Answerman

Why is the Macross franchise streaming in the UK/Australia/Canada but not in the U.S. yet?

"Why is the Macross franchise streaming in the UK/Australia but not in the U.S. yet?"

We have two questions to answer here. The first one is, “Why has Disney+ made the Macross anime library available in some English-speaking countries since August of this year, apart from the United States?” The second question is, “Why has the original Macross TV series and its follow-up animated movie been withheld from the global library offering entirely outside of Japan?”.

Ah, man! Why'd you have to ask me this question? Explaining what the heck is going on with the international rights to the classic sci-fi anime melodrama, commonly referred to as ”Macross” is the journalistic equivalent of pushing shit uphill in a broken wheelbarrow.

For the record, I prefer ROBOTECH. There are too many happy childhood memories to disregard, and I am afraid that this has irreparably clouded my judgment. I never liked Lynn Minmay, though. She is one of the most annoying and unsympathetic characters ever made for Saturday morning cartoons, and I am pretty certain she is the reason why I still can't stand J-Pop (and yes, I am aware that she is a Canto-Pop singer), even after more than 20 years immersed in anime.

When arguing about which is better, the original Macross franchise or ROBOTECH, what is inarguable is the genius and beauty of the mecha designs created by Shōji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake, especially the iconic VF-1 Valkyrie piloted by Roy Focker, which provide both shows with their giant, beating, robot heart. Watching Roy and Rick's VF-1s dogfight a swarm of Zentradi fighter pods in deep space, the firework scramble of missiles scattering around the screen created some of the most iconic moments in my anime-viewing life.

Macross is considered by many to be one of the greatest-ever sci-fi anime, and for those who care and value the franchise, the difficulty in accessing the original series, its various sequels, OVA, movies, etc, has been nothing short of infuriating.

Many OG fans used to be fairly sanguine about the lack of information provided by the license owners concerning the availability of their favorite anime, but this was in the pre-internet age. Today! In a world where Crunchyroll is simulcasting the latest episode of your favorite new series within a few hours of its Japanese broadcast, what is the excuse not to keep Macross fans informed of the show's current American distribution status? After so much good news around Macross rights status as of late, why is the original series still clouded in murkiness?

The North American rights to the Macross franchise have been a complex and convoluted issue. In the 1980s, Harmony Gold acquired the rights. They re-edited the original Macross series into a new series called ROBOTECH, which combined elements of three separate anime: Genesis Climber Mospeada, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross. This re-edited version became very popular in the U.S., UK, and Australia, where I grew up. I even owned a number of the awesome Matchbox edition ROBOTECH toys.

This deal between Studio Nue and Big West Co., Ltd, the Japanese rights holders, and Harmony Gold led to a lot of confusion and legal disputes that ultimately prevented fans from getting access to localized versions of the series. It's this scarcity that has partly led to the cult-like status of the original anime programs, OVAs, and movies over the years. The two parties reached an agreement to allow the distribution of Macross rights outside of Asia in 2021. This landmark deal opened the door for wider international distribution of the Macross franchise, including its films and television sequels. It's important to note that while this agreement allowed for wider distribution, Harmony Gold still maintains exclusive rights to the ROBOTECH franchise.

Back in 2019, Funimation announced that they would release a deluxe remastered edition of ROBOTECH, which eventually found its way onto fans' shelves in 2021, when it began streaming on Crunchyroll. So, by default and as a result of Sony's 2021 acquisition of Crunchyroll, the Funimation/Harmony Gold license agreement was carried over. You can stream all episodes of the ROBOTECH saga right now via Crunchyroll, but not the original Macross TV series. In March 2024, it was announced that the Macross franchise will be available globally to stream on Disney+. Fans can enjoy shows such as Macross 7, Macross Frontier, Macross Plus, Macross II, and Macross Delta on the service right now, but not if you are in the United States. In addition, there are two big library omissions in all available territories apart from Japan. The original Macross TV series and movie Do You Remember Love? are unavailable on the service. It is very disappointing, as they make up the bulk of the first act of Carl Macek's controversial rewrite and edit, more commonly known as ROBOTECH.

I've done some sleuthing to try and find out why the current Disney+ Macross franchise package is not available to subscribers in the United States currently, including approaching representatives for Big West, who, to my delight, have been kind enough to respond.

I started by asking them, “Why hasn't any of the Macross library gone live on Disney+ in the USA yet when it has gone live in other English-speaking territories like Canada, the UK and Australia?” The full response from Big West is as follows.

“We know that fans are eager for a response, and would like them to know that their voices are being heard. As fans ourselves, it's been gratifying to see Macross finally starting to be released overseas, and we look forward to seeing the ongoing rollout of most of the Macross library.”

This is a positive response. The final part of their statement more or less promises the “ongoing rollout,” so hopefully, this does mean that the available library is coming to the USA imminently. However! The last part of that sentence is more ominous as it refers to “most of the Macross library,” so does that mean that what is on Disney+ so far apart from USA is all we will get?

I also asked them if the original Macross series and Do You Remember Love? movie would be added to the Disney+ streaming offering soon, and I queried them on whether the omission is related to the availability of an English language dub or lack thereof, or whether it is due to other factors such as license hold-backs and restrictions. Their response is, “As to the second question, please refer to the original "Expansive Agreement" press release distributed on April 9, 2021. We really do thank everyone for their patience.”

While Big West at this time has not provided the definitive response we all may have liked, it is important to receive it in good faith and, I believe, to be appreciative of their acknowledgment of the fan's demand and desire to have access to the Macross library in its entirety. It is also important to note that the global Disney+ streaming deal is a complicated multi-party agreement, and for Big West to even acknowledge our query and get back to us is a big deal, as they no doubt need to ensure that what they say publicly is more or less cool with the other parties, including Harmony Gold, Disney, and Studio Nue.

It is my conclusion that there are a couple of possible explanations for why the Macross library is still entirely absent from Disney+ streaming platform in the United States and why the original TV series and movie are unavailable everywhere apart from Japan. One is legal, and the other is technical. It is important to highlight that these are just my own personal opinions based on the evidence to hand:

Because the original Macross TV series and movie constitute the bulk of the ROBOTECH episodes, Harmony Gold may have requested that they be held back for now as part of their exploitation on Disney+. This may have something to do with HG's co-production agreement with Sony Pictures and the long-mooted live-action ROBOTECH movie currently in development. It still remains a mystery to me what the perceived negative impacts of allowing the original Macross material into USA households may be on the ROBOTECH brand other than it might “create confusion in the marketplace” and that this could be something that they don't want to risk if a big budget theatrical movie is being planned for a release in the next few years. From my own experience handling distribution rights for other notable anime IP with a Hollywood remake connection, similar hold-backs have been agreed to in the past, or

The less likely contributing factor might be the English dub or lack thereof. It is important to remember how essential English dubs still are to major anime franchises. Especially ones that date back to the early '80s and from which one of the most well-known “American” animated series of the era was born. It makes sense that Disney, who are fairly new to the anime thing, might want to wait to release the Macross library in its entirety in the largest market (The USA) outside of Japan with localized English dubs. However! This does not explain why Disney+ has been happy to launch the available library as it is in other English-speaking territories like the UK, Canada, and Australia with subtitles only. Nor does it adequately explain the exclusion of the original Macross TV series and movie from the internationally available library package in any market other than Japan.

So! There you have it. Another not specific enough explanation for why, dear reader, Macross is not available to legally stream in the United States of America. May I recommend ROBOTECH instead?

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