Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely, though as with a lot of older anime, the cultures do clash a bit with American sensibilities. Still, the series is generally enjoyable if you can get past the truly crappy prog-rock rip-off music on the soundtrack. :(

Technically any good? This series is a sort of sequel to the original Macross series. However, there are no characters that cross over and there’s really no reference to Macross at all. The only connection is the inclusion of two words in the full title of the series “Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross.” Those first two words are the same “SD” in the “SDF” of Macross. The only other similarity beyond those two words is the production company that made it–as a result, the animation is about as bad as it was for Macross so don’t expect anything too amazing. The acting is just fine, as it often is in anime. The story, while it does feel a bit laborious at times, is generally pretty solid and enjoyable. It’s got a great message at the end that I’m starting to recognize in other Macross-related anime.

Sadly, the music leaves a lot to be desired, but I think it’s worth sticking with it anyway. There’s also a bit of unnecessary nudity, but it’s not too gratuitous. The mecha designs are probably the worst I’ve seen, but the characters are fairly well developed, so if you’re like me, with story trumping all else, it’s still watchable. The ending feels a little rushed, but that makes sense given the series was canceled early. Still, it manages to eek out a much more coherent, poignant and even resonant ending than a lot of better known anime. The ending also suggests a more than passing comparison to the Israel/Palestine conflict. (The premise of the series surrounds a group of humans that have colonized a planet formerly inhabited by aliens who left it behind–now they want it back and these humans are in their way.)

How did it leave me feeling? Pretty satisfied. It’s not the greatest anime in the world, but it’s definitely fun. If you’re on a quest to watch EVERYTHING even vaguely connected to the original Macross this is not punishment the way Macross Plus is.

Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It–if you can. Not sure how available this series is on DVD anymore. I managed to find a copy, but I got lucky, I think.

NOTE TO ROBOTECH FANS: There’s a reason you probably think the Southern Cross portion of the Robotech saga is the worst of the three story lines–it’s because the original story was very edited to explain how “Dana Sterling” could be Max and Myria’s daughter, blah-blah-blah. In the original un-Robotech-ized version the series makes much more sense. Lt. Jeanne is a brash, young flygirl (like flyboy) who runs her group of soldiers by the seat of her pants.