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[EviLore]

Macross Plus, a four part anime OVA, came out on August 25th, 1994, so this marks the 30th anniversary. It was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe (director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo), with Shoji Kawamori (creator of Macross and Escaflowne) as chief director and mechanical designer, and music by Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Turn A Gundam, GitS:SAC).

Looking back on it, this was the golden age of anime: beautiful hand-drawn animation, mature storytelling, and highly prescient science fiction concepts. Macross Plus tackles the idea of near-future military pilots being rendered obsolete by unmanned AI-powered drones, in a self-contained story that follows up on the original Macross series. Its vision of the future is harrowingly accurate in many ways, with our increasing reliance on AI and drones, and it even predicts the eventual success of Hatsune Miku.

If you haven't watched it, I strongly recommend.

 

[Robot Carnival]

ok science people, we got the vtubers, AI and drones parts down. how about we get on that transforming fighting planes with homing missle barrage now?

 

[Dirk Benedict]

My dude wants Sharon Apple IRL.

 

[EviLore]

My dude wants Sharon Apple IRL.

The OG Joi!

 

[kunonabi]

The Crunchyroll store has a fancy new bluray set up for preorder: https://store.crunchyroll.com/produ...tion-crunchyroll-exclusive-5037899090312.html

I pretty much hate all of Macross outside of what got rolled into Robotech but I absolutely adore the movie version of Macross Plus.

 

[near]

The Crunchyroll store has a fancy new bluray set up for preorder: https://store.crunchyroll.com/produ...tion-crunchyroll-exclusive-5037899090312.html

I pretty much hate all of Macross outside of what got rolled into Robotech but I absolutely adore the movie version of Macross Plus.

I was close to ordering this a few weeks back but then bailed out. I want to rewatch SDFM first and it's literally not available anywhere in any form. :/

 

[The Cockatrice]

Never watched Macross. Ill add it to my watchlist. Should I start with 0 and then the shows/ovas?(plus, 7, F, etc.)?

 

[EviLore]

I was close to ordering this a few weeks back but then bailed out. I want to rewatch SDFM first and it's literally not available anywhere in any form. :/

Harmony Gold has been blocking the release of SDF Macross in NA for decades, and the official Japanese box set is kidney-level expensive. No harm in pursuing alternative means. And yeah, the new Plus collector's edition does look good.

Never watched Macross. Ill add it to my watchlist. Should I start with 0 and then the shows/ovas?(plus, 7, F, etc.)?

Plus can be watched without seeing anything else. If you're interested in starting with the classics for full context, you can do the original SDF Macross TV series --> Macross: Do You Remember Love ---> Macross Plus --> Zero, 7, Frontier, Delta. Macross II was removed from the canonical timeline but was supposed to be a sequel to SDF/DYRL.

Or you could do chronologically and start with Zero, but I generally think order of release makes more sense since that's how everyone experienced it.

 

[EekTheKat]

TIL - that Bryan Cranston was in the NA/English dub.

I remember liking that it was set in this

Spoiler

future ATF test environment between cutting edge planes/mechs(at the time)

and that the fighter designs they had was really cool.

One of the main story threads - if memory serves - is actually more relevant today than it ever was thanks to the

Spoiler

rise of AI and autonomous vehicles being chased by big tech.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I pretty much hate all of Macross outside of what got rolled into Robotech but I absolutely adore the movie version of Macross Plus.

Macross: Do You Remember Love:

 

[ManaByte]

You can't have any Macross thread without saying FUCK HARMONY GOLD

 

[AJUMP23]

I will give this a watch. I think I have only ever watched the Min Mea OG Macross.

 

[John Bilbo]

I didn't know this existed. Will watch. Thank you!

 

[Mistake]

Macross has been on my to watch list for ages. I'm a sucker for 80's style anime, so thanks for the heads up

 

[jason10mm]

You can't have any Macross thread without saying FUCK HARMONY GOLD

I don't see how that entity has made enough money to survive all these years doing fuck all with Robotech. I know they "won" some sort of deal a few years back that probably injected a lot of $$$ into the company and allowed distribution of Macross stuff, but really, they do NOTHING with Robotech other than sponge off poor Toby Macguire, if he is even still involved in this mythic live action adaptation.

 

[Trogdor1123]

30 years old… great show but man I feel old.

 

[The_hunter]

Never seen it, but I like Watanabe. I'll watch it at some point.

 

[killatopak]

I think I've only watched Macross 7, bits of Frontier and around half of the first Macross.

Sometimes I wonder how it became so big from the first series. I mean the action, robots and the Macross itself is super cool but the story is just subpar. The pace is so glacial, I never came back once that lead girl became a celebrity. I get the feeling that the focus isn't on the aliens, action or the tech but the fucked up love story between the main leads.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

The first Macross thing I ever watched but I was a newfag. I was like 16, I did like it but maybe I should revisit it one day. Also seen Frontier and Zero later on. Remember liking both of them as well. OG and DYRL? Is on the list too.

 

[Ishma3L]

Bryan Cranston in the role of a lifetime. That and voicing Fei Long in Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie.

 

[Wheeljack539]

Macross Plus, a four part anime OVA, came out on August 25th, 1994, so this marks the 30th anniversary. It was directed by Shinichiro Watanabe (director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo), with Shoji Kawamori (creator of Macross and Escaflowne) as chief director and mechanical designer, and music by Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Turn A Gundam, GitS:SAC).

Looking back on it, this was the golden age of anime: beautiful hand-drawn animation, mature storytelling, and highly prescient science fiction concepts. Macross Plus tackles the idea of near-future military pilots being rendered obsolete by unmanned AI-powered drones, in a self-contained story that follows up on the original Macross series. Its vision of the future is harrowingly accurate in many ways, with our increasing reliance on AI and drones, and it even predicts the eventual success of Hatsune Miku.

If you haven't watched it, I strongly recommend.

This was the pinnacle of the Macross franchise before it turned into a Magical Fighters & Girls series. Macross Frontier seemed to bring it back but that one episode with the Zentran trying to start shit back up with a Quamzin expy only to go stupid when Ranka showed up had me dropping the series.

Harmony Gold has been blocking the release of SDF Macross in NA for decades, and the official Japanese box set is kidney-level expensive. No harm in pursuing alternative means. And yeah, the new Plus collector's edition does look good.

Plus can be watched without seeing anything else. If you're interested in starting with the classics for full context, you can do the original SDF Macross TV series --> Macross: Do You Remember Love ---> Macross Plus --> Zero, 7, Frontier, Delta. Macross II was removed from the canonical timeline but was supposed to be a sequel to SDF/DYRL.

Or you could do chronologically and start with Zero, but I generally think order of release makes more sense since that's how everyone experienced it.

A few years ago Sony strong armed both Harmony Gold and Studio Nue to play nice with each other. Macross can now come in legally but it's on whoever wants to bring what series in.

However it's likely that it's still difficult to accomplish. Back in 1999 at Anime Expo I attended the Macross panel that was hosted by Robert Westwood who was the head of Animeigo (and recently had a successful Macross II Kickstarter earlier this year). He said they along with some other companies looked into bringing Macross 7 over however the series had separate rights for the footage and the music. Victor Entertainment who has the rights to the music was said to have charged so much for them that in the end it just wasn't worth pursuing as a series. As since then each Macross series has continued to have heavy emphasis on music, sans Zero, those music rights might still be a factor in why some companies may balk at bringing it over.

Not to mention there's the tangled rights situation for DYRL that involves a number of different Japanese companies.

You can't have any Macross thread without saying FUCK HARMONY GOLD

I know it many ways it's deserved but I've been in those offices a few times, like those guys and knew a lot more background stuff than I should but it still sucks to see them get hate like this.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I remember renting these on VHS from Blockbuster back in the day. Pretty sure this or Ninja Scroll were the first anime I ever watched. Great starting point either way.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

You've sold it to me

 

[NecrosaroIII]

I've only watched SDF Macross and Do You Remember Love. I thought they were okay, but I've heard the sequels were kinda whatever. How is Plus specifically?

 

[EviLore]

I know it many ways it's deserved but I've been in those offices a few times, like those guys and knew a lot more background stuff than I should but it still sucks to see them get hate like this.

Harmony Gold deserves all the hate and more. The founder was a criminal and they bullied everyone they could with unjustified lawsuits, claiming ownership of the concept of transforming fighter jets among other things, which caused a lot of good gaming studios grief and financial strain. They don’t deserve to exist.

 

[Sub_Level]

My dad had me watch the VHS tapes as a kid. Great film/OVA.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Had the Spanish VHS of Macross Plus... I kind of remember not liking this one as much as the original series or the "Do you remember, love" movie. In fact I think I even liked Macross 7 more mostly because of the music. I used to buy all the VHS whenever I found them in stores. I would like to watch it again to see whether I just didn't pay enough attention to these OVAs.

(Edited: Feeling old now that I notice Project A-Ko is nearing its 40th anniversary, I remember buying those out of a whim because I couldn't find anything Macross-related at a store once).

 

[Thaedolus]

Damn, that makes me feel old. I guess it’s time for a rewatch. They don’t make them like this anymore

 

[West Texas CEO]

Looking back on it, this was the golden age of anime

Facts.

 

[Thaedolus]

Honestly Robotech on Toonami was one of the things that got me into anime as a kid- then talking with my junior high math teacher, she told me to go to Hollywood Video which had a VHS sub of DYRL. I dunno how they had it or if it was legit but that animation was so jaw dropping compared to the TV show I had been watching, and naturally being closer to the source material felt completely different. Got me into checking out more OVAs and such and I was hooked on this era of anime

 

[RSLAEV]

This was one of the best series we showed back in my undergrad anime club. I want to say that we showed the fansubs before the commercial release but I'm not sure.

 

[Wheeljack539]

Harmony Gold deserves all the hate and more. The founder was a criminal and they bullied everyone they could with unjustified lawsuits, claiming ownership of the concept of transforming fighter jets among other things, which caused a lot of good gaming studios grief and financial strain. They don’t deserve to exist.

From what I had been told it was a contract stipulation in that they had to defend their property or risk losing it. That's why in the early 2000s that they started to doing that (which led George Sohn to leaving Toycom to form Toynami for better or worse) since they at that point had a team that actually knew about the property (the 90s saw them lose a lot of people to Saban for Power Rangers).

I am curious though about the gaming studios as I only recall Gametek for the N64 game and then TDK for Battlecry and Invasion.

 

[jason10mm]

Harmony Gold deserves all the hate and more. The founder was a criminal and they bullied everyone they could with unjustified lawsuits, claiming ownership of the concept of transforming fighter jets among other things, which caused a lot of good gaming studios grief and financial strain. They don’t deserve to exist.

And hey, Harmony Gold works with Palladium for the Robotech RPG and that abortion of a miniatures game kickstarter....criminals working with criminals!!!

Not that I got TOTALLY burned on that kickstarter....nope.

The Macross arcade scrolling shooters were lots of fun. I wish we got a good mech combat game following the story (though I'm only familiar with Robotech's version), would have LOVED to play a game where you could be some of the 'lesser' mechs, most of those designs were the best Battletech ones

 

[EviLore]

From what I had been told it was a contract stipulation in that they had to defend their property or risk losing it. That's why in the early 2000s that they started to doing that (which led George Sohn to leaving Toycom to form Toynami for better or worse) since they at that point had a team that actually knew about the property (the 90s saw them lose a lot of people to Saban for Power Rangers).

I am curious though about the gaming studios as I only recall Gametek for the N64 game and then TDK for Battlecry and Invasion.

There was massive overreach of their copyright claims, far beyond appropriately defending their IP, and eventually their lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice once companies with enough resources to stand up to them were involved.

Some of it is detailed on the Harmony Gold Wikipedia, but it’s been documented thoroughly around the internet if you’re interested. Let’s not derail further though.

 

[Thaedolus]

Don’t forget the soundtrack to Plus, it’s pretty awesome and I feel like I don’t see it mentioned too often:



…maybe because Kanno is viewed as a plagiarist now?

Edit:

Huh, I went looking for more info and it doesn’t seem like there’s too much about those accusations, I thought it caused quite a stir a while back

 

[EviLore]

Don’t forget the soundtrack to Plus, it’s pretty awesome and I feel like I don’t see it mentioned too often:



…maybe because Kanno is viewed as a plagiarist now?

Edit:

Huh, I went looking for more info and it doesn’t seem like there’s too much about those accusations, I thought it caused quite a stir a while back

Yes, I stopped being a fan of hers when I listened to side by side comparisons many years ago. Too many instances of nearly 1:1 copy-pasting of compositions to ignore. And she got away with it.



That said, the Macross Plus soundtrack is still killer.

 

[yet_another_alt]

I've only watched SDF Macross and Do You Remember Love. I thought they were okay, but I've heard the sequels were kinda whatever. How is Plus specifically?

I personally feel that Plus is the only one worth rewatching. The other series, I'll just grab clips of Max Jenius and that's all I care about.

 

[jason10mm]

Yes, I stopped being a fan of hers when I listened to side by side comparisons many years ago. Too many instances of nearly 1:1 copy-pasting of compositions to ignore. And she got away with it.



That said, the Macross Plus soundtrack is still killer.

Eh, that EDM techno stuff all sounds the same, next you'll tell me heavy metal is just sped up classical compositions

 

[Thaedolus]

Yeah of all the different releases, I think Plus and Do You Remember the Love? are the two that I'd go back and watch these days. The animation quality alone for DYRL is just unreal for the time.

 

[STARSBarry]

Had this on order since the 13 Jun, what's really good is it includes the OVA and Movie editions. The movie edition is great and the one to watch, but it also cuts out the development arc and also an amazing opening section which boggles my mind why it was cut from the movie, it adds a little context to one of the main characters of why he's returning home but also in my opinion one of the best battle scenes in macross.



Sorry for low quality, only one I could fine, but if you have only seen the movie version, you would never see this.

So this edition is effectively perfect.

 

[Thaedolus]

Yes, I stopped being a fan of hers when I listened to side by side comparisons many years ago. Too many instances of nearly 1:1 copy-pasting of compositions to ignore. And she got away with it.



That said, the Macross Plus soundtrack is still killer.

Again, making me feel dated seeing when that was posted because I'm pretty sure that's the series of comparisons I listened to....16 years ago?!?

 

[near]

Don’t forget the soundtrack to Plus, it’s pretty awesome and I feel like I don’t see it mentioned too often:



…maybe because Kanno is viewed as a plagiarist now?

Edit:

Huh, I went looking for more info and it doesn’t seem like there’s too much about those accusations, I thought it caused quite a stir a while back

Yoko Kanno is one of the goats. I don't believe she plagiarised anything, her work is distinctively hers, it has a specific identity. Nothing ever came of the accusations because it wasn't proven. You can pay homage in music like in films, or be inspired by sound. When you have a body of work like she does, it's really hard for me to accept that she is a fraud.

 

[Thaedolus]

Yoko Kanno is one of the goats. I don't believe she plagiarised anything, her work is distinctively hers, it has a specific identity. Nothing ever came of the accusations because it wasn't proven. You can pay homage in music like in films, or be inspired by sound. When you have a body of work like she does, it's really hard for me to accept that she is a fraud.

Eh the examples in the video EviLore posted are pretty objectively 1:1, or if not 1:0.9 IMO....like once or twice could be coincidence but there's example after example

 

[EviLore]

Had this on order since the 13 Jun, that's really good is it includes the OVA and Movie editions. The movie edition is great and the one to watch, but it also cuts out the development arc and also an amazing opening section which boggles my mind why it was cut from the movie, it adds a little context to one of the main characters of why he's returning home but also in my opinion one of the best battle scenes in macross.



Sorry for low quality, only one I could fine, but if you have only seen the movie version, you would never see this.

It’s been over 20 years since I compared the two versions, but my conclusion back then was that the OVA was the definitive way to watch. The film version is by no means bad but it cuts essential content and iirc the climax was changed in a way that it wasn’t as impactful. It has some new scenes and improved animation too though (not that the OVA’s animation needed improving) so it’s good to have both.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Macross >>>> Gundam.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Im gonna buy in Xmas, a Mecha Vehicle of Macross

 

[near]

Eh the examples in the video EviLore posted are pretty objectively 1:1, or if not 1:0.9 IMO....like once or twice could be coincidence but there's example after example

I just listened to it a few times, yeah, there are clear similarities in those examples. By no means are they the same compositions, and similarities in sound are inevitable.

 

[Thaedolus]

I just listened to it a few times, yeah, there are clear similarities in those examples. By no means are they the same compositions, and similarities in sound are inevitable.

Eh, I don't fault artists for riffing off material they've heard before, but there's a difference between riffing and copying. It can be a grey area, but again: example after example of it being very close to the original material

 

[EviLore]

Macross >>>> Gundam.

I think overall Gundam > Macross, but they’re both cool. The original Macross stuff is great and Macross Plus is one of the best anime ever, but the contemporary works...eh. I haven’t watched Frontier or Delta though since they really didn’t look like my kind of show.

Gundam meanwhile has Tomino, who kept doing quality work for decades: MS Gundam, Zeta, ZZ, Char’s Counterattack, F91, Victory, Turn A, and Reconguista in G. Plus there’s so much other good stuff like 0080, 0083, 08th MS Team, the various AU shows, etc.

Gundam arguably deserves to be the bigger IP, but I’m looking forward to the announced Sunrise Macross series. Maybe that can bring things back full circle.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Macross >>>> Gundam.

Hahhahahahahaha

No.