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This Week in Anime - In Defense of Carl Macek's Robotech




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Thundercracker



Joined: 22 Feb 2023
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:03 am Reply with quote
Butchering and changing original works is disrespectful.
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Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 142
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:25 am Reply with quote
The only thing I have against Macek (or, more properly, Harmony Gold) is how he's kept us from getting a proper North American localization of the original Macross and the Do you Remember Love? movie. Granted, I'm also not a fan of Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years, but at least it's not Roger Corman's Galaxy Express.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6977
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:35 am Reply with quote
Thundercracker wrote:
Butchering and changing original works is disrespectful.


Uh, to be fair. Japan did the same thing to a Korean animated film back in 2004 before you registered and joined ANN, and if you think I'm making this up, I'm not, read this conversation post:

NetDiver wrote:
GATSU wrote:
Wow, they really are running out of ideas.


Heh Smile! I don't see what Gainax is doing is much different from what Hollywood studios are making to many foreign films. Wonderful Days is good film but I have to question is the Gainax's adaption really necessary? I think a dub would have been sufficient. If I get a chance to see the Japanese adaption, I'm going to anyway.

Still, a very unexpected pull from Gainax. Not necessary a bad thing, though.


abunai wrote:
I'm with Netdiver on this.

We often complain that American companies are "mutilating" or "hacking up" Japanese animated works to make them appeal to American audiences, and that the result is a diminuation of the original work. It's interesting to see that the Japanese can also practice cultural tunnel vision...

- abunai


So what Japan did to this Korean animated film is not much different from how US did to anime long time ago.
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Thundercracker



Joined: 22 Feb 2023
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:42 am Reply with quote
mdo7 wrote:
Thundercracker wrote:
Butchering and changing original works is disrespectful.


Uh, to be fair. Japan did the same thing to a Korean animated film back in 2004 before you registered and joined ANN, and if you think I'm making this up, I'm not, read this conversation post:

NetDiver wrote:
GATSU wrote:
Wow, they really are running out of ideas.


Heh Smile! I don't see what Gainax is doing is much different from what Hollywood studios are making to many foreign films. Wonderful Days is good film but I have to question is the Gainax's adaption really necessary? I think a dub would have been sufficient. If I get a chance to see the Japanese adaption, I'm going to anyway.

Still, a very unexpected pull from Gainax. Not necessary a bad thing, though.


abunai wrote:
I'm with Netdiver on this.

We often complain that American companies are "mutilating" or "hacking up" Japanese animated works to make them appeal to American audiences, and that the result is a diminuation of the original work. It's interesting to see that the Japanese can also practice cultural tunnel vision...

- abunai


So what Japan did to this Korean animated film is not much different from how US did to anime long time ago.


And?
This does not change my point.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6977
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:45 am Reply with quote
Thundercracker wrote:

And?
This does not change my popint.


Because I've seen anime fans pulling double standard when it comes to editing foreign works, I've seen anime fans decrying USA's editing and butchering of anime, but when Japan does something similar, they defend a Japanese companies changing or editing those animation whether it's American or Korean.

Do you understand where I'm coming from? How do I know you're not pulling any double standard? How do I know you're not defending a Japanese company that want to oh I don't know editing or dumbing down an American adult animation to a kid animation in Japan?
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4708
Location: New York
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:47 am Reply with quote
I can sympathize with Macek’s situation in 1984 but the Frankensteinan monster that Robotech is now, with the copyright trolling and legitimate mafia connections (HG executives were convicted of laundering for the Italian mafia), no, just no. To be fair, Carl had no idea what he was getting himself into. Nor could he had seen just how utterly petty HG would be to the point I remain convinced the next Macross project will be some sort of Robotech-free reboot just to divorce the company from them.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 6016
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:49 am Reply with quote
I have that VHS tape shown in the article, bought it mail order from an ad in the Starlog magazine. This was my entry drug into the world of anime. From there I started buying Japanese anime laserdiscs from Jelly's in Oahu. Iczer One, Outlanders, Gallforce, and Dirty Pair were some of my first purchases.

If it wasn't for a Robotech ad in a magazine, I probably would have never found anime.

As for Harmony Gold, I am not mad at them. I blame the Japanese companies for that. It is their fault. If anyone of us was in Harmony Gold's position, we wouldn't give up Robotech either. I think Harmony Gold gets the flack, because they are an American company that you can reach out an touch, while the arguing Japanese companies are out of reach, and at time probably wouldn't have given a damn about what American fans thought or cared about.
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snake-eyes



Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 171
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:50 am Reply with quote
I have no problem with Carl Macek. I Love Robotech The Macross Saga and I watched Super Dimension Fortress Macross. I prefer the Ending of SDFM as the Bridge Crew does not get wiped out in a Khyron Suicide attack. The only thing I didn’t like is how Clueless Rick was to Lisa Hayes. I would have liked them to get married at the end of the series. I do Love a happy ending. However, I do have a problem with Macross today. A new video game is being released in the US Macross Insight, that removed original Macross characters. I only like Robotech, SDFM and Do You Remember Love. Until that is rectified (Likekly Never) I have no interest in any other Macross.
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Thundercracker



Joined: 22 Feb 2023
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 9:50 am Reply with quote
mdo7 wrote:
Thundercracker wrote:

And?
This does not change my popint.


Because I've seen anime fans pulling double standard when it comes to editing foreign works, I've seen anime fans decrying USA's editing and butchering of anime, but when Japan does something similar, they defend a Japanese companies changing or editing those animation whether it's American or Korean.

Do you understand where I'm coming from? How do I know you're not pulling any double standard? How do I know you're not defending a Japanese company that want to oh I don't know editing or dumbing down an American adult animation to a kid animation in Japan?


If I was going to defend Japan, I would have said "original japanese works".
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kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1237
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2025 10:35 am Reply with quote
I watched Robotech (in TV!) when I was a kid, and I liked it.
What I do not like NOW is not the changes of the story, or changing Japanese songs for American ones. More or less, in the beginning almost everyone did that because the license deals ("oh, I have a Japanese series for you, no scripts, just a quick summary in English, do you want it?").

What I cannot stand, nor defend is that because of him and Harmony Gold, the world which is not the US (or UK, Canada and Australia, or Asia) is blocked from watching Macross.
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