Carl Macek, Anime Producer, 1951-2010

[The Doctor]

For those of us old enough to know, we well remember the name Carl Macek.

For those who don't know his name, if you watch anime in the U.S., you watch the fruits of his labor.

It is my sad duty to report to you that American Anime Producer Carl Macek passed away Saturday, April 17th, 2010. He was 58 years old.

He is survived by his wife Svea.

Carl Macek is best remembered for his work as Producer of the famous anime series "Robotech", which was a compilation of three different anime into one series. The show became very popular and opened the door for mainstream anime distribution in the U.S.

Carl Macek went on to create Streamline Pictures, which brought Akira and many other anime films to the U.S. He then went on to work for ADV Films, helping to adapt and create new projects.

ADV Films restructured itself and no longer exists, so Carl moved on to other projects and had just accepted an invitation by Harmony Gold to return to the company and help them jump start Robotech again. Mr. Macek's work goes unfinished and the future of Robotech at HG now lies in the hands of Tommy Yune and Steve Yun. Go to robotech.com for more updates.

I, personally, thank you for all you did to bring anime to the U.S. Mr. Macek. You are well loved and I pray that you found the loving arms of Jesus Christ before you slipped the surly bonds of this Earth, and that Christ's arms are also now comforting your family.

Amen.

[rocklobster]

Hey this might be good news. Maybe now the rest of the anime that made Robotech will be available unedited!

[ShiroiHikari]

rocklobster, there are a lot of things wrong with your remark but I am simply too frustrated to present them in a civil manner.

[Alcuinus]

Hey this might be good news. Maybe now the rest of the anime that made Robotech will be available unedited!

O_O *gasp*

[Fish and Chips]

It is my sad duty to report to you that American Anime Producer Carl Macek passed away Saturday, April 17th, 2010. He was 58 years old.

Hey this might be good news. Maybe now the rest of the anime that made Robotech will be available unedited!

There are no words I can use on CAA to describe what this post instills in me.

Know only that had you made it in my direct presence, I would have proceeded to punch you in the face.

[battletech]

I am shocked. Carl loved anime. If he did not he would never got involved in the anime market. He saw great animes and wanted to share them with other Americans. He knew the only way at the time was to americanize the shows. We will miss you Carl and may God comfort his family. Thank you Carl.

[bigsleepj]

Whether or not any of us agree with Carl Macek's "bowdlerizations" of anime, it is true that he certainly did help anime gain a great deal of popularity during the 1980's. You could argue that it would have happened anyway eventually, but he certainly helped promote it earlier than anyone else and put a great deal of capital, time and thought into making it palatable for a skeptical Western market. He also aimed it at older children and teenager than the usual imports like Speed Racer, which is a plus.

Although he played very loosely with the plots (not just Robotech) his dubs were sometimes, in themselves, fun. I really liked his dub for Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro more than the current, more accurate dub available on DVD because it really had a good deal more humour and fun worked in.

I'm a purist when it comes to these things; I prefer things as they should be (Han shot first!), but somehow I can't begrudge Macek because he gave me a lot of great memories as a child. I suppose that makes me a hypocrite.

On a technical note, Macek did not own Harmony Gold but merely worked for them, and his death would not affect any of the original properties from which Robotech was made or their releases..

[The Doctor]

It's true Carl doesn't own HG, but what I was trying to communicate that, according to robotech.com, he was working hard on a lot of new ideas for the franchise now that he was coming back. Since he's passed away, it might at the very least postpone Robotech's future.

[Roy Mustang]

It's true Carl doesn't own HG, but what I was trying to communicate that, according to robotech.com, he was working hard on a lot of new ideas for the franchise now that he was coming back. Since he's passed away, it might at the very least postpone Robotech's future.

Uh, that is not the full truth. He was consulting for Harmony Gold on Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles before his passing. Which was made a few years ago, he was never ask to come back to really work for them. Tommy Yune and Steve Yun were the ones that started the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles and they have been in place as working on more of Robotech. So no, that doesn't postpone Robotech future at all, since Tommy Yune and Steve Yun took over Robotech years ago.

Later_career

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[The Doctor]

Col Roy, your information is correct as far as Shadow Chronicles goes, but if you go to the Robotech.com forum, you'll find that Tommy Yune confirmed that, after ADV went under, he asked Carl if he'd like to work on Robotech again. He agreed and you effectively had three men running Robotech for a very short while: Carl, Steve, and Tommy. Carl passed away before he had a chance to fully implement his ideas, much less share them with the anime community as a whole, though he was starting to at the most recent convention he attended.

[Nate]

This is kinda sad, I don't really hold any ill-will towards Carl himself, just Harmony Gold. I could fly off the handle at how stupid and terrible and...gah...but I won't. This is Carl Macek's remembrance thread and I will not dirty it up by speaking of that despicable company. I will instead say, that it sucks that he's gone, and wish my condolences to his loved ones.

[Roy Mustang]

This is kinda sad, I don't really hold any ill-will towards Carl himself, just Harmony Gold. I could fly off the handle at how stupid and terrible and...gah...but I won't. This is Carl Macek's remembrance thread and I will not dirty it up by speaking of that despicable company. I will instead say, that it sucks that he's gone, and wish my condolences to his loved ones.

I feel the same way as Nate, I never had ill will towards Carl himself. A lot of people that love Macross have been misinform about Carl and think he owns Harmony Gold.

Ill will should be at Harmony Gold and not at Carl Macek's himself as a lot stuff that HG did wasn't up to him at all, but he gets the blame for it by the Macross fans sadly.

I give my condolences to his love ones and I hope that I don't hear anymore ill will about him from Macross fans or any anime fans.

[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang [/font][/color]

[Alcuinus]

Wow... O_O I never knew HG was so infamous... I only knew about their attempt to block the new MechWarrior.

My condolences for Carl Macek's family

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Truly, this is a sad day for the industry and those who knew Mr. Macek.

Mr. Macek gave a very lengthy and candid interview on the Anime News Network Podcast. Get it here. It should interest anyone who posts in this thread.

Rest in peace, Mr Macek.

[rocklobster]

Whoops, that was a big faux pas on my part. I apologize. Anyway, I have never even seen Robotech, either in its original format or the one Macek helped make. The fact that it was three different titles made it sound like it would be confusing.
Also, I apologize for my post. Could a mod please delete it?

[Midori]

I saw Robotech and it was really good. I am saddened by the author's passing. Let's remember him fondly.

[Nate]

Wow... O_O I never knew HG was so infamous... I only knew about their attempt to block the new MechWarrior.

That's only one of the many, many jerk moves HG has made. They're really an awful company...I'd say they're about as bad as 4Kids. The only reason they're not as infamous as 4Kids despite being as bad as them is that 4Kids dealt with a lot of big name titles, and HG deals with more obscure ones.

As for Carl himself, he did do a lot of really terrible things. On the other hand, he did a few good things too. Do they balance out? Well, not really, but then, I'm not so sure that all of the things he did were necessarily his doing. Was he a jerk? Yeah, pretty much, but there's no sense badmouthing him behind his back when he's dead and he isn't in control of the company being a bunch of...well, I already said I wouldn't go off on them here. Either way, his family needs comforting. Even if he was an idiot, he was an idiot because of some cartoons that don't really matter in the long run, and his family is hurting so no need to spit on his grave.

[AnimeGirl]

Awww....this is sad news. I am quite a fan of Robotech because my dad was a big fan of it as a teenager, and he has all 3 chapters on DVD (we also saw the Shadow Chronicles movie, but rented it, we need to buy it! It was awesome, and dubbed by Funimation!). So...he was apart of bringing us the awesome show we know as Robotech? Wow. But this makes me feel sad....he was only 58? That's just too young to die! I pray that his family will find comfort, and that his life was right with God.

[ilikegir33]

Very sad news indeed. Even though his bowdlerizations of anime were the basis for the fan term "Macekre" (heavily edited anime), he did also found the first company that released anime unedited, Streamline Pictures, which had some particularly good films/series until it went under. (Like the first uncut versions of Ghibli films, Speed Racer, Robot Carnival, and, most notably, Robotech!)

RIP, Mr. Macek!

[KhakiBlueSocks]

As for Carl himself, he did do a lot of really terrible things. On the other hand, he did a few good things too. Do they balance out? Well, not really, but then, I'm not so sure that all of the things he did were necessarily his doing. Was he a jerk? Yeah, pretty much, but there's no sense badmouthing him behind his back when he's dead and he isn't in control of the company being a bunch of...well, I already said I wouldn't go off on them here. Either way, his family needs comforting. Even if he was an idiot, he was an idiot because of some cartoons that don't really matter in the long run, and his family is hurting so no need to spit on his grave.

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Quoted for Truth. So what if this man wrote a script that a few people didn't like? So what?! I'm sure that when he stands in front of the Lord, the quality of work he did on an anime will not come into question. Mr. Macek was still someone's son, someone's father, and maybe someone's grandfather who reallydidn't give a flying flip about what he did with "Harmony Gold" or "My Neighbor Totoro".

My condolences go to his family and it is my sincere hope that they are comforted in this time of both grief and celebration that he is no longer in pain. I also hope that they find the strength to bear the COMPLETELY thoughtless critiques and comments made by those here and elsewhere. [/color][/SIZE][/font]

[Nate]

the first company that released anime unedited, Streamline Pictures

I'd need a source on that, because I don't know if I buy it.

However, when I mentioned before that Carl did some good and a lot of bad, this is another example. Releasing unedited anime that was faithful to its original source material: this was good. Releasing them as dub only and refusing to release subtitled versions of the same anime: this was BAD. Especially when many of the dubs were of pretty poor quality, the dubs of Akira and Fist of the North Star are pretty awful, and not releasing subbed versions of these only made the dubs that much more unbearable.

[Midori]

*ahem*

I saw Robotech and it was really good. I am saddened by the author's passing. Let's remember him fondly.

[Nate]

I'd remember him fondly better if he didn't do so many crap things. Which, as I said, I realize not all of them were entirely his fault, but that doesn't change the fact that he did them. Besides, as I said before, he's dead; praising him or remembering him fondly isn't gonna help him in the afterlife, which is why in all I'm more concerned with his family's feelings on the matter.

But I'm not going to sit here and pretend the dude is some kind of hero just because he died. Death is, in a way, a reflection upon the kind of legacy a person left behind, and Carl's legacy is overall a stain on the anime industry. He did a few good things, yes, but it's overshadowed by the bad he did. I can mourn and wish his family comfort while not whitewashing the guy's actions.

[rocklobster]

I want to humbly apologize again for my post. I truly did not mean to cause that much trouble.

[AnimeGirl]

Anime isn't as important as a human being! It's not like you CAN'T buy any Macross series unedited, you can buy the original Japanese. Besides, we are talking about a person who passed away, and all you guys are arguing about is him "doing crappy things" to what? Anime? At least we were introduced to it, and now, we can have the unedited stuff. Yeesh. We should be happy we were introduced to anime, no matter how it was done, and pray that this man is at peace with God.

[Nate]

Besides, we are talking about a person who passed away, and all you guys are arguing about is him "doing crappy things" to what? Anime? At least we were introduced to it, and now, we can have the unedited stuff.

Actually we can't have a lot of the unedited stuff, because Harmony Gold is...gah, third time I've had to stop myself from going off on those...guys.

And he did do crappy things to anime. Just stating facts. I don't think anyone here said they were glad he's dead, or that they hope he burns. We're stating what he did in his life, for good or for worse.

As I said before, just because a person is dead is no reason to pretend they did no wrong in life. Didn't I say that his family needs comforting? They're suffering a great loss, the guy was a husband and a father, as well as some other forms of relative to other people. They are hurting. They need prayer. None of those things change what he did when he was alive though.

Nobody is calling to spit on his grave here, but we can discuss the facts about what he did in life, and most of the things he did upset people. That doesn't change how his family feels, but we're not his family. We can pray for them while still discussing the things the guy did, so long as we don't make it personal.

[rocklobster]

Anime "video journalist" Marzgurl gave Macek a pretty good send-off in her latest editorial: http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/marzgurl/ane/20538-ep-24-thank-you-carl

[The Doctor]

They're holding the Memorial Service this Saturday.

Here's a pic of a full page obituary Harmony Gold bought in Variety honoring Carl (with continued news about the Tobey Maguire produced Robotech film). http://twitpic.com/1ihxu3

Here's an article written honoring him: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100422/ARTICLES/4225033/-1/sports60?Title=Carl-Macek-the-man-who-turned-America-Japanese-dies

[The Doctor]

For those who feel led, here's information on how to donate to Carl Macek's funeral to help his family cover the costs.

Donations to cover costs of the #CarlMacek Memorial can be made out to Seva Macek @ P.O. Box 2612 Toluca Lake, California 91610
More info can be found here: http://robotech.com/news/viewarticle.php?id=418

If you feel led to, please give.

Admins: I hope I'm not violating any rule here by posting this tweet by RobotechNews.