Summary
Whether you’re a long-time fan ofMacrossor new to the name, you are about to be in luck. Nearly every series of the long-running anime is coming to subscription streaming serviceDisney+this year - and not just in Japan, but around the world! It is the perfect time to get ready for a mega-rewatch of your favorite series, or to get into the fandom for the first time.
Competing with other major streaming services likeNetflixandHulu, Disney+ has also become a top place towatch anime series legally and easily online. Often streaming both subbed and dubbed versions of both old and currently airing anime, Disney+ is continuing to do what it can to set it apart from its competitors and draw anime fans to its service. Adding all ofMacrossis definitely a big move by the company, considering just how many series comprise the anime, and how many fans it has around the world.
What isMacross?
Macrossis the umbrella name for a massive series ofscience fiction mecha animethat began airing in 1982. It is both a franchise anime series, and a video game series with more than 40 entries! So far in theMacrossuniverse, there are four full anime series, four movies, six OVA series, one light novel, and five manga series (and that does not even touch on the video games). While each series and story is not necessarily a sequel to the previous ones (though some are), there are common themes present throughout all of them that tie them together and make them undeniably part of theMacrossfranchise.
One of the common themes that is easiest to identify is the name of each series, and what it represents. Of course, they all have the nameMacrossin the title, and this name always refers to the main human spaceship in each story. This has held true since the first season of the originalMacrossanime. Other recurring elements include U.N. Spacey, a military branch, Protoculture, which includes ancient astronauts, and thesignificance of music and idolsare key parts of the plot.
WhatMacrossSeries are Coming to Disney+ in 2024?
TheofficialMacrosswebsiteannounced this week that the Star branch of Disney+ will be streaming most of theMacrossseries this year. The announcement was accompanied by a special piece of new art by Risa Ebata, the character designer forMacross F. The news announcement also said that Disney+ will be the only streaming service to have all the series at the same time, beating out popular anime streaming siteCrunchyrollin that regard.
The titles that have been confirmed for Disney+ outside of Japan are (as translated and reported byAnimeNewsNetwork):
To save you some math, that is 122 episodes ofMacross, along with several standalone movies and other shorts! Whether you want to watch the classic anime or the latest series, Disney+ is bringing you almost everything before the end of this year. While the release dates have not been announced yet, nor is if everything will be released at once or over time, it is confirmed that the above series will be available by the end of this year. We may get more details this weekend at Anime Japan, whereMacrosswillhave a special stage event.
