Rei Asagiri What can be said about the Super Dimensional Fortress Macross? Probably a lot can be said about it.Most people, mainly Amercians and probably some others across the globe, got introduced to Macross through another series called Robotech which combined the original Macross Anime with 3 others. While the Robotech version is good and tells some of the story that the original had, it edits the more philosophical points that the original had. And more turns the original space opera into that of a 1980's Saturday Morning Cartoon (which was the intent at the time since Japanese Animation in it's original form in the 1970's and 1980's wasn't as much appreciated in the West like it is today.) The story takes place in 2009 (this anime was made in 1982, they didn't know how the future would exactly turn out then.)around the launching of the United Nation Spacy's new Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and focuses around the character Hikaru Ichijio, a pacifist suddenly plunged into a war with an alien race known as the Zentraedi. After his friend and Military Pilot Roy Focker gets him into one of the military's new jet fighters to test fly it, The Macross large energy cannon goes off and attacks some Zentraedi ships in space. Roy is forced to leave Hikaru alone in the jet. Hikaru soon finds himself ordered out to take this jet and help defend the Macross. Once he enters the battle the fear of it takes over and he is soon hit and forced to land the jet into the city surrounding the Macross. This is where he meets the girl Lynn Minmay and the story begins on his Journey from a pacifist to that of a soldier.I'd highly recommend watching all 36 episodes of the Original Macross since there is so much story and sub plots going on in it (and some of it as said was edited out in the Robotech version.) The anime is dated because of it's animation, that's true, And probably a good number of people will not watch it based on this fact alone. I'd still recommend watching it since your really in for a treat. And if you got into the Macross Franchise watching Macross Plus, Macross Zero, Macross Frontier, or perhaps even the retelling movie "Do You Remember Love?" Give the original a try. I promise you, your in for a treat. The show that started a grand franchise, that is sadly limited to Japan only thanks to the likes of the owners of Robotech...And if your a fan of Robotech: The Macross Saga, I'd still recommend you watch the original Macross as it was intended to be seen. I think for those Robotech fans, it would at least give some of you a greater appreciation for the series that gave your preferred franchise "The Macross Saga".

GrandpaBunche In the year 1999 a city-sized extraterrestrial battle cruiser crash lands on Earth, and over the next decade scientists and engineers repair its damage and refit it into a hybrid of human and alien technologies. What the Earth-folks don't realize is that the ship has been tailed by an entire armada of heavily armed space battle cruisers who seek to claim the ship and its secrets for themselves. The aliens, called Zentraedi, are a formidable race of giants who have been bred for warfare, but as they approach their presence triggers a booby trap on the downed space-fortress — called the Macross — that plows through them with a devastating energy weapon. Thinking the Earth fired upon them intentionally, the Zentraedi retaliate, thereby launching Space War I. Realizing that it would probably be a good idea to move the conflict off of the Earth (which has just gotten over a long on-planet war), the captain of the Macross orders the use of the ship's untested "fold" system to warp the ship to the dark side of the moon; the warp is initiated, but it brings the small city that had grown around the Macross with it, plus, to the horror of all involved, they find themselves just outside orbit near Pluto (that's what you get for messing around with technology that you don't know how to operate!). And as if that isn't bad enough, the fold system has completely vanished, leaving the ship's crew and the now-rescued inhabitants of the city no alternative but to make their way back home using only conventional engines. And as the Macross crawls back to the Earth, the enemy fleet is not far behind...That's the basic setup, but what makes Macross stand out from the plethora of alien invasion space operas that came before it — most notably the classic Space Battleship Yamato (1974) — is its focus on the human element of its story, becoming in essence a soap opera in sci-fi drag. Nearly every character is in some way flawed, and despite the military experience held by many of them, that experience frequently proves moot in the face of deep space combat and technologies that they simply do not comprehend. The ostensible hero, sixteen-year-old stunt pilot Hikaru Ichijo, comes of age during the course of the narrative and we follow him through every awkward step, tracing his evolution from prodigy civilian airman to ace space-fighter, as well as seeing him swallow his reluctance to kill once he joins the United Nations Space Navy (annoyingly dubbed the "UN Spacy" for short). Hikaru's also at the center of a love triangle that sees his emotions split between a cute Chinese girl who ends up going from waitress to pop idol overnight, and his by-the-book career military commanding officer; this triangle is milked for all it's worth and is the primary reason that the series proved so popular with female viewers, along with the romantic trials and tribulations of the rest of the voluminous cast.Another thing that sets the series apart from the cliché template is the pan-cultural scope of the cast. The hero may be Japanese, but the rest of the characters run the ethnic gamut, the bridge crew alone being comprised of a couple of Russians, an American or two, an Italian, and a black chick. This was very refreshing at the time, with the then-most-contemporary multi-cultural cast of characters being found in the various incarnations of Cyborg 009, but each member of that international team was drawn in the most broad of ethnic stereotypes. Not so with Macross, which didn't make a big deal ou t of the characters' ethnicities and saw only the Chinese character standing out because of her frequently-worn Hong Kong-style dresses and hairstyles.And while the show certainly has a contingent of fans who revere it for its space battles and transforming mecha, I have to say that I love it most for starting things off on a footing that allows the viewer to think they know exactly where the story's going to go and then consistently pulling the rug out from under them. The love triangle plays out in a way that sees all three participants change and grow, the B-characters go through some serious drama involving the tragic casualties of war and the possibilities that can blossom between even the most bitter of enemy rivalries (let's hear it for Max and Millia!!!), and even the enemy aliens prove to be far more than just stock evil world-conquerers when their strange and ancient history proves that there really is something to the universal nature of basic "humanity."Super Dimension Fortress Macross is easily the most well-crafted and intelligent of the space operas from the 1980's, both in terms of narrative and visual impact, and totally raised the bar on how such material can and should be handled. In fact, the only serialized alien invasion show to come along since that even comes close is Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), a series that wears its Macross influence on its sleeve but somehow comes up a lot less satisfying. If you can get your hands on the Animeigo boxed sets of the original uncut and subtitled Macross series — avoid the sequels and the not bad Americanized version, Robotech — do yourself the favor and check them out, starting with episode number one because the whole thing's one long story told in thirty-six chapters. Even if you're not an anime fan I urge you to give this stuff a chance. Space operas seldom get any better than this, and Super Dimension Fortress Macross sure as hell beats the three recent Star Wars atrocities.

mrsatan As has previously been stated, the cut-and-dubbed "Robotech" version is terrible. But the original Macross is a glorious piece of work. Supposedly intended as a parody of Gundam and Yamato, the story starts off in a rather innocent fashion. Hikaru Ichijo follows his childhood friend, right in the middle of an alien attack. Hikaru and Lin Minmei have a charming, innocent crush developing. But as the series progresses, Hikaru begins to grow up. War is not as glorious as he had believed, and love becomes much more complicated than he could have imagined.

tbass "Chojiku yosai Macross" is better known in America as the first third of the three part "Robotech" series in the U.S: sometimes subtitled: "The Macross Saga". Unfortunately this (bastardized) English version of this classic series suffers from over-zealous editing, so-so dubbing and an ill -conceived attempt to graft unrelated animation into the storyline to create a new continuity. I much preferred the original (subtitled) Japanese version that is available from Streamline Pictures. This so-called "Perfect Collection" is a series of nine (9) VHS tapes each of which pairs two (2) episodes of both the original Japanese version alongside their dubbed, Robotech counterparts. Unfortunately Streamline halted production of this version half-way through so you'll have to hunt around to obtain foreign copies of the second half of the series -- but its worth the search. The Perfect Collection tapes are still commercially available as of 9/98. The best place to pick up foreign copies of the remainder of the series is from collectors on internet newsgroups or on-line auction web sites. Streamline did produce a six-tape collection of the Robotech series entilted Robotech: The Macross Saga in the late 80s. This tape was distributed by, now defunct, Family Home Entertainment. This version is no longer commercially available and can only be obtained second-hand from collectors.Happy viewing!