FIF#63-Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

In the year 2120, humanity has left a devastated Earth behind and has begun to colonize other worlds.  One such planet is Glorie, a promising new world that is protected by the army of the Southern Cross.  But humans were not the first occupants of Glorie.  It’s former inhabitants, the Zor, have returned from deep space and they want their planet back.  Jeanne Fránçaix and her unorthodox unit within the Southern Cross take center stage as the march towards the ultimate battle for the survival of two warring species begins on Glorie.

In the 1980’s Giant Robot shows were a dime a dozen in Anime.  There were plenty of the traditional Giant Robots vs Aliens stories like Beast King Go Lion (or Voltron as we all know him) and Macross.  And there was the resurrection of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise with two back to back sequels: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.  So you had to do something big to stand out in a large crowd.  Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross’s biggest claim to fame, unlike the other aforementioned titles, is that it is best known as the basis for the second arc of Robotech, The Masters Saga.  And really…besides that there really isn’t anything that makes this show very special.

From the animation to the mecha, Southern Cross kind of feels like standard fare for a Giant Robot Show.  Another planet for a battlefield, check.  Aggressive and mysterious alien species, check.  Transformable mecha, check.  I will say that the highlight of the first episode is the cast…but that’s not too much of a compliment.  Jeanne and her 15^th Squad of the Southern Cross feel like prototype characters for the eventual Patlabor series.  Jeanne treats her duties with very little regard for consequence and it kind of rubs off on the rest of her squad.  Heck, they end up picking a fight with another team and then run away on their hover bikes while being chased by military police…how the hell are these guys even a unit and not disbanded immedietly?  So yeah, to say the cast is the main point of discussion isn’t saying too much praise.

It makes me wonder why this series was used in Robotech.  The transformable hovertanks feel like a step back from transformable fighter jets for starters.  Plus, the title is a little misleading, at least the first bit.  Though Southern Cross and Macross share the “Super Dimension” title, they are in no way connected, unless you count transforming battle weapons.  In the end, there isn’t as much insentive to try and keep watching Southern Cross like I feel I should with Macross.  Without it’s connection to Robotech withstanding, the series feels forgettable, or at least lost in a sea of other vastly superior 80’s mecha classics.

And how does our third series stand up in this era of tough scifi competition?  Our look at the first episodes of the shows that made up Robotech concludes next week with my first impression of Genesis Climber Mospeda.