Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

I really loved the movie and how it was written. It was scripted specifically for fans of the series who needed that empty void filled. I know many of you probably waited almost 20 years for this. As for myself I just finished the series in the summer and fell in loved with the series and cried at the ending or lack of.

I won't give any spoilers away but they do a good job of explaining whats happened so far and finishing it up. The new characters feel like they would fit perfectly into the Robotech Sagas. The art itself was really impressive, instead of going for the most glamorous visuals everything looked exactly like the original. Aside from a more detailed and clean picture the art itself resembles the show.

Well the release date is coming soon and I'm definitely gonna pick it up. For those who weren't fortunate enough to see a sneak peak, the wait is well worth it. Considering some of you have been waiting for as long as I've been alive (I'm 20)

However, my lack of speech is more out of respect for the original series than anything else. As a long-time fan who grew up on Robotech every day after school, it is extremely hard for me to speak about the series with harsh words. And yet, that's what I feel I must do.

This movie is a prime example of why Americans (or maybe just Harmony Gold) should NEVER, EVER, EVER be allowed to do Japanese-style anime. To begin with, the plot is predictable, the dialog is terrible and the voice acting even worse. Seriously, the voice acting is worse than a bad dubbing job. However, even if all of that were true, at least there should be some great eye candy for Robotech fans, right? Really cool robots flying around, new aliens to gawk at, cameos from old characters, cool new armor, etc. Wrong, you get NONE of that.

The mecha in this movie is so utterly disappointing. On the Earth side, you get Alpha and Beta Fighters with a short scene with Cyclones. Not a single new mecha. Not only that, but the mecha are rendered in the worse CGI I have seen in decades. Simplistic models with no texture mapping at all (AT ALL!!), no cell-shading or any other advance techniques to maintain an anime-style feel. Just pathetic. On the Invid side, all you ever see are the standard Invid Troopers (they may even be Scouts, I didn't get a good enough look). For the "Children of the Shadow", you only get to see their mecha for about 5 minutes towards the end, and the mecha design is really primitive compared to Japanese designs.

Overall, it's hard to believe that this movie was made twenty years after the original series. If you watch the many sequels for series such as Macross, each one brings to the table advancements in animation, character and mecha design. The Shadow Chronicles is a step backwards in each of these areas. If you are super die-hard fan as I am, you will probably ignore this review and see the movie anyway, because you need to see for yourself. However, just be prepared to have your childhood memories ripped to shreds.

Having been a fan of the original series since I was a kid, I was very excited to hear about this sequel. I was also eager to see what happened after the conclusion of the last of the trilogy which most consider the strongest and darkest of the three. Unfortunately, I left the theater disappointed.

Overall the voice acting was good. It was reminiscent of the original series. The corny jokes and at times hokey dialog seemed right at place.

However the animation was disappointing. The computer graphics seemed very out of place. It was not integrated seamlessly with the traditional animation like other successful animated projects have done (Clone Wars, Appleseed).

Finally, the storyline was...well...boring. It was dull and confusing. It left me scratching my head as to what was going on and I'm an avid fan. I'm not sure what the unfamiliar viewer would think.

Again, a disappointing movie especially after so much online hype.

I have always been a Robotech fan. After seeing too many animated GI Joe characters parachute to safety it was nice to watch a show that respected that I could handle viewing a war-based cartoon where people actually died.

For "Shadow Chronicles," the movie-masters seemed to be serious about giving the Robotech fans what they want. Overall, the movie was okay but it seems like they missed some of the finer things that made the original show so endearing.

The first thing that fans like about Robotech is the Mecha. Jets that turn into robots = awesome. Motorcycles that turn into robots = awesome. Tanks that grow legs and hop around = not so awesome, and that is why season 2 is weak. I was excited to see cool Mecha in Shadow Chronies but was a little disappointed. The fighters and Cyclones are still cool and the alien ships are pretty cool but nothing AWESOME. The CG really could have been better in a lot of the scenes with vehicles.

The second thing fans like about Robotech, I believe, is the Drama. Like Rick Hunter innocently meeting Minmei and then being stranded with her in the depths of the SDF1. And it doesn't stop there... suddenly Minmei breaks into song, then they catch a giant space-tuna (just the head), then they rebuild Macross city INSIDE the ship... how about a beauty contest?... a trip to a lingerie store?... or aliens that spaz out every time they see a guy and a girl kiss? How about Yellow Dancer doing a strip tease to reveal that he's a dude in drag? Shadow Chronicles didn't seem to have any bizarre drama that the fans like so much. It was all battle strategy. I know that a lot of the quirky stuff derives from the original show being made from three completely unrelated Japanese cartoon shows but somehow, IT WORKED, and the model should be followed.

And how about more rock music? And an original NEW song? Chase Masterson has a good voice, I think she is up to the challenge.

There are people out here who want MORE Robotech. Overall, every aspect of this movie was at least OK. It's nice that fans of the show made the movie. It's nice that a lot of the original voice cast is back. This can be a good first step into an awesome new Robotech series. Keep it going and don't mess it up.

The last half of my "growing up" years included Robotech and I enjoyed the series. There was a style that I enjoyed and it helped me discover anime. Watching Shadow Chronicles does not fully capture that style and it is entirely a "Hollywood" production than something adapted and remade for a North American audience. For a newcomer to the anime scene, one would not suspect its Japanese origins unless one does the research or watches a behind the scenes documentary.

Production-wise, Shadow Chronicles borrows from what is now hip in the SF television genre scene—like the Battlestar Galactica 2005/6 style battle sequences and the CG replacing traditional cel animation / model elements. That is what distinguishes it from the original series. While there is nothing wrong with that, it does not lend well to a series that is trying to pick up from what was done 20 something years ago. Robotech Sentinels, ironically enough, does a better job of capturing that style.