Wow. What an incredible cliché after cliché... You wait for 20 years and all you get is a complete rehash oh every SCI-FI cliché in the book...

Yet again the earth is fighting nasty aliens, with one dimensional forgettable characters...

Only this time the awesome(robotech) music score is not here. It is replaced with easily forgettable Star Wars alike score...

And on Top of that, we have the so advertized CGI. O dear that is THE worst CGI ever seen on film. I simply cannot find a comparable title.

What you will see is one cgi flaw after another, badly animated mecha,( almost not moving),Massive perfectly aligned fleets, moving all at the same speed..., horrible out of sync explosions..

The 2d characters were somewhat decent. They could use some more animation, but they look quite good.. Too bad all they have is their looks...

Over all a major desapointment. Most certainly not worth the money...

The last half of my "growing up" years included Robotech and I enjoyed the series. There was a style that I enjoyed and it helped me discover anime. Watching Shadow Chronicles does not fully capture that style and it is entirely a "Hollywood" production than something adapted and remade for a North American audience. For a newcomer to the anime scene, one would not suspect its Japanese origins unless one does the research or watches a behind the scenes documentary.

Production-wise, Shadow Chronicles borrows from what is now hip in the SF television genre scene—like the Battlestar Galactica 2005/6 style battle sequences and the CG replacing traditional cel animation / model elements. That is what distinguishes it from the original series. While there is nothing wrong with that, it does not lend well to a series that is trying to pick up from what was done 20 something years ago. Robotech Sentinels, ironically enough, does a better job of capturing that style.

Yes, I'm a Robotech fan from the 80's. But I can honestly say that I've long since forgotten most of the storyline and am not an avid anime watcher.

That being said, the movie immediately jogged my memory of where Robotech: New Generations had left off. It does not, however, lend itself to engage new viewers of the series since the main job of the movie, which is accomplished quite successfully, is to rekindle the nostalgia of the old movies while attempting to transition into the new storyline.

So yes, young kids who are watching Robotech for the first time probably won't equate this movie to say, Beauty and the Beast, because by design, the movie is not easy to pick up and watch. The movie is not a stand alone. There is no complete plot. It literally transitions from New Generations onto the Shadow Chronicles.

Numerous characters that fans will recognize pop up here and there. Shadow Chronicles does a masterful job of connecting the viewer to the characters since the protagonists they choose to follow are literally kin to some of our most beloved characters from the previous series.

The plot, although not quite seamless, does summarize the three-way relationship between Invid-Robotech Masters-Humans. It also introduces another element to the equation, dubbed the "Children of the Shadow." Although the movie does not fully explain who the "Children" are, you seem to get the feeling that all subsequent episodes will address this issue and go in-depth to detailing the Children's place and motive. Again, the plot is intentionally inconclusive so that it can eventually transition into perhaps a full blown series.

The animation is entertaining. Mixed usage of 2D and 3D CGI graphics are awkward at first, but blend in once the story unfolds. In fact, I found the CGI annoying at first, but after a while, I got used to it and actually found myself pleasantly amused. The one downside of the CGI is that I've seen better in a lot of movies and video games, so I do feel somewhat shortchanged. I don't want to be unfair by saying that it's not good, but at the same time you can tell that it's no Pixar production.

Ultimately, I will say that if you're into Robotech, you will probably enjoy this movie a lot. If you have no idea what Robotech is, you'll probably feel mixed, a little confused, but perhaps eager to find out more. Overall, the movie is entertaining if it's understood that it is not, again, a stand alone. And to its credit, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it and wishing that they would continue the saga just so that I can get myself back into the story and get some closure on the unsatisfying end to New Generations.