Robotech producer Carl Macek dies

[ZeroRyoko1974]

from ANN

Animation historian Jerry Beck reported on his blog on Sunday that American producer Carl Macek passed away due to a heart attack on Saturday. Macek and Beck had co-founded the anime importing company Streamline Pictures in 1988.

Macek is best known for producing Robotech, the 1985 redubbed and edited adaptation of three different anime series — Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada. He also worked on the dubbing of many anime projects from Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (redubbed and edited adaptation of Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia) to more recently, Bleach and Naruto. His other dubbing production credits include Vampire Hunter D, Robot Carnival, My Neighbor Totoro, and Aura Battler Dunbine. Although Streamline Pictures did not dub the 1988 film Akira, it did release the film in theaters and on video tape in the United States.

Outside anime, Macek wrote The Art of Heavy Metal (Animation for the Eighties), the 1981 book about the Canadian animated film Heavy Metal. That led to his co-writing credit on the Heavy Metal 2000 spinoff. He also developed the Lady Death film at ADV Films and wrote War Eagles, a novel based on an unproduced film treatment by Merian C. Cooper.

kind of sad. I know a lot of people didn't like Robotech, but there are a lot of anime fans (myself included) whose first contact with anime was Robotech

[autsiticanime]

I already have something up on that...

http://www.animenation.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=229917

But I would have to agree with you. He may have been partly responsible for starting a trend of edited anime, but without Robotech, many otaku may have never been around.

[Arnold]

People attack him for the edits he did in creating Robotech, but people forget that editing of dubbed anime was around long before Robotech came about (look at Battle of the Planets as opposed to Gatchaman as a prime example) and if anything his editing was far more lenient when it came to things like violence. The only reason why a lot of the other changes were in place in order to meet television standard lengths for minimum number of episodes.

Plus the guy brought Akira to the US.

The US anime industry lost a major force without whom it wouldn't be the same today.

[Levon]

Thats sad to hear. I don't like Robotech but there are many projects he has done that I like very much. His Akira dub is what got me into anime. Big fan of Aura Battler Dunbine and his dub.

[Till]

Heavy props to Macek indeed. I can't think of any other individual who's persona has managed to last as long as Carl's, and leave such a lingering influence (good or bad) on the U.S. industry....RIP

[TheUprightMan83]

Macross purists can go **** themselves. (goddamned nerds) I'm a fan of Macross, but I also enjoy watching a lot of the old Streamline dubs he produced and having listened to the ANN cast interview I appreciate him a lot more.

[Sushikins]

That's too bad, I may not like Robotech, but you can't deny the effect it had on many fans today.

[Soluzar]

Originally Posted by TheUprightMan83

Macross purists can go **** themselves.

Why, thank you. Nobody said anything bad about Macek in this thread or even anything especially bad about Robotech, so this counts as the first shot to be fired. How very nice of you.

Personally I respect Macek for his enduring passion for the form and for the work he did bringing mecha to America with his company Streamline. Once the market was ready to accept the product he was selling, he did as good a job as anyone else.

[Stelok]

Carl Macek, rest in peace.

Robotech was one of the earliest Japanese cartoons I watched.

[Lacan]

RIP Carl Macek, it was because of him that started my seeds of anime fandom.

[Mr March]

Rather indifferent about the news of Macek's death since he hasn't really been noteworthy for decades. Still, gotta give him some due credit for being a part of the early anime years in North America.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Why, thank you. Nobody said anything bad about Macek in this thread or even anything especially bad about Robotech, so this counts as the first shot to be fired. How very nice of you.

LOL! It wouldn't be a Robotech/Macek thread if Macross fans weren't insulted for simply enjoying Macross. That pretty much speaks volumes

[Chuchuchrain]

This guy kinda helped popularize the mecha genre in America along with the Gundam dubs, so props to him.

[Levon]

Originally Posted by Chuchuchrain

This guy kinda helped popularize the mecha genre in America along with the Gundam dubs, so props to him.

I'm not aware of him working on any Gundam dubs. Although I do know in the 80's he was interested in getting Gundam as a part of Robotech but of course that didn't work because Gundam doesn't have aliens

[Chuchuchrain]

I didn't say he worked on Gundam dubs. I meant that alongside whoever did the Gundam dubs, his Robotech dubs helped popularize the mecha genre.

[CrossboneGundam]

Originally Posted by TheUprightMan83

Macross purists can go **** themselves. (goddamned nerds) I'm a fan of Macross, but I also enjoy watching a lot of the old Streamline dubs he produced and having listened to the ANN cast interview I appreciate him a lot more.

If you were a fan of Macross you wouldn't be talking **** about Macross fans. It's pretty telling that your first words in the thread aren't to mourn Macek, but to insult Macross fans.

Originally Posted by Chuchuchrain

I didn't say he worked on Gundam dubs. I meant that alongside whoever did the Gundam dubs, his Robotech dubs helped popularize the mecha genre.

You really don't know what you're talking about. Gundam didn't hit the US until the late 90s and mecha had already been an established staple of anime because of Voltron and Transformers as well as Robotech.