▪	RELEASED BY:		STONE BRIDGE PRESS
		▪	AUTHOR / ARTIST:		TOMMY YUNE
		▪	PAGES:		144
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		07/06/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		08/29/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

I came to ROBOTECH late in life.  My childhood influences were Gerry Anderson, STAR TREK, and SPEED RACER, my first anime.  Later, in my teens, STAR WARS and STAR BLAZERS were counted among shows that fired my imagination.  It was not until I was working in my present job that I met someone who was a devoted fan of ROBOTECH when he was in high school and university.  Loaning me some clunky VHS tapes, I watched with rapt attention this space opera and was hooked by the combination of hot action sequences and over the top melodrama.  Being a fan of Haruhiko Mikimoto, the character designer who made Minmei what she is, but lacking any context for the paintings he did of her, I found I appreciated the series also for the character design and mecha, especially the morphing Veritechs.  (I still want a Valkyrie to take to work every day.)

So, imagine the joy when news of a new ROBOTECH feature appeared.  This effort to tie up the loose ends left over from the original, cobbled together, epic in this new movie, called ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES has been much anticipated by fans. Among other things, they have been seeking the answer to the question of “What happened to Rick Hunter, Scott, and other characters we met in the various incarnations of the series?”  Supposedly, the feature sheds light on this, and also reveals much about the dark forces that brought Robotechnology to Earth, and those which have fought on our soil and across the stars ever since for the secrets of Protoculture.  THE ART OF ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES, has been produced as a guide to the movie and a design companion explaining the characters, their roles, and the mecha in the world in which they exist.  Full of detailed images from various stages of the production and lots of valuable insights on the creative processes by the team behind this movie, the book is eye candy for the anime fan. 

Being written in English to start with, translation issues are not a problem in this book, as is, unfortunately, not often the case in many other guides.  Each chapter begins with an essay on the subject being covered, like characters, mecha, or vessels.  It outlines the role of each in the movie, and then breaks into richly illustrated sections about featured elements related to the subject.  In the chapter about character development, the reading about characters like Rick Hunter, etc. is easy, with succinct background information being presented along with data on the role each plays in the new drama.  We are treated to illustrations from the early production phase, accompanied by poses of the character as he or she appears in the final product.  Using computers as they did to design much of this film, it is interesting to see how the characters and mecha developed as the movie progressed.  (It is worth noting this film went through an awkward gestation period before appearing in the form it did, something covered in detail by the writer.)  In the section on ship design, it is really interesting to see how the ships evolved from the designs they possessed in the early stages of the movie, looking a lot like simple lined creations of the series to the computerized behemoths that fill the screen.  For techno-geeks, this chapter will be pored over most closely.

Overall, this book is an easily accessible guide to anime film production- Western style- for readers of teen ages and up.  Anyone who has a collection of books about anime film production will easily see what merits this work has in its clean design, carefully thought out layout, and simple but richly informative text.  This book, unlike so many others that are little more than smarmy love ins for die hard fans, actually give the reader something useful to work with.  If you have not seen the movie or its precedents, you will likely want to after glancing through this work from Stone Bridge Press and writer Tommy Yune.  This updating of one of anime’s classic yarns is significant for anyone reading manga or watching anime anywhere.  

EXTRA:
This book contains no extras as such, being comprehensive in the content of the main text.  It does, however, have an introduction by Carl Macek, who was behind the production of the original ROBOTECH series.  Insightful in itself, this is a great way to start a great tribute book.

IN SUMMARY:
THE ART OF ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES is a colorful, slickly produced companion to the recent movie of the same name.  More than cool pics on glossy paper, this reference guide is a detailed account on the making of this movie, and a must have for any real ROBOTECH fan.