In-Depth Review: Robotech: Love Live Alive

So, last night I finished watching the "new" Robotech movie, Robotech: Love, Live, Alive. (I quotate "new" for reasons that will become clear below the cut.) It was a nostalgic experience. I might just dig out Audacity and run off a one-off Space Station Liberty podcast to commemorate it, and excerpt some audio clips. But for now, I might as well set my thoughts down while they're still fresh.

"" (Watch on YouTube)

( Ready to take a spin down memory lane in a transforming motorcycle? )

So is it worth $12.86 for the 2-movie set at Amazon? On the one hand, there's not a lot new here. On the other, if you're wanting to show Shadow Chronicles to someone who's never seen Robotech before, or you're a completist, or don't have Shadow Chronicles yet, it's not a whole lot of money for at least something new, and it does help convince HG to put money toward making more new stuff. If nothing else, it's a cheap and easy way to get Shadow Chronicles on DVD.

My tweets

• Wed, 12:43: The "new" #Robotech feature, Love Live Alive, turns out to have a lot less new about it than I had expected. It's basically a clip show.
• Wed, 12:55: Only a half hour in, but LLA largely seems to recap #Robotech New Gen with very little new animation. To make SC less confusing?
• Wed, 12:59: The Mospeada LLA was just a concert, with a few clips. But I'm starting to wonder if the #Robotech version will have any concert at all!
• Wed, 13:03: No wonder it's only sold bundled with TSC. It's meant to make TSC more accessible to #Robotech noobs. But HG couldn't come out and SAY so.
• Wed, 19:33: RT @fakebusker83: #Robotech vs. #Transformers Cybertronians will whoop the Zentraedi's ass. They just need to play Top 40 music off their c…
• Wed, 23:17: RT @Justegarde: This link says Star Wars, but the real news is at the bottom. PLEASE BE REAL PLEASE BE REAL #Robotech http://t.co/hMqv64MgLb
• Wed, 23:56: RT @amazon_movies: Special Deal of the Week: 59% off #Robotech Complete Original Series, 52% off #Farscape Complete Series. http://t.co/J0o…
• Thu, 00:54: Just finished watching #Robotech Love Live Alive. I should review it. Maybe warm up the ol' podcast engine.
• Thu, 01:00: If you bought something just a few days too soon, Amazon will adjust the price http://t.co/Jz8hgpH6AC - #TeleRead
• Thu, 01:05: I have to admit, the trailer for LLA is cute, and guaranteed to tickle any #Robotech fan's nostalgia bone. https://t.co/ByLkEZjRFL

( Read more... )

Comparing the Shadow Chronicles discs: How do they stack up?

So I now seem to have three different editions of the Shadow Chronicles DVDs. I was curious how their special features stacked up against each other, so I went in and did some comparisons.



( Lots of screen caps, ahoy! )

Too long/didn't view version: the new movie's disc has one more featurette and several more deleted scenes and animatics than the two-disc set. So if you're inclined to care about extras like deleted scenes, the 2-disc version might just be worth getting. My only concern is how the video quality stacks up. Did they have to compress the video further to make everything fit on one disc?

While I don't have the expertise to do a file-by-file comparison, I did notice when I put the discs in my BD-ROM drive that the original feature film disc weighed in at 6.04 GB (it had both Shadow Chronicles and the making-of documentary on it), the 2-disc Collector's edition at 4.42 GB for disc 1 + 3.83 GB for disc 2, and the two-movie set's version was 6.84 GB. So I guess they might have found a way to cram everything in at equivalent quality in the one disc by eliminating redundancies between the two.

My only regret is I don't have the Blu-ray version, too, so I can see how its extras stack up. Oh well, some other time.