(Most Of) The Macross Franchise Coming to Disney Plus In 2024
Super Dimension Fortress Macross is one of the most influential sci-fi anime ever. Following the 1982 TV series and its movie remake, the franchise has spawned multiple sequel series. However, the series has- with a few exceptions- remained largely unavailable in the West. The '82 series was edited into the US series Robotech by Carl Macek, along with two completely unrelated series. Due to the Macross US rights being tied up by distributor Harmony Gold, the majority of the Macross franchise has been effectively barred from release in the West. In 2021 after years of legal wrangling, Harmony Gold came to an agreement with Japanese producers Studio Nue and Big West to see the international release of "most of" Macross's sequels and movies.
It has now been revealed that the Macross franchise is coming to Disney+ internationally. The series and movies will be under Disney's international Star brand, so there is the possibility that they might be available on Hulu in the United States. They are due to be available some time during 2024.
The titles that will stream are:
- The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 (the music video derived from the television and film versions of the original Macross anime)
- The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers, Again- (6 episodes)
- Macross Plus (4 episodes total)
- Macross Plus Movie Edition
- Macross 7 (49 television episodes, plus three OVA episodes)
- Macross 7 the Movie: The Galaxy's Calling Me!
- Macross Dynamite 7 (4 episodes)
- Macross Zero (5 episodes)
- Macross Frontier (25 episodes)
- Macross Frontier: The False Songstress
- Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell
- Gekijō Tanpen Macross Frontier Toki no Meikyū
- Macross FB7: Ore no Uta o Kike!
- Macross Delta (26 episodes)
- Macross Delta the Movie: Passionate Walkūre
- Macross Delta the Movie: Absolute Live!!!!!!
Notably absent from the list is the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series and its movie remake Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? So if you're a Macross newbie wanting to start at the beginning, you're out of luck. The original series is currently unavailable streaming anywhere, and its sole DVD release from AD Vision in the noughties is long out of print. The titles are listed as "limited distribution in Japan", so it's anyone's guess whether we'll ever get a chance to see them.
Big West CEO Kamon Onishi said "In 2024, it will be possible to deliver Macross to all over the world. And now, together with our wonderful partner Disney+, we are able to deliver all of our works from ``The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Flash Back 2012'' to our latest work ``Macross Delta the Movie: Absolute LIVE!!!!!!'' to everyone around the world. I'm very happy. Disney Plus said they wanted to distribute all the works at once.It was also our dream. The "Macross" series can be enjoyed as a single work, but it is a series that can be enjoyed even more if you understand the connections between each work. Please enjoy the greatest chance to learn about the world of "Macross" provided by Disney Plus."
Macross centres on an intergalactic war with an alien race called the Zentradi. Mankind fights back with giant robots called Valkyrie and with the power of music (no, really). The series was created by Shoji Kawamori and Studio Nue.
The Macross anime will join a growing selection of anime available on Disney+ internationally that includes Bleach: The Thousand Year War, Heavenly Delusion, Summer Time Rendering, The Tatami Time Machine Blues and as of March 20, Sand Land the new series based on the manga by the recently departed Akira Toriyama.
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