Where do I begin?
Yikes, there's quite a bit wrong with this. Then again, this may be due to the fact that I'm rather familiar with the original series, and that I consider the Robotech novels as "canon."
Early on, "Robotech: Shadow Chronicles" backtracks into the final Robotech episode, "Symphony Of Light." However, the parts that take place at Reflex Point have been re-worked (in the scene where Ariel confronts the Regis, it is only Ariel with her (Sera and the humans are not there)).
Meanwhile, in the Earth ships in orbit, we discover that Marlene Rush's younger brother, Marcus, is part of the crew. He's smitten with a purple-haired female pilot, whom we discover is half-human/half-Zentraedi named Maia Sterling.
I'm sorry, but who the heck is Maia Sterling? Max and Miriya only ever had two children (Dana and Aurora). At the end, Maia makes a comment that her family is on the SDF-3. Looking at the age that Maia is, how could she possibly be Max and Miryia's daughter (yes, Aurora grew up quickly, but I can't believe it's her).
Another character issue...
Louis Nichols discovers a female android named "Janice Em." In the books, she was an android designed by Dr. Emil Lang and inadvertantly ended up traveling with the SDF-3 (along with Minmei) when it folded from Earth. Here, Janice is an android designed by the Haydonites (one of the races in the Sentinels). Again, this totally contradicts the novels. :P
If you remember in the episode "Symphony Of Light," the Regis makes a reference to "the children of the Shadows" (which was assumed to reference the Human race). It turns out "the children of the Shadows" are the Haydonites. Turns out they really weren't allies of the human race; they shared their technology, but made sure it was designed in such a way that they could tamper with it (the Neutron-S missiles and the shadow cloaking devices, for example, which were utilized in "Symphony Of Light" by the Earth forces in space).
An interesting note about character designs: the characters that originated from the Mospeada section of Robotech (i.e. the Invid section) were desgined rather closely to the originals, and even Louis Nichols from Southern Cross looked rather close. But the characters from Macross and The Sentinels movie were redesigned quite a bit. Rick Hunter looked way too old (I'm sorry, but at the point we're at, his hair shouldn't be completely white). I really didn't like the Jean Grant redesign; the Vince Grant redesign was somewhat tolerable. Janice Em was greatly redesigned, too (which is somewhat understandable, since they totally changed her character).
Animation quality was very mixed. There were times that the CG and 2D melded together beautifully, and other times where it just looked horrible.
Overall, Shadow Chronicles can probably be better enjoyed by someone who isn't already with the Robotech universe through the original series and the novels (i.e. newbies who discover Robotech through "Shadow Chronicles").
Personally, I wouldn't recommend spending the money on this unless you're such a die-hard Robotech fan that you have to have everything Robotech related (or a fan who wants to have all the DVDs released of the property). If you are a long-time fan who hasn't seen it, and you decide to plunk down the money for this disc, expect to be disappointed.
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