Pilot Rick Hunter has a planet to save in Robotech.
On Oct. 18, 2011, A&E Home Entertainment released Robotech: The Complete Original Series on DVD. The 17-disc set features remastered versions of all 85 half-hour episodes of the sweeping animated science-fiction television series, which, as one of the earliest anime U.S. imports, helped usher in today’s wildly popular international anime industry.
The series has been available on DVD previously in various incarnations but has been out of print for several years, though it’s still available from a bunch of third-party brokers.
Generally regarded as the first anime to come to the U.S. that attempted to remain true to the complexity and drama of its Japanese source material, the 1985 TV show was originally broadcast in the U.S. in the 1980s via syndication.
The Robotech: The Complete Original Series DVD is priced at $99.95. The set includes four exclusive discs that contain more than 10 hours of bonus content, much of which is new to DVD.
Also available on the same day is the three individual “Generation Wars” sets of the episodes that comprise the complete Robotech series. The First Robotch War: The Macross Saga DVD, a five-disc set, is priced at $49.95; The Second Robotech War: The Robotech Masters DVD (four discs) carries a price of $39.95; and The Third Robotech War: The New Generation (four discs) is priced at $39.95.
A&E reportedly worked in close conjunction with original Robotech producer Harmony Gold (which produced the series in association with Japan’s Tatsunoko Productions Co. Ltd.) in putting together the well-supplemented collection and its packaging.
Here’s a list of all the bonuses on Robotech: The Complete Original Series:
- The Making of Robotech documentary – new to DVD
- Robotech music videos – new to DVD
- Robotech overview – new to DVD
- alternate versions of select Robotech episodes – new to DVD
- Robotech: The Movie supplementals (including several sequences new to DVD)
- Macross original pilot – 70-minute extended version – new to DVD
- promotional reel of Robotech launch in China – new to DVD
- over an hour of deleted scenes
- Robotech: The Sentinels (with optional audio commentary)
- Robotech: The Sentinels promotional video
- Macross original pilot – parts 1, 2 and 3
- Mospeada original pilot – part 1
- original opening and closing animations
- Galaxy of the Stars – Harmony Gold promotional reel
- toy commercial and videogame presentation reels
- international clips for all three Robotech Wars
- stills appendix containing character bios, model sheets, pre-production art, comic book covers and merchandise galleries
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