r/macross

So far, I've watched the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross (SDFM) series, DYRL?, FB2012, Plus, Zero, Frontier, and Macross Δ: Zettai Live. I didn't manage to get past the 6th episode of 7 - I can't justify bothering with a series that doesn't grab me from the first three episodes. And I've yet to watch Δ. While I consider the two OVAs I mentioned and the Frontier series as quite worthy, I still think the original set - perhaps unwittingly - a very high bar for anything that followed.

Yes, I'm fully aware of the many flaws in the writing and the animation. However, it's still a landmark series for various reasons. In the Wikipedia article for Misa Hayase as it stands now, free from all fancruft and plot dumps, I found a reference to a doctoral thesis that specifically mentions both the original series and Misa herself. More specifically, Alba González Torrents, in her thesis titled "El anime como dispositivo pensante: cuerpo, tecnología e identidad" (PDF here), writes:

>"Macross puede ser vista como la maduración del género de Real Robot como forma de arte. El sello característico de Macross es la combinación de robots con historias de amor y personajes femeninos fuertes. Aunque aparecen todas las características del género de Real Robot, una de las tramas principales se centra en el triángulo amoroso entre tres de los personajes de la serie, Misa Hayase, primer teniente de la nave Macross, Hikaru Ichijo, piloto de la nave Macross y protagonista de la serie, y Lynn Minmay, una cantante y actriz famosa. De hecho, las canciones románticas de Lynn Minmay y la experiencia del amor en general juegan un papel crucial en la resolución del argumento, centrado en la guerra entre los humanos y los alienígenas Zentradi.

>[Macross can be seen as the maturation of the Real Robot genre as an art form. The distinctive hallmark of Macross is its combination of robots with love stories and strong female characters. Although all the typical characteristics of the Real Robot genre appear, one of the main plotlines focuses on the love triangle between three of the series’ characters: Misa Hayase, First Lieutenant of the Macross ship; Hikaru Ichijo, a pilot aboard the Macross and the protagonist of the series; and Lynn Minmay, a famous singer and actress. In fact, Lynn Minmay’s romantic songs and the experience of love in general play a crucial role in the resolution of the plot, which centers on the war between humans and the alien Zentradi.]

However, I think there's even more to it than what Dr. González Torrents acknowledges. Besides the love triangle against the backdrop of great battles that Kawamori-san himself mentioned, SDFM combines a series of concepts and themes that make it compelling even today - whether by design or "accident".

For starters, we have the contrast of culture - embodied by 1980s Japanese idol pop music and Japanese bubble-era capitalism - as a humanising force vs the sterile militarism of the Zentradi and - arguably - the UN High Command. It also contrasts coexistence and reconciliation vs total war, whose devastating impact is laid bare for the viewer to see, in typical Japanese anime / manga fashion, with no excuses, whitewashing, or glorification. Unlike certain real-life ideologies, including one that we are not allowed to criticise, SDFM doesn't promote the idea of elimination of the Other - quite the contrary. It also roasts state and military apparatchiks like Admiral Takashi Hayase for their callousness and disregard for human life and suffering.

Additionally, although it places music as the catalyst for the resolution of the main conflict between humans and Zentradi, it doesn't really pull its punches when it comes to the music and film industries' exploitative and even predatory behaviours. My Fair Minmay is even harsher on this subject, as a matter of fact.

Now, let's get to the characters themselves and their interactions. SDFM's storyline is dominated by the love triangle among the three main characters, who - in typical shōnen and shōjo anime fashion - are teenagers: at the start of the series, the male protagonist, Hikaru Ichijyo, is 17; Lynn Minmay, the longtime face of the entire franchise, is 15; and Misa Hayase, the heroine of the TV series, is a month shy of 19. With this narrative stratagem, Macross ends up showing us three sometimes disparate and sometimes shared stories of transitioning from adolescence (middle or late) to adulthood, and emotional and social growth inside a horrendous existential war with an aftermath that is nightmare fuel, with scant emotional and mental support.

Furthermore, in SDFM we see ethnic, national, and racial diversity and inclusion being portrayed as entirely normal and even as things to revere and celebrate: legendary Unification War ace Roy Focker, Hikaru's senpai, is in an interracial relationship with Claudia LaSalle, the Macross's Afro-American its navigator and chief weaponry officer. Similarly, we see Hikaru infatuated with Sino-Japanese Lynn Minmay (this carries quite a bit of weight, given the bad blood between the two peoples due to Japanese war crimes against the Chinese). Then, the theme expands to human-Zentradi romantic pairings, most notably and emblematically between the Macross's top ace Max Jenius and Zentradi top ace Milia Fallyna.

That said, SDFM is rife with sexism, misogyny, and outdated perceptions of gender roles. But are they presented as "normal"? In the first six episodes, we see Hikaru - himself not above expressing sexist views on gender roles - repeatedly berate his senpai for being lecherous. As for his own backwards views on gender roles, I read the way they're presented in the series as a flaw and a sign of immaturity rather. I also stand by my view that the series and the ancillary material presents predatory people in positions of power (record company execs, music producers, and so on) as cautionary tales rather than role models, which I find surprising for that era.

Besides the points I've made above about its themes, you don't get any "Mary Sue" or "Chosen One" in SDFM; everything the characters achieve is earned through effort and toil, frustration and error, and they often fail or pay a heavy price for the situations they're in or for their actions, choices, words or even inaction and silence. They make mistakes, they regret things they said or didn't say, and the portrayal of the consequences often becomes visceral.