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STORY 8/10:
The story is a classic one, I believe it is based on a folk tale. Love between a human boy and a spirit girl, sadly to be disrupted from mankind's general intolerance of spirits. But ultimately, one where love triumphs supreme.

One can also interpret the story as a criticism of institutions (such as religion and society) and the sweeping, preconceived judgments they pronounce without any actual knowledge of the situation; but ultimately again, while a powerful and often disruptive force, one that is overcome by true love.

The subplot with the animals searching for Hsu Hsien is very funny and cute too! Especially when Panda ... challenges all the bandit animals.

ART 8/10:
For a 1958 show, the art was beautiful. Many of the backgrounds especially looked like paintings...thoroughly enjoyable! The festival scene was beautiful as well.

My only complaint would be that some of the animations for the fighting and spells were crudely done.

SOUND 8/10:
Sometimes the Japanese was hard to understand (maybe it's a dialect of some kind in places?). My subbed version also had poor subs, so regretfully I missed out in places.

But overall, the narrative voice was well done, especially in the parts where its half-sung, which was flowing and sonorous. Some of the voices quavered a lot, and generally the voice acting style is not my favorite; but it was suited for a children's folk tale I think. The music was generally high quality with traditional instruments.

OVERALL:
A gem from the 50s. Classic folk tale story. Beautiful art and music. Nothing that makes the adrenaline rush, but peaceful and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

STORY 6/10

Without delving into the details too much, this first Macross movie, like the other Macross shows, is about culture, song, and love's ability to touch people and to cease violent conflict. Both the Zentradi aliens and humans are greatly moved by Minmay's music, even though the Zentradi thought themselves to be pure warriors, incapable of any social behavior except organized warfare.

Extending this concept to our society, the movie makes a firm statement about the universality of the power of music and love, and by extension, the humanity that we all share.No matter what gender, race, origin, etc., we can are sensitive to love and ... love songs.

Despite this beautiful overarching (albeit simplistic) theme, the plot is not too well executed. There was very little that could not be predicted and very little to excite. Perhaps it was because I had watched the 2008 Macross Frontier series, which had a similar basic plot. The movie lacked interesting subplots and the dialogue and pacing were rather banal.

ART 10/10:

For a 1984 movie, the animation is outstanding. Everything is highly realistic and well-executed. I have no doubt this set a standard for many years in the industry.

Of course, compared to modern animation, there is little to be excited about here, but even so, it remains a good watch for the casual viewer, and a gem for those who enjoy the oldies.

SOUND 7/10:

The sound was good, especially for its time. I suppose that I wasn't particular taken in by Minmay's (the singer's) voice, though many people did/do like her very much. At the same time though, I am not a fan of pop love songs, which the series focuses on.

CHARACTER 3/10:

The character development is nonexistent in this movie. The minor characters have no development, and even for the main characters, it is very scarce. A few details about their past (e.g. for Hikaru, about his parents and why he joined the military) and some trite and poor developed telling of the present (e.g. the main love triangle).

If you're looking to watch engrossing and inspirational characters, this is the wrong movie.

OVERALL 7/10:

Overall, I think it's a good movie. For an 80s movie, the animation is amazing. So I enjoyed it from a historical perspective, but also from a watching-for-fun perspective. The biggest downside was the poor plot and character development, which left me wanting much more. I suppose only so much can be done within the time frame, but even so, I was left disappointed.