Not having watched SDF-Macross for at least 2 years, save for single-episode rewatches, I grabbed the opportunity to watch the show with a bunch of people who haven’t seen it before, along with a bunch of people who have (and are also big fans of the franchise, not to mention favoring the original series within it). We were able to watch four episodes and I’m here to share how not only the experience of rewatching went down, but also how I observed the reactions of the uninitiated.

I think there are several ways to split the hairs of the people who I watched with. Let me start with:

Youngest Newest Newfag of Newness

Here’s the guy who not only hasn’t watched the show, but has watched the least anime or the least anime shown in the 20th century (or at least shows considered foundational by people who tend to like sci-fi/robot shows).

During the watching, this is the guy who complained the most, and tried the hardest to make fun of anime physics (and a lot of other things), shouting the loudest: THAT’S NOT HOW [X] WORKS. WHAT THE FUCK!?!

This is the kind of viewer I wanted to win over the most. Unfortunately, despite the piercing analysis he brought to bear during the viewing of the four episodes, I asked him what he actually wanted to see, to which he replied: “I just want to see shit blow up.” My thing with cases like this is to not force the issue by getting all defensive and act like anyone should like Macross as if its lovableness is some self-evident truth. It’s already great that he’s watching, I’ll let the show work, or not. I’ll just be the person to talk to when he’s really into it.

Newfag Not a Mecha Fan

Despite not having seen SDFM, this guy has seen a lot of anime; a whole bunch of older shows, but not particularly big on robot anime though may have enjoyed a few of robot shows with crossover appeal (Code Geass, Neon Genesis Evangelion).

There was a lot of appreciation for the things seen, and how certain scenes, behaviors, tropes remind him of other shows. TBH it annoys me when old shows remind people of new shows as if the new shows were the source… but that’s just me. It can’t be helped that such newer shows were seen first.

As expected, the broader experience of this viewer contributes more interesting cross-references to many other things. More about this later.

Oldfag Watching Dubs

Hilarious. Having seen this show several times and in several forms (Robotech LOL). He just wanted a fresh experience – in this case a terrible dub. I think at some point he told us how the translation was taking pretty big liberties with the script. USA! USA!

Newly Minted Fans

Fairly recent viewers of the show who have varying degrees of affinity (from “man this is cool,” to “oh wow this is a favorite”). This would be their first rewatch of the show – which is quite important in my experience for shows I’m a fan of. I try to be an informative resource for these guys, confirming and validating some things they observed the first time, then offering perspective on things they might have missed.

As an advocate of the show and the franchise, these guys are my treasures.

Some Specifics

VIOLENCE

At least one viewer with the fresher eyes took immediate notice at the level of violence in the show. Remember that episodes 2 and 3 involved a big battle fought on 2 fronts: the Earth Atmosphere perimeter defense line (ARMD carriers), then on Macross City on South Ataria Island. The level of violence didn’t just involve the graphic deaths of humans/humanoids but the scope of casualties. The Zentraedi probing attacks really pounded on Macross City (not to mention military units in space). Despite most of the population evacuated, a whole bunch of people were shown to get ripped into shreds.

I personally enjoyed the detail of damage throughout the city as it was consumed by what amounts to a mecha street fight. Units crashing into buildings taking out several as it plows through city blocks was very fun.

As expected, there was praise for the dogfight action. I know how it is. This is only the beginning. The Macross franchise is Dogfight Valhalla, because the planes actually turn into robots.

TECHNOLOGICAL CLUSTERFUCK

The SDF-1 Macross space battleship is an alien spacecraft that crashed onto Earth then was retrofitted for human use over ten years. In that time humans learned a fair bit about the alien “overtechnology” and did what it could to adapt the machine for their use, and create new machines taking advantage of the advances. However, the maiden flight of the SDF Macross shows how it is quite an untested thing.

Crititcal systems kept failing. The main gun fired not as planned. The anti-gravity systems tore through the hull instead of lifting the Macross to space. The fold system took them to Pluto orbit instead of the dark side of the moon. Executing an unprecedented fold maneuver in the atmosphere (not as planned) resulted in transporting a huge chunk of South Ataria Island and Macross City with it; before losing the fold system entirely.

On the micro-level, we have Ichijo Hikaru not quite fallen into his cockpit (a Gundam-inspired trope) but of course SEIZES THE REINS OF HISTORY nonetheless. Unlike Gundam protagonists however, he is not an instant expert of the Variable Fighter and pretty much takes out an entire neighborhood failing at controlling the machine. This is due to the unfamiliarity of the Battloid and Gerwalk modes. This is despite his own expertise as a (stunt entertainer) pilot.

As we’ll see, the survival of the human race persistently results from amazing luck because skill only gets one so far in this maelstrom of unfortunate breakdowns and uncertainty.

WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW?

The noob was demonstrably surprised/dismayed by the melodrama. Perhaps like many viewers who came into the show at a young age (which means Robotech for most people outside Japan), he came for the sci-fi action. As a kid, this was what grabbed me. I didn’t mind the love story – I actually fell in love with love triangles (much to my own consternation when I became an adolescent) thanks to SDFM; it’s not something young boys would usually get into from a show like this.

Now there are very specific shows for boys that deliver the drama (those cry-porn things adapted from games), but love stories in robot shows aren’t the draw. This is despite recent shows laying it thick: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Eureka SeveN for example. I think SDFM was the first to really hit success with it (despite shows like Tosho Daimos with its Earthling x Alien Romeo and Juliet showcase as early as 1978).

But there are very few things similar to SDFM’s meet cute (Hikaru smashes through Minmay’s bedroom, flies her in the palm of a robot that gets shot off which resulted in a breathtaking mid-air rescue, floating through space in a propeller plane, then a two-week date in the belly of the whale FISHING IN SPACE, and that mock wedding).

It will be interesting for me to observe how these new viewers take the show with its love story set in the backdrop of great battles as the episodes roll by. The first four episodes flew by in a torrid pace. So much action made for a quick viewing experience, even the ‘uneventful’ episode mostly depicting Hikaru and Minmay lost inside the Macross.

So what?

My objectives in participating in this viewing are unclear, but I’m having lots of fun as expected. I’ve never marathoned Macross in a group environment so the experience is rather novel. I think more than anything I function as an advocate of the show and do less for my own viewing satisfaction as opposed to assisting some of the new fans of the show/franchise remember love.

In the scheme of things, as this hobby goes, this is pretty much just as planned.

How easy it is to forget how good this show actually is, even without apologizing for animation, illustrations, datedness, and what have you. These four episodes (and beyond) just smashed my expectations of how much I’d enjoy the rewatch. But yeah I’m a Macross Overfag so it goes without saying right? No. Quite the opposite. It’s actually more likely that someone who’s watched a show many times (even when it’s a favorite) to eschew enjoying the show as a direct experience and instead derive most of the fulfillment from the enjoyment of the people he’s sharing the show with.

The enjoyment of these others validates his love for the show, among other things. While much of this is true for me, I enjoyed the show as a direct experience. Why? I had to concentrate on the thing in front of me because as is the case when watching a good show with others, a lot of shit gets said that can cripple your enjoyment. It’s the opposite of watching a terrible show with others, then all the shit that gets said makes the show enjoyable to watch. So on to the episodes!

Episode 05 “Transformation”

With solid consistency, the (Over)technology repurposed by the humans continue in its clusterfucking ways. Having rebuilt Macross City in the belly of the SDF, it finds itself unable to fire its main gun without transforming itself from a naval-type ship into an “upright” humanoid form. It’s a delicious piece of anthropomorphic conceit that is wholly consistent with what makes robot anime as entertaining as it is:

The projection of the (male)human form into incredible sizes. But back to what makes this Macross show in particular so interesting, is how things keep going wrong for them technologically. It amounts to an incredible level of verisimilitude – that the humans don’t get to operate something so complex in very complex ways without problems.

The Gundam franchise is infuriating in contrast in how new technology continues to get rolled out practically untested, with untested pilots and then work with deadly perfection from the first episode onwards. The first transformation of the SDF resulted in the destruction of the city it just built, along with loss of life and property.

@ghostlightning There's something that struck me, it's that what seems to differentiate SDF &modern shows is the depiction of death onscreen—
ლ(╹◡╹ლ) David (@vuc_) April 17, 2011

@ghostlightning not so much that death is shied away from nowadays, but rather the sheer volume of it in SDF is very sobering.—
ლ(╹◡╹ლ) David (@vuc_) April 17, 2011

@ghostlightning you get a real sense that resources are finite, which adds an additional gravity to whenever casualties are depicted.—
ლ(╹◡╹ლ) David (@vuc_) April 17, 2011

Episode 06: “Daedalus Attack”

I can’t not mention my extensive work on this episode more than 2 years ago. The Battle of Saturn’s Rings is one of the great ones in anime history. Do enjoy that rather comprehensive post – one of the special ones here on We Remember Love.

Here however, I’ll say more about the anthropomorphic conceit I mentioned earlier. Not only does the SDF transform into a giant humanoid, the namesake attack – which in itself is compounded innovation after innovation under extreme circumstances is a ridiculously human move: thrusting attacks via an appendage is a very rare occurrence in nature. Other primates do not deliver straight punches (clubbing overhands are more likely). Insects, reptiles, marsupials (Kangaroos “punch” with a high-to-low action, no jabs or straights), and mollusks do not punch the way boxers and karateka do.

The human bested the monster (a leviathan-like space carrier of giants) by a most human-like attack. This is piercing the heavens of fantastic projection.

@ghostlightning My reaction: The Daedalus Attack is badassery on the most badass of levels. Long live Misa! #sccsav #Macross—
  (@Shinmaru) April 17, 2011

@ghostlightning That Saturn rings battle fills me full of nostalgia and happiness. Also, minmei and minmay. You heard me.—
MS-09R (@R1CK_D0M) April 17, 2011

LOL Even I got confused with the romanization of Minmay (my AOL handle is minmeicomehome). I was also told that the correct romanization of this very Chinese name (Minmay is indeed half-Chinese) would read Ling Mingmei. Whatevs, she’s perfect the way she is (which is, flawed and lacking in sensibility, as lead characters go).

Episode 07: “Bye Bye Mars”

The first thing that stood out for me in this episode is how much Misa’s flashback reminded me of Legend of the Galactic Heroes when portraying the childhoods of Sigfried Kircheis, Reinhard and Annerose Von Musel. There’s nothing specific I can point to, and it may well be some bias or fallacious thinking on my part because I do know that Ishiguro Noboru went on to direct LotGH.  In any case, I was reminded of such scenes.

@ghostlightning It astounds me how no moment is wasted in each of these eps, introducing new tech, backstory, and characters meatily—
schneider (@schneiderheim) April 17, 2011

This episode accomplished many things in the narrative:

• It set the stage for the Misa x Hikaru side of the love triangle due to—
  • Misa shown to be not only capable of love, but feeling it intensely,
  • Whatever prior love affair that existed for Misa is dead (making her free to start a new romance), and
  • Hikaru rescuing Misa who clearly wanted to die.
• Hikaru’s growth as a military ace pilot (srsly he dove into a middle of a Regult squad and killed everyone), and valor.
• Zentraedi fighting ability – setting a trap of their own instead of their primary method of combat: rush and swarm.
• Kamujin being a volatile and unpredictable and very human opponent in contrast to the cautious and alien pair of Britai and Exsedol.

It was a desperate and intense fight, showcasing a lot of good action and violence on a massive scale. At this point I feel that the show is still very excellently paced, considering that it has at least one episode (from the previous batch) wholly without fighting – a rather risky proposition for a robot show. But the premise of a love story in a not so serious robot show is risky enough to begin with, so no big deal right?

Episode 08: “Longest Birthday”

The production staff are known to be WWII history fans (one wonders at their opinion of Japan’s role in it) and the title of the episode remembers love for the film, The Longest Day which was about the Normandy invasion (particularly D-Day) by the allied troops. A character piece that inches the Hikaru x Minmay side of the love triangle forward, it also serves to introduce new supporting characters, both with lots of personality: the uncharismatic but well-meaning Kakizaki Hayao, and the falsely modest Maximilian Jenius.

This begins the transition in Hikaru’s characterization as an “ace” pilot in robot anime meta. One of the things I appreciate in the Hikaru character is that he isn’t THE ace in Macross, the way the lead character must have that destiny in every other mecha anime (yes, Gundam). Hikaru now begins his journey to become a competent combat leader, as the ace pilot of the show (and the rest of real robot anime) role is taken over by Max. Still, Hikaru had the privilege of the ace vs. ace encounter when he dogfought with Kamujin who continues his volatile and haphazard, if incisive way of fighting.

The matching obnoxiousness of both Minmay (who coquettishly and insensitively demands a birthday present from Mr. Friendzoned) and Hikaru (who for someone infatuated with Minmay boneheadedly forgot about her birthday) is particularly delicious. Hikaru’s gesture of giving Minmay his medal (for his valor in the Battle of Salla Base in Mars) underscores a few significant things: Minmay’s lack of sensibility in how such a medal is actually won (fighting and life-risking), and the apparent one-sidedness of the romance. Sure there are special feelings involved: Hikaru thinks Minmay is special, and so does Minmay.

Next episode will be freaking awesome: “Miss Macross!”

@ghostlightning This Brought back some great memories of watching this with my dad! Good old Macross <3—
Daniel Gann (@Foshiizzel) April 17, 2011

I feel brutally old.

The pendulum swings wildly in these four episodes, both in terms of mood and of production quality. SDFM has always had major problems with character designs going off-model (something that happens in TV editions all the way to Macross Frontier AND HOW) and these four episodes show it in its glorious hideousness. But also, almost on a per-episode basis the mood turns from incredible seriousness and tension to laugh-out-loud comedy of fishes out of the water.

It’s pretty brilliant how the Miclones are the one in enemy territory but the Zentraedi turn out to be the real big fish out of the water. More on this later. My live-watching with friends and acquaintances got cut after episode 11 after some serious downtime of my ISP, otherwise the experience continued to be incredible as the humor of SDFM carried through – generating more laughs than some dedicated comedies I’ve viewed under similar circumstances (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt).

After episode 12, ALL the important elements of the show are put into play. It’s all resolution after this. But for now, let us enjoy the world Macross painstakingly built. We begin with episode eight, the iconinc “Miss Macross.”

Episode 09 “Miss Macross”

I’ve never seen other beauty pageants in anime. Perhaps they don’t exist. No, Martian Successor Nadesico episode 19 doesn’t count. It’s just “remonstrating love.” If there’s one very clear thing that distinguishes SDF Macross by this time is that it more than just ran away with the “civilian population making a semblance of peacetime life inside the belly of a warship” conceit. It staged a grand beauty pageant/talent show complete with its conspiracy sub-plots and the like.

What’s remarkable to me from a craft standpoint is how this set-piece so effectively pushes the plot forward. Here are three ways:

• Minmay’s show business career is launched in a big way.
• Hikaru and Misa’s bickering goes beyond protocol but actually involves the triangle ever so slightly: Misa is getting in the way between Hikaru and Minmay.
• The Zentraedi culture (and lack of it) is introduced.

These three things are important plot elements and it speaks well of a set-piece that can do all this seemingly effortlessly, though it used a whole lot of cutting in and out of the Miss Macross proceedings. I also suggest that Minmay won in part due to her charming clumsiness – the younger underdog whose talent is all possibility vs. the known, dominant quantity who is Jamis Merin.

Also, I enjoyed witnessing the reactions of the people I was watching the show with towards Misa using the public access to interrupt the entire Miss Macross proceedings to summon ONE LIEUTENANT to a payphone. NOW THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW THAT THE MILITARY IS RUNNING THINGS. Also, when SDFM does ever get remade, they really should have mobile phones in 2009… though it’ll produce lulz as it did in Gundam:

The fricking White Base had knobs the size of saucers and had a fricking HELM on it’s bridge, and the 2009 issued manga covering the One Year War has characters using touch-screen pocket devices LOL.

Episode 10 “Blind Game”

One thing that’s very easy to forget about Macross is how hopeless they really are. This isn’t the same despair as is the bread and butter of Space Runaway Ideon especially after Be Invoked. The presentation of Macross is far too lighthearted to evoke the same delicious mind-numbing despair. But consider what indeed happened during the Macross’ first communications with the UN Earth Government since the Macross folded to Pluto.

Despite the humanitarian risk of 50,000 noncombatants in the line of fire, the UN orders Macross to NOT approach the Earth and instead keep the aliens away from it.

This makes a lot of sense because it is indeed apparent that the Aliens are not interested in invasion, but are instead pursuing the ship itself. The UN do not have the technological and material strength to engage the Aliens even in a defensive battle, much less mount a rescue attempt of the 50,000 noncombatants in Mars orbit.

Presumably, the UN is developing a decisive weapon against the aliens, but what could it make that’ll protect the Earth against Britai’s fleet (currently at 25,000 vessels) now reinforced with Kamjin’s? There doesn’t seem to be any right answers here but the show isn’t as concerned with us pondering these questions anyway because ZOMG Misa is captured and Hikaru’s team has to rescue her!

The true highlight of this episode is Britai, who demonstrates here how the conceits of Macross as a robot anime make more sense than Gundam and most other shows. Britai takes on 3 battloids by himself, UNARMED, survives prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space ENTIRELY without a space suit/helmet NOTHING. Then attacks the same team of battloids WITH A BENT METAL PIPE… AND PWNS THEM.

As mentioned, the giant humanoid mecha in Macross exist because there are giant humanoids made of meat to fight. Of course, one has to justify why there should be giant alien humanoids, but then again the universe is a sufficiently large place for something like this to be imaginable. Anyway, Britai is so badass that he even gets the better of Max, who is you know, a Jenius (more on Max’s exploits in episode 12).

Episode 11 “First Contact”

This episode introduces Lap Lamiz and Millya Fallnya – the first female Zentraedi characters, and Millya is the first Zentraedi ace pilot the Macross forces ever encountered. With this, the entire cast is complete, the setting fleshed out, the nature and motivations of the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ are laid out. Everyone’s capabilities are all demonstrated, if not foreshadowed. The love triangle is complete, deliciously how Misa and Hikaru got to kiss before Hikaru and Minmay did (averted during their rescue from the belly of the whale) It’s not quite complicated, as plotting goes, but the elements are very layered and culturally complex.

With everything in place, it’s going to be development and resolution the rest of the way. Macross did it in the space of a cour, right on schedule.

—

(Actually, no. Lynn Kaifun shows up in the next arc to ruin the point I’m making here. I really hate that guy,)

There is an interesting set of parallels that takes place in these episodes. The episodes themselves give both a feel of winding down (a set of stories) and setting up the next big events. The parallels we see consist of the following:

• The Macross lands on Earth.
• Minmay visits home to meet her parents.
• Misa reports to Alaska Base and meets her father (Commodore Global delivers his report to his superiors)
• The Zentraedi spies discover human society and customs.

The results of these stories will have parallels as well:

• The Macross is prohibited from sending its noncombatant refugees home.
• Minmay’s parents prohibit her from going back to the Macross; she disobeys.
• Misa’s dad requests that she remains on Alaska Base; she declines.
• The Zentraedi spies’s attitude switches from being repelled and afraid to fascinated.

These events all played out in the following episodes, 13 “Blue Wind” 14, “Global Report,” 15 “Chinatown,” and 16 “Kung-fu Dandy.” Global Report is really a clip show wherein Global gives his report to his superiors in Alaska Base.

 Binary 1: The Macross “comes home”/Macross cannot disembark its noncombatant population

This is consistent with the Homeric Odyssey the narrative uses. After many challenges and a journey across the span of the Solar System, the passengers return to a place they can no longer call home. When the Macross folded to Pluto, there was no explanation available for the public, so the United Nations declared all the people on South Ataria Island (or at least those in Macross City) dead.

They cannot retract their statement, partly due to their inability to verify the testimony of Global: that the Macross is being pursued by an alien race of giants with uncountable ships. Even if they took this report on faith, it would cause great panic and disorder and divert their energies from developing their countermeasures.

To me this is the logic of the prohibition. Of course, the 55,000 citizens (maybe take a few dozens out due to battle/transformation casualties) do not accept this decision. They arrive on Earth with a remarkable story to tell, and now they can’t even tell that story to anyone because they’re not supposed to even exist anymore. Except…

Binaries 2 & 3: Heroines get to meet their parents/Heroines are prohibited from rejoining the Macross

Minmay was given the privilege of visiting her folks using the aircraft she won as a prize for Miss Macross. I find it strange that the aircraft was permitted to travel to Japan in light of the UN Policy to quarantine the Macross Citizens. Unless, the UN just realized that the civilian population of Macross City is largely intact only after Global gives his report. I can’t remember if he’s given any indication of the refugees the Macross is carrying prior to giving the report, but in any case I think that the UN would highly regulate the comings and goings to and from the Macross.

In any case Minmay and Misa are prohibited from rejoining. The parental point of view here is that they have already survived great risks – there is no point in risking anything further again. There a few interesting things here: First, Misa’s choice has largely to do with both duty, and loyalty to Global. The other part has to do with her disillusionment with the lack of wisdom and good sense among the military high command. That, and her father who used to be Global’s direct commanding officer. Global’s loss of faith in him affected Misa as well. Let’s return to Misa later.

Minmay returns to Yokohama’s Chinatown to visit her parents. As far as they’re concerned she’s returned from death and shouldn’t go anywhere. But Minmay, and the few people invested in her fortunes, are the only ones who stand to lose anything if Macross City dissolves and people go home. Minmay wants to go back to her career on the Macross, fully oblivious of the following:

• The citizens of Macross City don’t really want to be there.
• She’s a consolation prize of some sort, a  way to pass the (war) time.
• The citizens were fully expecting to disembark and pack up (there wasn’t going to be a Macross City to have her career in).
• For her to have success in Macross City means the city must continue to exist in a battle ship pursued by alien enemies, and therefore incur unnecessary risk.

The selfishness and utter lack of sense in Minmay is in full fettle now. This is exacerbated by the appearance of her cousin, Lynn Kaifun who will now join her on the Macross as a reassurance for her parents (he will be the wiser older guardian), and to rejoin his own parents who’ve been taking care of Minmay. Her public and obvious infatuation for Kaifun onii-chan (little sister fetishism is alive and well in 1982) is not only completely insensitive to Hikaru, but also towards the Military that he actively disrespects (while she works for in the recruitment campaign).

Let’s go back to Misa, whose motivations for returning to the Macross is contrastingly wise, responsible, and courageous as opposed to foolish, selfish, and insensitive. Narrative wise, Hikaru’s being boxed-out of the Mimnay complex and pushed into a romance with Misa, particularly when they are both insulted by Kaifun, providing a context of empathy and a return to a similar, if only symbolic foxhole. Us viewers are now confronted with the idea, more strongly than ever, that Hikaru will probably do better to end up with Misa.

I just figured that there isn’t enough Roy x Claudia in this blogging series.

The final binary doesn’t really quite work as one, but yeah, the Zentrans live it up in Macross City.

It can be said, that the Zentraedi spies are making preparations to make a home for themselves in Miclone society. Yes, they’re fishes out of the water but it’s obvious that they’re becoming more and more fascinated vs. afraid of human behavior and customs. They’ve accepted the neighborly generosity of a small restaurant owner. They got to drink it up with free booze in the Earth Landing party. The more they consume human culture, the more they want it.

It does say a couple of things. It’s one thing to have a pacifist message by portraying war as hell (Mobile Suit Gundam), but it’s another thing to provide a stunningly stark contrast of the alternative to war, by using the Zentraedi as a caricature of a fully military culture and their contact with civilian and peace-time activities. Yes, it’s a caricature akin to political cartoons in the editorial pages of newspapers and magazines. It’s a versatility in Macross that I truly appreciate and commend it for.

Of course, this caricature isn’t the only thing Macross is saying. It doesn’t quite reduce things to this simplistic binary. But for now it provides a parallel to Kaifun’s moralizing pacifism. It is an aggressive and violent kind of pacifism that sharply contrasts with the growing desire for non-combat activities that the Zentradi are finding in themselves aboard the Macross.

—

Bottom line is that the Macross must exist as a battleship carrying a city in its belly. Earth is proving to be an inhospitable home due to the humans in it. The citizens are upset, the Macross command maybe growing the seeds of mutiny in their hearts, and Minmay is going to make a movie. Meanwhile Hikaru gets shot down by an almost botched Daedalus Attack because Misa was failing hard by being emo during battle.

Parting shot: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FUCKING THINK ABOUT NOT FIGHTING WHILE YOU’RE FIGHTING. GUNDAM YOU’VE BEEN PUT ON NOTICE SINCE 1982.

I’ve marveled at how human beings across many cultures have accounts of Paradise – an otherworldly ideal, a place beyond what is implicit: the present world is filled with imperfection, which then implies dissatisfaction. Arcadia, Elysian Fields, The Garden of Eden, Avestan, Jannah, Goloka, Fiddler’s Green, Valhalla, etc. are the many versions of this ideal in the imaginations of humans in the infancy of civilization.

In the versions I am familiar with, I get the impression that the contents of Paradise are very worldly. It is filled with what is valued (land, presumably to hunt and gather in at one’s leisure and not for survival; precious substances such us gold; civilized abodes; the company of the worthy; willing and idealized sexual partners; etc.), and that there is plenty of it to go around. The only thing lacking is privation, and suffering itself.

I wonder at these versions, as they often occur in oral and written traditions as some kind of historical account. In the Judeo-Christian tradition at least, the first humans, (the protoculture LOL), were banished from the Garden of Eden. The contents of which, and the events that surrounds their exile are documented as history. Of course, I doubt the veracity of these accounts as they contain physically impossible events, as well as very suspect accounting (human life spanning hundreds of “years,” among other things). This is the root of my fascination for it.

We, as a culture, insist on describing things we have never seen or witnessed, and our descriptions are so limited by our familiarity with the things in our experience and memory. The elements of the Garden of Eden may not seem so appealing to me now. It’s great as a vacation spot, but I will pine for high speed broadband access and the internet there. Perhaps my version will involve an infinite area where in I can customize and build (and share my work via blogging and social networking). Point is, what Paradise will look like is subject to what is valued at the present.

This, in turn is why it’s not only sensible, but delicious to write the tragedy of losing it all. John Milton capitalized on this with much success, but we retell the story in versions big and small ways, making it more a narrative template or trope, because it works so well due to the operative power of nostalgia, remembering love. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.

What’s amazing about Super Dimension Fortress Macross is that despite the constant conflict, the technological fuck-ups, and all sorts of messes the characters and the citizens of Macross City have gone through, they have pretty much had a heyday up to their return to Earth. Almost all the characters were on the up-and-up. But as I mentioned two posts prior, (nearly) everything was in place in terms of world-building by episode 12. The narrative was all but fully set up. We were due for stories to end and resolve, and by episode 20, some of them certainly did. In hindsight, they had it so good.

Episode 17 “Phantasm”

The injured Hikaru suffers phantasms while recovering from his injuries. Him being a character in a (robot) anime, this means his injury involves something that threatened his cranium without threatening his hairdo. This makes for an interesting retrospective of his career and romantic trajectories… both of which are on the “shot down” side of a dogfight.

I seldom have dreams that recount past events, but I do recognize the feeling of living through very familiar events in a dream and yet feeling like a spectator, as if I have no agency in the matter. I end up saying things I wouldn’t in waking life, and I start thinking whether this is indeed my true feelings about things. Also interesting are what people say in the dream, and whether they are their true feeling about things – that I was only afraid to confront.

I’m no psychologist or dream interpreter. The things that stands out to me here is how close Hikaru was to that kiss with Minmay while they were still lost inside Macross, and how Misa ended up being an important figure in his life with him barely noticing it.

Episode 18 “Pineapple Salad”

From a narrative, Doylist perspective, this is why Roy Focker died: Roy Focker died for the sake of Max and Millya. The cast was getting crowded, and Roy Focker as a character had no narrative upside. He was Hikaru’s senpai and he already got Hikaru flying again, he already saw him get promoted. He hasn’t seen him get the girl yet, but even there he helped him along.

But as far as personal goals and character trajectories, Focker had none. This is not to say he had nothing to live for. It’s just that there were no big goals set out for him by the narrative beyond getting Hikaru started. His worth now, was being his ace pilot status, and in a somewhat subtle deployment of the Worf Effect, Focker died to solidify Millya’s status as the second best pilot in the show and have her showdown with Max.

I appreciate how it all played out, how Roy didn’t have a protracted dogfight, and was more like collateral damage. Not every fighter needs to flame out in a blaze of glory. Others can go in the confines of their love, strumming their guitar, each vibration sinking the shrapnel deeper in their bowels, the pain made into nothings in the face of all they’ve done in their brief but bloody lives.

Episode 19 “Burst Point”

Kamujin again plays the role of instant plot-mover, but I can’t complain about what actually happens. Defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory: The Macross got permission to disembark its noncombatant population in Canada, and it also developed an omnidirectional barrier. However, continued pressure from Zentraedi energy artillery caused it to overreact and destroy everything within 50 kilometers, including the city that would’ve provided succor to Macross’ refugees, and poor Kakizaki, who didn’t even get to finish his steak.

The guy was doomed from the start. An affable but obnoxiously loud fellow, Kakizaki was the opposite of Max, including in terms of piloting skill. It’s a testament to the technological superiority of the Variable Fighters how Kakizaki’s managed to survive the combat engagements he lived through. This time though, it doesn’t seem like a lack of piloting skill did him in. I thought he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, during when the narrative was dumping on Hikaru with tragedies big and small.

Episode 20 “Paradise Lost”

Or, Minmay’s gets a captive market. I may sound cynical, but that’s really how it is. I’m not dumping on Minmay though, this is part of what makes her as a character soooo interesting. Had the Macross City population disembarked, there’s a big chance that they’d disperse to be with their own families… as the city is populated by migrant workers – there are no native inhabitants in South Ataria Island. Minmay’s primary market would disappear, and she’d have to start from near-scratch if she wanted to be an idol in Japan. Not only did Minmay keep her audience, unbeknownst to her she’s growing a following by sheer word of mouth in the all-male Zentraedi horde.

But as for the people of Macross itself, their resulting exile after the devastating battle was a turning point: they now begin to really think of Macross as their home; as opposed to being a city of transients, there is some cause to think of it as more permanent location. The ship itself “sails” into a space filled with even more enemies as Britai returns to the theater of war bringing with him over a thousand ships.

The past year now seems like an idyll for Hikaru, relative to the past few weeks he’s lived through. It’s easier to think of the Macross as some kind of Paradise now lost – as he’s grown farther apart from Minmay, and lost his best friend Roy, and both his wingmen – Kakizaki to death, and Max due to promotion. There is no one for him to rely on anymore. He has to be “the man” now for himself and for the Macross. It sure feels lonely, Hikaru. There’s someone just as lonely… someone who did you the courtesy and honor of bringing the sad news of Roy’s death personally.

The Macross leaves Earth, Hikaru leaves a big part of his life behind, and Minmay owns the moment, singing of Beautiful Days:

Hoshi no suna no michiru umi
Atatakai hi o terikaesu
Chiisana OASHISU
Waga kokyou midori no chikyuu yo
Itsuka kitto kaeru darou
Dakara sore made sugata o kaezu ni
BYUUTIFURU PUREISU
IN MAI HAATOHaha no ude no naka omoidasu
Yutaka na daichi yo
Itsuka kitto kaeru darou
Dakara sore made yasashisa mitashite
BYUUTIFURU PUREISU
IN MAI HAATO

If anyone can translate this, leave a comment. I’d greatly appreciate it.

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Misa goes back to Earth, while Minmay goes deeper into the Kaifun Dimension. Thankfully, this storyline isn’t what makes this arc a great watch. More Zentraedi are now struck with Macross  pop culture-fever and they have Minmay in the head. Kamujin rages while Bodolle Zer is concerned. Laplamiz, Britai, and Exsedol are caught by surprise, while Millya begins to win by continuing to fail at everything she’s trying to do.

So much Zentraedi agency is a wonderful thing. It’s one of the things that make Macross just a little more than what Kawamori says what it is: “A love story set against the backdrop of great battles.” Not that I trust such sandbagging false modesty. Bah, the author is dead. Long live Macross!

Episode 21 “Micro Cosmos”

I personally think that this is the comedic high point of the show. There will be other moments that may perhaps induce bigger laughs, but the sight of Britai and Exsedol reacting to the Shao Pai Long film that really, really brings the show to lulzville.

I’m certain that the humor is intentional, in that Lynn Kaifun’s Chinese Kung-fu master movie persona shot an energy bolt from his fingertips to strike down a giant. It is uncertain how much of the general populace know that they are fighting against a race of alien giants, but this is a superb touch.

Bodolle Zer’s reaction however, isn’t as funny. It is however just as important as it pushes the urgency forward, as the Zentraedi and Miclone “races” now come into multiple areas of conflict. This is best exemplified I argue, by Millya.

Now it’s quite obvious that there are more overt examples of Zentraedi being attracted to the Miclone way of life – the 3 spies and their followers being such. This is, however an attraction towards the opposite. Warlike attracted by leisure-like, recreation-like. Millya is attracted by similarity. Admittedly, she came to the Macross to fight her rival, but we see this romance angle light years away.

This is the Zentraedi race conflicted with itself. It makes them less the antagonist race, but rather a fellow set of protagonists in the story. We’ll see when they stop being a bunch of characters that ‘things get done unto them’ and begin to be the kind who makes choices for themselves.

In other matters, the more I think about it, the more I believe that Misa’s attraction to Kaifun/ghost of Karl Riber is one of the weakest parts of the whole thing.

Episode 22 “Love Concert”

The tradition begins: concert = FIGHTING. Again, Kamujin serves as the plot swiss-army knife. If the Zentraedi are beginning to become protagonists, Kamujin has to play the part of the absolute villain. He and Bodolle Zer are static characters who merely want to keep the Zentraedi the way they are: Bodolle Zer enjoys conquering (maybe), Kamujin just loves violence.

Thus it is Kamujin first who deals with the conflict within the Zentraedi ranks (they’re excited to see Minmay), and it’s Bodolle Zer who reflects on this in his bigger scale. It’s been established how little Kamujin actually cares for his soldiers’ lives, so it’s no surprise how casually he shoots down the ‘defectors.’

The scene sells the point, but I don’t think it’s very well done. It showed the Zentraedi to be incompetent in the field and not a menacing horde of giants. The Zentraedi, outside of Kamujin, Britai, Bodolle Zer, Laplamiz and Millya, are pretty much something out of Beetle Bailey than they are from Band of Brothers.

Also notable in this episode is Hikaru’s rampage resulting in his largest killing-spree to date. Clearly, Kaifun is bad news for the Zentraedi (and everyone else). The thing is, Hikaru’s Battloid rampage was so spectacular that Max had to be featured in his usual significant way, so much so that Millya would be able to positively ID him (at least his Battloid).

Episode 23 “Drop-out”

The findings surprise no one: Zentraedi and Humans are genetically identical. I mean, they don’t surprise me. The Zentraedi have been portrayed to be culturally retarded humans thus far, and to make them non-human would be antithetical to any further attempts to a non-hegemonic peace… unless the whole point is to impose a Human Cultural Hegemony onto the Galaxy (I suppose it does happen… with Minmay at its center). In any case, a genetically inferior race will not be treated well. Their cultural differences will be treated as self-evident results of genetic inferiority. They may not even be treated as ‘fit’ to receive Human Culture.

Thus it is important in the narrative that the Zentraedi are genetically identical with humans. This is Misa’s mission to the UN SPACY Command, whose ideas of negotiating from a position of power, while sound, is founded on the stupidity of one energy weapon being able to level the fighting potential of the Zentraedi. Misa’s dad thinks he’s in a Gundam show from the future.

Episode 24 “Goodbye Girl”

As Misa leaves for Earth, and Minmay becomes further involved in the Kaifun dimension, something else has to happen love story wise. The perfect counterpoint to the complicated histrionics of the Misa x Hikaru x Minmay triangle is the very straightforward Max s Millya romance.

The conceit is: Millya wants to kill him (what are men good for anyway?), while Max who knows NOTHING about her, thinks she’s hot. While they duel in the video game arcade Millya is fighting for her life, with everything at stake, while Max is ogling her tits. This is amazing stuff.

For many YEARS since childhood I’ve daydreamt of cleaning out an arcade of money (making a living out of gaming LOL) just like Millya, and then meeting cute with some hot gamer (who I soundly beat) just like Max. Do not underestimate the power and charm of this scene. It’s humorously romantic, perfectly contrasting with the oftentimes facepalm-worthy histrionics of the main triangle.

Next episode: THE DATE IN THE PARK! YOU CAN’T EFFING MISS THIS!

This arc is the answer to the question: “What is Macross?” Kawamori Shoji, series creator described the show as a “love triangle set against the backdrop of great battles.” While this is only the creator’s own reading or claim about his work, and ultimately does not negate or deny any other possibility of Macross, it is what also happens to be the most satisfying answer as far as I’m concerned.

I can easily project my own reading upon this work. I can read it as an essay on the fallibility of public figures, from military leaders to pop idols. I can read it as a more authentic proselytizing against war/entreaty for peace via a violent anime for children. I can read it as an attempt towards a timeless entry in the space opera tradition. I will do none of these here. Instead I choose to prove Kawamori’s claim and in the process make it my own.

What I’m Not Saying

I’m not saying Macross isn’t any of the things I said I wouldn’t claim in this essay. I’m not saying Macross isn’t a space opera or a clever work of science fiction, or a solid entry in the tradition of real robot anime, or an exposé of the idol industry and the humanity of the pop idol. As far as I’m concerned, Macross is all these things to some degree.

What I do here is distinguish the love triangle, the love story aspect of the work as the primary offering of the whole thing. Viewers may value the different readings differently, but this isn’t about valuing as much as highlighting what’s so. Let us consider the episodes that make the case (I will be using the Wikipedia summaries for the episodes):

Episode 25 “Virgin Road”

Max encounters Milia in the park and a knife fight between them ensues when she reveals that she is a Zentradi. Max defeats her for the third time, sparing her life, and the two fall in love. Milia decides to join the Macross and their immediate marriage marks the first union between a human and Zentradi, causing celebrations everywhere along Macross City. Boddole Zer, on the other hand, doesn’t like the idea and plans to fix the ‘contamination’ that is human culture once and for all.

There are two side love stories in Macross, one tragic, one comic: Claudia x Roy, then Max x Millya respectively. One had to end to give way to the other in terms of narrative ‘exposure’ or ‘airtime.’ The love story of Max and Millya reaches its comic high point in their third duel (a knife fight in the park), which culminates in their wedding. Commodore Global shows his PR savvy by milking this wedding for all its worth, broadcasting it knowing that the Zentraedi are watching.

This, actually turns out to soak Global’s hands in the blood of 6 billion human beings, as the event convinced Bodolle Zer to stop faffing around and decisively exterminate all humans and all exposed to their (cultural) contagion. In this episode, the love story is in the foreground, the imminent destruction of humanity in the background.

Episode 26 “Messenger”

In a surprising turn of events, Exsedol Folmo is micronized and attempts to seek peace negotiations with the people of the Macross. During the negotiations, Exsedol reveals that the defection of the Zentradi soldiers could be related to a new cultural awakening caused by Minmay’s songs. Hikaru begins to long for Misa, who is still on Earth, trying to convince her father and the UN that the two races may have a chance of co-existing peacefully.

The Zentraedi ask for parley. I don’t think that they are genetically predisposed to negotiations, and Archivis Exsedol is too much of a scholar to actually make demands of the Miclones. Instead what happens is, highlighted by a terribad rendition of Watashi no kare wo pairotto how Exsedol practically established an accord by himself. It is notable that Britai’s command wherein which he belongs will be annihilated by Bodolle Zer, which makes them have to rely on the psychological power of the Minmay Defense, wherein which he requested she put on a show to accomplish 2 things:

1. Rally the Zentraedi ‘fans’ in Britai’s command; and
2. Administer a psychological shock to the Zentraedi yet to be exposed to not only her winsome vocal stylings, but also to her kissing Kaifun.

I appreciate how Exsedol greeted Millya, not without a tinge of envy or at least appreciation of what she’s been able to do (got married).

Episode 27 “Love Drifts Away”

A epic battle for the Earth takes place when Boddole Zer’s main fleet of over 4,000,000 warships fold above Earth’s atmosphere. Using the power of culture from Lynn Minmay’s singing, the Macross, along with its allied Zentradi fleet, attempts a daring last stand to Boddole Zer’s forces. Heroes will die, a world may fall, but will love prevail?

THE TITLE ALONE, says so much. It’s not called the final battle, or some such. It’s called “Love Drifts Away.” True to form, it starts with Hikaru’s overdue confession to Minmay. The odds of winning against 4,000,000 capitol ships are too much mathematics for me to determine, and he just had to say it now. And while Minmay was turning Hikaru down, Bodolle Zer’s Grand Fleet destroys the entirety of the Earth’s surface in a great extra atmospheric barrage.

There was no further negotiation, no desperate defense mounted to save the Earth. Bodolle Zer didn’t dick around. He never let the Miclone-Zentraedi rebel alliance mount any kind of defense on time. One would expect the Earth to be saved by the good guys. No, not in Macross. This silly love story doesn’t mess around with its climactic battle. It was only after the Earth got scorched, and with the realization that the citizens of Macross city may be among the last survivors of humanity that the alliance gets to counterattack.

Hikaru in fact, contributes this strategic counterattack involving Minmay. Structurally, what Macross was able to do here is to involve Minmay in a military operation, which puts her on the same stage as Hikaru and Misa – she’s actually the STAR of that very stage wherein a soldier would normally play the leading role. As such, the love triangle is set to be in the foreground of the great battle.

And great indeed it is, while the alliance forces are preparing their counteroffensive, UN SPACY gives Earth its last (and only gasp) when the Grand Cannon fired, destroying an entire section of the Grand Fleet (I can imagine about a quarter million ships lost in that one attack). This attack threw the Bodolle Zer fleet in disarray which created the opening for the alliance forces to begin its counteroffensive.

Another noteworthy thing that happens here is that Hikaru, the main protagonist in the series gets shot down in the middle of the battle. He will not be involved in what would be the victorious barrage against the final boss. He’s not part of it at all. When does this happen in robot anime? NEVER.

Why does Macross do this? Hikaru piloting his damaged VF-1S to Earth allows him to move on (or, away) from his rejection by Minmay and rescue Misa from the wreckage of the Grand Cannon and put her on his lap in the single-seater cockpit. As Minmay sings “Love Drifts Away” (only for Hikaru, just for today), the battle approaches its climax, Hikaru bids her goodbye in his mind and he finds Misa.

The Macross punctures Bodolle Zer’s asteroid-sized ship and fires hundreds of reaction warheads, taking it out and the surrounding section of the Grand Fleet. The Macross lands on Earth triumphantly, albeit to find the Earth barren and punctured with holes. Still, with its back against the sun, Hikaru and Misa ride towards it and into the sunset. For now, the triangle is undone, resolved against the background of the greatest battle the Earth has ever seen.

Episode 28 “My Album”

Two years have passed after the final battle with Boddole Zer. The Macross is now a relic of the conflict known as Space War I, and sits in a large lake in barren Alaska. Earth is still a desolate wasteland, and small towns and forests are located miles around Macross City.

The allied Zentradi fleets, along with the citizens from the Macross, maintain a nervous peace. The work to rebuild Earth by both sides is in full swing. Hikaru looks back on the times spent with Roy Focker for advice on what do about his feelings for both Misa and Minmay.

I had always thought that the best way to end a most awesome, feel-good ending is for it not to end. Maybe I started thinking this way when I first saw Macross in 1984 but I doubt it. Now every Macross episode, including “Love Drifts Away,” ended with the ED “Runner” wherein a live action photo album turns to reveal 2D photos which are pin-up-like illustrations of the main cast.

I thought it only fitting this episode is called “My Album” as it works as the transition to the extended story. It’s both the ED and the preview to the next (arc) episode. A lot can be said about the post-war storyline that very few anime outside of Macross do take on, but I’ll deal with those fun things in the succeeding posts. But for now, it’s enough to acknowledge that 2 years after the great battle, the love triangle is re-forming. Will you love me tomorrow?

[SPOILERS FOR MACROSS]

Kawamori Shoji, creator of the Macross franchise said that in Super Dimension Fortress Macross/Macross: Do You Remember Love? “(Hikaru is the hero) Misa is the heroine, Minmay is the star.” I always thought of this as rather brilliant. It was a great way to set up the resolution of the conflict, which really was that of a love triangle (set against the backdrop of great battles).

Misa pilots the Macross itself, takes the lead in negotiating against the Zentraedi under duress, and wins the triangle. Minmay, on the other hand becomes the pop idol that is the fulcrum by which the lever of the war was pulled over; she also became the symbol and most recognizable character of the show, if not the franchise itself. It divvied up the spoils to be had in and around the show, in a manner of speaking, which resulted in both characters leaving strong impressions on the viewers; each having her own set of loyal fans.

This is NOT a Misa vs. Minmay post.

Misa saves the day, or at least a very big part of an active life of saving the day. As mentioned, she takes command of tough situations, and makes innovative tactical decisions. But just as important, is how it is she who basically straightens Hikaru out. Minmay was the reason why Hikaru enlisted, but it’s Misa who makes a soldier out of the pilot. Hikaru’s growth, maturity, and responsibility are things I willingly attribute to the contribution of Misa in his life (along with Roy and Claudia).

Minmay, on the other hand is the star from which the show cannot be stolen from. The show depends so much from the success of her rise to stardom, and the effect of her stardom on history itself. Yes, she sang during the greatest of battles. But remember, it’s Hikaru’s idea that she do so, endorsed by Exsedol. But as far as Minmay was concerned, that time, she sang only for Hikaru.

With all the fail that happens in her life, and what she accumulates for herself, Minmay is the shining star of the show. She is the music of Macross itself.

Or does the line mean something else? [DigitalBoy’s Interpretation]

In dating sim/harem games, the girls that will potentially end up with the main character are often called “heroines.” (See, for instance, merchandise for ef, which tends to focus on this word in describing the female characters.) Whether or not this is a common phenomenon of the Japanese language, or how far back it dates, I do not know, but my reaction to the word “heroine” is “the girl whose story path you’re on.”

What exactly does it mean, and why is it special, that the heroine and the star are two different girls in this case?

The way I see it, more often than not, those two are one and the same, where identifiable. Take any show that has the heroine’s name in the title, and in which there is competition for the affections of the main lead. For instance, Shakugan no Shana, Yumekui Merry, or even Toradora. In these shows, Shana, Merry, and Taiga are the obvious stars of the show respectively, and each quite clearly is the favorite or eventual winner of the lead’s affection.

Minmay has the obvious star quality. She’s the one who goes beyond normal—who is spectacular in some way. Misa is more of the childhood friend or unlucky tsundere girl that will put up a fight for the lead’s affection throughout the show even though she obviously won’t win. Or even, since she isn’t exactly boring, you could consider her like the Nagato Yuki or Asahina Mikuru to Minmay’s Haruhi. It isn’t obvious that Misa would win Hikaru’s afffection, even though it was a persistent option, because she isn’t the star.

—end of digitalboy—

This is why I think Digiboy’s interpretation of this is interesting: again, SDFM is a love story—a love triangle at that. It makes perfect sense to me to bring onboard a more traditional romance anime perspective to Macross. I do think that Misa is far less interesting character, despite all her virtues. Her failings, including that time when she got shit-faced in a bar (classic) seem so much less remarkable than the many obvious, and spectacular failures of Minmay.

There is a kind of ‘star’ phenomenon that I’ve taken notice of. However this has to do with supporting characters or antagonists who ‘steal’ the show. Granted, protagonists who are ‘heroes’ tend to be less interesting than their counterparts. Some examples:

• Nausicaa/Kushana
• Amuro Ray/Char Aznable
• Simon/Kamina
• McNulty/Omar
• Jin-tan/Yukiatsu

Mind you, this is distinct from the trope called ensemble darkhorse, who may have examples of characters who don’t necessarily do things that steal the show, and yet become wildly popular anyway… maybe like digiboy in this post?

The show is deservedly praised for being one of the few narratives to boldly depict a post-war story where the war actually happened in the beginning of the narrative. But why? What’s really inside these episodes that extended this series beyond Misa and Hikaru dashing towards the Macross and the sunset?

What’s here is an extended account of failure from almost all sectors of the show: from the inability of the Zentraedi to integrate with human civilian life, from the arrogance of the humans in that they can just colonize the ‘cultureless’ Zentraedi with their Minmay mono-culture, from the opportunistic capitalist privateering of Kaifun in commodifying Minmay’s cultural cachet, from the discovery by the Zentraedi that they are but Satan’s Dolls – a genetically manufactured military sub-species of the Protoculture, from the slow decay and dissipation of both Zentraedi and human war potential (material resources), to…

…Kaifun putting an entire city at risk for petty ‘emancipation politics’ that he ultimately says “have nothing to do with us [Minmay],” to Kamujin using human-style hostage terrorist tactics (and being utterly fail at facing countermeasures), to Minmay’s inability to affect Kamujin and Lap’lamiz with ‘culture shock,’ to Minmay’s rapidly dissolving ability and motivation as a performer, to Kaifun’s response to Misa’s successful rescue operation, to Misa being a complete doormat for Hikaru and still unable to take charge of her own feelings, and to Hikaru OH MY GOD being an utter insensitive douchebag towards Misa.

I love it… all of it.

Why? So much for ‘happily ever after’ bitches. Sure, SDF Macross is a flighty fantasy, but it really does indulge a whole lot of darkness and grimness in this stretch. True to form, against the backdrop of societal, galactic, and interracial/species conflict, it is the failures of human maturity that take the forefront in the story. We always knew that Misa was kind of fail – given her lack of personal strength and conviction involving Karl Riber mysteriously conflated with Lynn Kaifun, but here her wishy-washiness over Hikaru subjected us all to seeing her play victim to his moronic selfishness.

We’ve seen Hikaru fall from sympathetic victim of Minmay’s self-centeredness and utter lack of sense, to this incredible douchebag who clearly isn’t over Minmay and then takes Misa for granted in such a rude, insensitive, and annoyingly callous manner. This I believe has greatly shifted the matrix of heroism in some significant way: We now have Misa as the suffering heroine (formerly held by Hikaru), while Hikaru becomes the misguided hero that is both object of love and antagonist to Misa. The ominous thing is: HIS WORST HAS YET TO COME.

Minmay also is subjected to a fall. Her career is a mess. Her relationship with Kaifun is sick. She waffles between motivations for performing, and only now acknowledges her own feelings for Hikaru. I don’t buy it that she’s never had feelings for him up until now. She’s just never valued them as much as she does now. But she’s already this trainwreck, who surprisingly hasn’t turned to substance abuse the same way Kaifun has begun to. But then again, she’s being played up to be sympathetic by the story. This is the set up for the leveling of the love triangle just before the finale resolves it.

Outside the triangle, some interesting things have happened too:

A joint operation headed by Britai to secure the Zentraedi factory satellite is an utter joy to watch. Britai is, I believe, a far more capable combat commander than Global is. I feel that the very best of the Macross’ crew were put to incredible use by the able Britai. I can watch an entire series of him commanding a ship.

The Jenius family is genius: the show does not hold back with the slices of life after the great space war. Marriage and child-rearing suits both Max and Millya. Millya’s fish out of the water tactlessness is an endearing counterpoint to the cartoon-villain awkwardness of Lap’lamiz appropriating/making ‘culture’ with Kamujin, who she supposedly manipulates. Two things stand out in Millya as mother: the baby-toss across the room to Misa, then bringing her daughter Komillya not only in the front lines, but straight into a room full of hostile Zentraedi. Mind you she can’t pilot her VF while she’s holding up her daughter for everyone to see. Batshit insane, and awesomely so. Again, Max presents this solid togetherness as the counterpoint to Hikaru and his liquid mess of a loverboy in a love triangle.

The fail doesn’t quite end in this arc, as the show continues to present how much further the societies are from creating a peaceful civilization, as the show continues to present the romantic heroes persist in their triangular deadlock not because of the force of their characters but due entirely to their failures as human beings.

I will end this post on a rather dark note, because having finished this rewatch I’ve seen more of this understated darkness than ever. It is dark, but not grim, and so it escapes the viewers too fixated on the antics of the love triangle and its resolution. But there is a lot more to the show I find interesting, than its professed objective of being a love story set against the backdrop of great battles.

First thing: Roy Focker back story. Roy was a douche and was lucky to have Claudia. We should forgive her for making that pineapple salad. This back story is Claudia supposedly trying to cheer Misa up. The reassurance is basically: Men are assholes, put up with them. This should reassure no one, no matter how true.

Two other things: warfare in a high-scarcity era results in the showcase of the Destroids; and many characters, including the leads, come to new lows… and for some it is doubtful that they’ll rise from it again. I will talk about these things for a while, but I promise to finish this entry with a commentary on the very ending of SDF Macross. Let us begin.

Hikaru, while reaching the very depths of his personal douchebaggery by trying to schedule two dates on the same day (and running roughshod over Misa in the process), got to showcase the Destroids in a way that was impossible in space combat. Bereft of his VF, he got to lead a squad made of two Destroid Spartans and a VF-1A and take on a motley band of Zentraedi malcontents. The thing is, I wouldn’t call this a highlight of real-robot functionality given the premise of giant humanoid mecha in Macross (which is a sterling element of the show), only that it is [you cannot see the slideshow from a feed reader; go to the post website to view the awesome fight]:

For all the lack of everything I want from a mecha action scene (dynamic animation, serious business choreography/direction), this establishes more than anything the fulfillment of the need for giant humanoid mecha in a science fictional universe. Patlabor uses a similar conceit anyway.

To belabor the point, here are some size charts:

The use of Overtechnology made sure the UN SPACY had the mecha to combat them giants. So much for the Zentraedi malcontents, but did the cultured Zentrans do that much better? I discussed this in a previous post on episode 34 “Romanesque:”

And then we find Minmay alone in a park, sitting on a swing having been left by Kaifun and no longer wanting to sing. She’s washed up, and much too soon. But then again, everybody alive has already heard her songs. There is no one else to sing to, except maybe for her most die-hard fans. But she didn’t even want to see them, and the last we see of our Zentraedi spies is their failure to catch up with Minmay, who was the catalyst for their transformation.

I was actually wrong in that post. We see the Lolicon Trio with the Bridge Bunnies once more and for the last time during the Silent Night montage. I certainly like to think that the three ‘couples’ found a way to join the Megaroad 01, though that voyage may be an ill-fated one.

Before I move on to the triangle’s resolution, something must be said about Kamujin Kravshera. I had been rather dismissive of him throughout my blogging the series, but I’ve begun to see him in a new light thanks to the comments of one of our regular readers:

Kamjin seems to be another deconstruction of the genre; far from the typical and noble Alien rival in your average Robot show, he’s a compulsive conniving imbecile, renowned not for his piloting skills but his talent for getting his subordinates massacred. Its an interesting subversion.

[…]

As far as the “Noble” enemy rival trope Kamjin seems to disparage, the earliest example I can think of would be Prince Sharkin in Brave Raideen; the character archetype was refined into its more modern form with none other than Prince Heinel in Voltes V, and Richter in Tosho Daimos. Note that all three are aliens, same as Kamjin. Its a common trope in older anime. Char merely branched out into the more modern “Masked Rival” sub-trope.

Not that the idea that the rival figure in a series can be a figure of contempt is anything new, similar contemporary examples I can think of at the time would be Ypsilon in VOTOMS and Gostello (sort of) in SPT Layzner. I just read Kamjin that way from both how the series presents him (like his exchange with Hikaru in ep. 7 seeing them equally matched) and from the narrative role he seems to fit in the series. Kamjin is thrown into the rival role, ill fitting though it might be, so I saw him as a deliberate subversion of it.

–Matt Wells

And how about this for an end: His gunship gutted by the Macross Cannon’s last bang, he pilots it himself with Lap’lamiz, towards ramming the SDF-01 in a suicide attack? He promises Lap’lamiz “We’ll do culture afterwards.” Of course you can’t do Miclone culture after you fulfill your Zentraedi destiny of dying gloriously in battle. But this irony is precisely why Kamujin is interesting now. For most of the show he was this excuse for battle scenes, but at the very end, he still is, but also offering such considerations for the intent viewer.

Join your brethren in GARhalla Kamujin. You can take Lap’lamiz with you.

And now we come to the very end. I have chosen my words as carefully as I can. This is a post series that I didn’t expect I would do but always wanted to do. I want to make these count:

Macross is anti-heroic. Not in the sense that there are heroes who do heroic things only as a consequence of their personal violent agenda, but rather the heroes of Macross in the end are after very personal things, even when they seem to be about serving others. Minmay. She was forced to find a reason to sing that’s bigger than herself. We don’t know if she ever succeeds, but this choice is not a heroic one… it’s what she has to do after facing rejection. Hikaru dumps her for Misa.

Misa, woman of the service. She had resolved to quit! She went to Global utterly defeated thinking she can’t serve in the military if it means she has to be around Hikaru who at the time was with Minmay. She stays in the service, to accomplish the worthy mission finding other planets for humans to colonize because it was so easy for the Zentraedi to waste the Earth. Why does she accept this? It’s because it means she can run away from Hikaru & Minmay!

Hikaru. He dumped Mimay for Misa. Minmay was forcing him to quit flying, because Minmay can’t handle Hikaru living his dream while hers lay in ruins. If she’s grounded, so must Hikaru be! Hikaru will never agree with that. He could’ve agreed to this at first, but he’d find a way back to the sky soon enough. But then, Misa gave him a way out. Misa was leaving in a grand mission. He would get to leave the ravaged Earth, travel to the distant stars, and keep a woman who’d cook and clean and put up with him. Needy Minmay had no chance in hell at this point. Hikaru himself resented her success as a star, though he can’t abide her defeatist quitting. Also he’s not okay with being Mr. Rebound-from-Kaifun.

All three. Instead of saving the day and being heroes, they were people who found reasons to live, or had to find reasons for themselves to live. Besides, the mission for all intents and purposes, has failed. The Megaroad 01 is lost. The colonization of the galaxy was more successfully pursued by subsequent Macross colonization fleets. This is the resolution of this rather simplistic but rather dark love love triangle, set against the background of great battles.

But we (and Minmay) will always have Flashback 2012.

Pssst ghostlighting, don’t you have it backwards?

Do I, really?

Of course, strictly speaking Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospaeda all existed prior to Robotech and it was the work of Carl Macek and Harmony Gold that synthesized and repurposed the above anime into a syndicated cartoon that introduced many viewers around the world to Japanese anime.

It must follow then that anything Robotech is derivative from its source material – at least in animated form, in the original syndicated run. The subsequent Sentinels as well as the now non-canon novelization introduced a lot of elements that fleshed out and unified the whole universe and narrative. I make it no secret that I am a huge fan of this novelization and have read the books many times over. I am re-reading them at the moment which then makes me remember all these things I found interesting in it, that I also started finding in subsequent Macross shows since the 1990s.

DISCLAIMER: I am not concluding that the creators of Macross read the Robotech novels and were subsequently influenced by them. No. The furthest I go is to note the uncanny similarities in Macross post-Robotech, that allows me to put together a makeshift “tradition” as it were.

This post will also serve as a jump-off point for a post series remembering love for Robotech – as it served, for a time, as the locus of my love for Macross.

A Brief History of the Robotech Narrative

This is not canon, but I don’t care, because Macross itself has a very cavalier attitude towards canon.

The Robotech story is that of a galactic or universal endeavor to evolve. There is an alien super-entity named Haydon (who manifests itself in the form of a technological planet) who, for all intents and purposes is seeking immortality/godhood. The key to this is the mystical energy source called the Protoculture. The Protoculture allows Robotechnology to run, and beyond this powers the “Shapings” of the universe, and/or the races/species in it.

The launching point of this is the planet Optera, home of the insect-like Invid. These are a peaceful species, who consume a form of Protoculture as distilled from the “Flower of Life” – vegetation native to Optera. The tragedy begins when the humanoid scientist Zor discovers this in Optera… he and the Queen basically fall in love, as the Queen assumes human form and shows him the possibilities of The Shapings.

Zor however, is under the authority of a ultraconservative Tirolian government faction. Protoculture was seen as a military asset. Zor was used to develop Robotechnology. The Tirolians became the Robotech Masters and launched a war of conquest against the Invid for their Flowers. The Zentraedi became the genetically developed super soldiers of the Robotech Masters. A bitter war ensued after the Invid, feeling betrayed by Zor, militarized themselves and fought back ruthlessly and mercilessly.

Zor, with much regret developed the Super Dimensional Fortress which then held the LAST Protoculture Matrix (energy refinery) and sent it to Earth away from the Robotech Masters, until it crashed on Macross Island. Zor dies, but the Robotech Masters continued to clone him in their attempts to reproduce his intelligence to make Protoculture Matrices. The Zentraedi are sent to find the SDF, and thus find it on Earth which leads to the Macross story we know.

After the great war with the Zentraedi, the Robotech Defense Forces form the Robotech Expeditionary Force to sue for peace with the Robotech Masters in Tirol. On their way there, the Masters arrive on Earth and wage the second Robotech War. The Robotech Defense Forces prevail, but are spent. The Invid invade finally, and the Third Robotech War was mostly the Invid taking over the Earth. This war ended when the REF returns from deep space (a part of them anyway) much improved and powerful and attacks the Invid, whose Queen triggers The Shapings and leaves the Earth in an evolutionary blast – all her race in the form of a galactic phoenix.

This is what Haydon wants to replicate for himself. And the REF led by Admiral Lisa and Rick Hunter confront this entity in the last showdown.

Far out right? You don’t know half of it. This post isn’t so much a discussion on the above (much less about its merits or lack thereof), but rather on the similarities of the elements that are involved in the above and those found in the Macross franchise. Let us begin.

The Invid and the Vajra

1. Insect Mecha

The Invid are Genesis Climber Mospaeda’s “Inbit.” These are amoeba-like organisms that somehow mechanized themselves and invaded the Earth. In Robotech they are peaceful inhabitants of Optera, whose Flowers of Life are key to not only the aforementioned evolutionary Shapings, but to Robotechnology itself. The evolutionary path, is unsurprisingly anthropomorphic. The machines with Robotechnology transform into human forms.

Compare these to the Vajra, also an insect-like, matriarchal species that have powerful mechanized soldiery. They too, live on a planet with valuable raw materials exploitable by would-be galactic imperialists with a bent on mechanized evolution (the shadow board of directors from Macross Galaxy).

Relevance/Significance: High

2. Super Dimensional Powers

The Invid’s Protoculture, is key to the ability to execute Hyperspace Folds. This is what enables galactic conquest and is why the Tirolians wanted it so badly, styling themselves as Robotech Masters. The evolutionary properties of Protoculture, is why Haydon wants The Shapings to transpire and Zor is part of his manipulations to trigger it.

Compare these to the Vajra, who has Fold Quartz, instead of Flowers of Life, but for almost all intents and purposes this is the same thing, split up into different elements. The Vajra themselves use the fold quarts and other fold-related biological elements to form a fold network that connects them with other Vajra colonies within and perhaps outside the galaxy. The name alone “fold quartz” implies the power to cross spacetime. This is the Macross equivalent to Robotech’s take on Protoculture.

Relevance/Significance: Very High

3. Queen and the Human Male

Zor is sometimes referred to have “seduced” the Invid Queen, which led to the sharing of the vision of The Shapings, which then led to the discovery of humanoids of the Protoculture. In any case, they had a meeting of the minds, at the very least. One account states (Robotech Wikia):

At night time, the expedition went to sleep but Zor was compelled by a psychic voice into the surface where he made contact with the guiding intelligence of the Invid; the Regess who took on a Tirolian female based form that was pleasing to his eyes. They later engaged in a telepathic communion where he shared all aspects of his society with her and she shared with him her knowledge of the Flower of Life. The next morning, he would be awakened by his colleagues and take samples of the Flower of Life with him back to Tirol.

This is less seduction than it is cultural exchange.

Now, take the finale of Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa. Saotome Alto did an aerial kabuki dance using his YF-29 Durendal to do what exactly? He wanted to communicate with the appropriately upset Vajra Queen that humans are kind of ok. The result of this exchange is the Vajra entrust their home world to the humans of the Frontier Colony fleet. The Queen takes Alto with her during her hyperspace fold.

If Alto’s kabuki dancing could “seduce” a loli Sheryl, it is not unreasonable to imagine something similar going on with the Vajra Queen, who could’ve sang Aimo (the Vajra mating song) not only in response to VALKYRIAAAAA~ but specifically to Alto who’s been trying to reach the Vajra’s hearts throughout the battle.

The Vajra Queen, given her powers, didn’t really have to take Alto away with her. She in her time-stopping awesomeness could’ve left Alto with Sheryl and left the triangle in an unspeakably awkward state (Alto can’t have Sheryl and Ranka just got rejected by him and they’re stuck together LOLOLOL). But no, the Queen took Alto. He made such a good impression that pretty much results in this transaction:

HEY HUMANS, YOU CAN KEEP THE PLANET. I GET TO KEEP DELICIOUS ALTO.

I bet you nobody thought of it this way. I can see it because I know Robotech’s Zor x Invid Queen was the precedent. Alto x Vajra Queen is now very possible.

Relevance/Significance: Low; Plausibility: Very Low; Entertainment Value: Stupendously High

The Macross Galaxy Shadow Council and The Robotech Masters

The Robotech Masters by the time of the Second Robotech War are a desperate, dying race because Tirol was overrun by the Invid, and that their Protoculture reserves are running out. They communicate and manage things telepathically and are routinely organized in groups of three. They run a clone army that are managed via cosmic instruments and music (Musica, Octavia, Allegra). They have cloned Zor – their original agent to put one over the Invid in order to retrieve his lost intelligence and memories.

The Macross Galaxy Shadow Council is a barely human, dying race who have lost their bodies and their home (Macross Galaxy) after the Vajra attacked it (using the movies chronology and events). They too communicate telepathically (technology-driven, just as the Robotech Masters). They send their clone body/cyborg soldier and scientist Grace O’Connor to get the Vajra to yield their secrets so they can control the galaxy via the fold network and the fold crystals. She would use a songstress to put one over the Vajra.

These aren’t really very strong similarities beyond how they read on paper, however I saw this in Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell:

You can hear three distinct voices from the shadow council. Now compare it with the Robotech Masters’ Triumverate pods:

I could no longer ignore the similarities. If this isn’t exactly Macross remembering love for Robotech, then there’s something else going on. Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross has nothing to do with Genesis Climber Mospaeda but Robotech makes the link between both both obvious and relevant, at least in the novels. It makes more sense to trace the tradition through Robotech than the Super Dimensional series, where Mospaeda isn’t even a part of.

Relevance/Significance: Moderate

The Battle Finale

The ending of The Wings of Farewell, involving the arrival of the UN Spacy and SMS Support Fleets and firing from space, is less remembering love for SDF Macross as I originally thought, but rather for Genesis Climber Mospaeda, or rather more interestingly Robotech and how the Third Robotech War ended.

The Robotech Expeditionary Force arrived from deep space to liberate the Invid infested Earth and laid siege upon Reflex Point, their home base. This resulted in the Invid Queen taking all her race and folding out in an evolutionary Phoenix of light outside the known Galaxy.

In The Wings of Farewell, the arrival of the SMS Support Fleet with its many Macross Quarter class ships as well as the UN Spacy fleet resulted in the planetary bombardment and extermination of many Vajra units. The final concentrated Quantum Cannon attack (not to mention all the reaction weapons from the other ships, carriers, and König Monsters) led to the Vajra Queen (in Battle Frontier form) fold out of the planet taking all her Vajra with her.

Similarly, Haydon IV the planet transformed into a giant version of the Macross in the Robotech: The End of the Circle Finale. Robotech anticipated and predated Macross Frontier in using a giant Macross ship as the final boss way back in 1989 – which then precedes Macross Plus in using the SDF Macross itself as some kind of Final boss for Isamu’s YF-19.

Relevance/Significance: Moderate

Other Notes:

The Veritech Fighters (VTs) are controlled not only via the pedals and sticks, but also via neural connections in the helmets. Robotech christened these “Thinking Caps,” building upon the science fiction of Macross. I may be wrong but I think this is no longer canon in Robotech. Well, Harmony Gold sucks. Interestingly enough, in Macross Plus, the YF-21 piloted by Guld Goa Bowman uses a fancy neural helmet to control the then state of the art mecha.

Haydon, the would-be galaxy eater god-entity, is pretty much Geppelnitch of the Protodevlin. No. I’m just kidding.

Not So Crazy Anymore, Aren’t I?

No, don’t answer that. Seriously though, the similarities are uncanny. While it is perfectly reasonable for Macross Frontier to be more influenced by Southern Cross and Mospaeda, I don’t really see why get so much material from these two works in particular. Why not Super DimensionCentury Orguss? These are all Big West productions along with SDFM. Why only from the shows that Robotech localized and Repurposed? Well, it really makes sense after one reads the novels – which are quite obscure and aren’t even canon. But did anyone think somebody wouldn’t notice?

And that somebody is me, who is probably one of the most uh, Catholic Macross fan. I really, really like almost everything related to Macross. No, I couldn’t really watch The Sentinels original anime production, and could not watch more than 15 minutes of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Still, I love Robotech in my own way, and especially the novels. I will do a special blog post series on the novels, at least the Macross Saga part of the works.

Let me just leave this here:

I know, I I know. It’s not exactly VALKYRIAAAAAA~ But may all of you find it in your hearts to forgive me.

Not having watched SDF-Macross for at least 2 years, save for single-episode rewatches, I grabbed the opportunity to watch the show with a bunch of people who haven’t seen it before, along with a bunch of people who have (and are also big fans of the franchise, not to mention favoring the original series within it). We were able to watch four episodes and I’m here to share how not only the experience of rewatching went down, but also how I observed the reactions of the uninitiated.

I think there are several ways to split the hairs of the people who I watched with. Let me start with:

Youngest Newest Newfag of Newness

Here’s the guy who not only hasn’t watched the show, but has watched the least anime or the least anime shown in the 20th century (or at least shows considered foundational by people who tend to like sci-fi/robot shows).

During the watching, this is the guy who complained the most, and tried the hardest to make fun of anime physics (and a lot of other things), shouting the loudest: THAT’S NOT HOW [X] WORKS. WHAT THE FUCK!?!

This is the kind of viewer I wanted to win over the most. Unfortunately, despite the piercing analysis he brought to bear during the viewing of the four episodes, I asked him what he actually wanted to see, to which he replied: “I just want to see shit blow up.” My thing with cases like this is to not force the issue by getting all defensive and act like anyone should like Macross as if its lovableness is some self-evident truth. It’s already great that he’s watching, I’ll let the show work, or not. I’ll just be the person to talk to when he’s really into it.

Newfag Not a Mecha Fan

Despite not having seen SDFM, this guy has seen a lot of anime; a whole bunch of older shows, but not particularly big on robot anime though may have enjoyed a few of robot shows with crossover appeal (Code Geass, Neon Genesis Evangelion).

There was a lot of appreciation for the things seen, and how certain scenes, behaviors, tropes remind him of other shows. TBH it annoys me when old shows remind people of new shows as if the new shows were the source… but that’s just me. It can’t be helped that such newer shows were seen first.

As expected, the broader experience of this viewer contributes more interesting cross-references to many other things. More about this later.

Oldfag Watching Dubs

Hilarious. Having seen this show several times and in several forms (Robotech LOL). He just wanted a fresh experience – in this case a terrible dub. I think at some point he told us how the translation was taking pretty big liberties with the script. USA! USA!

Newly Minted Fans

Fairly recent viewers of the show who have varying degrees of affinity (from “man this is cool,” to “oh wow this is a favorite”). This would be their first rewatch of the show – which is quite important in my experience for shows I’m a fan of. I try to be an informative resource for these guys, confirming and validating some things they observed the first time, then offering perspective on things they might have missed.

As an advocate of the show and the franchise, these guys are my treasures.

Some Specifics

VIOLENCE

At least one viewer with the fresher eyes took immediate notice at the level of violence in the show. Remember that episodes 2 and 3 involved a big battle fought on 2 fronts: the Earth Atmosphere perimeter defense line (ARMD carriers), then on Macross City on South Ataria Island. The level of violence didn’t just involve the graphic deaths of humans/humanoids but the scope of casualties. The Zentraedi probing attacks really pounded on Macross City (not to mention military units in space). Despite most of the population evacuated, a whole bunch of people were shown to get ripped into shreds.

I personally enjoyed the detail of damage throughout the city as it was consumed by what amounts to a mecha street fight. Units crashing into buildings taking out several as it plows through city blocks was very fun.

As expected, there was praise for the dogfight action. I know how it is. This is only the beginning. The Macross franchise is Dogfight Valhalla, because the planes actually turn into robots.

TECHNOLOGICAL CLUSTERFUCK

The SDF-1 Macross space battleship is an alien spacecraft that crashed onto Earth then was retrofitted for human use over ten years. In that time humans learned a fair bit about the alien “overtechnology” and did what it could to adapt the machine for their use, and create new machines taking advantage of the advances. However, the maiden flight of the SDF Macross shows how it is quite an untested thing.

Crititcal systems kept failing. The main gun fired not as planned. The anti-gravity systems tore through the hull instead of lifting the Macross to space. The fold system took them to Pluto orbit instead of the dark side of the moon. Executing an unprecedented fold maneuver in the atmosphere (not as planned) resulted in transporting a huge chunk of South Ataria Island and Macross City with it; before losing the fold system entirely.

On the micro-level, we have Ichijo Hikaru not quite fallen into his cockpit (a Gundam-inspired trope) but of course SEIZES THE REINS OF HISTORY nonetheless. Unlike Gundam protagonists however, he is not an instant expert of the Variable Fighter and pretty much takes out an entire neighborhood failing at controlling the machine. This is due to the unfamiliarity of the Battloid and Gerwalk modes. This is despite his own expertise as a (stunt entertainer) pilot.

As we’ll see, the survival of the human race persistently results from amazing luck because skill only gets one so far in this maelstrom of unfortunate breakdowns and uncertainty.

WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW?

The noob was demonstrably surprised/dismayed by the melodrama. Perhaps like many viewers who came into the show at a young age (which means Robotech for most people outside Japan), he came for the sci-fi action. As a kid, this was what grabbed me. I didn’t mind the love story – I actually fell in love with love triangles (much to my own consternation when I became an adolescent) thanks to SDFM; it’s not something young boys would usually get into from a show like this.

Now there are very specific shows for boys that deliver the drama (those cry-porn things adapted from games), but love stories in robot shows aren’t the draw. This is despite recent shows laying it thick: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Eureka SeveN for example. I think SDFM was the first to really hit success with it (despite shows like Tosho Daimos with its Earthling x Alien Romeo and Juliet showcase as early as 1978).

But there are very few things similar to SDFM’s meet cute (Hikaru smashes through Minmay’s bedroom, flies her in the palm of a robot that gets shot off which resulted in a breathtaking mid-air rescue, floating through space in a propeller plane, then a two-week date in the belly of the whale FISHING IN SPACE, and that mock wedding).

It will be interesting for me to observe how these new viewers take the show with its love story set in the backdrop of great battles as the episodes roll by. The first four episodes flew by in a torrid pace. So much action made for a quick viewing experience, even the ‘uneventful’ episode mostly depicting Hikaru and Minmay lost inside the Macross.

So what?

My objectives in participating in this viewing are unclear, but I’m having lots of fun as expected. I’ve never marathoned Macross in a group environment so the experience is rather novel. I think more than anything I function as an advocate of the show and do less for my own viewing satisfaction as opposed to assisting some of the new fans of the show/franchise remember love.

In the scheme of things, as this hobby goes, this is pretty much just as planned.

How easy it is to forget how good this show actually is, even without apologizing for animation, illustrations, datedness, and what have you. These four episodes (and beyond) just smashed my expectations of how much I’d enjoy the rewatch. But yeah I’m a Macross Overfag so it goes without saying right? No. Quite the opposite. It’s actually more likely that someone who’s watched a show many times (even when it’s a favorite) to eschew enjoying the show as a direct experience and instead derive most of the fulfillment from the enjoyment of the people he’s sharing the show with.

The enjoyment of these others validates his love for the show, among other things. While much of this is true for me, I enjoyed the show as a direct experience. Why? I had to concentrate on the thing in front of me because as is the case when watching a good show with others, a lot of shit gets said that can cripple your enjoyment. It’s the opposite of watching a terrible show with others, then all the shit that gets said makes the show enjoyable to watch. So on to the episodes!

Episode 05 “Transformation”

With solid consistency, the (Over)technology repurposed by the humans continue in its clusterfucking ways. Having rebuilt Macross City in the belly of the SDF, it finds itself unable to fire its main gun without transforming itself from a naval-type ship into an “upright” humanoid form. It’s a delicious piece of anthropomorphic conceit that is wholly consistent with what makes robot anime as entertaining as it is:

The projection of the (male)human form into incredible sizes. But back to what makes this Macross show in particular so interesting, is how things keep going wrong for them technologically. It amounts to an incredible level of verisimilitude – that the humans don’t get to operate something so complex in very complex ways without problems.

The Gundam franchise is infuriating in contrast in how new technology continues to get rolled out practically untested, with untested pilots and then work with deadly perfection from the first episode onwards. The first transformation of the SDF resulted in the destruction of the city it just built, along with loss of life and property.

Episode 06: “Daedalus Attack”

I can’t not mention my extensive work on this episode more than 2 years ago. The Battle of Saturn’s Rings is one of the great ones in anime history. Do enjoy that rather comprehensive post – one of the special ones here on We Remember Love.

Here however, I’ll say more about the anthropomorphic conceit I mentioned earlier. Not only does the SDF transform into a giant humanoid, the namesake attack – which in itself is compounded innovation after innovation under extreme circumstances is a ridiculously human move: thrusting attacks via an appendage is a very rare occurrence in nature. Other primates do not deliver straight punches (clubbing overhands are more likely). Insects, reptiles, marsupials (Kangaroos “punch” with a high-to-low action, no jabs or straights), and mollusks do not punch the way boxers and karateka do.

The human bested the monster (a leviathan-like space carrier of giants) by a most human-like attack. This is piercing the heavens of fantastic projection.

LOL Even I got confused with the romanization of Minmay (my AOL handle is minmeicomehome). I was also told that the correct romanization of this very Chinese name (Minmay is indeed half-Chinese) would read Ling Mingmei. Whatevs, she’s perfect the way she is (which is, flawed and lacking in sensibility, as lead characters go).

Episode 07: “Bye Bye Mars”

The first thing that stood out for me in this episode is how much Misa’s flashback reminded me of Legend of the Galactic Heroes when portraying the childhoods of Sigfried Kircheis, Reinhard and Annerose Von Musel. There’s nothing specific I can point to, and it may well be some bias or fallacious thinking on my part because I do know that Ishiguro Noboru went on to direct LotGH.  In any case, I was reminded of such scenes.

This episode accomplished many things in the narrative:

• It set the stage for the Misa x Hikaru side of the love triangle due to—
  • Misa shown to be not only capable of love, but feeling it intensely,
  • Whatever prior love affair that existed for Misa is dead (making her free to start a new romance), and
  • Hikaru rescuing Misa who clearly wanted to die.
• Hikaru’s growth as a military ace pilot (srsly he dove into a middle of a Regult squad and killed everyone), and valor.
• Zentraedi fighting ability – setting a trap of their own instead of their primary method of combat: rush and swarm.
• Kamujin being a volatile and unpredictable and very human opponent in contrast to the cautious and alien pair of Britai and Exsedol.

It was a desperate and intense fight, showcasing a lot of good action and violence on a massive scale. At this point I feel that the show is still very excellently paced, considering that it has at least one episode (from the previous batch) wholly without fighting – a rather risky proposition for a robot show. But the premise of a love story in a not so serious robot show is risky enough to begin with, so no big deal right?

Episode 08: “Longest Birthday”

The production staff are known to be WWII history fans (one wonders at their opinion of Japan’s role in it) and the title of the episode remembers love for the film, The Longest Day which was about the Normandy invasion (particularly D-Day) by the allied troops. A character piece that inches the Hikaru x Minmay side of the love triangle forward, it also serves to introduce new supporting characters, both with lots of personality: the uncharismatic but well-meaning Kakizaki Hayao, and the falsely modest Maximilian Jenius.

This begins the transition in Hikaru’s characterization as an “ace” pilot in robot anime meta. One of the things I appreciate in the Hikaru character is that he isn’t THE ace in Macross, the way the lead character must have that destiny in every other mecha anime (yes, Gundam). Hikaru now begins his journey to become a competent combat leader, as the ace pilot of the show (and the rest of real robot anime) role is taken over by Max. Still, Hikaru had the privilege of the ace vs. ace encounter when he dogfought with Kamujin who continues his volatile and haphazard, if incisive way of fighting.

The matching obnoxiousness of both Minmay (who coquettishly and insensitively demands a birthday present from Mr. Friendzoned) and Hikaru (who for someone infatuated with Minmay boneheadedly forgot about her birthday) is particularly delicious. Hikaru’s gesture of giving Minmay his medal (for his valor in the Battle of Salla Base in Mars) underscores a few significant things: Minmay’s lack of sensibility in how such a medal is actually won (fighting and life-risking), and the apparent one-sidedness of the romance. Sure there are special feelings involved: Hikaru thinks Minmay is special, and so does Minmay.

Next episode will be freaking awesome: “Miss Macross!”

I feel brutally old.

The pendulum swings wildly in these four episodes, both in terms of mood and of production quality. SDFM has always had major problems with character designs going off-model (something that happens in TV editions all the way to Macross Frontier AND HOW) and these four episodes show it in its glorious hideousness. But also, almost on a per-episode basis the mood turns from incredible seriousness and tension to laugh-out-loud comedy of fishes out of the water.

It’s pretty brilliant how the Miclones are the one in enemy territory but the Zentraedi turn out to be the real big fish out of the water. More on this later. My live-watching with friends and acquaintances got cut after episode 11 after some serious downtime of my ISP, otherwise the experience continued to be incredible as the humor of SDFM carried through – generating more laughs than some dedicated comedies I’ve viewed under similar circumstances (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt).

After episode 12, ALL the important elements of the show are put into play. It’s all resolution after this. But for now, let us enjoy the world Macross painstakingly built. We begin with episode eight, the iconinc “Miss Macross.”

Episode 09 “Miss Macross”

I’ve never seen other beauty pageants in anime. Perhaps they don’t exist. No, Martian Successor Nadesico episode 19 doesn’t count. It’s just “remonstrating love.” If there’s one very clear thing that distinguishes SDF Macross by this time is that it more than just ran away with the “civilian population making a semblance of peacetime life inside the belly of a warship” conceit. It staged a grand beauty pageant/talent show complete with its conspiracy sub-plots and the like.

What’s remarkable to me from a craft standpoint is how this set-piece so effectively pushes the plot forward. Here are three ways:

• Minmay’s show business career is launched in a big way.
• Hikaru and Misa’s bickering goes beyond protocol but actually involves the triangle ever so slightly: Misa is getting in the way between Hikaru and Minmay.
• The Zentraedi culture (and lack of it) is introduced.

These three things are important plot elements and it speaks well of a set-piece that can do all this seemingly effortlessly, though it used a whole lot of cutting in and out of the Miss Macross proceedings. I also suggest that Minmay won in part due to her charming clumsiness – the younger underdog whose talent is all possibility vs. the known, dominant quantity who is Jamis Merin.

Also, I enjoyed witnessing the reactions of the people I was watching the show with towards Misa using the public access to interrupt the entire Miss Macross proceedings to summon ONE LIEUTENANT to a payphone. NOW THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW THAT THE MILITARY IS RUNNING THINGS. Also, when SDFM does ever get remade, they really should have mobile phones in 2009… though it’ll produce lulz as it did in Gundam:

The fricking White Base had knobs the size of saucers and had a fricking HELM on it’s bridge, and the 2009 issued manga covering the One Year War has characters using touch-screen pocket devices LOL.

Episode 10 “Blind Game”

One thing that’s very easy to forget about Macross is how hopeless they really are. This isn’t the same despair as is the bread and butter of Space Runaway Ideon especially after Be Invoked. The presentation of Macross is far too lighthearted to evoke the same delicious mind-numbing despair. But consider what indeed happened during the Macross’ first communications with the UN Earth Government since the Macross folded to Pluto.

Despite the humanitarian risk of 50,000 noncombatants in the line of fire, the UN orders Macross to NOT approach the Earth and instead keep the aliens away from it.

This makes a lot of sense because it is indeed apparent that the Aliens are not interested in invasion, but are instead pursuing the ship itself. The UN do not have the technological and material strength to engage the Aliens even in a defensive battle, much less mount a rescue attempt of the 50,000 noncombatants in Mars orbit.

Presumably, the UN is developing a decisive weapon against the aliens, but what could it make that’ll protect the Earth against Britai’s fleet (currently at 25,000 vessels) now reinforced with Kamjin’s? There doesn’t seem to be any right answers here but the show isn’t as concerned with us pondering these questions anyway because ZOMG Misa is captured and Hikaru’s team has to rescue her!

The true highlight of this episode is Britai, who demonstrates here how the conceits of Macross as a robot anime make more sense than Gundam and most other shows. Britai takes on 3 battloids by himself, UNARMED, survives prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space ENTIRELY without a space suit/helmet NOTHING. Then attacks the same team of battloids WITH A BENT METAL PIPE… AND PWNS THEM.

As mentioned, the giant humanoid mecha in Macross exist because there are giant humanoids made of meat to fight. Of course, one has to justify why there should be giant alien humanoids, but then again the universe is a sufficiently large place for something like this to be imaginable. Anyway, Britai is so badass that he even gets the better of Max, who is you know, a Jenius (more on Max’s exploits in episode 12).

Episode 11 “First Contact”

This episode introduces Lap Lamiz and Millya Fallnya – the first female Zentraedi characters, and Millya is the first Zentraedi ace pilot the Macross forces ever encountered. With this, the entire cast is complete, the setting fleshed out, the nature and motivations of the ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’ are laid out. Everyone’s capabilities are all demonstrated, if not foreshadowed. The love triangle is complete, deliciously how Misa and Hikaru got to kiss before Hikaru and Minmay did (averted during their rescue from the belly of the whale) It’s not quite complicated, as plotting goes, but the elements are very layered and culturally complex.

With everything in place, it’s going to be development and resolution the rest of the way. Macross did it in the space of a cour, right on schedule.

—

(Actually, no. Lynn Kaifun shows up in the next arc to ruin the point I’m making here. I really hate that guy,)

There is an interesting set of parallels that takes place in these episodes. The episodes themselves give both a feel of winding down (a set of stories) and setting up the next big events. The parallels we see consist of the following:

• The Macross lands on Earth.
• Minmay visits home to meet her parents.
• Misa reports to Alaska Base and meets her father (Commodore Global delivers his report to his superiors)
• The Zentraedi spies discover human society and customs.

The results of these stories will have parallels as well:

• The Macross is prohibited from sending its noncombatant refugees home.
• Minmay’s parents prohibit her from going back to the Macross; she disobeys.
• Misa’s dad requests that she remains on Alaska Base; she declines.
• The Zentraedi spies’s attitude switches from being repelled and afraid to fascinated.

These events all played out in the following episodes, 13 “Blue Wind” 14, “Global Report,” 15 “Chinatown,” and 16 “Kung-fu Dandy.” Global Report is really a clip show wherein Global gives his report to his superiors in Alaska Base.

 Binary 1: The Macross “comes home”/Macross cannot disembark its noncombatant population

This is consistent with the Homeric Odyssey the narrative uses. After many challenges and a journey across the span of the Solar System, the passengers return to a place they can no longer call home. When the Macross folded to Pluto, there was no explanation available for the public, so the United Nations declared all the people on South Ataria Island (or at least those in Macross City) dead.

They cannot retract their statement, partly due to their inability to verify the testimony of Global: that the Macross is being pursued by an alien race of giants with uncountable ships. Even if they took this report on faith, it would cause great panic and disorder and divert their energies from developing their countermeasures.

To me this is the logic of the prohibition. Of course, the 55,000 citizens (maybe take a few dozens out due to battle/transformation casualties) do not accept this decision. They arrive on Earth with a remarkable story to tell, and now they can’t even tell that story to anyone because they’re not supposed to even exist anymore. Except…

Binaries 2 & 3: Heroines get to meet their parents/Heroines are prohibited from rejoining the Macross

Minmay was given the privilege of visiting her folks using the aircraft she won as a prize for Miss Macross. I find it strange that the aircraft was permitted to travel to Japan in light of the UN Policy to quarantine the Macross Citizens. Unless, the UN just realized that the civilian population of Macross City is largely intact only after Global gives his report. I can’t remember if he’s given any indication of the refugees the Macross is carrying prior to giving the report, but in any case I think that the UN would highly regulate the comings and goings to and from the Macross.

In any case Minmay and Misa are prohibited from rejoining. The parental point of view here is that they have already survived great risks – there is no point in risking anything further again. There a few interesting things here: First, Misa’s choice has largely to do with both duty, and loyalty to Global. The other part has to do with her disillusionment with the lack of wisdom and good sense among the military high command. That, and her father who used to be Global’s direct commanding officer. Global’s loss of faith in him affected Misa as well. Let’s return to Misa later.

Minmay returns to Yokohama’s Chinatown to visit her parents. As far as they’re concerned she’s returned from death and shouldn’t go anywhere. But Minmay, and the few people invested in her fortunes, are the only ones who stand to lose anything if Macross City dissolves and people go home. Minmay wants to go back to her career on the Macross, fully oblivious of the following:

• The citizens of Macross City don’t really want to be there.
• She’s a consolation prize of some sort, a  way to pass the (war) time.
• The citizens were fully expecting to disembark and pack up (there wasn’t going to be a Macross City to have her career in).
• For her to have success in Macross City means the city must continue to exist in a battle ship pursued by alien enemies, and therefore incur unnecessary risk.

The selfishness and utter lack of sense in Minmay is in full fettle now. This is exacerbated by the appearance of her cousin, Lynn Kaifun who will now join her on the Macross as a reassurance for her parents (he will be the wiser older guardian), and to rejoin his own parents who’ve been taking care of Minmay. Her public and obvious infatuation for Kaifun onii-chan (little sister fetishism is alive and well in 1982) is not only completely insensitive to Hikaru, but also towards the Military that he actively disrespects (while she works for in the recruitment campaign).

Let’s go back to Misa, whose motivations for returning to the Macross is contrastingly wise, responsible, and courageous as opposed to foolish, selfish, and insensitive. Narrative wise, Hikaru’s being boxed-out of the Mimnay complex and pushed into a romance with Misa, particularly when they are both insulted by Kaifun, providing a context of empathy and a return to a similar, if only symbolic foxhole. Us viewers are now confronted with the idea, more strongly than ever, that Hikaru will probably do better to end up with Misa.

I just figured that there isn’t enough Roy x Claudia in this blogging series.

The final binary doesn’t really quite work as one, but yeah, the Zentrans live it up in Macross City.

It can be said, that the Zentraedi spies are making preparations to make a home for themselves in Miclone society. Yes, they’re fishes out of the water but it’s obvious that they’re becoming more and more fascinated vs. afraid of human behavior and customs. They’ve accepted the neighborly generosity of a small restaurant owner. They got to drink it up with free booze in the Earth Landing party. The more they consume human culture, the more they want it.

It does say a couple of things. It’s one thing to have a pacifist message by portraying war as hell (Mobile Suit Gundam), but it’s another thing to provide a stunningly stark contrast of the alternative to war, by using the Zentraedi as a caricature of a fully military culture and their contact with civilian and peace-time activities. Yes, it’s a caricature akin to political cartoons in the editorial pages of newspapers and magazines. It’s a versatility in Macross that I truly appreciate and commend it for.

Of course, this caricature isn’t the only thing Macross is saying. It doesn’t quite reduce things to this simplistic binary. But for now it provides a parallel to Kaifun’s moralizing pacifism. It is an aggressive and violent kind of pacifism that sharply contrasts with the growing desire for non-combat activities that the Zentradi are finding in themselves aboard the Macross.

—

Bottom line is that the Macross must exist as a battleship carrying a city in its belly. Earth is proving to be an inhospitable home due to the humans in it. The citizens are upset, the Macross command maybe growing the seeds of mutiny in their hearts, and Minmay is going to make a movie. Meanwhile Hikaru gets shot down by an almost botched Daedalus Attack because Misa was failing hard by being emo during battle.

Parting shot: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FUCKING THINK ABOUT NOT FIGHTING WHILE YOU’RE FIGHTING. GUNDAM YOU’VE BEEN PUT ON NOTICE SINCE 1982.

I’ve marveled at how human beings across many cultures have accounts of Paradise – an otherworldly ideal, a place beyond what is implicit: the present world is filled with imperfection, which then implies dissatisfaction. Arcadia, Elysian Fields, The Garden of Eden, Avestan, Jannah, Goloka, Fiddler’s Green, Valhalla, etc. are the many versions of this ideal in the imaginations of humans in the infancy of civilization.

In the versions I am familiar with, I get the impression that the contents of Paradise are very worldly. It is filled with what is valued (land, presumably to hunt and gather in at one’s leisure and not for survival; precious substances such us gold; civilized abodes; the company of the worthy; willing and idealized sexual partners; etc.), and that there is plenty of it to go around. The only thing lacking is privation, and suffering itself.

I wonder at these versions, as they often occur in oral and written traditions as some kind of historical account. In the Judeo-Christian tradition at least, the first humans, (the protoculture LOL), were banished from the Garden of Eden. The contents of which, and the events that surrounds their exile are documented as history. Of course, I doubt the veracity of these accounts as they contain physically impossible events, as well as very suspect accounting (human life spanning hundreds of “years,” among other things). This is the root of my fascination for it.

We, as a culture, insist on describing things we have never seen or witnessed, and our descriptions are so limited by our familiarity with the things in our experience and memory. The elements of the Garden of Eden may not seem so appealing to me now. It’s great as a vacation spot, but I will pine for high speed broadband access and the internet there. Perhaps my version will involve an infinite area where in I can customize and build (and share my work via blogging and social networking). Point is, what Paradise will look like is subject to what is valued at the present.

This, in turn is why it’s not only sensible, but delicious to write the tragedy of losing it all. John Milton capitalized on this with much success, but we retell the story in versions big and small ways, making it more a narrative template or trope, because it works so well due to the operative power of nostalgia, remembering love. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.

What’s amazing about Super Dimension Fortress Macross is that despite the constant conflict, the technological fuck-ups, and all sorts of messes the characters and the citizens of Macross City have gone through, they have pretty much had a heyday up to their return to Earth. Almost all the characters were on the up-and-up. But as I mentioned two posts prior, (nearly) everything was in place in terms of world-building by episode 12. The narrative was all but fully set up. We were due for stories to end and resolve, and by episode 20, some of them certainly did. In hindsight, they had it so good.

Episode 17 “Phantasm”

The injured Hikaru suffers phantasms while recovering from his injuries. Him being a character in a (robot) anime, this means his injury involves something that threatened his cranium without threatening his hairdo. This makes for an interesting retrospective of his career and romantic trajectories… both of which are on the “shot down” side of a dogfight.

I seldom have dreams that recount past events, but I do recognize the feeling of living through very familiar events in a dream and yet feeling like a spectator, as if I have no agency in the matter. I end up saying things I wouldn’t in waking life, and I start thinking whether this is indeed my true feelings about things. Also interesting are what people say in the dream, and whether they are their true feeling about things – that I was only afraid to confront.

I’m no psychologist or dream interpreter. The things that stands out to me here is how close Hikaru was to that kiss with Minmay while they were still lost inside Macross, and how Misa ended up being an important figure in his life with him barely noticing it.

Episode 18 “Pineapple Salad”

From a narrative, Doylist perspective, this is why Roy Focker died: Roy Focker died for the sake of Max and Millya. The cast was getting crowded, and Roy Focker as a character had no narrative upside. He was Hikaru’s senpai and he already got Hikaru flying again, he already saw him get promoted. He hasn’t seen him get the girl yet, but even there he helped him along.

But as far as personal goals and character trajectories, Focker had none. This is not to say he had nothing to live for. It’s just that there were no big goals set out for him by the narrative beyond getting Hikaru started. His worth now, was being his ace pilot status, and in a somewhat subtle deployment of the Worf Effect, Focker died to solidify Millya’s status as the second best pilot in the show and have her showdown with Max.

I appreciate how it all played out, how Roy didn’t have a protracted dogfight, and was more like collateral damage. Not every fighter needs to flame out in a blaze of glory. Others can go in the confines of their love, strumming their guitar, each vibration sinking the shrapnel deeper in their bowels, the pain made into nothings in the face of all they’ve done in their brief but bloody lives.

Episode 19 “Burst Point”

Kamujin again plays the role of instant plot-mover, but I can’t complain about what actually happens. Defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory: The Macross got permission to disembark its noncombatant population in Canada, and it also developed an omnidirectional barrier. However, continued pressure from Zentraedi energy artillery caused it to overreact and destroy everything within 50 kilometers, including the city that would’ve provided succor to Macross’ refugees, and poor Kakizaki, who didn’t even get to finish his steak.

The guy was doomed from the start. An affable but obnoxiously loud fellow, Kakizaki was the opposite of Max, including in terms of piloting skill. It’s a testament to the technological superiority of the Variable Fighters how Kakizaki’s managed to survive the combat engagements he lived through. This time though, it doesn’t seem like a lack of piloting skill did him in. I thought he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, during when the narrative was dumping on Hikaru with tragedies big and small.

Episode 20 “Paradise Lost”

Or, Minmay’s gets a captive market. I may sound cynical, but that’s really how it is. I’m not dumping on Minmay though, this is part of what makes her as a character soooo interesting. Had the Macross City population disembarked, there’s a big chance that they’d disperse to be with their own families… as the city is populated by migrant workers – there are no native inhabitants in South Ataria Island. Minmay’s primary market would disappear, and she’d have to start from near-scratch if she wanted to be an idol in Japan. Not only did Minmay keep her audience, unbeknownst to her she’s growing a following by sheer word of mouth in the all-male Zentraedi horde.

But as for the people of Macross itself, their resulting exile after the devastating battle was a turning point: they now begin to really think of Macross as their home; as opposed to being a city of transients, there is some cause to think of it as more permanent location. The ship itself “sails” into a space filled with even more enemies as Britai returns to the theater of war bringing with him over a thousand ships.

The past year now seems like an idyll for Hikaru, relative to the past few weeks he’s lived through. It’s easier to think of the Macross as some kind of Paradise now lost – as he’s grown farther apart from Minmay, and lost his best friend Roy, and both his wingmen – Kakizaki to death, and Max due to promotion. There is no one for him to rely on anymore. He has to be “the man” now for himself and for the Macross. It sure feels lonely, Hikaru. There’s someone just as lonely… someone who did you the courtesy and honor of bringing the sad news of Roy’s death personally.

The Macross leaves Earth, Hikaru leaves a big part of his life behind, and Minmay owns the moment, singing of Beautiful Days:

Hoshi no suna no michiru umi
Atatakai hi o terikaesu
Chiisana OASHISU
Waga kokyou midori no chikyuu yo
Itsuka kitto kaeru darou
Dakara sore made sugata o kaezu ni
BYUUTIFURU PUREISU
IN MAI HAATOHaha no ude no naka omoidasu
Yutaka na daichi yo
Itsuka kitto kaeru darou
Dakara sore made yasashisa mitashite
BYUUTIFURU PUREISU
IN MAI HAATO

If anyone can translate this, leave a comment. I’d greatly appreciate it.

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Misa goes back to Earth, while Minmay goes deeper into the Kaifun Dimension. Thankfully, this storyline isn’t what makes this arc a great watch. More Zentraedi are now struck with Macross  pop culture-fever and they have Minmay in the head. Kamujin rages while Bodolle Zer is concerned. Laplamiz, Britai, and Exsedol are caught by surprise, while Millya begins to win by continuing to fail at everything she’s trying to do.

So much Zentraedi agency is a wonderful thing. It’s one of the things that make Macross just a little more than what Kawamori says what it is: “A love story set against the backdrop of great battles.” Not that I trust such sandbagging false modesty. Bah, the author is dead. Long live Macross!

Episode 21 “Micro Cosmos”

I personally think that this is the comedic high point of the show. There will be other moments that may perhaps induce bigger laughs, but the sight of Britai and Exsedol reacting to the Shao Pai Long film that really, really brings the show to lulzville.

I’m certain that the humor is intentional, in that Lynn Kaifun’s Chinese Kung-fu master movie persona shot an energy bolt from his fingertips to strike down a giant. It is uncertain how much of the general populace know that they are fighting against a race of alien giants, but this is a superb touch.

Bodolle Zer’s reaction however, isn’t as funny. It is however just as important as it pushes the urgency forward, as the Zentraedi and Miclone “races” now come into multiple areas of conflict. This is best exemplified I argue, by Millya.

Now it’s quite obvious that there are more overt examples of Zentraedi being attracted to the Miclone way of life – the 3 spies and their followers being such. This is, however an attraction towards the opposite. Warlike attracted by leisure-like, recreation-like. Millya is attracted by similarity. Admittedly, she came to the Macross to fight her rival, but we see this romance angle light years away.

This is the Zentraedi race conflicted with itself. It makes them less the antagonist race, but rather a fellow set of protagonists in the story. We’ll see when they stop being a bunch of characters that ‘things get done unto them’ and begin to be the kind who makes choices for themselves.

In other matters, the more I think about it, the more I believe that Misa’s attraction to Kaifun/ghost of Karl Riber is one of the weakest parts of the whole thing.

Episode 22 “Love Concert”

The tradition begins: concert = FIGHTING. Again, Kamujin serves as the plot swiss-army knife. If the Zentraedi are beginning to become protagonists, Kamujin has to play the part of the absolute villain. He and Bodolle Zer are static characters who merely want to keep the Zentraedi the way they are: Bodolle Zer enjoys conquering (maybe), Kamujin just loves violence.

Thus it is Kamujin first who deals with the conflict within the Zentraedi ranks (they’re excited to see Minmay), and it’s Bodolle Zer who reflects on this in his bigger scale. It’s been established how little Kamujin actually cares for his soldiers’ lives, so it’s no surprise how casually he shoots down the ‘defectors.’

The scene sells the point, but I don’t think it’s very well done. It showed the Zentraedi to be incompetent in the field and not a menacing horde of giants. The Zentraedi, outside of Kamujin, Britai, Bodolle Zer, Laplamiz and Millya, are pretty much something out of Beetle Bailey than they are from Band of Brothers.

Also notable in this episode is Hikaru’s rampage resulting in his largest killing-spree to date. Clearly, Kaifun is bad news for the Zentraedi (and everyone else). The thing is, Hikaru’s Battloid rampage was so spectacular that Max had to be featured in his usual significant way, so much so that Millya would be able to positively ID him (at least his Battloid).

Episode 23 “Drop-out”

The findings surprise no one: Zentraedi and Humans are genetically identical. I mean, they don’t surprise me. The Zentraedi have been portrayed to be culturally retarded humans thus far, and to make them non-human would be antithetical to any further attempts to a non-hegemonic peace… unless the whole point is to impose a Human Cultural Hegemony onto the Galaxy (I suppose it does happen… with Minmay at its center). In any case, a genetically inferior race will not be treated well. Their cultural differences will be treated as self-evident results of genetic inferiority. They may not even be treated as ‘fit’ to receive Human Culture.

Thus it is important in the narrative that the Zentraedi are genetically identical with humans. This is Misa’s mission to the UN SPACY Command, whose ideas of negotiating from a position of power, while sound, is founded on the stupidity of one energy weapon being able to level the fighting potential of the Zentraedi. Misa’s dad thinks he’s in a Gundam show from the future.

Episode 24 “Goodbye Girl”

As Misa leaves for Earth, and Minmay becomes further involved in the Kaifun dimension, something else has to happen love story wise. The perfect counterpoint to the complicated histrionics of the Misa x Hikaru x Minmay triangle is the very straightforward Max s Millya romance.

The conceit is: Millya wants to kill him (what are men good for anyway?), while Max who knows NOTHING about her, thinks she’s hot. While they duel in the video game arcade Millya is fighting for her life, with everything at stake, while Max is ogling her tits. This is amazing stuff.

For many YEARS since childhood I’ve daydreamt of cleaning out an arcade of money (making a living out of gaming LOL) just like Millya, and then meeting cute with some hot gamer (who I soundly beat) just like Max. Do not underestimate the power and charm of this scene. It’s humorously romantic, perfectly contrasting with the oftentimes facepalm-worthy histrionics of the main triangle.

Next episode: THE DATE IN THE PARK! YOU CAN’T EFFING MISS THIS!

This arc is the answer to the question: “What is Macross?” Kawamori Shoji, series creator described the show as a “love triangle set against the backdrop of great battles.” While this is only the creator’s own reading or claim about his work, and ultimately does not negate or deny any other possibility of Macross, it is what also happens to be the most satisfying answer as far as I’m concerned.

I can easily project my own reading upon this work. I can read it as an essay on the fallibility of public figures, from military leaders to pop idols. I can read it as a more authentic proselytizing against war/entreaty for peace via a violent anime for children. I can read it as an attempt towards a timeless entry in the space opera tradition. I will do none of these here. Instead I choose to prove Kawamori’s claim and in the process make it my own.

What I’m Not Saying

I’m not saying Macross isn’t any of the things I said I wouldn’t claim in this essay. I’m not saying Macross isn’t a space opera or a clever work of science fiction, or a solid entry in the tradition of real robot anime, or an exposé of the idol industry and the humanity of the pop idol. As far as I’m concerned, Macross is all these things to some degree.

What I do here is distinguish the love triangle, the love story aspect of the work as the primary offering of the whole thing. Viewers may value the different readings differently, but this isn’t about valuing as much as highlighting what’s so. Let us consider the episodes that make the case (I will be using the Wikipedia summaries for the episodes):

Episode 25 “Virgin Road”

Max encounters Milia in the park and a knife fight between them ensues when she reveals that she is a Zentradi. Max defeats her for the third time, sparing her life, and the two fall in love. Milia decides to join the Macross and their immediate marriage marks the first union between a human and Zentradi, causing celebrations everywhere along Macross City. Boddole Zer, on the other hand, doesn’t like the idea and plans to fix the ‘contamination’ that is human culture once and for all.

There are two side love stories in Macross, one tragic, one comic: Claudia x Roy, then Max x Millya respectively. One had to end to give way to the other in terms of narrative ‘exposure’ or ‘airtime.’ The love story of Max and Millya reaches its comic high point in their third duel (a knife fight in the park), which culminates in their wedding. Commodore Global shows his PR savvy by milking this wedding for all its worth, broadcasting it knowing that the Zentraedi are watching.

This, actually turns out to soak Global’s hands in the blood of 6 billion human beings, as the event convinced Bodolle Zer to stop faffing around and decisively exterminate all humans and all exposed to their (cultural) contagion. In this episode, the love story is in the foreground, the imminent destruction of humanity in the background.

Episode 26 “Messenger”

In a surprising turn of events, Exsedol Folmo is micronized and attempts to seek peace negotiations with the people of the Macross. During the negotiations, Exsedol reveals that the defection of the Zentradi soldiers could be related to a new cultural awakening caused by Minmay’s songs. Hikaru begins to long for Misa, who is still on Earth, trying to convince her father and the UN that the two races may have a chance of co-existing peacefully.

The Zentraedi ask for parley. I don’t think that they are genetically predisposed to negotiations, and Archivis Exsedol is too much of a scholar to actually make demands of the Miclones. Instead what happens is, highlighted by a terribad rendition of Watashi no kare wo pairotto how Exsedol practically established an accord by himself. It is notable that Britai’s command wherein which he belongs will be annihilated by Bodolle Zer, which makes them have to rely on the psychological power of the Minmay Defense, wherein which he requested she put on a show to accomplish 2 things:

1. Rally the Zentraedi ‘fans’ in Britai’s command; and
2. Administer a psychological shock to the Zentraedi yet to be exposed to not only her winsome vocal stylings, but also to her kissing Kaifun.

I appreciate how Exsedol greeted Millya, not without a tinge of envy or at least appreciation of what she’s been able to do (got married).

Episode 27 “Love Drifts Away”

A epic battle for the Earth takes place when Boddole Zer’s main fleet of over 4,000,000 warships fold above Earth’s atmosphere. Using the power of culture from Lynn Minmay’s singing, the Macross, along with its allied Zentradi fleet, attempts a daring last stand to Boddole Zer’s forces. Heroes will die, a world may fall, but will love prevail?

THE TITLE ALONE, says so much. It’s not called the final battle, or some such. It’s called “Love Drifts Away.” True to form, it starts with Hikaru’s overdue confession to Minmay. The odds of winning against 4,000,000 capitol ships are too much mathematics for me to determine, and he just had to say it now. And while Minmay was turning Hikaru down, Bodolle Zer’s Grand Fleet destroys the entirety of the Earth’s surface in a great extra atmospheric barrage.

There was no further negotiation, no desperate defense mounted to save the Earth. Bodolle Zer didn’t dick around. He never let the Miclone-Zentraedi rebel alliance mount any kind of defense on time. One would expect the Earth to be saved by the good guys. No, not in Macross. This silly love story doesn’t mess around with its climactic battle. It was only after the Earth got scorched, and with the realization that the citizens of Macross city may be among the last survivors of humanity that the alliance gets to counterattack.

Hikaru in fact, contributes this strategic counterattack involving Minmay. Structurally, what Macross was able to do here is to involve Minmay in a military operation, which puts her on the same stage as Hikaru and Misa – she’s actually the STAR of that very stage wherein a soldier would normally play the leading role. As such, the love triangle is set to be in the foreground of the great battle.

And great indeed it is, while the alliance forces are preparing their counteroffensive, UN SPACY gives Earth its last (and only gasp) when the Grand Cannon fired, destroying an entire section of the Grand Fleet (I can imagine about a quarter million ships lost in that one attack). This attack threw the Bodolle Zer fleet in disarray which created the opening for the alliance forces to begin its counteroffensive.

Another noteworthy thing that happens here is that Hikaru, the main protagonist in the series gets shot down in the middle of the battle. He will not be involved in what would be the victorious barrage against the final boss. He’s not part of it at all. When does this happen in robot anime? NEVER.

Why does Macross do this? Hikaru piloting his damaged VF-1S to Earth allows him to move on (or, away) from his rejection by Minmay and rescue Misa from the wreckage of the Grand Cannon and put her on his lap in the single-seater cockpit. As Minmay sings “Love Drifts Away” (only for Hikaru, just for today), the battle approaches its climax, Hikaru bids her goodbye in his mind and he finds Misa.

The Macross punctures Bodolle Zer’s asteroid-sized ship and fires hundreds of reaction warheads, taking it out and the surrounding section of the Grand Fleet. The Macross lands on Earth triumphantly, albeit to find the Earth barren and punctured with holes. Still, with its back against the sun, Hikaru and Misa ride towards it and into the sunset. For now, the triangle is undone, resolved against the background of the greatest battle the Earth has ever seen.

Episode 28 “My Album”

Two years have passed after the final battle with Boddole Zer. The Macross is now a relic of the conflict known as Space War I, and sits in a large lake in barren Alaska. Earth is still a desolate wasteland, and small towns and forests are located miles around Macross City.

The allied Zentradi fleets, along with the citizens from the Macross, maintain a nervous peace. The work to rebuild Earth by both sides is in full swing. Hikaru looks back on the times spent with Roy Focker for advice on what do about his feelings for both Misa and Minmay.

I had always thought that the best way to end a most awesome, feel-good ending is for it not to end. Maybe I started thinking this way when I first saw Macross in 1984 but I doubt it. Now every Macross episode, including “Love Drifts Away,” ended with the ED “Runner” wherein a live action photo album turns to reveal 2D photos which are pin-up-like illustrations of the main cast.

I thought it only fitting this episode is called “My Album” as it works as the transition to the extended story. It’s both the ED and the preview to the next (arc) episode. A lot can be said about the post-war storyline that very few anime outside of Macross do take on, but I’ll deal with those fun things in the succeeding posts. But for now, it’s enough to acknowledge that 2 years after the great battle, the love triangle is re-forming. Will you love me tomorrow?

[SPOILERS FOR MACROSS]

Kawamori Shoji, creator of the Macross franchise said that in Super Dimension Fortress Macross/Macross: Do You Remember Love? “(Hikaru is the hero) Misa is the heroine, Minmay is the star.” I always thought of this as rather brilliant. It was a great way to set up the resolution of the conflict, which really was that of a love triangle (set against the backdrop of great battles).

Misa pilots the Macross itself, takes the lead in negotiating against the Zentraedi under duress, and wins the triangle. Minmay, on the other hand becomes the pop idol that is the fulcrum by which the lever of the war was pulled over; she also became the symbol and most recognizable character of the show, if not the franchise itself. It divvied up the spoils to be had in and around the show, in a manner of speaking, which resulted in both characters leaving strong impressions on the viewers; each having her own set of loyal fans.

This is NOT a Misa vs. Minmay post.

Misa saves the day, or at least a very big part of an active life of saving the day. As mentioned, she takes command of tough situations, and makes innovative tactical decisions. But just as important, is how it is she who basically straightens Hikaru out. Minmay was the reason why Hikaru enlisted, but it’s Misa who makes a soldier out of the pilot. Hikaru’s growth, maturity, and responsibility are things I willingly attribute to the contribution of Misa in his life (along with Roy and Claudia).

Minmay, on the other hand is the star from which the show cannot be stolen from. The show depends so much from the success of her rise to stardom, and the effect of her stardom on history itself. Yes, she sang during the greatest of battles. But remember, it’s Hikaru’s idea that she do so, endorsed by Exsedol. But as far as Minmay was concerned, that time, she sang only for Hikaru.

With all the fail that happens in her life, and what she accumulates for herself, Minmay is the shining star of the show. She is the music of Macross itself.

Or does the line mean something else? [DigitalBoy’s Interpretation]

In dating sim/harem games, the girls that will potentially end up with the main character are often called “heroines.” (See, for instance, merchandise for ef, which tends to focus on this word in describing the female characters.) Whether or not this is a common phenomenon of the Japanese language, or how far back it dates, I do not know, but my reaction to the word “heroine” is “the girl whose story path you’re on.”

What exactly does it mean, and why is it special, that the heroine and the star are two different girls in this case?

The way I see it, more often than not, those two are one and the same, where identifiable. Take any show that has the heroine’s name in the title, and in which there is competition for the affections of the main lead. For instance, Shakugan no Shana, Yumekui Merry, or even Toradora. In these shows, Shana, Merry, and Taiga are the obvious stars of the show respectively, and each quite clearly is the favorite or eventual winner of the lead’s affection.

Minmay has the obvious star quality. She’s the one who goes beyond normal—who is spectacular in some way. Misa is more of the childhood friend or unlucky tsundere girl that will put up a fight for the lead’s affection throughout the show even though she obviously won’t win. Or even, since she isn’t exactly boring, you could consider her like the Nagato Yuki or Asahina Mikuru to Minmay’s Haruhi. It isn’t obvious that Misa would win Hikaru’s afffection, even though it was a persistent option, because she isn’t the star.

—end of digitalboy—

This is why I think Digiboy’s interpretation of this is interesting: again, SDFM is a love story—a love triangle at that. It makes perfect sense to me to bring onboard a more traditional romance anime perspective to Macross. I do think that Misa is far less interesting character, despite all her virtues. Her failings, including that time when she got shit-faced in a bar (classic) seem so much less remarkable than the many obvious, and spectacular failures of Minmay.

There is a kind of ‘star’ phenomenon that I’ve taken notice of. However this has to do with supporting characters or antagonists who ‘steal’ the show. Granted, protagonists who are ‘heroes’ tend to be less interesting than their counterparts. Some examples:

• Nausicaa/Kushana
• Amuro Ray/Char Aznable
• Simon/Kamina
• McNulty/Omar
• Jin-tan/Yukiatsu

Mind you, this is distinct from the trope called ensemble darkhorse, who may have examples of characters who don’t necessarily do things that steal the show, and yet become wildly popular anyway… maybe like digiboy in this post?

The show is deservedly praised for being one of the few narratives to boldly depict a post-war story where the war actually happened in the beginning of the narrative. But why? What’s really inside these episodes that extended this series beyond Misa and Hikaru dashing towards the Macross and the sunset?

What’s here is an extended account of failure from almost all sectors of the show: from the inability of the Zentraedi to integrate with human civilian life, from the arrogance of the humans in that they can just colonize the ‘cultureless’ Zentraedi with their Minmay mono-culture, from the opportunistic capitalist privateering of Kaifun in commodifying Minmay’s cultural cachet, from the discovery by the Zentraedi that they are but Satan’s Dolls – a genetically manufactured military sub-species of the Protoculture, from the slow decay and dissipation of both Zentraedi and human war potential (material resources), to…

…Kaifun putting an entire city at risk for petty ‘emancipation politics’ that he ultimately says “have nothing to do with us [Minmay],” to Kamujin using human-style hostage terrorist tactics (and being utterly fail at facing countermeasures), to Minmay’s inability to affect Kamujin and Lap’lamiz with ‘culture shock,’ to Minmay’s rapidly dissolving ability and motivation as a performer, to Kaifun’s response to Misa’s successful rescue operation, to Misa being a complete doormat for Hikaru and still unable to take charge of her own feelings, and to Hikaru OH MY GOD being an utter insensitive douchebag towards Misa.

I love it… all of it.

Why? So much for ‘happily ever after’ bitches. Sure, SDF Macross is a flighty fantasy, but it really does indulge a whole lot of darkness and grimness in this stretch. True to form, against the backdrop of societal, galactic, and interracial/species conflict, it is the failures of human maturity that take the forefront in the story. We always knew that Misa was kind of fail – given her lack of personal strength and conviction involving Karl Riber mysteriously conflated with Lynn Kaifun, but here her wishy-washiness over Hikaru subjected us all to seeing her play victim to his moronic selfishness.

We’ve seen Hikaru fall from sympathetic victim of Minmay’s self-centeredness and utter lack of sense, to this incredible douchebag who clearly isn’t over Minmay and then takes Misa for granted in such a rude, insensitive, and annoyingly callous manner. This I believe has greatly shifted the matrix of heroism in some significant way: We now have Misa as the suffering heroine (formerly held by Hikaru), while Hikaru becomes the misguided hero that is both object of love and antagonist to Misa. The ominous thing is: HIS WORST HAS YET TO COME.

Minmay also is subjected to a fall. Her career is a mess. Her relationship with Kaifun is sick. She waffles between motivations for performing, and only now acknowledges her own feelings for Hikaru. I don’t buy it that she’s never had feelings for him up until now. She’s just never valued them as much as she does now. But she’s already this trainwreck, who surprisingly hasn’t turned to substance abuse the same way Kaifun has begun to. But then again, she’s being played up to be sympathetic by the story. This is the set up for the leveling of the love triangle just before the finale resolves it.

Outside the triangle, some interesting things have happened too:

A joint operation headed by Britai to secure the Zentraedi factory satellite is an utter joy to watch. Britai is, I believe, a far more capable combat commander than Global is. I feel that the very best of the Macross’ crew were put to incredible use by the able Britai. I can watch an entire series of him commanding a ship.

The Jenius family is genius: the show does not hold back with the slices of life after the great space war. Marriage and child-rearing suits both Max and Millya. Millya’s fish out of the water tactlessness is an endearing counterpoint to the cartoon-villain awkwardness of Lap’lamiz appropriating/making ‘culture’ with Kamujin, who she supposedly manipulates. Two things stand out in Millya as mother: the baby-toss across the room to Misa, then bringing her daughter Komillya not only in the front lines, but straight into a room full of hostile Zentraedi. Mind you she can’t pilot her VF while she’s holding up her daughter for everyone to see. Batshit insane, and awesomely so. Again, Max presents this solid togetherness as the counterpoint to Hikaru and his liquid mess of a loverboy in a love triangle.

The fail doesn’t quite end in this arc, as the show continues to present how much further the societies are from creating a peaceful civilization, as the show continues to present the romantic heroes persist in their triangular deadlock not because of the force of their characters but due entirely to their failures as human beings.