Super Dimension Fortress Macross | Retcon_404 (10k Special)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Released by Nue animation in 1982 Super Dimension Fortress Macross is a lynchpin entry in the saga of 80's mecha anime. A cultural touchstone, Macross would go on to spawn it's own sequels, as well as being the basis of the popular Robotech franchise. Let's take a look at the first entry in the storied history of the Macross universe, Super Dimension Fortress Macross.
-- THIS VIDEO CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILER FOR MACROSS --
I say stuff: / retcon_404
Short videos here: / retcon_404
Stream Archive: / @retcon_404plays
Oh, and I don't think we can note Millia's "tradwife" transformation without noting that she still has no idea how to do anything but fight. Max, being an all around genius, has to be the house-husband because of course he can do all that stuff also. Is there anything Max can't do? No. There is not. Eff Max for not bringing everyone back from the dead. He could have done that. He chose not to.
My favorite thing that Milia does is throw her baby overhand across a room. it's amazing
@@Retcon404 There's a couple ridiculous Milia moments, like when they get married and then an alarm goes off right after Max tries to run off to fight and she points out they literally just vowed to stay together till death so she's going with him. Or how the master plan for taking over the automated factory basically involved her flying in blasting pop music, holding her baby over her head and saying "look what I made!"
@@Retcon404 (he-ka-ru)
@@thedemon56 hick, are you?
Spoiler for Macross 7 (you should totally do Macross 7!) One thing Max can't do is keep a relationship together...
@Retcon_404 : Fun fact there is line used in Kaifun's introductory episode that he is not a cousin by blood relation. He is only a cousin cause one of his parent's remarried into Minmay's family. So even those "silly anime" writers knew that blood incest was wrong. lol
and then Robotech made Kaifun her brother haha. oopsie
edit: I think, I haven't seen robotech yet but that is what I have been told.
@@Retcon404 Hmm I think that person was confusing one of 2 possible things. 1. In the movie Macross DYRL Kaifun *is actually Minmay's brother.* 2. Robotech did introduce Minmay's young cousin as Kaifun's little brother. The young cousin I refer to is the kid that looks like "Dennis the Menace" cause he always wears those jean overalls with the UN Spacey Logo on them.
@@Retcon404he's still her cousin in Robotech.
I defend Macross and its writing every time I can, but I do fault the writers for not explaining this in the anime itself. You can only learn this through outside sources, and as a Macross and American comics fan, I find having to do "homework" annoying. It almost doesn't count if not in the movie/show/comic/etc. itself.
I like the fact that Hikaru not only takes over being the ace that Roy was, but he becomes the Amuro of the show. Where when you see him in anything, he is this insane pilot. You mentioned how Roy you felt safe when he was around, but when Hikaru is around later on it is like having a whole defense fortress around you. He really comes into his own. And if I remember correctly he uses Roy’s Valkyrie and even adopts his color scheme.
One of the things I always like about it is that while Hikaru is a good pilot and the leader, he is not the best pilot in the series. That goes to Max.
@@Mitheledh Attack Max or Miriya... please.... If one of them does not kill you, the other one will like a cold blade to the knife
Macross is great. If you want a follow up to Max and Miria, you'll want to watch Macross 7 which is referenced both in Frontier and Delta. If you want more of Roy, Macross Zero is where you want to go and it has connections to Frontier. If you want the rogue sequel that became an alternate timeline, check out Macross 2. If you want the very best of the 90s, watch Macross Plus.
Here's a timeline for your reference:
Macross Zero > SDF Macross > Macross Plus > Macross 7 > Macross Frontier > Macross 30 (this is a video game btw) > Macross Delta *(Most of the shows are sequels of each other save for Zero which is a prequel and Plus which is a side story.)
So, you said you wouldn't read a comment defending the whole "marry your cousin thing", I'm not defending it (I'm guessing lots of folks have done that already based on what you've said; I'm not too keen on it either but it's worth knowing about) but informing you that it is legal in japan (among other places). It's allowed in a "literally no other choice to keep the bloodline alive" context. Also, scientifically, such a thing happening only once in a long while won't wreck your gene pool. You'd have to do it as frequently as the hapsburgs to really do damage which is exactly the situation everyone wants to avoid in the first place.
Still "keep the bloodline alive" just sounds like an ego thing
Cant believe Macross (or Robotech as my VHS tape titled it) was the first anime I ever watched as a little kid. My love for mecha started very early on.
One of the interesting aspects to keep an eye on going forward if you chose to do more of these, is how extremely well the technology in the franchise advances alongside the timeline. Not just the military technology but consumer technology and how it's employed by the culture that pops up post SDF1 it's fantastic world building.
I was crazy into this show as a kid. I watched all the shows, drew all the figures and bought and read all the comic books to death. This show had a HUGE impact on my imagination as a kid. It truly was a sensation and even though I watched a lot of shows and movies from Japan like Godzilla, Ultra-man and Space Battle Ship Yamato. This one made the biggest impact by far. So much so that I got my sons into it and now my oldest lives in Japan and is going to University there and wants to live there.
Re: the people building everything on the ship and the two sea vessels easily attaching - so everything was built on the alien technology, which was perfectly designed to modify and reconfigure based on need. The idea that the two vessels could be used as 'arms' was as easy to introduce as the entire transformation of the SDF-1 itself: the technology is completely transformative, and thus it simply needed to 'integrate' with itself. Same thing with the interior - the entire vessel can reconfigure on a whim, so constructing an entire city was really a minor change.
Minnay and Misa is straight tag teaming Hikaru in the last 8 episodes
Harmony Gold has been a litigous pain in the ass since obtaining the rights for material they used for Robotech for decades, blocking Studio Nue and Big West from sharing further Macross content in the western hemisphere.
Great review! I can't wait for you to get to Macross DYRL and Macross PLUS. Both of those are just PEAK anime
Watching Macross (Robotech Season 1) was a wild ride for me even with the English Dub from the 80s.
Only got the Blue Ray of it a few months ago and even if it was rated E for Everyone, there is some real mature stuff within the series that whoever have it the E rating never noticed.
Two items:
The lead designer on Macross, Shoji Kawamori, was also the lead designer on the Diaclone toy line; specifically Convoy, better known in the US as Optimus Prime
One of the other artist/designers is Itano Ichiro, who became known for the spiraling missile salvos that were first seen in Macross. Such salvos are known a 'The Itano Circus'.
Can we tip this man a buck for every time he says Hickaroo? 😂
It’s funny you mentioned the Daedalus and Prometheus attachment was never explained in Macross BUT I think it was at least offhandedly mentioned as a part of some scavenge mission in Robotech. Perhaps the dinners were. Also wanting that explanation done.
I love how most of the Mecha protags from the 70s and the 80s have the same Hikaru Ichijo hair.
A lot of them shared designers, it's part of how Macek and Harmony Gold were able to Frankenstein 3 separate series into a workable whole for syndication.
The Zentradi wants to capture the Macross because when they first engage the human Space Cruisers they fire Reaction weaponry (nukes) which is a lost technology and when they see the Macross they realise it has been rebuilt which is a lost art for the Zentradi.
This is a major plot difference between Robotech and Macross as in Robotech the Zentradi thinks the humans have Primitive weapons and is only interested in the Macross because it contains a McGuffin.
The Macross was supposed to dock with the two space cruisers after taking off but they got destroyed before they could dock so macoss uses the available docking ports to dock with the Prometheus and Daedalus. In the Macross Do You Remember Love movie the ARMD space cruisers are docked instead.
What i really like about the Macross is that the ship is from a race that we never see but is at war with the Zentradi in a galaxy spanning battle.
This show makes a good job of having humanity appear small but far from insignificant to the future of the galaxy.
Sadly no sequel has matched up to the original as they have gone too silly or too mythological.
Macross has an episode problem as the show got cut back in production and then was such a hit when aired that they had to make more episodes.
This is why the show feels a bit unbalanced with the return back to earth being rushed and there being a false ending after 27 episodes and then having a new story about rebuilding Earth.
Macross is the Best and the Greatest👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
The dadelous is a 'semi-submersible assault ship'. Not quite a sub....like our USS San Antonio...
Also the Prometheus and the dadelous were built from over tech which was compatible with the macross. Originally the ARMD ships are suppose to be in their place like in the movie
"I hate Kaifun" cue some banger track from Front Mission 3, great touch
AWESOME review man!
Please do a quick review of SDF Macross: do you remember Love ...they changed the story around a bit (for the better) the animation is mind blowing and the music...the music is amazing!
Hopefully DYRL is his next review
@@wpeniche Indeed!
Agreed
Plz do all the other macross series too, you'll like most of em prob :P if you're gonna do seed does it mean you'll do Destiny and Stargazer too ?
What version of the Macross theme is the one that plays in the first minute of the video?
It's a version from the Macross Playstation 2 game. You can find it on UA-cam still i think.
@@Retcon404 Thanks a lot. I found it.
YESSS!!! I’ve been waiting you to cover Macross! I hope you get the chance to review the rest of the Macross continuity.
Retcon is my favorite alternate reality Matt Bragg
You have a nice voice. Your video is very good.
I had to do a double-take when you said “Autonomous Government of Ontario”.
Macross is CanCon?
Umm the issue of the town getting ripped apart it would suck for everyone ESPECIALLY th insurance ppl cuz they lose money when you need them and they have to pay
Can you please do a review of "Blue Gender"? It is a very good underrated anime from the 90s with a very good intro.
Macros I remember watching this series when it first aired to it's end
Please do a review of “Do you Remember Love?”! It completely re-contextualizes the entire story and is the version of events that the sequels consider canon.
I like that music it from perfect dark n64
Is macross and robotech the same series? Or is it like Gundam wing and the original Gundam in just similar stories?
In the first episode two ships await to connect with the sdf1 in the space, but they are destroyed by centrady
Saludos
I remember Misa, as Lisa. Because of the dub that was done. Probably always will to be honest. I was much happier with her as the waifu of the mc(Still remember him as well as Rick Hunter. lol) Never liked the other female character. Even as a kid, i never understood how anyone could like her character. XD
i really recomend for u to go watch the first ova that came out!! its not that good quality but u will really love its ending; your ship finally sails!!
What's the song at the beginning of the video?
Will you do a southern cross or mospeada video next?
I’m also really confused with macross bc of Robotech
you should make a video on heroic age
Hey look it’s jetfire from transformers…oh wait
Please an Ideon Vid, we need Afro Amuro!!!
What do you think of Ranma 1/2?
Never really watched it, but I know a bit about it as a classic anime and it seems quite interesting.
@@Retcon404 It's one of my favorite comedy anime series.
if I'm not mistaken, Fokker's custom pattern/emblem are a reference to the real VFA-103 Squadron aka Jolly Roger. It's even more on the nose since the aircraft in Macross are obviously based on the F-14, which the Jolly Rogers flew.
The evolution of the Variable Fighter line and its mechanical technology is frankly half the appeal of Macross as a franchise. The creators _really care_ about making these mecha look and feel interesting and they're... basically just military planes but wackier. It's impressive.
VFA-84 F-14 Tomcat squadron was the one that inspired Fokker's (yes I use the german name of plane manufacturers not Focker that I think is anime accurate, but I think that is the name that inspired the writers) livery. I also think that Tomcats heavily inspired the Valkyries. They (VFA-84) were disbanded in 1995 and then the VFA-103, a F-18 Hornet squadron took their insignia. I guess that my post only lacks me saying "well actually..." ;)
The movie "Do you remember love" heavily fixes Hikaru's behavior in the love triangle
I only know the movie, have it on DVD somewhere, watched a couple of episodes, though not all of it, yet, but that movie is just a movie in that timeline.
It's like us warching a WW2 movie, based on true events, but fictionalised. So it's not canon, so to speak.
Still good though.
@@eldritchmorgasm4018 the thing with Macross is, nothing is canon yet everything is canon. All of the series (tv series, movies, etc) is practically like your analogy, some sort of historical retelling based on an event that happened. The franchise proceeds as if things from movie B has happened, yet at the same time it kept elements from series A that we never saw in movie B; the series is just weird like that.
@@shira_yone So it's kinda like with WH40K!?
They make shit up as they move along, and when a continuation comes around the corner, it's up to the fans if it's canon or not, because everyone's doing their own thing.
Example, though different franchise, Ridley Scott directed "Alien", fucking hates "Aliens", especialy the concept of the queen, directs the prequels, does everything he can to ignore other movies he wasn't involved with.
In general, it's a very lazy way of handling a franchise.
At least DC & Marvel have different realities/continuities to do things different, as in style & tone.
@@eldritchmorgasm4018 not exactly, it's more akin to Legend of Zelda where BoTW treats as if all the previous games happened, despite events that probably contradicts each other or the fact that all the events truly happened in the same timeline makes zero sense.
@@shira_yone 🤔Strange... very strange indeed
32:26 Macross actually had a very turbulent production, and the reason these episodes feels off is because the last episodes were stretched for more run time because toy sales were going through the roof, lol.
yeah my understanding is that it was originally considered a failure and they even had episodes cut. THEN BOOM! toy sales through the roof. Cut?!? who said cut!?! what do you mean the story is over?
@@Lazrael32your understanding is wrong. It was a hit and the studio wanted more episodes.
@@paulheap1982 big west did not have faith in the series and cut the amount of episodes. After it was successful and toys were flying off the shelf they raised the episodes. But yes it was successful.
No wonder the three spies were hocking "Hakakiri" toys in that one episode.
@@Lazrael32episode cut is because difficulty in drawing the mech/fight
There's one scene from the epilogue that I always remember. It's a Zentradi asking if the Pilot next to him can light up his Cigar and he does, with his gun.
It portrayed so much camaraderie and trust in just a couple of seconds.
"... and her hair looks like cinnamon buns." Bro. When my brother and I would watch Robotech as kids, we'd get hungry everytime because of Misa's (or Lisa as she was called in the Robotech version) hair. Mostly because one of our grandmothers favorite things to bake was cinnamon buns.
A fun little memory from years long gone.
"Minmay grates on my nerves"
You are far, FAR from alone in that, my man. She's much more of an annoying child in the show, but it's the Do You Remember Love? movie that has her 'crowning' moment of bratitude, immediately followed by Hikaru administering a completely justified slap.
The entire anime club I saw the movie at back in the 90s stood up and cheered when it happened.
But compare her antics with idol with the same level.of fame, she's pretty decent.
@@nurlindafsihotang49 A good point, that.
It’s not a coincidence that the laws of anime #17 Law of Transient Romantic Unreliability: Minmei is a bimbo
has been around since the late 80’s/early 90’s lol. The world knows she’s insufferable
Her character was written to be frustrating, but I really think Robotech poisoned the well and made her worse, and the Robotech novelization made her just terrible. So all the people who only knew Macross from Robotech only saw Minmay as this selfish, unaware, unrelatable bratty girl only got a badly filtered version of the character.
I've been arguing this opinion since the 1990s, so I'm kind of invested in it lol, but when you line up the scenes and dialogue side-by-side, you get two similar-but-different pictures.
Glad I left the Macross fandom😂😂😂. There were BETTER anime
Well, since you tackled the series you definitely need to do a video about the theatrical retelling Macross: Do You Remember Love. To me it is the absolute pinnacle of the entire franchise with mind blowing animation that holds up to this day.
Hell yeah DYRL was epic and ahead of its time in terms of quality in animation. All sequel shows for Macross take the aesthetics of that movie and build on it too. Macross Frontier is my favorite.
@@elhijueputa8423 in Japan they had Star Wars lines at all the theaters showing it. That tells you something special is happening!
A couple years back I found the DYRL perfect addition DVD with musical soundtrack as a bonus second disc. Up until then I'd only possessed this movie in the form of various bootleg fan subs.
As soon as I watched it again I was instantly transported back 20 years to college and was more than a little Misty eyed while watching.
@@elhijueputa8423 I love Macross Frontier! I even went and saw the two Frontier movies in the theater. It was so awesome to see Macross on a big screen.
@@kevinkorenke3569 That DVD sounds awesome. I bought a well produced Bluray bootleg of Do You Remember Love. It is pretty much a straight rip from the official japanese release. That movie gets at least a yearly viewing for me. It brings back so many good memories.
On behalf of all US-based Macross lovers, I'll get it out of the way: Dammit Harmony Gold! 🤬
I _loved_ Robotech growing up. I still do. But the world is big enough for both Robotech and Macross to exist! And Macross … I also absolutely adore Macross… (Actually, I love all three entries in the Super Dimension series, though I'm totally not surprise that they went for Genesis Climber Mospeada instead of Super Dimension Century Orguss for the third entry. Orguss just would not have fit.
All of these things need to finally get the love they haven't had all these years … true classics!
That said … my advice is DON'T try to compare Robotech to Macross too much. Not because rabid fanboyism but because it can't be fairly done. Robotech had to basically nerf the bits of Macross that were a problem and make a few changes to stitch Southern Cross in. And what followed likewise had to be edited for cohesion and BS&P. My advice is to enjoy Robotech for what it is, not for the source material it never could've been. It's still a good show, just aimed at a younger audience in a slightly simpler time.
I have skimmed some scenes of Robotech and while it's certainly aged, I give it props for keeping dark moments like the Zentradi bombarding Earth. There were dubs that came out after Robotech that chickened out with moments like dark than humanity nearly being wiped out by aliens.
Orguss might have worked in place of Southern Cross but yeah the splicing that was done worked surprisingly well, finally finding Orguss over a decade ago and struggling to get all the episodes was annoying AF, quite common to only find the dubbed part of the series.
Macross and Escaflowne share a creator, Shoji Kawamori. As time went by, Kawamori's mecha anime began to take in more and more mystical fantasy elements. Easy to see in Escaflowne but also check out Genesis of Aquarion (series and OVA), Aquarion EVOL, and Nobunaga the Fool. Nobunaga has some pacing problems though.
Hikaru's reaction to his first glimpse of the T'sentraedi is classic. A thirty foot tall giant climbs out of a Regult battle pod, removes his helmet and Hikaru shuts down. He can't process what he's seen.
Macross is unironically one of the greatest stories humanity has ever told. It’s legit art. It also kicks ass in its Robotech form.
Macross is a classic space opera which I'll probably always love. But the Mospeada segment of Robotech, even its original anime, is my fave of those three stories. Just a great sci-fi story
Quite cheesy, but their heart was in the right place
Don't worry, Kaifun has a rather ignominious fate - he winds up managing a band who only does English-language covers of Fire Bomber's songs, and apparently Fire Bomber are constantly trying to get the band shut down but Kaifun keeps dodging their lawyers. And this is only related in the booklet that comes with one of the Macross 7 soundtrack CDs that contains the aforementioned english-language covers of the songs.
So, there was this general pattern that the protagonist ends up with the one in the first episode, which would be Minmay, except ... technically Hikaru first talked to Misa. It was just a very brief traffic control permission, but then later on ... during that crazy fever dream episode ... That first tiny interaction was replayed, except Misa adds in "anta" ("Dear") a few times in there. It's a pretty jarring addition, but I was like WOAH YES!
Yeah, at that point, I was already all in on the Hikaru/Misa ship, but that really cemented my expectation that they were going with that.
Despite its flaws in the last few episodes, I absolutely love SDF Macross and it's still my favorite one. DYRL is an absolute must for a watch. Thank you so much for covering it!
Edit: Also in extra material, Hikaru not only marries Misa but he also has a child with her named Miku. They are still close friends with Minmay.
Another series to cover is Captain Harlock. More space pirate goodness. Also need an explanation on why a space pirate flies an ME 262 eventually
The novelization makes much more sense. The animations are great to inform your imagination but the novelization explains everything so much Better. Rick and Lisa have kids and it’s only then Minnie realizes what she missed out on by turning Rick away, cause she did have feelings for him but just assumed he would always be there waiting when the fame died. Protoculture is a power source but the Zentradi are confused by emotions and think emotions and magic from movies are extensions of the protoculture power source because the protoculture has been kept a mystery to them to keep them slaves, and they need it to get their freedom from the Masters. It’s a great bit of science fiction. Minmei is still annoying but her song serve as a stand in for the feelings of the average citizen caught in the conflict. Love it! Love the animations too!
This is true, but the novels change a few things that aren't really that way in the anime. I'm not suggesting it wasn't good storytelling by Jack McKinney, but it's Robotech (which I fell in love with as a child) not SDF Macross.
The definition of Protoculture. The "thinking caps". The little "Men and the Mecha" excerpts. Those were actually very good ways of dealing with the deficiencies of the anime.
I think the issue is that in the US, we much prefer/need stories completely told and nicely packaged. Any anime fan knows this just isn't a reality in anime. There are fantastic animes that never get completed. Even great OVAs that really could use a couple of additional installments, but they'll never happen. Kinda unfortunate.
Dude the only thing I can say is keep up the great work and if you want to do something that's not as mentally exhausting, we're all down for it. I mean you already done a couple videos where you just gave your opinion. But I get it, what you're doing is labor intensive, but we feel the love that comes from it. I loved this video. One of my favorite series is Macross, and was happy it was given the love it deserves. Thank you! I enjoy the "do you remember love?" movie a lot more. In my opinion, it perfectly condenses the series into a 2 hour movie. Thank you again for your awesome work!!!
Wow thanks man, this is very much appreciated. Thank you for the kind words.
Fun thing about SEED being connected to Macross is that Sleggar inspired Fokker who inspired Mwu La Flaga.
Dude, hell yes! I’ve been mainlining your videos ever since I came across your channel about a month ago (via finding one of your Gundam vids in a search) and they just keep getting better and better. Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into making these, they’re awesome, and super helpful in certain cases. The reason I found your channel in the first place was that I was looking for a Gundam UC recap before sitting down to watch Hathaway for the first time and, rather surprisingly, it was really hard to find a decently-produced one that wasn’t 90% review as opposed to retrospective.
So, seriously, awesome work, and keep ‘em coming! I can’t wait to see what else you decide to cover, and how your channel continued to grow and progress. The quality and rate at which you produce content is a genuine inspiration, and even though my channel is but a starving infant by comparison, you really give me something to aspire towards. All the best : )
Liked purely for the use of mainlining, Godspeed you beautiful sob
Had me rolling when talking about Millia. Make sure you check out Macross Plus, i have only seen the movie version but I loved it.
Would be curious to hear your take having seen the movie first. Universally, those of us that have seen the episodes first prefer those.
@@fiveoctaves I can’t really give you a take, I haven’t seen the movie since I left the dvd in a tv I got rid of when moving. Sad day. I am waiting for a new blu ray version now that it got a theatrical release in the states. Also I haven’t seen the episode version so I guess I should give them a watch
Originally Macross was going to end at the big battle. When it was in production they originally thought it wouldn’t be a hit so they tried compressing the story which is why Max and Milia got married so quick. But then they realized it was a huge hit so they were asked to extend it hence the last 8 episodes.
21:47 on the topic of Minmay's songs, In robotech, she sings an even more grating song called "my time to be a star", good luck hearing that one repeatedly if you check out Harmony Gold's Frankenstein lmao
Granted but she also has Touch and Go and We Will Win which aren’t too bad
And it's THE ONLY song she does BC they could only afford Reba West to do one song.... ugh...
This isn’t Gundam Seed…
jk do what you want, man!
Now that I just saw Char’s Counterattack last night, it looks like I should check out Macross.
Retcon, you just don't get it. The primary appeal of marrying your cousin is that you get to kiss them. Kissing your cousin! Shame on you for your American prejudice I'm from Arkansas by the way
Having only watched Robotech and seeing this as comparison.
It's the same picture. Like. I'm sure there's differences but the meats all there.
I'm gonna age myself, I watched Robotech back in '85 on syndication. For some reason back then they only showed Macross & Southern Cross.
If you think Harmony Holds bastardized Macross? You should of seen what Orion did to Do You Remember Love movie?
You mean clash of the bionoides
I remember that. But I also remember when we got the Invid arc too … Thought those bikes were the coolest mechs back in the day, too…
@@DubbleOboyz YES! I just remember it's cuts some of the beginning & just starts on the Macross silhouette leading in to a battle. Then ends with Hikaru blasting the guy in the face & the main capital ship blowing up. It wasn't the best dub. I thought he was on a suicide mission for the longest, until I was finally able to see an unmolested version of DYRL around 2002.
@@knghtbrd I still haven't see all of the climb hazard mospeada (sp?) arc in Robotech version. Though I did see that Robotech II movie where Rick & Lisa get married & the Robotech: Shadow Chronicles movies that's after CHM
I hated this movie. For one very simple reason: my favorite character is Captain Global and he was reduced to only have 10 speaking lines. I counted.
Hick-a-roo? He-car-ooh would be much closer. Hick-a-roo sounds like an Australian red neck 😂
In the first episode two ships await to connect with the sdf1 in the space, but they are destroyed by centrady
Saludos
Once you finish doing EVERYTHING mecha,
do MEGAS XLR last!
Macross Plus was the first mecha anime I watched in the 90s. Definetly a watershed moment in my life because it kicked off my love of the genre.
Robotech difference Spoilers.
Though I do wish you'd do an actual Robotech review, too.
So in Robotech Protocullture is changed to be a rare Cold Fusion Power Source. The SDF-1 has the last Protocullture Matrix. Which is why the Zentrati don't want to blow it up.
This through line is what connects all three wars.
Several Alien Races are at war for this dwindling fuel source. The Protocullture can mold into the flower of life, which the Invid must eat it to live creating a really five sided war over three generations.
At the start the Zentrati are attempting to retrieve the Protocullture Matrix from the SDF-1. The Zentrati and Masters are at war with the Invid who eats it. Everyone involved is running low and it's imperative that Bretai reclaims the ship undamaged with the Matrix intact.
In the Macross Saga dub some names are changed, generally barely.
Misa is Lisa for example.
The Macross is just the SDF-1.
Roy was Rick's (Hikaru Ichijo) older half brother.
Valkyrie is a model.
Veritech (Variable Technology) is the make.
IE The Veritech Valkyrie.
UN Spacey is the Robotech Defense Force (RDF)
ZENTRATI are the Army of the Robotech Masters.
At the end Rick Hunter (Hikaru Ichijo) and Lisa Hayes leave with the REF in an attempt to deal with the Robotech Masters to avoid a second war. The REF leaves with all of the cutting edge equipment leaving basically Militia level garbage on earth. The REF passes the Masters and run into the Invid. The Invid who need Protocullture to live then engage the REF.
The Masters make it to earth but low on Protocullture Fuel are hesitant to engage the Army of the Southern Cross, who in turn were left with garbage are hesitant to engage the Masters.
This leads to low scale conflict and espionage what is akin to the US and USSR Cold War with both sides threatening all out nuclear war.
But 85% of the First War in the Robotech dub is unchanged from Macross.
The other two,
Southern Cross and Genesis Climber were heavily modified to be in line with Macross.
Southern Cross was actually a failure in Japan and canceled mid way through.
Robotech arguably salvaged Souther Cross.
Genesis Climber while a mediocre success was better received as the third war of Robotech.
I think a lot of it is Legacy.
Southern Cross and Gensis Climber are these short Animes without much build to them.
As Robotech, they're are interconnected and because of that the insignificant actions in say Gensis Climber has a larger effect because it is a side story to Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes Robotech Expeditionary Force.
In the end Robotech took Macross and made it into a multi generational space opera stretching galaxies.
The movie even today out shines any anime currently. The detail in the animation rivals Akira. The Movie was such a hit in Japan that it had Star Wars lines waiting to get in. The movie is the standard.
Legit just love this channel for finding cool Gundam content and obscure animes that I knew nothing about LOL
I'm just up to the point in this video where Roy dies and so far I have to say that the first series of Robotech matches the story beats perfectly. Yes Robotech was a bit dumbed down and censored, but it's largely the same story. I also need to say that, watching Robotech in 1985 as a 10 year old, it was the first kids show in the US to ever show character death (as far as I am aware) and I do not recall anyone who watched the show then freaking out or being scarred for life by it. Other shows (Voltron comes to mind) censored the death and claimed all the bad guys were robots because of a belief that kids could not handle death.
I love Macross/Robotech so much it's so different from gundam but still so good
Oh and if you wan to review a LONG and COMPLEX anime?? Legend of Galactic Heroes. I loved the original and watched about half of the remastered version with all new animation. Massed fleet battles with thousands of ships per side. Truly an epic show.
I've started LotGH about 3 times and have had a hard time getting into it. I think maybe I wasnt at the right time in my life to really enjoy it, so I definitely want to give it another watch soon cause everything I have seen about both the original and remake looks awesome.
This was my first cartoon I saw as a kid where people, ummm...actually died 😮. As a kid in 1985 I couldn't stop watching the episodes....the love triangle and war had me on my toes.
The best Macross ever. We need remake like Yamato 2199 (without fanservice of course)
Ahh.. the memories. I used to rush home from school to watch Robotech.
probly better than some gundam shows
Speaking of Harmony Gold, Gundam and Robotech, I want to see your opinion on Fang of the Sun Dougram. A Spiritual brother of Gundam that ended up being the GrandFather of most Western Mechs via Inspiring MechWarrior/Battletech in 84
If anyones gonna marry my cousin; it’s gonna be ME!!! Lol
Macross is the best thing ever basically
I think when it comes to things that you just have to roll with, what takes the cake is that as big as the Macross is, it still wouldn't be anywhere near big enough to fit a city inside the bowls of the ship.
I'm so glad that anyone now can watch the original rather than Robotech. This is one of the highest quality animes that we watched when we were kids 40 plus years ago in the opposite side of your countries. Beautiful drawings, fascinating stories and the intelligence!
Good stuff. Robotech was my first anime and its exciting that the Macross franchise may come over here soon after way too many years.
I'm not versed in Macross but I grew up with Robotech and the differences between the two is beyond me but ehh maybe it's time to go buy so DVDs. I'm old school. I don't stream.
Are you that guy from his mom's basement?
7:59 "mech suite"? hehehe. It is refreshing someone who is probably 10-ish years younger than me to talk about Macross and Robotech. A definite difference in terminology, understanding and interpretations.
Good job all around, though. I found it entertaining. Thumbs up from me ;)
23:57
THAAAAANK YOUUUUU FOR TOUCHING ON THAT
(pause)
LIN IS NOT HER FIRST NAME
you always see it written as Lynne like on toy boxes.
i know the translation skills were sub par.
but actually, they should have been calling her ah mei(may)
because she's Chinese
that 3rd name, family and friends address ppl by 'ah' and whatever the 3rd name is.
like wong chow lung would be called ah lung by parents and if it's a guy, he's mr wong
they put family name First.
the miss macross episode got it wrong when min mei fell on stage.
Robotech was my very first anime ever (around age 10 or 11), so you can imagine that it had a huge influence on my tastes in anime and media in general. I love the sci-fi elements: the colossal space ships, the fascinating and unique maneuvers (sending your giant ship boring into the innards of a moon-sized space station and detonating a first-world nation's entire nuclear stockpile inside it is absolutely primo), swarms of streaking missiles and of course, transforming robots. I'll have to part opinions on you with the VF-1 Valkyrie: I think it's THE most elegantly designed transformable mecha of all time, beating out every Zeta transformer, imho. It's easily one of the most iconic mecha designs ever. As a kid, I was okay with the love triangle elements, but the Minmay pop star subplot bored me. Especially since Robotech's localizations of Minmay's songs are... not the best.
Loved the video! Interested to see your opinions on SEED. That was quite the controversial entry, back in the day.
Same here. My dad showed it to me when I was around that age, which was probably around 2008-2012.
Roy focker skull squadron was based on the legendary Jolly Roger squadron. If you watch the 1980 movie Final Countdown. The Jolly Rogers are shown in it.
Also, according the Macross historian Egan Loo, Minmay and Kaifun aren't related, FWIW. However, that's not explained in the show itself, so that's a problem in the show.
My familiarity with Macross was from Robotech Battlecry the game. When I watched the series though it was a lot different than my childhood favorite mech game
Head On, Apply directly to the forehead,
Head On, Apply directly to the forehead,
Head On, Apply directly to the forehead.
lol