超時空要塞マクロス / Super Dimension(al) Fortress Macross

Blu Ray box cover art.

The industry of Anime started very differently as to what it is today. For every piece of Anime that wanted to expand outside Japan, international production companies would buy the series and made every change they felt was necessary to appeal to the western audiences. Character name changes, soundtrack changes, cut scenes, cut characters, story line changes and even linking one series with another randomly was how most of the original western Animé fans started. That is, people in their late 30's, and 40's going 50's.  Why Am I bringing this up? Because today's review is about one of the most popular series outside Japan that also suffered from that old practice. Enter, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross!

Aired from Oct 3, 1982 to Jun 26, 1983 (just two years after the end of Mobile Suit Gundam, a show which defined the mecha/space genre in anime) Macross takes the 'humans attacked and on the run in a super ship' template and blazes forward a new path of its own.

Directed by Noburo Ishiguro with the script from Hiroyuki Oshiyama, and episode direction by Fumihiko Takayama & Katsuhito Akiyama, SDF Macross opens right after a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, Making humanity realize that they are not alone anymore. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war.

This is how Macross was originally promoted.

A show like no other.

The show's production history was a turbulent one: Originally proposed in 1979 after the success of Gundam, the show was sponsored by a group called the "Wiz" corporation, who were prepared to fund a 48-episode run. However, by 1981, Wiz had gone out of business, and the Macross seemed to be in permanent hiatus. Big West, an advertising agency looking to branch out into animation sponsorship, approached Studio Nue about the project, and sponsored it. However, they insisted on a leaner budget, not convinced that the show would pan out as profitable. Big West pared the episode count to 23 episodes (meaning the show would have ended with the battle against Bodolza). Even then, Big West found that the show was going to run more expensive than they had bargained for, and to secure more money, entered into a partnership with Tatsunoko Productions which included international distribution (hence "Robotech" (1985)). When Macross debuted in October, 1982, the stunning success convinced Big West to green light an extension to 36 episodes, allowing the staff to end with the "two years after" story arc. 

The series title uses the name of the main spacecraft (which is usually shortened to SDF-1 Macross as it is Earth's first Super Dimension Fortress). The original name for the Macross project was Battle City Megaload (or Battle City Megaroad, as the Japanese transliteration to either ⟨l⟩ or ⟨r⟩ gives the title a double meaning in reference to the story line: Megaload, referring to the spacecraft containing an entire city of people; and Megaroad, referring to the long journey through space back to Earth). However, the director of Big West, one of the later sponsors of the project, was a fan of Shakespeare and wanted the series and the spacecraft to be named Macbeth (Makubesu (マクベス)). A compromise was made with the title Macross (Makurosu (マクロス)) due to its similar pronunciation to Macbeth in Japanese and because it still contained connotations to the original title. The word Macross also comes from a wordplay combination of the prefix "macro" in reference to its massive size (though when compared with the alien ships in the series, it is only a relatively small capital ship) and the distance they must cross.

The VF-1J, my personal favorite valkyrie.

What does the self-destruct button do?

The other side of the story is the fact that most western audiences got the first glimpse of the Anime as "The Macross Saga", the first part/generation of Harmony Gold's Robotech in 1985. Although it wasn't heavily edited as to be unrecognizable from the original source, the American version, changed names, music, the plot partially and cut most of the graphic violence scenes and those giving hints to the viewers that this new sensational series was somebody else's work. Obviously, the American version was a huge hit, and unintentionally allowed fans to get their hands on VHS tapes from the original series plus the fantastic movie version "Macross: Do You Remember Love?"which we will review right after this post is ready to be online. Also, Macross is the first series in the "Super Dimension" saga that also includes Super Dimension Century Orguss & Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross. Both released in 1983 & 1984 respectively.

In North America, it was prevented from being released properly for a very long time because Harmony Gold wanted only Robotech to be available. For some time, Harmony Gold continued to block efforts to bring anything Macross-related to North America and was happy to file lawsuits against anything that even looked like it such as BattleTech, directly contradicting decisions made in Japanese legal courts. However Streamline Pictures and AnimEigo were able to release subtitled editions of the series to VHS and DVD in North America, as well as Madman in Australia, and ADV Films produced an uncut English dub in the early 2000s. These releases are now out-of-print though. In 2014, Harmony Gold themselves (alongside partners A&E and Lionsgate) released Vol. 1 of a new DVD series featuring unedited Macross episodes (in Japanese and English) alongside the Robotech versions. However, this was a manufacture-on-demand release and Vol. 2 has yet to be solicited. In 2016, the series, in subbed form, was released on Amazon Prime Video.

Personally, I grew up as a huge Robotech fan (I'm still a fan), and I even co-admin the facebook "Robotech Freedom" group, but as time goes by, it keeps on being harder for me to watch Robotech knowing everything Macross means to the world of Animé fans and seeing in disgust how Harmony Gold has made it really hard for us to access the many sequels this franchise now has.

Keep 'em flyin'!

There's always time for enjoying a little rain.

But, what is Macross about?

In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in this mess are Hikaru Ichijo, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring idol. These two, alongside Misa Hayase and the remaining Macross' crew & civilians, experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama, coming face-to-face with the cruelties of war along the way...

Macross is filled with amazing action sequences. Amazing simply, for the year it was aired in, the effort and skill of the animators to bring us visually excellent setpieces, featuring awesome-but-underused-in-anime fighter jets, is admirable indeed. The major highlight I can think of, is an early scene involving Hikaru's falling VF racing to catch up with a falling Minmay, the camera revolving around the pair seamlessly. The scene, being from the first episode, is indicative of the ambition of the show.

While Gundam has a more childish drive (the one with the more power wins) Macross on the other hand, is about love. The quintessential emotion that can bring peoples of all race, color and creed together. Of course these anime are about other things too, but these aspects are at the core.

Macross focuses on other things that mecha fans will have missed in Gundam, such as the affect of media and celebrity in wartime, the clash of two different cultures, and as mentioned before, the society that exists within a ship on the run.

Hikaru Ichijo.

Misa Hayase by Waeba Yuusee.

Macross is probably more famous now for its music than its war hijinks, and this first series shows that it was all part of the master plan from the beginning rather than something that evolved later on in other parts of the franchise. The character of Lynn Minmay will probably annoy most viewers with her witless selfish ways, but she is the epitome of a teen idol and acts like one. Her cousin Kaifun is the one most deserving of your unbridled hatred, one of the biggest scumbags in all of anime! But anyway, back to Minmay. The role she plays in the story is important despite her ditzy manner, and alongside Hikaru, a main character in a mecha show who is more average and easier to relate to than most others.

Amazingly enough Hikaru is not the best pilot in the story either, and neither is one of the manliest characters in the anime medium: Roy Focker. A man who lives up to his name, let’s just leave it at that. Genre stereotypes are subtly subverted in Macross. For example there’s a staple bespectacled ace character, Maximilian Genius, but he's not a cliché, he’s not unapproachable and coldly analytical. He actually has a normal personality and is even a hit with the ladies. Macross characters are a genuine treat, much like everything else with this show, always keeping you on your toes. And a disclaimer: half the cast aren't killed off in the last episode, how refreshing! Not only do characters unexpectedly die in this show, they unexpectedly live too!

Blu-Ray exclusive artwork.

Whenever you see good Macross art, you know it's not Robotech.

You don't wanna mess with Focker!

What is great about Macross is that it doesn’t heap misery on its characters constantly, but when it does, the characters move on quickly. It never feels like a copout, they're still affected by the changes around them, whenever comrades die for example, but we're thankfully spared five episodes of them moping around like stroppy teens.

Instead we get a ship populated by a rather young and inexperienced group of women who belong more on a training school than the most important part of a warship. These women gossip away and yell out "yada!" when things don’t go their way. At one point the ship gets a new barrier system, called Pinpoint Barrier and it consists of a room somewhere in the ship operated by a couple women who have to roll balls (a nod to some Atari videogames?) around their table in order to move a mobile barrier around the ship's exterior to absorb enemy attacks. Yes, it really is as ridiculous as it sounds, you can only laugh at the image of cute girls rolling balls furiously in the middle of an attack, yelling "yada!"

Macross is entertainment through and through. It's not going for weighty philosophy, but at the same time, it decorates its carefree nature with worthy topics and doesn’t so much explore them as it acknowledges them. Midway through the show displays the ugliness of politics, discrimination and the sacrifices that must be made rears its head leading to dramatic, yet ultimately always uplifting stuff.

Bodolza, the son of a bitch.

Excedol, the Zentraedi advisor.

Lord Kamzin.

The love triangle between Hikaru, Minmay and officer Misa Hayase heats up by the second arc (from episode 28 to 36) and leads to an excellent climax, and it’s all the more beautiful because the anime doesn’t manipulate you into rooting for one person by making the other a complete bitch, you can see why Hikaru would want to be with either of them. However, the series doesn't take itself too seriously, and there are plenty of moments where laughter & fun take the lead, even in the most unexpected times. For instance, when the crew of the Macross try to use the antigravity generators to lift off. Except it turns out that someone failed to properly secure the things, which leads to a hilarious scene of the gravity generators ripping through the bulkheads and flying off into the sky on their own, or when The Zentraedi intercept Minmei's kung fu movie Shao Pai Long, and, naturally mistake it for combat records. One of the scenes shows Kaifun killing a giant with a Ki Attack, which completely freaks Breetai and Exedol out. Not to mention Kamjin's very first scene. Right after Breetai informed us that he had called him as reinforcement due his competence and Exedore cried in horror due his Blood Knight tendencies, Kamjin's squadron arrives, accidentally rams some of Breetai's ships (including his flagship!), and then, as he reports for duty, Kamjin's aide demands he pays their bet on what unit would get more ships hit in the ramming. And let's not forget the classic "old lady" line Hikaru tosses at the very first episode of the series.

SDF Macross also features some moments that still require explanation:

Where does the "If mice could swim..." poem comes from, or who wrote it? Well, if you look close enough (screencap below) you'll see a piece of the poem, and while not in the picture here, the Animation cel features an ISBN code (ISBN0 905478 509) from an actual book! "If Mice Could Fly" by John Cameron, a children book whose relation to Macross I have no idea. Maybe it was an inside joke of the animators, a random occurrence, or a dark nod to something Macross fans have still yet to discover. I promise I'll ask some of the most educated Macross fans I can go to and update this review with an answer.

At least the book is real, and you can order it here.

In episode 9 Lynn orders Irish coffee. Why does no one bat an eye at a young teen ordering a cocktail? or is it a thing from the future we still haven't quite comprehended? 

Did Roy grossly miscalculate the seriousness of his injuries and thus caused his own death, or did he correctly assess that his time was almost up and deliberately choose to hide the gravity of his injuries so he could see Claudia one last time?

In episode 18, Hikaru was not only assigned Roy's Valkyrie, but command of Skull Squadron. Why was he not promoted to major then and there? Or was it death a quicker promoting means in the U.N. Spacy?

If the residents of South Ataria Island could just reconstruct their entire city—down to the buildings, parks, and streets—inside of Macross and fit thousands of people comfortably inside, why didn't they just build the city (or at least the shelters) in there to begin with?

Weird poem from the "Bye Bye Mars" episode.

Macross features a set of strong women in charge of the fortress.

The art and animation is pretty cool thanks to the creator Shoji Kawamori. This guy is just the man and a well respectable name in the world of robot anime. I wouldn't say the animation was years ahead of its time, but it still stood out. The design of the Macross is very deep and complex and captivating. It had a great sense of size and the way they showed camera angles of it made you wonder how big it was and it was amazing that it was supposed to be the size of a city. 

Although the series is about "love in the times of war"(paraphrasing maestro Kawamori) , there is plenty of room to develop the stories of secondary characters rather than focusing all attention on the Hikaru/Minmay/Misa love triangle. As a matter of fact, we even get an interesting dose of explaining why the bad guys do what they do, the way they do it. Both the Zentraedi & Meltrandi were originally together living in a long gone society that is somehow mirrored by that of the human society. While these aliens, apparently only live for warfare purposes, as the series approaches his first story arc climax, we discover they're actually more human than we think, and that some of them are willing to go against the big Bodolza to stand for the protection of "protoculture" and the human kind. 

Secondary characters prove to be quite necessary throughout the series. For instance, Maximillian Genius is not just the best pilot that keeps on giving, but also the first human to connect emotionally with Milia Fallyna, the enemy's very own ace pilot. Their marriage opens the door to negotiations between the two factions as they discover they may have more similarities than they think. Other characters play similar relevant roles, like Claudia LaSalle that becomes the advisor Misa would go to whenever she was in trouble due to Hikaru's indecision. Moreover, Roy Focker short run, proves to be empowering enough to help Hikaru become a military pilot and uplift the spirits of most of the SDF crew. His death was certainly a low blow. However, as above mentioned, the series doesn't take itself too seriously and comic relief characters are also abundant in both factions (Hayao Kakisaki, Vanessa, Kim, Shammi, Warera, Rori & Konda). Macross also features one of the earliest troll characters in existence, Lynn Minmay's cousin Kayfun.

 

Milia Fallyna, the beauty of the enemy.

The future of Macross.

Seeing how many characters are involved in the Macross series, this is a huge leap for the Space Opera genre, where the one dimensional characters plus villain of the day formula was the norm for years. How many super robot animé
featured a reckless hero that had to yell some gratuitous English phrase to form and/or transform into a robot? How many of them had actual love affairs? How many convinced the enemy to join their side? How many died and truly meant something for other characters? How many showed that war was actually a horrible thing to go through? How many characters were shaped by sad personal experiences? Macross had it all. Macross has it all.

Why was Misa so obsessed with duty and nothing else? Well, probably because Misa's found out her first love and victorious childhood Friend Riber's died in mars. When Misa finds out what happened to Riber, the poor woman emotionally collapses and Hikaru has to pretty much pull her away by force!.

 

Wait until the after credits scene Hikaru!

The first volume of a legendary soundtrack.

The music is obviously awesome, and I'm not even talking about Minmay's pop ditties, but the actual score soundtrack is very memorable and funky. Kentaro Haneda's work as composer is well known in the Anime industry, but as far as Macross territory is concerned he provided enough music for four volumes, plus the DYRL soundtrack and a couple of extra releases. Most of the albums are somehow easy to find with today's Vinyl craze. Now, Lynn Minmay songs are also very good, because the talented voice of Mari Iijima, an actual singer, is just priceless! The good thing is that she still goes to conventions and sings timeless hits from time to time. Unfortunately, the "other" Minmay cannot say the same thing. Actress Reba West was rushed into the job and had both to act and sing with very little preparation. Hence, the awful singing and even uglier lip sync issues you'd see whenever she sang in Robotech.

What more can I say? As an 80's kids, being introduced to a brand new world of Anime that could actually take itself seriously and offer more human like drama, I was thrilled since day one. And that's the true magic Macross has to offer. As a kid you fell in love with the Mecha & action, as a teenager you related to characters struggling to grow up, and as an adult, you can only realize that even in hard times, there will be people to make you laugh, there will be people that will fight your battles, and ultimately, there will be love and friendship.


The following is the original Japanese air date of Macross in Japan. In addition, it has the Robotech adaptation titles for every episode. Notice how little the name differences are when comparing the original with Harmony Gold's version.

 

Original Japanese Air Date The Super Dimensional Fortress Macross Episode Robotech: The Macross Saga Episode* 3 October 1982 1. Booby Trap (ブービー・トラップ Būbī Torappu) 1. Boobytrap 10 October 1982 2. Countdown (カウント・ダウン Kaunto Daun) 2. Countdown 17 October 1982 3. Space Fold (スペース・フォールド Supēsu Fōrudo) 3. Space Fold 24 October 1982 4. Lynn Minmay (リン・ミンメイ Rin Minmei) 4. The Long Wait 31 October 1982 5. Transformation (トランス・フォーメーション Toransu Fōmēshon) 5. Transformation 14 November 1982 6. Daedalus Attack (ダイダロス・アタック Daidarosu Atakku) 6. Blitzkrieg 21 November 1982 7. Bye Bye Mars (バイバイ・マルス Baibai Marusu) 7. Bye-Bye Mars 28 November 1982 8. Longest Birthday (ロンゲスト・バースデー Rongesuto Bāsudē) 8. Sweet Sixteen 5 December 1982 9. Miss Macross (ミス・マクロス Misu Makurosu) 9. Miss Macross 12 December 1982 10. Blind Game (ブラインド・ゲーム Buraindo Gēmu) 10. Blind Game 19 December 1982 11. First Contact (ファースト・コンタクト Fāsuto Kontakuto) 11. First Contact 26 December 1982 12. Big Escape (ビッグ・エスケープ Biggu Esukēpu) 12. The Big Escape 9 January 1983 13. Blue Wind (ブルー・ウインド Burū Uindo) 13. Blue Wind 16 January 1983 14. Global Report (グローバル・レポート Gurōbaru Repōto) 14. Gloval's Report 23 January 1983 15. Chinatown (チャイナ・タウン Chaina Taun) 15. Homecoming 30 January 1983 16. Kung Fu Dandy (カンフー・ダンディ Kanfū Dandi) 16. Battle Cry 13 February 1983 17. Phantasm (ファンタズム Fantazumu) 17. Phantasm 20 February 1983 18. Pineapple Salad (パイン・サラダ Pain Sarada) 18. Farewell, Big Brother 27 February 1983 19. Burst Point (バースト・ポイント Bāsuto Pointo) 19. Bursting Point 6 March 1983 20. Paradise Lost (パラダイス・ロスト Paradaisu Rosuto) 20. Paradise Lost 13 March 1983 21. Micro Cosmos (ミクロ・コスモス Mikuro Kosumosu) 21. A New Dawn 20 March 1983 22. Love Concert (ラブ・コンサート Rabu Konsāto) 22. Battle Hymn 27 March 1983 23. Drop Out (ドロップ・アウト Doroppu Auto) 23. Reckless 3 April 1983 24. Good-bye Girl (グッバイ・ガール Gubbai Gāru) 24. Showdown 10 April 1983 25. Virgin Road (バージン・ロード Bājin Rōdo) 25. Wedding Bells 17 April 1983 26. Messenger (メッセンジャー Messenjā) 26. The Messenger 24 April 1983 27. Love Flows By (愛は流れる Ai wa Nagareru) 27. Force of Arms 1 May 1983 28. Myon  Album (マイ・アルバム Mai Arubamu) 28. Reconstruction Blues 8 May 1983 29. Lonely Song (ロンリー・ソング Ronrī Songu) 29. The Robotech Masters 15 May 1983 30. Viva Maria (ビバ・マリア Biba Maria) 30. Viva Miriya 22 May 1983 31. Satan Dolls (サタン・ドール Satan Dōru) 31. Khyron's Revenge 29 May 1983 32. Broken Heart (ブロークン・ハート Burōkun Hāto) 32. Broken Heart 5 June 1983 33. Rainy Night (レイニー・ナイト Reinī Naito) 33. A Rainy Night 12 June 1983 34. Private Time (プライベート・タイム Puraibēto Taimu) 34. Private Time 19 June 1983 35. Romanesque (ロマネスク Romanesuku) 35. Season's Greetings 26 June 1983 36. Farewell To Tenderness (やさしさサヨナラ Yasashisa Sayonara) 36. To the Stars
*Robotech premiered on March, 4th, 1985.
Now, why haven't I talked about that "recently restored/remastered newly animated Macross/Robotech opening and/or teaser"? Simply because there is no such thing. All the material ignorant Youtubers are referring to as "new" is what's inside the Macross Pachinko game.  Don't believe me? Here's a quick video about the Pachinko game: Moreover, here's the official Pachinko promo video: Another Pachinko game video with most of the scenes some idiots have uploaded as being new Macross/Robotech material: If you'd like to expand your Macross experience to an episode by episode detail, you can visit Gubaba's Blog The Great Macross Rewatch. a very detailed work highlighting the obscure and relevant moments each episode had. This man is also doing a The Great Orguss Rewatch in case you're into the other super dimension series.
Now, if you're interested in buying the SDF Macross Blu ray set, I'm afraid is out of print. The original price in US currency was around $350,99. E-Bay has a lot of bootleg editions for cheaper prices but not the real thing.
Last but not least, the video section of Today's review:
Here's the opening:
Here's the ending:
A very old Valkyrie ad:
A compilation of TV ads from their cool toys:
Macross Fever videogame ad:
The weird Korean Space Gundam V bootleg Anime from 1983:
Stay tuned, for next time Sleazy Pictures Muggy Archive will continue to review some of the greatest Anime and OVA of all time, plus obscure gems that need to be rediscovered by new and old fans of the genre.
Until then, Yak! Deculture!