A lot of effort went into creating the boxed sets for the classic anime series Robotech. Much more than you would expect for a cartoon nearly 20 years old.

The entire series is collected in seven boxes, with each box containing a bonus disc of materials, which are not available if you buy the series as individual discs. I've seen the episodic discs priced at around $14. The box sets normally run around $35, which includes two discs of episodes and a disc of bonus materials.

Whether the bonus discs and the boxes are worth the extra few dollars is your call. But I found the bonus discs extremely interesting, for a wide variety of reasons we'll get to shortly.

The first thing that stands out is that the seven boxes have three unique designs, one each for the three generations, but still have a unifying look. There are some variations: some (not all) Wal-Mart stores received a different box design for set 5. The original print run for the 7th box set was gold, but has a misprint. Corrected boxes are green. Instead of grabbing some still pictures from the series and slapping them on the DVDs and cases, publisher ADV commissioned all-new artwork.

The bonus discs have a great number of surprises, of which I'll just highlight a few. They include the Codename: Robotech movie, which was re-edited from episodes comprising the first half of the Macross saga of Robotech and shown on several TV stations that aired Robotech. The movie itself adds nothing to the series, but Robotech producer Carl Macek provides an audio commentary with a lot of insight into the making of Robotech.

The pilot for the sequel series, the Sentinels, is also on a bonus disc. That series never went into full production, so its inclusion here is a bit startling. Macek's audio commentary details some of the problems in production, including some rather frank comments about the differences between American and Japanese production processes and storytelling. Even though we'll likely never see the Sentinels, this glimpse is quite tantalizing.

There's an ongoing debate as to whether the integrity of original Japanese Macross series was damaged by combining it with two other unrelated series to create Robotech. I'm not going to get involved in that controversy. But I will tell you this: boxed sets of the original Macross, Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada series are all slated for release on DVD in the near future. However, the half hour pilots for English translations of Macross and Mospeada as stand-alone series, as opposed to parts of Robotech, are also included on the Robotech bonus discs. These English translations were produced in the mid 1980s, are included only on the Robotech collection, and are not part of the new DVD sets.

Other features include commercials for the series, commercials for the toys, an interview with Macek conducted by a Dallas TV station, visits to conventions featuring Robotech, and screenshots of every cover of the Comico comic books. The bonus discs are jam packed with odds and ends. It's like a nine year old cleaning out his closet, "Hey! This is cool! Look at this..." Among the most amusing is a Teacher's Guide for an elementary school curriculum, of which we only get a screenshot.

As popular as it is, Robotech remains, quite honestly, a cult series. I think careful review of the marketing materials included on the bonus discs can reveal many of the answers as to why Robotech failed to become one of the major franchises of the mid to late 1980s: much of the marketing appears to be aimed at a the 7-12 year old age group. With its layered plotlines, heavy themes (for a cartoon), and jarring generational shifts, Robotech could be a hard show to follow. To this day I have a hard time grasping the exact nature of Protoculture, a critical substance in the series. The marketing efforts probably should have been targeted more toward 13 to 25 year olds. Although I think the Lady Robotech series of toys and dolls was rather ingenious.

Second-guessing the producers, marketers, toy manufacturers, and others 15 years later won't resolve anything. Even now, rumors surface about Robotech revivals, continuations, or sequels. It's easy to see why. Even with its warts, Robotech is still a compelling series that draws spirited debate among the viewers that get pulled into its complicated story and surprisingly real characters.

The day my sons admitted they thought Robotech was better than Dragonball Z, I figured it was worth the $250 I ponied up for the seven boxes.

Reviewed by Robert Parson
theLogBook.com staff writer