The irreverently popular sci-fi anime series Macross is finally getting an overseas release.
Bigwest, the license holder for Macross, announced that the anime will be getting a home video Blu-ray release in the U.S., Canada, and Europe during its panel at Anime Expo. According to Siliconera, Macross II: Lovers Again, Macross Plus, Macross Frontier, and Macross Delta are expected to get the re-release treatment. Localization comes thanks to Bigwest’s partnership with Anime Limited, an independent distributor of anime based in the United Kingdom.
Read More: After Decades Of Conflict, We’re Finally Getting Official Macross Releases In The West
Macross’ localization is a big deal for the anime community. The series has been out of print in English and hasn’t been released outside of Japan for years. Back in 2021, Bigwest signed an agreement that allowed Macross as well as ‘80s sci-fi anime series Robotech to be distributed overseas.
Prior to their agreement, Bigwest and Tatsunoko Productions were engaged in a licensing dispute over the series in 1998. Their litigation resulted in a 2003 court ruling stating that Tatsunoko was allowed to license derivative works of Macross so long as it didn’t use Bigwest’s 41 original designs, according to Anime News Network. If you want to get knitty gritty on the legal issues surrounding Macross, you can read more here.
Macross’s original story follows Lynn Minmay, an aspiring singer, and Hikaru Ichijou, an easy-going pilot, and a group of astronauts. After the group repurpose a mysterious alien ship called the SDF-1 Macross to escape the intergalactic warfare between the newly formed United Nations and the fearsome alien race, the Zentradi, they are jettisoned to the far reaches of space.
In addition to Macross’ Blu-ray announcement, Udon Entertainment announced that it will be publishing sci-fi illustrator Hidetaka Tenjin’s Artistry of Macross: From Flash Back 2012 to Macross Frontier later in October.
The four Macross Blu-ray anime have yet to have a release date.