aka: Macross, Robotech (technically) and what i like to call it mah-KU-ross (watch the intro song and you'll understand....)
So yeah, i guess i have a little story time to go with this. When my father was a kid he used to watch this show (again it was technically robotech but it's pretty much the same thing...) and i would constantly hear him talk about it though at the time i had no idea he was talking about an anime.
Fast forward many years and my friend lends me a boxset and sais "it's good, you'll like it"
I was weary cause i have never been a fan of sci-fi.... but maybe they wouldn't go into space and i'd be fine with it...
then they went into space.... but oddly it didn't bug me.
Most of the story takes place on the bridge or in the town inside the Macross and the space battles aren't that often.... they don't supernova anything or go anywher near a black hole.... sure they technically destroy a few planets but at least in one case they do their best to fix it after.... this is probably the only sci-fi show i have ever watched that i'm completely fine with.
if i were to make a bar grading where sci-fi shows end up it would be.
Macross--->Voices of a distant star---> Gurren Lagaan---> Gunbester
so pretty much Macross as perfectly fine and gunbuster as having to leave the room and have panic attacks while it's playing.
but yeah it's odd cause Macross is actually pretty horrific, there are lots of dead bodies show or people getting blown up is terrible ways.... but i think i know why i'm not bothered by it.
The animation is some of the worst animation i've ever seen... people bitch about gurren lagaan's 4th episode being done at like 4 framed per second.... that is nothing.... multiple episodes of Macross are at an abysmal frame rate where people are pretty much teleporting across room.
There is re-used animation is almost every episode... you know that zentradi ship that gets blown up in the intro? you'll see it at least 5 more times... if not more.
Enjoyed Minmei's my boyfriends a pilot animation? at least three mroe times and i think another time but at least they changed the outfit.
characters stare off in different directions pretty much 85% of the time... seriously... eyes don't work like that.... also the shines they use are odd and distracting.
Some frames have bits wrongly coloured? good thing it was used during bits where characters are talking so the colours can flash with every lip movement.
it's hilarious how bad the animation is.... cause you can tell they were trying so hard and some things have the possibility of being good.... it's just not realized as often as it needed to be.
animation quirks aside what is it about?
The macross landed on an island many years ago and after all of earth unified thanks to the cleverly named Unification War the army tries to fix up the alien battleship in order to possibly go into space.
Unfortunately right when the macross is set to make it's maiden voyage another group of aliens come into earths airspace and the ship auto attacks..... essentially starting a war... way to go ship.
still the macross needs to get away from the town so they use something called the Space Fold which allow them to get away...
yeah too bad they bring the entire town with them.... luckily the shelters the civilians ran to are all super strong and they didn't die immediately being exposed to the vacuum of space...
anyways the city is essentially bought on bored and rebuild within the warship.
Meanwhile Hikaru Ichijo had been invited to the celebration by his Sempai Roy Foker and ends up in one of the military planes and soon after he bumps into Lynn Minmei (the show changes the spelling of this a few times but thats the one that i will use) and they work together to get back on the ship after they are flung into space as well... again good thing hikaru's ship is strong enough to withstand the vacuum of space... all very convenient.
after getting back to the city within the ship Hikaru is eventually convinced to join the military by his sempai because he's sucha good pilot and they need all the help they can get. He's against killing people but h wants to keep the town safe so he agrees.
some things to note before i go on.
I feel this entire show is just one giant social commentary on japanese society (at least them in the 80s). Japan is known for being fairly sexist (a different kind of sexist then north america but sexist none the less) extremely Xenophobic and extremely against Public displays of affection.
So we have a bridge that is almost completely run by women.... All top of their respective fields and in positions of power.
The bridge crew all hail from different parts of the world and none of them are stereotypes.
and main weapon they use against the enemy is, and i kinda wish i was kidding, public displays on affection. The fact that men and women are even near each other is a culture shock to the aliens...
so yeah.... just wanted to point that out before getting to the good and the bad.
The good:
The story, i really like it... it could have gone more indepth about a civilian becoming a soldier but they come back to it by the end.
The fact that it was cancelled and then brought back.
from what i understand it was supposed to end at 26 episodes... so all those plot threads were tied up.... but then something happened and it got another 10 episodes.... those ten episodes are great because it doesn't feel like "fight of the week" we learn about other characters and get perfect Pairings and a certain character gets whats coming to them. more on that later.
no character is safe, this is war and in war people die.
The not so good:
again animation is so bad it's funny.... but it's something to know going in and by the end it shouldn't bug you.
Lynn Kaifune (as far as i can tell they don't spell his so thats how i'm gunan spell it) this guy... oh he's annoying... "it's the militaries fault, don't give into them!" yeah what are you doing with your life thats making such a difference? being you cousins agent? yeah that'll really end the war.
also despite the many tries to avoid being sexist there is still a lot of "well you should get back to the kitchen" lines....
The bad:
Lynn Minmei.
when i first saw the show i hated her, she was annoying and constantly trying to manipulate those around her and the second some stops showing her attention she gets pissy.
having rewatched it.... i still dislike her... but for completely different reasons.... she wasn't trying to use Hikaru's feelings for her.... she was Naive... nothing more nothing less.... she only saw him as a friend and not a lover.... so when she does realize how she feels about anyone it's too late cause of her naivete. She lived in this world where everything has gone her way and finally real life is creeping up on her and she doesn't know how to handle it..... i dislike her now not because she's a bitch like i originally thought... i dislike her cause she's weak and pathetic and until the end unable to stand tall on her own.
however without her being like that my OTP wouldn't have been realized so... i guess she's not so bad.
but anyways i really enjoy this show.... unfortunately since ADV went under it's not the easiest series to get a hold of, the box set i spent 40 bucks for now goes for more then 100.. but still if you get a chance you should watch it cause it's really good.
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