Forum - View topicMacross Goes Worldwide: An Interview with Shoji Kawamori and Hidetaka Tenjin at Otakon 2023
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Kougeru
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after Harmony Gold's convention showing, I won't believe anything about this until it's on my shelf
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Marzan
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It’s so great to see how much these guys actually really give a lot of thought about things we fans perceive as random or of no consequence to the story. So much work goes into everything they do
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MarshalBanana
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
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I'm guessing Kougeru is referencing a particular slide from Harmony Gold's SDCC panel that claims "any future sequel" that features characters or designs from the parts of the franchise HG still controls (Hikaru, Minmay, the OG Valkyrie fighters, etc) will be prohibited from international distribution. Some people misread that and took it to mean HG was prohibiting the release of already existing sequel series that feature those characters (7, Zero, the second Delta movie) but by all accounts it's just making a claim about any potential new entries, like the recently announced Macross production at Sunrise. It doesn't pertain to the series that already exist and were licensed last year. |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4636 Location: New York |
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From what I understand, it’s also a possible reference that the Sunrise Macross series will be a complete reboot of the concept with new characters, potentially making it a hard line in the sand between Macross and Robotech forever. Which I really hope is the case, just going forward never having to pay attention to Harmony Gold again.
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SrkSano
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I feel the same way. Two years and there have been a few one-night-only-at-one-time-only movie screenings and a few concerts on Macross' YouTube channel. That's it. No Blu-Rays, no DVDs, no Macross series is streaming anywhere. For something that is "completely legal" now there sure seems to be a hold up of sorts. |
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Marzan
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I think so too. It’s going to really be very different so that HG just cannot complain again (a shame that they still get a small share of the pie no matter what ). |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5961 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Yeah, I know, Harmony Gold is everyone's favorite punching bag.
I bought the first pilot episode OVA of Robotech from a clipout ad in the Starlog magazine. I watched all the episodes of Robotech when they came out. I even bought the VHS sets of the series. For me, Harmony Gold got me into anime, made me aware of the original Macross series, and stoked my interest in Japanese LDs for series like Outlanders, Gallforce, Dirty Pair, and Iczer One. I don't see Harmony Gold as the villain of this drama, but rather the victim. I blame the squabbling Japanese companies for the problems, and Harmony Gold merely protecting what they paid for. |
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Chiyosuke
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This question is hilarious to me considering Kawamori has 1) worked with Sunrise on numerous occasions and 2) he co-created Escaflowne with them (well, the team that, for the most part, went on to form Bones). |
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SuiSeiKen
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Let's also specify that except for the Macross Plus blu-ray release that was also announced in Europe, UK, Scandinavia and Canada, absolutely nothing is planned so far in the west outside the US. I live in Europe and we never got one-time screening of the movies, and even the last gigs (Fukuyama Fire, Walküre Last Mission) weren't streamed here. So yeah, they should talk about "not so worldwide" and "not so western" release. I will always be thankful to the Gaijin butai for providing English official translations for Frontier movies and Delta, but now that Macross sequels are theoretically legal in the west, I don't think it will help non English speaking territories to get local official release. |
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John the Dark Lord
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I personally blame the dense American judge that not only thought it made sense to allow Harmony Gold to keep the license to the original Macross series even after a Japanese court declared that Tatsunoko never had the right to grant the license to HG in the first place, but also thought it made sense to give HG permanent rights to license every future Macross title. The second part of this decision cannot be called "protecting what they paid for". They only paid for the original. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5961 Location: Virginia, United States |
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It still all started because of Japan. And once all the relationships soured, it was each company for itself. Once the respective Japanese companies mended fences, sure enough, problem solved. Seemingly for now. |
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testorschoice
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No company here is the mustache-twirling "villain," but it is not the unblemished "victim" either. The relationship between Big West and Tatsunoko was friendly until the late 1990s. Until that point, Big West licensed Macross sequels and Tatsunoko licensed the original Macross. What changed? Harmony Gold made legal claims outside Japan on Macross Plus toys and Macross games set long after the original Macross. After two decades, we're back where we should've been: Big West licensing Macross sequels and Tatsunoko licensing the original Macross. |
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Cardcaptor Takato
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SuiSeiKen
Posts: 68 |
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Yes, it takes time. That's why they should have teamed up with a worldwide streaming service in the first place, to target a large audience and build a new fanbase. And only after that, to give fans home video release.
Well, maybe streaming isn't part of the worldwide agreement. After all, we only know for sure what the companies choose to tell us. But if Big West avoid streaming on his own to prioritize home video release, then it's a major mistake. They lost 20 years because of the ip blocking, but obviously 20 years also passed. We're in the era of streaming, and no longer blindly buy video release to discover new stuff. I don't know elsewhere, but in Europe, streaming totally outclassed home video release. And except for OVA or movies, I believe none of our local video publishers will ever take the risk of releasing barely known TV shows. So yeah, still have mixed feelings about this agreement. Big West's strategy is unclear, not to mention Harmony Gold's shadow still there, because every little step seems to be a painful one. Talking about step, Plus and Frontier movies will be screened at a South Korean event this fall. It's always interesting to follow the worldwide expansion of Macross, and not only focus on his own territory. |
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