critics look down upon the show for its extensive edits to the source material (Westernizing character names, editing for content and chiefly, forging a connection between previously unrelated series), while supporters of the adaptation have pointed out that the weaving of three unrelated series into a contiguous whole necessarily required reworking, and that it helped to maintain a slow but continuous rise in the consumption of anime in the US. Series writer/actor Gregory Snegoff said in an interview on the now-defunct Shadow Chronicles News fansite that, "afterward, we received compliments from the Japanese who thought our dialogue and stories were better than the original," likely a reference to the creators of the latter two series, both of whom worked with the team on The Sentinels. The producers of Megazone 23 – Part 1 were very happy with the original plans for Robotech: The Movie (where the incomplete film would have been added to the Robotech mythos to play part in The Sentinels storyline), and worked closely with Carl Macek to plan the new ending and animation. When the film reached a limited release, the new ending was released on a LaserDisc of Megazone 23, with the title "Present For You." However, Animag magazine (issue 11) and Animerica magazine (issue 9, volume 4) reports that the staff of Macross at Studio Nue and Artland, such as the original story creator and mecha designer Shōji Kawamori and chief director Noboru Ishiguro, expressed their concern over the Robotech adaptation, and surprise at its differences. In 2009, IGN ranked Robotech as the 34th-greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list. In a review of The Macross Saga for NEO, David West considered it a landmark in Japanese animation and an essential watch for fans of the mecha genre. He considered its take on human issues such as love and death to be fresh and enduring, and although he found the animation to be not as up to date as the story, he considers the show impressive despite its age. Distribution Following the original broadcast, the series enjoyed popularity on home video in VHS and DVD formats from the following distributors: Family Home Entertainment (VHS, LaserDisc) (First six-tape run of The Macross Saga was heavily edited, with roughly 38 minutes of footage cut from each six-episode tape. The episode "Private Time" was almost entirely removed, with only a few minutes of the