Robotech II The Sentinels

Laser disc release art.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most beloved Animé to ever come out of the 80's: Robotech! and since not much has happened since that March 1, 1985 we decided to take a closer look at the infamous sequels the "Japanese Cartoon" (pun intended) had. However, Robotech The Movie, The Untold Story will not be a part of this ongoing set of articles due to the fact that we already reviewed the original OVA used for that film five years ago (if interested click her to check the Megazone 23 review) 

The love/hate relationship between Harmony Gold (original producers of Robotech and many other OVA imports since the 80's.Check the Harmony Gold tag to see other reviews related to their products)  comes as no surprise to the Robotech and Animé connoisseur so we won't be discussing legal battles and failed projects. The goal of our next entries is to pay homage to the legacy of Robotech, not to poison fond childhood memoirs with adult world issues.

Rick Hunter returns.

So does Max Sterling.

Robotech II The Sentinels was originally intended to be a 65 episode new series that would address most of the loose ends the original series didn't cover. In addition, some of the most beloved Macross Saga characters would return and share a common universe with characters from the Southern Cross, New Generation and a few new additions to the RDF. However, things didn't go so well for the series since Harmony Gold relied heavily on investments from Matchbox (the Robotech toy manufacturer at that time) plus boring stock market issue turned the idea of a series into instant trash can material. Despite the fact there was already some animation produced, HG feared the animators wanted to use the new animations for their own purposes, so the relationship during production wasn't that of a partnership. Carl Macek (the heart & brain of Robotech) decided to use the unfinished material anyways, thus creating a home movie made up of the first three episodes of the series...

Screw you! tell me about the story! Robotech was all about story!!

The Sentinels, picks up right after The Macross Saga final episode (To The Stars, episode 36) After escaping from the SDF-1 destruction, Lisa Hayes decides to go on with her previously assigned mission: To run the SDF-3 and go into deep space to find the home planet of the Robotech Masters to avoid a future intergalactic war. Obvioulsy, as seen in episode 36 Rick Hunter decides to go with her along with some of the finest RDF members. 

The series would not only explain every loose end about Protoculture but also, bring new alien races into the conflict (you can search for The Sentinels comic book or novels to get a detailed read about it) However, having only the first three episodes, perhaps the most interesting scene fans will fondly remember, is that of  Rick Hunter & Lisa Hayes marriage. Every time I ask my friends about The Sentinels they all react the same "oh sure, the Rick & Lisa marriage movie" But let me tell you there's a lot more cooking. 

Duty calls.

Did I say duty calls already?

Following the defeat of the giant Zentradi armada, the remaining Zentradi have joined forces with the humans to build a massive vessel, the SDF-3. They intend to reach the home-world of the Robotech Masters, the masterminds behind the Zentradi invasion, and establish peaceful relations with them. Thanks to the truncated nature of the completed animation, the movie is split into two story arcs. The first takes place around earth. As the heroes of the first robotech war prepare for their interstellar voyage, new heroes try to earn their place among those chosen for the expedition. Here we are introduced to the hot headed Jack Baker and the intelligent and spirited Karen Penn. Re-introduced are the characters from the Macross saga like Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes, who are in the midst of planning their wedding. Fans would no doubt get a kick out of seeing their favorite characters, older nonetheless but still the same old people they knew and loved.

The second story arc takes place around Tirol, the home-world which the Robotech Masters abandoned to search for the lost protoculture matrix, leaving their old, sick and young behind. The invid led by the dreaded Regent (husband of the Regiss) takes this opportunity to launch an all out invasion of Tirol. Amidst the decimation, an aging scientist called Cabell and a familiar looking man named Rem try to survive and carry on their research.

Breetai's new look.

Little Bowie & little Dana.

As expected, the earth scenes featuring the recurring macross saga characters are pretty much all talk and no action other than a combat simulation at the beginning. Most of the action takes place during the Tirol invasion scenes. Thankfully the voice actors put up an excellent performance and the script keeps the dialog very natural preventing the slower scenes from feeling dull.

Many fans have lamented the lower quality animation but really, the artwork is no less inconsistent than what was in the original series and the animation is actually on par with the Macross saga footage that was spliced in for flashback scenes. It is bad for a movie but one must remember that Robotech II The Sentinels was produced as a TV series thus resulting in mediocre TV series level animation. Another common complaint is the altered character designs for the returning Macross saga characters. Keep in mind that this show takes place 8 years after Macross saga. Eight years can do a lot to someone's appearance especially characters like Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmei who went from teenagers to full adults. If anything, the changes in appearances of said characters adds to the realism of the series, showing that characters do not remain immortally young unlike other TV animated shows.

Meet Rem & the Pollinators (briefly seen in the Southern Cross)

Cabell & his protegee.

While this show does provide some answers for fans, no one else but fans who have watched the original series would be able to understand it. Furthermore The Sentinels concludes rather abruptly; actually showing the SDF-3 leaving earth would have been a much more fulfilling conclusion but given the limited resources available, this is also not unexpected.

Despite the valiant effort of the creative team, Robotech II: The Sentinels loses points for its abrupt ending, inconsistent story and mediocre animation for a movie. Despite this, the movie serves as a decent enough teaser for any fan looking to follow the rest of the unfinished tale in the Robotech novels or comics (which is, sadly, out of print nowadays but is still available online or in 2nd hand book shops). For fans of Robotech, watching Robotech II The Sentinels would be like returning to visit a family that one has not seen in years. It is a quick simple visit to catch up on old times and marvel at how much they have changed over the years, nothing more nothing less.

The Alpha fighters in test flight.

Robo doggy style? WTF?

Overall, The Sentinels is a product of its era. In the 80's Animé was blooming and companies would do anything to get their hands into something they could distribute and cash in quickly. Harmony Gold was no different from other companies, they just got lucky and thanks to Robotech they were able to produce/import some more Animé (mostly OVAs) and to survive through the death of VHS tapes, the rise and fall of DVD and the download era (who's clearly not over yet) Nevertheless, we can't compare them to a greedy politician. Harmony Gold did have a heart (after all) Carl Macek had a dream, and somehow such dream was Robotech. The sequels, specially this one film, would mark a return to the series but the times they are a changing (Bob Dylan) and well, instead of going with the flow they tried to bring their love child back to the spotlight. 

Of course, a lot of water under the bridge had to happen before Harmony Gold decided to create new Robotech films. The Sentinels is a 1986 film, which was originally released on VHS tape (1988 & later re released in 1992) and Laser Disc (1994) The first DVD edition of the film was available as bonus footage in the Legacy Edition (2001) Then it was part of the Protoculture Collection (2005)

In 2011, a "remastered" version was released on the A&E DVD set, ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES DVD. This version has opening titles resembling those found on the "Robotech Remastered" DVD's, as well as a new ending with text explaining the fate of the SDF-3. Also, all of the flashback footage used from "The Macross Saga" has been removed, along with re-used footage from the episode "Wedding Bells." 

The invid married couple!

Say, we hear Tirol's been abandoned, mind if we check in?

Despite the series cancellation, Harmony Gold provided the unfinished Sentinels source material for adaptation by several different parties, resulting in several different versions of the same continuity. Macek's original outline and notes for the series were published in Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels. In addition, author Jack McKinney completed a series of five novels of the Sentinels storyline in paperback. These volumes were: The Sentinels: The Devil's Hand, The Sentinels: Dark Powers, The Sentinels: Death Dance, The Sentinels: World Killers, The Sentinels: Rubicon.

Later, Robotech Volume 18 - The End of the Circle, although not technically a Sentinels novel, would wrap up all of the outstanding issues from both the Sentinels and the first 12 books.

Rick Hunter's Alpha.

Biorriod VS Invid, who do you root for?

The Waltrip brothers adapted the novels into comic books, though they diverged from the novels as the story progressed. The Sentinels comics were published by Eternity Comics, then Academy Comics. The storyline abruptly ended when Academy was unable to renew their license with Harmony Gold. The comics license passed to Antarctic Press, who published The Sentinels: Rubicon, which draws its name from the title of the fifth Sentinels novel. However, the Rubicon comic, instead of completing the Sentinels story, is set years after the end of the Sentinels Campaign, and was not illustrated by the Waltrips. It was not popular with fans, due to the poor artwork and the lack of connection to The Sentinels. It was cancelled after only two issues.

The Waltrips returned in 2005 to adapt elements of the last McKinney Sentinels novel into Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, a comic book miniseries which also serves as a prequel to the animated 2006 feature film Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. This prelude miniseries, while picking up roughly where the previous Sentinels comics ended, also acknowledges the official 2003 rebooting of the Robotech Universe. While the events of Sentinels are still seen to have happened, it is now agreed that certain events and situations have been retconned both before and during the events in Prelude.

Here's the original The Sentinels series sales reel (you know, those teasers you send to possible investors. This was the day before online campaigns) 

Get ready for the next two entries which will feature Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) and the latest effort Robotech: Love Live Alive (2013) "I've been ordered to inform you, Robotech is back"