Recent Surge in Comic Book Genre

Recently I spent some time walking through the Barnes & Noble store and realized that there was a huge surge in comic books.  These aren't your traditional 75 cent comics that you used to see at your local Quick Stop store, but rather newly printed card stock cover reprints of multiple books.

At first I didn't think much of it.  I mean I've always seen Spiderman fans and Avenger fans walk into the store and read up on things, but then I noticed other comics.  Alien, The Walking Dead, Star Wars?  I mean these are huge blockbuster hits on TV and movies.

I guess they realize that there's a market for books in the industry.  The Walking Dead became one of the most successful cable television series in history.  Of course Star Wars is making a huge come back with JJ Abrams, but they seem to be pushing their comics more and more to fall more inline with their sister franchises at Disney.

And then I thought to myself about Robotech.  Recently there has been a splash about James Wan and Sony Pictures to push the movie forward.  In fact, there has been some readers debating with me on YouTube regarding how the next Robotech movie should be more for the blockbuster audience than the purist fans.

Of course I disagree.  I've been a Robotech fan since the 80's and sadly I'm also Japanese which means I had access to all of Macross from Japan.  So for me, just seeing the original version on top of the English one meant that I knew the bad from the good.  Some parts in Japanese were just so much more than the English.  And of course some of the English was better than the Japanese.

Either way, the new Robotech movie could revitalize the 1980's franchise for good.  Yes it could become like Star Wars and Avengers.  It could become like Transformers the movie series.

However, what makes this more interesting is that Director James Wan has free reign to what he wants to move the franchise ahead.

Of course for me personally, I'd like to see a pure Robotech film with no dilution of the power of song from the series.  And I would also like the first movie to embed some future franchises like Macross Plus and Macross II, and Macross Frontier.

That's the best right?  Having Sheryl Nome, Minmay, and Sharon Apple all be in one film from the get-go?  And of course there should have always been a spin off saga focusing on Max and Miriya.

All of this could happen if Sony does it right.  Plan ahead and focus on the characters rather than the Robotech timeline.   This way, the comic books would be a huge factor.

My thought and wishes go far beyond just 3 or 4 good movies.  My thought is that they would start campaigning for a television show like the Walking Dead.  Maybe even a cartoon series to continue the Macross series.

And even two or three more stand alone Robotech films not based on the SDF series.  Perhaps it could be more about the other lead characters.  Maybe it could be different characters from Macross Plus, Macross II and Macross Frontier meeting for the first time in their own series to unite and fight against the lead enemies of Marduk, Zentradi, and Meltrandi.

You see where I am headed with this?  The recent surge in comic book prints has given new opportunities for Robotech.

Perhaps the old toy line won't ever recover.  But there are always other ways to move the revenue stream ahead.  The fact that Walking Dead generates more than 14 million per episode says that creating a series not relying on the toy sponsorship is a viable business.

There are other revenue streams that the existing franchise in Japan already utilizes under JVC Victor with music and concerts.  And of course there's the Macross Museum dedicated to Shoji Kawamori.

If things go correctly for Sony Pictures,  they should expand with a ride park.  I mean it's this big folks.  With the right people in place they could make this work.

Why Robotech Will Surpass Aquaman

As I sit here at Starbucks (SBUX), I decided to just reflect back on old cartoons that I used to watch growing up.  Majority of the cartoons I watched were on Saturday mornings.  Most were just toy sponsored shows to push sales of their toy lines.  Aquaman originally ran in 1967, before my time, but re-runs were frequent back in the day of networks.  

So yes, I grew up watching Aquaman, Spiderman, and even the newer Super Friends.  It's not saying a lot because most of the kids these days don't even have Saturday morning cartoons anymore.  And let's just say that they are a bit spoiled when it comes to special effects and quality of cartoons to make re-runs viable anymore.

Having said that, I always frequented the local syndicated stations to watch episodes of my favorite Japanese cartoons.  Robotech, Starblazers, Ultra-man, and even Godzilla were very common shows on local TV.  Maybe some of you did watch Godzilla growing up, but for me it was just as good as Robotech or even Voltron.

Now some people think it's a revolutionary step for big producers to make live action films from Japanese cartoons.  But isn't that Spiderman, Superman, and even Avengers are all about?  They were just cartoons that translated well into big screen live action films?

When DC Comics and Warner Brothers Productions announced that they hired Director James Wan for Aquaman, it was like the biggest news for the DC universe.  For me?  Eh, not so much.  The reason is simple, Aquaman will more than likely turn out like the Green Lantern movies.  Not to mention Green Hornet which was a complete disaster in my book.

Unfortunately, DC has lacked the unity that Marvel has in the industry.  They don't tie in shows very well and they don't use the same studios to make it happen.  So for James Wan, he'll have to consult with say Tim Burton or maybe Christopher Nolan to conjure up something that can take the Aquaman Universe closer to Dark Knight and Superman.

If that happens, then Aquaman will have a chance.  Having said that, I have a complete opposite expectation of Robotech.  James Wan will have a chance to build something completely separate from the studios.  I mean DC is a large universe which controls half of the comic industry.

Marvel controls the other half of American comics.  But Robotech?  It's Japanese.  And every kid growing up in my generation knew it was Japanese.  We knew the characters were Japanese but in adaptation for English.  And we knew that the toy robots were Japanese toys. 

In fact, we all knew that the Transformers toys were Japanese as well.  There was no hiding that neither Marvel nor Hasbro really made the Transformers toys.  They were sheer Japanese with English adaptations.

Now here's the irony.  James Wan probably grew up watching Robotech in the Japanese story line which was translated into Chinese.  If I'm right, the Chinese release of the Japanese Anime was pretty much in tact as the Japanese version.

So for him, he'll have a different view from the executives at Sony.  The truth is that Robotech conveys well to the same audience as Aquaman.  Both the DC Comic fans and Robotech fans crossover.  Like myself, they probably grew up watching all the Saturday Morning cartoons.

And like me, they'll probably remember that Aquaman lacked any strength to make Super Friends powerful.  I mean he talked to dolphins and whales.  He swam in water without breathing.  And he was great when the enemies were in the oceans.  But other than that, much of the action for the heroes was on land.

Now in the past, water oriented shows have succeeded.  I mean Pirates of the Caribbean was mostly on water, but it's also a pirate show.  There was also Water World which was interesting for its time.  But for the most part, people are more interested in buildings exploding and jets flying than a guy swimming in the ocean.

Robotech offers a very interesting visual.  It's in space, it's in a city, and it's in the ocean.  Robotech originally starts off on Earth with the alien invasion taking place over the oceans.  In fact, SDF-1 of the U.N. SPACY connects to two aircraft carriers spaced folded into space by accident.  The two ships conveniently become the two arms of the huge robot fortress Macross.  Yes, even the mother space ship transforms into a robot.

The entire other half of the cartoon series takes place in space where jet fighters from the U.N. transforms into 50 feet robots to fight the aliens.  Now the city of Macross is enclosed inside the SDF-1 as it also was zapped into space by accident.  Millions die in the process, but a few citizens are saved to populate to SDF-1 space fortress.

During this time, there is unimaginable action between infiltrating aliens, spies who pose as humans, and even defectors of the alien race who want to live regular lives like humans.

The twists and turns of Robotech make it a sensational series.  In fact, you can easily compare it to Twilight and Hunger Games.  You can compare it to just about any of the super franchises that made Hollywood return to its glory.

Aquaman has its fan base and it definitely has a legacy in the DC Universe, but for the most part, it doesn't have the depth and strength of Robotech as a franchise.  It never did.  

I know because I grew up watching Aquaman and Robotech on TV as a child.  I remember it vividly.  And although I still adore the DC universe more so than the Marvel universe, there's just no comparison to Robotech.  Robotech is huge.  It has to be because Shoji Kawamori never stopped the series.  It continues on in new life today on TV in Japan.

You can simply compare Robotech to Gundam.  While you can compare Aquaman to the Wonder Twins.  Sure there's a legacy there, but it's not really a comparison. 

Director James Wan Official For Robotech

So it's set folks, Director James Wan will direct Robotech.  Sony Pictures moved really quickly to make this  happen.  Luckily for all of us, we know that James Wan can step in and make a film happen fast.

It's exciting for the movie industry these days since Star Wars Force Awakens is coming out and Rogue 1 is also set to release next year under the Godzilla director.  And finally, it has been confirmed that Godzilla 2 and Pacific Rim 2 are in the works for the future.

For me, Robotech is the first and only Japanese anime series adaptation which will break new barriers.  I mean there have been dozens of Anime adaptations for American movies.  None of ever worked.  One of the worst attempts was with Japanese Anime, "Kite".  It never really did anything to build confidence in Hollywood theatres. In fact, Sam L. Jackson was a big star that could have done something for Kite.  No luck there eh?

Ex Machima looks promising, and yes it is a Japanese Anime folks.  But again, it's a franchise that just doesn't have it for the future of Japanese animation to Hollywood.

Robotech has it.  It has it because of original director Shoji Kawamori.  He's the father of SDF Macross, but he's also the father of most of the infamous G1 Transformers toys.  Including Prime!

Forbes reported the latest confirmation that James Wan is on board.  And that's good news for all of us.  When a huge publication talks about Shoji Kawamori, I am sure that James Wan is reading and listening to the fan base.  We want Shoji Kawamori to be involved.  It's that simple.  No more derivatives, no more Michael Bay wash downs.  And no more Americanized characters of already beautiful Japanese characters.

Let's do what is right.  Lynn Minmay has to be Japanese-Chinese.  She was born in Chinatown of Yokohama.  Rick Hunter has to be Japanese.  He is a Japanese fighter pilot.  And Roy Focker (Fokker) has to be American.  He's the Sempai of the entire series.  The alpha male who builds the heart and soul of SDF Macross.

The main female characters like Claudia and Misa Hayase (Lisa Hayes) has to be accurate.  Claudia is American and she's African American.  That was by design to make SDF Macross an international cast.  Misa is also Japanese although her father is the Admiral of UN Spacy defense at former "NORAD" in Alaska known as Alaska Base.

Each character is so fundamental to the Robotech franchise and yet many will die off.  Each character will sacrifice to save each other.  And others will simply shine past the war to save the human race from the Zentradi invasion.

If James Wan does this right, he will acquire more rights to Macross including the Meltrandi, Marduk, and other properties that makes Macross.   The ultimate universe is including all these future empires as part of the process while introducing the Zentradi Expeditionary Forces for the first movie.

And although Lynn Minmay is the key to the human race, they should also start to integrate and seed Sharon Apple and even future characters like Ranka Lee and Sheryl Nome.  The singers of Macross are important to the element of the story.

To possibly see Lynn Minmay, Sharon Apple, Ranka Lee and Sheryl Nome all come into one movie to sing and protect the human race is the ultimate crossover that Harmony Gold could only talk about over a camp fire.

In the end, the Zentradi were the first invasion of aliens but not the last.  The Marduk attacked UN Spacy making a second run at Earth.  And eventually the Vajra enter the picture as a robot beast.

If James Wan can somehow make this work into an Anthology, we'd buy it.  Let's face it, it's what all fans would do in their spare time.  What if all these universes crossed and made history?

It's obvious that James Wan grew up in China.  His bilingual skills make him an asset for the film.  Most likely he can pick up a Chinese version of SDF Macross on DVD and watch it for himself.  The unabated version of SDF Macross in his native language may enlighten him to understand what us Robotech fans have been noticing for years.  

Yes, the American English adaptation of SDF Macross was good for its time on TV.  But the audience is savvy and smart enough to appreciate the origins of the Japanese version.  We know the story, we love Japanese, and we want it done right for Hollywood.  Accurate to Shoji Kawamori.

The Robotech Anthology Position

It's always fun to write about what will happen to the Robotech franchise.   I already know what Tommy Yune and Harmony Gold are attempting to do with their mediocre property rights to the franchise.  They are attempting to move away from Macross in favor of their own art direction and story plot.  However, we all know that Masters and New Generation just don't suffice to continue the Robotech franchise.  Macross is it.  We all know it.  Without the Veritech fighters, and Lynn Minmay the franchise is pretty much dead.

Sony Pictures must move past the first ever Robotech movie in favor of an anthology plot.  In many ways Carl Macek attempted to create a trilogy with three different generations of Robotech, but he then went ahead and created the fourth generation Robotech under Shadow Chronicles which ultimately didn't do what it was promised to do.

Robotech fans are a bit off in terms of the Macross origins, but there's nothing stopping from the next generation of Robotech fans to adore the origins of Macross through Shoji Kawamori, the author and founder of Macross.  Not to mention the father of a lot of the G1 Transformers toys.

The anthology will fall under a different direction.  For me, SDF Macross will be the entire premise of the series, but within the plots will be three or four different movies.  The first will be the Zentradi invasion of Earth and the SDF-1 Macross defending U.N. Spacey only to fail.   After all in DYRL?  We know that SDF-1 fails to save Earth.  It's desolated and destroyed before they can return from Pluto.  

  

The art direction can be true to Macross but maybe removing the 1980's style jets in favor of more Gen 5 fighter jets of present.  I'm assuming that the F-22A Raptor and F-35B are favored over the old F-14 fighters.  Also, there has been other properties that had made its way into America.  Manga Entertainment under permission of Harmony Gold released two other Japanese Macross movies.   Macross II Lovers Again and Macross Plus.

Both continue the legacy of the original SDF Macross series and is easily adaptable to the Robotech franchise although why Harmony has never done this is a mystery to me.   There are a lot of fans of Macross II even though most people hated it.  It was at a time when Shoji Kawamori was not brought back on board as a director and the VF designs were completely off from the original VF-1 fighters.  

I adored this movie because it continued the DYRL? time line.  For me, the idea of a second invasion by the Marduk another race which existed within the Zentradi forces was interesting.  But instead of controlling the Zentradi via Lynn Minmay, they used Emulators which were Marduk females who sing songs of war.

The premise might be weak compared to the original Shoji Kawamori Macross series, but it suffices as a second feature film.   Here's the issue, they should not abandon Lynn Minmay and Rick Hunter in the process.  I do believe they need to add in the new characters like Hideki and Ishtar.  I'm definitely hoping for additions of Silvie and other characters, but of course we have to kill off other characters like Roy Fokker and Ben Dixen in the first film.

The third installment might have to include the Shoji Kawamori film Macross Plus.  Most SDF Macross fans adore Plus.  It's back to the origins of fighter pilots and jets.  Of course this particular movie is a different timeline which includes Zentradi forces as part of the U.N. Spacey.   If that sounds odd it's not.  This is long after the war with the Zentradi and Earth is slowly reconstructing.

For me, Plus is a good premise but with much more intent.  For me, the movie should include a fully recovered Earth and a stronger U.N. Spacey.  In this timeline, Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmay must still exist.  However, we can add the mixture of the Zentradi characters and the new fighter pilots.  The addition of Sharon Apple as the IA is a gift to the saga.

Earth now has the capability of controlling forces using artificial intelligence.  And that's important because this character can out last just about every other character in terms of timeline.   Now some of you will frown that the movie series doesn't include Scott Bernard and the Invid.

I'm not saying remove them at all.  I say add these characters back into the story plot along the Macross timeline.  In other words, we shouldn't abandon the SDF-1 as a defense ship throughout the entire anthology.  Instead, James Wan should add SDF-2 and even Frontier.  They should add dozens of other space fortresses to potentially add spin off movies and even a TV deal.

In many aspects James Wan could make this one of the largest franchises in history of Hollywood.  That's because there has been so many spin offs of Macross that it has gained dozens of lawsuits.  For instance, some will argue that Jetfire is a Macross toy.  So Transformers and Robotech had a run in.   Others say that Battletech and Robotech used the exact same toys.  And it's true, Battletech did use VF-1 fighters, but hey it also spinned off over 200 novels in the book industry.  Battletech couldn't have happened without the Macross toys.

Others will point to MechWarriors which is another spin off franchise which has existed for decades in the video game world.  Basically Macross toys were used for all these franchised which made fans crossover rather easily.

The characters in Robotech never really cross.  That has to due with the fact that they are different generations.  Also Carl Macek put together three different cartoons.  However, in the new anthology none of the main characters have to be removed.  In other words, keep adding the main characters to the series without removing the old.

If they do this, then it's possible to stretch Macross out beyond the movies and into TV and video games.  It's also possible spawn a franchise that involves its own convention like that of Star Trek and Star Wars.

Sony has something here.  And considering that they are in dire straights, the time is now to expand Robotech.

Sony Pictures and Director James Wan must realize Robotech Macross Saga is BIGGER than Star Wars globally...

Here it is folks.  Living proof of the Macross fans across Japan.  In full force devoted to "song".   Starring May'n as Sheryl Nome and Megumi Nakajima as Ranka Lee.  The False Songstress who took after generations after Lynn Minmay saved the human race!  De Culture!!!!

Mr. James Wan please witness....  the love songs of Macross!!!

Sony Pictures and Director James Wan must watch these two films to conjure up the Robotech franchise of the future...

Mr. James Wan, please take time out of your day to watch these two films before you decide on a direction for Robotech Macross Saga.   That's because "song" is important for the future of the Robotech franchise.

Think Japanese and you shouldn't fail...

Robotech Director James Wan must see Shoji Kawamori as the Gene Roddenberry of MACROSS...

Don't get me wrong, having James Wan do Fast and Furious 7 was genius.  I mean former Director Justin Lin almost walked off the set on Tokyo Drift when the goons over at Universal told him they had to use an Indian girl to play the main cast rather than Japanese.   Justin Lin told the studios that Fast & Furious was born on the premise of engineering and love for Japan.   He knows this because Justin, like myself, grew up in the Import Racing world.   We didn't follow Hollywood.  They saw us, and they copied us.  That's the truth.

If you ever see the making of Fast & Furious, you'll notice that actors and movie directors went to the races at midnight to see what all the fuss was all about in Import Racing.   And the rest?  Well it's history.  Especially in the tuning scene and the police force!

James Wan is a bit more international.  His tributes to directors are probably much more vast than Justin Lin's.  That's because James Wan isn't American.  He's Chinese.  The fact that he is able to rise to the top is amazing in the world of white-washed Hollywood.   I mean all the execs care about is the American audience and pays very very little homage to Japan.

In the past, I frowned when Memoirs of Geisha didn't break new ground.  They used proven international stars from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and added Ken Watanabe as the main character.  The problem?  It's about Geisha?  Where was the honesty in that film?  Is that what you call a tribute to the Samurai?  To Kyoto?  To Shintoism?  Is that even a tribute to Akira Kurosawa?  The man who influenced and gave birth to those of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas?  (True story).

The joke is that American Robotech fans will hope for the watered down cast.  The fact that Rick Hunter had to be an American character was due to the fact that the execs forced it upon Carl Macek.  Macek knew Japan.  Trust me, I was in a conference room with him once.  I remember him vividly talking about the past and how it worked at Harmony Gold.

He knew that America wasn't ready for hardcore Anime.  He knew that George Lucas heavily watched Anime growing up.  He eventually admitted that he wasn't a fan of the original Shoji Kawamori story plot.  What most of us Macross fans know today is that the Japanese version is just much better?

The idea of "song" integrated in the Zentradi race as a memory of the founders or "Proto-culture" saves the human race.  Well at least Macross city and SDF-1.  We later find that the Earth was decimated by the Supervision Army leaving Macross as the last of mankind.

James Wan doesn't have to be Macross fan.  He doesn't even need to be a Robotech watcher.  What he needs to do is study Shoji Kawamori.  He'll quickly learn that Shoji designed the G1 Transformers Optimus Prime.  He designed and made every Veritech fighter known to man.  And he designed and wrote the fight scenes that look more like a scene from Top Gun than a GI Joe cartoon.

And most of all?  Shoji Kawamori is now considered a director that of the likes of Hayao Miyazaki.  There are plenty of tributes to go around with the series, but in Japan, Shoji Kawamori is seen as the most respected animator in the fanboy and mecha kingdom.

For most of you, you may not tie Shoji Kawamori to Transformers, but make no mistake, Transformers was like Robotech.  They took existing Shoji Kawamori designs and integrated them into the Marvel Universe.  They seized an opportunity by using Japanese robots.

James Wan must have grown up watching the Macross series and the continuation with Macross Zero and Frontier.  All of which was under Shoji Kawamori's studio.  And sure, there's a huge dispute among the three studios, Harmony Gold, Tatsunoko Pro, and Big West, but that never swayed Shoji Kawamori from continuing his life business.

James Wan can easily study the life of Kawamori to see just how much he struggled to bring Macross to the big screen and to the globe.  There was some ups and down at the studio, but in the end, none of this could ever have happened without his art.  Some people will compare Macross to Pacific Rim, but I compare Macross to Lord of the Rings, Twilight, Divergent, and Hunger Games.

In the end, it's that good.  And it's historical in the nature of Anime.  Sure, the Robotech version exists in the United States.  And professionals are talking about making this a Transformers type movie, but in the end, it's just so much more.

Forget the explosions for a minute.  Just focus on the love story and the enemy.  It's hard to hate the Zentradi as well because they are giant clones bred for war.  They have never experienced love, happiness, and just live their lives to kill.

Well that integration of love story is all due to Mr. Kawamori.

Could Sony Pictures Already Have Props for Robotech?

So us Robotech fans can dream.  If James Wan is on board as the director.  Does this mean that Sony is moving ahead full steam as reported?  Could a live action movie look something like these props?  The truth is that Macross has been around 30 years along side Transformers and the Marvel Universe. 

So yes, there are plenty of references that can be used to make the movie.  It all sounds good on CG but props like helmets, the cockpits, buildings, and even the actors all do not have to look far.   They exist in the Macross fandom world.

James Wan, Please please... Ken Watanabe as Captain Gloval!

For decades I have dreamed of a Ken Watanabe role for Robotech.  Not only has he moved into the Godzilla movie role, he did a movie that I adore to this day, the historical movie, "Letters From Iwo Jima".  To me the fact that he became General Kuribayashi of the Japanese Imperial Army just solidified my thought that Captain Gloval should be a strong military leader.   And just like Kuribayashi fought with his life to save Japan from an invading superior American military, Admiral Gloval must do the same for the entire human race against the Zentradi Supervision Army.

His role in Inception tells me that he can act and raise the stakes of Robotech into the realm of more than just another Pacific Rim movie.  In fact, I'd say that Ken Watanabe would move Robotech past Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent as a franchise.  I'll be safe to say that it could easily surpass Star Trek and Star Wars by JJ Abrams!

All it needs is real depth.  An actor playing the role of Captain Gloval with heart felt responsibility for U.N. Spacey and the SDF-1 can only be done by actor Ken Watanabe.

I don't even need to explain who he is.  Hollywood already loves him, and Japan should make him a national treasure while we still have him.

As for Director James Wan?  It would solidify his status as a premiere director if he can manage to involve Ken Watanabe into a space drama.  And to convince the audience that this isn't just another explosion movie like Furious 7 nor Pacific Rim.  And certainly it can move Robotech up to the likes of movies like Alien and Space Odyssey 2001.  Which are established as epic movies for its time.  And yes they are science fiction but are also considered some of the most dramatic movies of all time.

To me, Robotech can become some of the most action packed dramas in the history of science fiction.  Perhaps much can be well said for the Ang Lee drama "Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger" where audiences were exposed to extreme Chinese drama but also peppered with traditional Chinese martial arts which made the film so thrilling that it was hard to grasp as a category.

Robotech in many ways is the same thing.  Although there is mecha and a lot of action, the franchise also has very deep human characters which revolve around a rotating cast.  Admiral Gloval takes on a very young crew to man the SDF-1.  The entire deck is led by women half his age.  Lisa Hayes is the a daughter of the Admiral in U.N. Spacey.  And he constantly looks to her for assurances and calm within the young crew as they battle the Zentradi invasion.

Ken Watanabe will bring a sort of realism and fear.  After all, Robotech won't be a movie if we don't feel the fear of death for mankind.  In many ways, SDF-1 brought life on Earth.  We are the descendants of creators who felt it was necessary for women and men to live together, love, and pro-create.   Zentradi were the other descendants who were cloned and all-male with no other intention but war.  Later in the Japanese Macross Movie, it was revealed that the Meltrandi were the descendants of our creators who were all-female and the enemy of the Zentradi.  It's with that, that we are mixed in the middle of a interstellar war.

Admiral Gloval will look to Lynn Minmay, Rick Hunter, and Lisa Hayes to find a way to get out of the mess.  And it'll come down to one song.  "Do Your Remember Love?" written by the creators as a simple love song that resonates in the DNA of the Zentradi race that saves mankind.

In essence, Zentradi historian, Exodor realizes that we are descendants of the same creators and that we are considered "Protoculture".  A term designated for a race that existed before Zentradi.  In essence, Zentradi forces in factions turn against themselves to protect mankind.

Epic?  Sure it is.  But it's a story 30 years old.  We fans know this love story but does the new audience?  Well I'm one to say that actor Ken Watanabe can bring this to the table.   And sure even Robotech audiences won't know this story because it was purposely removed for the U.S. market.  Dumbing down the story now will only destroy a global franchise.

Ken Watanabe for Admiral Gloval...  Need I say more?

The James Wan Question is...? Who will play Rick Hunter in Robotech The Movie?

Without hesitation every fangirl of Japanese movies will agree that Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers, Red Cliff, The Returner) is the most famous heart throb in the business.  His ability to speak Chinese, Japanese, and English makes him the Asian actor of the decade.  And without doubt he has to play Rick Hunter.  For me, it just makes sense that Rick Hunter or Hikaru Ichijo be a Japanese actor.

There has been rumors of Toby McGuire wanted to play the role, but since Chinese-American James Wan is at the helm of the franchise, I would hope that he realizes that the entire Japanese Macross franchise was written with intentions of a diverse group of characters.  Each character represents a nation already.  We are talking about U.N. Spacey after all.

Hikaru or Rick has to be Japanese!  And yes, I agree that Rory or Roy Fokker has to be American, but let's not fuss.  This is a no brainer and nobody will complain that Takeshi Kaneshiro takes a spot on the Robotech movie.

So James Wan?  What are you waiting for.  Pick up the phone and call CEO Mr. Kazuo Hirai of Sony and tell him you want Takeshi Kaneshiro as the lead actor in your film.  And that this won't turn out to be a Seth Rogan Interview movie!

Trust me, Robotech fans will miss the significance but the entire nation of Japan, not to mention China and a long list of female fans will get it.

Like Takeshi said in his English interview as well as dozens of Japanese and Chinese news interviews, 2015 is a different market for Hollywood movies.  Asian actors are a must as China has opened their markets to movies.  And if Sony Pictures is going to back into the running, they must move quickly to establish a global franchise which expands into China as well as Europe and Japan.   Sony Pictures is one of the few studios who is struggling to compete.  We all know that Disney owns their own properties like Frozen but also owns the Marvel franchise (Avengers, Iron Man, Hulk etc...) and of course this years' Star Wars franchise.

WB, although headed by an Japanese American CEO, has admitted that DC Comics is a bit darker and much more fragmented market but easily points to Dark Knight and TV's Flash and Arrow franchises as moneymakers.  Also WB has pointed to the upcoming Superman vs Batman film which will introduce Wonder Woman as a spin off franchise.

Sony is in desperate need of a new franchise.  And for me, it's only logic that Japanese stars finally enter the realm of Anime-to-motion-picture productions.

Takeshi Kaneshiro for Rick Hunter!

Who should James Wan Cast for Lisa Hayes in Robotech? Takako Uehara...

Maybe it's just me but when Rick Hunter picked Lisa Hayes as his lover, I was immediately glad because I've always saw Lisa Hayes played by my favorite singer/actor/models Takako Uehara.  Her personality is quiet and yet she is one of the most famous members of SPEED in Japan.  And unlike other girl bands, SPEED has long tested the lifespan of time.  That's because SPEED has resonated outside of Japan across to even Hong Kong and Singapore as hit singers.

And although Takako Uehara is a singer, playing the role of Lisa Hayes just adds the touch that all of us fans adore.  A beautiful Japanese girl who just stands out as the proper quiet and sweet daughter of an admiral.  And one that Captain Gloval relies on as his backbone of the SDF-1.

Also Rick Hunter finds himself in love with both Lynn Minmay and Lisa Hayes with the hard decision to fall for one, whilst fending off the Zentradi in the battle for mankind.  

Epic?  Of course it is.  And that's why for me, James Wan has to choose somebody like Takako Uehara as Misa Hayase (Lisa Hayes)!

Hikaru Utada should be Lynn Minmay in James Wan's Robotech

She's a New Yorker and she is a princess of songs in Japan.  Yet she's virtually unknown in America.  Sometimes I wonder if Japanese stars have a chance in America even when they are Americans.  Robotech is the series that broke new grounds for Anime in the United States.  However, what about song?  JPOP nation?  The other aspect of the following for Japanese culture?

Obviously James Wan has an opportunity to re-integrate song back into the Robotech series where it was removed from the original Macross series in Japan.  The idea and notion that Sony would use some karaoke songs from Harmony Gold for the Lynn Minmay character would only make the franchise a huge failure in Japan.

To succeed, director James Wan would have to integrate a Japanese singer or a real singer into the Lynn Minmay role?  I mean Lynn Minmay became the singer of Macross city and even became queen as Miss Macross.  That character also saves the human race from the Zentradi invasion right?

Well us Robotech fans know this, but do Robotech fans know the likes of Hikaru Utada?  James Wan could rewrite history by bringing in Hikaru Utada's fans from the world, and Robotech fans from the United States.  Together Japan's awaiting fames could really happen on the big screen.

I say Hikaru Utada for Lynn Minmay all the way!  Long live Utada and let's do something right, not only for Robotech but for Japanese music and anime as a culture.

Robotech Director James Wan Must Avoid the Michael Bay Sydrome!

Perhaps the biggest grudge that us fans have about the latest Transformers franchise is the fact that director Michael Bay completely abandoned Marvel Comics and even Hasbro's legacy of the Transformers.  Perhaps the fact that Bumble Bee is a Camaro and Megatron is a tank says it all.  I mean I literally turned off my set when I saw the first 10 minutes of the movie.  I was just disappointed that Bay never paid homage to Shoji Kawamori the founding father of the toy mecha designs of Transformers.  (true story).

In case you are wondering, Robotech must pay homage to Mr. Kawamori because Robotech Macross Saga was written, drawn, and designed by Shoji Kawamori.  If they don't aggressively seek him to assist in the movie, then at least pay respect to the original designs.

In general James Wan (Saw, Insidious, Conjuring, Furious 7) has to make sure to avoid what Michael Bay and Transformers did.  I'll go back to the toy history for example.  Most of us Robotech fans know the history of the Veritech fighters, a.ka. VF-1 fighters.  They are jets that transforms into robots 50 feet tall to battle the Zentradi.  But in the toy world, it wasn't so clear.

That's because the company Bandai made the toys available for both Robotech as well as Transformers.  In other words, the same toy covered two franchises at the time.  If that's not confusing enough, they also represented different types of robots.

In Transformers, the VF-1 became Jetfire.  It was a hot seller because the toy was much more appreciated than the other Transformers toys.  The level of complexity and engineering was much higher quality for those toys.   On the other hand Robotech offered them as Veritech fighters.

To get around the lawsuits that Hasbro and Harmony Gold had towards each other, Transformers decided to switch the names and designs of the Jetfire character to today's Skyfire.  Confused?  Well this actually ties into the Robotech saga so listen closely.

First, not only did Marvel Comics or Hasbro abandon the original Jetfire design, they completely abandoned Japanese designs for their own American design.  Sound familiar?  (Transformers movies?)

Skyfire became this thing below.

Okay as a kid growing up we knew that Skyfire was the Jetfire toy but obviously as you can see it's completely off mark in regards to the character.  Skyfire and Jetfire looked different.

If that wasn't bad enough, well try Michael Bay.  Sure, he didn't bother to create new characters for the movie series, but he just totally ruined Skyfire.

I mean seriously?  Does this old bot look anything like Jetfire to you?  Does it pay homage to founding father Shoji Kawamori?  I mean I wonder what Kawamori thinks when he watches Transformers movies and realized they went from, Jetfire the toy, to Skyfire the diluted Jetfire, to this!?

And this is the reason why I say James Wan better pay homage!  This is what the Veritech fighter used to look like in the series.

And sure it looks like Jetfire the toy.  It's supposed to!  It's the same design.   But not a derivative like Skyfire.  And hopefully never towards the design by Michael Bay.  Yuck!

Remember folks, we are Robotech fans and we waited 30 years for this Sony film.  If James Wan has any respect, he'll beg Shoji Kawamori to join the group.  And include not just Harmony Gold as the rights owner, but Tatsunoko Pro and Big West to chime into the film as part of the team.

No dilutions in design please!  Keep the Veritechs in tact.

(Original Jetfire animation before the dispute with Robotech)

(Macross Do You Remember Love? Animated Movie)

Who should be in Robotech?

After just reading up on the Robotech news, I'm just amazed on how fast Sony has moved to secure a director.  With James Wan signing on as the director for Macross, can he cast the right actors for the movie?  In my book, I would definitely move away from Hollywood and go for the right people to draw in fans for the characters.  It's true that the stars of the show are mecha or the Veritech fighters which transforms into the best looking robots ever known to man, but the three main characters of Lynn Minmay, Rick Hunter, and Lisa Hayes have to match.

In Japan, Lisa Hayes is known as Misa Hayase.  Rick Hunter as Hikaru Ichijo and Lynn Minmay as herself.  The three fall into a love triangle and later Rick picks Lisa over Lynn as the Earth battles the invading Zentradi race.  Lynn Minmay holds the key to saving the human race with her ability to sing a song.  A simple song!  It's originally a love song from the founders of our race.  And yes Zentradi and Humans are from the same founders.  So yes, there is a deeper meaning with the story.  Call it God or Evolution, either way the old love song is embedded in their DNA which turns them to peace and protection of us as "proto-culture".  Meaning an ancient species before Zentradi.

So who should be the lead actors?  Takeshi Kaneshiro (The Returner, House of Flying Daggers) as Hikaru Ichijo.  Takako Uehara (Actor/model of SPEED) as Misa Hayase,  Hikaru Utada (Singer/Actor) as Lynn Minmay.

We've got the three main Japanese actors down right?  But what about the American side?  Characters Roy Fokker (Rory Focker) and Claudia come to mind as pure Americans.  For me, I've always saw Rory as the Sempai or old brother type.  People have talked about Leo or Tobey but for me it's somebody like Brad Pitt!  Why not Brad?  He seems open to super hero pilot roles.   And for Claudia?  She has to be elegant, tall, and thin.  Why not somebody from the Victoria Secrets realm?  Tyra Banks?

 

Surely the two sides of the Pacific can come together to accept really bigger than life actors.  Each of these actors hold their own without Robotech.  Having them involved would only solidify the base.

How about other possibles?  There are two main characters that are important... captains.  Captain Gloval is the head of the SDF-1.  However there is also Lisa's father the Admiral who handles Alaska base.  Both are important to the series and can easily be filled by great Japanese actors famous in their own right in the United States.  I'm talking about Ken Watanabe as Gloval and George Takei as the Admiral.  Why not?  Why hold back on fame?

 

Obviously the other stars in the film will wear heavy make-up.  The Zentradi are aliens 50 feet tall and have green skin.  It's hard to pick and choose famous actors for a role like that, but I have so many ideas for actors that fit the role.  The Exodor who is a chief historian and scientist is the soft character on their side.  I can only see one actor to fit this role.  And that's Dr. Flox himself.  Enterprise had some great actors and Flox played by John Billingsley just fits so perfectly.  He has that cute sense and strong responsibility to fit the role.   And the role for Breetai?  The General of the Supervision Army?  None other than Worf!   Michael Dorn just fits the figure of Breetai in my book and why not?  He's an authority figure with the warrior instinct!

 

Let's not joke around!  James Wan has to go back to the origins.  He has to either watch the Japanese release of Macross or in his case maybe the Hong Kong release of the series in Cantonese.  Both releases would suffice in finding out which actor fits which character.

Two other characters that is a must for the Robotech movie include Miriya and Max.  They are part of the Skull Squadron.  Miriya is a Meltrandi defector who marries Max and becomes the first ever inter-species couple.  That's not saying much since the DNA of both are from the same origins.

Thinking heavily on actors, I think Miriya can be Kristen Stewart.  I know she's had a rough few years in her career, but the Twilight fans must have their heroin come back to the big screen.  And for Max?  He's the sharp shooter and the most loyal pilot amongst the crowd.  For Miriya's future husband, I believe the actor has to be her actual boyfriend Robert Pattinson.  In fact, his role as Edward just fits the mold of Max.  Max is Edward!

 

Hey we are all allowed to dream.  For us Robotech fans, it's been a long 30 years.  This is long overdue.  Sony and James Wan can put this together using an all-star cast.

Full Steam Ahead for Robotech The Movie

I don't know what to tell you.  For the most part I grew up watching Robotech and am Japanese born in Japan.  So as an immigrant, it was my only connection on television back home to Japan.  Obviously I'm one of the few people who was able to see and meet Carl Macek, the producer of the American adaptation of Robotech before he suddenly passed due to a heart attack.   And for me, it seemed simple, there has been many iterations and derivatives of the Robotech franchise, but none met my needs.

I needed to see more and more of Rick Hunter and Lynn Minmay.  I needed to see an adaptation of Macross with the beautiful Japanese language songs.  Yes, because "Studio JVC Victor" did all that work creating the music for the franchise!   In reality if Director James Wan has any exposure to Robotech, he'll understand the Asian audience and their adaptation of the franchise.

Being bi-lingual I've always had the advantage in watching Japanese cartoons both in English and Japanese.  And the fact that they can go in and out of languages at times isn't a problem for me.  But what about the Hollywood audience?   Can English audiences accept a Japanese sound track to the movies?

Can Japanese actors be accepted in main roles in the Robotech movie?!   That's the real question.   With James Wan in talks with Sony according to multiple sources, the reach to actors and actresses are pretty deep.  There are plenty of actors who can play the role of Rick Hunter (Hikaru Ichijo), but the key role is Lynn Minmay.  She's a Chinese-Japanese character who becomes a singer and star in the series.  Obviously the songs in the original format were Japanese.  Which means Lynn Minmay would almost have to be a Japanese singer.

If they re-write the script replacing her with an American actress and character, the fans will abandon this film.  Make no mistakes about it, Robotech fans are just as keen as Star Wars fans are.  And Sony knows this, otherwise why jump at the chance for the movie?

James Wan might be a good pick for the director of the movie, but like many other bloggers out there, I must admit that "Shoji Kawamori", the director and mecha designer for Macross must be involved.  Not only that, but it should also be mentioned that Shoji Kawamori also designed the original Optimus Prime in Transformers.  Yes, the actual toy that we all played with as a kid was designed by the father of Macross.

James Wan and even Justin Lin would be good picks to direct the movie.  Both proved their worth with Fast n Furious.  However, the key to this movie will be the stars.  Who will play who?  Will Hikaru Ichijo be Japanese?  American?  Or will they completely mess it up with just the usual stars?

We want authentic Robotech adaptations.  Without limits, we also want it to be a multi picture franchise.  We want the best and brightest at the helm.  And we need to shine better than the original series.  I say we need those guys from Battle Star Galactica's reboot on board.  We need JJ Abrams to sit down with them.  Maybe we need George Lucas himself involved!

The list goes on and on with the demands we have as Robotech fans.  We all know that the series was bigger than life.  And Shoji Kawamori and the late Carl Macek had a vision for the series.  The real question is can the executives over at Sony deliver?

All the writers and reporters are comparing this movie to Pacific Rim and Transformers.  To me, that's a bad assessment.  They need to compare Robotech to Twilight, Hunger Games, and Divergent.  The reason is simple, the story plot and the characters are deep in Robotech.  The love triangle and the death of main characters is also well known in the series.  If they can't convey that, then the series will fail.

I'll keep writing as these articles come in.  Obviously if you read my thoughts, you are a Robotech fan.  And trust me, I am too.  I own the Japanese Macross series.  I own the American Robotech series.  I own the books, and and I also have the Japanese Macross Do You Remember Love? DVD which I purchased in Yen!

To the executives and to James Wan who are researching.  Be keen on the series.  Buy some popcorn and sit down and watch the series a couple of times before you even start writing.  Oh, and please give Shoji Kawamori a call?  Have him on your team!

Sony Pictures Macross Movie

Robotech.com announces that Sony Pictures purchased the rights to the Robotech Macross series adaptation for the movies.  This means that the dreaded Harmony Gold is out of the way for other more established companies to create new material for the Robotech universe.  Although executives and managers at Harmony continue to claim that Robotech and Macross are different entities, they're just splitting hairs because in the end, they just simply own the trademark for Macross with no actual creation of the SDF Macross series themselves.

It's like saying that Walt Disney created Marvel Comics, although they own the rights to them, they obviously had nothing to do with the creation of good old Spidy.  In fact, the credit should always go to Stan Lee, the founding father of Spiderman and almost every Marvel character.

As for Macross?  It's Shoji Kawamori.  Now the rumors surfaced on Variety Magazine.  And according to Robotech.com, Sony Pictures will go with an American director, not Big West nor Tatsunoko Pro.  The companies that created Macross.

If the executives at Sony are sharp, they'll own the rights and go completely separately from what Harmony attempted to do, to create their own alternate narrative of Macross to adapt to the American audience.  Instead, they'll completely dismiss the idea of the two other Japanese cartoon series to solely focus on SDF Macross.

In my life time, I actually got to sit down and listen to Carl Macek speak about the Robotech series.  He had a vision but also admitted that the two other cartoons, Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimension Southern Cross were used because they needed more episodes to qualify as a daily TV program.  SDF Macross was originally a weekly program in Japan.

This meant that Macek could conjure up anything to bind the three cartoons together.  Sadly, although the mecha may have been similar in genre, the story lines were completely different.  To face this challenge, they created three generations of Robotech and tried to intertwine them with character flashbacks and adaptations of older versions of the original characters.

The truth is that this stitching job is what Harmony Gold decided to hold onto as their own version of the franchise.  Trying to separate their own version from the original SDF Macross they owned the rights to.

Sony is a huge company.  And although they had issues with the recent flop, The Interview, and the North Korean hacking attack, Sony is still a Japanese company.  This means that they cannot deny the facts that Shoji Kawamori is the founder of the franchise.

And in similar fashion, Sony was tired of the blockade of rights holders of Spiderman around the globe and decided to purchase every right in every nation to consolidate their hold on Spiderman as it was time to create and release their own Sony Pictures production of the Spiderman franchise.

And unlike Harmony Gold, Sony didn't just attempt to hold the copyrights to Spiderman against other franchises, they've decided to share the wealth.  While Sony now owns rights to the Robotech movie franchise, they also are in talks with Marvel Comics to create a new Spiderman and Avengers crossover.  A co-production between Marvel Disney and Sony is unheard of and the budget could double for a huge motion picture of a possible new franchise.  If Fox Entertainment is smart they'll incorporate their X-Men series into the Avengers hold.

You see, this isn't about blocking other creations of the same series.  This is about the fans.  Making sure that rights and legalities don't get in the way of a possible new franchise.  To me, Robotech has the best chance of any Anime to surpass Hunger Games, Divergent, Twilight, and even Fast n Furious because it has so much of a huge following overseas.

If anything, Sony Pictures could easily ask Big West to enter the fold as a possible creative lead.  If anything have Shoji Kawamori himself be the director of the full franchise.

The ideas are endless, but there is a huge iPhone generation who has never seen Robotech on TV.  For this reason, SDF Macross must appeal to the non-fans.  They may have to incorporate basics back into the movie and perhaps keep this a possible trilogy all the way towards the end.

The cast must consist of Japanese.  Without it, the movie would simply be a waste.  The stars have to be Japanese singers like the original cast.  And perhaps the obvious American casts would include characters for Rory Focker and Claudia.  However, Misa Hayase and Lynn Minmay must be Japanese and Chinese.

The main character Max and Hikaru should be Japanese as well.  Captain Gloval in the series was supposedly Russian, but for this movie, I do believe it can be Japanese.

The possible candidates for acting are stars like Ken Watanabe.  Maybe George Takei.  Why not include Brad Pitt?  Tyra Banks?  Japanese stars Takako Uehara, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and even Hikaru Utada could be possible cast members.

Star Trek actors like John Cho and John Billingsley could be other actors.  In essence, there really is no need to hold back on creativity for this series.  There have and always will be great actors globally for the role.

The question is will Sony go Americanized?  Or will they stick to the Japanese franchise that the fans adore?