Anime Expo : Macross Plus, Macross 7, Macross II and More Coming to Blu-Ray

Last year saw the longstanding stalemate regarding the international distribution of the Macross and Robotech finally come to an end. After blocking releases for years, the involved parties came to an agreement that would clear the way for future releases.

At this year's Anime Expo convention in Los Angeles, Macross distributer Big West made several announcements at their panel. They revealed that several different series from the franchise would be getting released in the near future. Some have previously been released in the west, while others will be available for the first time.

Perhaps the best known of these is 1994's Macross Plus, which will be making its debut on Blu-Ray disc. It will be offered as both the original OVA series and its movie edition. The title is being published by UK distributor Anime Limited, who will be distributing the title in North America as well as the UK, France and other territories later this year.

Next up is Macross II: Lovers Again, the 1992 feature film sequel to the original Macross series. The film will be released on Blu-Ray in the US by AnimEigo.

Macross 7 (1994-95), Macross Frontier (2008) and Macross Delta (2016) will be released as complete sets on Blu-Ray by Nozomi/RightStuf.

Macross is one of anime's most iconic sci-fi franchises so many western fans will be thrilled to finally get the chance to see it for themselves. It's a shame that the reveals haven't included a new release of the original Macross series but it seems churlish to complain. It's worth noting however that these sequels don't share any characters or plot with the original and function more or less as standalone.

Further details about these releases will be revealed by the distributors closer to their release.