Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga Hardcover – December 19, 2017

Thirty years after the release of the original Robotech Art books, Udon Entertainment has released the first in a series of four books covering the four chapters of what has become known as Robotech. This December 2017 release - The Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga - covers the first chapter. I assume if sales are acceptable they will eventually release volumes 2-4 for Southern Cross, New Generation, and possibly the last volume may cover The Sentinels / Shadow Chronicles.Like Art 1, this book has an episode guide for the 36 episodes of The Macross Saga. It differs from Art 1 in than it has an entire volume to focus specifically from Macross, so it contains more "art" than Art 1. I would call it a cross between Art 1 and Macross: Perfect Memory.As to the specifics, primarily it's a brief description of each episode followed up by sections detailing the artwork of the characters and mecha / ships. This is followed up by a section on some of the production art, and finally some of the history of both Robotech and Macross.ContentsPages 008-049: Episode Guide.Pages 050-123: Character Designs and information for Human and Zentradi characters.Pages 124-199: Mecha Designs for United Earth and Zentradi Forces.Pages 200-229: Production Art (Environments, Objects, Character art, and Storyboards).Pages 230-245: "Origins of Robotech" by Carl Macek and "All About Macross: Reflection" which is a 2001 interview with Macross Chief Director Noboru Ishiguro.Certainly a great deal of material is already available since the series was released in the mid-80s, but these items are a little harder to find and purchase in 2017 and beyond. Back in the Ancient 80s I picked up a few Macross books and other items while looking for an S&N edition of Art 1, and would have to say that one of the nicest collections of Macross art is an import book from Macross The Movie. For individual content, there was also a series of "This is Animation" magazines focusing on "The Super Dimension Fortress-1 Macross", along with other items one could pick up from the occasional anime convention, Perfect Memory, etc. While there is a lot of material out there, these days who has the time (or cash) to go looking for books and magazines from thirty+ years ago? As a fan of the Robotech series, this first release of The Robotech Visual Archive was an easy purchase at $35-$40, and I will be keeping an eye out for the next three volumes (sales willing).?????Will there be Visual Archive releases for the "other three chapters" of Robotech, and if so, will they be forthcoming or take several years? Fans of Robotech are by this time used to One-Offs: the first attempt at "new content" ended up as a mere three episodes (out of sixty-five) for the failed Sentinels series. About ten years ago was "The Shadow Chronicles" - first of several animated releases - which also failed to pan out. The Robotech Movie is still floating around... It may never be made or WORSE, it might get the "Dragonball: Evolution" treatment. As of December 2017, it would appear that three more Visual Archive releases are pending, but obviously if there is no market ($$) then The Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga will end up being another One-Off.Unrelated: So far as the tv series itself goes, there look to be two flavors readily available in "English Language Releases". First would be the seven DVD set "Robotech Legacy" release, and the other would be slightly-better video quality and differing sound effects available with the "Robotech Remastered" versions. Of the latter, Robotech: The Complete Set is the most... ...complete as it also includes both "The Shadow Chronicles" and the "Love Live Alive" OVA. One can also stream episodes from the tv series on Amazon (I think it's even FREE for "Prime" members). Additionally there are the higher (BD) quality imports floating around, along with a more-recent Macross English-Language release using different voice actors.Also the three original 1980s Robotech Art Books are still available (an easy search on Amazon) and the prices are still reasonable.

This is my first Robotech book so I don't have any frame of reference compared to the previous released books. That said, I was very happy with this purchase. The first section of the book is devoted to an episode by episode synopsis with various cells shots for reference. It's a nice addition, but honestly I probably would've preferred they didn't include that to have more pages devoted to just artwork. Once you get past that, it is pretty much what I was expecting. Lots of nice character, mech, and spaceship artwork organized very nicely. One small issue I had is that there are a lot of thumbnail size storyboards and sketches that appear to have lots of interesting detail, but they are so small it's hard to fully enjoy them. Aside from that, overall this is a great book for any Macross fan.

I like this book, but was disappointed, everything in there I already have in previously released books... the better book to buy is ROBOTECH Art book 1, which when released in the 80's was far ahead of it's time and nearly unheard of for a tv show, much less a cartoon... and if are a true fan, art book 2 and 3 as well... the technical drawings in the visual archive are ALL contained in Macross Perfect Memory, and are not all I was looking to see... I am going to keep this book, but really wanted more for the money... it is like a book on the Titanic, you get it hoping for some new insight and information, but all you get is another compilation of things already seen

Excellent presentation & interesting read. The details of the drawings & text are easy to follow & give a good insight into the creativity of developing this series for western tv.Very highly recommended for people interested in early anime drawings & design.Excellent book.

I'm a huge fan of Robotech (Macross), and this edition gives me the opportunity to acquire a beautiful edition that remarks the best of Macross - Robotech: story, character design, mecha design, among other things.

have liked this series for while used to have the rpg but have been wanting this for some time made me go back and watch the series again and feel like kid again

Robotech Art I part 1 would have been a better title. While containing more art, the content is VERY similar. I was hoping for more line art, cross sections of vehicles, etc, or even so,think like a DK Visual Guide. Since I own the original Art books, this felt like just a new print of the old book, with some new content added to justify it. Having said this, I look forward to them doing something similar for the Southern Cross and Mospeada as these segments tend to get a lot less love. If you own Art I, it’s not going to add a lot to your library but if they offer addition visual archives it would be good to have to complete the series.

A great collection of artwork from the series. And the hardcover is a nice touch.

I like the book, art, and how it is sorted. Gives you a good look at the Robotech world. If you already have the original 3 art books, its a review of the old, but this will help by allowing you to flip thru the art without damaging the blue or red ones if you're lucky enough to have a set. I would reccomend this to any Robotech fan.

Un ítem que no debe faltar en la colección de quienes compramos artbooks ya sea para coleccionar o simplemente para revisar y deleitarnos de como se hacen este tipo de series.

Livro excelente se você era fã de macroos ou Robotech (serve para as duas versões), mesmo que não tenha visto os seriados o livro é muito útil como art book e criação de um mundo com Robos gigantes. Quem não tem interesse nesse anime ou não queira fazer uma obra que envolva um mundo com mechas, acho que o livro não vale a pena

Non sono molto amante del marchio “Robotech”, sono invece un seguace della saga “Macross” e mi ha fatto piacere vedere in questa raccolta un forte riferimento alla dimensione nipponica e non solo alla produzione americana.

I loved robotech growing up and have the series on dvd, so I got this being the fan I am the pages were very informany there is a synopsis of every episode some info and lots of still images from the episodes maybe a little too many for filler.