Overview: The 'Robotech' saga continues in this exciting new adventure. Lieutenant "Lancer" Belmont, a veteran of the Robotech's New Generation, recounts his journey from before his first encounter with Scott Bernard to the aftermath following Admiral Rick Hunter's expedition to liberate the Earth from the mysterious Invid race. Join your favorite characters once again in this follow-up to the smash-hit 'ROBOTECH' series.

DVD Verdict: For those not in the know, 'Robotech' first came to our TV screens in 1985 and was instantly recognized as an anomaly: an anime series that no Japanese viewer would recognize in its final form! Carl Macek and the crew at Harmony Gold edited together three similar-looking series from Tatsunoko Studios: Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross to create a sprawling 85-episode space opera with a completely new story.

Indeed, 'Robotech' helped to create an audience for anime in America, and the toys, role-playing games, novelizations, and frequent reissues have kept it alive in the hearts of its fans for almost three decades. Oh, and as this is where we are soon to be headed with regard this new 2 movie editon, The First Robotech War (the Macross continuity) was unleashed in 1999, when a gigantic spaceship strikes the Earth at Macross Island in the Pacific!

Which brings us beatly to the release of either the long-awaited-by-fans or roll-of-the-eyes-by-the-fans 'Robotech: 2-Movie Collection (The Shadow Chronicles / Love Live Alive).' For as one rabid "fan" pointed out, "... this is just a slap in the face to the remaining fans of Robotech out there. What was heralded as the next best thing since a Destroid, with so much hush hush talk dating back to 2 years ago about new animation and a new feature has been revealed to be nothing more than a cleaned up version of Mospeada's Love Live Alive epilogue with about 15 minutes of Yune animation that continues to retcon what was seen in episode 85 and 85.2 (RTSC)."

Now, personally re: 'The Shadow Chronicles,' I don't know if he's right or wrong, but I'll fill you in on what occured regardless! From the off you should know this "new" 'Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles' is far from it. It is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series we mentioned above. Indeed, it was released on DVD on February 6, 2007!

And yes, as the rabid "fan" kinda mentioned above, the storyline is a direct continuation from the 85th (and final) episode of the original 'Robotech' television series, and the first third of the movie runs concurrently with the events at the end of the TV series — albeit from different points of view. The plot revolves around the 'Robotech' Expeditionary Force (REF)'s final battle with the Invid on Earth, and the fallout from the events of that battle. An old enemy of the Invid is making its presence known, and is determined to wipe out all Protoculture users, including humanity.

As for 'Robotech: Live Life Alive,' well, our rabid "fan" above nailed this one. For it was first revealed in late 2011 in the final minutes of Carl Macek's 'Robotech' Universe, a documentary on the making of 'Robotech' dedicated to the then-recent passing of Macek. An adaptation of the 1985 Genesis Climber Mospeada OVA, Love Live Alive, incorporates some brand new animation, at least!

Taking place during and after the events of Robotech: The New Generation (available in Robotech: The Complete Series from LGF), this latest installment in the 'Robotech' saga follows the adventures of Lieutenant Lance "Lancer" Belmont as he recounts his journey from before his first encounter with Scott Bernard to the aftermath following Admiral Rick Hunter's expedition to liberate the Earth from the mysterious Invid race.

And so, in conclusion, you have make your own minds up. Is the rabid "fan" right in that these are just old reworkings and leftovers from the 'Robotech' world that we can do without? Or are they reworked cinematic magic that will also allow us to climb back aboard the 'Robotech' universe to do beloved battle with our sworn enemies, once again? These are both Widescreen Presentations (1:78.1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and come with the Special Features of:

LOVE LIVE ALIVE Disc Special Features:
• Photo Gallery

SHADOW CHRONICLES Disc Special Features:
• Featurette: Birth of a Sequel (45:07)
• Featurette: Score Music Video (8:10)
• Featurette: Anime Selects (2:17)
• Featurette: !PoN Anime Podcast (11:14)
• Featurette: Robotech 3000 (3:25)
• Featurette: Robotech 3000 Motion Capture Sequences (0:20)
• Deleted Scenes (w/optional commentary) (9:43)
• Outtakes (3:10)
• Animatics (w/optional commentary) (11:24)
• Trailers (5:38)
• Photo Galleries: Personnel Dossier, Ship Registry, Mecha Database, Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, Secret Files