Sony's free streaming service Crackle will add the classic '80s anime series Robotech to its lineup soon, including the feature film, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
The company announced the addition of the anime to its service just in time for the 30th anniversary of Robotech. As of May 15, all 85 episodes of Robotech will go up on the site, as well as the 88-minute long movie.
Originally released in 1985, the sci-fi anime series Robotech introduced a futuristic world where the human race faces extinction after being attacked by a fleet of massive alien warships. Humanity's only hope lies with robotechnology, which transforms humans into powerful gigantic robots and spaceships. The epic anime series covered three generations of heroes who used this technology to defend humans from their enemies.
Robotech was one of the first anime series ever seen on U.S. television that kept most of its complex story lines intact. A movie followed the series in 2006, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. That film, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2016, featured the voice talents of Mark Hamill, Richard Epcar and Eddie Frierson and picked up where the series left off, in the year 2044. In the timeline of the film, the human race has moved out to the stars thanks to robotechnology, but not before creating new enemies that hope to destroy Earth.
Robotech will serve to introduce one of Crackle's genre channels, Crackle Anime. It also means that anime fans now have even more options to watch their favorite series, a service that was really previously offered by Crunchyroll. Netflix has also recently added to its anime offerings, including creating original series exclusively for its service. Hulu also continues to add popular series to its lineup.
Crackle also offers movies from its partners, including films by Sony. Much like Netflix, titles come and go each month. The site also partners with both Aniplex, TOEI and Funimation, companies that also distribute anime series in North America. Crackle is currently available in 21 countries and in three languages and is one of the few streaming subscription services that does not charge a monthly fee.
