Choujikuu Yousai Macross Review

Overall Rating 6.7 out of 10 - Interesting and original premise but inconsistent quality. 

I recommend watching.

Macross is a very interesting show. Just that fact that people still remember it 40 years after it originally aired suggests there is something extraordinary about it. Partially it did not disappoint. Sometimes it's as good as 8 and other times it falls to 5.

I will be being with the good. The story and premise. An alien spaceship crashed on Earth, humans rebuild it and used it as their own. However, Zentradi, opponents of the original owners of the ship, mysterious Supervision Army found it and do not know what to do with it. That creates an interesting dilemma. Zentradi have more sheer firepower but they want ship alive so they cannot just destroy it. That gives Marcross a asymmetric fighting chance as Zentradi get out of their way to capture ship alive.

As show progresses you get to learn more about Zentradi and their way of life. I will not spoil too much, but episodes that cover reality of Zentradi life and their surprising weakness are highlight of this show.

Finally, the Valkyrie transforming Jet. It can be a jet, a walking mech like Gundam and even something in between. A vert creative idea.

Now the bad. The drama. Show wants to prevent itself as love story in space, it takes a lot of time exploring its love triangle/quad between a few main characters. It's dragged out and mostly unpleasant. Both women in Hikaru's life are so short fused and emotional. No matter who is currently with him, the other one seems like a better choice. Both Minmay and Misa take too much undue advantage of Hikaru's kindness. Both first get angry when they see him with the other one, then cry long tears over him favoring their rival. At the same time, they both also like Kaifun and willing to run to him anytime, forgetting all about Hikaru. Then shamelessly coming back to Hikaru when things sour with Kaifun. This story is full of romance you want to avoid.

Kaifun is very annoying. Ever since he was introduced in the middle of the show, it turned worse. Only part of it is because of his anti-miliary pacifism. Kaifun is a slave drive, obsessed with a dubious sense of duty to society. He exploits Minmay to perform her songs to the point of exhaustion. He criticizes military and tries to rally the populace against them.

Finally, about length. The show it 36 episodes long. That is like three seasons. First 12/13 episodes are the best, overall. That is where show shines most. Middle 12 are the worst, they fell more like filler then a real show. The final 12 are mixed bag. Some of them very important plot developments and others just more of the same old drama.

Overall, it is a interesting and unusual anime. It gave birth the whole Macross franchise that has several more shows. I recommend watching, even if some episodes are better off skipped.