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 11th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Man, when u compare frontier to the original the graphics, the sound quality, are worlds apart. Anime fans have it very good nowadays with CG and all.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
By the way, Frontier episode 14 has the best song in the series so far! AIMO performed by Maaya! XD /fanboy
July 12th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Macross: DYRL is also classic because of things like the Budweiser can/missile and the zero-G shower scene. I keep watching Frontier in hopes that one of Alto’s missile barrages will contain a soda can.
July 12th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Macross Plus is the best!!!!!!!!!!!! the music is amazing and the the pilot stuff just gets me crazy about it.
If anyone has not seen it buy the series first, watch it and THEN buy the movie version
you will be like WTF. its even better!!!
July 12th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I’ve watched the entire Macross franchise. I’ve been moved by Macross : Do You Remember Love most.
However i must say the best music comes from Macross 7.
Fukuyama Yoshiki has such incredible vocals but the videos on youtube don’t do him justice.
You’ve got to watch the 2 OVAs in Macross 7, some of the best songs come from there.
I liked Angel Voice, Submarine Street, Remember 16, Heart & Soul (a duet), Flash in the Dark and Light the light to name a few.
But then again, i’m someone who enjoyed Initial D music immensely so i may be discredited ……
July 13th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Watch robotech (the American bastardization)
It has a better continuity even if it combines three different shows.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Nice overview. Besides Frontier, I have only seen Macross Plus so far - very long time ago, but definitely want to check out some of the others you mentioned.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I found Macross 7 to be a better show than the original. Even though the main character, Basara did piss me off for a while with his non fighting attitude, I liked him later as he did actually start to get through to people. The music in it is also pretty good, and so is the OVA sequel.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
i liked zero for the connections drawn between life and music, and the amazing dogfights.
plus was great in visuals, but its story is so disconnected from the macross universe that i wasn’t drawn into it. The tech is there, and that’s about it.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Macross 7 is a Total piece of crap, yep i agree with you.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 am
I have to thank you for posting this, otherwise I would not have watched (well, up to ep26 now) the truly epic gem that is SDF Macross. I had previously only watched Macross Plus, which I thought was quite good, but I have been blown away by this series. And yeah, it’s also nice to fanboy over it (like the fact that both episode 2 in the original and F have the protaganist saving the girl). :P
July 31st, 2008 at 10:21 am
I did the exact same thing over the last few weeks. I really enjoyed SDF Macross (I think it’s the best so far), liked the movie and Plus, and got completely turned off by Macross 7. I’m only about 10 episodes in and I just can’t stand to watch anymore. I’m currently getting caught up on Frontier instead, since I realized there really isn’t an “ongoing” Macross continuity. Also need to go watch Macross Zero…
^_^
August 15th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Growing up an avid Macross fan since the early days, the memories of the original series & movie are still as vivid as when I first watched them in the 80s. By far, my favorites are still the originals, followed by Plus which really deserves some more special mention(watch the feature version following the flawed OAV ending, seriously, do yourself that favor at least).Frontier for me so far feels nothing more than a well done greatest hits compilation. I’m still very much addicted to it, but it no way repeats the classic vibe given off by these two seminal pieces of the Macrossverse.
And yes..Macross II is pretty painful..and screw it..I like 7 if only for the wacky music & goofier premise!(aliens? lets sing at em!!)
August 15th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Oh yes..and Zero while visually strong at points, is negligible at best.More of a commercial for Kawamori-san’s unique world view than anything else.(see Arjuna & Aquarion for more proof of that oddness)