Robotech might just be the next piece of nostalgia to get resurrected by the Internet. Throughout the month of July, Harmony Gold will be running a Kickstarter campaign for a new animated Robotech series developed, in part, by some of the people behind the 80’s and early 90’s series.
During Anime Expo, the publisher dropped details about the Robotech Academy Kickstarter, which will run through August. Harmony Gold is seeking $500,000 through the campaign and since a 22-episode animated TV series cost a fair amount more than that, I’m guessing this is just a portion of what they need.
As of this writing, Harmony Gold hadn’t released any details about the story or direction of Robotech Academy (or which studio would be responsible for the series’ animation), but if you have to wonder where it’ll fit in among the disparate shows and miniseries that make up the franchise. Robotech Academy DVD/Blu-ray combos will be available directly to backers at certain tiers as part of the campaign, making it the second time some portion of the series was made available in high-def (to date, The Shadow Chronicles is the only series to get a Blu-ray release).
According to a press release, Robotech Academy was the brainchild of series creator Carl Macek – he’s the guy who cobbled together the disparate anime series which would ultimately become Robotech here in the U.S. While Macek is no longer with us (he passed in 2010), Harmony Gold is using his concepts for the series, bringing on additional writers throughout the history of the series for help including Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles writer Ford Riley, and fan-film producer Cesar Turturro of Creavision Studios.
Beyond that, we’ll keep an eye out for more details. Until then, Harmony Gold has released a pair of logos as well as the ship image below. The Kickstarter campaign will run through August 7.
