> The road so far... (2021~2025)
April 19, 2021 will be remembered as the day (most of) Macross franchise was freed worldwide from Harmony Gold, after two decades of blocking. A few years before, and right after winning in the UK court, Big West claimed the Macross IP in Europe, what ultimately leads to the 2021 worldwide agreement allowing Big West to release Macross sequels (everything from Flashback 2012 to Delta) worldwide, while the original series SDF Macross remains Harmony Gold property outside Japan. It's more complicated for the DYRL movie, but I believe Harmony Gold doesn't have anything to do with it, despite what they love to imply (everyone remembers this PowerPoint and its DYRL prohibited, right ?). Most likely a third party is involved, and I'm wondering if it's not simply an issue with TOHO. But that's not my point here.
So how was the Macross worldwide take off from 2021 to 2025 ? Well, it was obviously complicated, contrary to Big West 2021 statement saying something like "everything from Flashback 2012 to Delta is cleared for a worldwide release and immediately available". The statement is no longer online but I guess it can be found.
First of all, people who closely followed the global roll out past years probably noticed one thing : almost everything's occurred in Asia and English-speaking territories only, from panels and booths in convention to screenings and home-video release, including streaming on Disney+. I have my assumption about what went wrong but let's stay factual. It's a little bit frustrating for the countries left apart, but there's a few exceptions :
- France is getting home-video release alongside the US and UK (Macross Plus and Zero), probably because English publisher Anime Limited got a French branch and often release commun stuff in both English and French;
- Some Latin America countries just enjoyed theater screenings of Macross Plus movie edition, which could be an important step since this is Big West very first initiative outside what I'd call their "comfort zone" (Asia and English-speaking territories), nearly 5 years after the worldwide agreement; to be continued I guess.
Here are the only things that occurred "worldwide or nearly" about Macross :
- Soundtracks streaming;
- Macross Seven, Frontier and Delta first episode streaming for free on YouTube, but with English subtitles only;
- Goods can also be bought more easily, even if importing from Japan wasn't really an issue; in fact the opposite may be true, as amazon.jp has been noticeably blocking some stuff since the global agreement, for example newly Flying Dog stuff. Fortunately you can still buy their items from CD Japan.
That's all we can say about the the global take off so far. So... yes, unfortunately and contrary to popular belief, so far most of the world still cannot enjoy the Macross franchise legally, with no statement for the territories left apart.
So what can we expect from 2026 ?
The first thing that comes to mind is Anime Limited home-video release of Macross Frontier and Macross Delta, series and movies, that was announced a few months ago for the US, UK / Ireland and France. It was supposed to be released in the US only, by Right Stuf / Nozomi (and with Macross Seven), and then put on hiatus with Right Stuf buyout by Crunchyroll. Unfortunately Macross Seven was lost in the process. Maybe later...?
[Ed note] We've just learned that Anime Limited was acquired by TOHO. Let's hope this won't change anything for Macross Frontier and Delta AGAIN.
Of course, we can talk about the next Macross and wonder if it will begin next year. Auditions for the new idol are theoretically over (only according to the website schedule, nothing was announced officially) and I believe it won't take too long until new information comes out, depending on Sunrise production progress or other delays.
It will be interesting to watch Big West global strategy for this very new entry since the worldwide agreement. So far the "international" roll out on Disney+ isn't convincing, with Macross content streaming in more or less 20 countries (Asian and English-speaking only, you guessed it) when the service is active in more than 100 all over the world. That's a very low ratio at a time when almost every seasonal anime is widely simulcasted on different services.
Of course, we can talk about the next Macross and wonder if it will begin next year. Auditions for the new idol are theoretically over (only according to the website schedule, nothing was announced officially) and I believe it won't take too long until new information comes out, depending on Sunrise production progress or other delays.
It will be interesting to watch Big West global strategy for this very new entry since the worldwide agreement. So far the "international" roll out on Disney+ isn't convincing, with Macross content streaming in more or less 20 countries (Asian and English-speaking only, you guessed it) when the service is active in more than 100 all over the world. That's a very low ratio at a time when almost every seasonal anime is widely simulcasted on different services.
Take a look at the latest Gundam, GQuuuuuuX, which was simulcasted (and is currently streaming) on Prime Video in more than 200 countries in about 30 languages, including a dozen of dubs. The comparison with Macross substantial content (a hundred episodes and about ten movies) might not be fair, but will be totally relevant with the upcoming one.
We could also mention Disney+ more specifically, although there's not much more to add. Will the global roll out resume in 2026 after stopping in early 2025 ? Who or what's responsible for this ? Back in July during Los Angeles Anime Expo and while he was talking about Macross global release through the service, Big West international content strategy producer Takamitsu Kayahara at least made a comment about this :
Finally, one last word about Latin America. I read that Macross Plus movie edition screenings did well. Maybe more to come in 2026 ? I feel that it could be a decisive year for them.
We could also mention Disney+ more specifically, although there's not much more to add. Will the global roll out resume in 2026 after stopping in early 2025 ? Who or what's responsible for this ? Back in July during Los Angeles Anime Expo and while he was talking about Macross global release through the service, Big West international content strategy producer Takamitsu Kayahara at least made a comment about this :
"We've also heard requests for expanded availability across more regions and languages. We will continue to work diligently to deliver our work to as many viewers as possible at the earliest opportunity to do so"
What does it mean, exactly ? Why did the roll out on Disney+ stopped last January ? I believe Big West should make a clear statement about what's going on for its non-Asian, non-English audience that is still waiting, and worst part of it : maybe for nothing.
Finally, one last word about Latin America. I read that Macross Plus movie edition screenings did well. Maybe more to come in 2026 ? I feel that it could be a decisive year for them.
Thanks for reading. Wishing you a happy holiday season and of course more yack deculture in 2026 for everyone all over the world !
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