calibanplayer I wasn't sure how I would react to this movie follow-up to the Robotech saga that I loved so much when I was a kid. I was even skeptical as I started the DVD, but soon all that slipped away and I started enjoying it. Something about that theme music that really takes you back.It was really nice to see the Robotech mecha and ships get a fancy computer animated upgrade while keeping the characters hand-drawn. It's also good to have the original voices back for several characters, especially Scott Bernard and Rick Hunter.The story in the movie starts near the end of the last episode of the original series with the REF trying liberate Earth from the Invid occupation. A few details are added this time to make way for a new enemy, we meet new characters and a couple characters stories are changed from the stories set forth in the Robotech novels.***MINOR CHARACTER SPOILERS AHEAD***The android Janice was introduced in the Sentinels novels as having been constructed by Dr. Lang before the Expeditionary force left Earth after the 1st Robotech War, in this movie she was partly constructed by the Haydonites.We are also introduced to Maia Sterling, who must be a daughter of Max and Miriya. In the Sentinel novels Miriya has another daughter named Aurora, but she would be a lot younger than Maia, and there's no other mention of them having a child.***END SPOILERS***It somewhat ignores events that happen in the novel The End of the Circle, which I wasn't real happy about since I'm a big fan of the novels. I know in Star Trek and Star Wars novels aren't considered official cannon, but with Robotech there is only 1 series of novels, and it directly follows the animated series, where as the Star Wars and Trek novels are all over the place.I know it's tough to revisit a beloved property 20 years later and please all the fans, but I think they did really well with this. If you loved the cartoons, you should enjoy this. I hope they are able to make another one of these that's also good.

darkmax Perhaps Tommy Yune is trying too hard, but to me, it seems he and his team hasn't done quite enough.It is refreshing to see Americans doing Japanese style CG-cell mix anime. There is little to complain about their first attempt at this, although there are plenty of room for improvements.For those who criticize this movie as being lame, you obviously have not seen the Robotech series from the 80s. So shame on you to make such a comment.But having said that, despite a huge budget and 20 years of over-selling the series, there is surprisingly little character depths. In fact I would go as far to say it expects the audience to be knowledgeable in the backgrounds of the characters.The animation is satisfactory. I can find few faults. The only obvious disappointments, for me at least, are the way the starships exploded. A simple fireball covering each portion of the units is all, no breaking apart or little details like debris and sharpnels. Another would be the lack of detailed transformation of the fan-favorite Cyclones.Anyway, in my humble opinion, this movie could have done well with another 15-30 minutes to emphasize on the characters' personalities.

mamobac Wow. What an incredible cliché after cliché... You wait for 20 years and all you get is a complete rehash oh every SCI-FI cliché in the book...Yet again the earth is fighting nasty aliens, with one dimensional forgettable characters...Only this time the awesome(robotech) music score is not here. It is replaced with easily forgettable Star Wars alike score...And on Top of that, we have the so advertized CGI. O dear that is THE worst CGI ever seen on film. I simply cannot find a comparable title.What you will see is one cgi flaw after another, badly animated mecha,( almost not moving), Massive perfectly aligned fleets, moving all at the same speed..., horrible out of sync explosions..The 2d characters were somewhat decent. They could use some more animation, but they look quite good.. Too bad all they have is their looks...Over all a major desapointment. Most certainly not worth the money...

sehomer831 Despite what the other reviewer has commented about "The Shadow Chronicles", this movie was made with the fans at heart. Yes there are loose ends with missing characters like Minmei, Lisa, Max and others, but you need to realize that this is being made to reintroduce people to the legacy that is ROBOTECH. The fact that they used Rick's, Scott's, the Regent's, Vince's and many other cast members voices from the series, shows the dedication the production team spent to make it as authentic as possible. For Christ's sake, they use lines lifted from the last 3 episodes of Robotech in the movie. For any TRUE ROBOTECH FAN, they close a lot of open questions, they use Minmei's songs, and try to keep the style as close to the original style... And to top it all off the use the original designs for the ships and mecha.Please watch this movie with one thing in mind. This is a modern reworking of the series in an attempt to stay true to what Robotech represented. They do a very good job to keep as much continuity as possible without making it too confusing for those who have not seen the series or remember much of what happened at the end of the series. Don't's nit pick all the issues, enjoy it for what it is, Robotech for a new generation of fans.Below are my responses to the other reviewers comments made about the movie..."In all honesty, the Sentinels OVA was MUCH better." All Sentinels did was tie the the first and second series together. It was not as good as it could have been. Yes it had the animation and character style of the series, but you cant expect them to use such an old style in a modern rendition of the series. But seriously, Lisa's Hair? The use of the stock footage from the series? Very Bad dialog? Should I continue?"Who is to blame for this mishap? Definitely Tommy Yune. By the way, who the hell is this Korean guy? They should have gotten Carl Macek on the project. What were they thinking? I mean without Macek you can't have Robotech. He made the bloody thing." Tommy Did a great job reworking the movie. Frank Agrama was part of the movie screenplay (he helped with Sentinals too so =P ) and Macek did advise on the screenplay. LRN2Research before you make comments like this.