The year is 2092 AD.
Over 80 years have passed since Mankinds devastating first war with the
Zentradi. A relative peace exists across
the planet, with the Zentradi invaders unable to penetrate the invincible
“Minmei Attack”. However, when an Alien
race known as the Marduk arrive with a legion of enslaved Zentradi, they come
bearing their own secret weapon, one that can break the Minmei attack and give
them a straight shot at Earth. With war
on the horizon, a hotshot Scramble News Network reporter, Hibiki Kanzaki,
discovers the alien princess Ishtar, whose beautiful voice may hold the key to
stopping the conflict before it even begins. Once again, the legendary fortress
Macross rises from the ashes to begin the fight for peace one more time.
Though it doesn’t churn out spin offs and movies as often
as Gundam, Macross is still a title synonymous with Mecha and Scifi Anime. Macross II is the third entry of the Macross
franchise (following the original series and the “Do You Remember Love?” movie)
and was created to celebrate its 10th anniversary. So does the first episode of this sequel
series (kind of) continue the trailblazing ways of its legendary
predecessors…I’d say more no that yes but not without a good yes in there (that
makes sense right?)
Macross II’s first episode deals away with any
formalities or backstory in favor of getting right into the action as quickly
as possible. This includes introducing central protagonist, reporter HIbiki
Kanzaki in the most douchy way possible before sending an armada of
unimpressive Valkyrie Veritechs into battle with an unknown enemy where all
hell proceeds to break loose. Basically,
if you don’t have a very basic understanding of Macross, either through the
original series or even the Robotech version of the Macross Saga, you’re going
to be confused. It doesn’t help that, as previously stated, Hibiki is an
unimpressive jerk who doesn’t seem to understand that his job entails more than
just getting some juicy gossip scoop. His
first taste of true combat reporting might be one of the highlights of the
first episode because it shows that Hibiki might not be cut out to be a
reporter when he doesn’t want to show the good and the bad of war. That said, I get that changing perspectives
and focusing on someone other than a military pilot like HIkaru Ichigo is a way
to keep things fresh. But Hibiki’s mean
spirited intro leaves me wishing that cute Valkyrie pilot Silvie Gena was
headlining this series rather than him.
The big battle of the first episode shows off the potential
of Macross II’s plot but also its most glaring weakness…this series does not
look great. Macross and Do You Remember
Love might contain some of the prettiest animation of the 80’s from Japan (Do
You Remember Love especially). Macross
II’s visuals are a massive step down, containing a lot less gloss and polish
and some truly boring mecha designs, the fighter jets and the space ships. If this is supposed to be a commemoration
piece for an important piece of Anime history, you’d best come looking like
your doing so. Macross II’s animation so
far feels so sub par its just sad. After
all, this is supposed to be an OVA so it’s supposed to merge the best of both
worlds of Anime productions (TV and Film).
All I can say is, thank God they learned from this and made Macross Plus
look freaking stellar a few years later.
Like I said though, there is some potential shown in the battle
too. The use of Lynn Minmei’s music as a
lead in weapon against an enemy it’s supposed to work against is a neat idea,
as is throwing out right away that the Marduk’s have a songstress of their own
who can boost their pilots morale, more or less evening the playing field. That’s a good rising of stakes there. I just wished the conflict looked prettier.
Right now, I can see why Macross II is hardly mentioned
in Macross circles and, to my knowledge, it isn’t even considered true cannon
like every other entry is. An annoying
protagonist and sub par production qualities hinder things right out of the
gate and I can only hope it gets better before the end. So I’ll continue with this one since it’s a
short 6 episode OVA. But Macross
deserves better and HAS done better than Macross II. I just hope Macross II gives me more to enjoy
to make up for the lack of being a truly stunning piece of animation like the
rest of its brethren.
And whew, that’s my 100th First Impression
Friday now in the books. Not bad if I do
say so myself. Well FIF is breaking
again for a little bit. I might try to
do a special set in December but right now keep an eye out for First Impression
Friday to return either at the beginning of 2020 or in February right after
Katsucon (if I end up going, im still undecided atm). Until then, thanks for checking out 100 entries
of this little mini segment of the Gundam Anime Corner, and here’s to 100 more.
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