Macross Plus: The Movie

Planet Eden 2040 AD.  At the New Edwards Air Force Base, two prototype fighters are being tested to determine the next generation of Veritech fighter.  Their pilots, Isamu Dyson and Gould Goa Bowman, were once the best of friends but are now bitter rivals.  And when their former flame and best friend Myunng Fan Long returns to Eden, now managing the galaxies greatest cyber diva Sharon Apple, the stage is set for the showdown between former friends to escalate to dangerous heights.  Behind the scenes, however, an unexpected and terrifying development in Sharon’s programming begins to take form thanks accidentally to Myunng; a development that soon threatens not only her love triangle with Isamu and Gould, but potentially all of Earth itself.

Ok so this review is a tiny bit of a cheat, ill be honest. The Macross Plus movie isn’t as much a continuation but rather a retelling of the story in a different form.  Sort of a compilation movie but also, as it turns out, it was the original envisioned format of the feature.  Yes before it became the four part OVA we know more famously, Macross Plus was originally intended to be a movie.  So I was curious how it would stack up against the four part epic I reviewed and raved about a couple of months back: A near flawless mix of next gen (at the time) animation, thrilling action and a for the ages soundtrack solidified it as one of the most celebrated Anime of all time. 

Well I will say that the movie is just as good as the OVA, but maybe the OVA is a bit better for it’s extended length.  Still, we get to spend just about as much time with the core characters and the story maintains the pace of the OVA pretty well.  That’s pretty good for a feature just under two hours in length.  That does mean that some of the OVA’s scenes are sacrificed for restricting and run time.  The opening space battle showing Isamu in battle before his transfer to Eden and the first showdown between the YF-19 and YF-21 that results in Isamu being hospitalized are both removed, which kind of sucks cause those were two of the best scenes in the OVA. 

We do get a nice slew of new footage to make up for some of that lost goodness, though it isn’t too much.  Most of what we see is snippets to enhance established material.  The most substantial of which I feel are three scenes in particular.  The first is Isamu’s on base love interest, Lucy, learning more about what drives Isamu before accepting his advances to sleep with her, confirming what was already heavily suspected in the OVA.  Second is Gould’s final battle with the Ghost.  We get more than just snippets of distant planes going at it, we get a full fledged animated battle that shows the true extent of Gould’s final sacrifice.  The third scene that stands out harkens back to my OVA review.  The climactic scene with Isamu and Sharon actually drags on a bit too long, whereas opposed to the OVA not being long enough to have an impact for me.  Much like anything in Macross Plus, it’s a beautifully animated and musically scored scene but it kind of kills the momentum a bit after Gould vs the Ghost fighter.

There are other extended scenes, such as a longer montage of Sharon taking over.  But for the most part, the rest of the Movie Edition is simply restructured from what we’ve already scene.  Not a bad thing, everything till makes sense and works in the same manner.  That being said, the animation, stellar as it is, is still the same OVA animation.  The film doesn’t seem touched up like Evangelion: Death and Rebirth’s Death segment where the animation from the series was given a film feature touch up.  Does it hurt the film, not really but it doesn’t help it stand out from the other version of the story either.

So the big question: which version of Macross Plus would I recommend between the two presented editions?  That’s tough, especially considering I think I saw the movie before I saw the OVA all the way through.  And like I said, while the movie isn’t hurt in anyway by any of the changes, the OVA has more room for extended action scenes that kind of matter to the plot rather than detract.  So I’ll say, if you’re in a rush for time, the Movie Edition is your go to.  But if you have time and want to get into the version that stole the hearts of Anime fans everywhere, go with the OVA.  That being said, Macross Plus: The Movie is still a very fun and entertaining incarnation and a welcome addition to both the Macross and Anime mythos.  The animation, the music, the action, and the heart felt nod, “Dedicated to you: Our future pioneers…” is still there and always will be, no matter the form.

9/10

Next week: Section 9 is back for the (as of now) feature length conclusion to the Stand Alone Complex saga: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex-Solid State Society.