20https://bestanimations.com/SignsShapes/Arrows/Left/leftarrow15.gif https://anilist.co/review/7384 20https://bestanimations.com/SignsShapes/Arrows/Right/rightarrow29.gif https://anilist.co/review/10858 550https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/macross/images/f/f9/MacrossPlusVol1DVDcover.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20151222132903 With love in our hearts and music in our ears we take to the skies once more. This time were flying to 1994s Macross Plus. Much like its predecessor Macross II I knew next to nothing about this anime. The only thing I knew was that this was seen as good compared to IIs bad. As one person stated if II was indicative of everything wrong with the OVA craze of the late eighties and early nineties Plus was everything right with it. The why alluded me. Fortunately it didnt allude me for long as I watched Macross Plus less than a week after finishing II. There can be a bit of pride in liking the kitschy and I was ready to take Macross II as my next pet project to defend. I was ready to like it more than Plus. That proved nighimpossible. In my byline I said that Macross II had heart but no brains. Meanwhile Macross Plus struts across the stage garbed in a cap gown proudly holding its MFA while wearing a wide grin. As if to show its older sister up Macross Plus is hypercompetent in almost every regard. If I was the type to research staff before watching things this wouldnt have come as a surprise. While codirector Shinichir Watanabe obviously hasnt produced anything of notehttps://anilist.co/anime/1/CowboyBebop series composer Yoko Kanno is a musical genius whos had great examples of her work in shows such as Cowboy Bebop and Turn A Gundamhttps://anilist.co/review/5663. Additionally those unenthused at his absence in II can rejoice at the return of series creator Shji Kawamori. 550https://data.whicdn.com/images/302979521/original.gif Macross Plus follows the hotshot Isamu Alva Dyson and the taciturn Guld Goa Bowman as they both serve as test pilots for U.N. Spacys test variable fighters the YF19 and the YF21. The two have a history thats culminated in a bitter rivalry a fact thats palpable to everyone on the base. Myung Fang Lone a childhood friend and love interest to both soon visits the planet further inflaming their rivalry. Myung is publicly simply the manager of virtual idol Sharon Apple. In reality she provides the emotions for Sharon. Once she reunites with Isamu and Guld her emotions begin overwhelming her and Sharon begins to morph as a result And no you didnt miss anything. Theres no alien invasion to deal with and we dont follow a war of epic proportions. U.N. Spacys Forever Warhttps://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ForeverWar is put on the back burner. All of this makes it clear that Macross Plus is a more personal entry in the saga. While the conflict grows during the final episode when Sharon Apple goes full rogue AI for the most part its on an individual character level. This is certainly a different Macross than were used to in many ways but it is by no means a bad Maross. While II seemed to try to buck against the confines of the OVA Plus strips itself down to the essentials so it can work with its format. While the premise doesnt sound as exciting as IIs its seemingly simple exterior belies a lot of depth that II sacrificed in the interest of breadth. Every aspect of Macross II is crafted to create a particular feel and tone creating an extremely cohesive whole. To demonstrate allow me to talk about an aspect of anime I seldom reference: the title. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again are both mouthfuls. Macross Plus meanwhile is crisp signalling that its shed off the bells and whistles thats adorned its predecessors. Theres something sleek and futuristic about it. I also cant help but feel that the lack of a subtitle was deliberate or alternatively that IIs use of its subtitle was deliberate. As a title Macross II: Lovers Again functionally serves to emulate Macross: Do you Remember Love. It uses this association as a crutch simply thinking that the allusion to Hikaru/Minmay/Kaifunhttps://www.clipartkey.com/mpngs/m/3203207721transparentbackgroundsickemojipng.png/Misa would be enough failing to actually develop its own relationship dynamics. Macross Plus seems to say that it doesnt need the connection it doesnt need to bank on the success of yesteryear to validate itself. Even if its going to share some elements with its predecessors its going to bring something new to the table. Finally theres the Plus which is a lot more bold than you may think. Theres not much of a statement to be made when you name a sequel 2 or 3. All youre doing is signifying that its sequential. To call yourself Plus is something else entirelysignifying that youre not just after but that youre greater. 550https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/macross/images/3/35/FlashbackRival.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190426145837 The biggest fault I can lodge against Macross Plus is that I dont like the character design. With chins and noses that can skewer you clean through it can be a bit rough. When its good it has a more grounded look thats divorced from its predecessors but I just dont really like it as much as the stylized look of SDF Macross and II. A better artrelated indication in the shift of tone is in the poster art. The covers that Ive found look much more bare than those of its predecessors. Gone are the warm inviting illustrations of Haruhiko Mikimoto. Now you typically get a nononsense shot of the principle characters against a black background. Its almost as if the creators are saying that this isnt a fairytale its the future and its cold. If its not this its Isamu raising his arms to the heavens above while hes earthbound. 350https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/6/22779.jpg My ambivalence regarding the characterdesign is more than made up with the mech design and animation. For the first time I care about the protagonists mechs. The YF19 and YF21 are absolutely beautiful machines whether theyre in plane or mech mode. It goes without saying but Id absolutely love to get my hands on model kits for the both of them. The animation is really a sight to behold.Macross Plus animation makes IIs look like garbage in comparison and makes Super Dimensional Fortress Macross look downright fecal. One word Id use to describe the battles is fluid. They felt a lot more impactful and immersive as if I was right there whether doing deathdefying tricks in the sky or slugging it out on the ground. More than anything I could actually track the fights unlike earlier entries where things quickly turned busy and messy. Then theres the VR concerts which are trippy mesmirzing and may be unlike anything youve viewed before. I dont really use this word often but its quite Aesthetic and reminds me of that subset of futurism. Macross Plus animation is sure to take your breath away. 550https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/macross/images/b/b8/YF21NaYF19NaPlus2.jpg/revision/latest/topcrop/width/300/height/300?cb=20130924191004 For meMacross Plus greatest strength is its music.. Its different from what weve heard before but I really like it. Yoko Kanno really shows off her experimental chops in some of the tracks and it pays off in an OST thats really unique in terms of anime. The OSTs contribution to the tone of the OVA can be seen if we compare the main themes of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and Lovers Again to Plus main theme Voices. https://www..com/watch?v=0DiKK90uZlQ https://www..com/watch?v=suvjp4yDsvo https://www..com/watch?v=GPnWdR6Qg0 Macross is bombastic and swelling signifying the epic emotional story that its attached to. Meanwhile Yakusoku is hopeful and poppy fitting the heartful but ultimately shallow Macross II. Voices meanwhile is a beautiful yet somewhat haunting track. The OST often carries feelings of foreboding or at the very least melancholy and Voices is no different. I love its eclectic and ethereal composition again a perfect taste of the OST as a whole. Thats not even getting into Voices lyrics which are much more solemn than the other two examples. A really nice touch is that in Plus Yoko Kannos made up language is stated to be Zentraedi. Im liable to gush about the OST for a while so Ill just leave a few examples: Torch Songhttps://www..com/watch?v=utRMN4Qh8Yct=211s Information Highhttps://www..com/watch?v=l8RqB5RBQ0A SantiUhttps://www..com/watch?v=EyyN6yDtI. I only watched one episode dubbed but from what I saw the voices were fine except for Kates. Most of the music is still in its original language be that Japanese English French or Zentraedi save for Voices. Rest assured that the English rendition is still quite good. 550https://i.pin.com/originals/d8/fd/a1/d8fda16fcca4134bad56f2dc6da790c2.gif The principal cast members are all great. The information we get of their backstory is a bit sparse but they feel so realized and were given enough that we can connect the dots and draw our own conclusions about who they are. The sparseness also helps foster a lowkey atmosphere. For a four episode OVA we get a lot and I ended up caring about these characters and their struggles. I was afraid watching Plus would be like Macross II where Id much prefer watching Gundam SEED but I ended up being fully engaged thanks to the characters. They feel a lot more grounded sadness and all than the characters that came before in the series. Theyre adults with real baggage even Isamu who initially appears to be nothing more than a cookiecutter fiery anime character. The manner in which the major event of their backstory is revealed was just brilliant. I will say that I wish Guld and Myung were handled a bit better. Myungs existence seems to revolve around being one vector of a love triangle and that even extends to her backstory. As for Guld its pretty hard to feel sympathetic when its all but stated he was on the verge of sexually assaulting Myung years ago. Plus the bit about his Zentraedi heritage making him predisposed to violence carries a few unfortunate implications. Ive talked about theme/mood a few times but what exactly is this? To me theres a sinister creepy tinge that permeates through the film. I get Perfect Bluehttps://anilist.co/anime/437/PerfectBlue/ and even some Lainhttps://anilist.co/anime/339/SerialExperimentsLain/ vibes from it. Maybe thats just the trippy visuals and rogue AI though. It seems that this Macross is committed to being realistic with all the pain that this entails. The love triangle here is markedly more messy than previous examples. Its destructive nighirrevocably ruining a friendship and turning a man into a monster. Here idols arent a thing to be praised but something to be feared as we are treated to a villainous singer who uses her abilities to chilling effect. That said this movie is dedicated to all future pioneers so Id say that theres a hopefulness to it just tempered by the danger and loneliness that comes with the trade of being a pioneer. I wouldnt go as far as to label this movie dark but its certainly somber and reflective. As an Emo Sadboi who went on a tangent about how much he desires realistic and somber workshttps://anilist.co/review/6985 you know I gobbled this up. 550https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/macross/images/1/17/MyungSing.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20190426155948 Laid in front of me are all the pieces of a nighperfect anime. Logically speaking I should enjoy this immensely and give it a very high rating ...and yet... ...I cant. And Im not exactly sure why. Perhaps Lovers Again has the answer. Ive spent the better part of twothousand words dragging the poor movie through the mud but it does have one thing that I think Plus lacks. Ive said that II lacks a brain but has heart. With that the inverse should be obvious. Yet I dont want to outandout say it because it feels like too much of an insult towards Plus. Somehow saying youre dumber than a sack of bricks but youre a good person feels a lot nicer than youre an absolute genius but you dont have a soul. And assuming the latter is true I cant for the life of me tell you how it doesnt. It just doesnt feel like Macross. Perhaps its the tone. Perhaps its the scope. But even if it doesnt feel like what I come to expect from Macross it is still Macross. I can appreciate its competency as well as its uniqueness. I think its pretty telling that Plus was able to achieve so much in such a short time. Theres a lot of subtext and Im not ashamed to admit the anime could be smarter than what Im willing to casually analyze. Plus I legitimately got emotional while rewatching the intro in light of everything that came after. SDF Macross has the epicness and length but this has the intimacy. I wish there was a way to combine the two but personally even if Im not sure which I hold more dear in my heart Plus has the clear technical edge. 550https://i.pin.com/originals/2e/e8/e7/2ee8e7817405a9ef787247d3a7fb316e.gif I recommend Macross Plus to anyone whos looking for a personal mecha OVA unlike any other. It truly is beautiful. While its a different beast than the original show I implore fans of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross to check this entry out. In fact Id say to watch SDF II and Plus as a loose trilogy as theyre very interesting to compare. I encourage newcomers to give this a shot too as its quite standalone requiring next to no prior knowledge of Macross. Im glad I decided to get off my ass and finally continue the Macross saga as it meant I got to experience Macross Plus. 220https://i.ur.com/spMtc5h.png 550https://i.pin.com/originals/e7/85/bb/e785bbbea4c0cadd28301e2293902ddb.jpg