Macross Plus Movie Edition

Let's talk about 3 things: Dreams, friendships, and adult regrets.

Most people have a dream of what they want to become in life. Usually it's a career, and then what kind of life they wish to lead with which kind of people. These people develop friendships to help give their current live meaning, and to potentially help each other achieve their dreams and lead a happy life with the people they care about. Unfortunately, life does not always match up with a dream, and friends will not always last. For one reason or another, people will do something damaging or face a terrible circumstance, both ... of which can lead to resentment, and even regret. Suddenly, life isn't so pleasant, and you want nothing to do with some of the people you previously held so dear.

Macross Plus showcases a fantastic take on this, with one of the best and most tragic love triangles anime has to offer. Accompanying this with fantastic visuals and a soundtrack that lives up to its franchise's standards, and we have a classic film that holds up decades later.

It is the year 2040 A.D. Two test pilots are testing out their machines for this big project. They, unfortunately, were once friends until an incident involving a girl they both love, tears them apart. One adventurous and brazen Isamu and one jaded and violent Guld reunite in competition, not just for this project, but for the girl they both love named Myung. She arrives in Eden, a manager of a robotic singing idol device named Sharon. All three end up meeting up, only to realize, things have changed since 7 years ago, since the time when they used to be friends. Myung has given up her dream, while the boys still latch on to theirs. The movie leaves dramatic bits and pieces which seem odd at first, until you get cleverly and masterfully fed exactly why that is. Sure, the antagonist is crazy about Ismaul for disturbingly odd reasons, and the characters' emotions guide their extreme actions, but they're presented in such a way that you can keep the suspense and drama going, and not just root for one person. This is very much an adult film, and despite a few minor missteps in the end which chances are, you will notice, this movie is directed so brilliantly, that such a plot can be used to its fullest potential. Sure, not everyone gets closure, and it feels like some characters were just shoved out of the story, but it's a beautiful story none the less. Plus, while the movie ends a bit tragically, the final moments of the movie are just wonderful.

Isamu, Guld, and Myung are fascinating characters, written in a way that makes them come off as real people. They are presented realistically, and tragically, and that is one of the movie's strong points. These people are not just characters, stereotypes, or archetypes. These are people. They are full with regret, realistic emotions, and dialogue. You root for all three of them to reconcile, but this is real life. Something has to happen. They actively put themselves and each other in danger due to their own emotional trauma and goals. The description for these characters is in the story section, but it only describes a general portion of their character, rather than them as a whole. If I were to accurately describe them, there'd be no point to you watching these characters the way you're supposed to. By the end, you're supposed to feel as if you know these people personally, as if you were there with them, filming their dillemmas. The directing makes them more relatable than they'd normally be.

For the side characters, they are all rather pleasant, but nothing notably spectacular as it's the main trio that take precedence here. That only leaves Sharon, but to spoil her character, would deny you the full experience this movie offers, even what kind of character she is.

To be perfectly clear, this came out in 1995, and was done by Studio Triangle Staff. This movie has such beautiful concert effects, such realistic yet beautiful character models that represent the best of the film side of this anime era, such fluid and breathtaking battles that hold up majestically. The CGI is actually not intrusive or distracting, well most of the time. Sometimes, it gets a bit awkward, and not all of the effects blend perfectly with the CGI. However, some scenes, like the space fold scene look majestic. Seeing this futuristic 2040 and the effects and innovative features of these new Valkyries, just shows the beauty of this futuristic world. The wings can mold their shape. The vehicles look like futuristic versions of the vehicles presented in the time of the movie's release. It even retains a few of the city quirks of our modern times like spray cans being used as graffiti. The concert visuals look very impressive, and captivating. Once again, the fights look expertly crafted, and perfectly shot, leading to some of the best mech fights I've seen in quite some time. The sequence near the beginning with Isamu horsing around with the YT-19 really hooks you in as you feel the adventurous adrenaline that Ismau's feeling, due to the amazing directing by Shoji Kawamori, Shinichiro Watanabe, and Yuji Moriyama. It impresses 21 years later (at the time of this review) as it did back then along with contemporaries such as Ghost in the Shell, and that's a testament to it's beauty.

The actual OST done by Yoko Kanno is impressive. The guitar bit when Isamu does the airplane gesture with his hand conveys the tone of that quirk perfectly, and is honestly a bit catchy. Myung's song: Voices. It's a great and kinda beautiful song, in both English and Japanese. You should give it a listen. Sharon's songs are melodically creepy, except for that one cheerier and merrier one, which was also catchy. While the rest of the OST unfortunately isn't as memorable, the notable tracks more than make up for it, I find.

Needless to say, I loved this movie. It had some epic action, some brilliantly done characters, and an ability to really mesmerize me for the 1 hour and 55 minutes that it had to show, making it feel like so much less time has passed. It is one of the most captivating, emotionally resonant films and anime I've seen to date, and of the Macross installments thus far, this is the one I arguably love the most.

Overal, this is truly an amazing film, and any true fan of Macross or future based sci-fi, should give this classic a much needed watch. Its music is as good as to be expected given the Macross standard, and the characters and the narrative they drive are wonderful, if depressing. The fact that it also deals with repressed memories, which is a rare subject in anime, is proof enough of this film's ambitions. Please, it you are at least 15 years old, and can find a copy of this film somewhere, watch it; but it. It needs to be experienced for yourself as an installment of animated science fiction, and especially as a part of the Macross franchise. And with all of that said, I bid you adieu.

No crappy Minmay system is here , just an upgrade system called Sharon! wich sings in French, English and Japanese . MP; movie a simple complilation of the 4 ova´s put together, with some scene´s put out from the serie´s, but new scenes put in, and overall the ova´s were better, it still somewhat works out well. not too special
The animation is just the same, mature more lifelike charac. unlike other macros serie´s , and some scene´s reveals more about the isamu, guld and myung chara. childhood wich i liked, but it was just slitsecond scenes too bad. For me its all about ... the last 50 min. of the film thats shows the full potential of the 3-d uncut scene´s and when Sharon flys through the city is just soo well done for its time, together with some nice jetfight scene's between isamu and guld. And the jet design,s remain still some of the best i,ve seen in the whole macross universe!

I think of Macross Plus as a bit of a mess with pristine work that turned people like Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno into major names paired with a story that makes an atrocious choice that firebombs the entire work. I have a spoiler review of the OVA if you want me taking a bat to that particular hornet's nest.

The movie, while paring down some of the more impressive mood sequences, also heavily cuts the tender scenes that are pretty gross in hindsight. Also, if you're like me, reducing the scenes showing Isamu as a reckless, loose cannon is a plus; even if they're ... technically impressive, they bog down the first two parts of the OVA when the idea is grasped fairly early on.

It's the best presentation of a flawed work. It still has the ending that is an explosion of rushed and confused emotions, and there's still THAT PLOT TWIST, but it doesn't linger on its drawbacks nearly as much to make me able to appreciate the marvelous things it does accomplish.

Finally, Lucy MacMillan, you did nothing to deserve all of this, and none of them deserve you.

TL;DR

If you’re looking for a sequel to Macross with a similar story this is not it, but if you’re wanting to watch everything Macross, then this is enjoyable enough.
If you are choosing between this and the OVA: the OVA has better pacing, but the movie isn’t much different, while being less of a time sink.

Story [6]

This is a movie recap of Macross Plus: while its story is the same, it’s told in a more streamlined way, but by telling the same story in almost half the time has made the pacing almost too fast.

Even though Macross Plus is a sequel to the original Macross, its ... story is completely different: Macross Plus is much more similar to Top Gun than to the original Macross. The only major theme shared between the two shows is the presence of a love triangle, and the presence of a pop idol, but its role in the story is very different compared to other anime set in the Macross universe. While these changes aren’t necessarily bad, Macross Plus’s story cannot develop them enough to make them great; another problem of Macross Plus is the lack of consequences for major events, thus making the story less enjoyable.

Art [8]

The art style and the design are great: the Valkyries are well designed; the great design doesn’t stop at the Valkyries, also great is the concert from the second episode.
Like the art and the design, the animation is also very good: despite the age of this anime its animation still holds up and even the early 3D animation doesn’t look bad.

Also of note is the fact that in this version of Macross Plus some scenes that weren’t in the OVA were added, while others from the OVA were moved around.

Sound [8]

The sound track is good, but it isn’t as memorable as that of the original Macross, luckily this isn’t an issue since in Macross Plus music in general doesn’t feel as important as in other anime set in the same universe.

Characters [6]

While the side characters of Macross Plus are well made and used at the right times, the same cannot be said for the main characters: with the exception of the female lead, the male leads aren’t only selfish and generally unlikeable, but when they finally change, the motives of their conflict appear so weak that their becoming better people it’s not enough to make the show better.

Enjoyment [7]

Even though I didn’t really like Macross Plus for its story or for its characters, I did like it for the attention it gave to flying scenes and to the Valkyries: the Top Gun feel is what made me keep watching the OVA, and for the same reason I came back to the movie version of Macross Plus,