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Every time I watch this OVA I love it more.
As much as I absolutely adored the ending of Macross 7, it was a bit bittersweet and left me with a bit of a heavy heart. Dynamite fixes that little issue and is a PERFECT ending to Macross 7, as it's finished on a more upbeat and fun note.

If you liked Macross 7, I implore you to watch Dynamite. It's wonderful to see how Basara's character has grown in the year that passed between M7 and Dynamite.


--STORY--

I feel like many people write this off as a 'save the whales' narrative when that's really just sort of ... a background plot of the story. It's prevalent, yes, but it's definitely NOT the core focus of the show.

The actual narrative is pretty much spelled out in the opening;

"A passionate feeling from the time I started singing
Has been left sometime somewhere somehow
Here I say goodbye to boring everydays
No one can stop my burning feelings"

It's essentially a story about Basara heading out to find a new muse after Sivil has left - and he happens to find in the galactic whales. His almost childish obsession with these gigantic aliens is one of the most charming things I've ever seen in an anime.

Along the way Basara meets Elma and her father Graham, who he forms a very interesting bond with.

The only complaint I have about the story is the Mylene subplot in episode 2, which doesn't fit into this series at all and leaves a very bitter taste in everyone's mouths. If I enjoyed Dynamite any less than I do this MIGHT'VE lowered my rating of the story a bit, but the rest of the OVA is so charming and fun that I can give it a pass... bitterly.


--ART--

The art in this show is absolutely *GORGEOUS*.

It's a wonderful step up from Macross 7, and the designers really brought in their A game when it came to Zola's environmental design. The entire OVA has a very unique, very colourful aesthetic, and it's absolutely creatively inspired.

Many characters have slightly more realistic features than in the cartoonier style of Macross 7, and they look amazing and consistent.

The character designs are beautiful of course, as they were done by none other than Haruhiko Mikimoto.


--CHARACTERS--

I absolutely adore Basara in this OVA, as it shows a very natural progression of his character.
He's still the same person at the core, but more open to other people, and he has shed pretty much all of the repressed irritation that he held on to throughout most of the main show.
Having suffered a burnout on City 7, he decided to leave to see the galaxy (most likely inspired by Sivil to do so!) and he found a brand new source of inspiration in foreign places. Again, Basara comes through as an IMPECCABLY written artist, and a consistently wild-at-heart character who follows his instincts first and foremost.

Graham is the second most important character in this show and I find him a very interesting one. Him and Basara have opposing views regarding a certain issue, but while there's clear tension between them, there's also immense respect. I wish I could go more in depth regarding this, but that would reach into the spoiler territory.
He does come across as a bit of a Captain Ahab stereotype at first, but there's much more depth to him beyond that, and his motives come from an interestingly misguided place.

Elma is one of my favourite children in anime. She's written very realistically and is thoroughly lovable, but it did make me a little sad to realize that the reason she talks so much whenever she gets a chance is most likely due to her being pretty much neglected by her entire family and not really having anyone to talk to.

The rest of the characters get less screen time and development, and the other characters from Macross 7 don't get much character progression, but a lot of nice moments, such as Gamlin jumping in to support his homie Basara even when he has no idea what's going on.


--SOUND--

It's Macross 7. It's Fire Bomber. It's Yoshiki Fukuyama on vocals. What else do you need to know, aside from maybe the fact that Angel Voice, the big finale song, was composed by Yoko Kanno, famous for her score for Cowboy Bebop.

Every song in this OVA is a solid 10/10.


--ENJOYMENT--

As it's fairly clear by now, I am absolutely in love with this OVA. It was an emotional rollercoaster and it completely blew me away with it's breathtaking ending when I watched it for the first time... and it continues to do so upon every rewatching.

I'm going to try to remain as objective as possible in this review, but it's fair to mention beforehand that this IS my favourite show, however I am well aware of it's flaws. This review contains no spoilers.

Macross 7 is absolutely nothing like it's predecessors, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross or Macross Plus. That is most likely why it gets such a bad rep - people went in expecting what is basically the opposite of what they got. Macross 7 is a heavily character-driven show and it takes it's time away from the plot to really develop it's characters, which is something I personally thought SDF ... and Plus criminally lacked.

-STORY-

The premise of Macross 7 is that an unknown alien species tries to take what's essentially life energy from people, and while the military tries to find a way to destroy these eldritch abominations, Basara, our hero, only wants them to listen to his songs, which carry a message he wants everyone to hear and heed. The plot goes into some bizarre directions and makes some choices you could only see in anime.
I found it very unique and while the pacing suffers in some places, the story that this show is telling is still very entertaining and definitely makes me excited (and worried) to see what happens next.
In a story like this, you will most likely be able to predict how it will end, but it's the journey there that takes many interesting turns.

Kawamori, the creator of Macross, has stated that he wasn't happy with how he ended the first show, as despite the power of music, it was still the weapons that ended up saving the day. He decided to fix that problem in Macross 7, having music be the sole saviour in the end.

The series does have a lot of what most would consider filler episodes, but I firmly stand my ground when I say that it's those episodes that really make you care for the cast. The shows starts off mostly focusing on the band and their band-related shenanigans, and it slowly develops as things start getting more and more dire.

For me, it's Basara's character and his actions that really make the story, as he's such an unusual protagonist. It's often hard to guess what he'll do next, but one thing is for certain; he will definitely jump right into the fray and yell his signature "LISTEN TO MY SONG!!!" before he drops some of the sickest riffs in the entire Macross franchise.

-ART-

Since most of the budget in this show went into music, the animation suffers for it, but I'd say it was a worthy exchange.

There's a lot of reused footage, and I mean a LOT of it, and some animations definitely look off. For a music-focused show, the animations the characters have on stage are quite sub-par.
However, the art style itself is perfect for the show, as it allows for some very subtle yet strong expressions, which suits the often inexpressive main character a lot. Occasionally the animators decided to drop some really fun and cartoony expressions as well, which made the characters even more lovable.

Colour-wise, the show also delivers REALLY well, as it's very bright and colourful, which is another thing I appreciated from an artistic standpoint.

Lastly, Haruhiko Mikimoto's character designs are absolutely beautiful.
This show definitely has some of my favourite anime character designs, especially with Sivil and of course Basara, who's look is absolutely iconic and I don't think anything about it could be done better than it is - absolute retro perfection. I think this show by far has the best character designs in the Macross franchise when it comes to colour, recognition and just the right amount of detail.

-MUSIC-

Fire Bomber has became my favourite band before I even watched the anime, and they were the reason I got interested in the first place. As if the songs themselves don't already sound fantastic, having a very 80s-90s rock feel to them, Yoshiki Fukuyama as Basara's singing voice really sets the songs on fire.

In the show, Fire Bomber's music has the ability to restore people's life energy.
I would believe it if someone told me it can do that in real life too.

Lyrically, most of Basara's songs carry a message of togetherness, determination and better future. There isn't a single negative or sad song in their entire discography and even the most melancholic ballad of his carries a powerfully positive message.

I can't really speak for Mylene's songs however, I found her voice to be a little bit weak and not the best match for Fukuyama's incredibly powerful vocals, but that might just be my personal preference as I tend to heavily swing towards upbeat and loud music.

Another downside to the music might be that the same songs are used over and over and I can see that annoying some people. New songs are added to the show as it progresses, but the shows starts off with only about 3-4 songs at first.

-CHARACTERS-

What makes the protagonist Basara Nekki so interesting and unique is, that character-wise he's pretty much everything your standard protagonist isn't. He's not a fighter, at least not in the traditional sense. He's a pacifist that sticks to his ideals through hell and back. He's not very charismatic and is actually pretty bad with people, and not in a comedic 'misunderstanding' way; he's genuinely NOT a people person.
He's extremely flawed, but his flaws are extremely important, as they reflect into his strengths. He's stubborn, but that's why he's determined. He's focused, but that's why he's dismissive. One couldn't work without the other, making him a really well rounded and realistic character.

He's also an artist and an introvert, and that's what struck me the most. Being an artist and an introvert as well, I found myself understanding exactly where Basara comes from in most cases, and I think this is where most of the issues people have with Basara come from; it might be hard to like him if you can't understand his VERY realistic artistic perspective.

It's not just Basara who's an impeccably written character; the supporting cast is equally interesting and lovable. By the time the show comes to an end, I loved nearly every character.
A complaint this show often gets is the amount of filler, however it's that filler that ends up making you love the cast so much. Especially the main three characters (Basara, Gamlin and Mylene) get some really good character development and three entirely different and very well handled character arcs; A flat character arc, a growing up character arc, and a finding oneself character arc. All three types of arcs are equally valid and interesting and keep the character's stories diverse.

-OVERALL-

I found Macross 7 extremely enjoyable, fun and emotional, as it has a good balance of everything that makes a show great. It has comedy, character development, intense action, unique and creative ideas, great character designs, emotional moments executed so well that i get goosebumps just thinking about them, a cathartic ending, it made me care about what happens next, and it made me eager to rewatch the show as soon as possible - three times within the year of discovering it.

The core message of the show is to stick to your ideals and never give up (classy!), and I think that it's length, as much as people tend to criticise it, plays into that a lot. Basara suddenly becomes a much stronger character when you realize that pretty much every episode up until later in the series is considered a failure in his eyes. The guy literally fails and fails and fails continuously and hardly ever wavers because he's just that stubborn and 100% convinced that he'll succeed eventually. Giving up is not even remotely an option. There's a reason why 'Try Again' is the title of the song that saves the galaxy.

The show also carries a strong message for all the artists, which is to let loose and create from your soul and from your raw feelings. Be true to yourself and put yourself into your art. People will notice when your art is genuine. This I can most certainly say is true, from my own experience.

All in all, this is one of those shows that I am incredibly grateful to have found as it resonated with me on a very personal level. I found Basara to be one of the best characters I've ever seen, his music is exactly what I need in my life, and his story makes me want to keep going no matter what life throws at me.

I truly hope that other people can find such joy in this show, because I want people to feel as good and as happy as I felt when I watched it.

Thank you for reading and peace out,
-neonUFO