TV Review – “Robotech: The New Generation”

Well, it’s taken far too long, but I’ve finally finished reviewing the
Robotech series. For those who missed (or don’t remember) the
first two reviews, the Macross portion was reviewed way back on Oct. 21,
2001
, and the Robotech Masters portion was reviewed on
March 30,
2002.

Cast

The cast list is huge. Read it at the IMDB page
here.

Original Airdate

The New Generation portion of Robotech originally
aired in 1985.

Synopsis

The Robotech Masters are defeated, but the Invid have all but
taken
over the earth. The sole survivor of a fleet returning from serving
with Admiral Rick Hunter has to put together a resistance cell and
take out the invaders.

High Point

Paper Hero.

Low Point

Ghost Town should have aired at a different point in
the
series. We go from blizzard to desert and back to blizzard in
three
episodes.

The Review

This seemed somewhat new and original in the North
American
market at the time, but the technology still felt like a rip-off of
Transformers. Credit must be given for the
complexity of the
storyline aimed at an age group that young, though. I give it 4 out
of 6.

As per usual with animation, the effects category
rates the
quality of every visual in the series. In this case, still frames can
look good, but the animation from frame to frame is often quite
poor.
You’ll also notice that a character’s hair will often change
mid-conversation. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story is very entertaining, and more complicated
than
you’d find in most shows aimed at 12 year olds. It wasn’t locked
into
some invariably happy ending, either, adding a touch of realism
that
most kids shows don’t have. This batch of 25 episodes was
really well
written. I give it 5 out of 6.

The voice acting varies with the individual. Cam
Clarke does
his usual quality of work (as Lancer), and Gregory Snegoff does
some
great stuff as Scott Bernard. The rest got the job done, but never
particularly impressed me. I give it 4 out of 6.

The writing gave the emotional response a boost,
making this
the first portion of the series to get by without the help of
nostalgia. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was somewhat limited. Sound design
is more
functional than interesting, and as good as Ulpio Minucci’s
musical
score is, there’s only so many episodes that you can show
consecutively built on what seems like 15 unique minutes of
music. I
give it 3 out of 6.

Overall, it’s the most entertaining portion of the
Robotech series as far as I’m concerned. If you’ve
seen the
rest of the series, you should definitely check this out. If you
haven’t, I’m not sure it’s worth watching the rest to get to this. I
give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Robotech: The New Generation receives 29
out of 42.

2 replies on “TV Review – “Robotech: The New Generation””

  1. Have to admit…
    I have to admit that I haven’t seen Robotech, might pick it up if I can as I kinda like mecha (hmmm… big stompty metal machines with HUGE guns!!!). Though, having said that I don’t know if my local Blockbusters stocks 80’s Manga ;-)

    One thing I will admit is that I am quiet a fanboy of Gundam Wing, which does kinda taint my view on older mecha stuff (even of the Gundam series). Though I am open to any suggestions of good Mecha shows (anyone suggesting Power Rangers will be shot for heresy ;-)

    • Re: Have to admit…

      One thing I will admit is that I am quiet a fanboy of Gundam Wing, which does kinda taint my view on older mecha stuff (even of the Gundam series). Though I am open to any suggestions of good Mecha shows (anyone suggesting Power Rangers will be shot for heresy ;-)

      Fullmetal Panic and Gasuraki, but neither is on TV here in the states.
      Oh, one thing that I liked about Robotech over previous Gundam Wing and previous Gundam shows is the lack of “super robots.” Main characters get their bots shot out from underneath them almost as often as the Leo drivers. Well maybe not that bad but Hunter went through a lot of planes.

      But now that my mouth is open, I’m going to ask a question that has been bugging me for some time. In every part of the Robotech saga, there is always a point where humans are debating the morality of their war with the alien de jour. In both Macross and Southern Cross, this usually conicided with the discovery that the aliens were in fact humans from anther star system, and may have been decended from Earthers.

      I can understand questioning moral issues of war, violence, soveriegnty, self-defense, value of life, etc. What I don’t get is why the everybody starts questioning this stuff when the enemy turns out to be the same species. The only conclusion I can reach is that the characters place no value on non-human life.

        Rather scary thought in an multi-species galactic community.

      Back on topic, yes the other guy is human. Granted he’s from a different planet, and this is very facinating but lets not forget one minor detail; HE’S TRYING TO KILL YOU!

      Okay, I’ll stop talking… for now.

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