R.I.P. Carl Macek

Carl Macek (1951-2010)

Summary: Carl Macek, the writer who was responsible for the Robotech saga, as well as English dubs for Studio Ghibli films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, passed away Sunday, April 18, of a heart attack.

I know that he's been highly controversial, with a number of fans decrying the liberties he took in tying together three unrelated series into the Robotech Saga. However, I'm not one of them. For all the compromises and flaws in his productions, he did something that was previously thought impossible- brought a moderately adult and sophisticated animated series to American TV. In doing so, he revitalized the anime scene and brought a whole new generation of anime fans into the hobby. He's really one of the major people responsible for the popularity of anime today. In addition, all of the best sophisticated animated series, from Batman, to Justice League, to Avatar succeeded in part because of the groundbreaking work Carl Macek did.

And for my part, I remember during high school running up the mile-long hill to my house, so I could get home in time to watch Robotech. So, rest in peace, Carl Macek. You did good.

UTGM: Customer Stisfaction is Hard

Genemeister: "The Ninja Catgirls will have foot-long tongues!"

Fanbois: "Yaaaay!"

Genemeister: "The tongues will have papillae just like normal cats!"

Fanbois: "Aaah! Nooooooooooo!!!!1ONE!!!"



(That is to say, despite the lack of postings, I am still working on UTGM stuff. More to come.)