Ask John: Will The Macross Movie Ever Reach American DVD?

Question:
Over the past year, I’ve become a huge Macross fan. One thing I still can’t understand is why the movie “Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?” has never gotten a proper North American release. I’ve heard that Harmony Gold (the creators of Robotech) is suppressing its release, but the original series has been available here for years now from two different companies. So will “Macross: Do You Remember Love?” ever be released in North America?

Answer:
Somewhat frequently I’m asked about the possibility of an official American release of the uncut, original Japanese Macross Movie. There may be no other anime franchise with ownership and licensing rights as convoluted as Macross. Even the perpetually disputed ownership of the Candy Candy franchise is at least limited mainly to Japan, which the confusion over ownership and rights to Macross are complex in both Japan and America. At least two different English dubbed versions of the movie were released on American VHS. “Clash of the Bionoids” was a heavily censored version. “Macross” was an uncut version that contained several inconsistencies and errors in its dubbing. But a Japanese language version of the film has never been officially released in America, as far as I’m aware. Furthermore, the Macross Flashback 2012 OAV, Macross 7 television series, Macross 7 Dynamite OAV series, Macross 7 motion picture, and Macross Zero OAV series have never been officially released in America at all.

Macross was created and animated by the production Studio Nue, but was funded and distributed by Tatsunoko. After lengthy legal wrangling, in October 2002 Studio Nue was deemed owner of the visual character and mecha designs. Three months later, in January 2003, Tatsunoko was legally awarded recognition as the owner of the Macross franchise, since the Macross animation was created by Studio Nue under employment by Tatsunoko. In February 2004 Studio Nue lost its appeal of that decision, and Tatsunoko was finally and inarguably deemed owner of the license for the Macross television series. However, the court ruling did not include the Macross: Love, Do Your Remember motion picture, meaning that the technical Japanese ownership of that film may still be in question. Regardless, since the initial 2003 ruling in favor of Tatsunoko, no new Macross anime has been licensed or released in America.

The American ownership of the Macross franchise is also quite complex. In the early 1980s Harmony Gold acquired the rights to use the Macross television series animation footage, but Harmony Gold has never formally distributed any uncut Japanese Macross animation, nor any animation with the “Super Dimension Fortress Macross” title. Harmony Gold released and is the owner of the Robotech franchise, which is not the same thing as “Cho Jiku Yosai Macross.” Yet Harmony Gold has consistently asserted its right to control or be involved in virtually all American distribution of anything related to the Japanese Macross franchise. In 2000, Harmony Gold took action to limit the importation of Japanese Macross toys into America. In 2002 Harmony Gold again threatened legal action against a retailer selling imported official Japanese Macross toys in America. Harmony Gold’s actual legal right to restrict American distribution of material related to the Japanese Macross franchise may be suspect, but so far no American company has been willing to challenge Harmony Gold’s demands. Win or lose, the cost of arguing with Harmony Gold in court is more expensive than the result may be worth.

Conventional wisdom would presume that an American release of the Macross movie would be a certainty, yet there’s still no sign on the horizon that any new Macross anime will be seeing American release, even while the franchise is still continuing in Japan. Tentative plans for a new Macross anime have just been formally announced in Japan. Honestly, this franchise is so convoluted that I can’t reliably make any predictions. Harmony Gold has been the American master licensor for Macross movie toys for several years, but seems unwilling, unable, or uninterested in expanding its rights to include the actual movie itself. My gut belief is that if the Macross movie was destined to ever reach official American DVD release, it would have been already released by now. I honestly think that, at this point, an official American release of the Macross movie is unlikely. Potential American distributors interested in the franchise have probably already made inquiries by now, and I can’t perceive any events in the future which would suddenly make the film available or more viable for American release. There’s always a possibility of a sudden, unexpected breakthrough announcement. And the fact that the film is distributed in Japan by Bandai Visual, which now also distributes select titles in America, may give fans some small glimmer of hope. After all, the Gunbuster series reached American DVD nearly eleven years after its most recent domestic VHS release. So the probability of an American Macross movie release seems to be small, but it’s not zero.