Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles - Animated, Movie - Trailer

Plot: The story begins with the attempted reclamation of Earth by the returning Robotech Expeditionary Force, with an all-out attack launched on the Invid central hive known as "Reflex Point". This revisits the battle chronicled in the final episodes of the original Robotech's New Generation storyline, except this time it is told from the standpoint of the arriving space fleet instead of that of Scott Bernard's freedom fighters. The human forces are bolstered by new "Shadow" technology given to them by a cyborg alien race befriended by the forces of Admiral Hunter. This technology gives the Robotech forces a marked advantage against the Invid, because it prevents the energy signatures emitted by their mecha's protoculture engines from being detected by Invid sensors. However, the Invid Regis quickly recogizes this technology as that of the "Children of the Shadow", the treacherous race responsible for driving the Invid from their original home world.

The battle rages on Earth's surface as well as in orbit, with Invid forces eventually overwhelming their human foes. When the Robotech forces realize that their attack has failed, they have no choice but to launch their newly-developed Neutron-S Missiles directly at Reflex Point. This last-ditch effort guarantees the eradication of the Invid horde, but at the cost of several million human lives, both military and civilian. The Invid Regis, realizing that this final destruction is pointless due to the ultimate threat posed by the Children of the Shadow, decides to leave the earth and take all protoculture with her. The Regis' daughter, Ariel (a.k.a. "Marlene" in the original series), decides to remain with love interest Scott Bernard on Earth. As a final gift to her daughter and the people of Earth, the Regis destroys the incoming Neutron-S Missles, harmlessly vaporizing them as she exits the planet's atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the human forces lose contact with the SDF-3 and Admiral Hunter, who are carrying out a final test on the Neutron-S missiles. A ship is dispatched, The Icarus, under the command of Vince Grant, to the SDF-3's location in the Omicron sector. Upon arriving at the location of the SDF-3, they are nearly drawn into a black hole. They manage to escape by using their fold system to create a field around the ship. They establish short range contact with SDF-3 and are subsequently warned by Admiral Hunter that the Neutron S missiles contain a serious flaw and must not be fired. Soon after establishing contact with the SDF-3, Vince Grant's rescue team is attacked by an unknown alien force. The rescue team attempts an escape, using the Icarus' fold system to envelope not only their ship, but the damaged research vessel and the SDF-3 as well. However, due to an alien battle cruiser ramming the SDF-3, they are forced to leave SDF-3 behind.

Genres: animation, sci-fi

Directors: Tommy Yune, Dong-Wook Lee

Producers: Frank Agrama, Alan Letz, Jason Netter

Written by Ford Riley, Frank Agrama

Music by Scott Glasgow

Editor: David W. Foster

Distributed by FUNimation Entertainment

Release dates: August 25, 2006 (festival), January 5, 2007 (USA), February 6, 2007 (DVD)