▪	RELEASED BY:		FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT
		▪	ASPECT RATIO:		16.9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN
		▪	AUDIO:		ENGLISH DD 5.1 / 2.0
		▪	RUNNING TIME:		88 MIN
		▪	RATING:		PG
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		11/20/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		04/10/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Created for the 20th anniversary of the popular Robotech continuity, The Shadow Chronicles Movie picks up where 85-episode series ended. In 2044 A.D., humanity is at war with the alien Invid who occupy most of the Earth. The Invid ruler takes her people to "a higher plane" to escape the Children of the Shadows, aliens dedicated to the destruction of any race that possesses Protoculture. (Illogically, they fear the power of Protoculture, but they can destroy its users.) New characters and ones from the original series battle the Children of Shadows until a cliffhanger ending that makes it clear a sequel must be in production… or at least we would hope!

The voices behind some of the characters in the film are actually some pretty big names – especially in science fiction. Mark Hamil (Star wars) and Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space 9) are both voice actors involved in the making of this film, so you know it certainly has some credit to its name based on just that alone. Fans of the original series will be the most likely people to enjoy this film, especially since it’s more or less required that you view the entire series before you watch the film. It’s a very nice looking new installment to the Robotech universe, and fans new and old should enjoy it for all its flashy CG animation, beautifully composed with vibrant characters. The space battles are of course amazing – hundreds of ships take over the screen at any one time, which is always dazzling to see in an animated work revolving around such conflicts.

It’s a fast paced film with a lot going on with both the action and the plot development. Character interactions range from slice of life, to hugely dramatic. It’s great to see a science fiction film that can have both humour, as well as involving serious portions to go along with it. The music and sound effects are pretty top notch, keeping with the look and feel of the rest of the film.

The physical product itself is very easy on the eyes. It comes with a neat, semi-transparent slip case that is designed very well, and the DVD case features some great art that is just as vibrant and well put together. The DVD extras are some of the best thought out and produced extras that an anime DVD can come with – they really went all out on the special edition of the film. Anything you ever wanted to know about production and the process of bringing this film to life is contained within the product itself.

In the end, heroes will die and allegiances will shift. But in the midst of combat, perhaps peace will spring up through the charred remains of battered history. One of the greatest science fiction sagas in anime continues with this film, and should hopefully continue onwards from here with more sequels. 

EXTRAS:
90 minutes of extras including: Feature Commentary, Birth of a Sequel Feature, Anime Selects Feature, Original Score Music Video, Robotech 3000 Promo, Anime Podcast, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, Split Screen Animatics, Alternate Trailers, and galleries with Production Designs.

IN SUMMARY: 
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, is a film that many fans of the original series will have been waiting for with much anticipation. It’s great to see something of a high production quality come out for an older series that so many people still enjoy. A fine edition to the Robotech line up, this film is worth getting in the special edition format for the wealth of great extras.