Robotech: 20th Anniversary Remastered Extended Edition (1985)

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General		Extras
Category	Anime	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	1985
Running Time	2004:05
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (14)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Fuminori Kizaki
Studio Distributor	Harmony Gold Madman Entertainment	Starring	Samuel L. Jackson Kelly Hu Ron Perlman
Case	Custom Packaging
RPI	$119.95	Music	RZA Kendra Carter Jamie Simone

Robotech: Remastered and Extended is a re-release of all three seasons of the Robotech animation series. The 85 episodes in this boxset have been digitally remastered, include a remixed English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio soundtrack and include new footage. The new footage was composed of new opening/ending sequences, footage which was initially cut for time and eye catch sequences.

For the many fans who purchased the Legacy Collection this set sounded like a great upgrade, however this version of the show is not without its controversies. Essentially this version of Robotech feels very different from how the fans remember the original television show.

Produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Productions, Robotech was a series created by editing the content and revising the dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada. Due to this unconventional way of creating a television animation series, Robotech exists uniquely between traditional Japanese anime and American storytelling.

Producer Carl Macek was responsible for overseeing the complex process of developing a storyline from the existing anime series’ within nine months.

The Robotech storyline spans three generations and depict mankind’s fight in three Robotech Wars-

The Macross Saga (2009-2011): The conflict between the earth-based Robotech Defence Force and the alien Zentraedi.

The Robotech Masters (2029-2030): The conflict between the earth-based Army of the Southern Cross and the alien Robotech Masters.

The New Generation (2031-2044): The returning Robotech Expeditionary Force liberate the occupied Earth from the alien Invid.

Video

Eighty-Five remastered episodes of the animation series are spread over 14 Dual-layer DVDs.

Each disc contains six episodes except for Disc 11 which contains seven episodes.

The twenty-two minute episodes look a lot brighter, colourful and cleaner in comparison to the original material.

However due to the age of the source material, film grain, scratches and pixelation artefacts are still evident.

Telecine wobble is also evident on many occasions.

The question of compression has been an issue for fans – particularly with 6 or 7 episodes to a disc. The transfer has been encoded at an average bit-rate of 7.20 Mbps and is somewhat consistent. The MPEG compression artefacts are very mild.

Overall this is a solid transfer with good colour definition and average sharpness and black levels.

There are no subtitles available.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

There is only an English 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack available.

This newly remastered soundtrack is not without its controversies, for some the new sound design is overly loud. The dialogue is notably mixed lower then the new sound effects and overall the experience may lack subtlety for some viewers.

The new sound effects fill the rears while the dialogue is firmly located at the front of the soundstage. In some scenes the viewer may feel the dialogue is drowned out, especially with the heightened score and whiz-bang sound effects, but the new design is particularly inviting during the action battle sequences.

There is no evidence of distortion or sound drop-outs; the only issue is some fans dislike this new sound mix.

It’s not particularly bad, some scenes do gain more energy from the visceral sound mix but it is not how the fans remember the animated television show.

The original mono soundtrack would have been a welcome addition to the release.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio

The main menu is a clean design of a still image of a character and the theme music looped in the background. The episodes can either be viewed in a play all option or individually. The menus are not 16x9 enhanced.

This release is identical to the ADV Films (R1) Robotech: Remastered (Extended Edition) release in terms of content, however the artwork is different and the R1 includes various trailers. Also the 85 episodes in the R1 edition were released over 7 boxsets priced at $39.95 (US Dollars).

Robotech: Remastered and Extended is not without it’s share of controversies.

The picture is markedly better but the sound design may be considered overly loud for some.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall