Robotech E3 : The Sentinels - Elements Of Robotechnology III

Rating:
Summary: 'The Sentinels'... and some other things to watch
Review: This disc, originally packaged with the third volume of the "Robotech: The Legacy" DVD box set series, features the exclusive release of "The Sentinels" movie on DVD. Also included is a ten-minute-long Sentinels promo featurette that depicts a nice amount of scenes created for the aborted series, which never made it into the video-release movie. Some of the dialogue, however, was re-dubbed using different voice actors. Then there's the movie itself, which has subpar picture quality; it wasn't all that different from what I used to see when I had it on VHS. The sound quality's not all that different, either.

Writer/producer Carl Macek's feature-length commentary for `The Sentinels' doesn't cover too much on the making of the series/movie per se. Rather, he discusses the history of Japanese anime, how it is conceptualized and produced, and lays out key differences between Japanese anime and American animation production. His commentary is taken directly from a chapter in the Robotech Art 3 book (available at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0898655757/qid=1097458539/sr=2-3/ref=pd_ka_2_3/102-8646183-3962510 ), which he authored. I used to own a copy of this particular publication, so in my case his verbal commentary didn't really cover any new ground. However, since the Robotech Art Books have been out of print for several years, and thus are very hard to find, it'll likely be quite new to most viewers. Just don't expect to be wowed by Macek's delivery-- he's a pretty soft-spoken guy!

Also included are character & mecha sketches, many of which haven't been published before. And, like the previous Robotech Legacy Collection bonus DVDs, this one includes various scenes from the Macross saga in various European languages. Sadly, I think most of the foreign dubs sound better than the English (American) dubs! The Euro voice actors really took pride in their work!

Bottom line: of all the `Elements' DVDs, this one's most highly recommended by myself as a true `keeper' for every Robo-Techie's video shelf.

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