r/macross

Finding and organizing Macross music is a difficult process as a rule, especially with the modern series that have lots of redundant albums (some of which also seem to feature music that wasn’t ever in their respective animated material), but there’s always something labeled as either “OST” or “Soundtrack” where you can reasonably expect to find all (or at least) most of the music played in the relevant series.

But not for Macross Seven.

Every album has a different name, and none of the names clearly indicate where, specifically, the music is from. I’ve not yet seen the OVAs, so I’m not sure whether or not these albums *also* include adjacent-material that wasn’t featured in the animated works, or even if there’s a clear demarcation between OVA-based albums.

So can anyone help clarify things for me? Which M7 album is the closest to a complete OST for the TV series proper? Which ones are tied to which OVAs? Is there any one, specific album that functions like a selected “greatest hits” sort of release for all of the “biggest” M7 tracks?

Basically, I just need some direction here. Any help y’all could offer would be greatly appreciated.

I had the chance to rewatch this masterpiece for the sixth time, and to pay homage to it, I've written down some of my thoughts that I wanted to post here, on the official Macross subreddit.

This film means a lot to me. It's among my favorite films of all time, and ever since I first watched it in 2023, I get emotional every time I see it. Moreover, the two main songs of the film - 'Ai Oboete Imasu ka' and 'Tenshi no Enogu' - were, and still are, a great source of inspiration for me, as well as a source of inner strength.

I will always be grateful to the staff who worked on this film: they created something unique and unrepeatable in the history of Japanese animation. And to think Kawamori was only 24... I get goosebumps. That’s why I wanted to convey a bit of my love for this film by talking briefly about it.

This film is an immense ode to the most noble feeling that a human being, in my opinion, can experience: love which, in the film, is intrinsically linked to the concept of "culture", being encompassed by it. If there is culture, then there is also love.

The Giants (Zentran and Meltlan), who tear each other apart in a war that has been going on for millennia, have forgotten it but will reclaim it thanks to the starlet of the story, the legendary Minmay. And so, after immeasurable time, even an alien race that had known nothing but war reclaims culture and with it the feeling of love.
It is incredible what Kawamori and his staff managed to create in 1984... The feeling of love elevated to a universal element, of brotherhood and unity among peoples, even of alien races. Which, at a certain point, even decide to rebel against their own patriarch with the awareness that they must preserve this "culture".

And I, a viewer, simply enchanted by this animated marvel - exceptional in all its components -, can do nothing but acknowledge it and be moved.
For me this film is art: I, when faced with art, tend to be moved.

The sequence of the final battle against the Zentradi Patriarch is rightfully in the history of Japanese animation. In it an idol, who rises as the ultimate savior of humanity by singing a pop song that speaks of love.

https://preview.redd.it/kofad463o51h1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=c7b0ee4cfc1e1169f96c5cc9d43e74fd2954ad2f

A song capable of breaking through to all the soldiers at the front; an alien song popular millennia ago in who knows which alien city. "A very simple love song", as Misa will say to her colleague Claudia.

Minmay becomes the savior muse of the human race, spiritually sacrificing herself for it and promoter of "culture" (otaku).

This film is, as I like to define it, Minmay-centric. After all, "it is a story centered on human drama" as well as, I would add, on the personal growth of its characters. Among these precisely the starlet, who for much of the film is portrayed to us as childish and selfish. But she sets out on the path to adulthood when, faced with something that only she can do, she takes on her responsibilities and sings for the salvation of the earth. The sad romantic disappointment with Hikaru, which will mark her deeply, and her spiritual sacrifice will, however, prove essential in allowing her to ascend to her next step: Minmay, in the end, will consecrate herself as a singer, finally realizing her dream. Sometimes losses and sacrifices are necessary for our growth; if she had not experienced them she would not have consecrated herself as an artist.

This is why her character is so dear to me. Beyond having made history, what I see is the story of a girl who became an adult. Who arrives by finding the SDF-1 Macross and leaves aboard the SDF-2 Megaroad.

https://preview.redd.it/m5jiz6j9o51h1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d989d0c1f9dbcff8c6b17ebde91dc5dbef2a56b

And how beautiful is the scene in which she keeps time with her heel... It is her way of preparing for what awaits her next. In the background, the infinite possibilities that the - radiant - future ahead of her has to offer.

https://preview.redd.it/5ic8qm7do51h1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=916c9b5653431aba2895fc4fdc9ce5cb2cfefaad

The cover single of the film, "Ai oboete imasu ka?", is inspired by the German song Lili Marleen, which became famous during the Second World War and was listened to by soldiers at the front (on both sides). The ending theme, "Tenshi no Enogu" is the representation of Minmay's consecration as an artist, performed at her farewell concert on Earth. A melancholic but at the same time hopeful song, which will deliver one of the most powerful and evocative choruses I've ever listened: "Sad events stained even my heart blue/ I'll repaint it with angel's paint/Any way I want".

There are two frames that always make me cry: the first is that of a resolute Minmay in the foreground, in profile and with a smile on her face. The second is that of her consecration, marked by the applause of the audience.

https://preview.redd.it/ktvvi0bmo51h1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=c7e7d14301d765c9e84c4cff581416f82276e231

These songs, as I've mentioned before, have been my inner strength ever since. I believe in hope. And I believe that "Tenshi no Enogu" truly teaches us how even after the saddest moments one can always find the strength to move forward, getting back on one's feet again.

To wrap up this brief chat, I wanted to mention something that struck me: I follow the VTuber Nerissa Ravencroft, and in her latest single "Blue World," the ending mentions being proactive about wanting to paint and bring color to something. While there are some differences compared to the concept of "Angel’s Paint" in Iijima’s song, I was very impressed to see that the exact same concept - giving color to something, or repainting it as we wish - has resurfaced today in a completely different context. Evidently, it is one of those cyclical themes that tends to return over time.

I wanna know what is popular nowadays. I'm gonna start:

- Lynn Minmei (I may spell it wrong X0): Angel's Paint, Ai oboete imasuka

- Sharon Apple: WANNA BE AN ANGEL

- Fire Bomber: Basara side - Totsugeki Love Heart, Seventh Moon; Mylene side - Sweet Fantasy, My Friends

- Sheryl: Kindan no Elixir, Universal Bunny, Gorgeous, Uchuu kyodaibune

- Ranka: Koi wa dogfight, Seikan Hikou, Aimo tori no hito

- Sheryl&Ranka duet: Toki no Meikyuu (does it count?), What 'bout my star Formo

- Walkure: Change, Bokura no Senjou, Jiritik BEGINNER

- Yami Q rei: Diva in Abyss

If you listened to Macross II songs, you can list that. If you liked 2 songs from MACROSS 30 you also can mention them. I'm just not so savvy in more obscure stuff... If you liked some artist from Galaxy charts albums (Macross 7) you can name them, or Fire Bomber American if you especially liked those covers XD

Maybe after 3 days I'll make info graphics 😵‍💫 Just maybe

Oh! There is also Macross Generations. Can't forget about Megumi Ogata singing.....

(I hope it wouldn't look like engagement farming, I'm really curious, guys!)