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Aug 15, 2024
4.5/10
The president of the Macross is not also the president of the student council. 0/10, absolute trash anime.
If you enjoy a lot of modern anime tropes, especially fan service ones, and you love high school settings, then you’re probably going to disagree with a lot of this review.
Cons:
Pacing: The pacing is horrible. It was boring throughout the middle of the series, and while the end picks up, it does so at the expense of logic and a decent story. What’s here, if well written, could have been good. But it sets things up, then gets lost messing around with nothing for multiple episodes, before scrambling
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to bring everything together. The ending itself was fairly abrupt as well, which was disappointing.
Main Characters: Sheryl Nome aside, it’s hard to care about most of the main cast. Many of them were very dislikable. The side characters were much more compelling.
Saotome Alto: Ask yourself as you watch the show: What would happen if Alto was replaced with a generic isekai protagonist? Not much would change, except the love triangle would evolve into a circle (and he’d be even more clueless). It’s not that Alto’s bad, he just feels pointless compared to all of the previous protagonists. The show should have focused in on Sheryl & Ranka, with more of an emphasis on Ozma, Brera, & Cathy than was present here.
High School: High school settings where they don’t belong are one of the worst parts of anime. The show is noticeably better in episodes without it. A lot of the adult cast was great, but unfortunately they were always overshadowed by having the story revolve around high-schoolers. It’s genuinely hard not to laugh when these soldiers are running around in their high school uniforms to fight or to actually work with the military. This isn’t uncommon in anime, and Macross (and anime in general) don’t always have the most grounded stories of all time, but it’s ridiculous.
Fan Service: This also feels like the most anime-y Macross compared to the previous ones, mostly in the worst of ways. They added a loli, because every anime needs one now. Women now envy other’s boob sizes. We even get the ridiculously large, jiggly boobs to go with it. Along with a ton of modern and slightly less modern fan service tropes. I’ll give it one thing, it never gets as creepy as 7 did, but this sort of fan service is very unenjoyable. It’s the worst of anime when its placed in a show that isn’t trying to be ecchi in the first place.
Neutral:
Music: The music is good. It’s not the best in the franchise though. Unfortunately, the moments they choose to use certain songs often doesn’t work thematically with the scenes they appear in. It was also very repetitive and fell off towards the end of the show. Despite glimpses of their potential, they never took full advantage of having two singers. Aimo, however, is one of the best songs in the franchise.
Animation: The animation isn’t horrible, the CGI is better than its predecessors. But it wasn’t amazing either. Frontier continued SDF’s derp faces in a few episodes as well, which was sadly hilarious.
Pros:
References: The show is chock full of references to previous Macross shows, and Ranma ½ apparently (I have to assume it’s on purpose), especially SDF & Zero. It makes the show a lot better than it otherwise would be. On the other hand, stripped of the references, many of the shows biggest moments wouldn’t land as well; it’s very reliant on them. While you don’t need to have seen the previous Macross shows to understand this, I’d highly suggest to watch SDF, DYRL, & Zero first so you don’t miss out either. Plus and 7 are being referenced here a fair bit as well, but the aforementioned three play the biggest role in the plot.
Sheryl Nome & Side Characters: In terms of characters, like mentioned above, the adult cast is generally great. But no one wants to watch a show about elders in a retirement home (so like 25+ in anime), so they don’t get as much focus. Ozma and Cathy’s storylines would have been much more interesting had they been focused on. Of the non-adult cast, it’s impossible to not like Sheryl. She was easily my favorite character (and idol in the entire Macross franchise). And the main reason to power through the show.
Duel Singers: There’s finally a sing off! Frontier pulls off two competing singers very well. Possibly one of the best moments of the show, just because of how amazing it is to hear the two singers competing, less so for the actual scene itself.
World Building: The world building is great. There’s lots of little bits of lore in this show, which is really nice.
Overall:
The show shoots itself in the foot with its pacing. It’s main characters (Sheryl aside) range from pointless to unlikable. More consistent than Macross 7 (not exactly an achievement), but Macross 7’s highs are better than anything found here. Frontier, at its best, is mediocre. If there were ever a Frontier spin off focused around the adult cast, I’d watch it in a heartbeat.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Aug 15, 2024
Macross Zero is a breath of fresh air. If you haven’t watched 7 before this, then the appearance of magic/fantasy in Macross might come as a bit of a shock.
Zero is far more “grounded” than some of the other entries in the Macross franchise. There’s a strong dichotomy with 7, and from my observation, those who tend to love 7 will hate Zero and vice versa. 7 tells you war is bad. Zero demonstrates exactly why it’s so terrifying.
Cons:
Inappropriate underage scenes: There’s a kiss between an 11 year old girl and a man. There’s also a scene of a younger, topless Sara. Neither really needed
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to be present. It’s not going to ruin the show, but it’s a bad look after its predecessor did similar things.
Animation: Lots of CGI and badly animated water. To be fair, being from 2002, it could be a lot worse. Doesn’t really harm the show, but does drag down the wonderful animation to some degree.
The name of the island: It’s fairly obvious why they named it Mayan. Definitely could have used a better name.
Neutral:
Soundtrack: Serviceable, but nothing amazing. The music is used at just the right spots in the show though, so it’s enjoyable overall. Easily the weakest soundtrack of the Macross series, if you can call it much of one at all.
Pros:
Story: A tale of the devastation of war. Along with some strong commentary on modern life and the environment, without totally condemning our ways of life. Could have been expanded or made better with more episodes. Delivers the message 7 tried and failed to send (guns are stupid, let’s play music!) by showing the actual reality of those guns, and how people were affected by them.
Characters: It’s a shame there weren’t a few more episodes to give some of them more story. Sara, Focker, Shin, and Aries all get enough time to at least enjoy them. Even the “villains” of the story have some good background (and they are the ones that could have used some extra development).
Animation: Even with the terrible CGI, the action in this show is amazing! It’s what somewhat redeems the otherwise dated CGI. The non-CGI animation is spot on, showing off some beautiful scenes. This far into the franchise, only DYRL and Plus seem to rival it.
Final thoughts:
The introduction to magic is somewhat jarring. However, it’s not terrible, even if it’s barely explained. Zero’s magic feels like it is hinting at a more sci-fi conclusion with a certain person’s background.
I typically hate ambiguous ends. But I don’t think most people fully understand the ending for our two lovers here. It really depends on how much you buy into magic vs sci-fi that informs you of what happened ;) I personally really liked it and found it beautiful. Later entries in the Macross franchise also likely hint at what was going on.
I highly recommend Zero. Especially if you were disenfranchised by 7’s nonsense. Conversely, it may put you off if you’re a fan of the “lighter” entries in the Macross series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 5, 2024
After the “movie,” Encore, and Plus specials, 7 as a series was fairly enjoyable despite its flaws, especially the direction of the love triangle. And much like 7 always seems to do, Dynamite manages to ruin all of it.
This OVA literally dunks on 7 as a whole. Imagine going to see your favorite band, and they lack both lead vocalists, so they use a pre-recorded cassette on a boombox with cardboard cutouts to replace them. Yes, this actually happens in the show. How was this ever popular in Japan?
The only good thing to say about this OVA was the animation. It’s a shame the main
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show didn’t get more of a treatment like this, but then again, I guess the show runners didn’t want to waste it on a mediocre story. There was also the new ED, with Basara against the wind in the real world. It was surprisingly cool.
The story presented here isn’t horrible or amazing. However, it’s literally just about Basara. Remember all those things you might have hoped they resolved? Any of those beloved characters that you might want to see for a final time? Nah, here’s more Basara being Basara. Including jumping in front of police that are firing stun guns at poachers firing real guns and are trying to steal a Valk unit. “Guns are stupid!” I don’t know, using non-lethal means to stop people from stealing a killing machine doesn’t sound like the definition of stupid; jumping in front of those with non-lethal weapons and obstructing them so the poachers can kill some more sounds like the definition of stupidity. But hey, who am I to judge?
If you can’t tell, this burned all of my goodwill with 7 as a whole. And it will most likely burn yours as well when you get around to the date-rape plot. Made worse by having one of only two queer characters in the show be the perpetrator. They made an episode worse than the skirt-flipping one. Congrats 7, you can sink lower. Bomber!
And we’re not done! We even get a nude hot springs scene with a child.
The music is nothing to write home about here. Neither terrible nor great.
If anything, 7 manages to demonstrate just how wrong culture can take a society.
And hey, if you really liked 7, you’ll probably like this. Otherwise, I doubt you’ll enjoy it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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May 5, 2024
There's not much to say, as these are a collection of various shorts. These give some nice background for some characters, or just some nice bonus content. Best watched as part of the regular series, if you can find the watch order for that. Otherwise, they’re only a few minutes, so if you’ve made it this far, might as well give them a try.
One of them is an actual in person concert, which was interesting but felt out of place compared to the other entries. It really is a scattershot of little things, like following Veffie around for some stuff, or looking in to see
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what Millia does as the mayor.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 5, 2024
These were actually great. Just like The Galaxy is Calling Me, this should have been part of the main series. But at least as an OVA, it actually gets some good animation comparatively.
The Millia segment was possibly the best moment in all of 7. These OVAs are also the only glimpse we have of understanding Max and Millia’s relationship.
As some of the best of 7, if you like this series in even the slightest way, these are some of the best episodes. Stupid love triangle plot aside.
The worst thing about these is that it’s the last appearance of Flower Girl. With a very tasteless bit
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of fan service unfortunately. She deserved better. Like her last appearance in the main tv series for 7.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 5, 2024
30 minutes isn’t exactly a movie.
This is how Macross 7 should have been. Honestly, it should have been part of the main series. On the other hand, because it’s not, we actually get good animation.
There’s not much to say here. If you like 7, you’ll like this. If you don’t absolutely hate everything about 7, you’ll probably still like it.
My biggest gripe is the mixing of the songs during the duel. They did this in the main tv series for 7 too, and it just sounds like a chaotic mess. The other main criticism is that the new character has incredibly limited interaction with a
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certain other character.
The kid was really annoying, but to each their own.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 5, 2024
11/10 soundtrack. If you don’t watch the show, at least listen to Holy Lonely Night.
Aside from the music, Macross 7’s other strengths are found in a cast of mostly enjoyable characters. But in everything else, it fails spectacularly. I’ll start with the cons, then the pros:
Cons:
Animation. Seriously, the laughable jank from SDF Macross was superior to the reused animation and static mech shots. It’s horrible. Hey, at least it does include a couple moments of SDF jank with a certain running sequence.
Ages. Anime is no stranger to really stupid ages, but this should confound anyone. Mylene is 14. It makes no sense. And once you
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watch the show, you’ll understand just how weird of a decision it was. Mylene actually acts like a teenager, but they really should have made her at least 18. Considering she lives on her own and drives a car, plus is being setup for an arranged marriage, it feels like the original script featured an older Mylene. And it’s not just Mylene’s age. Ray is 28, but in flashbacks it’s clear he should be much older. Most ages in the show would make much more sense if they were increased by 4-10 years, but it’s anime :/
Fan Service. Some fan service is fine. The orgasmic reaction from a certain character didn’t ruin the show, even if it felt out of place. Millia in a swimsuit. No problems with that. No, the worst fan service comes from how often this show pervs on Mylene (often after emphasizing that she’s 14). Specifically in the way that it does. There’s an episode where a fan (who is a child) of Mylene is upset and flips her skirt. And when she gets angry at him as he continues to be a nuisance and he runs away, everyone tells her she’s in the wrong and should go after him. And then the episode ends on the fan flipping her skirt again. This is terrible even for 90’s anime. This might be the worst, but there’s other very creepy fan service in the show as well.
Villains. The vast majority of them are annoying. Gepelnitch, Gigil, and Sivil were the only tolerable ones.
Basara, the main character. At least he's not an alcoholic that wants to date his cousin. Basara doesn’t explain himself. He refuses to work as a team, which as a show with a strong band theme, is kind of ironic. He’s also an irresponsible dick. In one episode, he’s busy singing. When ordered to repair a part on a civilian ship with 1mil+ people that will be destroyed within minutes if the repair isn’t finished, he refuses. The plot caters to him and bends over backwards to always make sure he’s right.
Love triangle. It's funny that Macross II is so reviled, when Macross 7 pulls off the same love triangle. At least II’s actually made some sort of sense (which is almost none, but greater than zero).
Story/Consistency. The story is horrible. In SDF, they balanced the necessity and horrors of war. Here, let’s just save everything with music! That can work in its own fun way, but they fail to pull it off at the most important points. The show drags in a lot of places. Eventually, it borrows from the worst parts of tokusatsu and Sailor Moon, fusing it into a mech show. A lot of plot points are dropped, there’s tons of very obvious logical inconsistencies, etc. Still better than the last 9 episodes of SDF though.
Pros:
Characters. Gamlin and Mylene steal the show. But there’s other great characters too. From the return of Max and Millia (even if they are very, very underused), to Veffi, Ray, Guvava, and Flower Girl. But all of these characters are underused so we can hear Basara shout some nonsense about music. Millia and Max are the worst of the wasted potential, as their storyline is never properly explored. Also, what happened to their 6 other children? Did it turn out that tossing babies was a bad idea?
Hype Moments. Somewhat let down by the animation (though usually not terrible in these scenes), the show definitely delivers on some great moments. The first time the giant missile speaker is used comes to mind. Very cool scene. There’s even a decent death scene for one character.
Soundtrack. The music is superb. Many great tracks, and with both singers for Basara and Mylene for many of them, it’s made even better. The show’s directing unfortunately doesn’t always make great use of them (Basara’s vocals appearing in Mylene’s songs when he’s not even around for instance). Holy Lonely Night just blows away an already perfect soundtrack.
Overall:
The story can certainly be fun and entertaining at points. But most of the time it meanders through poorly animated mech fights where the villain always flies away. In order to prove that pacifism is the only way, you’re basically delivered a story that literally disables any options to the contrary, and makes those with more balanced views out to be comically stupid or evil.
The characters, when actually allowed to get around the black hole that is Basara’s personality, tend to shine. Gamlin and Mylene really grow and change throughout the series. The fact that the series actually made me like Flower Girl and Veffie with so little invested into them drives home just how many great characters it had, all of which were sacrificed for Basara. Because ONLY Basara can save the day.
The end is just sort of there. Various threads are left hanging, and it leaves you wondering why the hell you watched this in the first place. Everytime there was a great episode, it'd be followed by three bad or mediocre ones. It also seems like it’s a little too busy dunking on Macross II, when that show’s overall writing is far more nuanced than 7 can ever dream of being. But even at just being a fun, music saves the day show, Macross 7 still fails in the end to deliver a satisfying conclusion to almost any plot point.
This show also fails to understand DYRL on a fundamental point. Ai Oboete Imasuka is effective not because Minmay sang it; it’s because it’s an old, forgotten love song that people at one point loved. There’s absolutely nothing special about it, being one of the most basic parts of culture, and yet it has that strong of an impact. And Minmay sings it beautifully, but it could have been any other singer that could deliver a simple message of love and culture in their singing. In 7, it’s only Basara who can truly reach those heights and move anything; Sure, a few others can generate power with their music, but it’ll never be enough. ONLY Basara. Bomber!
I really struggle to encapsulate how torn I feel on this show. This would be my favorite Macross show (animation aside) had the writing not been atrocious. I did enjoy it a lot at points despite my heavy criticism, but for me it just really flopped in the end. Had the story not catered to Basara and actually had him grow like Gamlin or Mylene, it may have turned out amazing. But it squandered the potential of its main character, and despite its other flaws, that’s what ultimately kills a lot of my enjoyment of the show. On the other hand, it gave us the Pink Peckers. What more could we ask for?
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 5, 2024
Naturally, like the OVA, the animation is great here. Removes a lot of issues with the OVA through cut content, along with expanded scenes. Of course minor characters mostly get the shaft (aside from Lucy), but that’s to be expected as it’s a movie.
Plus is very different from the other Macross series. It’s certainly one of the most character driven ones, and it’s the only one that seems to not have any active war going on so far. The characters are a lot better here. Of the characters that stand out for me, it’s easily Guld (as compared to his OVA self) and Myung.
The soundtrack
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is not great. Voices, though, is one of my favorite Macross songs.
The two love triangles are done better here than in the OVA, mostly because Lucy has some expanded scenes with Isamu. This also leads to a better alteration in the story regarding Myung.
As for the negatives, the repression aspect of Plus still weighs down the otherwise interesting story. It’s a horrible plot device in almost any story. The fact that Isamu and Guld appear to go on a murder spree at the end has also never sat well. Was there something that said the area was abandoned or something? Not only that, but Isamu is committing treason towards the end for his own ego.
The ending is still abrupt, but it’s not as bad as the OVAs. The added parts for Sharon Apple throughout this movie went a long ways, and she doesn’t feel like the plot device she essentially was in the OVAs.
I strongly prefer this over the OVAs. I don’t think you miss much of anything in comparison, with the exception of Yang Neumann. His role here makes less sense. You do lose out a bit on Myung in this too, but she’s sufficiently developed here. Overall, the vast majority of changes make this the superior version of Plus.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 5, 2024
It’s a much more character driven Macross story, with really good animation. I’m not a fan of the overall soundtrack, but Voices remains one of my favorite songs in the franchise.
There’s two love triangles (because we love them so much). One of them is really weak and pointless, and you wonder why it wasn’t treated as something more simple.
The strength of the characters is mostly between the three estranged friends, but none of them stand out that much on their own. Guld was sort of interesting and likable, but by the end in the OVA, he'd lost most of that.
The reveal about the fallout
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between the three friends relies on a really stupid plot device. Towards the end of the movie, Isamu and Guld do some stuff that seems overly violent for their characters unless I misunderstood the scene. The ending is very abrupt and thus a little disappointing.
It does unfortunately continue the trend brought forth by the last 9 episodes of SDF, where there are racial differences between humans and Zentradi (more prone to anger and violence). A terrible message in a franchise like Macross. It's possible it is meant to be racism within the Macross universe (not an actual fact), but it's unclear. A certain character’s decision seems to hint at the possibility of this at least.
It’s best if you watch both the OVA and Movie version (OVA first). But if you were only to watch one, I’d recommend the movie instead. Unless you absolutely want to have a dub version (odds are you probably don’t if you’re watching Macross), the OVA is the only one that is dubbed (and I believe is the only other Macross series to be dubbed aside from SDF).
By the way, if you ever watch it dubbed, Bryan Cranston voices Isamu. Might be worth a listen.
It might sound like I have a lot of negative things to say, but it’s not even close to bad. You watch this for either the well animated fights or the trio of estranged friends and their story. Enjoyable overall, but somewhat held back in the last episode. Sometimes you forget it’s part of the Macross franchise, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It does its own thing within the Macross world, and does it mostly well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 5, 2024
The most (?) reviled series in the franchise. But it’s actually not bad.
Macross II is solidly average. Its first three episodes are really great, but then it seems like they forgot to actually continue the direction of the show and decided to wrap it up with the three remaining episodes. With a bit of stronger writing and three more episodes for this OVA, it probably would have been amongst the best of the Macross series. You’ll find a lot of later entries in Macross seem to borrow from ideas presented in II, but tend to handle its concepts in an inferior manner.
It’s a good follow
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up to SDF/DYRL. It’s overall themes are the weaponization of culture, something you can imagine became far more prevalent after the events of SDF/DYRL. Including in more understandable terms than just combat idols, covering propaganda as well. The idea was perfect for a follow up. It doesn’t fully land all of its points, but it’s serviceable. It’s a shame there were no proper music duels, which would have instantly made this show much better.
It’s soundtrack is nothing to write home about. It’s not bad, but it still lacks to some degree. Quite a few songs are catchy, though.
It’s greatest weakness may be its love triangle, where it’s only hinted at with one line. Then the triangle is dropped on you later. Also, the resolution to said triangle is really quick and pointless, leaving you wondering why this was included in the first place. This is truly the only bad part of the OVA.
Macross II features some female Valkyrie pilots, and the main female character is one of them. And she’s a good female character for 90’s anime. Like, really good compared to how a lot of the women are treated. Better than half the crap that comes out today.
Macross II’s biggest sins may be that it can be boring for some, and otherwise forgettable for others. I don’t think it ever was boring, though. It’s never bad, it just never hits any really great heights. The definition of average. Also, Banana Moon & Deja Vu are great songs. Fight me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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