Macross

Macross
The original Macross series logo.
マクロス (Makurosu)
Genre	Military science fiction, mecha anime, Real robot, Space opera

Macross (マクロス, Makurosu^?) is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West Advertising.

Within the series, the term Macross is used to denote the main capital ship. This theme began in the original Macross, the SDF-1 Macross.

Overtechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship (Alien Star Ship - One later renamed Super Dimension Fortress - One Macross) that crashed on South Ataria island. With this technology, Earth was able to reverse engineer the technology to create mechas (variable fighters and destroids), a faster-than-light space fold drive for starships and other advanced technologies, featured throughout the series.

Title

The cover to the Macross Memorial DVD Box Set which shows several characters from the first animated series of the franchise, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross

The series title comes from the name of the main human spacecraft (which is usually shortened from Super Dimension Fortress to SDF-1 Macross as it is the first). The original name for the Macross project was Battle City Megarodo (or Battle City Megaroad, as the Japanese transliteration to either "L" or "R" gives the title a double meaning in reference to the story line: Megaload, referring to the spacecraft containing an entire city of people; and Megaroad, referring to the long journey through space back to Earth); however, one of the sponsors of the project, Big West Advertising, was a fan of Shakespeare and wanted the series and the spacecraft to be named Macbeth (マクベス, Makubesu^?). A compromise was made with the title Macross (マクロス, Makurosu^?) due to its similar pronunciation to Macbeth in Japanese and because it still contained connotations to the original title. The word Macross comes from a wordplay combination of the prefix "macro" in reference to its massive size in comparison to human vehicles (though when compared with the alien ships in the series, it is a relatively small gun destroyer) and the distance they must cross.

Themes

The following are themes commonly seen and established among the various series in the Macross franchise.

U.N. Spacy

The U.N. Spacy is a fictional military arm of the Earth U.N. Government (地球統合政府, Chikyū Tōgō Seifu^?). It was established by the successor to the modern United Nations in order to defend Earth from a possible attack by hostile aliens, and was involved in Space War I against an extraterrestrial race called the Zentradi. Later operations of the U.N. Spacy expanded into interstellar colonization and general peacekeeping of off-world Earth settlements.

The term "Spacy" is an extrapolation of the terms Army and Navy - though some Japanese sources also use the term Space Army and some English-language sources use the term Space Navy, suggesting that the term is a contraction.

Variable fighters

A variable fighter is one of a series of transformable aerospace fighters, primarily designed by Studio Nue's Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake. They are generally able to transform into jet/space fighters, a humanoid robot and a hybrid of the two modes, better known as Gerwalk. The original VF-1 Valkyrie was actually named "Valkyrie", but the craft have generically been referred to as such in the series since then.

Music

Music plays an integral part in almost every Macross title, having significances in the way a series' antagonists behave towards it. Music idols also play a central role to various Macross stories. Often, the protagonist will be forced into a love triangle with a series' music idol; the most notable of them all is Lynn Minmay.

Space Fold

Faster-than-light travel in the Macross franchise is achieved via space-folding. This capability was introduced when the SDF-1 crash-landed on Earth. It has since been officially described as a type of space warp (or what is called super-light-velocity spatial displacement) navigation, allowing ultra-long distance travel nearly instantaneously. Simply put, a space-fold transports a spacecraft in a very short amount of time, by first swapping the location of the spacecraft with super dimension space or subspace, and then swapping the Super Dimension space with the space at the destination.

According to U.N. Spacy First Lieutenant Hayase Misa during Space War I (2009–2010), an hour passes in super dimension space as approximately ten days passes in normal space. The latest Macross TV series Macross Frontier further expands on that concept by introducing fold faults or dislocations which further slow down fold travel and interfere with fold communications. Also explained in Macross Frontier are the limitations of space folding, such as the geometric increase in energy requirement with the mass of the object to be folded. This prevents very large objects from being folded across vast distances because of the enormous energy requirements.

The act of entering Super Dimension space is called "fold in". When arriving at the destination, the act of leaving Super Dimension space is called a "defold" or a "fold out".

Other elements

The franchise also explores minor themes including culture shock, the coming of age, and nostalgia.

The New Age following the end of Space War I is part of the ongoing fictional time-line of the Macross franchise. The most recent series, Macross Frontier, is set 50 years after the start of the war with the Zentradi and depicts one of the colonization missions to the center of the galaxy.

Along with Gundam, a real robot mecha series of which Shoji Kawamori is a fan, Macross explored how individuals deal with warfare. Whereas Gundam is far more political and is direct on the horrors of war, each Macross television series is unique for never depicting the antagonists as inherently evil and proved in the end that love, culture and music can be used to defeat them.

Series chronology

Several sequel series and one prequel have followed. Most use a chronology created by the Studio Nue creators, and those which followed their own chronologies were regarded as "parallel storylines" by the studio. The main Macross production consists of (in chronological release order):

A feature film, subtitled Do You Remember Love? (愛・おぼえていますか Ai Oboete Imasu ka), was released in 1984, with a condensed version of the storyline and cutting-edge animation. This movie was later described as a "historical drama" movie within the Macross universe (similar to World War II films in the real world). In Macross Plus and Macross 7, it is revealed that there was a movie produced after Space War I (the original Earth-Zentradi conflict). Kawamori described the relation between the two depictions of Space War I: "The real Macross is out there, somewhere. If I tell the story in the length of a TV series, it looks one way, and if I tell it as a movie-length story, it's organized another way."^[16] (An edited, English-dubbed version of the feature was also released to video as Clash of the Bionoids.)

Macross II, the only animated project without Studio Nue's direct involvement, was declared a parallel-world story by Studio Nue.

In March 2007, Studio Victor placed a casting call for a voice actress to play the heroine, Ranka Lee,^[17] in a then untitled new Macross series.^[18] 18 year old Nakajima Megumi was selected in the nationwide singing and acting audition for the role of Ranka Lee in Japan. The project was given the tentative title of Macross 25. Later, as part of the 25th anniversary concert, a trailer was shown that revealed the new tentative title of Macross F (Frontier). During the concert, Kawamori Shoji mentioned that the timeframe of Macross Frontier was about 2070 AD. Kawamori also announced that Yoko Kanno would be the music co-composer of the new Macross series. According to Newtype Magazine, this new series were supposed to take place in a school. The pilot episode aired on December 23, 2007. The new series were finally set in the year 2059 AD and took place in a new Macross Colony Fleet called "Macross Frontier". The new show was produced by Satelight and its episodes began their regular broadcast on April 4, 2008, in MBS channel of Japan. The final episode aired on September 25, 2008, what brought the series to a total of 25 episodes. A Macross Frontier Movie Edition was announced just after the ending of the new TV animated series.^[19]

Video games

Macross video games are based on its universe, sometimes expanding it with original characters and sidestories, latest games often include newly created anime footage. All of them were exclusively released in Japan.^[20] These include:

• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: A 2D sidescrolling shooter game released in 1985 for the Nintendo Famicom by Namco and Bandai.^[21] The main objectives of the lone Valkyrie are to battle Zentradi forces, penetrate the Zentradi's Nupetiet Vergnitzs flagship, and destroy it. A simplified midi rendition of the song "Shao Pai Long" is the game's only background music.
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 2036 - A 2D sidescrolling shooter released in April 1992 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM²^[22] that occurs in the universe of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers, Again OVA. The game takes place 26 years after the end of Space War I, with Komilia Maria Fallyna Jenius as one of the protagonists.^[23]
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Eternal Love Song - A turn-based 2D strategy videogame released in December 1992 for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM²^[24] that follows the continuity of Macross II and is a sequel to Macross 2036.^[25]
• Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross: Remember Me, Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross: Skull Leader, Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross: Love Stories - Turn-based strategy games produced by Family Soft between 1993 and 1994 for the PC-98.
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie - A 2D sidescrolling shooter released in 1993 for the Nintendo Super Famicom and based on Do You Remember Love?.^[26] The story takes place after the movie, but before the launch of the SDF-2 Megaroad-01.
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? - A 2D shooter created for the Sega Saturn in 1997 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Macross franchise,^[27] it was co-programmed by Sega and was later ported to the PlayStation in 1999.^[28] It is closely based on the movie, with a mix of 2D and 3D action and special effects. The game's two CDs contained footage and soundtrack from both the Macross movie and Flashback 2012 as well as brand new cutscenes. The intro cutscene, in particular, shows Hikaru and his fellow pilots just taking off the carrier Prometheus when a sudden Zentradi attack destroys the warship.
• Macross Digital Mission VF-X - The first ever 3D graphics and polygonal game of the franchise made by Bandai Visual for the PlayStation in 1997.^[29] Set in 2047, the game focuses on a UN Spacy squadron assigned to rescue a girl band called the Milky Dolls. The game was re-released with a lower price as a PlayStation The Best Collection Series title in 1998.^[30]
• Macross VF-X2 - Released for the PlayStation in 1999.^[31] The game is set three years after the events of VF-X. This was the only Macross game planned for an American release, but was canceled due to unknown reasons.^[31]
• Macross Plus: Game Edition - Released for the PlayStation in 2000. It is based on Macross Plus, with cutscenes from the movie version included.^[32]
• Macross M3 - A 3D shooter released for the Dreamcast on February 22, 2001. M3 takes place around 2014, and covers the story of Maximilian Jenius, Milia Fallyna Jenius, and their adopted Meltlandi daughter Moaramia Fallyna Jenius (whose original name was Moaramia Jifon) as they continue to serve as Valkyrie pilots.^[33]
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross VO (Valkyrie Overdrive) - A space combat simulator released in 2001 for the PC.^[34] It was compatible with Windows 95, 98 and ME.^[34] A Windows XP version was released (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross VOXP) in 2002.^[35] The game was unique in the fact that it enabled players to sortie online using the vehicles used by the different factions (Zentradi, Meltlandi and U.N. Spacy) featured in Macross DYRL.
• The Super Dimension Fortress Macross ("超時空要塞マクロス") - A full 3D shooter released by Sega-AM2 for the PlayStation 2 in 2003.^[36] The game features many familiar characters as well as new characters and all Valkyrie fighters featured in the TV series, the Macross DYRL movie and Macross Flashback 2012.
• Macross 7 Ginga no Heart wo Furuwasero!! (Let's Reveal the Galaxy's Heart!!) - A 2D side scrolling shooter released on the Game Boy Color in 2000.^[37] It features Macross 7's Fire Bomber band and their special Valkyries, plus some from the UN Spacy.
• There were three arcade games released by Banpresto during the 1990s, all of which were scrolling shooters: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1992),^[38][39]The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II (1993)^[40][41] and Macross Plus (1996).^[42][43] The first game follows the events of the Do You Remember Love? movie.^[39]
• Macross Ace Frontier - A PlayStation Portable release from Namco Bandai and developed by Artdink, released in October 2008 in Japan.
• Macross Ultimate Frontier - The PlayStation Portable sequel to Macross Ace Frontier that includes new mecha and levels based on the alternate continuity of Macross II as well as previous Macross videogames. It was developed by Artdink and released by Namco Bandai in October 2009.^[44]
• Macross Triangle Frontier - The PSP sequel to Macross Ultimate Frontier, also developed by Artdink and released by Namco Bandai in February 2011.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Macross

• Macross Compendium
• Macross World

Japanese

• Official website
• Macross 30th Anniversary Official Site
• Macross F Official
• Big West