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Carl Macek R.I.P.
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Whatever you had to say about him, he was a major figure.
I will say this, if it weren't for Robotech i would probably not be an anime fan today. So I pour out a soda for him. ---------- Epsilon 
WHAT???
*Utterly jaw dropping shocked* EDIT: My god... I'm just stunned. I met the guy a few times, even helped interview him for one of the EDC Nova Fanzines in the 80s just as Robotech came out. And I liked the guy. He may have been a controversial figure, but there's no denying his positive impact in popularizing anime. Sure, Speed Racer, Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers came first. But let's face it - Robotech is what most fans who came of age in the late 80s through the 90s remembered as their "entry" show. He was perfectly willing to go with self-deprecating humor at his perceived "villain" status among fans, but also deservedly defended himself as well. The few times at cons I bumped into him, he was always enthusiastic about whatever it was he was doing. And was clearly enjoying himself, no matter what. How can you not like a guy like that? Rest well, Carl. You did your part. 
*Hums the Robotech theme song*
He got me started on this path. Sarcasm and jokes aside, thank you for introducing me to anime and worlds I still love nearly twenty years later.
... You know what? When I get the chance to, I'm going to assemble myself a model of a VF-1S Valkyrie, and put "CPT CARL MACEK" under the cockpit canopy.
blackaeronaut Wrote:... You know what? When I get the chance to, I'm going to assemble myself a model of a VF-1S Valkyrie, and put "CPT CARL MACEK" under the cockpit canopy.You make me wish I'd gotten around to getting a good Valk model. Robotech is the first anime I ever saw, the first one that I ever bought, and the initial motivation behind more than a few good friendships of mine over the last decade or so. I may find it a bit silly now, but there's no denying its impact. My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours. I've been writing a bit. blackaeronaut Wrote:... You know what? When I get the chance to, I'm going to assemble myself a model of a VF-1S Valkyrie, and put "CPT CARL MACEK" under the cockpit canopy. What needs to be done is a picture of Skull Squadron flying in Missing Man formation. Ebony the Black Dragon http://ebony14.livejournal.com "Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you." Quote:Ebony wrote:Do we know anyone who is capable of this? EDIT: No, wait... Paging M. Fnord! 
I don't get it... the man was anathema to every anime fan I knew while he was alive. And now that he's passed away, he's practically the patron saint of importing.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. 
It's the "don't speak ill of the dead" effect. Sort of like how, now that Michael Jackson has passed on, it's all about his music versus the tabloid pedophilia accusations.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.'' -- James Nicoll Bob Schroeck Wrote:I don't get it... the man was anathema to every anime fan I knew while he was alive. And now that he's passed away, he's practically the patron saint of importing. It is easy to lambast someone for their efforts when they are alive and there to continue to provide an example of how not to do something. It's also very fashionable to appear jaded and less than appreciative of someone's effort on your part. I felt that way about Macek when I was younger, just as I felt that way about Gygax when I found there was life beyond D&D. But the truth of the matter is, that someone has to be the guy to risk ridicule to introduce the rest of us pikers to something interesting. Macek did something that the folks that brought all previous anime to the United States really couldn't do; he started a phenomenon. For people of my generation, Robotech was what we talked about, when we were about 12 to 15 years of age. It was something new and different; an serial cartoon that lacked the camp and episodic amnesia of the Hanna Barbera stories. It wasn't particularly good, but it did start us on the road to anime, and it started America really on the road to mainstream anime. Someone had to be the first guy to show the rest of us what we were missing, and Carl Macek was that guy. Ebony the Black Dragon http://ebony14.livejournal.com "Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you." Quote:For people of my generation, Robotech was what we talked about, when we were about 12 to 15 years of age. It was something new and different; an serial cartoon that lacked the camp and episodic amnesia of the Hanna Barbera stories. It wasn't particularly good, but it did start us on the road to anime,I dunno. I got that from Starblazers in 1979. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Bob, some of us aren't quite as old as you. (Born 1980)
Star Blazers was first in many of the accomplishments that many people attribute to Robotech - serial story - non-episodic, deep character portrayals, epic space opera. So no - Robotech wasn't original in all those things. What DID set it apart from previous efforts was promotion and merchandise tie-ins. And that's what KEPT it alive, as opposed to Star Blazers. Which ran a few times and then languished for the better part of a decade or more.
Aside from just producing the show itself, the parent company of Star Blazers (at the time, Westchester) didn't DO anything else to promote it. There's one thing that many people tend to forget. He-man and the Masters of the Universe. Think I'm daft? You forget that the marketing of toys via the He-man franchise was HUGE at the time. It changed a lot of things. Shows that followed it like G.I. Joe and Transformers - would you remember them as well if not for the toys? All the marketing that promoted those shows? I doubt it. What Carl did was unique at the time. He was not only an importer, but he saw the marketing angle. Not only did he help supervise bringing the material over (cut and paste and somewhat bastardized as it was) he PROMOTED IT. With toys and model kits and novelizations and role-playing games and even some of the first CD soundtracks available. THAT is why we remember Robotech. That's why it was huge and paved the way for everything that followed. Because unlike Star Blazers (an arguably superior story) it was supported and promoted and had the merchandising tie-ins that kept it alive. Kept it going long enough for fans to notice other anime. For other companies and producers to get the idea that maybe anime is commercially viable to produce and distribute here in the west. For conventions to form (Project Akon, Animecon. Anime Weekend Atlanta, Anime Central, Otakan) and promote things further. And Macek was there promoting Streamline releases (Akira, etc. ) at those cons as well. And that is what we have to thank Carl Macek for. Without all that, where would anime as a presence in the west be? Maybe someone else would've had the idea in the same time period. But it happened to be Carl. And that's why we will remember him with respect.
Okay, I'm shutting up now. I was simply confused by the pre- and post-death differences in the average opinion.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
I wasn't offended, Bob. You brought up a valid question. One that I could help answer. So I did. I'd actually been thinking about that very thing and how to articulate it. And you provided the catalyst for me to do so.
I never hated him, and neither did a lot of other people that were familiar with the circumstances of the time and had realistic expectations of what he could have done. Plus, of course, there's an awful lot of Robotech fans who have always liked him. The thing is, the people who appreciated him are more likely to speak up about it now that he's died, and most of the people who hate him are more likely to stay quiet out of respect (or just to avoid being shouted down).
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