Robotech: 2-Movie Collection [DVD]

How does Robotech: Love Live Alive do in the face of various expecations (some misplaced), here's my point of view. THE STORY Gotta say, I really liked it! Tommy, Greg, Cam especially, you guys did an excellent job on what could've turned out to just be a copy-paste of Mospeada's original Love Live Alive. Far from it, what we have here is something of a cross between "Dana's Story" and the Gloval Report movie some may remember, but with the added twist of some new footage. Not a whole lot, but some. Going into Love Live Alive, know to expect the movie equivalent of a flashback story (ergo 'clip show') as nearly the whole story recounts The New Generation, but I re-emphasize I got so much more out of it than that. As opposed to the super-long music video vibe the Mospeada version has, Robotech's perspective explores what made the characters and their interactions. The core of their journey toward the Reflex Point destination. One tweak I really liked in this flashback story, along with Lancer's narration, came with some of the character introspections given by him and going back to the 'present' as Lancer relates his life to a very friendly reporter. Speaking of, REALLY loved Kay, an amusing personality that helped really make those brief moments surprisingly cool. Again though, expect more a retrospective on the Third Robotech War than where he is beyond that. Make no mistake though, for Lancer's past before he meets Scott's team and afterwards, we get some damn cool material IMHO. The opening few minutes are VERY memorable as we get the return of Robotech's original Narrator alongside a whole new tie-in point of view for the Invid invasion, it's so cool seeing stuff come together that originally the mid-80s couldn't pull off. Big YAYS to seeing SX Point 83 become Reflex Point, 10th Mars' battle, Dana cameo~ That's stuff near the beginning of the movie, while near the end is when some more fun stuff happens! We do get some singing from Michael Bradley as Lancer, even if it was recorded years back, we get an incredible rendition of his own "We Will Win!" (a cool parallel to the end of The Shadow Chronicles btw!) and a very beautiful scene involving "Lonely Soldier Boy" that brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I'm serious. You guys should know, the voice actor that gets the most chops flexed turns out to be Cam's role as Lancer, he's kinda in the same position Dean Stockwell was for that Galactica "The Plan" movie. The rest of the VAs do return (I admit it was hard making out where Admiral Hunter's archival cameo was), but their new time is short and they don't get nearly the same amount of perspective as our Yellow Dancer. Not that that's a bad thing, but again, go into this knowing what to expect, Love Live Alive is Lancer's story. The very end of the movie, snap, there's such a HUGE spoilery moment right before the end-credits that changes EVERYTHING in the Robotech universe. I really don't wanna give this one away, but needless to say it does move the story forward contrary to what many were afraid this story wouldn't do. While this is hyped as a sidestory, the 'present-day' events appear to be set slightly right after the end of The Shadow Chronicles, least that's the impression I got during a camp fire scene with the whole team. If you guys want me to give away the end of the movie, I will, but I REALLY don't want to... BUY this release if only for Love Live Alive alone! You can watch it before or after The Shadow Chronicles, I say the latter as well because we get a very cool something after the end-credits! Remember how I mentioned the original Narrator's return, well, see for yourself...! THE ANIMATION Well, the animation quality, I really like what we got! For the majority of the story that gives us a New Generation retrospective, it appears that Harmony Gold uses their Remastered version and all the better, while their remastering job on the original feature-exclusive stuff is pretty dang good. You guys should know about the aspect ratio, in staying true to the original New Generation and Mospeada feature, the entire movie is in 4:3. Despite being a fullscreen format, it doesn't appear anything substantial was cropped from the sides of the all new animation's material. Speaking of the new animation, it's very interesting how this worked out, it's done rather similar to the style of the original anime more-so than The Shadow Chronicles' updated designs. The new stuff mainly applies to the pre-2042 flashback stuff and some very interesting material near the end. I think both sides of the animation melded pretty well together, even though I prefer The Shadow Chronicles' quality a bit more and hope Shadow Rising is more along those lines, gotta admit it'd be nice to see mecha battles along how the 10th Division's is presented here. Mind you all I'm no animation expert myself, but I have seen the original Mospeada feature and it's very cool seeing that spirit maintained and respected so well. The new stuff, there ain't a whole lot, but I love it! THE DVD FEATURES Really wish we could've gotten a DVD commentary with Tommy and some of the guys, maybe they can still do a podcast on it some time (I'd pay for that!), it would've been very neat hearing their thoughts on both this story and the original New Generation arc. LOVE the teaser trailer included, pre-production gallery's sorta neat, just wish we could've gotten a TAD more. Remember for Shadow Rising, my friends? I did like seeing some of the originally Blu-Ray-exclusive features on The Shadow Chronicles' new DVD, the Robotech 3000 motion-capture thingy for instance. Skimming over that disc, all around looks good, all the original collector's edition extras of that have been kept. So yeah, don't worry about having yet another copy of this feature, ya' get new extras material if you didn't get the Blu-Ray and a back-up for a very cool movie. SOUND EFFECTS / MUSIC SCORE Sound effects are amazing, a very fine job done. Being someone who doesn't mind the Remastered version having upgraded/extra sound effects, that whole aspect's never bothered me, so it doesn't bother me during the New Gen footage in Love Live Alive. Oh and just found out the reporter's name rewatching the end-credits, I believe it's Kay, Wendee Lee did an awesome job voicing her. There's only a few Michael Bradley songs, but I love what's included, especially his take on "We Will Win!" which I don't think was in the original series. Gigi Agrama also sings an amazing piece called "Fool for Love" that'll keep ya' hooked during the end-credits until the Narrator's lil surprise after that. On the note of music scoring, there's also an eerie sounding new take on Musica's "Flower of Life" theme at the movie's start, it really pulls you in before the first line. WRAPPING UP The case is very cool, I like the exterior packaging and Lion's Gate did very well in how to keep the discs safe. I'm now including it with my A&E set and stashing my older Collector's Edition release from FUNi alongside my Protoculture set. All around, LOVE this new Robotech material! Thank you, Cam Clarke! Thank you, Greg Snegoff! Thank you, all the returning cast! Thank you, Tommy Yune! Thank you, Harmony Gold! You have a VERY happy customer who is VERY ready for Shadow Rising. Peace out and remember, that Protoculture will always be in my blood~

For the Shadow Chronicles: As a Robotech fan I was overjoyed to find new Robotech video material. If you're looking forward to seeing the old New Generation gang you can forget it, this is Scott's story though Marlene/Ariel does play a role too. While it's fun to be back in the Robotech universe, unfortunately to really understand what's going on you really need to have read the Sentinels books by "Jack McKinney" (actually a pair of authors using a pen name). If you haven't it's still entertaining, but a little confusing. The Shadow Chronicles is available on Blu-Ray (without Love Live Alive) so if you want better video (if you think Blu-Ray helps for animation) then you'll need to get it instead of just this DVD version. For Love Live Alive: Very disappointing in that the vast majority of the movie is existing Robotech video from the series. If you've read "Jack McKinney"'s End of the Circle, just ignore the parts in it relating to Lancer and Sera. It's still nice to see some new material with Lancer and basically a guest appearance by Sera. The story is forgettable, in fact I have forgotten it so I can't provide any real detail about it.

I liked Love Live Alive, it was pretty good for a flashback movie. It was nice to see Dana leaving earth and some of the new scenes of stuff mentioned in the lore of Robotech that had never been animated until this film. Overall it's a nice lead in to The Shadow Chronicles. But I think unless you are a hardcore or medium Robotech fan it won't really have much meaning. Casual fans should really just watch the series. It's also nice that The Shadow Chronicles is now back in print, considering that old Funimation editions of the film have been out of print for a few years now. All the extras on the 2 disc edition are on this version also. Watching Shadow Chronicles again for the first time in a few years its still pretty good. In all I get why A&E put these two films together, think of this set as a supplement to the Complete series set they put out a couple of years ago. Buy this and that set and you are up to speed on all the animation created for Robotech up to this point.

Love Live Alive is a sort-of clip show from "The New Generation" saga of Robotech with additional brand-new footage and returning cast members. Bottom line: it's great, a nice treat for old fans and a brief introduction for new fans. And love the easter egg after the end credits. The Shadow Chronicles has been out awhile, so I'm just going to say it's a great addition to the Robotech franchise.

Being a Transformers fan myself, it was a bit unusual that I was introduced to the Robotech series through the pen and paper RPG series. But ever since then, I've tried to follow the series the best I could. Of course, being a kid from the 90s, and not having access to cable until middle school, I was unable to watch most of the series until the DVD releases, and even then, only recently have I managed to at least watch most of the Macross Saga, and a few scant episodes of the other two seasons. First off, let's talk about The Shadow Chronicles. This two pack was the first time I watched the movie, and to be honest, it was quite good. The story is about a betrayal from a new alien threat, and the human forces having trouble coming to trust their former alien enemies. A common theme in the Robotech series since halfway through the Macross Saga. The animation is quite good for it's time (being this movie is about three years old), and the top notch voice work sells the story quite well. Now let's talk about the second movie, Love Live Alive. This whole movie is a complete recap of the final season (AKA: The Invid Invasion) told from the perspective of one of the main characters. There is a bit of new animation here and there, but it feels inconsistent since the majority of the movie is footage from the original series, with additional interview scenes done in the same style. It feels disjointed at times because of this, but these new animations are very few and far between. Again, as I said before, this is the whole final season condensed into a movie with some commentary from the character here and there. If you've seen Robotech to death already, this will turn you off. However, for people who don't have the time to watch the entire series, or people like me who have yet to see Robotech in it's entirety, this is a great condensed way to see the events of the third season. The movie even ends with a reunion, hints at a third movie (then again, we know it was coming after the first one), as well as has a surprising conclusion to this particular character's story. All in all, if you already own the entire series on DVD, there will be little to convince you to buy this set. But if you're new to the Robotech series, this is a great way to experience the third season until you have the time to watch the third season from beginning to end. And even if you do own the series on DVD, this is a good way to watch Season Three if you just want a brief recap, and see a little of what the characters have been up to since the end of the final season. And here's the hope that we can get that third movie.

So thrilled that this is finally coming out! This was & is Carl Macek's last vision to add to the Robotech Saga & now it finally sees the light. Although a bit premature of me to rate this 5 stars since it has not even been released yet, it is rather wonderful thatnit comes with Shadow Chronicles,too as well as some great special features. My only criticism is that we dont have this on Blu Ray. But that aside, this is bound to feed many Robotech appetites worldwide.

As a true Robotech Fan, I am sad to say I'm disappointed in this latest release. I gave it 3 stars only because I'm a fan & I'll buy anything with Robotech's name on it. But sadly, the bottom line on this movie is that it's just a recap of the New Generation series. Just as Cpt Gloval did in the first series with Gloval's Report, Love Live Alive is told from Lancer's perspective as he is asked questions by some sort of reporter or magazine writer. Even the few cut scenes with Lancer telling the story are repeats of one new scene that they did for the movie... each scene features a look at the tape recorder then a shot of lancer removing a towel or scarf from around his neck. At the very end, we do get a few new scenes of Lancer & where his story continued at the end of New Generation, but those scenes are only 2 or 3 minutes long. Even Shadow Chronicles was a rehash or mash-up of the whole New Generation series, just told from yet another perspective. I don't understand why Tommy Yune & Harmony Gold can't create new movies that follow the original book series by Jack McKinny (yes, I know it's 2 different writers). "Jack" painstakingly wrote the books with Carl Macek's blessing and input to ensure the proper continuation of the series. So, Tommy, The all the scripts are already there... you just have to create the video portion of it. The books fill in so many gaps before the cartoon series, between the generations, and after the cartoon series. Fans don't care for re-imagining of the stories (you hear this Toby Mcquire??). You could create a live action movie that follows the books or the cartoon series to the tiniest detail & fans will love it, fans will continue to see any additional movies... just to see it in live action. Enough ranting... Can Robotech fans do without this combo pack - yes. Do true Robotech fans need this, well... yes. Each dollar that this movie pack makes helps to ensure Tommy Yune & Harmony Gold understand that fans want to keep Robotech alive.

The Seller shipped the DVD promptly so the stars go to the Seller as this is their site the stars reflect up on. As for the DVD movie: I am disappointed as I was expecting a whole movie of new anime and not a just a recap of the 1980's episodes. I gave it 2 stars as I am a Robotech fan. Robotech.com sold this movie hard on their website as the next best thing but didn't explicitly say that it was 100% recap.