Like some kind of transpacific
Frankenstein, animation connoisseur Carl Macek built this show out of the
spare parts of three unrelated Japanese series, "Super Dimensional Fortress
Macross", "Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross", and "Genesis Climber
Mospeada." Millions of U.S. fans, most new to Japanese animation, judged
the resulting creature beautiful.
The hybrid Robotech storyline
begins in 1999, when an alien spacecraft crash-lands on Earth. Unfortunately,
plucky humans have little time to reverse-engineer the ship's advanced
technology before alien races -- three in all, one from each of the original
series -- start dropping by to claim its mysterious power source, "protoculture."
In the first series, the
experimental spacecraft SDF-1 accidentally warps itself and a small town
to the edge of the solar system. The humans must fight their way back to
Earth while constantly pursued by the giant Zentraedi.
The second part follows an
ground-based tank squadron in a conflict against the Zentraedi's creators,
the Robotech Masters, who also seek the protoculture. In the third series,
the Earth has been conquered by the insectoid Invid, and a group of rebels
struggles against them.
Complex story arcs and deeply
tangled soap-opera relationships form the background for the frenetic space,
air and land battles, winning this series its well-deserved fan following.
Are you a protoculture addict?
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