Roboculture

Has it been two years since I allegedly "retired" this blog? Nope. Far less than that I'm afraid. And yet I feel compelled to start posting once again...

Why? What do I hope to achieve? Do I have some grand delusion or belief that I can make an impact on the Robotech fandom? Do I believe that my words will have any effect on the current regime of Harmony Gold or the opinion on anyone who stumbles to read my posts?

No. All of that foolishness, that... naivite has been swept away, thank Xenu!

So why blog exactly? Nobody goes here anyway as far as I can tell. Not now anyway. Well, this gradual urge began as soon as I began blogging on The Concept Den, a place where I discussed my other hobby, Digital Arts. I noticed that nearly every time I blogged, it almost always had something to do with Robotech!

It made me ask whether I left the fandom prematurely. Was there unfinished business here?


Another realization a few months after my first job It was another stressful day I was looking forward to little escapism. I searched around the usual Robotech hotspots for something cool, but I barely turned up anything that made interested me. I wanted to talk with Robotech fans who shared that frustration. The closest I could find was the United Earth Group message boards.

Yes, the people behind this project had a reputation, and an especially unsavory one at that. That didn't matter. It was the message boards that I was after. And I will say that I haven't felt so free to talk about Robotech in a long, loong while. The discussions were brutal, honest, and eye-opening. I'll always have fond memories of that experience.

So what now? Am I making it sound like I'm going to kickstart the daily habit of ranting about Robotech yet again like I once did in the olden days? Am I going to start fan projects that lead nowhere?

I hope to f**king hell no! Times have indeed changed. Hell, I've changed. I lost weight, goddamit. C'mon, lets start talking Robotech.


Roboculture

To correspond with the brand new focus of the blog, I saw it fitting to not only redesign of the blog, but to change the name as well. Roboculture just has that ring to it!

Shoutout

I suppose its worth mentioning some of the folks whom I feel should thank for whatever reason. Thanks to Robotech Masters, Evan "Cassman" Cass, Captain JLS, Justy Ueki, Darkwater, JasonC, Dougbendo, Heatsinker, MidnightRambler, Aschiller (the pie guy) the boys of UEG. Thanks also to Save, Fremen72, Yui, and Lynn.

To think I actually made the cover of the book to the right. Hey, does working on that Journal thingy mean I'm in good terms with Harmony Gold?

The truth: Months after I was offered the job by a friend, and after recieving approval from Harmony Gold, I'm still banned from Robotech.com. Woohoo! It's fun to knowingly be screwed. All part of being a Robotech fan I suppose.

The future is always in motion. That's why I see it fit to modify these disturbing timeline of events. I have searched far and wide for an answer from the gods as to why Robotech has remained an obscure property to this day. In my foolhardy quest, I managed to uncover an ancient text found deep within the ruins of Caprica.

The manuscript in question spoke of a “The Robotech Prophecy”. This prophecy paints a disturbing series of events, all inextricably leading to Robotech’s eventual rise as an international sensation. No doubt the author of this ‘prophecy’ understood the franchise’s obsession with “timelines”. It took me about a month to retype most of the so-called “predictions” in this long-forgotten blog, due to the faded, almost unreadable nature of the material.




Palladium Robotech RPG is released. Fans fall head over heels over the new material. The Shadow Chronicles universe gains favor among the hardcore and cynical.

Harmony Gold rests easy knowing fans will be distracted for the entire year with this small 300 page book.


Harmony Gold states that the Beta-Fighter toy is on track despite lousy performance and quality of the Japanese Legioss fighter knockoffs. The release dates of the Shadow Chronicles mecha tie-in is announced. Hardcore fans tell everybody to buy out all new Toynami releases to show that the Beta-Fighter is a good commercial venture. They do this despite the toy being worth more than a hundred dollars.

Interest in the Role Playing Game (RPG) is at an all time high. Promises of starship statistics in the 2nd volume fuels fan interest even more. Only a handful of fans hate the material.

Kevin Sambieda makes a killing. Palladium Books/Rifters becomes the RPG company to beat.

Several longtime fans swear their allegiance to the Tommunist Regime, stating that without their honorable leader, the Robotech franchise would be all but forgotten. Much like the fandom labeling of ye olden days, this group declare themselves ‘Loyalist fans’.


Fans continue talk about the RPG. Interest remains high among the hardcore. Casual fans start selling their copies on e-bay.

Robotechx.com officially opens its doors with brand new features. Steve Yune declares "unwavering" support to the fansite, and even includes a new banner on the official Robotech page. He dispatches several loyal Robotech.com moderators watch the forum for any one who speaks ill of Harmony Gold.


Press Release of Blu-ray Robotech mega-collection spreads through the fandom like wildfire. Thousands of fans express interest in buying the exact same product that was released years ago. Aside from a 10 second Shadow Rising teaser, no new extra features are announced.

The release date of the RPG collector’s edition is announced. Official Shadow Rising trailer gets shown to a select few Loyalists in a major media convention. The reaction from these 'fans' is overwhelmingly positive. Everyone, including Talkshoe celebrity Chris Meadows praise the vastly improved CG, and much improved character animation. The trailer also reveals a glimpse of the next-generation Super Shadow Omikron Fighter Mark II.


Production snippets are leaked by Harmony Gold Loyalists and staffers in Tommy Yune's laptop to kick start the buzz for the next film.


Announcement when Shadow Rising website will go online makes fans go stark raving mad. Kevin McKeever, marketing director for Harmony Gold, praises countdown as triumph in "guerilla marketing". Cynical fans laugh their heads of in various Talkshoe podcasts at this 'naivite'.


Toynami releases toys in time for the holidays. Little Timmy breaks his Cyclone after opening the box.

Second volume of the RPG is released featuring starships role-playing stats. Interest on the franchise skyrockets. Skeptics remain vocal, yet helpless.


Release date for the film is pushed back. In an in-depth promotional Talkshoe interview, Tommy states that they are holding off the release so they can ride the wave of hype building with the Robotech Live Action Movie. Insider sources later reveal that the film is still in pre-production.

Meanwhile, Loyalist fans continue to mock skeptics and hardline cynical fans in various forums and Talkshoe shows, claiming that “… they should shut the f**k up if they know what’s good for em’.”

Robotech: The Complete Saga Blu-ray are released in time for the next wave of Robotech nostalgia. For the first time ever, new fans are introduced to the 80’s classic, and this time, they can see just how crappy their shows were back then.

Robotech.com’s receives literally receives dozens of new members.


The Toynami Shadow Fighters are released to build up the hype for the upcoming sequel. Despite shoddy quality, the toys sell several hundred units due to the presence of a half-naked Maia Sterling and Scott Bernard.


Live Action Robotech movie teaser trailer to be revealed alongside Warner Brother’s 2009 major summer release. The teaser reveals 3 seconds of the newly redesigned VF-1 Veritech, 4 seconds of the new SDF-1 and 6 seconds of civilians running from a 50 foot Zentraedi warrior. For the first ever, Loyalist fans and skeptics unite in awe. Hardcore Japanese Macross fans are stunned for about five seconds before reverting back to their cynical selves. Tommy Yune is pleased with himself and finally admits "its good to be a god!"

Warner Brother commissions a new animated Robotech series, which will focus exclusively on the Macross Saga only. Robotech.com crashes due to Internet traffic. The post regarding the revamped series recieves 1000 replies in less than 2 hours.

Several "polls" such as 'Mecha Casting Calls' are opened up to give the illusion that fans have a say in all of this.

Shadow Rising website officially opens, complete with barebone character profiles and mecha designs and stats you can freely get from other Robotech fansites. Akira movie opens. The future is murky for this one.


Shadow Chronicles: Shadow Rising is released with mixed reviews. On one hand, Loyalists fans can’t stop raving about the film’s exquisite CG, exemplary action and animation, rousing soundtrack and much improved storyline. On the otherhand, skeptics continually bash the film for its shallow characterization and convoluted/contrived plot points.

Loyalist fans, just laugh off this criticism with Tommy Yune in a Talkshoe podcast interview. Nobody takes any of the criticisms seriously. Despite a vocal minority that hate the film, various Loyalist forums and paid media outlets declare Shadow Rising a resounding triumph.

The film is nominated as the sole entry for "Best animated science fiction anime film for 2009", and wins. WB Execs are pleased. Harmony Gold submits their masterpiece as an entry for the Oscars. Skeptics are shocked and grumble among themselves.


Robotech: Shadow Rising, despite its epic tale of rehashed love octagonals, giant breasted amazons and shallow characterizations, loses to the far smaller, and far cuter Wall-E robot. During Talkshoe, Tommy Yune was asked if he was disappointed, to which he replied, "of course not! I love Pixar movies, and I hope I can release something as half good as their stuff in the future" The recording to that Talkshoe interview was later deleted by the request of Harmony Gold.


The ultimate showdown. Robotech and the Transformers sequel will go head to head in the box office. Which robot franchise will win? Robotech's advertising campaign highlights a fully realized final battle between Supreme Commander Dolza and the SDF-1. Fans have wet dreams about the upcoming film at night.


In a landslide victory, Michael Bay emerges the victor. Robotech earns roughly 200 million in domestic receipts, a respectable figure, but rumors of overbudgeting means the film has to scrape to realize some kind of profit. Execs hope to rebound in DVD sales, but the damage is done. The film's over reliance on CG (nearly 2,054 shots) took more than half the film's budget. The Robotech sequel is put on ‘hiatus’ pending an official statement from WB execs. Most media sites cruelly declare the film a "disappointment that rivals the mediocrity of Superman Returns".

A Robotech videogame for the current-gen consoles based on the film recieve an overall rating of 6.7 from Metacritic. A common comment from reviewers saying that although flying a Veritech was fun for a while, the game is ultimately "... another wasted opporunity"


Details of the new animated series are released. The series would follow the story arc of Macross and New Generation. Southern Cross is essentially ignored, with the director saying that "who the f**k cares about Southern Cross? The money is in Macross, baby!". A vocal minority of old-time fans declare their hatred towards the redesigns. WB execs naturally ignore these ravings. The company however decides to toss out designs for "Maximum Sterling" stating, "He was too hardcore"

A fairly vocal fan by the handle of Khyronius_Primus types a fairly long article stating how the show is ruining his childhood. The article, entitled "Don't Fokk This Up", received just enough attention for Steve Yun to ban this member.

Loyalist fans set-up online petitions pleading that a Robotech live-action sequel be made. Skeptics set-up their own petition, pleading that the designs be changed. None of the petitions are taken seriously.


“Robotech: Exxtreme”, the new Robotech animated series by Warner Brothers is released. Fans and critics give it a thumbs down declaring it "...a souless kiddie-show with only a fraction of the original animated series' depth and humanity". This new show however, is a smash-hit with children ages 8-11. A highlight of the show is "Super Collectible Veritechs" which are introduced each week.

WB stock prices skyrocket. Interest in the Robotech franchise is at an all time high. The future seems bright for Tommy Yune. However, danger lurks in the shadows, and the future is not set in stone...