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And then it dawns on me. This isn't the third portion of Robotech at all. Well, it is sorta...you see, this time ADV has put together the original episodes, with their original story, as it appeared before the Harmony Gold folks came and mashed it into the Robotech collective. Because of the nature of the release, I am going to describe the story and such, the way it appeared in Japan as Genesis Climber Mospeada. But, in an effort to bring everyone onto the same page, I am going to include the name translations at first so that fans of the Robotech series will understand what and who I am talking about. After some moments of mourning and some serious self-doubting, Stig decides on his course of action. His love and his entire unit died for the mission, and Stig must do everything in his power to complete that mission. Hoping for a chance of other survivors, or at least contact with some of the embedded troops already on the planet's surface, Stig sets off towards Reflex Point. Episode Guide Will Be Posted Soon!
-aaron-
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And
here it is! Finally I get to experience the exploits of Scott
Bernard, Lunk, Rook, Lancer and the rest of the gang as they battle
to reclaim the world from an alien invader. But wait a minute...this
release is in the Japanese language only. And it is only way
down in the corner that it even makes mention of the Robotech
series. But even stranger...when I read the back of the DVD
case...there is some guy named Stig? Who is Stig?
If
this sounds strange to you, what you must understand is that Robotech
as American audiences know it, was actually three separate series
in Japan, with no ties to each other. When Harmony Gold wanted
to bring the Macross series to the States they were forced
to find other series that could be merged together, in order to accommodate
the number of episodes necessary for a U.S. season. So Macross'
36 episodes were tacked onto The Southern Cross' 23 (yep 23,
the 24th was made from a variety of cutting and pasting to bridge
the series together), and then these 60 were pasted to Genesis
Climber Mospeada's 25. Now American kids could pattern their
life after 85 episodes of pure Japanese animated goodness, that originally
had nothing to do with one another. It worked brilliantly.
The
thing with these series being joined, was that each episodes entire
plot and dialog had to be re-written from the ground up so that everything
would make sense. Not only were the stories changed, but we
were also not shown the uncut versions. Usually it was only
expletives and nudity that was taken out for the American versions,
although in some cases, entire character relationships were changed
or fabricated. So what we have here is the third series added
into the Robotech family, in its "original untouched form...uncut...undubbed",
just the way we here at Underland Online like it.
The
year is 2050, and the Earth is under siege. A species of alien
called the Inbit (Invid) have settled onto the planet after decimating
the human resistance and sending the surviving military fleeing into
space to a base on the planet Mars. Determined to reclaim the
lost Earth, the military spends thirty years developing new military
hardware...transformable military vehicles that change form between
vehicle and humanoid robot. Once the technology is in place,
a mission is launched to reclaim the lost planet in 2080, but the
forces are promptly defeated, but not before a few areas of resistance
are established. Using information gained from the first offense,
a second and more pinpoint assault is launched three years later.
The target, Reflex Point, is the main information center for the Inbit,
and from where their orders are transmitted.
Stig
Bernard (Scott Bernard) is amongst those of the 21st Mecha-Armed
Descent Shuttle Unit who are spearheading the invasion force.
Also amongst the unit is his fiance, Marlene; Stig having proposed
to her on the journey from Mars Base to Earth. But getting to
Earth was not the most dangerous part of this mission. The Inbit
is seems, have sabotauged the Earth's atmosphere, making it nearly
impossible to safely descend through it. Stig is the only one
who realizes this with enough time to act accordingly, and he is forced
to watch as the rest of the 21st Unit, Marlene included, breaks apart
in flames during entry. Stig crash lands his fighter on the
planet's surface, but whether he is glad to have survived is a matter
of opinion.
Very
quickly Stig begins meeting other human survivors on his route.
Rey (Rand) is the 17 year old wanderer, that until now has
spent most of his time thinking only of survival. But meeting
up with Stig gives him a chance to belong to a cause...the
cause for all those alive on Earth. Mint Rubble (Annie
LaBelle) is 13 years old, but has already been engaged who knows how
many times...you see, she is fascinated with the thought of marriage
and has two questions that she asks of would be husbands: "Are
you single?" & "Do you own a house?". Mint
tags along with the group mainly because she has no where else to
go, but also because they are sure to meet up with countless suitable
marriage candidates along their way. Houquet Erose (Rook
Bartley) is well-learned well past her 16 years, due to her young
life being spent in a biker gang known as the Blue Angels. She
is a rough and tumble loner, who doesn't feel that she needs to join
a group of would be freedom fighters, but does so to leave a bad experience
behind her.
One
of the members of the original Mars Base attack three years previous,
Jim Austin (Lunk) is a 32 year old shamed soldier who has been
living with his own cowardice, ever since he fled the battleground
in fear. After shedding his mantle as a soldier (because the
Inbit will immediately attack anyone who is openly militant), he has
been living a nomadic life trying to come to terms with his own actions.
When he meets up with Stig and the others, he sees what may be his
only chance to redeem himself, and he takes it. Yellow Belmont
(Lancer / Yellow Dancer) is a 22 year old idol singer who makes a
living touring the settlements of Earth, bringing a little happiness
into the lives of those living in fear of the Inbit. Her voice
is enchanting, but holds a few secrets. Namely the fact that
she is not a "she" at all. Yellow has perfected the
art of female impersonation to remain undetected...but why...and from
whom? The last member to join this group is a young woman with
amnesia. Having no memories prior to being discovered in a deserted
town, she is adopted by the group and named Aisha. What
is her story, and why is it that she seems to be able to sense the
presence of the Inbit?
Each
member of this group has their own reasons for following Stig and
joining in the quest to defeat the Inbit on their own turf, but once
together a tight knit unit is formed and they quickly become an efficient
fighting team. Perhaps in recognition of this fact, the number
of members is no accident, asYasuhiro Tomita (the man responsible
for Series Composition) points out: "There are seven regular
characters. I used the same number as Akira Kurosawa's Seven
Samurai, which I adore."
Surprisingly,
this formula didn't seem to work out so well at first. Genesis
Climber Mospeada endured low ratings when it was aired in Japan,
a fact that many people have attributed to its poor time slot (9:30
a.m. Sunday morning). However, the program that ran one slot
earlier to Mospeada had very high ratings. More likely,
the culprit was the shows mood. As producer Kazuya Maeda states:
"...it might have been because the staff that worked on the show
didn't make it particularly the way kids would like. Instead,
it was rather stoic and sorrowful." This may also be the
reason that the series is so beloved now...now that the younger audience
has grown up, we can relive a story that deals with more adult themes
and a much more intense level of conflict than we liked to deal with
as children. Either way, it is a credit to the staff of Mospeada,
that they chose to represent the horrors of war and the feelings of
isolation without candy-coating it.
This
is not to say that there are not moments that will bring out the kid
in us though! There are still enough missiles, transforming
mechas, gunfights, alien swarms, and good old fashioned chases (most
of them borrowed from Macross, as was much of the rest of the series...)
to keep you on the edge of your seat with excitement. In fact,
the whole of Mospeada feels much more like an RPG than a sci-fi adventure.
A cast of different characters, each with their own motivations are
on a journey into the heart of the enemy stranghold to either save
the world or die trying, and are forced to gather food and weapons
wherever possible, all while trying to avoid detection by the evil
minions. This is all the best "Dungeons and Dragons"
stuff thrown into a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world, and it is addictive!
The
best thing about this release is that it is like revisiting an old
friend and meeting a brand new one all at the same time. You
get a chance to fulfill your need for Robotech completion, yet also
are treated to the splendidly crafted and unique original tale.
So even those stodgy "I was watching anime before you were even
born, fanboy" jerks will want to grab this one up just to experience
an entire series in its original form. I sat and watched each
and every one of the 25 episodes in one sitting (thank god for sick
days!) and I know you will do the same. So schedule some time
off work (i.e. call in sick), get up early, buy this set, and get
ready to save the planet!
