Have you ever talked with an old school anime fan? I mean true old school anime fan, not those who look at Toonami with a sense of nostalgia but those who were fans from before the creation of cartoon network. The three titles these true old schoolers will mention is StarBlazers (Space Battleship Yamata), Voltron (Beast King Golion) and Robotech. the show Robotech is particularly notorious fore being created by typing three series together with no other connection to create s huge spanning universe. Still, its the first arc, the one based on Super Dimension Fortress Macross that people feel the most love for. The reason: Its just so damn good.

After a mysterious craft falls to earth, the governments of the world partake in the Unification War to band together with one goal in mind: To restore the ship that fell from the stars. On the day of its initial launch, Hikaru Ichjiyo, a young stunt pilot is caught into the middle of an alien invasion. Finding himself caught with in the crossfires with this armada looking to use the ship that got away for their own purposes, Hikaru has no choice but to become a soldier and fight to protect his friends and family. Along the way, he develops a complicated love triangle with upcoming idol Lynn Minmay and First Lieutenant Misa Hayase.

It’s really hard to talk about a series like Macross because it is such a milestone series and has had such lasting power in the anime community that there is no denying the hold that it possesses. The series starts strong with an alien ship crashing to earth, continues with incredible mecha fight scenes in space, and rounds itself off by focusing on the intense love triangle that the series became known for. An anime fan that has not seen Macross, is someone who needs to realize they have a lot that they still need to check out. This series is one that must not be missed.

Of course I’m not going to just gush all over this series. I’m aware its not without its faults. Thanks to the American Version of this series, the name Minmay became associated with a very character that was very annoying and unnecessary. Know that is more in the Robotech version of the show and doesn’t truly carry back into the original series. The original voice actress and the Japanese songs were fair more entertaining then the ones that were made for the american audience. If your finding it hard to believe that these songs could be that annoying, just pop over to YouTube and check them out. Trust me, they aren’t exactly something you add to a favorite playlist.

There also is the issue with the additional nine episodes. Originally the series was just supposed to be a 27 episode series. Then the audience and ratings for the show were insane so the studio tacked on an additional nine episodes which really do feel very tacked on. This is especially true considering that in the 27th episode an incredible planet wide battle took place and the most of the Earth was destroyed in the process. Kinda hard to come back after hitting a high point like that.

Despite the drag in the attached episodes, the series is still good and started a franchise that is continuing today. I look back fondly on Macross and would gladly rewatch it if I was blessed with more time in my life. For now I’ll keep remembering love and the importance of protoculture.

Rating: A