Ranked #294

Macross Frontier

Macross Frontier isn’t merely another sci-fi space opera. Despite incorporating just about every anime cliché in the book—from school drama to mecha to moe to the love triangles that are the Macross franchise’s signature—Macross Frontier manages to create something that is simultaneously the maximum fulfillment of its genre’s capacity and also the complete and utter subversion of its viewer’s expectations. It’s been hailed as the SDF-Macross of the 21st Century, and there’s no doubt about that; even for viewers unfamiliar with the original Macross series, Macross Frontier bridges nearly every gap imaginable to create something that will undoubtedly stand the test of time as its original predecessor has.

The directing is superb, though I cannot say with much conviction that it’s entirely noteworthy. The signature tracking shots of dog-fighters have been given extraordinary retrofits with wonderful CGI integration, and immediately call to any Macross fan’s mind the meticulously drawn epic battles of the original series and its companion film, yet they still manage to remain largely unique. This lies in the masterful art direction and consistently top-notch quality found throughout the whole series, giving the impression of absolute relevancy yet remaining “Macross” enough to justify just enough nostalgia to appeal to any fan.

The soundtrack is easily one of the series’ highlights (though it shouldn’t be said that it is its best feature, considering how utterly well-done the series as a whole is). Yoko Kanno provides the perfect musical accompaniment to the lovely vocals of Megumi Nakajima and May Nakabayashi. The climax of the whole show provides one of the most interesting medley collages of music I’ve ever encountered, and pretty much reestablishes (or at least adds credence to) Yoko Kanno’s position as one of the greatest soundtrack composers of all time.

And then there’s the narrative. This is a show that takes everything the last decade’s anime had to offer, rolls it up into a single coherent narrative, and manages to not only pull off a great story, but actually USE these tropes, clichés, and techniques as something more than they’re usually intended. Its surface-level plot is utterly brilliant in its simplicity, as it allows the deeper aspects of its meta-themes to shine through—particularly its rather odd-yet-genius juxtaposition of moe, school drama, and slice-of-life with mecha, space opera, sci-fi, and action of apocalyptic scope. While this may not be entirely new to the genre—nor even to the Macross franchise, seeing as how SDF-Macross did something along these lines on its own—it should be noted that Macross Frontier raises the bar with its ability to pull these ideas (and more) into a cohesive narrative structure.

Its seemingly simplistic plot allows for character development in leaps and bounds, to the point that just about every character in the series is fleshed out enough to be a well-rounded and three-dimensional device. Despite this, Macross Frontier remains a heavily plot-driven show, as much of the conflict created between the characters—masterfully handled as it is—remains largely unresolved through interactions and relies on plot-driven consequences in order to keep the whole narrative flowing. At times this peeks through as a detriment, but for the most part the show manages to balance itself out. To its credit, it never fully lapses into ungrounded melodrama and angst in order to illustrate character interaction, and seems to be acutely aware of the fine line between well-executed drama and baseless moaning. In compensation for its shortcomings with overall character drive, the plot takes advantage of allegory and an abundant use of vague foreshadowing to create an ever-shifting storyline that never really has a chance to congeal into a set routine.

This is a series that will have you grinning madly with anticipation, overwhelmed with the intensity of the action, and feeling the impact of rejection, doubt, and loss. It’s a fantastic introduction to the Macross franchise, and it’s the perfect successor to the Macross name. Recommended to any fan of anime. read more

*A Stunning Revival of a 25 Years Old Series.*

"Simple, easy to comprehend plot. Skillfully developed love triangle. Masterpiece level animation and music."

To those who are new to the Macross franchise, you can find some info on it here. Now first to clarify a thing for those who are confused with the "Macross Frontier Deculture Edition". The difference is simply that the Deculture Edition is the "pilot episode" of the TV series. Another way of putting it is an OVA version of episode 1 of the TV series which was aired ~3 months later.

Taking place 47 years (story-wise) after the original series, Super Dimension Fortress Macross. We are now in the year 2059 AD. The Space War with the Zentradi was long since over and the new migration fleet, Macross Frontier, is now under attack by a new alien race. The story revolves around a love triangle and how the three cope with each other while dealing with the threats from the aliens.

The battle animations are absolutely STUNNING. Fluid CG battle animations to very detailed character outlook are very much the highly for the show. One can even tell that the background for most scenery were well thought out and well designed. Oh, and very consistent quality of animation.

"1st Anime Album in 11 Years to Rank in Japan's Top 3"

"Two Macross Frontier Singles in Japan's Weekly Top 10"

"All four of the Macross Frontier singles that have been released have debuted at #5 or higher."

How does that sound for starter? The Macross series were largely famous for its music as they all played an integral part in every single Macross title. However, one can say Macross Frontier have taken the anime song industry to a whole new golden era! Both the singer and seiyu responsible for singing the second OP won awards for their fabulous works.

A lot of characters developments happened in the latter half of the series making it a bit boring to watching in the beginning (as far as characters are concerned). However this is balanced by Sheryl Nome's character development which was extremely well done especially toward to the end of the series.We also be Alto and Ranka mature over time (albeit very late in the series).

The series as a whole was very well made with amazing sound effects and graphic. The love triangle between the 3 protagonists was interesting to watch as well. It was painful to see the show end, but at least it was announced that a movie is underway.


*Update on February 10, 2009*
If you liked Macross Frontier, you may be happy to know that it was voted by anime fans a week ago as THE anime of 2008. In addtion, May'n (Sheryl's singing VA) also got voted as one of the top anime singer. read more