing the grand fleet, and Minmei is uncomfortable with the request, but agrees to it. A kiss during a stage performance, when the fate of humanity is a stake, is not the same as dating. Rick realizes he doesn't *want* Minmei, not that he can never have her. He's already falling for Lisa by that point. Also, Minmei has eight songs haha. Thanks again for all your work on this!
Michael- long time fan. I remember you promising Robotech for a looong time. It’s obvious you’re a HUGE fan to make a response video. No need to prove geek cred, it’s established. You take great pride in your work and it shows. I’m 48, got into Robotech in NYC in 1985. INSTANTLY ADDICTED. Remember Michael, most fans are assholes. Don’t worry about them. Here’s my thoughts. I always felt it was very clear Minnmei and Kyle were in a relationship. I always felt Gloval was a good, if flawed character. Like most on the show. No one was perfect. He was a LEADER and made hard decisions, good and bad. Everyone has commented on the Zentraidi already, so I’ll just add that in Macross-Do you remember love?, as soon as the SDF-1 folded over Macross city, the Zentraidi obliterated the earth and moved on. Like space Roman soldiers who would destroy a village of insurgents. Keep up the great work and I’m looking forward to parts 2-4. New Generation might be my favorite. I’m so glad I didn’t know Robotech was 3 separate shows. I was SO excited waiting for the return of Admiral Hunter in episode 85. Does anyone else feel like me that the Admiral Hunter who’s decision was to deploy the neutron bombs to destroy an invid infested earth was Lisa, not Rick? It always seemed like it would be something her dad would do, and a very military family mindset.
You touched on an interesting question about who gave the order to fire the neutron S missiles. Unfortunately, they would have to redo the series to get an answer to that question. I am not sure if the novels or comics addressed this. In a remake of Robotech, we would need to see some footage of Rick and Lisa at the end of Invid Invasion. It was a bit of a cop out that they never came out of hyper space so no, we don’t get to see them after all. We need to see them even if they don’t participate in the battle. We need to see Admiral Hunter give the order regrettably in a dark room to the commander who did conduct the battle. Perhaps Lisa did talk him into it.
I personally thought that you did a spectacular job on Robotech part one! I was fortunate enough to view the first three episodes of the series on 3 separate VHS tapes rented from a local video store. I was immediately hooked by the style of animation, the complexity of the story and characters, as well as the adult themes. I then found the show being aired on the cable channel WPIX New York early in the morning, and I made a point of being awake to watch it daily until the series ended and went into rotation, at which point I watched it again. I've since acquired the complete series on DVD. The toys unfortunately, although abundant at one point at Toys R. Us and Kmart always seemed to be picked over, and with three generations of characters to collect, it was difficult to stay focused, at least for me. Being a preteen/teenager with other things on my mind, probably didn't help either...
"that's not me not knowing something, that's you not knowing something" Loved the Mad Jack reference, and LOVED your explanaition on this vid! Longtime fan, thank you for the fun and informative videos Retroblasting!
His initial fleet is much smaller than one million ships, it is after Rick and Lisa are interviewed by Dolza that he asks for the Imperial Fleet because Breetai believes the task is that difficult. Once THAT fleet fails and is compromised by the Miconian's cullture the entire Zentradi fleet warps into Earth orbit in order to seal the deal. At that point I think the show hints that Breetai's Imperial fleet is on the Micronian's side so the "Final Battle" would be fought as SDF1 and Breetai's fleet against 5 million faithful Zentradi with many of those fleeing the battlefield in the face of the cultural attack etc. etc.
Whoa! Didn't expect a fast follow up to Part 1! Thanks, Michael & Melinda! Appreciate this. Compared to how well written in terms of Story & Character Development, it'll be interesting to see you tackle the animated G. I. Joe with its deviation from the more serious Marvel comics, which in fact was superior to its animated counterpart in both departments, but I digress. Robotech & Macross 3x each? That means putting up with "The Long Wait" 6x over! That takes stamina given how boring it was (to me, anyway). The 1 million ships did refer to Breetai's Imperial Fleet, the 4 million ships was Supreme Leader Dolza's Grand Fleet near the end of the series. The Zentraedi were warned to avoid all contact with micronians, as Exedore advised Breetai, and ironically, as noted in the novels of Jack Mckinney, if the Zentraedis wanted to capture the SDF-1 all they need have done was to hold Earth hostage. The scene of the city refusing to offload the Macross refugees was different from Ontario (Ontario sector in the novels) which did allow the refugees sanctuary, but the situation did get exacerbated by the sudden Zentraedi attack; Ontario had its own reasons to allow the refugees in its own territory, as explained in the novels). Anime series are more complex than most US cartoons. Can't wait to see Part II.
"That's not me not knowing something, that's you not knowing something." Lol I enjoyed the video. I know nothing of Robotech but have heard about it for years from various TH-camrs. Your video has finally convinced me to seek it out. Keep up the great work, RetroBlasters!
You keep doing these videos your way, don't worry about the super fans. We loyal fans who've watch your videos know that you never half-ass related to this channel. Thank you for all of your hard work and making all of these awesome videos Michael and Melinda.
Great video, Michael! On the subject of the correction: To Hell with the critics. A mistake was made and fixed. I doubt that will satisfy the naysayers. But I don't care. The Unification Wars (MACROSS) or Global Civil War (ROBOTECH) took place roughly in the mid-1990s and was finalized shortly before the events of the original MACROSS SAGA. Out of this conflict came the Robotech Defense Force and the Army of the Southern Cross. The latter organization was explored in THE ROBOTECH MASTERS SAGA as you know. Keep up the great work, man.
Few things are scarier than a fanbase! Good job standing up to them. And you are also right about history. No story will ever be as zany or terrifying as stuff that has actually happened.
I admit, I didn’t know who Mad Jack Churchill was (aside from wondering if he was related to a certain Prime Minister). I’ll have to rewatch that episode, but I thought that when the SDF-1 had reached earth, Gloval was just trying to offload the people of Macross City and it was eventually the state of Ontario (?) that offered to take them off his hands. But that was when the Zentraedi struck again and look what happened. As you said, it’s a very complex show and open to many interpretations. Either he way, please keep the videos coming. Will you be doing a ‘Star Blazers’ segment as well?
Dude! I feel you. I can see your passion for each toy featured in all your videos❤ It's the reason I keep coming back, you can feel the love❤ I started watching in 2015 and I haven't missed an episode. Great job everybody👏
Just a couple of questions: are you still planning on continuing your exploration of this series? If so, when? I never really bothered with the Robotech series before. I have never been much of an anime person, myself. This series sounds interesting, though, based upon your first video. I really want to watch it, but the set is a bit out of my price range just now, and probably will be until this summer, but just listening to you describe it in an entertaining manner is the next best thing for now!
Can't believe anyone would think you would do anything without proper research. Anyone can make a mistake especially with the amount of information you are going through keep up the good work. Your videos have been a great find for me personally. Like the restoration episodes the most have been looking for a USS Flagg to restore I didn't buy one back then because of the same reason wasn't impressed with a immobile vehicle.
No worries Michael. The fun part of the fandom isn't being a superfan, but in discussing our different perspectives. Don't let anyone set your process back, but also try to keep in mind that this is a complex beast. The people who designed Macross as a series did their homework, but there's also beer can missiles in the opening episode. No matter how serious the subject matter, it is first and foremost a tv show. I'm looking forward to seeing you further dissect it, but please do NOT stress out about comments. ;)
When will anyone learn that "half-assery" does not exist in Retroblasting's vocabulary? even as a casual Macross and Robotech fan myself, the whole Minmei/Kyle affair is one of the most infamous parts of the show. How can anyone interpret it any other way is beyond me.
Dont listen to them. These are the same people who used to preach from the highest mountain that Macross was completely different than Robotech and superior in every way. Then I watched it, and much like you said, the changes were minimal and immaterial. In the end I could barely tell the difference.
I am sorry that so many negative comments brought about the need for this video. I never read the comments so didn’t realize. I recently subscribed and am working through years of great content. As a child of the 70’s your channel is doing exactly as advertised. It is giving me a blast from the past and reminding me of great shows and toys from when I was growing up. Please don’t let the negative comments make you too upset and I hope the rest of the robotech series comes out soon. Thanks for all of your research and time. Keep up the great work.
Okay, first, i love your videos. I like the approach, I like the production values, I like the content. Great job all around. The reason I'm commenting, aside from the above, is to clarify something. I didn't want to be THAT guy on TH-cam, but I think you're doubling down on an inaccurate piece of information. The Zentraedi didn't have the "million' ships in the Sol system theater until episode 20. Their initial forces which appear in episode 1, under the command of Breetai, are far fewer (though an accurate number isn't given in the series it looks to be about twenty ships, and is probably not much more than a recon unit). This initial force is hampered by the fact that they are not allowed to directly fire on the SDF1 for fear of destroying the Protoculture Factory. You hear phrases like "take it intact!" repeated often during the early episodes. Then, in episode seven, Breetai calls for reinforcements, and orders up the "7th Botoru Battalion" under the command of Khyron. No size estimate is given, but the number of ships is below the number of Breetai's initial force. In episode 13, Breetai is replaced by Commander Azonia and her forces. Again, no estimate of size, but it's kinda irrelevant here because Azonia literally does nothing but encircle the Earth and wait. Khyron (still in the Sol system) disobeys her order and attacks the SDF-1 in the episode (19) where Ben Dixon dies and the barrier overload occurs. That overload is the reason for Breetai's return, and the assignment of the "Imperial Class Fleet" to his command. This is where the million ships come into play. But even then, Breetai is hampered by the "no direct fire" order. In the one large engagement between the SDF-1 and the Imperial Class fleet, Breetai's troops board the SDF-1 and then... dessert en-mass and ask for asylum. This is unheard of in all of Zentraedi history, and is so shocking the Breetai that he orders a withdrawal. When he tries to attack again, his remaining troops refuse the order because one of the tenants of Zentraedi law is that they do not kill each other. This leads eventually, to the peace talks between his second, Exedore, and the command staff of the SDF-1 in episode 25, the lead-in to the arrival of the MAIN Zentraedi fleet of 4.8 million ships. *Phew!* Hope that clears it up, sorry for the info dump.
Well you did make me realize Gloval was a bad commander. Like a really bad commander.
But you weren't wrong.
Yeah, same here I used to think Gloval was a Boss. Instead, his command was reckless and dangerous. You can say maybe the command pool was very low due to the previous wars. Maybe he was fast-tracked into that command.
When it comes to being a commander you're not always going to make the best decisions, that is the reality of war and of life. Napoleon once said "He who has made war without making mistakes has not made war for very long." Perhaps worse than making bad decisions is making no decisions whatsoever. Ultimately throughout the series the ship and the people on it, which were under his command, survived the war right through to the end, and that alone is difficult enough.
I've heard someone call Bright Noa from Z Gundam a bad commander.
Yeah..that was quite a laugh considering Bright did things LESS destructive than Captain Gloval during Z Gundam. At least he didn't carelessly place soldiers or even people in danger.
Yeah,recruiting a kid who would pilot the Gundam Mk-2 and further on,Zeta Gundam who had quite broken parents tbh along with an autistic streak doesn't seem extreme than this.
totally bro, i saw it as a kid and have been a life long fan. Despite that even I dont really think or know Gloval committed war crimes
Hindsight is 20/20. A good commander has to make quick decisions in the line of fire. Yes many of his decisions led to disaster and the loss of life, but that is something that comes with command. You also have to consider that he was captaining an untested ship with an untested crew, with untested technology. Had he not made the decisions he did, the SDF1 and it's inhabitants would have all been killed early on. And considering that the only people of earth who survived the Zentradi war were the people on SDF-1, I would have happily accepted Captain Gloval as my commander.
"One ship versus a million ships" is a whoooole different ballgame when you're trying to take something intact vs simply destroying it. Especially when the occupants of said ship are basically fighting every battle to the death. That was one problem I've tended to have with Star Trek over the years.. disabling weapons and engines is WAY WAY WAY too easily done in episodes where the plot demands a ship be taken intact. The situation with the Zentradi and SDF-1 was basically the humans saying "You'll take this ship from our cold dead hands" and sticking to it at every turn.
The fact the Zentradi wasted so much time attacking the ship from outside when they should have been taking it from the inside with micronized operatives shows their failure to think outside of the box *because they were bred as front line fighters* and not spies and operatives. You need to look at the grander picture of a battlefield. Tactics and logistics tell the deeper stories.
All that being said, I did very much enjoy the video! And yes, Gloval had a few issues.
Yeah, That was the only thing from the Review that stuck in my head as being a bit where Michael might be a bit confused. In Robotech the Zentradi wanted to capture the fortress for the Protoculture factory. In Macross they wanted to capture it because they had reaction weaponry (A technology the Zentradi had long since lost) So they weren't looking to smash the ship to pieces and be on their merry way, they wanted to capture it to regain the technology. The destruction of earth is later ordered by Bedolza/Dolza when the Zentradi engaged with the Macross/SDF1 are shown to be contaminated.
But other than that Fairly Spot on. Gloval is Fairly Cavalier and Reckless, though at the time of watching you find it hard not to sympathize since you find yourself caring about the named characters in the SDF1 and people on the ground not so much.
Oh, and the Robotech book series backs up the whole Lynn Kyle and Minmay thing as an item. And in "Showdown" when asked by reporters about their getting married Kyle states that it's something he's Considered. So it's fairly obvious that there's an element of togetherness there. Michael was right spot on with that.
Also, those million ships weren't under Breetai's command at first. The SDF-1 was already back on Earth when Breetai requested that fleet, but soon after the Zentraedi ships were "contaminated" with human culture, leading to them refusing to attack the SDF-1. The first real action of the million ship fleet was as an ally of the human forces against the five million main armada of the Zentraedi.
Michael, just as an FYI - Palledium Books had printed several Role Playing Game books on Robotech. The information within those books is incredible with regards to the Mecha, characters, and the Robotech universe in general. I highly recommend them as reference material at the very least. Great art as well. There's also the Robotech novels written by Jack McKinney that are based directly on the Robotech series.
Agreed - some of the best - there's also the comics and novels - I've not gone near them but people seem to like them
The information is generally acceptable, and the mechanics system does provide a relatively decent framework (it certainly has its flaws and shortcomings) for gaming, along with an admittedly nice multi-genre single-platform crossover capability.
But as someone who had every single Robotech RPG book along with the Sentinels, Macross II, and most everything else ever printed by Palladium up until about 1999, I can say without reservation that the 'technical' aspects are at times highly questionable and a stern fact-checking is in order for their work. I mean, the most glaring example (and there are others) would be the Lancer Space Fighter in Book 1. Yeah, ignore that it is actually the Oberth-class, a destroyer-size escort ship. We'll just call it a space fighter.
agreed i did hope that the 2nd RPG from Palladium would have continued, they talked about a book of Deck Plans for all the ships and we never got it. (i have all of those RPG books and would have loved a deck plan for the SDF-1)
Yeah; I played the RPG for years, and am grateful to Palladium for it serving as another entry into Robotech for me, but the books are hardly definitive sources of information. They are rife with errors, judgement calls and attempts to streamline things.
Yeah they had the Robotech license and the books are pretty great! I have almost all the Palladium RPG stuff some of the books are really expensive since they are no longer produced at all.
Your first video was fine. The entire Robotech series is full of confusing dialogue and narrative contradictions so it's hardly your fault if something got misinterpreted.
That said, the SDF-1's initial transformation was done so they could fire the main cannon or else they'd have lost the ship. The interior was modified afterward so it could transform without damaging the city.
Also, Minmei had at least four songs. It just seemed like Stage Fright was her only one because it was the most annoying and she sang it all the damn time.
Dude I have been a Robotech fan since the 80's. I was one of the lucky kids that got to watch it. Your video was excellent! It was absolutely the best of the 80's, and I thought you were very researched!
Harmony Gold tried to excise the incestuous nature of Minmei's relationship with her cousin. They failed. I think the confusion comes from that.
CharlieNagoo Harmony Gold screwed over the original creator of Macross with their vile licensing practices
Yeah the cultural differences make it an odd relationship, nevermind Kyle's abusiveness. It is a cultural difference but first cousin marriage is legal and accepted in much of the world.
@@user-go4fb7se8i well yeah but that's besides the point
Ocelotl Chimalpahin Robotech was a mistake. They should have aired those three animes separately and respectively instead of that bad cut pasting that also harm the people who invented and worked hard on those animes.
Kind of like how the lesbian couple in Sailor Moon became 'cousins' in the American version.
Even with a small error, Part 1 is an A+, funny and a New take on an old classics. I've seen it 3 times already.
Fyi about the million ships. Breetai only had a couple of dozen ships initially and got reinforcements twice (Khyron and Azonia). They purposely never wanted to destroy the ship, only capture it. Later in the series after the pin point shield blew up the city, Breetai requested the Imperial Fleet which Azonia then comments about it being a million ships and why would he need it. The main fleet of 4-5 million ships show up at ep 26 and fight Earth, the SDF1, and the 1,000,000 Imperial fleet
Sorry I’m late to the party. I just discovered your channel (and subscribed) yesterday. Great job on the RT videos 👍
I always thought the 1 million ships was part of a wide scale search over a large part of the galaxy. So a task group of ships under Breetai found the Fortress. The rest of the fleet/group were ordered to stay away to prevent contamination from culture. And it worked so well...
Still love the Mad Jack Gloval scene where he's cackling like a madman...
My man don't sweat it... Absolutely nothing worse than a fanboy with nothing better to do then pour over your video and try to find everything wrong with it. They hear stuff that doesn't align with how they want to view the series or a particular character and they become Petty and aggressive. I'd like to see a single person making a critique put the time and effort to create such a beautiful Escape so someone can shit on it. Now if you had gotten your facts wrong and didn't own up that's one thing but otherwise you have done a fantastic job and I will be waiting for the next installment. Thank you sir!
I own the series and have watched it several times. I still couldn't tell you what color Minmay's shit is because I have more important things to obsess over. Don't stroke out on us bro, no one is "lying". Also you really shouldn't be criticizing anyone in a post until you learn how to spell.
I'm assuming someone chickened out of his/her argument as I can only see your response to his/her (I would assume) stupid post.
@@iampoch01
Exactly
My impression was that the Zentradi fleet was purposely pulling its punches because it didn't want the ship damaged. They could have destroyed it easily. Capturing it intact was hard. This was a plot point because Khyron wanted to just destroy the ship, but his superiors wouldn't let him.
Dear Michael and Retroblasting, here are some answers/comments on WHY the Zentraedi wanted the SDF-1: 1) It was a Supervision army ship, 2)Humans could repair things so they wanted to capture the ship INTACT (I.E. They wanted to capture the SDF-1 and the humans intact so they could ensalve them to REPAIR THINGS!) 3)Humans discovered how to make Nuclear Weapons, which the Zentraedi had lost, so they wanted to learn how to make those again, and 4) Macross lore has it that the original Imperial fleet Bretai asked for was 1 THOUSAND SHIPS! Not 1 MILLION ships! This is something Robotech got wrong, not you. Hope all this helps. P.S., LOVE your videos on Robotech! THEY ARE AWESOME!
This is the way you admit when you make a mistake you address the mistake you don't insult anyone and you move on. You see this children's this is how a real adult acts. Thank you retroblasting for the excellent content you guys provide cant wait for part 3 and i still miss your Saturday's live streams
Am sorry a meant part 2
Thanks man.
Also. Saturday livestreams aren't dead. Just trying to find the right time to relaunch.
I hope the president reads this.
Retroblasting, You guys do a hell of a job, I appreciate your art. You cover so much over an incredible period in animation and toys. I hope "Ze Holy-Robotech foundation of Standards & Snobbery" lighten up on you guys. I know nothing about Robotech and I'd rather hear about it from you guys than anyone else. Keep up the entertaining work. ☺😃
Thanks so much. - Michael
Hey! Standards & Snobbery would make a great RPG!
came here to say exactly this. Robotech just wasn't a thing when i was a kid. completely passed me by. You always know that Micheal is going to do his research and be as accurate as he can. mistakes happen. get over it. And the "Foundation of Standards and Snobbery" have way more departments than Robotech. The Star Wars branch are much more widespread...
3 year old video still pulling in a new subscriber. Watched your robotech vids. I don’t care about 1 error or even 2, your videos bring me back to fond memories of my childhood! That is all that matters! Keep up the good work!!
Thank you!
If there is something that your channel has and that I like is the level of knowledge and preparation you put into each video that makes it enjoyable and fun to watch
The novels should be included in any discussion of the show. One for the military experience of one of the authors. Two, the Souther Cross, while being unwatchable, is really good when written by competent authors.
Continue doing things your way Michael, that's why we love the RetroBlasting channel. I thought your first part review was EXCELLENT. And this is coming from a fan that found the show (like you) later on in life. Also, I simply cannot fathom the amount of hours of prep work just to get a video of this scope off the ground. Kudos to you sir!
DUDE! I WAS SO HYPED UP FOR PART 2...I FEEL A LITTLE UPSET THAT THIS WASNT PART 2
My take from the Robotech intro (which I just rewatched last night) was that there was already an ongoing war, and the threat of an invasion from outer space, in the form of the crashing spaceship, is what stopped it.
Hey Michael, I just want to say first before i bring up 2 small points, (which are mostly nitpicks anyway) I just want to say we have watched your channel for a long time, and it's a great channel, this Robotech episode is one of my favorites. You guys are some of the few TH-camrs out there who I can tell are genuinely great people, and your work is not rushed in any way.
That being said, I do have two small complaints.
1: The thing about Mad Jack Churchill. Not everyone is going to get that reference, and knowing you you probably did not mean it like this, but it sounded like you were blaming us for not getting it. Maybe you should have given a little text at the top of the screen, like Dunkirk.
2: Kyle and Minmay. People who say they were not dating are stupid, but that first clip in your roll does not show that. You can see that Kyle is forcing himself on Minamy. They dated later though.
Anyway, you guys are awesome, just wanted to point a few things out. People who say you are sloppy and half-assed are WRONG. Keep doing what your doing.
It's difficult to tell what the actual series of events is in Robotech versus Macross, since they fiddled with the story for the Robotech version and it contradicts itself sometimes as it was such a rushed job. However, as I recall in the Macross version, the SDF1 smacked down in Polynesia and that sparked World War III, with everyone trying to get their hands on it. The war was between "The UN" and "The Anti-UN." The UN managed to hold on to the island through the war, and repairing the ship was considered a major priority. The war lasted 9 years.
In the Robotech version of things, the "Global Civil War" is going on at the start of the show, then the SDF 1 crashes, and that *stops* the war, because everyone realizes there's a much bigger threat out there and everyone needs to come together to be ready for it.
Basically Macross and Robotech reversed those events, so confusion is understandable. It confused me for a long time, and I wasn't 100% sure on it until I saw "Macross Zero." That's a prequel set a year before Macross itself, showing the last battle of the war, and also explains how Roy Fokker became a womanizing lush. It's actually really good, despite some gratuitous nudity, if you ever get to see it.
Of course that only applies to the Macross timeline, not the Robotech one.
Anyway, once again, thank you for doing all this.
The Unification War, start in 2001 and end it in 2006, with struggles of remnants of the anti-UN, in later years, such as 2007 (Macross Zero), 2008 (Macross The First), and some in 2010 (when the SDF 1 was in the space).
You've made a great vid, I am looking forward to the remaining segments.
I do not wanna step in and play devil's advocate here, because I know how hard it is to do a research video and you guys did a great job. But in regards to the discussion about 13:50 situation, the original commentor has a point in that I can also see why this is all confusing. The first city where the SDF-1 is flying low over a city and told to leave "NO LOW FLYING!" is a different city that ordered the SDF-1 to leave, then the city was destroyed later. Gloval did do that to get attention to offload the Macross civilians from the SDF-1. He was refused by the military and the people of THAT city. Soon after, because of the attention he brought to himself (Which was his plan) ANOTHER city gave his people political asylum in the 'Ontario quadrant'. The SDF-1 is soon shown to leave and head towards the OTHER city that did offer asylum. The SDF-1 was by that stage in and flying low over the city that it was invited to. That is kinda how all the confusion happened. Two different cities were shown, one that rejected them in the beginning and the other that offered them refuge but was destroyed for it in the end. If I am wrong on this, I will accept that and delete this comment as well.
gutz1981 you are correct on the circumstances oh the ship flying low to the Earth surface. I think which Michael is perhaps alluding to is that the SDF-1 should have when engaged in battle pushed off from the surface before using the reflex barrier shield. Doing so definitely put the city at risk even without using the barrier.
that sound right but doesn't disprove that he flow low over cities while being chase by enemies ships. knowing that any moment they were bound to be attack. He could had easily had landed the civies over yellow stone park or a low population area.. fled with the big ship and radio for pick up. Heck who would had scatter drop .. a few at a time so he wouldn't be down on the ground too long and near small villages that could help support survivors. its too bad they didn't have drop ships .. cause those would had help with the unloading.
@@80s_Kid_and_Collectibles I'm not saying Michael is wrong about the "Flying low being reckless" argument. I agree, its foolish. In the second city that the SDF-1 was over it was invited to and one could argue the low flight there meant the ship was soon ready to disembark ASAP before any changes were to happen. I agree its all reckless and I am not picking or choosing sides on this, I was simply pointing out what another viewer of this review was trying to explain is all. I liked the review and look forward to the next one.
@@Marveryn not sure if the novels/comics elaborated more but i think there was a fear that if Gloval did drop the civilians in like Yellowstone Park or another area without permission, the civilians would either be arrested because of the classified nature [at that time] of the Zentraedi threat to the world public or even 'eliminated' since the rest of the world thought Macross Island and the citizens were destroyed in a terrorist attack [cover up story told to the public]. Gloval and the SDF1 crew needed the 'asylum status' for the citizens to keep them safe.
Congrads guys for the first video doing so well.
So glad you guys are finally tackling this space odyssey.
Also, bonus points for the K9 and company t-shirt.
I heard recently that Carl Macek had to do the entire dub of 85 episodes, music, script changes and splicing of all three series in just six weeks!
It was a great video. I look forward to Part 2. Thank you, Retroblasting! Each new video you guys post sparks a lot of joy. Please keep up the good work...
I’m sorry that you felt you had to explain yourself, like this... But, it adds that much more depth and insight into the work that you painstakingly put into this review, and every other piece that you’ve produced. As you said, as a fan of this channel, I know what goes into these videos. But, it’s nice to get a peek behind the curtain at times, too.
Thanks, 'blues.
The impression I always got was that the wars were already going on, and then when the alien ship crashed on earth, the governments of the world went "whoah wait, what, aliens? Shit nevermind" and stopped their wars, and started banding together.
The antonym of "half-assed" is "RetroBlasting."
Usage in a sentence:
_"WoW! You spent a year meticulously restoring this beat up old car to perfect condition with authentic replacement parts? I didn't know you were going to give it the ~RetroBlasting~ treatment."_
HAHAHA!
now I got an idea for word useage when I write my next book. LMAO. I love it!!
+Rudy Ripple How do you put lettering in; Italics? thanks.
@@MGSBigBoss77 Whatever you want italicized, put an underscore at the start of it and at the end of it, so it'd look like:
_ THIS _
only without the spaces between the _'s and the letters.
You guys make such great professional content... even the theme music! Of course when you publish stuff and put it out there people will critique. However the overwhelming consensus is RB is FAN-tastic!! BTW - we share somewhat of a similar experience - I also moved to the UK (Cambridge) in 1990, at the same age as you, and have this dual UK/US identity. Cheers to you!
Thank you for making the Robotech series! When I watched Robotech as a teen (and many times later), I interpreted the opening similarly. War was going on, the Macross crashed, and that triggered global peace as they came together to work on the restoration. It wasn't until I saw the prequel that the perspective changed.
Michael French you did a fantastic job on Robotech and it was worth the wait. I loved it, it's a shame that you have to make another video because someone has to point out errors so they can feel better about themselves. Instead of just being thankful that you took the time to make a great video. If they can do better then I challenge them to do so. I know that I could not do a video as good as you and the rest of the team there so I don't try. Keep up the good work and I look forward to Dragon Con.
Really happy with part 1 Michael. And if an error slips in so what, it can be made wright in the next part no problem
11k views :D congratulations guys :D you deserve many more :D
Awesome job so far on this series! This is my favorite Anime of all time
It was a great video and can't wait for part 2. Keep up the excellent work.
From a dedicated Protoculture Addict; Michael, you did a hell of a job on this review! I think some of the more overzealous fans get information between the series and Jack McKinney's novel series confused (possibly?)
It's funny, some of those curious things you mentioned (how the city was built and functions, Minmei dating her cousin) seemed odd to me as a kid when i read the novels (the show was hard to find on TV) but i assumed i just didn't understand because i was young. I enjoyed your take on everything :)
I'm not expecting a part B but I'm wondering if you could talk a little about why Gloval made the decisions that led to so many casualties. I haven't watched the series in a long time but I think he made the best decisions he could given the situation. Gloval realized the Zentraedi mission was not to destroy the SDF but capture it and they were intentionally attacking Macross island to cause more chaos and casualties. It was a Zentraedi intimidation tactic. He knew the SDF could not defeat the Zentraedi fleet nor could he surrender the SDF since the Zentraedi would most likely destroy the Earth anyway. So he made the only decision he could and fled, hoping the Zentraedi would follow them away from Earth. His scientific advisor told him he could use the Hyperspace Fold device but no one knew it would drag along Macross island since they had not tested it. He took a chance to save the Earth. And the first decision he made when he discovered what happened after the fold was to save as many civilians as he could. Those aren't the decisions of a Mad Jack.
The events that lead up to the ship transforming the first time were because the fold system disappeared and it was a critical component in the power distribution system. That left the ship dead in space with part of the Zentraedi fleet approaching. Again he relied on the advice of his experts, chief engineer/scientist, who said they could reconfigure the ship to reconnect the power system bypassing the missing fold device. No one knew how that would affect the sheltering civilians since it was the first time. With time running out before the Zentraedi arrival he made the only decision he could to try and save the ship and those civilians. When they learned of the casualties they didn't transform the ship again until after they figured out how to protect the civilians. Again not the decisions a Mad Jack would make.
When he arrived back at Earth and hovered over new Macross City (is that the right name?) he expected the people to welcome them home. He expected the government to happily receive the refugee civilians. Instead the government gave them the bureaucratic middle finger. After the year they spent trying to get back, suffering and fighting the Zentraedi all the way, Gloval expected his fellow humans to treat them with gratitude and consideration. Anyone would be frustrated by the reception they received. Cut him some slack for being a bit short tempered with the government representative.
There is some Zentraedi lore that might explain their actions. Someone can correct this if any of it is wrong. I don't recall if this was ever stated in the animation but the Zentraedi were clone workers created by the Robotech Masters. They were originally Micronian sized but were giantized when the Robotech Masters needed them as a military force. They eventually broke away from the Robotech Masters and became militaristic nomads. Their barely remembered history warned them of their Micronian slave masters so they destroy any Micronian civilization they come across. They needed the protoculture factory inside the SDF because their own factories broke down. No Zentraedi had the technical knowledge to build a new one thus they could not chance destroying the last one in existence. Thus Bretai gave standing orders to avoiding damaging the SDF. Their battle tactics were based on intimidation. He wanted the humans to give up the ship. He expected one million ships to be enough to accomplish this. However Japanese anime military personnel are much too fearless and stoic to be intimidated. He did eventually send infiltrators after they realized humans and Zentraedi look so similar and Exedor showed Bretai they had some old dusty giantizing equipment still aboard they could reverse to micronize themselves.
Enjoy your channel. So many happy 80's memories come back to me. Robotech played on one of the UHF channels at 5:00 pm weeknights in Oklahoma. I discovered it by accident and was amazed how much more interesting it was than typical after school and Saturday morning cartoons. Will you explain Battle of Planets next? That one confused me.
Robotech blew my mind as a kid.... and frankly it still does. It was so ahead of its time. I got so stressed as a kid as
my school bus would drop me off at my driveway at almost the same time the show would begin. I had to run ( sprint) home to not mis the opening ..lol .
I’m so thankful for Robotech/Macross as it offers so many great things.... amazing art, insane mechs, Japanelove stories, ... just a magical childhood experience.
It was, besides StarWars a dynamo that kicked off my imagination. .... I’m a fan for life.
Love your channel and thanks for putting it together. Keep up the hard work!
I appreciate your dedication Michael, and that you felt the need to defend your integrity. Misunderstanding creeps in when trying to convey your take on something to other people--and vice versa, when other's interpretation is colored by what they focus on.
Yes, it only took 10 years to get the SDF-1 spaceworthy; but the conflicts on Earth had been going on prior to and parallel to the ship's reconstruction. The series did suffer from inconsistencies with numbers...civilians/ships/time passing, etc...which in some cases came down to vagaries over points of reference. I don't recall a number being given to Breetai's initial fleet at the series' start. Dolza removed Breetai from command for a time; when Breetai was reinstated, it was under condition that he lead the 1 million ships. That of course was separate from the 4.8 million ship armada Dolza brought against Earth and the "infected" Zentradi.
One factual error that you did not address was that Minmei did have more than 1 song. But perhaps that was actually another case of your "snark": because the point is, they came up with too few songs for her, and man were they repetitive!! Her relationship with Lynn-Kyle was muddy at best. He was, foremost, an abusive business manager. The show made it clear that he had feelings for her--which initially she was repulsed by. But with the time skips and such, it's evident something likely happened at some point. The whole dynamic between them was meant to generate discomfort, I think.
As for Gloval: I always saw it as "this guy just can't catch a break!" He was always trying to make the best of a bad situation, backed into corners not only by the Zentradi dogging the fortress, but his own government covering their lying butts instead of helping Macross' civilians caught in the middle! While I disagree with your conclusion, I respect how you came to your viewpoint, given all of the casualties under his watch.
Robotech was a landmark series to so many, with its mature space opera/soap opera influence being felt all these years later. It does have its flaws upon examination, but that shouldn't detract from the huge impact it had on all of us who loved it then or now. RetroBlasting has always shared that kind of love--by seeing something for what it really is: both the flaws, and what made it fantastically memorable.
I was unaware of the WW2 reference, but still got the gist of why you gave him that title. Great stuff as always!
I loved the review. Only gripe might have been Gloval. Dude was dealing with tech he had no idea how it would work. The consequences were horrible and unexpected. Sometimes a necessity. I don't even think you pointed out the point defense system that added to the full defense system that horribly failed over Montreal. I loved it because of that. All of the failure I loved. You had people stuck in desperate times dealing with what they could do. No gripes of your review man. It was great. Love your work.
Yo RB Crew! I think you guys do a great job revisiting most of our childhood faves (toys, cartoons, anime & animated series'), so much so that fandom of ANY type of IP, franchise, book or film or TV series will show out the negative side that fandom can reveal, especially in this current era of "insta-best or worst ever" social media/interwebs hyperbole that happens with fandom (SW: The Last Jedi anybody? Lol). Usually though the pros outweigh the cons of sharing thoughts on something you analyze from a different viewpoint, and reading the comments on this video, most folks really appreciate what RB does...I know I do. Keep up the great work!
It's all good, man. :) Even though the Zentraedi had a million to five million ships, most of them were damaged. Either they did not know how or they lacked the equipment to properly repair and maintain them. They're all battered from all the battles/wars they've been in for centuries. We also see how poorly Breetai's command bridge is repaired as evidence of this. Despite many of their weaponry still in working order, those shops would've been far more incredibly lethal had they been maintained properly. Another thing is that it seems the Zentraedi severely under-estimated Earth's capabilities and Global was messy and unpredictable, which also threw them off.
Sportimus , Zentraedi were stripped of the knowledge of stuff like that from the Robotech Masters. They did not want their clone giants to have knowledge like how tech works or else they would rebel. That’s why the Robotech factory satellite was important to capture for the RDF- able to repair and create warships.
Just out of curiousity any chance of seeing reviews for Bubblegum Crisis and Vampire Hunter D?? There were a big part of my growing up. I will say I've never seen Robotech myself but I still love watching your videos about it.
That would be great!
Dude,BGC man. :)
I'm always amazed anytime anyone questions the integrity of Retroblasting. I follow multiple YT channels, all really good, entertaining, and informative, and Retroblasting is above and beyond the most credible, honest, and researched- and the RB videos are always a mix of entertainment and information presented in a great format. Keep up the great job !
I have always found your videos informative and if there is any slight technical problems so what. Keep on keepin on ✊
@1:28 wait...there'll be a part 4 and you'll show the SDF-1??
Wow!!!Excited already to see that.
As a legitimate Macross“super-fan” this is an excellent well researched subject. I enjoyed learning new things while considering new point of view, like Gloval being a maniac, thank you.
First great video - thank you for doing Robotech! I got the “Mad Jack” reference, a suggestion? Maybe next time throw the trolls a bone and point them in the direction of the reference. By the way, I am glad I am not the only one that wondered why Gloval is thought of so highly.
Also the Minmei/Kyle story was obviously backed off for the American kid audience. Anyone that questions what was there should read the books, yea they were a couple, no questions.
Anyway, great video, big fan of the channel and really looking forward to the rest in this series.
The Zentradi wanted the SDF-1 intact, Zentradi commander Britai ordered it not to be damaged. All other micronian targets were fair game.
You did a GREAT job! Brought back lots of great memories
I watched all the videos in this series, it was very insightful and your scripts were very good!
I think it was in one of the comic books, that Dr. Emil Lang found something on the ship it transformed him into a genius and he figured out how to replicate the technology using the earthly versions. Also i think he was able to use the alien technology so he kept a lot as is without turning it into a human version. As seen in the first episode they used antigravity alien tech because the version they had made failed miserably and started breaking out of the ship and floating away. So they had to use the Alien antigravity to keep the ship afloat.
You Made a very good video, cant wait for more, big fan!!!
Minmay and her cousin were Chinese, and until the early 80s, marriage between cousins was common in some regions of China, just as the older man was responsible and authoritative for his sisters or cousins. In the kiss of the first incomplete scene, she rejects her cousin and indicates that she will never see him that way. The second kiss is in the context of the final battle, where they try to confuse the Zentraedi with that again. Do not forget that in the movie they filmed, their characters were a love interest between them, and they kissed in that movie. Rick, was always confusing things and getting melodramatic about the uninteresting Minmay gave him , and in her immaturity, he believed that Minmay's cousin was talking in the press about marrying her .
For what it’s worth, Speaking as a long time fan of Robotech who has watched the entire series more times than I can count, your observations of The macros saga are spot on from Capt Gloval’s command decisions, to the weird relationship between Minnmei and Lynn Kyle, etc. Please keep doing you. If anyone wants to do their take on Robotech, then they can make their own videos on the subject. I throughly enjoyed the video as I have enjoyed every single retro blasting video I have watched. I’m looking forward to seeing the next installment.
I ran into the same type of thing with a few Star Trek fans when I was coloring some books for IDW. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. My response would be the line from Ed Wood-“Well, my next one will be better.” I think you guys are doing a great job.
I grew up watching the Harmony Gold version on TV, and I've seen the series (all 3 parts) many times over the years. We played the Palladium Robotech RPG growing up because of this show. With all that said, I think you did a great job. Keep these episodes coming.
Michael...think of it this way. Robotech touched so many and shaped so many in the 80s and beyond that, some devoted most of their adult lives to this series. I consider myself a super fan but I enjoyed all your shows about it. Robotech has a cult following and it deserves it. You can't please all the superfans but just understand this show touched a bunch of people and you even said it too you a long time to decide to do Robotech because you wanted to do it justice. Its a complex story and many twists. This show was a highlight of my childhood and still collect from it. Thank you for continuing to talk about a show that aired 36 so odd years ago brings newer viewers into the fold of the cult. :) keep up the good work.
Well your awesome, I adore this channel,I'll support this channel always!
The Zentraedi had opposing edicts. The first was to recapture the protoculture factory aboard the SDF-1. The second was to cut bait if encountering micronians. Micronians were occupying the SDF-1 making avoidance impossible if they were to accomplish the first goal.
You did a great job. Really liked your robotech video. Can't wait for part 2!
I think you’re doing a great job! Part 1 was wonderful. I watched Robotech in the ‘80s, and I adored it. It’s always been one of my favorites. I’d never realized Captain Gloval was so irresponsible when I was a kid, and I found your comments in that regard to be rather illuminating. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the series!
When you’re done with Robotech, how about doing a series on Battle of the Planets a.k.a. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman? It was a precursor to Robotech. IIRC, Battle of the Planets was syndicated and typically shown on Saturday mornings from 1978 to 1980....
Please keep making these videos, I’ve been waiting years for them. A mistake here and there is human but TH-cam comments is not the best way to have a conversation about right/wrong or intent on a series. Love your videos and can’t wait for more.
Retroblasting did a great job with the first part of this review series. Thoughtful and well written that looks at both the pro's and con's of this series. Keep up the good work! :)
I enjoyed your video and I can't wait for the next two Robotech series.
You guys keep doing an awesome job!
I’m a super Robotech fan, and I thought you had a lot of valid points about the show. I’ve been waiting for you guys to do this series of videos since back when you made the reviews on Voltron, Silverhawks, M.a.s.k., and you made snarky comments then. So I knew one day, when you guys made a review for Robotech, that there would be some frank commentary that were good points. And that’s fine. Anyway, looking forward to the next parts and that LEGO Voltron review.😎👍🏻
I'm a big fan of your channel, and I sincerely appreciate you putting this together. Hope you don't mind some additional comments on your corrections. I don't mean them to be critical of your work, but I know Robotech fairly well (one of those superfans you referenced), and can offer some updates to what you've said. Again, I do not at all mean this as criticism, just wanting to suppliment the things you've mentioned with some additional context or information. Thank you for making a video regarding Robotech. My wife and I appreciate you!
I'm writing as I watch the video:
--The third world war (later named the global civil war) broke out in 1995. When the SDF-1 crashed in 1999, an armistice was signed immediately, and a joint UN team was sent to investigate the ship. It was restored for 10 years. During that time, anti-unificationists were still a problem, but these people were terrorists, not a full warring faction.
--Breetai was given command of a fleet of one million ships late in 2009, but not until *after* Rick, Lisa, Ben, and Max are captured and return. Their return comes when that fleet is folding back to our Solar System. His initial fleet is much smaller.
--The Zentradi were specifically *not* trying to destroy the SDF-1 because they wanted to recapture Zor's protoculture matrix, which was hidden somewhere in the hull of the ship. This is the same reason that had difficulty capturing it; they were trying to avoid damaging the SDF-1 because they didn't know where in the ship this thing was.
--Kyle and Minmei weren't "dating" in the traditional sense, but were certainly in some form of an abusive relationship. The three clips you referenced showed are: Kyle kissing Minmei against her will (she immediately pushes him away right after you cut the clip, and you can hear her saying "no"), she apologizes to Rick about Kyle because he's a dick, a destabilizing element that she made Rick bring onto the ship, and has been rallying anti-military sentiment. He's also her manager, so she's spending all kinds of time with him. The last clip was during the climactic battle for earth (Operation: Lynn Minmei). The plan was devised by Rick, and the kiss was specifically requested to be included by Exedore for the purpose of shocking and destabilizing the grand fleet, and Minmei is uncomfortable with the request, but agrees to it. A kiss during a stage performance, when the fate of humanity is a stake, is not the same as dating. Rick realizes he doesn't *want* Minmei, not that he can never have her. He's already falling for Lisa by that point.
Also, Minmei has eight songs haha.
Thanks again for all your work on this!
Michael- long time fan. I remember you promising Robotech for a looong time. It’s obvious you’re a HUGE fan to make a response video. No need to prove geek cred, it’s established. You take great pride in your work and it shows. I’m 48, got into Robotech in NYC in 1985. INSTANTLY ADDICTED. Remember Michael, most fans are assholes. Don’t worry about them. Here’s my thoughts. I always felt it was very clear Minnmei and Kyle were in a relationship. I always felt Gloval was a good, if flawed character. Like most on the show. No one was perfect. He was a LEADER and made hard decisions, good and bad. Everyone has commented on the Zentraidi already, so I’ll just add that in Macross-Do you remember love?, as soon as the SDF-1 folded over Macross city, the Zentraidi obliterated the earth and moved on. Like space Roman soldiers who would destroy a village of insurgents. Keep up the great work and I’m looking forward to parts 2-4. New Generation might be my favorite. I’m so glad I didn’t know Robotech was 3 separate shows. I was SO excited waiting for the return of Admiral Hunter in episode 85. Does anyone else feel like me that the Admiral Hunter who’s decision was to deploy the neutron bombs to destroy an invid infested earth was Lisa, not Rick? It always seemed like it would be something her dad would do, and a very military family mindset.
You touched on an interesting question about who gave the order to fire the neutron S missiles. Unfortunately, they would have to redo the series to get an answer to that question. I am not sure if the novels or comics addressed this.
In a remake of Robotech, we would need to see some footage of Rick and Lisa at the end of Invid Invasion. It was a bit of a cop out that they never came out of hyper space so no, we don’t get to see them after all.
We need to see them even if they don’t participate in the battle. We need to see Admiral Hunter give the order regrettably in a dark room to the commander who did conduct the battle. Perhaps Lisa did talk him into it.
Mad Jack Churchill? the only combatant in WWII known to have killed an enemy with a bow and arrow?
You got it. The guy is LEGEND.
Rock on, @@retroblasting. Love you guys. Keep up the good fight.
We named our cover band after him actually!
I personally thought that you did a spectacular job on Robotech part one! I was fortunate enough to view the first three episodes of the series on 3 separate VHS tapes rented from a local video store. I was immediately hooked by the style of animation, the complexity of the story and characters, as well as the adult themes. I then found the show being aired on the cable channel WPIX New York early in the morning, and I made a point of being awake to watch it daily until the series ended and went into rotation, at which point I watched it again. I've since acquired the complete series on DVD. The toys unfortunately, although abundant at one point at Toys R. Us and Kmart always seemed to be picked over, and with three generations of characters to collect, it was difficult to stay focused, at least for me. Being a preteen/teenager with other things on my mind, probably didn't help either...
"that's not me not knowing something, that's you not knowing something" Loved the Mad Jack reference, and LOVED your explanaition on this vid! Longtime fan, thank you for the fun and informative videos Retroblasting!
Robotech was among my favorite cartoons at 12 years old, and I am so happy that I could find it on DVD these days
His initial fleet is much smaller than one million ships, it is after Rick and Lisa are interviewed by Dolza that he asks for the Imperial Fleet because Breetai believes the task is that difficult. Once THAT fleet fails and is compromised by the Miconian's cullture the entire Zentradi fleet warps into Earth orbit in order to seal the deal. At that point I think the show hints that Breetai's Imperial fleet is on the Micronian's side so the "Final Battle" would be fought as SDF1 and Breetai's fleet against 5 million faithful Zentradi with many of those fleeing the battlefield in the face of the cultural attack etc. etc.
Whoa! Didn't expect a fast follow up to Part 1! Thanks, Michael & Melinda! Appreciate this.
Compared to how well written in terms of Story & Character Development, it'll be interesting to see you tackle the animated G. I. Joe with its deviation from the more serious Marvel comics, which in fact was superior to its animated counterpart in both departments, but I digress.
Robotech & Macross 3x each? That means putting up with "The Long Wait" 6x over! That takes stamina given how boring it was (to me, anyway).
The 1 million ships did refer to Breetai's Imperial Fleet, the 4 million ships was Supreme Leader Dolza's Grand Fleet near the end of the series.
The Zentraedi were warned to avoid all contact with micronians, as Exedore advised Breetai, and ironically, as noted in the novels of Jack Mckinney, if the Zentraedis wanted to capture the SDF-1 all they need have done was to hold Earth hostage.
The scene of the city refusing to offload the Macross refugees was different from Ontario (Ontario sector in the novels) which did allow the refugees sanctuary, but the situation did get exacerbated by the sudden Zentraedi attack; Ontario had its own reasons to allow the refugees in its own territory, as explained in the novels).
Anime series are more complex than most US cartoons.
Can't wait to see Part II.
"That's not me not knowing something, that's you not knowing something." Lol
I enjoyed the video. I know nothing of Robotech but have heard about it for years from various TH-camrs. Your video has finally convinced me to seek it out.
Keep up the great work, RetroBlasters!
Don’t worry about it man, i saw the video, i liked it, i loved that show, life goes on. Haters will hate ✌🏻
You keep doing these videos your way, don't worry about the super fans. We loyal fans who've watch your videos know that you never half-ass related to this channel. Thank you for all of your hard work and making all of these awesome videos Michael and Melinda.
Great video, Michael!
On the subject of the correction:
To Hell with the critics.
A mistake was made and fixed.
I doubt that will satisfy the naysayers. But I don't care.
The Unification Wars (MACROSS) or Global Civil War (ROBOTECH) took place roughly in the mid-1990s and was finalized shortly before the events of the original MACROSS SAGA. Out of this conflict came the Robotech Defense Force and the Army of the Southern Cross. The latter organization was explored in THE ROBOTECH MASTERS SAGA as you know.
Keep up the great work, man.
Few things are scarier than a fanbase! Good job standing up to them. And you are also right about history. No story will ever be as zany or terrifying as stuff that has actually happened.
I admit, I didn’t know who Mad Jack Churchill was (aside from wondering if he was related to a certain Prime Minister).
I’ll have to rewatch that episode, but I thought that when the SDF-1 had reached earth, Gloval was just trying to offload the people of Macross City and it was eventually the state of Ontario (?) that offered to take them off his hands. But that was when the Zentraedi struck again and look what happened. As you said, it’s a very complex show and open to many interpretations.
Either he way, please keep the videos coming. Will you be doing a ‘Star Blazers’ segment as well?
Keep up the great work! Grew up with this series and loved them as a kid in the 80s.
Dude! I feel you. I can see your passion for each toy featured in all your videos❤ It's the reason I keep coming back, you can feel the love❤ I started watching in 2015 and I haven't missed an episode. Great job everybody👏
Excellent video, Michael...as always. Your take on Robotech actually made me go back and watch the series for the first time in well over 15 years.
Just a couple of questions: are you still planning on continuing your exploration of this series? If so, when? I never really bothered with the Robotech series before. I have never been much of an anime person, myself. This series sounds interesting, though, based upon your first video. I really want to watch it, but the set is a bit out of my price range just now, and probably will be until this summer, but just listening to you describe it in an entertaining manner is the next best thing for now!
Havent been a fan long, but I love what you guys do. Been a fan of robotech for years even had the novels. Cant wait for the rest of the series.
Can't believe anyone would think you would do anything without proper research. Anyone can make a mistake especially with the amount of information you are going through keep up the good work. Your videos have been a great find for me personally. Like the restoration episodes the most have been looking for a USS Flagg to restore I didn't buy one back then because of the same reason wasn't impressed with a immobile vehicle.
Thanks Lee.
No worries Michael. The fun part of the fandom isn't being a superfan, but in discussing our different perspectives. Don't let anyone set your process back, but also try to keep in mind that this is a complex beast. The people who designed Macross as a series did their homework, but there's also beer can missiles in the opening episode. No matter how serious the subject matter, it is first and foremost a tv show. I'm looking forward to seeing you further dissect it, but please do NOT stress out about comments. ;)
Getting the behind-the-scenes perspective on this is interesting.
When will anyone learn that "half-assery" does not exist in Retroblasting's vocabulary? even as a casual Macross and Robotech fan myself, the whole Minmei/Kyle affair is one of the most infamous parts of the show. How can anyone interpret it any other way is beyond me.
Dont listen to them. These are the same people who used to preach from the highest mountain that Macross was completely different than Robotech and superior in every way. Then I watched it, and much like you said, the changes were minimal and immaterial. In the end I could barely tell the difference.
Appreciate it. - Michael
It has taken a long time for me to see a comment like this, but I'm glad to finally see someone call them out on it.
You mean Robotech fans.
Don't even sweat it bro! You always deliver the goods. Keep up the awesome work!
RetroBlasting was here before these idiots, and it will be here long after they are gone. Many of us, including myself, appreciate all your hard work.
I am sorry that so many negative comments brought about the need for this video. I never read the comments so didn’t realize. I recently subscribed and am working through years of great content. As a child of the 70’s your channel is doing exactly as advertised. It is giving me a blast from the past and reminding me of great shows and toys from when I was growing up. Please don’t let the negative comments make you too upset and I hope the rest of the robotech series comes out soon. Thanks for all of your research and time. Keep up the great work.
Having never seen this series, I thought part 1 was thorough and a nice introduction. Look forward to seeing more!
Okay, first, i love your videos. I like the approach, I like the production values, I like the content. Great job all around.
The reason I'm commenting, aside from the above, is to clarify something. I didn't want to be THAT guy on TH-cam, but I think you're doubling down on an inaccurate piece of information.
The Zentraedi didn't have the "million' ships in the Sol system theater until episode 20. Their initial forces which appear in episode 1, under the command of Breetai, are far fewer (though an accurate number isn't given in the series it looks to be about twenty ships, and is probably not much more than a recon unit). This initial force is hampered by the fact that they are not allowed to directly fire on the SDF1 for fear of destroying the Protoculture Factory. You hear phrases like "take it intact!" repeated often during the early episodes.
Then, in episode seven, Breetai calls for reinforcements, and orders up the "7th Botoru Battalion" under the command of Khyron. No size estimate is given, but the number of ships is below the number of Breetai's initial force.
In episode 13, Breetai is replaced by Commander Azonia and her forces. Again, no estimate of size, but it's kinda irrelevant here because Azonia literally does nothing but encircle the Earth and wait. Khyron (still in the Sol system) disobeys her order and attacks the SDF-1 in the episode (19) where Ben Dixon dies and the barrier overload occurs.
That overload is the reason for Breetai's return, and the assignment of the "Imperial Class Fleet" to his command. This is where the million ships come into play. But even then, Breetai is hampered by the "no direct fire" order. In the one large engagement between the SDF-1 and the Imperial Class fleet, Breetai's troops board the SDF-1 and then... dessert en-mass and ask for asylum.
This is unheard of in all of Zentraedi history, and is so shocking the Breetai that he orders a withdrawal.
When he tries to attack again, his remaining troops refuse the order because one of the tenants of Zentraedi law is that they do not kill each other. This leads eventually, to the peace talks between his second, Exedore, and the command staff of the SDF-1 in episode 25, the lead-in to the arrival of the MAIN Zentraedi fleet of 4.8 million ships.
*Phew!* Hope that clears it up, sorry for the info dump.