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{minor spoilers}

As Macross started, I found the basic premise, theme (music/culture vs violent aliens) and story very fascinating, and I was gripped. Unfortunately, the story quickly descends into the most repetitive, contrived melodrama that I've ever had the displeasure of watching, filled with characters that behave in a similarly melodramatic and contrived manner. Additionally, despite the characters acting absolutely batshit, the series doesn't seem to be quite self-aware of this at all.

Macross' romantic plot can be summed up fairly easily into a few repeating segments. The two main characters Hikaru and Minmay meet at the beginning of the series, circumstances cause each of them to ... be trapped with each other, but before anything can develop they are saved from these circumstances. This plot structure pretty much continuously reoccurs in a similar fashion for about 80% of Macross, and the lack of any real development is extremely unsatisfying. Hikaru and Minmay have a potentially romantic moment, which gets interrupted by a battle with the worst timing, and Hikaru goes out to fight, rinse and repeat. Macross' entire plot is literally fueled by this contrived bullshit until its conclusion, and it doesn't help that the characters behave and act in extremely unnatural and socially awkward ways in order to force the plot to go the way the writers wanted it to go, rather than any sort of natural conclusion. The basic idea they were trying to go for is that circumstances keep Hikaru and Minmay apart and cause strain on their relationship, but the specifics and repeating circumstances behind it all are so contrived that it's almost parody.

Somewhat nearing the end of the series, some partial conclusion finally happens between Hikaru and Minmay, and an exciting and significant battle occurs that places a lot of focus on the two of them. This would have been a great place to end the series (and this is where the story fortunately ends in the movie). However, for some reason, the story continues. The arc that takes place afterwards is extremely unnecessary, incredibly dull in comparison to the amazing battle prior, and really just drags for way longer than it needs to because the characters start acting even more absolutely absurd and oblivious than they normally do.

The only reason I would personally recommend watching Macross is to understand the lore better. Later Macross series often make reference to Minmay, who is an extremely significant figure within the Macross universe. So if you're watching this to get into other Macross series, do yourself a favour and watch the movie instead, which has a better overall plot condensed into a movie length (rather than 36 episodes), as well as far more impressive art and animation quality. It generally writes certain key characters a lot better and doesn't try to turn Minmay's character into a bipolar trash fire in order to justify a love triangle formed from ridiculous repeating contrivances (not that the justifications for the love triangle in the movie are much better). Hikaru has significant character issues in both the series and the movie, though the nature of these glaring character flaws is different across the two.

I personally regret not just watching the movie instead, as the only reason I got into the series to begin with was to watch Macross Plus and Macross 7 (both of which I enjoyed far more). I found this quite ironic as Macross 7 seems to be considered as somewhat of a black sheep among the Macross fandom. It boggles my mind how this consistently contrived garbage is held in high regard, and I can only assume that many people give it a free pass due to its age or nostalgia.

Initially airing in 1999 to 2000, Corrector Yui has only very recently been fully translated to English, which is why there hasn't been much discussion or reviews for it.

[Theme and tone]
Despite being of the magical girl genre, this series' thematic probably has a lot more in common with something like Mega Man Battle Network and even .Hack//Sign, rather than the typical magical girl anime. Its thematic similarities to .Hack//Sign extend to some of Sign's darker themes as well. Notably, the uploading of one's consciousness to a virtual world (and the potential consequences that could arise from that) is a major theme in both series.

While this ... series is pretty light, humorous, and upbeat most of the time, it occasionally has surprisingly dark moments in the story that can range from serious to grim or unsettling. These moments create a nice tonal contrast when they pop up. Much of the story and interactions between characters can also often be surprisingly thoughtful, particularly how side characters interact with Yui and how they develop as characters as a result.

[Plot]
There are two "arcs" in Corrector Yui that are essentially halved up like a "season 1/season 2" kind of deal. The structure of each half of the anime follows that the introduction starts off with a bang that sets the overall plot in motion, then for about the first half of the arc it focuses on introducing and interacting with new characters while the plot partially progresses in the background of each episode, occasionally with some well-executed foreshadowing of plot elements that you likely won't see coming. Characters introduced in the first half of each arc continue to be relevant later on.

In the second half of each arc, the series directly focuses on the main plot and its major characters. A healthy helping of character development occurs in general, though the first halves of each arc in particular serve as nice build ups to the plot and character developments in the second half of each arc (rather than otherwise feeling rushed).

It's worth pointing out that the series has a nice sense of subtlety when foreshadowing major plot elements, this sense of subtlety also typically reflects onto how the characters act. It doesn't quite hit you over the head with how characters really feel in regards to more serious moments. I found this nuance to be refreshing, and it helps make things more tonally consistent in these serious moments.

Overall, I'd say Corrector Yui has a more complex plot than most magical girl series, along with a pretty good build-up to major plot events. Its sense of subtlety will likely ensure that the twists in the story stay surprising. Prior to watching all of it, I had read claims that it had virtually no real plot or backstory. Thankfully those claims would appear to have been a straight-up lie, or perhaps the result of rather poor media literacy.

[Characters]
The protagonist is the titular Yui. She is very kind-hearted, but can be childish and clumsy. Amusingly, given the setting of this anime, she is extremely inept at using computers. She isn't a flawless combatant either, and there are many times she gets overpowered or needs help to overcome obstacles. Yui's character develops really satisfyingly, and she actually proves to be very perceptive and sensible as the story goes on. When things get tough, she is persistently kind-hearted almost to a fault, willing to take significant risks to herself if it means a happier outcome for others. I found her character to be very endearing, and I think she fits the role of protagonist in this kind of story perfectly.

The cast of characters are likeable and have a diverse range of personalities that work well together, particularly since Yui's interactions with each of them are quite entertaining. The interaction between Yui and a certain antagonist (to be vague for the sake of keeping this spoiler free) is particularly interesting and I feel should be noted. They're both great foil characters to each other, and she is the primary factor for his character growth. It's one of my favourite character dynamics in general.

The primary antagonist of the first arc creates a nice sense of mystery regarding his motives, and I feel he served to be a pretty great antagonist in general. The second arc's antagonist doesn't have motives that are quite as engrossing, but the circumstances surrounding them are quite interesting, managing to make good use of a primary theme of the series.

[Comedy]
Comedy is fairly prevalent in Corrector Yui, often taking on a light-hearted humorous tone. It's also my personal favourite genre of anime, and this got a lot of laughs out of me to the point that I'd say the comedic aspect is one of the better parts of the show. Of course, comedy is subjective to some extent, so feel free to disagree. An important part of the execution of comedy lies in the quality of voice acting, which I'd say was done rather well.

Thankfully the comedic aspects are placed and blended in sensibly; without at all interfering with the tone and pacing of more serious moments. Which I'd say is worth mentioning since this does have important portions of the plot that are genuinely dark and/or serious.

[Art/animation]
90's anime typically have my favourite artistic styles, and Corrector Yui provides as such. The linework, shades of colours, and overall style are quite likeable for me, and it's all pretty consistently drawn as well. I very much enjoyed the visuals in general.

I found the animation to be pretty solid, and the fight scenes are usually quite dynamic. Like other anime of its kind, it has transformation and special attack sequences that are reused when appropriate.

[Music]
The soundtrack is sincere, cute, bubbly, and somewhat adventurous. I enjoy it to the point that I've found myself looking it up just to listen to it randomly. It kind of gives me the vibe of a nostalgic video game's soundtrack (though I've only watched this in 2021). I particularly adore the opening of the first half of the series, the singer of which has a rather elegant, soulful, jazzy voice. Easily one of my favourite openings ever.

[Enjoyment/Conclusion]
Corrector Yui is among the best hidden gems of anime I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I enjoyed just about every aspect of it more than I was expecting to, ranging from the story, characters, voice acting, music, and overall style and visuals. I imagine that it's rather obscure simply because it has only been fully translated recently (from the time of this review). Had it been given the translation and marketing it deserved, I'd be surprised if it wouldn't have been held in the same high regard as other major series of its kind.