Line #46 WesternAnimation/RobotechTheShadowChronicles


1	%%
2	%%
3	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
4	%%
5	%%
6
7	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsc_poster_4273.jpg]]
8
9	''Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles'' is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 ''{{Anime/Robotech}}'' television series. It is an original production that has nothing to do with any of the ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' sequels [[note]]although it could, if one wanted, be adapted back into ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada''...[[/note]] but instead was made exclusively for the ''Robotech'' fandom.
10
11	''The Shadow Chronicles'' takes place [[POVSequel during]] and [[{{Interquel}} after]] the events of the final two episodes of the series. The story follows the arrival of the Earth Expeditionary Fleet to retake their home planet from the Invid, the BigBad of the third cycle. They are armed with special technology provided by a sinister race called the Haydonites that they hope will provide them with the edge they need in battle. Characters from all three cycles of Robotech are united with newly created ones to deal with this new threat.
12
13	''Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles'' was intended to be the start of a new movie franchise and series. The live-action Robotech movie (still deep in DevelopmentHell) may or may not impact the development of future products along this story. The movie is controversial with some fans in that it ignored the previously canonical spin-off novels by James Luceno and Creator/BrianDaley (under the name Jack [=McKinney=]).
14
15	A {{prequel}} ComicBook miniseries ''Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles'' published by Wildstorm established the events between the end of ''Robotech'' and prior to the events of the movie. It went out of print when Wildstorm dissolved.
16
17	A sequel entitled ''Robotech: Shadow Rising'' was put aside in favor of ''Anime/RobotechLoveLiveAlive'', a retooled ''Anime/GenesisClimberMospeada'' OAV that was released alongside a reissue of ''The Shadow Chronicles'' in July 2013.[[note]]As of 2020, the [[https://trademark.trademarkia.com/shadow-rising-77258278.html official trademark]] was not renewed.[[/note]]
18
19	----
20	!!'''This show provides examples of:'''
21
22	* AcePilot: Maia Sterling is a rare female example. Scott Bernard may also qualify from his role in "New Generation." Marcus is likely to count as one as well, but is currently just a rookie.
23	* AllThereInTheManual: A huge amount of backstory for the movie can only be found it its comic book prequel, ''Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles''.
24	* {{Animesque}}: Given its source material, this is in no way a surprise.
25	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Robotechnology and Protoculture in particular, the latter serving as the fuel source for the REF.
26	* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The Invid fighters shot down in the opening battle should be referred to as "bandits (identified hostile aircraft)", not "bogies (unidentified aircraft)".
27	* AscendedExtra: General Gunther Reinhardt, who was merely a nameless commander in the original ''Robotech'', gets his role beefed up here.
28	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Everyone from the second and third chapter of ''{{Anime/Robotech}}'' except Scott, Ariel and Louie Nichols.
29	* CurbStompBattle: The Haydonites annihilated the REF fleet stationed at Liberty Station, [[spoiler:thanks to the various back-doors the Haydonites secretly inserted inside the REF's Shadow Technology]].
30	* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Maia Sterling (lavender); Commander Reinhardt (ditto), and Scott Bernard (blue).
31	* EvilChancellor: The Haydonites are Earth's allies at the start.
32	* {{Expy}}: Haydonites are machine lifeforms who wear red cloaks and have a single circular glowing red eye. They bear a suspicious resemblance to Sharon Apple's true appearance, which may be an indication that Harmony Gold wishes they could eventually incorporate ''Anime/MacrossPlus'' into ''Robotech''.
33	* FormFittingWardrobe: The UEEF uniforms, to the point that their ''navels'' are visible, male and female. [[NippleAndDimed But not their nipples.]]
34	%%* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: Ariel is a pink-haired example.
35	* GoodLookingPrivates: Conversed. Alex suggests to Marcus that they became pilots to impress girls, and Marcus replies that the only girls they know are ''also'' pilots.
36	* HalfHumanHybrid: Maia is half-Zentradi; Ariel is a humanized Invid.
37	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Vince and Jean Grant.
38	* IdolSinger: Janice briefly does one of Minmei's old songs.
39	* LaResistance: Scott Bernard's year-long role in the Earth resistance against the Invid is referenced in the movie.
40	* MacrossMissileMassacre: A tactic used by the REF to take out Invid forces when they try to take out their vanguard to invade the Earth.
41	* MaleGaze: Maia Sterling is shown through this at the beginning of the movie while she's giving maintenance to her veritech.
42	** The movie doesn't shy away from showing Janice's cleavage and backside.
43	* MythologyGag: Although ''Robotech'' doesn't officially include any ''Macross'' products past the original 1983 series, a few elements of ''Shadow Chronicles'' do seem to be callbacks for fans of both franchises who are aware of the connection.
44	** Daryl Taylor's death scene is very reminiscent of the unnamed Zentraedi who fought Roy Focker to the death in ''Do You Remember Love?''. When impaled by Invid pincers, Taylor's face blanches for a few seconds and then his helmet visor is stained with blood from his mouth.
45	** The Haydonites' robot-head-and-cloak ensemble, for example, is ''very'' similar to the "real" appearance that the Sharon Apple AI unit takes in public appearances, especially at the start of ''Anime/MacrossPlus''.
46	** ''Shadow Chronicles'' features a younger daughter of Max and Myria who has purplish-pink hair, is reasonably well-endowed for her age, is fairly self-confident and sees herself as one of the guys, is a highly competent pilot from a family of pilots, and has a distinctly pink transforming mech. ''Anime/Macross7''... features a younger daughter of Max and Myria who has purplish-pink hair, is reasonably etc. etc. etc... even their ''names'' sound at least somewhat similar, although they are sufficiently different that the ''Shadow Chronicles'' girl is not a direct {{Expy}}.
47	** The end of the movie, in which the Archangel travels off into space to search for the [=SDF-3=], is oddly reminiscent of the more recent ''Macross'' series and how they go out into deep space looking for things as well. Granted there it's a search for colonizable worlds, but the fundamentals remain the same.
48	** One mythology gag which relates more to ''Robotech'' fandom than ''Macross'' is the Haydonite's referral to humans as Protoculture Addicts.[[note]]Haydonites wish to eradicate races that use protoculture.[[/note]] This is the name of the first ''Robotech'' fanzine.
49	** Maia's replaces Aurora Sterling from ''Anime/RobotechIITheSentinels''.
50	* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Several of the new characters are family members of characters from the original ''Robotech''.
51	* OneWomanWail: During Marcus' [[spoiler: subverted]] HeroicSacrifice.
52	* PetTheDog: While the Regess with her swarm is leaving Earth, she vaporizes big chunk of the RDF fleet... and the Fantastic Nukes they'd just launched, and she repairs the damage the Zentradi's barrage did to Earth's biosphere.
53	* PossessionImpliesMastery: Averted with the Shadow Technology (the [[StealthInSpace Shadow Device]], the [[WaveMotionGun synchro cannon]] and the [[BigBulkyBomb Neutron-S missiles]]) provided by the Haydonites: the REF ''thinks'' they've mastered it, [[{{JustifiedTrope}} as they developed it themselves with the help of the Haydonites]], but in ''The Shadow Chronicles'' it turns out they don't, as [[spoiler: the Haydonites manipulated the REF in the development: the Neutron-S missiles are not gigantic nukes as the REF thinks but ''black hole generators'', while the Shadow Device and synchro cannon will overload and explode if exposed to the Haydonite disruptor wave]].
54	* POVSequel: The first act of the movie covers the events of the final two episodes of the Robotech series from the perspective of the Robotech Expeditionary Force.
55	* {{Retcon}}: Much of the ''[[Anime/RobotechIITheSentinels Sentinels]]'' and Robotech movie & book canon was retconned out of existence by this movie, although several of its elements were incorporated into it. To be clear, the Haydonites and getting a huge fleet are evidence that ''something'' happened to the SDF-3, after they left for Tirol. It's just that the movie never stops to let us know what all that entailed. And, of course, the nature of the Haydonites lets us know that it's not what the ''Sentinels'' novels say [[labelnote:Explanation]]Originally they had a more humanoid design and were shown to be benevolent until the novel ''End of the Circle'' which was the continuation of the original series until the expanded universe was taken out of canon in the early 2000s[[/labelnote]]. It could easily have happened close to the ''Sentinels'' novels way (''Prelude'' does in fact show some of the major Sentinels leaders, and while the details of the end of the Sentinels mission are changed form their novel/comic versions, many of the important things [[spoiler: (like T.R. Edwards working with the Invid and Breetai and the Regent dying together in battle over Optera]] ''do'' happen). After all, until the betrayal, they were playing 'nice', to make sure the Expedition fleet swallowed their booby-trapped technology. XanatosGambit really: they don't care who destroys who, they just intend to move in and wipe out whatever and whoever is left.
56	* SequelHook: It ends with indication that the REF is going to search for Admiral Hunter, the tale that should be told in ''Shadow Rising''.
57	* ShoutOut:
58	** "[[Anime/{{Megazone23}} Security breach in Sector 7-G.]] [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Security breach in Sector 7-G."]] ''D'oh.''
59	** The Haydonites refer to the humans as "Protoculture addicts"
60	* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: The Haydonites are ''much'' more evil than the Invid, who were worse than the Robotech Masters and the Zentraedi. The Haydonites, however, are the only Robotech aliens so far who have been clearly and unquestionably evil. The previous three had heavy shades of gray. And to be fair to them, we haven't really seen enough of them or their ultimate goals to know that they're absolutely evil.
61	* ShoutOutThemeNaming: In the ''Shadow Chronicles '' comic prequel and animated film, there are two ships Icarus and Deukalion. In mythology, Icarus and Deukalion are the respective sons of Daedelus and Prometheus who are known in ''Robotech''/''Macross'' lore as lending their names to the two supercarriers that form the arms of ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' SDF-1.
62	* SpiritualSuccessor: Although ''Shadow Chronicles'' retcons all versions of ''Anime/RobotechIITheSentinels'' out of existence, the ''Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles'' miniseries also functions as a continuation of the Eternity[=/=]Academy comic version; it even begins with a flashback to a major event of the last published ''Sentinels'' issue.
63	* TheNthDoctor: Ariel, during the original ''Robotech New Generation'' series had the same voice actor as Scott's late fiancé Marlene. The voice change for Shadow Chronicles wasn't due to the unavailability of the original actor. In fact, she made a cameo appearance as a ghostly image of Marlene. According to WordOfGod, her change of voice was voluntary on Ariel's part as acceptance of her true identity as Invid Princess Ariel. The casting change was brought about due to a misinterpretation of the original Japanese scene where Scott initially sees an imaginary image of Marlene in Ariel's place when he first encounters her in danger. This was interpreted to indicate that he took her as a dead ringer for Marlene, and that she somehow had the same voice, thus the attraction. Recently, that scene has been reinterpreted as a form of post traumatic stress disorder on Scott's part. He simply saw a young woman about the same age as Marlene being victimized, thus his move to protect her. She was not originally given the name of Stick Bernard's dead girlfriend. Her name was Aisha both before and after her reveal as an Invid. The actual meaning of the scene was made clear by the original Japanese ''Mospeada'' writers who also commented that the ''Robotech'' translation turned Stick Bernard's attraction to Aisha into something creepy.
64	* TheSquad: Skull Squadron.
65	%%* TransformingMecha
66	* WagonTrainToTheStars: The ending, which as noted above makes the future of the series look a good bit more like what recent Macross shows have been doing...
67	* WaveMotionGun: The Synchro Cannons. [[spoiler:Notably, the aliens who gave them the designs made them purposefully detective as part of an elaborate betrayal later.]]
68	* WritingAroundTrademarks: At no time does the famous [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Robotech Defence Force]] roundel appear, and characters from the Macross Saga are shown with original designs during the [[AllThereInTheManual Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles]] prequel comicbook series with Rick Hunter being the only character from the Macross Saga that appears in the movie. Also, there's no mention of the Zentraedi (which according to the canon lore, were a huge part of the Expeditionary Force). This is because Harmony Gold had, at the time, ZERO rights to create any new animation using the original designs or lore from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross''.[[note]]They can do limited merchandising, but [[ScrewedByTheLawyers Big West took THEM to court over the animated rights]]![[/note]]
69	* YouDontLookLikeYou: Vince and Jean get very radical character design changes from their brief appearance in ''The Sentinels''.
70	** Louie Nichols from the Masters Saga looks nothing like did in the original show.
71	** Rick Hunter having aged, has white hair, a scar on his lower jaw and a hairstyle that makes him resemble [[Comicbook/{{Blueberry}} Mike Blueberry.]]
72	* ZergRush: The Invid. We already knew this was their main tactic, but with the movie showing us the space part of the Battle of Reflex Point we finally see the Invid going all-out, and they're pretty much throwing at the REF more mechas than the REF has ''missiles''. It also finally drives home ''why'' the REF was so terrified by the idea the Invid could expand beyond Earth: their mecha may be cannon folder, but [[WeHaveReserves there are just too many of them]].

Context WesternAnimation / RobotechTheShadowChronicles