Summary

Macrossfans can now watch many series on Hulu andDisney+! After the legal dispute regarding the series' international rights was finally settled in 2021, everyone has been waiting for this.

At least in the US,16 titles are now available to stream on Disney services, including the latest installment, theMacross Delta the Movie: Absolute Live!!!!!!(Zettai Live) movie, released in 2021.

Unfortunately, these series are not available worldwide on Disney+, but might be available in a few other countries and territories, especially English-speaking ones.

While BIGWEST official announcementonly mentions Hulu, a few people posted on social media that the series are also available on Disney+, but they might be harder to find there:

The series now available are as follows:

BIGWEST had previously revealed that all 18 series produced from 1987 onwould be added to Disney+ worldwide in 2024, but the original announcement was taken down. But the reasons for it might vary: it may be only due to the series not being available worldwide, or negotiations with Disney might have gone another way.

As no official information has been shared since then, there is still a chance the series might drop globally on Disney+ at some point.

Macross vs Robotech

Macross' distribution rights in the US and other regions were, for a long time, amid an intense legal dispute between the Japanese company BIGWEST and the American company Harmony Gold.

In the 1980s, Harmony Gold acquired the rights toSuper Dimensional Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern CrossandGenesis Climber MOSPEADAfrom Tatsunoko, and combined their footagein order to create theRobotechseries. However, BIGWEST, an advertising company, also owned rights to the franchise. TheMacrossproject had several drawbacks before and during broadcasting in Japan.

BIGWEST has been aware of the deal between Tatsunoko and Harmony Gold at least since the 1990s, as it backed the production ofSuper Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Againin 1992 in response to it (and without Tatsunoko’s involvement).

Anyway, the dispute is now settled, as far as we know. In 2021, BIGWEST and Harmony Gold reached an agreement regarding the distribution of mostMacrosssequels and movies, with BIGWEST holding the right to distribute internationally everyMacrosstitle produced from 1987 on.

In exchange, BIGWEST agreed not to oppose the release of aRobotechlive-action movieproduced by Harmony Gold in Japanese theaters. Not only that, but Harmony Gold is now officially authorized to use 41Macrosscharacters inRobotech, including the right to produce and sell merchandise for those characters (except in Japan).

It was also stated that both companies would work together to distribute the franchise globally, but it is not clear who owns the rights to the original series and the movieDo You Remember Love?, produced in 1982 and 1984, respectively. It’s hard to imagine BIGWEST would have simply given the rights to Harmony Gold, so it seems likely they jointly own these two productions and anything regarding distributing them internationally would require approval from both companies.

Robotechis available on Crunchyroll in the US, so Harmony Gold likely retained the rights to distribute the series in the country. However, in 2021, Funimation (today Crunchyroll) announcedRobotechwould be available in other territories, like Latin America. It is indeed on Crunchyroll, but only in English and with English subs, which it’s impossible to know if it’s related to the deal between Harmony Gold and BIGWEST or with the licensing contract between Harmony Gold and Crunchyroll.

Hulu and Disney+ stream manyMacrosstitles in the US. Crunchyroll streamsRobotech.