Macross history 1982-1998

In preparation for a Massive review I am writing of Macross Frontier I decided it would be a good idea to post a little history of the Macross Franchise. Macross came at just the right time to have a big cultural impact. The beginning of the 80s was a prosperous time in Japan, and an "anime boom" was just starting to pick up steam.

Originally planned as a parody of shows like Mobile suit Gundam and Space cruiser Yamato, Macross evolved into something more serious during it's preproduction. Some of the offbeat ideas from it's original concept persisted though. The mildly lecherous captain surrounded by an all female bridge crew. The Chinese Restaurant waitress who becomes an idol singer. The alien spies who infiltrate the enemy ship only to be won over by pretty girls and pop music.

In 1999 a Massive alien space ship crashed into earth. Bringing advances in technology and causing the unification of the earth's governments. Mankind went about rebuilding the ship as their own in secret. It was christened SDF-1 Macross. 10 years later, as preparations are made for the launch of Macross, Giant humanoid aliens known as the Zentradi attack The island. In an attempt to outflank the invaders The captain of Macross orders a Hyperspace fold jump in the atmosphere. This backfires tragically as the entire island is dragged along with the ship into deep space.

Fortunately they are able to rescue many of the civillians who had been in underground shelters. and eventually the city is rebuilt inside the massive ship which was orginally crewed by the giant Zentradi.

At it's core every Macross incarnation has 3 things. Fighter planes that transform into giant robots, a love triangle, and an emphasis on music. Personally I wish they wouldn't follow this formula so slavishly. A side story focusing on just the military action would be greatly appreciated.

The original series Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Choujikuu yousai Makurosu) aired in Japan in 1982, then in the US in 1985 in edited and rewritten form as part of Robotech. Robotech played an important role in expanding anime fandom in the US in the 1980s, and laid the groundwork that later growth spurts where built upon.

In 1984 Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do you remember love (Choujikuu Yousai Makurosu: Ai oboete imasuka) a groundbreaking animated film was made that re imagined the original series. To many fans of a certain age (Myself included) This movie is the very essence of what makes anime special as an art form. In 1987 an OVA called Macross 2012 was released containing music videos and a small amount of new footage which added to the Macross universe. Some of the footage was later edited back in to the ending credits of The Macross movie in the Perfect edition releases.

In 1992 a direct sequel to DYRL The OVA series Macross II: Lovers again was made without the original creators, and has since been removed from Canon. In the mid 90s Macross was revived in a big way. The 4 episode OVA series Macross Plus fully washed the bad taste of Macross II away. The animation was beautiful as was the music. This series made Yohko Kanno a household name in anime circles. More importantly, though this show had an idol singer, and a love triangle it did not just feel like a rehash of the original series or the movie.

At the same time a new TV series was aired called Macross 7. Macross 7 focused more on the quirky side of the Macross tradition. Even though the show was strange to the extreme and horribly lacking in giant robot action, it's great music and likable characters make it overall a good show. Macross 7 spun off several OVAs including the "we've taken this a bit too far" Dynamight 7 (which is the only Macross series I have never watched.)

During this time the canon for the Macross universe was played with a bit. the Original Macross conflict was given the name "Space war 1" and The Movie was declared a dramatization of the actual events that was created within the Macross universe. At the same time certain elements from the movie (The appearance of the Zentradi as well as their language, DYRL uniforms, and other minor things) were folded into the official canon.

That is all for the 80s and 90s. I will make a second post covering Macross in this century. Dark times are ahead indeed.