Reviews For Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles

[r34racer01]

This is my review I put up on www.robotech.com . I decided to hold starting a thread on this until the DVD released (which was today so go buy it now!) despite the fact I bought my copy 2 weeks ago. Anyway please leave your thoughts and comments on the movie and/or the DVD.

I got mine 2 weeks ago for $32, and well worth it I'd say. I waited until now to give my review cause I didn't want to be all boastful like Darkwater and all the others who already owned it or saw it. Yeh the CGI isn't all that great, but there not as crappy as people say. The problems I have are with the feet and arm movements of the Guardian and battloid modes on the Shadow Fighters(speaking of that why were those fighters at the end called "Super Shadow Fighters" when they don't even have shadow devices?). The story was pretty good I'd say. I liked the idea that Scott was treated as a traiter since the REF can't believe that any Invid could be good, something that wasn't explored too much in the original show. There are some things that clash with the original show and Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, in particular Janice's whole story and background plus the origin of the Neutron S missiles and shadow technology. The music and audio was good, but I think I was oversold on the music since I kept hearing that it was the best part of the film, and when I heard it was good, but it didn't seem as great as everyone was saying. All in all I really liked this movie. It has that quality about it that makes you want to keep watching it over and over(I think I've watched it at least 10 times since I got it). I also think that it retains the same spirit the original show had, so please everone go and buy it, and enjoy it so we can keep the franchise going, and not have to wait another 20 or so years for it to continue.
4.5 stars ****1/2 (out of 5)

[Marcis]

Weak show. And left unfinished, probably to add some more sequels i presume.
CGI was so outdated, lots of UN Spacy ships consisting of huge blocks, and felt very low-res Valkyries also felt lacking details. Basically every CGI scene was lacking detalisation. Also ship and mecha movement felt kinda stiff, unrealistic. Like some kid toying with models.
Animated characters seemed fine on par with other latest "cut out of paper" shows.
Not worth the money they are asking for it.
max 2.5 out of 5

[codename:v]

Haven't watch it, but still I wonder how long do Robotech have to live up her legacy with only mechas' and characters from *yawn* Genesis Climber Mospeada? Can't it's package be a totally brand new? What a rip-off...

[Sabersonic]

Haven't watch it, but still I wonder how long do Robotech have to live up her legacy with only mechas' and characters from *yawn* Genesis Climber Mospeada? Can't it's package be a totally brand new? What a rip-off...

Well there are some Sentinel and Masters cameos in the movie as well along with some original characters, so it's not completely New Generation. Come to think of it, there were only three New Generation character cameos in the whole movie.

As for the Mospeada mecha, well they decided to make the ending of the original Robotech series the beginning so that would probably explain the rather abundance of New Generation mecha. If you're looking for new mecha for the franchise, you might have to wait for the next movie/tv series that would feature such brand new designs.

Anyway for my review, it's not the best Robotech Movie, but it's still an enjoyable one despite some of its flaws such as certain continuity issues and technical concerns.

[codename:v]

Seriously, the Robotech saga and franchise are getting way too outdated and it looked as though it's still in the 80s'. If you asked me, I think the Robotech needs a major overhaul and rebranding strategy to compete with other current animes. Like how Micheal Bay did to the Transformers.

[Anonymous]

Or they can just get rid of it completely and save everyone from even more trouble.

[wonton bob]

I just saw it yesterday and was more impressed with the story than the art. I'm not a fan of the cgi. Seeing Louie there makes me wonder what happened to Dana and Bowie. Did they die in the Invid war? I know they stayed on earth while thier parents went off toward the Master's homeworld. I'm surpirsed the Grants didnt even mention him. And Maya? wasn't she with her parents? and is she in macross 7 ? (I refuse to see that) I think she was born during the second earth war, while Dana was fighting the Masters. I guess she could have come to earth like Col. Wolfe did. I also noticed the Robotech Factory? (big asteroid) missing. I know the SDF3 was built there but it's been awhile since I've read the sentinels to remember if they took it with them. I've been a fan since '85 and glad to see that the people behind the scenes were also fans. If another one comes out (I didnt see a mention if it would) I would see that too.

[tetsujin]

And Maya? wasn't she with her parents? and is she in macross 7 ? (I refuse to see that)

You should give Mac 7 a chance. The show has its issues but it's fun stuff.

As for Maya - I have no idea who Maya is. So I guess she's not in Mac 7. :) If she's one of Max and Milia's kids, then it wouldn't really be the same character at all. Komilia was only a baby at the end of Macross, and the only one of the Jenius daughters who appears regularly in Mac 7 is Milene. I know in Robotech they said that one of the characters in Southern Cross was Komilia - beyond that you really can't map Macross history to Robotech history. How would it be possible to say that Maya is one of the Jenius daughters (as opposed to the Sterling daughters - terminology here distinguishing the two storylines) when their entire life history would be different? Could they then be the same person?

I watched the trailer - what was up with the lip sync? It was like they were trying to do actual lip sync instead of "lip flap" but it didn't match what the characters were saying.

[Saouri]

Robotech is part of my childhood, so i'm pretty sad because Shadow Chronicles is not a good product.

I'm reading a lot of reviews around internet and everyone says the same...

But, whatever, i'm looking for my copy of Shadow Chronicles. I just will wait a few days for buy it on the net, because Rt.com don't make shipping to my country.

[r34racer01]

Seriously, the Robotech saga and franchise are getting way too outdated and it looked as though it's still in the 80s'. If you asked me, I think the Robotech needs a major overhaul and rebranding strategy to compete with other current animes. Like how Micheal Bay did to the Transformers.

That's a pretty bold statement considering the movie hasn't even came out yet.

[codename:v]

The last Robotech was more than 20 years ago and Harmony Gold still expects us to watch the same old thing? Same old stuffs and gigs? We're flying VF-19s' and VF-22s' now. What more, the FRX-00 Mave Yukikaze is clearly the plane of the future and compared to these Legios which are way too old... C'mon, Harmony Gold. You gotta do better than that.

[Sabersonic]

The last Robotech was more than 20 years ago and Harmony Gold still expects us to watch the same old thing? Same old stuffs and gigs? We're flying VF-19s' and VF-22s' now. What more, the FRX-00 Mave Yukikaze is clearly the plane of the future and compared to these Legios which are way too old... C'mon, Harmony Gold. You gotta do better than that.

Remember that this movie was made by and catered to fans of that series as is, a nostalgia piece. As I stated before, if you want new stuff out of this franchise you'll going to have to wait for either the next movie or next TV series to see new designs.

[YazanGable]

Seriously, the Robotech saga and franchise are getting way too outdated and it looked as though it's still in the 80s'. If you asked me, I think the Robotech needs a major overhaul and rebranding strategy to compete with other current animes. Like how Micheal Bay did to the Transformers.

That's a pretty bold statement considering the movie hasn't even came out yet.

To say nothing for the fact that what has been leaked from the movie has garnered responses that are...well...most either 'eh' or 'It's awful'
Bay's REALLY not an example you want to use here.

[MechaWyvern]

Overall I liked the Shadow Chronicles movie, but felt it could have been much better. I dont like the mix of cg and regular cell art that they did, it clashes too much and often the cg scenes are not very good. I also did not like the cliffhanger ending, given how long it took to get this movie made, and Harmony Golds track record, we may never see a follow up. The story line overall I enjoyed, but felt the fight with the Invid should have been longer and more action shown. Total, I would give this release a 3.5 out of 5.

[Dr.G]

Personally I liked it. While the cg may not have been the best, its alot better than the old stuff and to me the story was more important. Although it would have been nice to see more of the old characters it was still well balanced. I really hope that they continue to give us more material. 4.0