History Anime / Robotech

* MookPromotion: Invid who magically managed to survive more than one episode against the heroes get promoted into piloting more deadly mecha, or rather, their mecha shell is unmade, and a new one created around them.

* SmartGuy: Louie Nichols

* BossinMookClothing: The Invid who eventually becomes Corg is this, the only things that identifies him as different is the blue lens of his mecha. But unlike every other Invid who fights the Robotech Rebels, he actually retreats when the fight becomes unwinnable without any prompt from the Regess, and actually dodges Scott's missiles and gives him trouble when Corg was just a humble Invid scout.

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Big West (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles[[note]](More details are available on the ScrewedByTheLawyers/BattleTech page.)[[/note]]. Big West subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of ''Macross'', and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

* '''"The New Generation"''' (a 25 episode arc adapted from ''[[Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada Mospeada]]''), concerns the Invid, enemies of the Masters and the Zentraedi, who conquer the Earth after it is accidentally seeded [[spoiler:or, rather, purposefully seeded according to the Shapings' design, according to the novelizations]] with the Invid Flower of Life, the source of Protoculture, following the conclusion of the war against the Robotech Masters. Earth forces that left the planet between the first and second generations return to save their homeworld, including Scott Bernard, who finds himself [[EverybodysDeadDave the only survivor]] of the first counter-invasion. Scott gathers a RagTagBunchOfMisfits on his way across the ScavengerWorld the Earth has degenerated into in order to reach the Invid home hive of Reflex Point.

Aside from the DC comics, there have been a number of other comic adaptations as well, from Antarctic Press, Eternity Comics (later Academy Comics), and others. Titan Comics launched a new run in 2017, which swiftly went [[OffTheRails into a new direction on its own]]. The 2017 series ended in 2019 after the IntraFranchiseCrossover ''Event Horizon'' set up a ReTool into the ''Robotech Remix'' series, featuring multiple characters from various parts of the original timeline interacting in the new Titan continuity (for example, the main character is [[spoiler:Dana Sterling, dealing with being a KidFromTheFuture]]).

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The robotech rebels travel from South America to Kansas (where Reflex Point is). But they make a stop by Manhattan once they make it to North America (which would be way out of their way). Notably, this isn't even a DubInducedPlotHole but carried over from the Japanese version.

* LoveTriangle:

** The prequel arc of the Wildstorm comic set up one between Roy, Claudia, and Jan Morris (the aging starlet Minmei defeated in the Miss Macross pageant), although it's played as [[NoGuyWantsToBeChased Jan's pursuit of the handsome test pilot]] aggravating issues between the other two.

%%* MacrossMissileMassacre: {{Trope Namer}}.

** [[[BigBadWannabe Dr. Lazlo Zand]] in the novels tried to pull this by playing MadScientist on Dana Sterling, [[spoiler:Polly thankfully shows up to muck things up, and he ends up [[AndIMustScream a giant flower of life instead.]]]]

** [[[BigBadWannabe Dr. Lazlo Zand]] in the novels tried to pull this by playing MadScientist on Dana Sterling, [[spoiler:Polly thankfully shows up to muck things up, and he ends up [[AndIMustScream a giant flower of life instead.]]

* '''"The New Generation"''' (a 25 episode arc adapted from ''[[Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada Mospeada]]''), concerns the Invid, enemies of the Masters and the Zentraedi, who conquer the Earth after it is accidentally seeded [[spoiler:or, rather, purposefully, seeded according to the Shapings' design, according to the novelizations ]] with the Invid Flower of Life, the source of Protoculture, following the conclusion of the war against the Robotech Masters. Earth forces that left the planet between the first and second generations return to save their homeworld, including Scott Bernard, who finds himself [[EverybodysDeadDave the only survivor]] of the first counter-invasion. Scott gathers a RagTagBunchOfMisfits on his way across the ScavengerWorld the Earth has degenerated into in order to reach the Invid home hive of Reflex Point.

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Big West (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles. Big West subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of ''Macross'', and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

** Jack Mckinney's novelization include extra material such proloque featuring an attack on a Robotech Master outpost by the Invid, and explaining that the Super Dimension Fortress derives its name from the fact that originally, [[YearInsideHourOutside time inside moved at 1/24th the speed of time outside]]. It also gives Veritech fighters an UnusualUserInterface of a psionic pickup in the helmet, requiring Battloid mode to be partially commanded by thought.

** Justified with the Zentraedi, at they explicitly ''learn'' english.

* BridgeBunnies: [[TropeNamer The originals]].

* CassandraTruth: The old soldiers in the episode Ghost Town rightfully guess that Marlene is an invid for the obvious reason of Lance mentioning her hearing the Invid's signals of a nearby base, but Lance brushes it off as her just having above average hearing.

* {{Epigraph}}: the novelizations have each chapter lead by an in-universe quote, usually from [[EncyclopediaExposita various historical works that cover the Robotech Wars retrospectively]], but also including more informal sources ranging from [[FictionalDocument main characters' memoirs]] to relevant quips made by anonymous SpearCarrier types. The author(s) behind "Jack [=McKinney=]" stated they were directly inspired by ''Literature/{{Dune}}''.

''Robotech'' is a cult anime series about three wars fought by Earth with alien technology, against alien enemies, over control of a powerful energy source. Initially a major success, its relatively adult story content is credited with introducing Western audiences to the sophisticated dramatic potential that Japanese animation had to offer, or even possible for animation itself. This, in turn, fueled interest in anime that was oriented towards the original Japanese productions unedited by American producers.

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could ga obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Big West (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles. Big West subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of ''Macross'', and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

* However, they ''can'' create derivative content based on ''Mospeada'' and ''Southern Cross'', which are both wholly owned by Tatsunoko in the first place. Consequently Harmony Gold's more recent sequels, most notably the original feature-length film ''WesternAnimation/RobotechTheShadowChronicles'', are all set in or after the part of the Robotech timeline drawn from ''Mospeada''. References to the characters or events from the ''Macross'' or ''Masters'' seasons are [[WritingAroundTrademarks subtle at best]].

** Sergeant Angelo Dante. Generally acting sarcastic, dismissing his commanding officer in the 15th Squadron for being a woman and scatterbrained, and when Zor Prime, a bioroid pilot of the Robotech Masters, is shot down and captured and, having lost his memory, is reassigned to the 15th Squadron in the hope he'll recover it and help the Earth armies, treats him as a spy. He's right on two points: his superior officer is the above-mentioned Dana Sterling, [[GeniusDitz a tactical genius with few peers, an incredible ditz outside battle]], and rather childish and spoiled; Zor Prime is a (unwitting and brainwashed) spy, who got his memory wiped and his bioroid shot down by friendly fire ''precisely'' to insert him as a spy, the Masters hoping he'd give the the location of Earth's reserve of Protoculture with the device that transmits everything he sees and hears to them (he succeeds, and as a bonus he accidentally gave forewarning about Earth's counteroffensives against the Masters);

** The canon comic book miniseries "To the Stars" reveals that [[spoiler:[[VillainWithGoodPublicity T.R. Edwards and Anatole Leonard were members of the Anti-Unification League]]]]. While Edwards' membership doesn't surprise anyone, [[spoiler:Leonard]]'s comes out of the blue.

** The Triumviroid was a floating AI controlled attack robot created by the Robotech Masters meant to phase out the Bioroid pilots praised as 'functioning as perfectly as ourselves' by the Masters, and after its showing in one scene, it never appears in the show again except in some vague background shots. (Justified in the ExpandedUniverse, where it's explained they proved to be [[AwesomeYetImpractical gas guzzlers, and the modifying of the Masters' production lines would be far more trouble than for producing the Invid Fighter.]]

* NotSoDifferent: Inverted: Sera gives this opinion on humans and Invid to the Regess, saying the Invid are in no position to claim a moral high ground.

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could ga obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Big West (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles. Big West subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of Macross, and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

* GodGuise: A flashback to Zor's first meeting with the Invid in the [=McKinney=] continuity novel ''The End of the Circle'' has the Regess assume that Zor is Haydon, the {{Precursor}} who brought the Flower of Life to them. Zor, already obsessed with the potential of the flowers, doesn't correct her.

* In 2021, Harmony Gold and Big West [[https://macross.jp/b2b/ announced an agreement]] that permitted worldwide distribution of most of the ''Macross'' films and TV sequels worldwide, confirmed that Big West would not oppose the Japanese release of the anticipated live-action ''Robotech'' film, and recognized Harmony Gold's exclusive license with Tatsunoko for the ''Macross'' characters and mecha used in ''Robotech'' throughout the world excluding Japan. Henceforth, Harmony Gold and Big West would cooperate on distribution regarding future ''Macross'' and ''Robotech'' projects.

** Breetai in the ''Macross Saga'' survives being blown out of his ship by clinging onto assorted spiked protrusions and climbing over the hull until he finds a door leading back in, despite lacking any sort of protection. That said, the Zentraedi were engineered to be workers on hostile environments, so a certain level of protection against the vacuum is warranted.

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could ga obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Bigwest (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles. Bigwest subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of Macross, and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

* In addition, they effectively have veto rights for the imports and English translation of ''Macross'' merchandise and series that are not covered by the original license. Consequently, all ''Macross'' productions with the exception of the original series, ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' and ''Anime/MacrossII: Lovers Again'' [[note]]the latter two were "snuck in" by LA Hero under Harmony Gold's radar at a time when their TV production and licensing divisions were badly savaged by a "headhunting" raid by Haim Saban. By the time HG could have contested it, it was too late.[[/note]] are blocked from being sold or translated in North America (as Bigwest and Studio Nue do not want to pay them). Under Harmony Gold's unchallenged interpretation, Creator/ShojiKawamori cannot make or distribute his own drawings and designs within North America. This has not made them popular.

* In 2021, Harmony Gold and Bigwest [[https://macross.jp/b2b/ announced an agreement]] that permitted worldwide distribution of most of the ''Macross'' films and TV sequels worldwide, confirmed that Bigwest would not oppose the Japanese release of the anticipated live-action ''Robotech'' film, and recognized Harmony Gold's exclusive license with Tatsunoko for the ''Macross'' characters and mecha used in ''Robotech'' throughout the world excluding Japan. Henceforth, Harmony Gold and Bigwest would cooperate on distribution regarding future ''Macross'' and ''Robotech'' projects.

** Rick Hunter spends much of ''Macross Saga'' so obsessed with Minmei that he forgets his initial CharacterDevelopment during the initial ''Reconstruction Blues'' era episodes, and he is so blinded by this obsession that more often than not he can't see that his boss, Lisa Hayes, has become increasingly infatuated with him during their adventures together. Towards the end of these ''Macross Saga'' episodes Rick finally does get to be with Minmei, only to find that he can't relate to her anymore, as she really can't understand what he's been through and how his experiences have changed him, and it finally occurs to him that he should be with Lisa.

* BelligerentSexualTension: A number of the series couples have this or start out as this, the most prominent example being Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes (Macross Saga), but also shown in Marie Crystal and Sean Phillips (The Masters) and finally Rand and Rook (The New Generation).

* BigBrotherInstinct: Roy Fokker serves as a surrogate big brother for Rick Hunter in ''Marcross Saga'' while Scott Bernard serves as a big brother to Rand in ''New Generation''. Both also serve as BigBrotherMentor to the younger heroes.

* TheBigGuy: Breetai for the Zentraedi, Ben Dixon for Macross Saga, Sgt. Angelo Dante for the Southern Cross/the Masters, and Lunk for the New Generation
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: In the scene where Max and Miriya are dueling in an epic 2-player videogame contest, there is a shot that pans across the rest of the arcade to show all the spectators who have gathered around to watch them play. For some reason, there is a large, bearded, middle-aged muscle man standing in the middle of the arcade, [[PedoHunt with no shirt on]], flexing his arms in a typical macho show-off pose. Who he is and what he's doing there is a complete mystery.

** In Macross, while Earth was still recovering, both the SDF-1 and the SDF-2 get destroyed in Khyron's suicide attack (which he turned into one after getting too severely damaged to escape into space), and most of the main bridge crew aside from Lisa get killed.

** NumberTwo: Lisa Hayes and Claudia Grant

* CutAndPasteTranslation: One of the most famous examples. Less glaring in the initial Macross Saga, which handled the story similar to the series it was adapted from with the exceptions of names and changes made to emphasize Robotech specific worldbuilding.

** Compared to the original series, as well: the Macross Saga famously was, in general, a direct translation of key events in Macross and not much editing-out of violence; come the finale, however, it gets much more bleak, as [[TheCaptain Captain Global/Gloval]] and the BridgeBunnies, who SURVIVED the destruction of the Macross in the Japanese version, are outright [[KillEmAll KILLED in the Robotech version]].

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: Zor Prime]]
* DecoyProtagonist: Back when the series originally aired on television, Roy received so much focus that viewers believed ''he'' was the main character, instead of Rick. [[spoiler: Which made his eventual death shocking for them]].
* DemotedToSatelliteLoveInterest: {{Invoked}} in the [=McKinney=] ''Robotech'' ExpandedUniverse. Miriya was the greatest Zentraedi female ace, and when she got her HighHeelFaceTurn and [[BestHerToBedHer married Max Sterling]], for the rest of the original series she was his counterpart and got equal screentime with him. Then during the Malcontent Uprisings, the brass made the official decision to turn her into a propaganda piece; "homemaker, mother, ''former'' freedom fighter." Miriya abided by it, but still played an important role in the finale (and returned to badass status during the Sentinels series).
* DeskJockey: [[spoiler: Henry Gloval]] becomes this after being promoted to admiral. [[spoiler: It still does not keep him from going down in combat]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Macross has numerous allusions to WWII, including:

** Many Robotech {{Fan Hater}}s don't realise that this show is one of the main reasons why there even ''is'' an anime industry outside of Japan. Quite a few of them are a bit too young to remember when anime (then called Japanimation) was practically unheard of in the USA. Older anime fans remember that the only reason Robotech was created was because of the popularity of ''Star Blazers'', which fused together separate different incarnations of the same series, ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'', made sizable edits for an American audience, and was one of the first English dubbed anime to broach maturer themes with an emphasis on the story being shown in order. Sound familiar? It's only Robotech that's most well known for it in modern anime fandom.
** As mentioned above and at other places on this and the YMMV page, Harmony Gold in some ways fostered the situation through their actions. Even bigger problem is that Harmony Gold chose not to credit any of the character designers, writers, mecha designers, directors or animators. Some ignorant ''{{Anime/Robotech}}'' fans think that Carl Macek single handedly created Robotech although the things that are praised in it are already present in Macross. They'd also likely get more respect if they'd actually allow for more official Macross series releases. So far, the only Macross series that's had a subbed release under Harmony Gold is the original Macross.

* TheHero: Rick Hunter for ''Macross Saga'', Dana Sterling for ''The Masters'', and finally Scott Bernard for ''New Generation''. They're all flawed individuals, but undoubtedly heroic.
* HeroicBSOD: Several characters go through them at various points throughout the story, such as Rick when [[spoiler: Roy Fokker died]], Lisa when she finds out Minmei is at Rick's apartment, and Minmei towards the end of the series after she gives up singing.

* InLoveWithLove: A couple of characters had this through the ''Macross Saga'', specifically Rick towards Lynn Minmei, Lisa towards Lynn Kyle. (see LovingAShadow below)

* IntraFranchiseCrossover: The last arc of the 2017 Titan Comics series, "Event Horizon", has the Invid Regess send her troops through dimensional portals to harvest Protoculture from various "Protoverses" representing various periods in history and alternate versions of the franchise -- including ''The Sentinels'', ''Robotech The Movie'', ''Shadow Chronicles'', and even the aborted ''Robotech 3000'' series. Only the ''Macross Saga'' heroes and a ''Masters''-era Dana Sterling from an alternate future can stop the Invid.

** Before the First Robotech War, [[spoiler:Anatole Leonard and T.R. Edwards]] were members of the Anti-Unification League, planning to reignite the Global War and use the chaos to take over the world, and took personally part in sabotaging Project Valkyrie and [[GrandTheftPrototype hijack Armor-1]] (Earth's only functioning ''space warship'', armed with ''[[NukeEm Reflex missiles]]''), the latter resulting in the death of many crewmembers who tried to resist and the destruction of Antarctic Base and the [[WaveMotionGun Southern Grand Cannon]] that was being built there, and would have resulted in the destruction of Macross Island and Alaska Base too had Roy not resolved the situation. They never paid for that, they were never found out, and in fact [[spoiler: [[TheBadGuyWins Leonard effectively]] ''[[VillainWorld succeeded]]'']].

* KidFromTheFuture: The Titan Comics run has Dana Sterling showing up during the Macross Saga, [[spoiler:sent back in SuspendedAnimation aboard the SDF-1 to warn about the "Event Horizon" IntraFranchiseCrossover about to begin]]. ''Robotech Remix'' continues with this plot point, with [[spoiler:Dana's desperate search for a way back to her original timeline fueled by her angst over her parents not being in love with each other, even if they both love her like their own daughter anyway]].

** That the invid don't often subscribe to this is why Scott thinks a alone Invid might have spotted them when it flies off after searching their camp sight and just went back for reinforcements.

** Everything save for the [[spoiler: Children of Shadows]] was caused by one such moment: Zor solving Tirol's energy problems by [[{{Jerkass}} seducing the secrets of Protoculture out of the Invid Regess]] and bringing them to Tirol, where he developed the Robotechnology. Cue the Robotech Masters using his Robotechnology to create an empire with the Zentraedi as enforcers and, to cap it off, ''defoliate Optera of every trace of the Flower of Live'', thus driving the Invid in their RoaringRampageOfRevenge.

* TheNotLoveInterest: Minmei is pretty much this at the end of Macross Saga as Rick ''finally'' figures out that he's meant to be with Lisa.

** The look on Dolza's face when he sees the SDF-1 finally breach his fortress with its shield intact, prepared to launch its final [[MacrossMissileMassacre Macross Missle Massacre]].
** After robbing a protoculture cache and finding their loot floating down to the planned spot on the balloons from Yellow Dancer's concert, and bamboozling the human security, the Robotech Rebels see five invid shock troopers fly in to take care of business themselves. But it turns the other way as the rebels with their gear now fully charged manage to kill off three with just the cyclones, and Scott takes out the last two with the Veritech.

** Averted in the Macross generation considering that the SDF-1 crew barely understand what the retrofitted ship can or can't do, making each new manuever in combat a desperate shot in the dark.

** Mankind has two models: the Cyclone series of the Robotech Expeditionary Force and the MODAT prototypes of the Southern Cross (the latters only appearing in ''The Untold Story''). Both types are [[CoolBike motorbikes that change into powered armour]], but the [=MODATs=] are more powerful and large enough to straddle the line between this and MiniMecha;

* {{Precursors}} In the original ''Macross'' anime this was part of the setting, while in the adaption Max theorizes humans and Zentradi must have a common ancestor. Exador eventually chalks their similar genetics up to pure chance... an incredulous Rick call out the sheer mathematical impossibility of this. The obvious but unspoken idea that humans and the Robotech Masters share a common origin isn't directly discussed (again, in the Southern Cross anime, humans and the Zor (the species not the character) DID have a common origin).

* PunchClockVillain: The Zentraedi could be considered this as they were only acting under orders from their bosses, the Robotech Masters, and even the Robotech Masters themselves could be seen as this given that at one point they openly state that they never actually wanted to harm the human race (all the conflicts stem from a series of [[PoorCommunicationKills communication clusterfucks]]).

--> '''Khyron''': I HATE TO! LOSE! A! FIGHT!

* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Invid could be taken as a stereotype of [[spoiler:Communist China]], and the Zentraedi as... [[spoiler:Americans]].

** Captain Gloval defies the orders from his superiors to take off from the Earth in order to bait the Zenreadi forces away from Earth.

** "The Macross Saga" has the episodes showing the Robotech Masters are coming to Earth (for the second part of the series) and the announcement Earth is going to send a diplomatic expedition to the Masters' homeworld (for the intended ''Sentinels'' spin-off);
** "The Masters" has the Masters' warnings about the Invid, and concludes with the narrator announcing that the Invid are in fact arriving (for "The New Generation);

** The visual references that ''Macross'' made to several other popular anime of the day, as well as to the Macross production staff, are largely left intact. The novels and older comics also incorporate some homages and extra data from the component series, and also include references to several science fiction properties.
** In "The Big Escape" (Macross Saga episode 12), Lisa Hayes suggests that humans and Zentraedi might actually be related somehow, and it is commented upon by both Zentraedi and human scientists that physical makeup, cell structure, biology, etc between the two species is almost identical. In the original ''[[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Macross]]'' anime; humans, Zentraedi and Meltrandi (female Zentraedi) were all directly related species of HumanAliens, being different offshoot branches of [[{{Precursors}} The Protoculture]].
** See that fighter Roy and Rick fly? Looks pretty sweet doesn't it? Guess what, its color design's real. The VF-84 ''Jolly Rogers'' fighter squadron did fly white jets with yellow ribbons, black tails and skull & crossbones logos.
** To the Franchise/LupinIII Franchise: A video game in episode 24, intended to be similar to the game "Cliff Hanger", which uses footage of the car-chase scene from ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro''. The character playing the game seems to be in Lupin III cosplay, complete with smoking cigarette.

* SmugSuper: In the Robotech RPG books, the introduced new generation of post-humanoid Invid acts this way even towards their fellow Invid. This results in there being chaffing between the humanoid and the post-humanoid Invid. When facing earthlings, the post-humanoid Invid's ego is even described as reaching pathological levels. Thankfully, the source book describes them as being only a couple dozen on Earth total, and they have to combined their efforts to pull off the tricks the Regess herself has shown.
* SnapBack: The city inside the SDF-1 is shown to be seriously damaged in many space battles, not to mention ''every time the ship transforms''. It's always fine in the next episode. [[{{handwave}} It could be said]] that eventually they would figure out where damage would be and make it easily repairable. This is [[{{Lampshade Hanging}} lampshaded]] in the novels, where the civil engineers were marvelous, able to both synthesize new building materials at an incredible pace, and devised a way of setting up the city in such a way it sustained minimal damage during transformation. The novels particularly have this as a secondary reason for the Zentradi to do a HeelFaceTurn: The humans know how to ''repair'' things, an [[LostTechnology almost magical ability]] from their point of view. This is Lampshaded by the fact that when Breetai's main viewscreen on his ship's bridge is smashed by a veritech flying through it, it is never repaired, simply replaced by another screen with the smashed viewscreen still in place.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Rook and Rand have their moments, they're the archtypical couple who Rand keeps shifting between hitting on and teasing, but then grow to life each other. Ironically, Rook is the better fighter easily, with only little Anne having less combat experience than Rand, but his wilderness experience and ingenuity helps out the group more than once.

* SpiritualAntithesis: Oddly, ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' and ''Robotech'' became this as their timelines progressed. In ''Macross'', the Zentraedi become more like humanity, while in ''Robotech'', thanks to repeated invasions, humanity is becoming a warrior race like the Zentraedi.

** Dana shot down the Masters' flagship by hitting a weakness in the ship's reactionless drive. When another Mothership comes to the rescue, Dana shoots it another weak spot to take it down... And fails: the Masters have the plans for their own technology and know it well, and the moment they were aware that one such weakness existed they figured out what happened and how and fixed it and the others faster than they could be identified by the ASC.

** Invoked by Scott in a HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath, when Lunk says how with their new firepower they've salvaged from Point K they'll send the Invid packing with Anne adding they'll be their own miniature army! Scott snarls it won't make a difference, they'll end up like "this!" (bangs fist against wrecked Robotech ship of Point K) What can four veritechs and four cyclones do that 2000 vertechs couldn't?

--> '''Dana''': Oh, give me a hug, Louie!
--> '''Louie''': I'd be glad to, ma'am.
--> '''Dana''': I'm so proud of my brainy boy!
* TearsOfJoy: When Anne is given a birthday with other people for the first time in her life complete with peppermints. She breaks down in these.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Rick Hunter and Lynn Kyle both went through this in the "Reconstruction" era episodes of ''Macross Saga''. Granted, Rick had been a bit of a jerk earlier in the series but he started to grow up, getting over his initial infatuation with Minmei and seemingly moving on to Lisa... only to regress back to being infatuated with Minmei (who also got a bit derailed herself). His behavior towards Lisa in ''Brokenheart'' and ''A Rainy Night'' is especially disgusting, and they're supposed to be the show's primary couple! Kyle started off a nice guy with slightly unrealistic views of war and peace who degenerated into an alcholic control freak in the aftermath of the war, due in no small part to his unhealthy relationship with Minmei, which he himself eventually got tired of and left her when he realized the situation was hurting her as much as it was him.

* TransformationIsAFreeAction: For the main characters at least. There's a recycled animation background for the Macross saga where a veritech is blown up while transforming.

* WaveMotionGun: The Macross reflex canon. It doubles as a fancy light show for special occasions.

** Due to the time skip the casts of both ''Macross Saga'' and ''The Masters'' get shuffled out with little to no closure.

In addition to redubbed anime, several comics, novelization and original tie-in novels and games, have attempted to relate the story, with varying levels of success, within and between the Robotech "generations". One of the most ambitious was ''Anime/RobotechIITheSentinels'', which chronicled the story of the ''Macross'' heroes as they go into space towards the Robotech Masters' homeworld to stop any further wars. Naturally, they miss them, only to find the planet besieged by the second faction of the Invid, and meet a collection of alien races fighting to free themselves from Invid domination. Although the animated series fell apart after a few episodes were created, the story continued in comic, novel, and tabletop RPG form, each offering similar [[AlternativeContinuity variant takes on the story]].

One of the stranger aspects of all of this was how Harmony Gold could obtain the US trademark for ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' just by defending the rights to ''Robotech''. Japan and the US did not have reciprocity for copyrights at the time and Bandai/Big West (the owners of ''Macross'') had sublicensed the international distribution rights to Creator/TatsunokoProduction, who licensed all aspects of ''Macross'' except the Japanese model kits to Harmony Gold. Bandai also licensed several mecha designs to FASA for use in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''[[note]][[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Unseen According to Sarna.net]], a website dedicated to the lore of the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, FASA might not have had a rightful license in the first place - the importer who cut the deal, [[https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twentieth_Century_Imports 20th Century Imports]], had deliberately misrepresented their own associations with Bandai, and allegedly had no legal claim to said rights themselves[[/note]], and they were incorporated and used in the miniatures game. FASA had sued Creator/PlaymatesToys over alleged copyright infringement for a design in their ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad/Robotech'' crossover line that resembled a "Mad Cat". Harmony Gold countersued FASA for the longstanding use of ''Macross'' IP in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', citing their license from Tatsunoko. The suit was settled out of court, and the settlement was sealed so the settlement terms are not known. However, the suit forced FASA to voluntarily remove the offending designs (now known as "[[FanNickname The Unseen]]") out of fear of renewed legal hassles. Big West subsequently successfully sued Tatsunoko (but only in Japan), as ''their'' license to ''Macross'' was originally only to cover the original animation content of Macross, and ''not'' any derivative content based thereon.

* In addition, they effectively have veto rights for the imports and English translation of ''Macross'' merchandise and series that are not covered by the original license. Consequently, all ''Macross'' productions with the exception of the original series, ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' and ''Anime/MacrossII: Lovers Again'' [[note]]the latter two were "snuck in" by LA Hero under Harmony Gold's radar at a time when their TV production and licensing divisions were badly savaged by a "headhunting" raid by Haim Saban. By the time HG could have contested it, it was too late.[[/note]] are blocked from being sold or translated in North America (as Big West and Studio Nue do not want to pay them). Under Harmony Gold's unchallenged interpretation, Creator/ShojiKawamori cannot make or distribute his own drawings and designs within North America. This has not made them popular.
* In 2017, the terms of said legal proceedings were partially unsealed as part of a legal case between Creator/TatsunokoProduction and Harmony Gold. Harmony Gold was not found in breach of the terms of their original contract, but the court ruled that they have to relinquish all rights (other than the ''Robotech'' name) by March 14, 2021, as per the licensing agreement. This has also affected a follow-up case, where Harmony Gold were finally taken to court over the terms of the original FASA settlement (the lawsuit was settled in 2018). But in 2019, it was announced that Tatsunoko renewed Harmony Gold's license for an undisclosed period of time, allowing them to make and license ''Robotech'' content "well into the future".

A ''Robotech'' edition of the ''Mospeada'' [[Main/OriginalVideoAnimation OAV]] ''Anime/RobotechLoveLiveAlive'' was released in 2013 as a sequel, of sorts, to ''The Shadow Chronicles''.

Aside from the DC comics, there have been a number of other comic adaptations as well, From Antarctic Press, Eternity Comics (later Academy Comics), and others. Titan Comics launched a new run in 2017, which swiftly went [[OffTheRails into a new direction on its own]]. The 2017 series ended in 2019 after the IntraFranchiseCrossover ''Event Horizon'' set up a ReTool into the ''Robotech Remix'' series, featuring multiple characters from various parts of the original timeline interacting in the new Titan continuity (for example, the main character is [[spoiler:Dana Sterling, dealing with being a KidFromTheFuture]]).

* OnlyPointTwoPercentDifferent:
** The Zentraedi. Given the Southern Cross mistake Zor Prime for a human after genetically testing him, it's implied that 0.2% might have been the Zentradi's bioengineering.
** And by extension, their Tirolian creators are also this.

* RealityEnsues:
** Dana shot down the Masters' flagship by hitting a weakness in the ship's reactionless drive. When another Mothership comes to the rescue, Dana shoots it another weak spot to take it down... And fails: the Masters have the plans for their own technology and know it well, and the moment they were aware that one such weakness existed they figured out what happened and how and fixed it and the others faster than they could be identified by the ASC.
** While on board the Robotech Masters' flagship, Sean is confident General Emerson isn't going to destroy the ship while his godson, Bowie, is on board. Bowie shoots down this presumption, knowing his godfather isn't about to risk the fleet and the mission for the life of one soldier.
** ImprobableAimingSkills is adverted in one episode where Rand sets up an elaborate trap for an Invid shock trooper, and gets it upside down for a few moments before its weight causes the trees hanging it to snap... Rand missing the eye lens, as trying to hit a small moving target isn't easy.
** Invoked by Scott in a HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath, when Lunk says how with their new firepower they've salvaged from Point K they'll send the Invid packing with Anne adding they'll be their own miniature army! Scott snarls it won't make a difference, they'll end up like "this!" (bangs fist against wrecked Robotech ship of Point K) What can four veritechs and four cyclones do that 2000 vertechs couldn't?

* FrothyMugsOfWater: Rico, Bron, Konda, and the "punch" at the SDF-1 landing celebration. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar Worth noting spiking punch with alcohol]] [[FridgeBrilliance isn't exactly unheard of.]] Other than that, this trope is surprisingly often averted in the series.

** Gloval actually, at her wedding no less, reminds the people of the many RDF pilots she's killed... and says that they need to move past this for the sake of peace (she was a soldier at war after all).
** Before the First Robotech War, [[spoiler:Anatole Leonard and T.R. Edwards]] were members of the Anti-Unification League, planning to reignite the Global War and use the chaos to take over the world, and took personally part in sabotaging Project Valkyrie and [[GrandTheftPrototype hijack Armor-1]] (Earth's only functioning ''space warship'', armed with ''[[NukeEm Reflex missiles]]''), the latter resulting in the death of many crewmembers who tried to resist and the destruction of Antartic Base and the [[WaveMotionGun Southern Grand Cannon]] that was being built there, and would have resulted in the destruction of Macross Island and Alaska Base too had Roy not resolved the situation. They never paid for that, they were never found out, and in fact [[spoiler: [[TheBadGuyWins Leonard effectively ''succeeded'']]]].

** During the Battle of Reflex Point, the Invid Regess points at the Robotech Expeditionary Force's all-out offensive trying to reconquer Earth, even having weapons of mass destruction ready in case they lose, as proof that HumansAreBastards. Sure, she may not know just what the Invid Regent did on Tirol, but considering that the Invid occupation of Earth translated in the conquerors not only letting the Humans do as they wished as long as they didn't try to oppose them nor tried to break the tigh regulations on Protoculture (that, incidentally, is the fuel for the mechas and guns that can actually pose a danger to the Invid) but also ''repairing Earth's ecosystem after the Zentraedi's bombardment brought it on the brink of collapse'' it's easy to see why she had such a low opinion of the REF. [[spoiler: That and she had recognized the REF new equipment as coming from the Haydonites, meaning their ancient enemy was manipulating the Humans into trying to do the dirty work for them...]];

*** Interestingly, the dynamic between Roy and Rick would not be seen in anime again until years later, with the [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina/Simon pair]].