Caramel reviews Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga edited by Matt Moylan

In his last review for 2021, Caramel wanted to share some of his thoughts on one of his favorites among the recent book acquisitions of the book bunny household: Robotech Visual Archive: The Macross Saga, a large-scale book edited by a team of artists and writers led by Matt Moylan. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, you wanted to talk about this Robotech book for a while. So here we are. Tell us about it.

Caramel: This book is about Robotech! As you could tell, obviously, from the title.

S: So what if some of our readers don’t know what Robotech is? Can you tell us a bit about it?

C: It’s a bit hard to explain. I mean, it is an animated TV show from long time ago. I think it was the 1980s…

S: Wait, that is not that long ago! Sure, I was a young bunny back then …

C: I know. That was a long time ago.

S: Okay, I guess I have to accept the fact that time is moving forward and I am getting old.

C: No. You’re only getting wiser!

S: Thank you Caramel, you are very kind. So let us get back to Robotech. Robotech was a TV series from the 80s. In fact we can put a link to the Wikipedia article for those who want to read up on it And here is a link to the first episode:

S: But why don’t you give us a quick summary?

C: Okay, that is going to be a bit hard. But let me try. So we are on Earth, and there is an alien ship that crashed on the planet. And humans discovered it and tried to decode the technology it used. They called that technology robotechnology. So the name Robotech probably comes from there.

S: Okay, so is this what happens in the series?

C: No, this is the background. The series starts with some aliens trying to get that alien ship back. Actually it is not theirs, either, but they want to claim it. and so there is a big war, which destroys most of the Earth in Episode 27–

S: That is terrible!

C: Oops, yes, and it is a pretty terrible spoiler if someone wanted to watch the series and did not know anything about it beforehand. I’m sorry!

S: Oh well. I suppose that was kind of difficult to avoid. This book that you are reviewing today is not only about the story though, right?

C: No. There is a lot more in it than just the story, but there are actually pages for each of the episodes, and they summarize what happens in each episode.

S: I see. Yes, there is a full page for each episode, with the episode synopsis and several screenshots from the episode.

C: Yep, pretty neat!

S: Okay, so for the thirty-six episodes there are thirty-six pages–

C: Nope, some episodes have two pages!

S: Okay, but other than that, other than the episode pages, what else is there in the book?

C: There are several pages for each of the main characters. There is a whole section called “Character Designs: Humans” which has many many pages for each of the main human characters. And then there is a section called “Character Designs: Zentradi” for the alien race.

S: I’m guessing the Zentradi are the aliens who are fighting the humans?

C: Yes. But they are humanoid and there is a very good reason for why they are humanoid. But I won’t spoil that much.

S: Maybe that is a good idea.

S: So tell me more about the book then. What else is there?

C: There are the mecha designs pages for the United Earth Forces and the Zentradi forces.

S: And I am sure you love those!

C: Yep. I love the mechas, especially the VF-1A.

S: So I did not know what a mecha was before you told me about them. But apparently mechas are typical anime constructs, they are large robots that usually have a human pilot in them that is steering them.

C: Yes. And most of these transform. They can be humanoid robots but they can also be fighter planes or something in between.

S: I can see why you would find them fascinating. You like space ships, you like planes, and you love robots and transformers. Just perfect for you!

C: Yep.

S: So I know you have watched a lot of the Robotech series. Do you think you would have liked this book this much if you had not?

C: It would not make much sense but the ships and the robots and so on are still cool.

S: So what do you want to tell our readers about the show itself?

C: I like the plot and I love the mechas, and I like the song Minmei sings:

C: but there are some parts where I covered my eyes–

S: Yes, there was some nudity in there I think.

C: Yes. So I am not sure that everyone should watch it. But the ships are awesome! So the book is really awesome! I can just look at the robots and the ships and read about them, too.

S: That is great Caramel. So I think this is probably enough for this review. Would you recommend this book?

C: Yes! All bunnies young and old, who like starships, robots, and especially Robotech, will like this book!

S: Sounds just about right to me! Okay, Caramel, this is your last review for 2021. And then we take the month of January off, like we have been doing. So what do you want to tell our readers?

C: Happy new year everyone! And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews, coming to you in February 2022!