American anime pioneer and Robotech creator Carl Macek R.I.P

Yotsuya-san

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This was the man that brought anime to the West full force.
Robotech started me out. Some still think he was a butcher and bastardizer of anime but If it weren't for Carl Macek and those Streamline dubs (Robot Carnival being my favorite), we'd probably just be hearing about anime now. And I wouldn't be Yotsuya-san.
Godspeed Robotech Master! As Doctor Lang would say, you are now one with the protoculture shapings.
 

Maxtro

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While Robotech was influential in anime's American popularity, it was hardly necessary. Anime didn't really take off until the late 90's when Sailormoon and Dragon Ball Z came out. Don't even forget the importance of Gundam.

Sigh, I miss the original toonami.
 

Yotsuya-san

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Maxtro said:
While Robotech was influential in anime's American popularity, it was hardly necessary. Anime didn't really take off until the late 90's when Sailormoon and Dragon Ball Z came out. Don't even forget the importance of Gundam.

Sigh, I miss the original toonami.

Maxtro,

Know that if it weren't for Robotech and Carl Macek, anime fandom as we know it in the West would not exist today. Anime fandom began as Robotech fandom and Macek dubs (via Streamline Pictures) opened the door for more "pure" anime adaptations. I like Gundam (particularly Universal Century Gundam) but I still learned about it first in Robotech Art I. As far as DBZ, Sailormoon, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop and the rest, that was all the third wave. Robotech was the first wave, the one that started it all.

Can't stress enough that Robotech is one of the reasons why there is an anime fandom that evolved to the point of there actually being a Toonami. Twenty years ago, no one imagined that anime or manga would be available at Walmart. I don't know what you mean, though by Robotech being "hardly neccesary". I hope you're not one of those purists. That got old. Besides, Robotech was most Westerner's introduction to anime. And it went on to become a science fiction franchise in its own right. A live action film is even in the works as we speak courtesy of Tobey Maguire.

And once again, for those who missed it the first time. The anime fandom as it already happened is responsible for my screen name, courtesy of Rumiko Takahashi's classic Maison Ikkoku.

Say what you will of the man. For me, this week's gonna be a Streamline/Robotech week in memory of Mr. Macek. I just got finished watching an episode of the Streamline dubbed Crying Freeman and it was nostalgia.
 

Maxtro

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Honestly I was never much into Robotech or Macross. I watched it when the dubs aired though I don't remember what network that was. I don't know enough about Carl Macek to comment on him.

I thought the first wave of anime was Speed Racer, Voltron and Thunderhawks (not really sure about the name they all wore some kind of bird suits).

When I said hardly necessary, I meant that Sailormoon and Dragon Ball were so hugely popular in Japan that they would have reached the western world regardless if Robotech existed or not. The other show that I forgot to mention is Gundam Wing which also brought in a bunch of new fans.

BTW I'm not trying to say Robotech was a bad series or anything like that.
 

Yotsuya-san

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Maxtro said:
Honestly I was never much into Robotech or Macross. I watched it when the dubs aired though I don't remember what network that was. I don't know enough about Carl Macek to comment on him.

I thought the first wave of anime was Speed Racer, Voltron and Thunderhawks (not really sure about the name they all wore some kind of bird suits).

When I said hardly necessary, I meant that Sailormoon and Dragon Ball were so hugely popular in Japan that they would have reached the western world regardless if Robotech existed or not. The other show that I forgot to mention is Gundam Wing which also brought in a bunch of new fans.

BTW I'm not trying to say Robotech was a bad series or anything like that.
I have no doubt that anime would have eventually reached our shores but it would have happened in a completely different way. And given how the 90s was so different from the 80s, it would have had to face a lot of obstacles. First of all, it would have had to compete with Bruce Timms DCAU, Cartoon Network, Southpark, and a revived Disney. It would have also had to deal with the rampant political correctness that was born in the 90s. Not to mention the current moral crusades against perversion and indecency (two things that anime has been unfairly and excessively criticized for).

If anime hit our shores ten years later than it did, it would be mostly sanitized, kiddy fare such as Pokemon, Yugi-oh, and the watered down Sailor Moon and DragonballBZ that we did get anyway, never mind the fact that that SM and DBZ weren't exactly the most intellectual shows to begin with. Fans would not get to see a significant number of classics and we would most likely be denied access to the best of the past and present in anime, as is always the case when an industry goes only for "hot", "trendy" or "flavor of the week". I'm almost certain that mature anime (such as the aforementioned Crying Freeman) would not get exposure over here in the U.S. due to the unnerving militant puritanical mentality that has recently emerged.

BTW, with Thunderhawks, you might be thinking about Battle of the Planets or G-Force (not the one with the hamsters). What makes Robotech different from Speed Racer, Voltron, and most of what came before is the fact that Robotech preserved all of the mature themes and violence and didn't butcher the show and talk down to it's viewers just because it's only a cartoon.
 

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Robotech blew my mind. It captivated me as a child. And I recently watched the Macross series as an adult and still found it just as captivating. How many series can do that? I loved Voltron as a kid, but seeing it as an adult, I was bored in 5 minutes, there just wasn't much depth there. But Robotech, it was just deep, man. Anime kind of started and ended with Robotech for me.
 

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What Macek did was pretty impressive - he rewrote dialogue and lightly re-edited three essentially unrelated Anime series to create Robotech.
Macross, Masters and New/Next generation were tied together through his ingenuity.
 

Warrior74

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Robotech, Akira, Dragon Hunter D, Fist of the North Star, Wicked City and Wondering Kid. Those were my first anime. Back when someone's dad, uncle or brother brought back dubs on VHS for us.
 
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