New Macross anime from Studio SUNRISE

[Seto Kaiba]

https://twitter.com/MACROSS_BIGWEST/sta ... _6q5wuAAAA

This (vague) announcement dropped at 6:21am today.

If we assume they're following the same kind of release schedule they did for Macross Frontier and Macross Delta, we can likely expect to see more information incl. a title forthcoming this autumn and likely the series pilot this December.

It's interesting that Big West and Studio Nue have apparently tapped Bandai Namco's Sunrise to lead the animation work on this new title. The last six major Macross titles have been produced by Satelight, at which Kawamori was working as a Special Advisor.

[Chris]

Based on all their recent moves in the last few years, it seems pretty clear that Big West wants to grow Macross as a franchise globally. I don't know what Satelight's current workload is, but turning to a studio like Sunrise could help get a TV series out faster. We know Big West intends the next Macross to get a simultaneous global release, and this looks like an important first step to that.

[Dark Duel]

As long as it's not more Delta, I'd love to get more Macross. Considering that we're smack dab in the middle of the 40th Anniversary(from what I can find out, the original series aired from late '82 to mid-'83), I'd expect something more substantial than another sequel though, so I will eagerly await more news.

[Seto Kaiba]

Yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a clean break from Macross Delta too.

After reading the few official publications that exist for the second movie, I'm getting a bit of a vibe that suggests the creative staff wanted to be shut of it too. It's weird experience to have a book like Master File badmouth the characters, events, and even hero Valkyrie of a movie the way that the VF-31AX Master File does...

It looks like Big West/Studio Nue are following a similar release pattern to what they did the last two times. Announce in late Spring or early Summer, drop a title in late Autumn, and the "Episode 0.XX" pilot for the series around mid-December with the broadcast run to start around April next year.

[Henyo]

i was quite shocked when i heard the announcement. but no complains here. i mean this is one step closer to Love live as Mecha.
and another IMAS Xenoglossia. heck, i wouldn't be surprised if they went the G witch route. i defs can dig that.

[Kuruni]

i was quite shocked when i heard the announcement. but no complains here. i mean this is one step closer to Love live as Mecha.
and another IMAS Xenoglossia. heck, i wouldn't be surprised if they went the G witch route. i defs can dig that.

...another possibility is modernizing Ideon (which feature precursor-type civilization, gigantic mech vs horde of small enemies scene, and Itano Circus). And I think this would be more interesting to me.

[Mafty]

Macross generally seems to try something different in each sequel (though as Delta has shown, that doesn't always work). So regardless of the studio change, the sequel series would likely be different anyway.

Still it's cool to see Macross anime being made at Sunrise (given how how Macross's creators were Gundam fans), Plus the fact this series will actually get an international release.

[yugioh54]

How well did Macross Frontier do, it's that last thing I remember from Macross being really hyped?

[Seto Kaiba]

How well did Macross Frontier do, it's that last thing I remember from Macross being really hyped?

It really depends on what metric or metrics you want to look at... but Macross Frontier dominates in most categories. There's a strong argument for calling it the single most successful Macross series to date by ratings, streaming performance, merchandise sales, audience reviews, number of unlawful downloads (fansubs), and the quantity and quality of its mixed media content like novels, short stories, audio dramas, ONAs, and so on. Macross Delta was only able to rival it in one category: the performance of its music on streaming and the Oricon singles charts (they tied at #3). It really says all that needs to be said that Macross Delta's main focus was its idol group, and they got their clocks cleaned TWICE by Sheryl Nome... once with the Gorgeous music video and once with The Labyrinth of Time short film.

Based on the All Macross Big Vote! fan poll from 2019, Macross Frontier is the #1 Macross title with fans and captured three of the top 10 character spots (including #1, two of the top 10 mechanical designs, and a whopping five of the top 10 songs (narrowly missing #1 to the expected victor Do You Remember Love?).

The only title that comes close to that kind of dominance is the OG Macross, which between it and its movie captured 2nd and 5th on the series charts, three of the top 10 character spots four of the top 10 mecha design spots, and two of the top 10 songs.

Spoiler

Delta, for its part, is the lowest-rated of the Macross TV shows on that poll... losing to Frontier, 7, and the OG. The only category in which it managed to break into the top five was songs, and only narrowly at that.

[Henyo]

That is the big protoculture elephant size in the room yes? since its Sunrise doing the new macross, how strong is the chance it well get on streaming platforms? and an english dub.

i dont suppose the recent passing away of someone notable over at Harmony Gold will affect the chances?

[Chris]

That is the big protoculture elephant size in the room yes? since its Sunrise doing the new macross, how strong is the chance it well get on streaming platforms? and an english dub.

i dont suppose the recent passing away of someone notable over at Harmony Gold will affect the chances?

Harmony Gold literally has zero influence over anything Macross-related beyond the original series (and only then outside of Japan). Also, Big West already said last year that the next Macross series would receive a simultaneous global release.

[Henyo]

i keep on forgetting that detail. i keep mistaking the macross licensing issue is similar to the Chaiyo Ultraman license snafu.

[Kuruni]

[...]similar to the Chaiyo Ultraman license snafu.

And even that isn't a thing anymore either.

[domtropen]

How about Zentraedi protagonist for once? or even better Meltrandi one.

[Seto Kaiba]

That is the big protoculture elephant size in the room yes? since its Sunrise doing the new macross, how strong is the chance it well get on streaming platforms? and an english dub.

Considering doing exactly that is a big part of Big West's current mission statement for Macross... pretty much 100%.

i dont suppose the recent passing away of someone notable over at Harmony Gold will affect the chances?

No. Frank Agrama stepped back from the day-to-day operations at Harmony Gold over a decade before he passed. Day to day operations at HG were, and are, being overseen by his daughter Jehan. However, even that's pretty much irrelevant because for all the talk of mutual benefit surrounding the 2021 announcement of an end to blocking Macross licensing, Harmony Gold basically knuckled under after suffering a series of rather humiliatingly one-sided crushing defeats in lawsuits over ownership of the Macross trademarks in every major market outside of the US. The only reason they're involved at all is US trademark law handles claims of disputed trademark ownership slightly differently to the rest of the world.

Harmony Gold literally has zero influence over anything Macross-related beyond the original series (and only then outside of Japan).

Not zero... yet.

Harmony Gold has the (outside Japan) distribution and merchandising rights to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross series and (since 2001) the merchandising rights to the Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie.

The reason they still have a modest amount of influence over Macross's distribution outside of Japan is that, back 1999-2000, they used the fact that they technically distribute merchandise based off of the original Macross TV series to file applications for trademarks on the word "Macross", key line art for many of the show's designs, and several emblems from the series in the United States (and abroad).

Their original reason for doing that was to obtain legal leverage to support their Cease and Desist letters demanding that import toy dealers stop importing Macross toys for sale in the US that they saw as a threat to their then-upcoming Toynami Masterpiece Collection toy line. It was a reaction to them being called on a false claim in previous Cease and Desists that their license extended to all of Macross, a claim that triggered the copyright confirmation lawsuits between Big West and Tatsunoko in the early 2000s. They stopped all future Macross licensing by threatening any potential licensee with a trademark infringement lawsuit if they tried to release a Macross series or any merchandise for same. Former HG staffers have even claimed HG went so far as to attempt to use those trademarks and the threat of blocking all Macross releases into eternity in a bid to force Big West to sell the Macross franchise to them. After HG's attempt to make Robotech commercially viable flopped for the second time, they switched to doing just enough to continue to squat on the Macross trademarks in the hopes that they could create a "pay to play" environment where they could hold worldwide Macross releases hostage with the trademark until/unless Big West agreed to pay them royalties. They lost most, but not all, of their leverage when Big West curbstomped them in court outside of the US and the subsequent agreement gave almost all of the power in the relationship to Big West... but because HG had already largely abandoned Robotech by that point, they were content to receive a more modest amount of royalties in exchange for granting permission to use the Macross trademarks they hold in the US market.

HG will still have a small amount of influence over Macross releases in the US because of those trademarks until they either sell their stake to someone else or Robotech finally goes under and those trademarks expire.

[PowerdGNFlag]

Harmony Gold has the (outside Japan) distribution and merchandising rights to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross series and (since 2001) the merchandising rights to the Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie.

The reason they still have a modest amount of influence over Macross's distribution outside of Japan is that, back 1999-2000, they used the fact that they technically distribute merchandise based off of the original Macross TV series to file applications for trademarks on the word "Macross", key line art for many of the show's designs, and several emblems from the series in the United States (and abroad).

...

HG will still have a small amount of influence over Macross releases in the US because of those trademarks until they either sell their stake to someone else or Robotech finally goes under and those trademarks expire.

You can actually see this in action right now; if you look at the promotional materials for the Macross -Shooting Insight- game coming out later this year, the English material conspicuously omits any mention of SDF characters in its scenarios.

Japanese tweet here.
English version of the same. Note the missing mention of Max that is present in the JP tweet.

I'm not sure how this will play out in the final game release (e.g whether SDF characters and scenarios will be hard-locked for the international release) but this is definitely a look at how SDF will be handled at least for the short-term.

[pirx]

Next titular mecha - VF-35? Based on F-35?

[Dark Duel]

YF-40 or VF-40 would be more likely IMO, given that we’re at forty years of Macross and the last two major lead VFs were the YF-30 and VF-31 on the 30th anniversary, and the VF-25 for the 25th anniversary of the franchise

[Seto Kaiba]

Next titular mecha - VF-35? Based on F-35?

Trying to guess Kawamori's next move is a losing proposition...

The one thing I feel relatively safe in assuming is that it probably will not be a 6th Generation VF. Kawamori, Chiba, et. al. went to a LOT of trouble to sh*t on the entire concept of 6th Generation VFs with the materials for Macross Delta: Absolute Live!!!!!!.

He could go backwards to any era in Macross's history and mess with any of the "unseen" designs like the VF-5, VF-13, VF-16, etc. or go forward and introduce yet more 5th Generation designs the way he did with Delta. The last round drew a lot of inspiration from Japan's attempts to have its own next-generation fighter jet (Mitsubishi's X-2 or ATD-X).

[DragoMaster009]

I can't remember that particular piece of info coming up on this forum, but in a brief summary, what's a 6th Generation VF supposed to be?