Why Was Southern Cross Cancelled?
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- Опубліковано 1 сер 2018
- Sorry this took so long, going through some dumb real life stuff and thought I'd have to stop making video all together. I'm back now, much the Dinosaurs in my favorite film, Dinosaurs.
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Acknowledgments:
This video would not have been had as many resources to work with if not for the people at The Skaro Hunting Society (skarohuntingsociety.wordpress..., the users on the MacrossWorldForums, and Uneri2017 (dude on fiverr that I paid to translate a couple Japanese webpages).
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Not sure what else I can link
I loved this part of Robotech. I was soooo pissed when I found out that it was cancelled in Japan, & that's I'd never know how it ended. A cliffhanger is literally THE worst place to end a series.
The Japanese version has an ending. You should watch the subtitled version.
Technically Southern Cross in Robotech was a bigger hit in the US then in Japan.
@Jay O'Mailey But it was.
Robotech basically savaged a canceled flop of a project and made something out of it by merging it with Macross.
You are correct and it makes me sad... Southern Cross is awesome!
Southern Cross was the first part of the Robotech saga that I saw, so I'll probably always have a fondness for it and the characters.
@@dominomobymeow5591 Robotech semi-salvaged Mospeada to a lesser extent.
In Japan Mospeada was a moderate hit that neither was going anywhere really but also not being cancelled.
Macross is the only three that Robotech used that ended with a real Legacy, the last two out of Robotech have drifted off into obscurity.
Just like how The Big O did so poorly in Japan it was canceled at 13 episodes but did so well in the west that a second season was sponsored by Adult Swim.
Part of it had to do with reminding people of Batman TAS.
I've always liked the character designs from this show and some of the animation is truly fantastic. The Southern Cross explosion designs, in particular, have influenced my own work.
I had always hoped that there would be figures of the various characters in their armor and regular outfits. There were kits in Japan but no figures except for Dana Sterling.
I first discovered Macross (etc) as Robotech. I had to be home right after school, and I watched Robotech on a small black and white tv. Most of the time, I had to stand there with my hand on the antenna to make it work
Yep, this is basically me. Though the rabbit ears on our B&W TV worked if you tied and positioned them just so.
As a huge fan of the American Robotech Saga I watched it when it aired in Southern California in 1983-85. It included all three generations and I didn't know then that it was 3 different stories mashed into one. I will always love the series. At one point I was a die hard collector of all related toys. I wish I still had them. 😑
Imagine that, people didn't like the feudal Europe setting of an isekai anime...
I have a real soft spot for shows that strived for greatness but had troubled histories... And Southern Cross always resonated with me (also I love the mechs personally) thanks for this look.
I grew up with robotech, I have all of the series. Happy memories. :)
So great in 2018 there is an entire video on Southern Cross, it was a real sleeper hit even in Robotech..
But there was something charming about the designs and the world.
I agree, it's full of potential as I see it. It's a shame that HG rarely taps into it, being one of the only two parts of Robotech they have free license to do anything with.
watch Armored Trooper Votoms and Legend of Galactic Heroes and do a review on them.
Also play Armored Trooper Votoms for PS2 by Yuke's.
You know I would rather see a Battle Sprites card for this show then the Gundam(which they eventually did)
i dont mean to be offtopic but does anybody know of a method to log back into an Instagram account??
I somehow forgot the account password. I love any assistance you can give me
@Felipe Bishop instablaster =)
One of the issues was the division of how the toy/model rights were split up. There were Model show inserts of more than just what was released, or those planned Spartas/Auroran - but from what I heard, the third company that was to make stuff crash-and-burned even harder than the one Bandai bought out, before DYRL OR SDC:SC came out. So, the series entered production with one of the 3 merchandisers DOA, and a second terminally ill.
I think it's interesting that you keep bringing up the merchandising in all these Robotech/Macross related franchises. Growing up in the Midwest, I never saw any of these in any of our stores, but I'd (try) to recreate the motorcycles, robots, etc. with Legos. That's like the only thing I remember using Legos for as a kid actually. But I didn't even know that actual toys even existed until watching these kinds of UA-cam videos decades later.
"look bruh you need to tone yo shit back. this ain't some OVA where you can ass blast as much as you like, this is REGULAR television. We need SOME standards"
-concerned staff probably
So I guess there’s a reason that out of the three series, Southern Cross’ mecha are the least memorable (which is especially weird since I have the Robotech RPG Books for each series). Sandwiched between the epic Valkyrie and the beautiful Alpha the Logan just can’t measure up... plus MOSPEDA had a motorcycle mecha. It’s hard to top that.
man now i want to dig out my old palladium books lol
It's amazing you find all this information! I got the dvds for Southern Cross just so I could see all the stuff they deleted from Robotech. Really interesting how much more story the other two girls had.
Someone asked "Why didn't they just give the series more time if it was changing so much?"
I addressed this in my article but neglected to put it in the video, sorry about that. The reason is that they were told 'if its going to be a super dimension series, it has to premiere the week after Orguss airs its finale.
The super dimension title was a huge selling point for the show so they were reluctant to let go of it even if the show was a mess.
Hey Mercuryfalcon, what Is the name of the song used in this video?
I still have my Robotech Art 1 book right now. Which i've brought from Forbidden Planet Mega Comic book store in 1988.
As do I…..Art 1, Art 2 and Art 3.
As of March 2020, the totally uncut subbed version of Southern Cross, with shower scenes intact, is now airing on the Anime All Day channel. Mospeada as well. They used to insist uncut anime like this would never air on American TV. Too much violence and way too much nudity. Well. Hell just froze over.
Aha!
As someone who doesn't mind southern cross, this is one of your best vids yet.
I don't agree entirely on the Southern cross designs as I think they look alright, Especially the copter one. Although I wouldn't place them in my favorites that's for certain.
I watched Southern Cross on Amazon just to see what differences besides the obvious nudity were left out of the 2nd part of Robotech. Not much editing at all actually, some of it was put back in with the release of Southern Cross in the US when ADV held the license. Unlike most fans I do like The Masters Saga as the 15th became the trump card against the Masters. I always liked the tanks and while designs could have been more sexy they are more function than flash and an very effective tool.
For me it was the story for the most part, I had a hard time getting past max and myria(or however you spell it) leaving dana under the supervision of Zand yet somehow taking the baby with them to fight the masters?!? It just created a big disconnect for me add into that the zenophobic southern cross leadership who you find out later had been in contact with the masters since before they had come into the solar system proper...i don't know it just rubbed me the wrong way all around.
The Spartas are pretty awesome. The ability to transform into a laser tank was a clear advantage shown in the series. They definitely have a more infantry feel and less jet fighter flyboy vibe.
@@jonathanvogt4341 Yeah, story was just jammed in to make it one continuous series. But it was a requirement to bring the series to the US, so the guy did a pretty good job of it in retrospect. I think he would have preferred to just run dubbed versions of the Japanese versions, but it was a compromise to get the series to play in US. In retrospect as a young teenage boy, I definitely would have appreciated the Japanese nudity!
The quality and quantity of research on display here is staggering. And thank goodness you remembered to mention the rain boots!
Bandai really? They dropped the ball when Robotech made toys for Southern Cross hopefully they remember to make the kits next time.
Damn, so much of my 80's childhood was wrapped up in Robotech. It kinda hurts to see the truth behind a show I loved so much.
Or you can still be appreciative of it, like I am
God, I had that US Hovertank toy. Think it was licensed as an Exo Squad name though. Also had a Macross Tomahawk Destroid also under the Exo sqaud tag.
The music for this anime is top notch, no wonder that Godfrey bloke appropriated them for his ninja films (alongside lots of prog rock music!)
It's also nice to know the exact process of action girl Jeanne being based off Joan of Arc, she's definitely a personal favourite character for me.
Great video! Love randomly coming across things like this in my feed.
7:49 - "fans even waited outside of theaters in tents to get their tickets. As the eagerness of fans in-tents-ified..." HAH what a knee-slapper! I'm sorry..
Great video analysis! Regardless of a show's quality, it's interesting to know how a series would come to be! (P.S. I know I made this comment already, but since you re-uploaded, I thought I'd repost!)
Well, you have this series one more chance!
I almost forgot that I subscribed, but this was a nice surprise. Splendid video, as always.
The Auroran is the Starfury of anime mecha. The thruster-tipped rotor blades make is more practical, not less. It's probably the most underappreciated mecha design out there.
My first experience with this was actually through the Robotech novels, and what really got me into it was the complex relationships between the characters. So things like the sloppy mecha designs never really bothered me. When I saw the original series and read the supporting materials the setting and background, especially the mystery of the Zor, made it my favorite of the three that became Robotech.
9:42 There was a nude scenes in Mobile Suit Gundam too, both TV and film - only the Fraw Bow (who was Amuro's schoolmate) scene was cut from the film
When Southern cross was aired on fox channel 11 I thought it was great! I loved every episode and it was so fun to watch! And still love it as of this very day!
I remember that also...... I even video-taped straight through, with commercials, I Think I still have it..... Don't know if VHS still works though!! I only missed part of the 3rd Generation (Mospeda), due to being out-to-sea, and earthquake occurred, knocking out the power, and time settings on VHS!
Southern cross was cursed from the moment they hired the diaper loli guy, even though he was booted later on.
Are you suggesting that he was Deviant art b4 Deviant art was cool?
@the Lord of mainia Games the grunt animators dont get paid much sure but the key artists do if theyre well known. Just like the voice actors
@the Lord of mainia Games Start as a grunt? No. Most anime is basically just adaptations of existing Manga.
And many Anime studios that are successful start off as ..well studios consisting of animators.
That whole outsourcing came later on. You know a lot of anime is made now in Korea and even people from other parts of Asia
@the Lord of mainia Games i seen that before
That was ridiculous why doesn’t Japan do something about it? Like seriously p3don stuff ain’t cool
Great research and providing this video.
7:19 Are you kidding me!? Wow, dude that must've been a rare instance where the US toys were better than the Japanese toys. Then again is it really a victory when you won just by existing?
Noticably the voice actress for Sailor Mars (Michie Tomizawa) debuted as the lead character in this show.
In dub latin american same actress dubbed monica manjares dubbed some main character
another great episode!!!!
excellent video man, absolutely wonderful
Well, the Super dimensional series was put on halt, so that Macross can thrive as a franchise.
2:29 Flash-forward 30-something years later and now most popular anime genre is European-style medieval fantasy isekai
Great video. I'd love to see one of this nature for Orguss. Keep up the great work! Subscribed. =)
Another great video bud. Cool to see the detials we were talking about in the discord server explained deeper.
Anyone else find it strange how for the PS2 era games of Battle Tech and Invasion, that they never made a Southern Cross based game? Obviously it still suffered form the middle child syndrome and lack of love for the series as a whole. Hell a game may have been able to iron out the world some more.
Also, if you'd ever consider slightly straying away from the sci-fi genre, I'd personally love to see you explore Key the Metal Idol or the original Birdy the Mighty OVA.
Learned a lot from this, thank you so much
This was intriguing and well made bravo!
2kssadultswim check out the rest of his history of vids. They're great.
Kenneth Eaton I know I’ve been subbed to him for a while, but your suggestion makes me want to rewatch all the vids now thanks!
2kssadultswim awesome. I'm really looking forward to part three of his Robotech series, covering the harmony gold controversies.
That was good. You got yourself a new subscriber!
Great video, and very informative. I have a model kit of Jean on her hoverbike.
I don't care what anyone says, I LOVE the hovertanks. I wish the overall artwork of the show was better, but it was still good to watch. I enjoyed it as a part of Robotech. And let's not forget the quick romance between Sean Phillips and Marie Crystal after he saved her life on the battlefield.
I distinctly remember seeing the all those mecha in the intro of the Robotech Masters portion when it aired in America. I remember being confused since we never saw any of them in the shows. ua-cam.com/video/V-nTes25Yxk/v-deo.html
I wish harmony gold would release a bioroid and hover tank figures.
Playmates did release some Bioroid designs under the Exosquad line. (along with Invid). I know, as I have some.
The Bioroid and Hover Tank were both part of the original toy line.
I do like Dunbine and I'm glad it's coming to Blu-ray this month. Do you have plans on reviewing that?
Yay, I'm the 300th like. :) Very interesting video. :) I always felt sorry for Southern Cross for being the least successful of the Super Dimension trilogy, despite it having an interesting idea of having a female lead, something that's still relatively rare when it comes to mecha anime. No wonder Matchbox did well in toy sales at the time, thanks to Robotech, Southern Cross sure did get a second lease on life, as far as toys were concerned. :) Another contributing factor to it's failure could be in the over saturation of mecha anime at the time. 1984 was the last year where a tonne of different mecha titles would be released. Though they would continue, but not in the same number as they were in the early 80's. Most studios tended to just produce one mecha anime a year, if at all, with the exception of Sunrise who still really liked mecha anime and would continue to produce more then one show, as well as OVA's and movies. But things did slow down by 1985. Toei didn't produce any new mecha series, instead focusing on their partnership with Marvel/Sunbow thanks to Transformers and their success and would continue to do so till 1990. Ashi would produce Dancouga to promote Bandai's latest mecha anime at the time and earned them a partnership with Bandai that lead them to continue working with Ashi for the next two years on anime based on their Machine Robo line; Revenge of Cronos in 1986, then Butchigiri Battle Hackers in 1987. Tatsunoko would only go on to produce Zillion and the ill-fated Robotech II: The Sentinels. TMS would only produce the comedy mecha anime; Robotan. AIC would only produce the occasional film or OVA like Megazone23 and Fight! Iczer One, both from 1985. So as you can see by 1985, mecha anime had definitely slowed down, following 1984's mecha anime burnout.
The Logan veritech is one of my favorite designs from Robotech, it's unique.
Thanks Man for this insight...
Any passing mention of Dunbine brings me happiness
I didn't know about the Souther Cross / Zillion connection. So interesting! Zillion is excellent.
It's good to know that the series' mecha designer, Makoto Kobayashi, still had a great career with other projects like Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam & the manga AND anime, Dragon's Heaven
Holy hell, Bioroid = Zuku!? Head exploded in laughter...Keep up your great work!!
WOW! I'm a 70's fan, with very little interest in 1980's-anything (and I grew up in the '80's), but that was SO well researched! I'm also a massive fan of Tatsunoko, so, to see them trying to acclimate into a new decade's trends is very interesting. "Southern Cross" is such a great title, but, from the pedo-designer, to the poor time-slot, to the lack of toys, it just seemed doomed! This was fascinating to watch.
cool ur back
Wow i had no idea tyvm for your video.
Thanks for this!
I loved the series. Can't help it if the Japanese failed to do a world wide market to promote the show. It's ironic that it took a U.S. toy company to actually give Southern Cross the recognition it needed. Any way I have every single mecha used in show. Thank god for 3d printers and stl files...
You should upload photos of your collection.
It's content like this that for me makes UA-cam worthwhile.
Great video, MercuryFalcon!. And... what You know about the anime titled Mospeada?
At least that one fared much better than Southern Cross, even getting an OVA for the fans that was nothing but stock footage to Yellow Dancer's performance.
Southern Cross was actually the most ambitious of all the series with characters from many branches of the military but it was woefully unfulfilled. It should have finished all of its episodes but ended too quickly at 23.
Damn, Dana, i mean Jean! Was really hot! I also liked the hovertanks a lot they looked quite tough while at the same time very fast.
It sounds like the industry was pushing design teams/studios so hard to come up with the next big thing that they were relying on natural talent and sheer blind luck. There was no time to really plan things out rationally and systematically deliver on quality.
You know, I was having fun watching everything and then you hit us with 'lolicon and diaper fetish art'.
What....what 'interesting' things to note for a mech series.
I still have 2 Hovertanks IOP, plus a Garland. Love them. Always wish I could have had an Aurora/AJACS.
Great job, sir. As one of the rare Southern Cross fans not connected to Robotech, I enjoyed it a lot.
Very interesting information.
Huh. I've heard of southern Cross. But I don't remember seeing it. Interesting to see this. ty.
"Robotech: The Masters" is not very interesting to me as a standalone work. But as a bridge between The Macross Saga and The New Generation, it does its job pretty well.
All of Robotech series bests of anime ever, but back in childhood when all came out. It’s challenging one pick which series of all of them
great video
In this anime I first time saw the use of "Aim bot" for a video game
The strangest thing was when Robotech was on TV in the mid 80s, I thought that all 3 series were just 1 show; showing the huge battle in space in the sky and on the ground...Valkyries, Hover Tanks, Cyclones. Well now I know and strangely I was half right. LOL.
So much insight and information! I know Southern Cross only as Robotech Masters, and enjoyed it over Macross. There was more action and less soap opera in SC. Stronger characters too: Dana, Nova, Angelo, Louie, Zor et al. I was surprised it flopped in Japan, but suspect you're right that Macross DYRL, uninspired mecha, and a bad time slot conspired to tank it. I looked for a DVD of Southern Cross, but they're rare and expensive. Robotech larded the show with Protoculture and Invid subplots foreign to the original story. Would enjoy seeing the series as originally intended.
Very interesting video I'll have to check zillion out now. It's getting a Blu-ray release in America soon oddly enough.
Adammyers1995 Is it getting released by Discotek?
Darkscream nope Funimation oddly enough.
Adammyers1995 that is odd, but I'm still looking forward to it!
I so gotta get Zillion as well!
It'll be cool if FUNi released a limited edition with those model guns they were advertising.
I recognized the Zillion theme right before you started mentioning the anime.
From this video, I got the sense that "Southern Cross" was a troubled production overall.
Apart from Yui you're probably the only other person who's even thought about SDC Southern Cross XD. Great video mate. Will you do more ROBOTECH stuff?
As for the Ninja the protector, I would say it was unofficially remixed ;)
good video, thank you
2021P here........ Poor S.Cross! Your research on your videos are Quite Good, I believe this is my 2nd video I have seen on your channel.
Robotech, was my, and Still IS, favorite anime!! I tried getting my teenager to watch this show (all of them), to appreciate the animation, at that time. You're right about the animation you can see the different styles of work when they show their product. I could Almost see 3 or 4 different styles trying to show this series! As far products, models/toys, I have models of Macross-products, built a few of VF-1s, BUT Never seen the Hovertank toy!! I have seen the Invid-toy and Thought about geting (back then) the Battleroids of Zentradi. I Liked the A.J.A.C.S. helicopter, wished they had a toy/model of that...... and Transformable!!!
Very Interesting analysis. Out of the 3 Robotech series, SC is my favorite. I actually enjoy the different armies and various 'uninspired' Mecha. @ 5:12 The Logan has only 2 modes (as compared to the Sparta and Valkyrie's 3) Guardian and Jet. So that analysis is just wired to me. anyways thanks for the background fill in. IT IS appreciated.
Its just weird to me that the Guardian mode is also a pseudo robot mode. Also there was a preliminary design for the Sparta that had a different design for the head and I actually thought it looked really good.
Have a pic of that?
@@jomama900 Yeah, actually found this just after uploading this video imgur.com/R02LRtR
@@MercuryFalcon yeah that's cool. Looks like one of the other SC Army's helmets
Macross: Romantic
Southern Cross: Enigmatic
Mospeada: Fun
Just another day in the AotSC.
Godfrey Hos not Korean hes Hong Kong chines
Sad that the mecha weren't a bigger hit. I really liked them. I have 2 HoverTank transformable toys, and wish I had one of the ATACS copter. Two of the best mecha weren't even used in Robotech on TV. The Garland transforming motorcycle is only seen in the forgettable Robotech movie, and its hovering cousin, the powerful Strike Garland, is only found in one Robotech Role Playing Game manual.
Southern Cross is not without its faults, but I also think the series is very character-rich and personally love it. I do wish Robotech had been more faithful to the original material. I liked that it took place on a colony, and one of the key story points was the discovery that the pilots of the alien mecha are human pilots who had been captured and brainwashed - thus bring up the issue of whether they should kill them or not. In the Robotech version, we're told the pilots are alien, and the dilemma becomes, "Oh my God, there are alien pilots in those bioroids! Do we have the right to kill them now that we know they aren't just machines?" But that doesn't make any sense as a dilemma because we've already crossed that line in the previous series. Nonetheless, I love how the story moves along and you get to know a whole unit and share in their adventures, along with many recurring supporting players. It reminds me a bit of Deep Space Nine.
00:09 Polish poeple: that eagle surely looks familliar....
I thought you were Kenny Lauderdale at first but great video nonetheless
I loved southern cross and made every effort to collect all the model kits i could find.amd even got the matchbox toys..alas i never bought the bioroid model as it was selling for 50$ back in the 90's
The designs in the show were "almost" good. I've always liked huvver tanks.
Yes, I remember playing the Palladium Robotech RPG, and I always gravitated toward characters driving those tanks.
thankfully they didnt make the cast members look like pedo bait like the artist had a fetish for lol
seriously 'diaper fetish'? lmao
Hover Tanks
Claims there is lack of merchandising. Claims there is to much merchandising because of T&A......
What's the correct translation for "oh dear"?
"Known for his..."
I mean.
I can stop right there because everything then makes sense.
I had a bunch of southern cross action figures when I was a kid, no mecha but the 3 1/4" figured were fairly easy to find at KB toys
Haven't seen the show, but I'm loving the soundtrack. Specifically the song, "Deja Vu".
Even the soundtrack is difficult to find sadly
Holly Crap!... Tnx for the vid.