When He Became a Macross Fan
Because I like to be different, and I’ve had a long-held, almost superstitious aversion to the mecha genre, I’ve never really been keen on getting involved in the fandom of either of the two mecha giants, Gundam or Macross. In my ignorance, I dismissed both franchises as being a meaningless decoction of transforming robots and shouneness bred for the sole purpose of quenching the thirst of hordes of machine otaku. The more recent incarnations of Gundam (SEED mainly) served only to cement my misguided view. But slowly I’ve found myself sliding into the world of Macross, with frightning ease. First it was just Macross Plus, because it begged to be seen as an OVA hallmark. Then it was Macross Zero because it was short and I liked Macross Plus. Then Frontier comes along and I find myself pretty excited about it. From there I fell with increasing speed into the surprisingly interesting Macross universe, having a friend relay to me in meticulous detail the entirety of the plot from the original Macross series, then promptly seeking out the series, as well as ‘Do You Remember Love’ from a friend and long-time Macross zealot. I’ve yet to watch them, but I fully intend to get through it all before Macross Frontier begins airing in earnest in April. So I’ve gone from unfounded revulsion, to a near future of sleep-derivational Macrossathoning.
However, as for Gundam, my ignorance persists. But, not to insult the many Gundam fans out there, from what I’ve gleaned, the plot is nowhere near as interesting or engaging as that of Macross, and the fact that it’s split into alternative timelines, rather than a single encompassing continuity is very off-putting. The thing that pulled me into Macross was the realisation that not only did it have mecha for those who love mecha, but it had reams of interesting and original sci-fi ideas - which I truly dig. On top of that, Macross is well-known for its strong production values and consistently solid storytelling. The amount of effort put into the recent Macross Zero and the current Macross Frontier dwarfs that of Sunrise’s work on Gundam Seed, which reeks of ungratifying mediocrity.
With a greater Macross background, and intensified interest, I rewatched Macross Frontier and found it a lot more enjoyable than I’d first fathomed. I’m now very doubtful that the characters I hated in the first episode will be major characters (Alto’s colleagues). Also, I payed more close attention to things and the story felt a little more firm than I’d first thought. The plot already has some intriguing mysteries to it, such as the identity of the aggressive alien attackers, and the reason why the SMS seemed to be expecting them, or at least some kind of contact. Also, what will the traditional Macross love triangle be? Looking forward to April and the cramming before then :)
Delicious Deculture!
I’ve become increasingly interested in Macross recently too. Plus was great fun, and DYRL is a beautiful piece of work, although more knowledgeable fans than I have told me it drifts a long way from the original SDF plot.
As for your second paragraph, I think the clearest way to sum up the difference between Macross and Gundam is to say that Macross rarely if ever takes itself as seriously as most of the Gundam franchise(s). This actually plays into the mechanical design too, but since you’re not a great mecha fan I’ll avoid going on about that.
I love Macross. Really I do. But I have to disagree with you on Macross’s “strong production values”, well at least for the older TV series. The original Macross and Macross 7 TV series had noticably sub-par animation. But I think the production values on the more recent Macross entries have been rather high. I guess having fewer Macross series does pay off.
I was a lot a ways like you in the sense that for the longest time I stayed away from Gundam and for the most part Macross for reasons I’ve yet to figure out. I’m still not a Gundam fan, but I really enjoyed Gundam 08th MS Team and may give other Gundam series a shot. As for Macross, I now consider myself a big fan of the franchise mostly because of SDF Macross and Macross DYRL (I enjoyed these way more than Plus, Zero, or Macross 2). I actually wasn’t impressed with the first episode of Frontier, but it’s obviously way too early to judge the show based on one episode.
>primeparadigm
Yeah I’m well aware that SDF Macross didn’t have stellar animation, to say the least. But it’s all relative really; that was, after all, an old and relatively long anime tv series. And since Macross Plus it seems to have been a trend to make Macross visually breathtaking.
>>mostly because of SDF Macross and Macross DYRL (I enjoyed these way more than Plus, Zero, or Macross 2)
Sounds like I’ll enjoy them too.
>>Macross rarely if ever takes itself as seriously as most of the Gundam franchise(s)
Yeah I’ve noticed that somewhat. Although I’m really shocked Gundam actually tries to take itself seriously with some of the stuff in those shows.
For whatever reason, I’m really looking forward to the new Macross series, yet Gundam 00 bored me so much that I dropped it. Maybe since your introduction to the Macross franchise was the same as mine (i.e. Plus, Zero, FANBOY in that order) you will be able to understand!
If you haven’t done so already, Do You Remember Love? is an excellent retelling of the original series - the visuals are slightly better (although still pretty dated by the standards of more recent stuff) but it crucially has that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that Gundam, for me at least, lacks.
I cannot wait to see where the rest of Frontier will take us because, like you, the story feels really solid and could yield some real surprises.
I’m realllyyy looking forward to the coming Macross Frontier as well, and it’s not just because of the bishie Alto :P I think I’ll be able to enjoy watching this more if I do so in the company of my brothers, who are the Macross fans in the house XD
Martin: Yeah I plan on watching DYRM. But my friend the Macross fanatic suggests that I watch the series before, seeing as DYRM os set in-universe.
>> think I’ll be able to enjoy watching this more if I do so in the company of my brothers, who are the Macross fans in the house XD
haha, I’m in the process of inducting my own brother into the fandom :)
I was just a gutless lurker when this post first came out… but I’m glad to meet new Macross fans. I’m a Macross Lifer all the way…
This year I’ll embark on a super dimensional journey: to watch the whole canon chronologically, from zero to frontier. See you around!