Macross Launch Day

I figured I should have written about the Macross series as a whole sooner or later, and today seems to be a good day for it. It happens to be the launch date of the SDF-1 Macross, as well as mankind's first alien encounter, war, etc. Awesomeness.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross was created around the time when the first Mobile Suit Gundam aired. I mean, back in the 80s, what young boy didn't like big robots?

Macross played around with 3 major themes, one of which was the idea of transforming jet fighters (hello decepticons? o_O) called Valkyries. I certainly think it's an awesome idea, despite going against nearly all the physics knowledge I have. The second theme is the power of music and song, which will be explained later. Thirdly and least important, there are love triangles of some sort. I know, it's lame. But hey, we're living in the 80s.

According to the Macross story, a war breaks out between humans and the Zentradi, an alien race that arrives just as the SDF-1 Macross is launched. The Macross attempts to fold (or warp) away from the attacking Zentradi, but accidentally takes the island below with them into space. The people on the island were rescued from their supposedly airtight shelters and inhabit the Macross itself. I have no idea how this would actually work, but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief.

So where does music fit in here? The humans eventually learn that the Zentradi were 'made' as proxy warriors who live only to fight, and are psychologically shocked by culture (music, love, etc). And aboard the Macross is Lynn Minmei, who becomes a famous pop singer and eventually sings to stop the war. Cue awesome valkyrie fight scenes and music.


Fast forward to 2043 (1994 actually), humans and Zentradi live together peacefully. Many new Macross ships have been launched from earth to colonize other planets. We then get a new alien, the Protodeviln who attacks the Macross 7, hence the title of the new series. The Protodeviln are revealed to require "spiritia" to live, a form of energy that humans and Zentradi produce on their own.

Macross 7 introduces Nekki Basara, a lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Fire Bomber. It is eventually revealed that his music generates "anima spiritia", a form of spiritia that can restore people's lost spiritia, but is too pure for the Protodeviln to absorb. Again, cue awesome valkyrie fight scenes and music. Personally, Macross 7 is my favourite.


Most recently (set in 2059), we have Macross Frontier, where yet another new alien attacks, called the Vajra. This time, we get two singers: Sheryl Nome, and Ranka Lee. Of course, music helps drive the aliens away, but this time more logically sound. There are lots of references to the original Macross with regards to characters and events. Last but not least, cue awesome valkyrie fight scenes and music.


There are a few more Macross series, such as Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Macross II: Lovers Again, Macross Plus, Macross Dynamite 7, and Macross Zero. For those who haven't watched anything from the series, I would recommend starting with Do You Remember Love? and Macross Plus. They are relatively short and should get you on your way for the more modern stuff like Macross Zero and Macross Frontier. I can't really recommend Macross 7 despite it being my favourite; watch only if you have a high tolerance for old shows.


...cue awesome valkyrie fight scenes and music.