Macross: Do You Remember Love?

After warping light-years away from Earth, the spacecraft Macross carries a city of civilians and soldiers back home. They continuously fight off the threat of the Zentradi and Meltrandi, giant alien races with whom humanity wages war.

During a battle, the Macross transforms into a mecha operated by fighter pilot Hikaru Ichijou. Thrust into a number of hardships, Hikaru grows close to the city's idol Minmay Lynn. As their relationship develops, however, it is viewed unfavorably by others due to Minmay's status and popularity.

With war raging on and the state of Earth unknown, Hikaru and his fellow soldiers fight on against their mysterious enemies. Throughout the bloodshed, Hikaru and Minmay attempt to keep hold of their feelings for one another. Minmay pours her heart into her music, which may just turn out to be the key to finding peace.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hayase, Misa Main

Doi, Mika Japanese

Lynn, Minmay Main

Iijima, Mari Japanese

Ichijou, Hikaru Main

Hase, Arihiro Japanese

Focker, Roy Supporting

Kamiya, Akira Japanese

Jenius, Maximilian Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Fallyna, Milia Supporting

Takeda, Eri Japanese

Global, Bruno J. Supporting

Hazama, Michio Japanese

La Salle, Claudia Supporting

Ohara, Noriko Japanese

Milliome, Shammy Supporting

Miyuki, Sanae Japanese

Kravshera, Quamzin Supporting

Meguro, Kousuke Japanese

Kawamori, Shouji Director, Series Composition, Mechanical Design

Ishiguro, Noboru Director

Akiyama, Katsuhito Episode Director

Itano, Ichirou Storyboard, In-Between Animation, Animation Director, Key Animation

Reviews

Jan 4, 2025

immosha

Recommended

For full transparency, this is my first foray into the Macross franchise.

For its age, this is a very pretty anime with impressive background art and very solid animation, though most notably in its Itano circus scenes and battle fights. If this was pure sci-fi, would definitely solidify as it one of those series that demands a watch for its impact on anime mecha.

But while the complaint that idols in space converting aliens to CULTURE might be falling on deaf ears to adherents of this franchise, it is unfortunately so off-putting as a plot point that it simply requires a mention. This movie desperately ... wants to give a strong "I drink respect women juice" message throughout, whether through its weird alien men vs alien women background lore or shoehorned "machismo pilot that sexually assaults his partner" plot point. It almost comes off as one of the late Shinzo Abe's fertility messages or something that desperately should be broadcast in South Korea these days. But I digress - an idol platform on a major space fortress is a hilarious, almost campy addition to a traditional mecha anime, and probably not for the better.

The love triangle and how it's addressed also doesn't seem to help resolve whether this is a respect women movie or simply a wish fulfillment anime - though I suppose it is at least admirable that they decided to not have the protagonist pursue the idol and go for a mature woman (though one that still subscribes to traditional female roles in said relationship). Baby steps for the mid-80s, I suppose.

It's a beautiful movie everyone should watch to understand why this franchise exists, but damn is the messaging whack. FOR THE CULTURE!

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 1, 2016

You

Mixed Feelings

Macross is a classic mecha series that's surprisingly suits well with the musical dramas settings on it.

PLOT:
In the fictional modern world of 2009, Humans were engaged in war with a giant male aliens in which was called Zentraedi and their female counterpart Meltrandi. These two types of aliens were also warring each other. At one time when a singer called Lynn Minmay doing her concert, the Zentraedi began their invasion to humans, and she almost die during the incident but being saved by a young mecha pilot called Hikaru Ichijo, in which he unintentionally saw her struggling when he retreated to the Macross, humans mothership. ... They soon get trapped somewhere at the mothership and was founded later. After then, Hikaru begins his romantic journey as well as his war to defeat the giant aliens. The premise was pretty good, combining musical romance with mechs fighting. The pacing, considering this is a movie reboot of a 36 episodes series which will probably be rushed, is acceptable. And the ending was also pretty well done, although not as good as my expectations. So overall, it was pretty good one.

CHARACTERS:
This movie have so many characters introduced considering the duration so well, most of them aren't well developed, only the protagonist seems to be quite three dimensional (or maybe between two and three dimensional.) The characters are somewhat relatable for me. I'd say overall the characterization was slightly better than average.

SOUNDS AND VISUALS:
This is probably the best part of this movie. The art was very fluid, the action was drawn good, and it surprisingly also has a great atmosphere, but keep in mind that I also consider the year of it's release too, it's brilliant for a 80-s film. As for the sound, what can you expect more for musical film? Lynn song was beautiful IMO, and the sound effects during the actions are also very good.

ENJOYMENT:
This is probably the worst part of my review. Not that I didn't enjoy old shows, but rather like I'm not very interested in mechas, NTR scenes, and high dose of sexism, even more than nowadays ecchis or harems (I didn't really like the idea of overly sexist or feminist story tbh since I'm an egalitarian.) But other than all that thing that turning me off I pretty enjoy the other aspects. The fact that I haven't watched the 36 episodes of the series may be also take account to some of my discontent to this show, so I'm going to say sorry for you guys Macross fans. If you're a mecha fan and okay with old shows and sexism, I pretty recommend this show to be watched tbh.

Okay guys I think that's all of my review, thank you for spending your time reading this, I hope you enjoyed this!

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 23, 2023

ZeraX

Not Recommended

The original Macross anime was a unique show that delved into the profound themes of intergalactic discovery, mutual understanding, complex character development, and the struggles of humanity's survival. However, this movie seemed to have lost sight of the essence that made the series so special, as it turned into a mere two-hour advertisement for song albums.

One of the most glaring issues with this adaptation is the rushed and haphazard storytelling. The rich character development that made the original anime so compelling is completely lacking in this movie. Many characters seem to have lost their significance and screen time, leaving the audience disconnected and unsatisfied. The ... core essence of the story was butchered, reducing it to a mere fraction of its original depth and impact.

Moreover, the action sequences are now just pathetic mindless beam spam here. It's a far cry from the engaging and purposeful battles that were integral to the charm of the original show.

The movie's decision to omit crucial moments that were strong points in the original series only adds to my disappointment. The heartfelt episodes where the aliens explored and interacted with human culture have been reduced to shallow and fleeting moments centered around idol song clips. This change not only diminishes the emotional connection between characters but also disregards the profound messages that the original anime conveyed.

As someone who cherished Macross for its captivating story and meaningful themes, I found little in this movie that could convince me to replace the anime with it. If you have a penchant for frequent idol song interludes every ten minutes, you might find some enjoyment in this adaptation. However, for those of us who were drawn to Macross for its powerful narrative and profound messages, this movie fails to live up to its predecessor and is ultimately a major letdown.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Macross: Do You Remember Love? Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Trojun - May 16, 2008	83 replies	by StewedBeefHaunch »» Mar 16, 2:44 AM
	This count as a summary? Umbreon20 - Sep 14, 2022	3 replies	by Riilu »» Sep 20, 2022 3:08 PM
	Series Connection? MrShepherd - Jul 1, 2010	8 replies	by HeirofZor »» Apr 29, 2020 5:40 AM
	This is the greatest and most beautiful anime movie ever made. Kleferi - Feb 27, 2010	7 replies	by Xstasy »» Feb 5, 2020 2:21 PM
	is it a remake? IshigamiSenku17 - Mar 27, 2016	0 replies	by IshigamiSenku17 »» Mar 27, 2016 5:44 AM

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