Tsurugi

I recently watched Macross Plus again for the first time in several years. The Macross franchise has always held a certain fascination for me, and Plus is no exception.

Macross Plus is a great continuation of the Macross storyline, set 30 years after the original Macross, and fitting in believably with the timeline without requiring the viewer to have seen the original Macross. The story centers on a design contest between two new transforming fighters, the YF-19 and YF-21. The 19 is an extension of the VF-1 of the original Macross, with an improved version of the same basic concept and transformation system, while the 21 is closer to Zentraedi designs, and uses a breakthrough neural-interface control system. The mechanical designs are excellent, and reminiscent of the previous ones in all the right ways.

Plus maintains the original’s focus on individuals and their relationship problems, with the two test pilots being friends and rivals in high school before becoming mortal enemies after an incident just before graduation. Returning to their home planet seven years later, Isamu Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman find themselves rivals in the design contest, as well as rivals for the affections of their mutual childhood friend, Myung Fang Lone. The love triangle and grudge between Isamu and Guld are the main focus of the series, which is good, since they’re far more interesting than the overarching story involving the fate of Earth and the Macross Government.

One of the best things about the storytelling is the sparing use of exposition. Story points are implied and shown rather than being told to the audience. For example, it’s implied but never explicitly stated that Guld is being adversely affected by the mind-machine interface used in the YF-21. His hands shake a lot, which I take to mean he has something similar to multiple sclerosis. It’s not an important plot point (Guld spends almost all his time flying the YF-21), but it makes Guld seem more real for him to have such problems. In my opinion, this is vastly better than having it explained, which wastes valuable time on something which could be expressed more elegantly. It breaks immersion to have a charactor explain the villains plot, because they already see what’s going on. Macross Plus avoids this by showing what the protagonist sees and letting the viewer draw his own conclusions. This is crucial in a 4-episode OVA, saving time for action.

And since this is a Macross show, the action is fast-paced and well animated, with the trademark clouds of missiles and frenzied dodging mixed with mecha combat. It’s hard to compare action of this sort with another series, because no other series handles action quite like Macross does.

Interestingly, Plus gives the best view I’ve ever seen of why an unmanned weapon system would be able to beat a human pilot. A human pilot can accelerate at only 8 or 9 Gs without turning himself into a thick paste on the back of the cockpit. An unmanned fighter has no such limitations, accelerating at 20 Gs with no problems. Plus demonstrates this with a fight between the new unmanned X-9 Ghost and the YF-21 plioted by Guld. Guld can’t keep up, because he’s only human.

Macross Plus was groundbreaking at the time for having traditional cel animation combined with computer graphics. The limited CGI looks slightly ridiculous now, but it’s barely noticable mixed with the smooth conventional animation. The visuals look awesome, and they should with the largest budget of any anime at the time.

The soundtrack was done by Yoko Kanno, also known for the music of Escaflowne, Cowboy Bebop and the Ghost in the Shell TV series. Macross Plus was her first project, and has the same level of quality as her later work. Anime music doesn’t get any better than Yoko Kanno’s stuff, and Plus is worth watching just for the music.

If you liked Macross or Macross Zero you’ll like Macross Plus. If you’ve never seen any of the Macross series, I’d suggest starting with Macross Zero to see if you like the genre.