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Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely entertaining–the original Macross was never quite this intense (or well animated).
Technically any good? As is often the case with anime, the voice acting is very solid. As is NOT often the case with Macross the animation is SUPERB. The mix between CG and cell animation works nearly seamlessly. The real surprise here is how detailed the flight sequences are. The cinematography will blow you away and you really get a sense of how these transforming fightercraft are piloted. Seriously–some of the dog-fighting sequences are better than anything else I’ve seen in any anime or live-action movies.
However, as a prequel to the original Macross, it makes very little sense. We see a familiar character and the mecha are identical but, aside from the story being set toward the end of the Unification Wars, there’s virtually nothing tying this show to the Macross universe. I suppose the “bird-men” in this end up being the Vajra in Macross Frontier? It’s not terribly clear.
How did it leave me feeling? Generally satisfied–while I don’t think it fits well within the Macross universe, it’s MUCH better than Macross Plus and stands on its own as a pretty good little anime. The ending is definitely intense, though there is a hook at the end that makes you ask “Whaaaa?”
Final Rating? SIYL – See If You Like. If you’re a Macross completist like me, it’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re just interested in checking out some sweet animation, some great dogfight sequences and some reasonably nice character development, it’s worth it, too. But this anime won’t change the world.
For anyone keeping track, this is the second-to-last in a long series of Macross-related reviews I’ve been posting over the last few months. Next week will be the last review, where I cover Orguss 02, the sequel to Super Dimensional Century Orguss, one of two anime series that shared the “Super Dimensional” moniker with the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross.
Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely, though it was hard to reconcile this with the series it’s based on. In someways I prefer the series-version of the story and in other ways the movie. Sheesh…
