Overall Score: 22/20
S
This gem from the mid '90s is the direct sequel to the '80s anime series Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (Macross Plus has nothing to do with Robotech). This Original Video Animation is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. A masterpiece of story telling, of music and of visuals. Definitely in my top 10 list of best anime and often the one I recommend when someone new to anime asks me what a good one to get into is.
Plot and Setting: 5/5
Macross Plus is set in the year 2040AD, approximately 28 years after the events of SDF Macross. By this point the United Nations Government (the UN had reformed into a supranational organization in the early '00 to unite and prepare humanity for an possible alien invasion) has sent out dozens of colony ships across the galaxy, discovering and colonizing several Earth-like planets after the devastation of Earth in an interstellar war against the alien Zentraedi in 2010. The war had ended with both Humans and the factions of Zentraedi (having learned that Human and Zentraedi DNA are close enough to essentially be the same people, this is further elaborated on by both Humans and Zentraedi having been created by the same race) joining together. Seeing Humans and Zentraedi living side by side with their half-breed children has become the norm by 2040.
The location of most the story is on the planet Eden, one of the UNG's oldest (possibly the first planet discovered and colonized) colonies, where the UN military is carrying out a competition to select it's next main Variable Fighter (aerospace fighters that can transform between three modes) at New Edwards Air Force Base under Project Super Nova. Defense contractor Shinsei Industries entered the competition with it's candidate the YF-19 "Alpha One", while rival contractor General Galaxy entered it's YF-21 "Omega One" in their bids for a, presumably, lucrative contract with the UNG. This was directly inspired by the USAF's ATF competition that lead to the F-22. The action eventually makes it's way to the UNG capital on Earth and we see the planet still bearing the scars of the orbital bombardment that devastated the planet and killed off half the population in 2010. However on the
same token we see humanity's homeworld as a heavily fortified planet with a massive orbital defense network and garrisoned fleet. 
Into this backdrop we're introduced to rival pilots and high school classmates, UN Space Forces loose cannon Lieutenant Isamu Alva Dyson (YF-19) and General Galaxy Chief Guld Goa Bowman (YF-21). Just to add gasoline to this fire, enters the final corner of their high school trio, manager of producer of the virtual idol (predicting Miku Hatsune about 12 years before the software's debut, only Sharon in an AI) Sharon Apple, Myung Fang Lone.
Storytelling: 5/5
Macross Plus stands apart from the other Macross shows in that there isn't a larger war going on in the background (mostly just terrorists and pirates). Without a larger overarching narrative, the focus of the story is wholly on the three main characters resulting in a plot that is a very character driven narrative. Professional and personal rivalries frequently flare up and begin to affect the competition, with one instance being both pilots deviating from their test plans to brawl each other in their respective fighters, with the YF-19 team's lead engineer lamenting that the test had devolved into a pro-wrestling match, and the staff in the command center cheering on.
With the focus on the characters we end up with three dynamic characters each with well developed personalities. Early on we learn that the three had been very close friends in high school, but that some event had happened that caused a falling out and each of the three going their own separate ways.
The general tone and feel of the show is very reminiscent of the movie Top Gun, to the extent that I often say, "Macross Plus is what Top Gun would be if it was an anime." At the start we see loose cannon Isamu Dyson basically doing his own thing in a battlefield, completely ignoring his wingmen, the following scene we see him meeting with the Captain and being told he being taken off the ship only to have to "give him his dream shot" and send off on a test pilot assignment. Though out the series we see both pilots both on the jobs as test pilots and off the clock on their own free time, not too unlike how Top Gun was done.
Macross Plus is also what I would consider to be the most grounded show in the franchise. The other shows in the series often have over the top and admittedly cheesy segments, where we would have the show's idol singer, performing on the battlefield ala the Doof Warrior from Mad Max: Fury Road, Macross Plus doesn't have that. Instead the elements that make up a Macross show are presented in a way that's more "real". The result is one of the main reasons that I always recommend Macross Plus. Being more "real" the series is also more palatable to audiences who aren't necessarily anime fans, with out all the over the top elements (over the top like a pop idol Doof Warrior and a battlecruiser surfing though an atmospheric re-entry). While music still does play a major role, we see it presented in the more conventional manner, with some of the characters going to big concert.
While the other staple of Macross shows, the Variable Fighters, also appear and take center stage, but they're not the focus of the show. Instead the YF-19 and the YF-21 are treated as extensions of Isamu and Guld's character. Isamu loves the sky and has a close relationship with his plane where he views it as his partner, the way a cowboy views his horse, where as the YF-21 has an experimental mind control interface, making it literally an extension of Guld himself. Rather than distracting from the narrative, the planes actually add to the characters.
The result is a narrative package that comes together in a way that is greater than the sum of it's parts. A sum that in my opinion is the best show in the long running franchise, and one of the best anime, period.
Music, Sound and Visuals: 6/5
The music was composed by famed composer Yoko Kanno, who's work includes the soundtrack to Cowboy Beebop and Ghost in the Shell. As a result it easily stands apart from the pop music found in the other shows of the franchise. The tracks vary from orchestrated background music to techno and house influenced songs to something with a more haunting feel. The soundtrack is very much a product of it's time, the mid '90s, but that is by no means a bad thing what so ever.
Much of the sound effects for the YF-19 and YF-21 were carried over from the film SDF Macross: Do You Remember Love. When transforming between modes, the VFs make a sharp mechanical hissing sound, and the gunfire noise from the Variable Fighters' assault rifle-like gunpods sound not too unlike the sounds from the '80's film. Interestingly enough, the sound effects don't sound out of place, and in fact the classic sound effects instead add a nice touch to things.
Macross Plus comes from the early days of CGI, when it's use was a big deal (as with the first Toy Story) and most of animation was hand drawn. Macross Plus falls into the latter catagory, and the show is beautifully animated. Being a show featuring two test pilots many of the scenes happen in the sky, and the hand drawn animation just has a beauty to it that CGI just can't replicate. That scene there to the left isn't a piece of promo art, that's an actual screen grab from the show. Watching the later shows in the franchise like Macross Frontier and Macross Delta, as well as other mecha shows like Gundam Unicorn and Space Battleship Yamato 2199, that make heavy use of CGI animation, they look nice in their own way, but on the same token they also don't have the vivid pastel palate that we see used in Macross Plus's aerial scenes.
Macross Plus is easily one of the best looking animated works from the '90s and I'll even go as far to say that Macross Plus is one of the best looking animated works, ever. They phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" is wholly applicable to Macross Plus, because we really don't see animation like this anymore, it's all CGI now. The show also looks just as beautiful in motion as it does in these still screen grabs. The fight scenes and action sequences are all fast and intense.
Art Style and Design: 6/5
Being a '90s show set in the future, Macross Plus's setting is depicted as a bright future. Eden City is a clean futuristic city, the planet Eden itself has a beautiful natural environment. We literally see no pollution on this planet. Even Earth, a planet that had been subjected to a planet-wide orbital bombardment 30 years ago, isn't depicted as a complete blasted wasteland. While we do see a desolate landscape with large craters in one scene, we also see Macross City, the capital of the United Nations as a clean futuristic metropolis, with the refurbished SDF-01 Macross still docked in the center of the city serving as the UN Spacy headquarters.
To sum it up, the overall tone and feel of the setting is one of optimism. In stark contrast to the dystopian or post-apocalyptic depictions of the future that have become popular today. Watching the show now, is something of a fresh breath of air, to see a depiction of the future that isn't all dirty and depressing. The apocalypse has happened and humanity has since dusted itself up and kept moving forward and created bright future for itself.
The YF-19 and YF-21 are in my opinion the two best designs that series creator and mechanical designer Shoji Kawamori created other than his iconic VF-1 Valkyrie. The YF-19 looks to have taken influence from Russian aircraft. The forward fuselage and the nose section looks to take influence from the Sukhoi Su-27 family, and the overall silhouette from the top resembles the Su-47. The YF-21 looks to take influence from both prototypes of the US Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter program. The overall lay out of the YF-21 resembles the YF-23, though the intakes and the exhaust nozzles resemble the YF-22 more. These two line of fighters and their production versions that appear in later shows were the last two designs Kawamori has done that have the appearance of bulk to them. Later designs like the VF-25 and it's spin-offs as and the Sv-51 have a very lean, almost anorexic, appearance in their humanoid "Battriod" form. 
While the YF-19 and the YF-21 get all the attention as far as the mecha goes, there is a third Variable Fighter there in the background, the VF-11 Thunderbolt that Project Super Nova is tasked to replace. The VF-11 looks to be something of an amalgam of the American F-14 and the Russian Su-35 and maybe a little of of the American F/A-18 as well. The overall layout looks similar to the Su-35, with the swing wings seeming inspired by the F-14 and the outward canted fins similar to the F/A-18's.
It isn't only the mecha that have a real world influence on them, but also the pilot suits worn by the pilots of these craft have real world influences of them. The blue UN Spacy issue flight suit worn by Isamu has influences from NASA space suits, while not as bulky or "puffy" looking, the suit does have a little bit of puff on it, as well as an instrument panel on the chest and the locking ring around the collar looks influenced from NASA suits. Guld's suit looks more a cross between a space suit and a contemporary fighter pilot's G-suit. Rather than an instrument panel on the front, his suit has a harness instead, though it also has a similar space suit locking ring for the helmet. 
The character designs, even for an anime stand out quite a bit. The characters have sharper lines to them, more pointed noses and more defined chins, realistically proportion eyes. As a result the characters all have a distinct Western appearance, especially in the case of Guld who wears his hair in a buzz cut style. The resulting look and feel of the characters of the show is a distinct "adult" look. The characters here certainly don't look like teenagers like we what we see in a lot of anime series. In general, the character design as a unique look, seemingly blending both anime and Western character design styles in an effective mix. 
Final Verdict: Must watch, do not pass up a chance to see it!
As mentioned, Macross Plus is easily one of best pieces of animation. A masterpiece in all categories, I would recommend the show to literally anyone. One doesn't need to be hardcore into anime or science fiction to enjoy the show.
It comes in two iterations a four volume OVA miniseries and a Movie Edition. The Movie Edition is essentially a re-cut of the OVA into a movie length version with a few new songs and scenes. So even if one doesn't want to spend four hours watching each of the volumes, they could just spend about two hours watching the Movie Edition. The story is by and large 98% unchanged, with all the key events that happened in the OVA, happening in the Movie Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment