 |
| The coolest OVA from the 90's. |
Background
The first official sequel to Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Macross Plus is a four episode OVA series released in 1994 for the tenth anniversary of Macross: Do You Remember Love?, with a theatrical movie adaptation released the following year, which added around 20 minutes of new animation, particularly during the climactic battle at the end of the story.
Macross Plus forgoes the background of interstellar war present in the rest of the franchise for a more personal story based on the rivalry of two childhood friends — Isamu Alva Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman — both in their work as test pilots for the latest variable fighters, and in the central Love Triangle with their mutual friend Myung Fang Lone; as well as facing the obsolescence of manned pilots against artificial intelligence-guided, unmanned fighting craft.
The animation consisted of a then groundbreaking combination of traditional cel animation and computer animation, and paved the way for much greater integration of CGI in Japanese animation. It also launched the directorial career of Shinichiro Watanabe and the composing career of Yoko Kanno (her work for Please Save My Earth was released around the same time and didn't have as profound an impact.) To this date, Macross Plus is still widely regarded as the pinnacle of the Macross franchise and one of the finest sci-fi anime ever made.
 |
| a new love triangle... |
 |
| ...In a very familiar world. |
The review
Macross Plus is a 4-episode OVA series, produced by Studio Nue. Triangle Staff
and Bandai Visual. It was released in 1994, with an exceptional standard of production for its time, then oft considered the pinnacle of anime. Going back and watching the anime 12 years after it was produced, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I knew very little about it, only that it had a good reputation. I soon discovered that I would not be underwhelmed by the OVA, which presented a lavish production, strong (although not flawless) characterization, and a unique plot. I feel now that my expectations were too low, and although it could have been better, the show was certainly a remarkable achievement upon its release, and remains even now a stunning anime, with real emotional impact, and provoking science-fiction themes. While it has a number of flaws that stop it from being as great as other anime I have seen, it has not been outdated in its themes or in its animation, and is an irrefutably entertaining watch.
The animation is just fantastic; I can truly understand what older fans are referring to when they reminisce on the hand-drawn animation of days passed. Although some (minimal) CG was used in Macross Plus, it was traditionally produced before the age of digicel. As such, this means the show lacks the crisp and vibrant look of some of the better more modern anime, but in contradistinction, there is a higher level of detail than what we could nowadays expect from all but the finest in anime. This is especially true of mechanical objects, such as the mecha and jets, which are rendered in beautiful detail with every frame, allowing for some of the most spectacular mecha and aerial fight sequences I have ever seen. The level of detail is high, and the fluidity is astounding at times, to the point where there seems to be more happening on screen than you can possibly appreciate. The aesthetics of the anime shine in other ways as well, such as the colourful and vivid displays of Sharon’s concerts, which prove that there is more to the animation than technical excellence. Of course, this was all made possible by the bloated production values this OVA was blessed with, and they are certainly one of the reasons that this OVA is really elevated above the crowd.
 |
| VF-19 |
 |
| YF-21 |
There is one more element to the production that deserves appraisal, and that is the music, composed by the masterful Yoko Kanno, which compliments the visuals so beautifully at times that it transforms the events unfolding into a profound experience. Given that a part of the story revolves thematically around a singer, much of the emotion the OVA evokes is triggered through song, particularly the beautiful vocals. Few composers/singers can accomplish this so powerfully as Yoko Kanno/Gabriela Robin, and while the score overall is not one of her best, when it really counts, the music is there to move the viewer. Most notably, the track Information High launches the viewer into the fourth episode with a climatic and energetic feel, while the exotic, alien-esque singing of ‘Torch Song’ makes one of the final emotional climaxes unforgettable. Music is always very important to me, and without Kanno’s excellent score, and the vocal talent involved, Macross Plus would not have been nearly as memorable.
The story is an aspect of the show that is not so great. While the core ideas that the plot is built upon are highly original, and the show does explore some excellent science-fiction themes (such as the nature of artificial intelligence verses the real human consciousness), the problem is in its execution, and in the array of smaller details that surround the plot. I felt that the pacing of the show was flawed, as it did not seem to progress in the optimal storytelling pattern of building up to a climax, but until the final episode just sort of meanders. Fortunately, the very strong ending episode, which pulls in all the loose plot threads for a fantastic conclusion, does make up for the lacklustre plot progression of the majority of the series and, being an OVA (rather than a TV series) the effects of such flaws in the pacing are not so unfavourable. The other problem with the story would include the plot threads relating to the personal involvement of the main characters, and the way their relationship in the past is used as a plot device in the present. While the dialogue on the show was well-written, the way Myung, Guld and Isamu’s history is gradually brought to light seemed sloppily done, remaining obscured for too long, so that their dramatic conflicts were often baffling rather than profound. And when we finally found out about what had torn them apart, it was laughed off and did not provide any extra emotional ‘kick’ to the resolution. It was almost as though the twist that Gurd was the one at fault all along was added as some kind of afterthought or as a last resort to wrap up the conflict between him and Isamu.
 |
| Sharon Apple, the mother of Hatsune Miku. |
 |
| And Macross new singing sensation! |
The characters were somewhat of a mixed success, in that the fundamental characterization is really very strong, but before long it becomes apparent that they lack a certain depth and believability that comes with well-developed characters. Isamu is easily the most interesting of the three; he is hot-headed and reckless, and he makes no excuses for himself. He exhibits character traits not often found in anime, and that makes him instantly stand-out. At times his thoughtless actions were very annoying, but he has enough redeeming qualities to be enjoyed as the ‘hero’ of the story. He is a character you both love to hate and hate to love. Gurd, on the other hand, is very plain, following the age-old stoic and ‘mature’ archetype. While his presence is definitely felt, his indifferent nature makes it hard to sympathize with him, and for most of the series his sole purpose was to get in the way of Isamu. Both of these pilots were annoying at times, because of their aggressive nature towards each other, which did not feel at all justified in the end. While it was perhaps part of their characters to be physically competitive, their immature melees made it hard to appreciate them as protagonists.
Myung’s character was nothing exceptional, but she was sufficient for the role. It was almost refreshing to see a female character in anime not being written with ‘moe’ as the crux of her character, but that’s what you tend to get going back in the anime time machine a few years. Having said that, she is also lacking in appeal in almost every sense of the word; she is portrayed as being almost completely vulnerable and indecisive when it comes to Gurd and Isamu, and even to her own life. She does not display any strong traits of elegance, sexiness, or cuteness, but is a rather unlikeable character who serves purely as the object of affection of the two male characters, and to allow for the themes of artificial intelligence superseding real humans. As such, most of her character points revolve around how her work with ‘Sharon’ has affected her, and whether or not she loves Gurd or Isamu.
 |
| New transforming robots! |
 |
| New action scenes! |
Trivia
From fiction to reality:
- Sharon Apple is a Vocaloid, just like world famous idol Hatzune Miki.
- Many airplane manufacturers are now trying to find a way to make systems that allow the pilot to see through the cockpit, similar to the "transparent" cockpit of the YF-19. The most notable being the Lockheed F-35.
- Executive Meddling - The story was originally written as a feature length movie, but the studio was unwilling to risk the production budget for a theatrical release straight off, so it was re-edited into a four episode OVA, with the theatrical version edited to be closer to the original screenplay following a year later. This lead to the removal of most of the contents of the first OVA episode, a post-sex scene between Lucy and Isamu (and the only boob shot of the movie), a more stylized rendering of Guld's final battle, some minor scene editing/shuffling, and some music changes.
 |
| Listen to my song! |
 |
| The power of music. |
- No Export for You - Compared to the rest of the franchise from which it comes, this is a rare exception - the retail DVDs had a large print run in the early to mid 2000s and are still widely available, and the movie version is often a staple of the Sci-Fi Channel. By all indications, the only reason it got through the infamous Macross legal snarls surrounding Tatsunoko Production, Harmony Gold, Studio Nue/Satelight and Big West was due to absolutely overwhelming pressure for release from basically every other corner of the industry; fans wanting a legitimate release in an era just before digital downloads were prevalent, critics wanting another excellent production to be released internationally, and similarly other animation distributors wanting an excellent product out strengthening the marketplace rather than being held back and producing no profit at all for anyone. It helped that at the time Manga Entertainment was able to snap it up, Harmony Gold was in chaos after a staff-hunting raid by Haim Saban, and nobody was paying attention to make a legal challenge; once they did realize what happened, the above kicked in to make challenging it far too dicey a proposition from a PR perspective. It also helps Macross Plus has very few vocal songs (some already in English or Cypher Language) and most of the themes are instrumentals, compared with later series.
- The Other Darrin: Episode 4 of the OVA was later redubbed by Bandai. Several of the English dub actors were replaced; most notably, David Hayter took over from Bryan Cranston as Isamu.
- What Could Have Been: According to Animaze, they wanted to get Bryan Cranston (Isamu's English voice) to also dub the movie version, but trashed plans for it since at the time, he was involved in the production of Saving Private Ryan.
- The Haydonites from Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles are similar to Sharon Apple's true form, suggesting that if it hadn't been for Saban raiding the staff, allowing Manga Entertainment to license the OVA, Harmony Gold would've tried to incorporate the OVA into the Robotech canon.
 |
| The girl. |
 |
| The boys. |
After SDF Macross II, a rather
divisive sequel from 1991, three years later Shojo Kawamori would return to bring balance to the franchise and thus allowing it to expand for several years in a series of new Animé, OVAs and even live concerts.
Most casual and hardcore anime fans that I’ve met that aren’t really
Macross fans tend to like this OVA. Personally for me as a Macross fan,
and keep in mind I’m not speaking for all Macross fans when I say this,
is that even though this is fan friendly to non fans of the franchise, I
feel it offers very little of what Macross is truly about. For the
most part, it exclusively takes place on a planet similar to earth and
the aliens are not really emphasized enough, so it’s value of being a
space opera, especially taking place 30 years after the
original doesn’t really feel all that present. Also gone is that it isn’t really taking
place during a war, but whatever action is present will mostly be
between Isamu and Guld. But
what’s still present in the tradition of Macross are of course the love
triangles. But since the love triangle this time is between 3 former
friends there’s a whole lot more directly involved in this one, while
the love triangle between Hikaru, Minmei, and Misa in comparison to this
feels more superficial which is the only thing I can say in which this
installment is superior to the original. In this case, Myung is of
course very hesitant who she loves, and seems to be more open to Guld,
but still shows concern and care for Isamu. Guld is very more open about
his feelings for Myung, while Isamu shows he does care, but seems to be
more of a big brother figure to her and doesn’t seem to exhibit any
romantic interest directly as much as Guld does.
As above mentioned, this is probably the
most friendly to non Macross fans because it’s a short OAV and covers a
descent amount. Even though I do give this anime a high score which
I’ll give soon, but compared to other Macross installments, I don’t
think this is the best Macross has to offer. It sort of falls apart at
the end and I can’t elaborate why because they would be spoilers. But
it’s other qualities are still an eye catcher.
Here's the opening featuring "Voices" :
Here's the ending with "Voices":
Here's the VHS tape trailer:
The Manga Entertainment trailer for Volume 2:
The Manga Entertainment trailer for Volume 4:
Information High!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment