Editing Super Dimension Fortress Macross

[[File:Macross.png|400px|right|]]

'''''Super Dimension Fortress Macross''''' (超時空要塞マクロス ''Chōjikū Yōsai Makurosu'')<ref>Official translations vary on whether there should be a "''The''" at the beginning in the English title in front of "''Super Dimension Fortress Macross''".</ref> is a [[1982]] multimedia project consisting of a 36-episode animated television series accompanied by toys and songs. ''Macross'' was created by [[Shōji Kawamori]] in conjunction with [[Artland]], [[Studio Nue]], and [[Tatsunoko Production]] with sponsorship from Big West. The ''Macross'' brand has continued with new entries every so often, significantly with ''Macross 7'' in [[1994]], ''Macross Frontier'' in [[2008]], and ''Macross Delta'' in [[2016]]. 

Relevant to this wiki, ''Macross'' is the source of the original, much-beloved [[Jetfire (G1)/toys#Toys|Jetfire]] toy design, notable for its "perfect transformation" (完全変形 ''kanzen henkei'') in having a revolutionary level of animation accuracy for a triple-mode mecha toy all the way back in 1982.

==Story==
In the year [[1999]], a massive derelict spaceship crash-lands on [[Earth]] in the south [[Pacific Ocean]], confirming to [[human]]kind that they are not alone in the universe. Over the next decade, a [[United Nations]] Government is formed to oversee the transition into a new space age, reverse-engineering the technology found aboard the alien capital ship to create the U.N. Spacy, humankind's first spaceworthy military service. Their primary air and space vehicle is the VF-1 Valkyrie, a next-generation variable fighter, with the alien capital ship itself being repaired and remodeled to become the SDF-1 ''Macross'', capable of faster-than-light travel. Finally, in [[2009]], the giant Zentradi arrive to acquire the lost warship and to investigate if this strange world may be home to their long-lost creators, the Protoculture. At this point, an accident strands the human crew of the SDF-1 at the edge of the solar system and ignites war with the Zentradi, and humanity and the galaxy will never be the same again.
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<center><gallery>
File:TakatokuSuperValkyrie.jpg|''Macross'' 1/55 VF-1S Super Valkyrie
File:Jetfireg1toy.jpg|''The Transformers'' Jetfire, a recoloring of the 1/55 VF-1S Super Valkyrie
</gallery></center>


==''Macross'' in ''Transformers''==
[[File:EvolutionSkyfire.jpg|upright=2.0|thumb|The progression of Jetfire's character model being redesigned to avoid evoking a Bandai asset]]
Initially in 1982, a company called [[Takatoku Toys]] manufactured ''Macross'' toys, notably the "perfectly-transforming" 1/55 VF-1S Super Valkyrie. However, Takatoku would collapse not long thereafter, and their assets would soon be bought out by [[Bandai]], who then licensed the large ''Macross'' VF-1S (as well as ''[[Armored Insect Corps Beetras|Beetras]]'' and ''[[Special Armored Battalion Dorvack|Dorvack]]'' assets) to [[Hasbro]], who desperately needed molds to fill out the [[1985]] product line of ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]]'', which had absolutely taken ''off'' beyond their initial expectations.

Why would Hasbro market product from Japanese companies besides its collaborator Takara? [[Bob Prupis]], one of the original members of the ''Transformers'' marketing team, would frequently go to Toy Fairs in Asia, where ''"any product that really looked good that was exciting we didn't care where it came from. We did some work with Bandai, who had been working with other people, and took a few products that looked right for our line"''.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/94f5cb70b08a646d G1 Hasbro marketing executives panel]</ref> The 1/55 Super Valkyrie, then, must have met their criteria for inclusion. As Bandai at the time was only concerned about business in Japan, Hasbro was free to sell the large VF-1 mold as a ''Transformers'' figure in non-Japan markets. However, as Hasbro wanted advertising for such a large toy (US$32 plus tax on store shelves back in 1985), some compromises had to be made for Jetfire to appear in [[The Transformers (cartoon)|''The Transformers'' animated series]], which Takara would want to air in Japan as well. The exact sequence of details is uncertain, but we wound up with a character named "Skyfire" in the episode "[[Fire in the Sky]]" shortly ahead of the "Jetfire" toy itself on North American and European store shelves. Notably, Hasbro's European offices billed Jetfire as the Autobot leader for their 1985 debut of the ''Transformers'' brand, creating a particularly lasting memory for European fans.

[[Jetfire (disambiguation)|Jetfire]]'s enduring popularity has seen many new incarnations of the character and trademark over the decades, even if [[Jetfire_(G1)/toys#War_for_Cybertron:_Siege|more modern]] [[Jetfire_(G1)/toys#Masterpiece|toys]] tend to derive much more from the legally-not-''Macross''-we-promise cartoon design with design nods to the toy. Now and then, Jetfire's original ''Macross''-based design gets to make small appearances.

In 2024, it was announced that an unspecified ''Transformers × Macross 7'' toy would be released as part of [[TakaraTomy]]'s ''[[T-SPARK#Synergenex|Synergenex]]'' series of crossover figures, in celebration of ''Transformers''{{'}} 40th anniversary and ''Macross 7''{{'}}s 30th.

===Legacy cameos===
<center><gallery>
File:AshesAshes-JetfireJetfire.jpg|1986 comic artist error of Jetfire's toy design
File:KreO-webcomic-3-Jetfire.jpg|2013 ''Kre-O'' online comic cameo
File:Funko Pop Jetfire G1.jpg|2021 Funko Pop vinyl figure
File:Transformers-2019-43-Jetfire Macross cameo.jpg|2022 IDW comic cameo
</gallery></center>

==Attempted interference by a terrible company==
In the 1980s, a U.S. company called {{w|Harmony Gold USA|Harmony Gold}} ventured into the anime adaptation industry. They purchased the overseas rights to the 1982 ''Macross'' TV series as well as two unrelated series to create a hodgepodge project called ''{{w|Robotech}}''. (Back in the day, ''[[Power Rangers (franchise)|Power Rangers]]''-style story modifications were much more common in the U.S. industry.) However, they were unable to market the 1/55 VF-1S toy because that mold's overseas rights had already been licensed by Hasbro.

Among the anime community, Harmony Gold is infamous for its stranglehold on the distribution (or rather, the lack thereof)  of ''Macross'' material outside of Japan throughout the 2000s and 2010s. During this time, the company filed multiple frivolous lawsuits against other companies it perceived to have infringed upon its intellectual property, even though Japanese courts have ruled that Harmony Gold doesn't actually own the authorship rights to the ''Macross'' franchise.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-01-20/tatsunoko-wins-author's-right-to-macross Tatsunoko Wins "Author's Right" to Macross]</ref> In 2013, Harmony Gold sued [[Hasbro]] over a [[Jetfire (G1)/toys#G.I. Joe and the Transformers|non-transforming ''G.I. Joe and the Transformers'' Jetfire]] toy. Although the suit admits that "damages are difficult to ascertain", the company brazenly demanded that Hasbro would have to recall and destroy all the Jetfire toys, turn over all profits relating to the sales to Harmony Gold, and pay all related damages.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131014085251/http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/23/Transformers.pdf]</ref> The suit was subsequently dismissed with prejudice in favor of Hasbro.<ref>[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-10-17/harmony-gold-usa-v-hasbro-case-dismissed Harmony Gold USA v. Hasbro Case Dismissed]</ref>

To make all of this even more pathetic? In 2023 Harmony Gold would release a redeco of their VF-1S mold under the title ''God of Flame'' featuring the - remember, ''*Hasbro-created*'' - color scheme for the original Jetfire toy, plus another version [[Jetfire (SG)|with the red exchanged for purple]] to boot. It costed a whopping 230 USD - for a [[Size class|Voyager-sized toy]], thus; being even smaller than his original Generation 1 version! - and it was plagued with QC issues.

Between these dubious legal antics and a number of unrelated accusations regarding fraud and embezzlement,<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-29-me-agrama29-story.html Federal agents search producer's home, office]</ref> it should probably go without saying that mecha fans worldwide generally aren't fond of Harmony Gold. Notably, fans aren't the only people who feel this way: Shoji Kawamori himself dislikes ''Robotech'', calling it a "''pirated version''" of the series and saying that fans should "''support the official Macross releases''" instead.<ref>[https://fullfrontal.moe/kawamori-40-interview/ fullfrontal.moe interview by Dimitri Seraki and Arnaud Bastie at Gallery AaMo in June 2019]:<br>
"In America, they have a modified version of Macross, which is called Robotech. Nowadays, there are a lot of people who are fans of Robotech without knowing that Macross exists. How do you feel about it?"<br>
S. Kawamori: "I don't understand, nor do I accept the fact that they took and modified my work without even asking. I can not comprehend how a pirated version like this exists. However, I feel I was very fortunate that many other people from other countries around the world were able to see Macross."<br>
"Harmony Gold has a lot of new project around Robotech in America. I think they are working on a new movie, for example, do you take any credits from the American Robotech works?"<br>
S. Kawamori: "I don't want to talk about it. Please support the official Macross releases."</ref> Enough said about that.

==Notes==
*In the 1980s, the VF-1 molds underwent various licensed uses by overseas companies, similar to the distribution of Takatoku-based assets for ''Beetras'' and ''Dorvack''. In the United States, Canada, and Australia, Select released a small VF-1S mold as part of the "[[Maladroid]]s" subline in ''Convertors''. The baseline Roy Focker deco was renamed [[Zark]], also being given a variant red deco unique to ''Converters'', while a black deco (including the Super Pack) unique to ''Converters'' was named [[Zardak]]. In [[2010]], the [[Transformers Collectors' Club]] prose story "[[A Team Effort]]" would include Zardak in a cameo as a ''Transformers'' character.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.macross.jp Official website] (Japanese)
*[https://twitter.com/macrossD Official Twitter page] (Japanese)
*[https://twitter.com/MACROSS_BIGWEST Official Twitter page]
*''{{w|Super Dimension Fortress Macross}}'' at Wikipedia
*[http://macross2.net/m3/m3.html Macross Mecha Manual] fan database

[[Category:Japanese franchises]]
[[Category:Pre-Transformer franchises]]