Months after being flung to the other end of the galaxy,
the Super Dimension Fortress Macross makes its way home to Earth, endlessly by
the war like race of giants known as The Zentradi. In the midst of battle, the discovery of the
remnants of a long lost civilization brings together three different souls: Hikaru Ichijo-an up and coming ace pilot;
Misa Hayase-one of the leaders of the Macross; and Lynn Minmei-the popstar idol
of the people. Together, these three
will form a story that will shake the galaxy and be the determining factor in a
war that has raged for hundreds of thousands of years.
One could argue that the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross series did for the 80’s what Mobile Suit Gundam did for the late 70’s, changing things up for the Giant Robot genre. In effect, one could equally argue that Do You Remember Love, the first feature length film in the Macross franchise, took those changes and perfected them. That’s both true and not quite true. It has problems, glaring ones, but Macross: Do You Remember Love is still a fondly remembered title that has been hailed as one of the greatest pieces of animation of the 1980s. And in the end, it can live up to that claim despite its flaws.
Do You Remember Love could have been a straight forward compilation film of the original 37 episode run of the TV Series. However, it opts for a different approach and ends up being quite different and for the better. For starters, the origins of the Macross saga are skipped over and we’re thrown a few months into the titular ships return home. It allows the story to kick off guns blazing, especially in a spectacular opening sequence that has so much quality put into it. No one was kidding when theyre were talking about how good this film looks. Do You Remember Love’s animation stands right up there with Akira and most Ghibli films of the decade (I dare say it even looks better than Naussica). The Valkyrie fighters and the Macross itself look more pristine than they ever did in the series (and they already looked good then). I often say that a film version of a TV Series greatest test will be right away spotting if the animation is the same as it normally is. Here Do You Remember Love passes the test: not once did I feel like I was watching an overlong and overblown episode of Macross, this was an event with the art to match it. It’s also a helluva lot blooder, made clear by when Max flat out blows off the head of a Zentradi pilot in the films opening and later on during a bloody skirmish inside a Zentradi battlecruiser. This is definitely a motion picture level project.
While the action and the war between humans and Zentradi is important, the meat of the movie is the infamous love triangle between Hikaru, Misa and Minmei, one that is still among the most remembered in Anime fandom today. Nothing about this important plot element is ever rushed and everything feels natural, from Hikaru’s infatuation with Minmei to his growing feelings for Misa during a perilous situation. Both girls actually have a bit to offer in terms of who would be the better fit and also have their flaws, as does Hikaru trying to occassinally balance where he wants his heart to side with. None of this ever kills the films momentum and never detracts from the excitement. This love story is important, it’s one that defined the 80s and the Macross franchise as a whole (the love triangle element being used to just as good effect in Macross Plus and Macross Frontier). Kind of like Rahxephon: The Motion Picture, doing an entire feature focused solely on the romance works even better than it did on the show.
However, the focus on Love (and if we remember it haha)
comes at a cost. The rest of the story
focusing on the human/Zentradi conflict takes a back seat at times and suddenly
becomes confusing. The motivations of
the “villainous” Zentradi sort of appear out of nowhere, especially when
characters higher up than Bretai and Exedore are brought in. In fact, a character basically designated the
“big bad” kind of comes out of nowhere in the last act of the film as if it suddenly
dawned on the staff, “Crap…the Macross crew needs a clear enemy to fight now”. Also, the extensive focus on the core trio
means most of the cast is kind of in the background a lot. Fan favorite characters like Captain Global,
Claudia, Max and Kagazaki barely have five minutes of meaningful screen time
when compared to Hikaru, Misa and Minmei.
Even Max and his important romance with Zentradi female pilot Miriya is
largely glossed over after a brilliantly animated duel between the two. Bretai and Exedore, their Zentradi pursuers,
get some nice moments together as they ponder the quirks of the human
race. And, just like the TV series, Roy Focker
steals the show in what little time he is around. After all, “You cant go to war without a
little alcohol in ya”, this said after a drunken Roy tries to get frisky with
Claudia without a care for whose watching…what a guy.
One could argue that the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross series did for the 80’s what Mobile Suit Gundam did for the late 70’s, changing things up for the Giant Robot genre. In effect, one could equally argue that Do You Remember Love, the first feature length film in the Macross franchise, took those changes and perfected them. That’s both true and not quite true. It has problems, glaring ones, but Macross: Do You Remember Love is still a fondly remembered title that has been hailed as one of the greatest pieces of animation of the 1980s. And in the end, it can live up to that claim despite its flaws.
Do You Remember Love could have been a straight forward compilation film of the original 37 episode run of the TV Series. However, it opts for a different approach and ends up being quite different and for the better. For starters, the origins of the Macross saga are skipped over and we’re thrown a few months into the titular ships return home. It allows the story to kick off guns blazing, especially in a spectacular opening sequence that has so much quality put into it. No one was kidding when theyre were talking about how good this film looks. Do You Remember Love’s animation stands right up there with Akira and most Ghibli films of the decade (I dare say it even looks better than Naussica). The Valkyrie fighters and the Macross itself look more pristine than they ever did in the series (and they already looked good then). I often say that a film version of a TV Series greatest test will be right away spotting if the animation is the same as it normally is. Here Do You Remember Love passes the test: not once did I feel like I was watching an overlong and overblown episode of Macross, this was an event with the art to match it. It’s also a helluva lot blooder, made clear by when Max flat out blows off the head of a Zentradi pilot in the films opening and later on during a bloody skirmish inside a Zentradi battlecruiser. This is definitely a motion picture level project.
While the action and the war between humans and Zentradi is important, the meat of the movie is the infamous love triangle between Hikaru, Misa and Minmei, one that is still among the most remembered in Anime fandom today. Nothing about this important plot element is ever rushed and everything feels natural, from Hikaru’s infatuation with Minmei to his growing feelings for Misa during a perilous situation. Both girls actually have a bit to offer in terms of who would be the better fit and also have their flaws, as does Hikaru trying to occassinally balance where he wants his heart to side with. None of this ever kills the films momentum and never detracts from the excitement. This love story is important, it’s one that defined the 80s and the Macross franchise as a whole (the love triangle element being used to just as good effect in Macross Plus and Macross Frontier). Kind of like Rahxephon: The Motion Picture, doing an entire feature focused solely on the romance works even better than it did on the show.
I should also take a moment to talk about the music. Macross’ big contribution to the giant robot
genre besides the love triangle was the soundtrack. Every song by Minmei resounds across time,
even further down in the universes history.
In this film we get one of the franchises most definitive tracks, the
titular “Do You Remember Love?” That
song itself feels like icing on a cake filled with head jamming jpop tunes and
the familiar battle and love themes from the Macross TV series. The love theme for Hikaru and Misa especially
had me tearing up a couple of times when its used in several important
scenes. If you want to know why the
songs of Sharon Apple, Fire Bomber, Sheryl Nomme, Ranka Lee and Walkure are so
important, watch Do You Remember Love.
Even with its flaws, its hard not to see why Macross: Do
You Remember Love is hailed as legendary and a title that deserves greater
respect. The spectacle and animation are
some of the best of the 1980’s. The
characters are still charming and lovable.
The music, action and messages of unity still resonate and inspire
today, both in new Macross entries like Macross Delta or other giant robot epics
(in a way Macross’ emphasis on music bringing about peace played a big role in
Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny). I
am so glad I got a chance to see this movie and hope that, if youre a fan of
Macross, you get chance to see it one
day too. Once you do, no matter how much
time goes by, You’ll Always Remember Love.
8.5/10
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment