Do you remember love?
Driven by my obsession with Sheryl Nome and my curiosity in Macross lore, I embarked on a journey of discovery to watch every single Macross series ever. Weeks later, I’m not yet at the goal, (*cough* Macross 7 *cough*) but I have seen enough to speak about my otaku trip.
It is a story of excitement and expectations, boredom and disappointments, and most importantly, a story of love.
The discovery that most surprised me was just how little Macross lore there is. Compared to the well-milked Gundam universe, Macross barely has any continuity between individual series, and the links between spin-offs/sequels to the original are vague at best.
My only prior contact with Macross pre-Frontier was Macross Zero. I read enough to know that it was a prequel to the original, but that was about it. I thought it was a decent OVA series at the time, and along the way it gave me the impression that my ignorance of the franchise was causing me to miss out on a rich background story in a well-established fictional universe. It turns out that this is not entirely true…
Super Dimensional Fortress Macross
The original Macross is definitely the best in the franchise, barring a possible future upstaging by Frontier. Like most anime titles of its era, including the fanboy favourite Mobile Suit Gundam, the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross suffers from bad pacing, awkward dialogues and weird directing. There are times when the characters behave pointedly out-of-character, and there are often unnecessary pauses in the dialogue that interrupt an emotional exchange. But the series makes up for all that with its sheer awesomeness, a sense of epic grandeur, and a decent mastery of emotive storytelling.
Ahh… The 80s
Macross is a pioneering work in the genre of mecha-moé hybrid, the fusion of testosterone-fuelled variable fighter combat with the pop idol music of Lynn Minmay. It is undeniably far from perfect, limited by the technology of its time, particularly in terms of achieving harmony between the on-screen animations and the accompanying music. The movie Do You Remember Love? improves on the original concept with upgraded animation and better rhythm synchronization, but the experience is still nowhere close to the immersion level of Frontier’s musical battle scenes.
The 80s with a larger budget
Still, despite its imperfections, Macross is definitely the most enjoyable and engrossing mecha musical I’ve watched since RahXephon. The plot-heavy storytelling works well in establishing the characters without having to do so blatantly. It annoys me when anime titles have clearly-demarcated “character development” episodes which are really just glorified fillers. The only real problems I have with the story are the underdevelopment of the subplot between Max and Milia, and sudden character deaths that do not achieve any purpose.
Off-topic: What’s with Minmay’s name? She’s supposedly Chinese, but no one romanizes Chinese like that. It should be Lin Mingmei… >_<
Kyuun Kyuun
And as awesome as Sheryl’s songs are in Frontier, Minmay’s Watashi no Kare wa Pilot and Ai Oboeteimasuka are simply magical in the way they have come to embody the spirit of the story. I also love Silver Moon Red Moon. <3
The rest of it
The original Macross is awesome. That said, I would be lying if I said that the rest of it is just as good. Remember what I said about the lack of lore? Well, there are a few sequels and spin-offs, notably Macross II, Macross Plus, Macross 7 and Macross Zero. The problem is that they mostly suck and, with the exception of Zero, generally contribute nothing to the overall Macross universe.
The only reason why I finished watching the thing
Macross II: Lovers, Again is ostensibly an OVA sequel set 80 years after the original series. Unfortunately, the story makes a good dentist, in the sense that it’s done before you even feel anything. The execution is one huge yawn and there’s nothing about the series that feels Macross. The appearance of SDF-1 is about the only thing that justifies having “Macross” in the title at all. It is barely watchable.
Macross Plus is a short OVA series set a few years before Macross 7. Similar to Macross II, it’s a story that can easily exist independently of the Macross universe and, once again, the appearance of SDF-1 is the only link to the original. However, the story and execution does fare better than Macross II and at the very least the series is enjoyable and has music by Yoko Kanno. It would’ve been a lot better if Sharon Apple actually sang anything at all.
“Why am I stuck in this piece of crap?”
Macross 7, as far as I can tell, is a handful of monkey feces that was violently flung into the collective faces of Macross fans everywhere. Among the titles listed here, this series is probably the only one that can be considered a direct sequel to the original, which only worsens the insult. To top it off, it is also the longest series in the entire franchise at 49 episodes long. I just can’t bring myself to continue watching this crap. Someone tell me if it’s worth the effort… I really want to find out more about Max and Milia, but Basara is putting me off.
Considering the poor quality of its successors, it’s quite an amazing feat that the popularity of the original Macross managed to survive to this day to justify the celebration of its 25th anniversary with a new series. The entire Macross franchise appears to be nothing but uninspired subpar works leeching off the success of the original. It is truly a miracle that we are able to enjoy the delicious love triangle that is Macross Frontier today, instead of a second Macross 7.
Conclusion
- Do watch the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. It’s awesome.
- Do watch the Do You Remember Love? movie. It’s good enough for fanboying purposes.
- Do watch Macross Zero. It’s interesting background story.
- Do watch Macross Frontier. Why aren’t you watching it already?
- Do not touch any of the other titles. They are a waste of time.
- Misa is hawt. <3 I wonder what happened to her Megaroad-01? This is why Macross lore fails.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I did this too, prior to Macross Frontier’s screening. I agree that the original is still the best. DYRL is also very good. Macross II is pretty terrible. Plus is great (I suggest grabbing the movie version if you can, it’s a better cut), and I really enjoyed Zero despite the fact that the cool kids seem to hate it. Incidentally, if you watch them in production order you can clearly see Kawamori’s slide into insanity. Especially if you factor in his other works along the way, like Arjuna and Aquarion.
Don’t let the haters turn you off Macross 7. It’s an extremely enjoyable show with some very memorable moments. They hate it because it’s not very much like the classic Macross stuff, and admittedly it is too long for what it wanted to achieve, but it’s certainly not monkey feces.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:28 am
“Do you remember love?”
I still remember ROBOTECH…I watched the entire SDF Macross in the 80`s when in the U.S. it was known as ROBOTECH….Great series, but nothing made too much sense until I discovered the truth about it….It was a butchered series adapted for the U.S. audience…but I still loved the intro of it.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:34 am
LOL slide into insanity.
Plus is my favorite. Probably because that is actually the first Macross series I finished in one setting. I think DYRL has a big advantage over the original in that regard. I enjoyed Zero a lot too, but probably because I enjoy sliding into insanity while doing it inside a badass transforming fighter with all that CG candy.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:35 am
It’s great to hear that such a journey was embarked :)
and yea, i was wondering the same thing with Minmay’s name…
and yea, i wanna know more between Max and Milia >.<”
maybe it’s the fact that Macross 7 is the first franchise i’ve watched, and it was during my early childhood, my memory somehow glorified it. I’m not saying it’s awesome, but, wasn’t that bad… despite i’m not sure if i’ll be able to give the same answer if i watch it now ^^;;
but somehow you do get the feeling of “stage passing and small boss versing” with the individual episodes for the initial quarter of the series (i can’t remember too well though, it was ages since i watched it) but drama in it does get better… despite i really think its end was pretty bullshit… one of the reason it kept me watching was Max and Milia…’s daughter :P sure that Mylene is too ‘wagamama’… but i remember i was pretty impressed by its ED when i first watched it…
*look towards the horizon* *deep breath* you know…childhood :P
p.s. and yea, just have to agree: Zero was awesome
July 9th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
I don’t know which version of Macross Plus you saw. I’ve only seen the movie version, but I thought it was a worthy addition to the Macross name. For once the characters are adult and act that way, and having a love triangle between two guys and a girl is an interesting twist. While it does lack the epic scope of the original SDF and Zero it still has some great action and wonderful animation for the nineties. Sharon Apple does suck as a musical diva, though. That’s the one part that doesn’t make any sense.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Macross established the Itano-Circus, description for the crazy missile flying sequences. Itano now directs Blassreiter.
Macross II was a big disappointment during my time, when I got to watch an episode on Laserdisc. Even with character designs by Hirohiko Mikimoto.
I love Plus though
Zero was yawn though I love the Yukikaze flight sequence
Didn’t watch 7 cos I thought that was travesty
As an old timer, Frontier does bring back my memories of Macross, the best anime that i watched in the 80s, after Gatchaman. This is the true spiritual successor in every sense.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Where do you find shows that old?
July 9th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Old folks home. They have the cassettes there.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
The original was the best in my book because of the excellent development of Minmay’s character. Her growth as a lady was clearly depicted throughout the story and is a rather accurate reflection of what we all would experience while growing up. She was impressionable, indecisive and slightly angst filled but those were the flaws that made her such an appealing character.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
This actually will help me out when I eventually get around to watching the other Macross series. I have seen the original and I’m watching Macross Frontier (I’m behind a few episodes). But I have not seen any other Macross series besides those two. Your post will really help me narrow what to watch and what to not watch.
Also, I always preferred Misa over Lynn Minmay. Minmay can sing but I don’t care for anything else about her.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
I guess Plus is okay, but I don’t think that it’s worth watching as a Macross fan who wants to find out more about the overarching story. In fact, it probably would have been a more enjoyable viewing experience if it didn’t carry the Macross branding.
I don’t see what’s wrong with Zero, because I think it’s just about as boring as Plus in terms of execution (which is about mildly interesting), except that it is actually related to the original series and provides additional background story.
As I am extremely against spoilers, I did not read anything about Macross 7 before watching it. My low opinion of it is based solely on the first six episodes. I cannot find the motivation to continue. It seems that a lot of people suffered through the series for Mylene, but I don’t find her particularly interesting.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
zero is by far the greatest macross (except for original). it has decent 3d and some good music too.
frontier is one big disappointment. it’s terrible. music is awful. (seems like they don’t even know the meaning of singing - it’s THAT bad. meaningless screeching they mistaken for singing makes my ears hurt.)
(just letting you ppl know ;) sorry, but i’m simply sick of hearing all that crap about how great macross F is - someone has to tell you the truth… 4/10)
July 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
id like to point out that Macross pluss was the true sequel on the macross timeline darkmirage. its where the vf-19 and vf-22 were in testing phases to replace the older model vf-14 thunderbolt. and it is a good ova that was converted into a movie. and if u watched macross 7 basara’s ship he pilots is a modified vf-19, and ugh where they did they get that from? Pluss of course. so DO watch original macross, DO watch do you remember love, and DO watch PLUS but you are allowed to pass on 7 because even tho it is a sequel, it doesnt really stick to the ol true macross spirits you see in macross original and frontier. thats why people are so psyched about frontier and appreciate all the nostalgia in it, its actually the true successor to the original macross story line from 1999 (robotech to america) to 2056 (macross frontier).
July 9th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
DYRL is my favorite of the old ones because it contains everything of what is Macross in one movie.
but nothing gets even close to Macross Frontier. It’s just sheer awesomenes! The characters, the music, the action, the love triange. but above all things: Sheryl. Oh god I love her! she has guts and I like my women to have guts.
July 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Looks like I’ve got a LONG road of watching ahead of me.