62-484: Streamline Pictures was an American media company. Founded by screenwriter Carl Macek and animation historian Jerry Beck , it was one of the earliest distributors of English-dubbed Japanese animation . Founded in Los Angeles , California , in late 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily with the intention of distributing translated anime uncut and faithful to
124-408: A colonization mission to preserve human culture across the galaxy. Lynn Minmay, who was left by Kaifun and now loves Hikaru, does not want him to leave to join the fight. However, Hikaru still goes to defend the city anyway. Eventually Quamzin is killed. After a long emotional conflict Hikaru finally decides to be with Misa and join the colonization mission, but the two remain good friends with Minmay in
186-485: A deal where it acquired the license to distribute the show worldwide (i.e., outside Japan), as well as earning some royalties to the merchandise. Tatsunoko then sub-licensed Macross to Harmony Gold USA in 1984. In 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original character and mecha designs for the first series, while that same court ruled in 2003 that Tatsunoko owned
248-572: A demonstrated kiss between Hayase and Hikaru. After escaping, Hikaru and the others report their findings to their superiors, who have trouble accepting the reasons behind the Zentradi attacks as well as the huge forces the aliens possess. After much difficulty returning to Earth, the UN Spacy refuses to allow the Macross and the civilian passengers to return to land. Minmay's cousin, Lynn Kaifun, decides to join
310-411: A few years later). When Macross debuted on 3 October 1982 (with only three episodes made so far) its stunning success among Japanese television audiences convinced Big West to approve an extension to 36 episodes, allowing the staff to end with the "two years after" story arc. Animation work was contracted out to a number of sub-contracting studios, including Artland ( Haruhiko Mikimoto 's employer),
372-459: A knife duel, Milia is defeated and falls in love with Max, and the two are subsequently married. Their wedding aboard the Macross is broadcast to the Zentradi as a message that aliens and humans can co-exist. Since the Zentradi's exposure to culture and to Lynn Minmay's songs, some of them become eager to join the humans. Believing the "miclone contamination" is becoming a threat to all Zentradi forces, Boddole Zer orders his entire army to exterminate
434-509: A number of sequels, including Macross Plus (1994), Macross 7 (1994), Macross Frontier (2007) and Macross Delta (2015). In North America, Super Dimension Fortress Macross was adapted into the first saga of the Robotech television series (1985–1986), called The Macross Saga , which spawned the Robotech franchise. Robotech was influential in the Western world, helping to introduce
496-721: A sequel to Robotech , Robotech II: The Sentinels , but this project was canceled. While at Harmony Gold, Macek also produced the little-known, rarely-seen Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (which combines the almost-unrelated stories of Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia ). Macek went on to co-found (with Jerry Beck ) Streamline Pictures in 1988. Joining him were writers who had worked with him on Robotech , most notably, Steve Kramer , Tom Wyner, Gregory Snegoff , and Ardwight Chamberlain , each of whom are also experienced voice actors. Streamline Pictures
558-432: A six-disc PAL format version of this edition entitled Macross Ultimate Collection . In the summer of 2005, ADV Films announced that it would be releasing an English dub of Macross on 10 January 2006. This is the first uncut, unedited English dub for Super Dimension Fortress Macross , and featured Mari Iijima returning to reprise the role of Lynn Minmay. This version was released by Hulu for online streaming in
620-525: Is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori , it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of: The Super Dimension trilogy and the Macross franchise . Macross features mechanical designs by Kazutaka Miyatake and Shoji Kawamori (both of Studio Nue ) and character designs by Haruhiko Mikimoto of Artland . Macross also created one of
682-557: The Film Forum in New York City in April 1991). Streamline also dubbed My Neighbor Totoro , and Kiki's Delivery Service , both adapted and directed by Gregory Snegoff, in 1988 for Tokuma Shoten , although these were only used as in-flight films by Japan Airlines at the time. As a fan of Miyazaki's films, Macek did not think Laputa (of which Streamline was the distributor) had received
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#1732873326655744-487: The Los Angeles Times reported the place of death as Topanga Canyon . The obituary shows a picture of him surrounded by several Robotech characters from all three series. After Macek's death, a short documentary, Carl Macek's Robotech Universe , was produced. The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Super Dimension Fortress Macross ( Japanese : 超時空要塞マクロス , Hepburn : Chōjikū Yōsai Makurosu , lit.)
806-487: The Macross to see his parents and also look after Minmay. Because of Kaifun's relationship and constant contact with Minmay, the pair eventually enter a romantic relationship. After deliberation, the UN Spacy orders the Macross to leave Earth as a means to get the Zentradi away from them. During all these events, a female Zentradi ace fighter pilot, Milia Fallyna , is micloned and attempts to assassinate Maximilian Jenius , an ace UN Spacy pilot. Attempting to kill him during
868-614: The Sony PlayStation 2 console. This game had levels based in both the TV series and its movie adaptation . More recently, a new 3D shooting game called Macross Ace Frontier included several elements from the original series. It was developed by Artdink for the Sony PSP and was released in 2008. In the Anime Encyclopedia , authors Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy called
930-535: The anime medium to North America. In 1996, Hyper magazine reviewed The Macross Saga , rating it 10 out of 10. Macross popularized the concept of transforming mecha , which can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. Shōji Kawamori introduced the concept with Diaclone in 1980 and then popularized it with Macross . Kawamori then went on to design transforming mecha for Transformers (1986). The transforming mecha concept became popular in
992-426: The "Megaload/Megaroad" ( Macross ) project seemed to be in permanent hiatus. Studio Nue bought the rights of the show from "Wiz" and searched for a sponsor with no avail. Big West , an advertising agency looking to branch out into animation sponsorship, approached Studio Nue about the project and agreed to sponsor it. Big West insisted on a leaner budget, not convinced that the show would pan out as profitable and pared
1054-510: The 1990s Japanese laserdisc release of that title. (Since then, however, all three afore-mentioned films by Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli have been redubbed by Disney .) Tokuma Shoten was pleased with the quality of the initial work, and it immediately hired Streamline to produce the English language version of Kiki's Delivery Service . Soon after its release, the film was bought by Japan Airlines, who showed it during their flights between Japan and
1116-465: The Cockroaches . During the 1990s VHS era, before the common availability of hybrid DVDs , anime distributors released anime via subtitled or dubbed tapes with the subtitled editions being noticeably more expensive than the dubs which were expected to sell better. Streamline is also notable in being the only such company to eschew this practice and release only dubs of its anime. The only exceptions were
1178-567: The English adaptation's production crew and two Tatsunoko producers. No mention of the creators is shown in the credits. In 1999, Harmony Gold asserted it had exclusive rights to the "distribution of the Macross television series and the right to create and authorize the sale of merchandise based on such series" outside Japan, and began sending cease-and-desist letters to import toy dealers, temporarily barring Macross -related merchandise from North America. The merchandise has since been imported again by
1240-655: The First ) began releasing in Japan in 2009. It is a comic format alternate telling of the events in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (with modern character and mecha designs) that was serialized in the Macross Ace manga magazine until its cancellation, being moved to Newtype Ace manga magazine until its cancellation, then to ComicWalker online magazine, and then to Cygames Psychomi online magazine. It
1302-461: The Japanese rights holder and licensed to other companies; while others have never been re-released due to licensing issues and lack of demand. Carl Macek Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter and producer. Noted for his work on English-language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s, he was the creator of the Robotech franchise and
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#17328733266551364-509: The Macross battleship. She was the boss and commanding officer of the fighter pilot protagonist Hikaru Ichijyo , and later his love interest. This was a scenario Kawamori came up with which he had not seen in any Hollywood movies before. A similar scenario, however, later appeared in the Hollywood movie Top Gun (1986). According to Kawamori, "Many people pointed out that later films like Top Gun copied that idea and setting, as well as including
1426-446: The Sky , My Neighbor Totoro , and Kiki's Delivery Service . As of 1993, Streamline Pictures distributed their anime through Orion Home Video and was eventually purchased by Orion in 1996. Before his death, Macek was working as a scriptwriter for the English dub of Naruto and Bleach for Viz Media , and consulting for Harmony Gold on Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles . Macek
1488-509: The Supervision Army. As the aliens, known as the Zentradi , approach the Macross , the original systems override the crew's commands and fire its main cannon, wiping out the advance alien scouts and starting a war. While Hikaru takes the new VF-1 Valkyrie on a test flight the aliens retaliate. He then encounters Lynn Minmay and rescues her from the aliens. The Macross crew attempts to use
1550-585: The U.S. Streamline also licensed and dubbed other popular anime series and movies, such as Fist of the North Star , Wicked City , Lensman , Vampire Hunter D and The Professional: Golgo 13 . Streamline, in being the first company dedicated to making anime accessible to the English-speaking world, was notable for releasing a wide variety of anime that fit in a wide variety of genres, many of which do not fit completely in any genre such as Twilight of
1612-514: The United States in February 2010 and was removed in February 2013. On April 8, 2021, Harmony Gold and Big West reached an agreement to allow Big West to release Macross globally. Four manga adaptations of the TV series by different artists were serialized in 1982. A new manga adaptation called Super Dimension Fortress Macross: The First ( 超時空要塞マクロス THE FIRST , Choujikuu Yousai Macross
1674-426: The animated series C.O.P.S. , was the executive consultant for the animated film Heavy Metal 2000 , and wrote the animated adaptation of Brian Pulido 's Lady Death . Macek adapted the treatment by Merian C. Cooper (the producer of King Kong ) for the unproduced film project War Eagles into a novel and screenplay in 2008. The book was published in the summer of 2008 by Angelgate Press. Macek became one of
1736-552: The co-founder of Streamline Pictures . His work is considered to have been instrumental in creating mainstream awareness of Japanese animation in the United States. Macek came to public attention in 1985 as the producer and story editor of the influential animated television series Robotech , which he produced for Harmony Gold USA . Robotech is considered one of the titles most responsible for igniting anime fandom in North America and internationally. Macek intended to produce
1798-604: The colonization ship SDF-2 Megaroad-01 , but the sequence was scrapped due to lack of time and budget. However, due to fan demand this sequence was later used in the Macross Flashback 2012 OVA released in 1987. Super Dimension Fortress Macross was produced as the first of the three Super Dimension mecha anime television series in Japan. It was followed by Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983) and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (1984). These shows were related in name only. In 1984, Harmony Gold licensed
1860-411: The combination of many songs and fighters too." For the video game Devil May Cry 4 , motion and voice actor Reuben Langdon was told to be cockier than his younger persona, albeit more mature. Despite the staff's concerns for the difficulties of such a portrayal, Langdon had no issues after choosing Roy Focker from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross as his character model and noting he had almost
1922-487: The company began to release foreign films under its "Independent Filmworks" label until 2000 when the company closed. The company's Modelworks division was sold in 1998 and the "Streamline Pictures Modelworks" division became a separate company operating under the name, "Avatar Creations." Today, rights to much of the Streamline film and television library (such as Akira and The Castle of Cagliostro ) have either reverted to
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1984-425: The distance they must cross. "Super Dimension Fortress" prefix ("Chō Jikū Yōsai") is a wordplay on an intermediary working title for the series, which was originally "Super Dreadnought Fortress Macross" ("Chō Dokyū Yōsai Makurosu"). Originally proposed in 1980 and greatly inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam (1979-1980), the show created by Studio Nue (from an original concept by newcomer member Shoji Kawamori )
2046-419: The early catalysts of the sub vs. dub debate. Macek's philosophy towards anime dubbing, as stated in several interviews, most notably published Protoculture Addicts and Animag , has become largely synonymous with the negative connotation concerning "Americanized dubs". Streamline Pictures stopped producing new anime releases in 1997, but continued to distribute its complete library in North America. In 1996,
2108-624: The end of the first Space War the transition into the Human ways becomes difficult to some Zentradi who cannot stand the idea of a pacified life. Quamzin Kravshera constantly incites conflicts towards the civilians. He repairs a damaged Zentradi warship to return to his old ways and attacks the new Macross City built around the SDF-1. Moments before the final Zentradi attack, Misa Hayase tells Hikaru Ichijyo of her feelings for him and her decision to leave to space in
2170-419: The end. A number of sequels and one prequel to the series have been produced. The series title uses the name of the main spacecraft (which is usually shortened to Macross as it is Earth's first Super Dimension Fortress ). The original name for the Macross project was Battle City Megaload (or Battle City Megaroad , as the Japanese transliteration to either ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩ gives
2232-426: The episode count to 27 episodes (meaning the show would have ended with the battle against Boddole Zer 's fleet). Even then, Big West found that the show was going to run more expensive than it had bargained for, and to secure more money, entered into a partnership with animation studio Tatsunoko Production which included international distribution (what would culminate in the creation of the " Robotech " adaptation
2294-482: The experimental " Fold System " ( faster-than-light drives) to escape to the Moon's orbit, but instead it accidentally takes the Macross and South Ataria Island to the edge of the solar system. The people from the Macross salvage everything they can, including the city surrounding the ship and its civilians (who have survived in special safety shelters, which were transported along intact), and attach two aircraft carriers to
2356-424: The first Macross series from Tatsunoko and planned to dub the series on home video. In 1985, Harmony Gold, without permission from Studio Neu or Big West, edited and rewrote the series with The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada , collectively releasing them as Robotech , to syndicate on weekday television and to promote a Revell model line. Robotech' s credits listed only
2418-537: The first virtual idol . Voiced by Mari Iijima , Minmay was the first fictional idol singer to garner major real-world success, with the theme song "Do You Remember Love?" (from the film Macross: Do You Remember Love? ) reaching number seven on the Oricon music charts in Japan. This was later further explored in Macross Plus with the virtual idol Sharon Apple , an artificial intelligence (AI) computer program who takes
2480-582: The first anime idols Lynn Minmay , turning her voice actress Mari Iijima into an instant celebrity, and launching her musical career. Most of its animation (with edited content, story changes and revised dialogue) was adapted in the US for the first saga of Robotech . In 1999, a city-sized alien spacecraft crashes in South Ataria Island on Earth. Over the course of 10 years the military organization U.N. Spacy reverse-engineers its technology and rebuilds
2542-416: The form of an intergalactic pop star , and in Macross 7 with the virtual band Fire Bomber who became a commercial success and spawned multiple CDs released in Japan. Macross set the template for later virtual idols in the early 21st century, such as Hatsune Miku and Kizuna AI . Another innovative character concept in Macross was the role of Misa Hayase , who was one of the main commanders of
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2604-443: The human race and all those Zentradi previously exposed to human culture. Because Britai Kridanik was "contaminated" as well, he works with the humans to defeat the main Zentradi forces. The resulting battle culminates in the large scale devastation of Earth, but the people of the SDF-1 survive. After Boddole Zer is killed and his armada defeated, the surviving humans and their Zentradi allies begin rebuilding Earth. Two years after
2666-401: The later Akira subtitled release and their Robotech Collection , which included episodes of the original Macross , Southern Cross and Mospeada episodes on the same tape along with their Robotech counterparts. (Since then, these three titles were re-released by ADV Films through Harmony Gold.) Because of Macek's notoriety with a certain branch of fandom, Streamline became one of
2728-530: The mid-1980s, with Macross: Do You Remember Love? and Zeta Gundam (1985) in Japan, and with Robotech and Transformers in the West. Transformers went on to influence the Hollywood movie industry. In contrast to earlier mecha anime which focused on combatants, Macross portrayed a mecha conflict from the perspective of non-combatant civilians, such as the fictional singer Lynn Minmay . She went on to become
2790-431: The most controversial figures amongst English anime fandom . Streamline Pictures- dubbed anime were among the first to be available on home video as well as broadcast on cable. Over the years, he has seen his share of detractors and proponents, for while he did help to bring Japanese animation titles and series to the United States, his edits, re-rewrites and mash-ups (particularly The Robotech Saga ) angered many fans of
2852-463: The nascent AIC and Gainax studios, as well as the Tatsunoko -supplied AnimeFriend and Star Pro . AnimeFriend and Star Pro are infamously notorious among fans of the show for having brought in very spotty, off-model and continuity error-laden animation work. There were plans for a splashy ending to the series, one that would have shown major characters Misa Hayase and Hikaru Ichijo blasting off in
2914-502: The original content. The founders of Streamline were television writer and producer Carl Macek , who had worked for Harmony Gold USA on the series Robotech , and film distributor Jerry Beck . At one point or another, Gregory Snegoff , Steve Kramer , Ardwight Chamberlain , Tom Wyner, and Mike Reynolds , all of whom served as series staff writers (and voice actors) on Robotech , worked as independent writers and voice actors for Streamline. The first high-profile release by Streamline
2976-471: The original titles and series. To this day, anime fans still remain divided between appreciation and scorn for his work. Jerry Beck , one of Macek's former business partners, revealed that Macek died of a heart attack on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Barely three months before his sudden death, Macek recorded a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour podcast interview with Anime News Network , offering an extensive retrospective on his entire career. His brief obituary in
3038-466: The people on board the Macross , and even have their Zentradi soldiers "micloned" (miniaturized) to learn more about their culture. The Zentradi capture several Macross personnel, including Officer Misa Hayase and Hikaru, to study. Boddole Zer , Supreme Commander of the Zentradi, is puzzled over things such as relationships amongst males and females. He confirms that the Miclones "are" Protoculture during
3100-545: The production rights to the first series. In 2001 the series was sub-licensed in North America by AnimEigo , who restored the series and released it unedited on DVD with Japanese audio and English subtitles. At first a limited edition pre-order boxset across nine discs was released on 21 December 2001. Preorders were available on AnimEigo's web store. Three smaller boxsets, each comprising three discs, were released from 10 September 2002. Finally, AnimEigo released nine individual volumes. In 2003 Madman Entertainment released
3162-425: The quality of dubbing that a Miyazaki film deserved. He thought that it could have been done better, so Tokuma Shoten gave him the opportunity to prove his words. For his first project, he asked to dub My Neighbor Totoro , one of his favorite Miyazaki works. The Streamline dub of My Neighbor Totoro was released theatrically in the U.S. by Troma Films in 1993; but its dub of Kiki's Delivery Service appeared only on
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#17328733266553224-465: The same toy dealers in direct sales. In 2000, Big West and Studio Nue took Tatsunoko Productions to the Tokyo District Court over who had the rights to the first Macross series, due to Harmony Gold's attempt to bar Japanese Macross merchandise in North America the previous year. During production, Big West entered into a partnership with Tatsunoko to assist in the production of the series in
3286-442: The series "One of the three unassailable pillars of anime sci-fi, pioneering the tripartite winning formula of songs, battling robot-planes and tense relationships". Super Dimension Fortress Macross was the basis for two different animated franchises, Macross in Japan and Robotech in North America. In Japan, Super Dimension Fortress Macross spawned an animated film adaptation, Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984), and
3348-501: The ship. Since the fold systems have vanished after the jump, the Macross is forced to make its way back to Earth by conventional power. The Zentradi suspect the humans might be their creators, the Protoculture. Under the command of Britai Kridanik and Exsedol Folmo , they plot ways to understand them. Fearful of their old combat directives of not interfering with Protoculture, the Zentradi perform attacks to test their theories about
3410-459: The spacecraft, naming it the SDF-1 Macross . In 2009 at the launch ceremony of the Macross , a young civilian pilot, Hikaru Ichijyo , comes to visit the Macross upon U.N. Spacy pilot Roy Focker 's request. During the launch ceremony, a space war fleet from an alien race of humanoid giants arrives into the solar system and identifies the Macross as a former battleship used by their enemies,
3472-422: The title a double meaning in reference to the story line: Megaload , referring to the spacecraft containing an entire city of people; and Megaroad , referring to the long journey through space back to Earth). However, the director of Big West , one of the later sponsors of the project, was a fan of Shakespeare and wanted the series and the spacecraft to be named Macbeth ( Makubesu ( マクベス ) ). A compromise
3534-567: Was a co-editor of Film Noir – An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (1979) and a contributor to McGill's Survey of the Cinema . He authored The Art of Heavy Metal : Animation for the Eighties and Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels in which he chronicles in detail the conception and what went wrong during the production of the latter aborted animated series. He also worked as a scriptwriter for
3596-579: Was collected into six volumes. The artist for the new manga series is Haruhiko Mikimoto, who was the character designer for the original Macross . A game based on the TV series called The Super Dimension Fortress Macross was released for the Japanese Nintendo Family Computer console in 1985 by video game company Namco . Years later Bandai released The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 3D shooting game in October 2003 in Japan for
3658-518: Was initially sponsored by a group called the "Wiz" ( Uizu ) Corporation that was prepared to fund a 48-episode run. "Wiz" wanted to produce the Sci-Fi show as an outer space comedy, but this clashed with Studio Nue's original idea of a more serious and epic " space opera " storyline. The resulting animosity between both companies made the initial pre-production of the series very difficult and full of delays. However, by 1981 Wiz had gone out of business and
3720-405: Was made with the title Macross ( Makurosu ( マクロス ) ) due to its similar pronunciation to Macbeth in Japanese and because it still contained connotations to the original title. The word Macross also comes from a wordplay combination of the prefix "macro" in reference to its massive size (though when compared with the alien ships in the series, it is only a relatively small capital ship) and
3782-647: Was one of the first American companies to successfully deal in the regular production of imported Japanese animation. Among the titles released by Streamline are Lensman , Robot Carnival , Doomed Megalopolis , Twilight of the Cockroaches , Crying Freeman , Wicked City , the Fist of the North Star film, Akira , Lupin III: Mystery of Mamo as well as the original English dub versions of Hayao Miyazaki 's Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro , Laputa: Castle in
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#17328733266553844-571: Was the film Laputa: Castle in the Sky from director Hayao Miyazaki , premiering at the Roxy Screening Room in Philadelphia on March 24, 1989. The company was also known for its theatrical release of the film Akira at The Biograph in Georgetown , Washington, D.C. on December 25, 1989, as well as its 1992 video dubbing of The Castle of Cagliostro (earlier screened with subtitles at
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