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Robotech Remastered - Volume 3 Extended Edition (With Series Box and Toy)
The first story in the Robotech saga comes to an end with ADV's release of the third set of remastered DVDs. Thesse new editions have an improved image and Dolby 5.1 audio. The Robotech series has never looked or sounded as well as it does on these DVDs.
As this set opens, things are looking up for the Earth forces. The Zentraedi fleet commanded by Breetai has made a truce with the SD-1 partially due to the melodic songs on Lin Minmei. But when the Zentraedi Supreme Commander, Dolza, hears that Breetai's force has been 'contaminated' by the humans, he sends the entire main Zentraedi fleet to finish off the SD-1 once and for all as well as their traitorous allies. Four million war ships space fold into Earth orbit. It looks like an entirely hopeless situation. One way or another, an end of the war with the Zentraedi is here, but with the SD-1 and a few Zentraedi ships be able to protect the Earth from the firepower of millions of enemy ships?
I've always thought the ending of this first chapter of Robotech was a mixed bag. The main war between the Zentraedi and the Earth ends about halfway through the first disc, but there are still nine episodes left after that. I really enjoyed the big finale battle, but the shows after the war concludes always felt like filler to me.
In these last episodes the love triangle between Minmei, Rick, and Lisa, a sub plot that has been running through most of the show, becomes more prominent. The program's accent shifts to romance. There is still some fighting and battles, but there are more scenes of women thinking about their feelings. One episode is entirerly devoted to a flashback of Claudia's romance with Roy, a man who died a dozen or more episodes ago.
This change in tone doesn't ruin the show though; it just makes some of the shows a little slower paced than the earlier episodes. Anyone who has followed the series this far should definitely pick this set up. The ending of the war with the Zentraedi is excellent, and though it slows a little, the action doesn't stop after that either.
The very last episode in this story arc seems a little rushed, but it is still a great show, wrapping up a lot of the storylines that have been going on for most of the series. You get to find out the fate of many of the main and supporting characters as well as see what happens with Rick and the two women in his life. This ending was a very fitting conclusion to the first part of a great series.
The DVD:
Audio:
You have the choice of English or Spanish audio, both in 5.1. Since the video to the show was edited heavily, there is no Japanese language track. The sound during the frequent battle scenes is very cool. They make full use of the sound stage, with planes swooshing from the rear to the front and all around. There are laser blasts coming from all corners, this part of the mix is very dynamic and exciting. The audio track really puts you in the middle of things. Unfortunately, after the battles end, the sound collapses to what is basically a mono mix. The dialog is centered over the screen, and rarely moves about. There are some sound effects in the rears, and some background music, but it wasn't as pronounced as it was during the fight scenes.
The audio quality is good. There is no hiss or hums, though some of the dialog does sound a little flat. The music is not dynamic, though it does sound better than I remember it from television. The dialog was clear, though it did sound a little tinny and thin. This is to be expected with a show of this age.
Video:
The video quality is a vast improvement over the previous ADV release of this series. The first DVDs looked like they were taken straight from videotape. The image was very soft and blurry. It looked horrible. This set looks a lot better. The lines are tight and clean, and the soft look is gone. It is not a perfect image though. There is a lot of aliasing, with many vertical lines having a stair step effect. The colors are not as bright and vivid as I was hoping, but they look significantly better than the previous DVDs. There were also some spots on the image that looked like they were on the cells themselves. This still has a much better picture than the previous release.
The Extras:
I was very disappointed that ADV did not include the supplemental disc of extras that was previously available if you purchased the first two volumes together. As it is, there are not any extras on these two discs, aside from six previews.
Like the second set, this volume comes bundled with a mini version of a Veritech fighter. It is about three inches tall by two and a half inches wide. The Veritech can transform from robot mode to jet mode and comes with a removable gun. The plastic feels fairly brittle, so it probably won't last a long time if a young child is playing with it, but with a little care it transforms easily. This is the sort of extra that geeky fan-boys like myself go ga-ga over. I appreciated this much more than a T-Shirts or pencil boards that have been included with anime sets in the past.
Final Thoughts:
This set finishes up the first story arc in Robotech, and fans shouldn't miss it. While some of the latter shows paid a little too much attention to the romantic problems of all the characters, this story wraps up to a very satisfying conclusion. People who purchased the original release of this set should at least consider upgrading. The picture is greatly improved and the show never sounded this good, especially the battle scenes. The mini Veritech fighter packaged with the set makes this one an easy choice for an upgrade. Highly recommended.
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