Forum - View topicGetting into Macross.
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Bento-Box
 Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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I browsed for a topic about this and couldn't find one. If there is, please send the link my way and lock. Thanks!
Recently saw a preview for Macross Frontier and it looked like something I would adore. And then I saw that it was Macross. Immediately, I felt completely overwhelmed by the sheer size of the Macross franchise but now, I'm starting to think that it may not be such a bad thing to get into. I've looked at the reviews, read up on the show, and am definitely in the mood for some good mecha! The problem is that the series would be quite costly to purchase, potentially a pain to track down all of the installments, and I don't care for the really old animation styles anymore. I made it through the original Gundam a long time ago, but since then, I have never wanted to watch anything released earlier than the 90's simply because of the art style. I know, shallow. So, I'm considering skipping out on the early seasons to avoid getting turned off to the series. I know that's what will happen if I try to watch it and don't care for the older animation style. I would rather skip it and maybe return to it later when I've, well... matured. LOL I've watched series with low quality animation just because they had a good plot, pacing, and good character development to keep me going. But, for the ones that don't grip me and don't have super nice art, I have a substantially harder time finishing. I've considered watching it here on ANN to sample, but I think it's dub only and I would rather not subject myself to early English dub tracks. I don't mind dubs, I just prefer subtitles. Is that possible with this series? Is there a good starting point for someone who doesn't want to start from the very beginning? With Gundam, I started with Wing, War in The Pocket, and Stardust Memories and had no problem following the stories. Is Macross similar in this respect? I noticed there was an alternate retelling and I'm suddenly reminded of a few Eva installments. Had I cut the corner and gone straight for the Eva OVAs/movies I would have been completely lost and probably would have never watched the series. This is the thing I would like to avoid the most with Macross. I would really like to watch it, but I would just like to get some feedback on the series and see what your experiences were with purchasing, watching, and avoiding certain parts of it. Thanks so much! |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3923 |
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The biggest problem with getting into Macross is that there's only three installments that were ever released in North America legally. Only the original series, Macross Plus, and Macross II were the only ones ever released here. Make that four if you count the horrible dub of the movie Do You Remember Love? as Clash of the Bionoids.
All the other shows are tied up by various issues, both financial and legal. |
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DerekTheRed
 Posts: 3544 Location: ::Points to hand:: |
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I never really considered Macross to be all that big of a franchise. There is the original SDF Macross which is 36 episodes, two short OVAs in Macross Plus and Macross 2, which are both available in their entirety on the PlayStation Network and probably elsewhere, that have been released stateside (I was unaware that DYRL had ever made it to the US in any form). And then there are a few unlicensed TV shows and OVAs totaling about 100 episodes. I don't really think it's all that different than something like Slayers, which has like 104 TV episodes and a bunch of one shot OVAs and movies.
As for order? I've always been a proponent of "watch in order of release" for everything. |
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Kruszer
 Posts: 7991 Location: Minnesota, USA |
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Macross is well worth getting into. Although, if your goal is to watch Macross Frontier you could probably just do it with minimal confusion on your part. The show is basically standalone with it's own set of characters. Optionally, I'd say watch the first Macross series for an introduction to the universe and then go on to your goal of Frontier.
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Niomo
 Posts: 516 |
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If it helps, I saw the original SDF Macross and then Frontier. I dont feel like I missed out on any of the plot or story in between. There was a reference or two that I missed, but it really was nothing super important.
worst comes to worst, read the wikipedia summaries  I did that for Macross 7 (which coincidentally are where all the missed references of "Fire Bomber" were)
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18322 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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The Macross franchise is nowhere near as daunting to get into as, say, Gundam is. Most of its series stand well enough alone, generally with only peripheral connections to other titles in the franchise. In fact, the only part of the franchise that I strongly recommend seeing in a particular order is to watch Macross Zero before Macross Frontier. (Although Zero is actually the prequel to the original series, its has a more direct impact on what happens in Frontier.) The only things you really need to know from the original Macross to understand Frontier is the relationship between the Zentradi and humans and the role that music plays in the franchise in determining the outcomes of wars.
Don't worry about the English dub for the first series. The release that ADV did over the course of 2006 used a new (for the time) dub based on a script that remained more faithful to the original dialog. It was most notable for its big gimmick: the English voice of Lynn Minmay is the same voice actress who voiced the role in Japanese (i.e. Mari Ijima). The animation in that series was poor by current standards, but the storytelling was decent. |
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EricDent
 Posts: 997 Location: Georgetown, TX |
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BTW just want to mention to try to get the OVA version of Macross Plus, cause there is a Movie version as well. The Movie version is not as good IMO.
As for Macross 2, that could be kind of hard to find (if you are purchasing). However it is probably one of the better ones IMO. SDF Macross is an interesting show, sure the animation is kind of "bad" looking (by today's standards), but the story is really good. Yes Clash of the Bionoids was released in the USA, only on VHS though. I probably would not really bother with it, cause it is pretty bad. Though not as bad IMO as the "Robotech 2: The Sentinels" stuff or even Robotech Shadow Chronicles. |
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Beltane70
Posts: 3923 |
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The saving grace about getting into Macross versus getting into Gundam is that there isn't a bunch of separate universes in Macross.
The only alternate timeline in Macross is Macross II, which is technically a sequel to Macross Do You Remember Love?, which in itself has been turned into a movie within the Macross universe. However, the DYRL movie within the Macross universe is said to supposedly be a bit different than the actual DYRL movie. There's also a few games which are actually considered to be official parts of the main Macross universe. Both Playstation games, Digital Mission VF-X and Digital Mission VF-X 2, and the Dreamcast game, Macross M3 are listed in Macross' main timeline. |
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naninanino
 Posts: 680 |
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I did it like this by chance and I enjoyed Frontier a great deal. Otherwise it doesn't really matter that much. It's like Gundam in that sense. Every show is pretty much self contained. |
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notrogersmith
 Posts: 192 |
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In that case, you should give the original Macross a shot. Also, it is available on a free ANN stream if you don't want to rent (or buy) DVDs. That said, I'd recommend renting the DVDs over viewing the free streams because unlike the streams, the DVDs have subtitles for the parts that aren't translated by the ADV dub, like the sign of the Nyan Nyan restaurant (which ends up being a minor plot point) or the lyrics to Minmay's songs. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I watched Macross Frontier as my first foray into the franchise (and I recall several other people did so as well, such that one poster created an acronym for it), and had no trouble whatsoever following the story. In the time since, I've watched several of the preceding series and greatly enjoyed them as well. While there are a large number of references that you'll appreciate if you're familiar with the Macross universe, but it works just as well to start with Frontier and then try the older series, after which you can come back to Frontier and pick up on things like the significance of pineapple salad.
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Nagisa
Moderator
 Posts: 6128 Location: Atlanta-ish, Jawjuh |
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To be fair, from what I recall the original Macross has substantially better animation than the original Gundam series. Designs are more detailed, motion is more fluid, and while it certainly shows its age, it's fared a lot better than other television anime from the same late-70s/early-80s time period. And if you're able to overlook aged animation for a good plot and solid character development, Macross will definitely fit the bill. Really, the only sticking point might be Minmay and the whole spoiler["taming the bad guys with pop music"] thing, but Minmay's part in the story spoiler[becomes less relevant as it progresses], and if you could survive Relena Peacecraft in Gundam Wing (or better yet, Lacus Clyne in Gundam SEED), spoiler[Protoculture] won't phase you. All of that said, however, if older animation is a solid "no," you won't have to worry too much. As far as definitively canon Macross anime goes, only the first series and its movie adaptation fall into the realm of noticeably old. All the other major Macross productions--Plus, Zero, Seven, Frontier--were all produced in the 90s and 00s. |
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Beltane70
Posts: 3923 |
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I disagree about the movie. I think Do You Remember Love? still looks good almost 30 years later. Its animation looks about a decade younger than the TV series did, despite being only being produced a year after the TV series.
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EricJ
 Posts: 876 |
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I'm another loyal Macross fan who just couldn't get through a decent slog of Gundam, and I'll agree with most of the posts here:
- Worth it, it's a classic, - The 00's redub is worth tracking down, but if you can't find it (sigh...ADV), you won't suffer for finding the much easier to stream first story arc of the US "Robotech" dub (before it went into the "next chapters" of dubbing two other unrelated shows)--Minmei's less irritating in the original and knows more than two songs, but at least the Macek version is a lot easier to find, as it's practically everywhere on 80's-nostalgia value. - Bother with the Original series only, as the sequels are either completely unrelated (Plus, Frontier), tied by a thin string (Zero), or just trying to next-generation revive fan references (II, 7) - DYRL: the Movie is a useful Cliff Notes to the events of the entire series, but deviates too far in the last act (actually, it's supposed to be the "history movie" shown on the ship), and the relations aren't the same: Minmei starts out already a pop star in the Movie canon, which deprives us of the main central relationship in the story. Even for the shallow who disdain Old-Skool 80's spacefleet animation, Macross just seems to be more mainstream-friendly than the other mecha-fleet series at the time...Don't know why, but there's just an approachable goofiness about the series (in what other show can the enemy be formidable foes and naive halfwits?), and gets you hooked on the individual characters more quickly than other space operas. |
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naninanino
Posts: 680 |
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Don't shoot yourself in the leg and watch only the original. The only wants you might want to consider skipping are II and 7. It's a good thing that the other shows don't have a strong relation, on contrary what seems to be implied here. |
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