Ever since Harmony Gold created Robotech and combined Super Dimension Fortress Macross with two other anime, they have had a tight grip on the franchise and prevented faithful translations of Macross titles from coming out in the United States. That is until recently when it was announced a few months ago that the Macross franchise will stream on Hulu for the first time ever. Sadly, one important entry in the Macross franchise will probably never see a new U.S. release due to Harmony Gold’s interference: the 1984 film retelling of the first Macross television series.
The first U.S. release of the film was a heavily edited dubbed version of the film titled Clash of the Bionoids was released on VHS in 1988. A second dubbed version of the film (with the cut minutes restored back in and now titled “Superdimensional Fortress Macross”) was released on VHS in 1995, but a subbed version was still never officially released in North America. Unlike the rest of the franchise, which will stream on Hulu, this title appears to still be barred from a new legal U.S. release. Japan, on the other hand, is lucky enough to have a Blu-Ray re-release announced for this film. On January 29, 2025, an uncut Blu-Ray with English subtitles will release in Japan for its belated fortieth anniversary.
This will make this the first ever official uncut English-subtitled release of the film. Since Japan is in the same Blu-Ray region code as North and South America, American fans have incentive to import it. Please note that Japanese Blu-Rays are significantly more expensive than their U.S. counterparts, so fans should expect to pay more.
The Blu-Ray will include a twenty-four page booklet, an option to watch the original theatrical release or the Complete Edition. Japanese fans who pre-order on certain sites get even more goodies, such as a recording script, a Macross badge, and an illustration of the film’s earlier laserdisc release. These goodies are going to be very difficult for international fans to get.
Even if the U.S. will not in the near future get an English-subtitled uncut release, there is one available to import.
