Macross Δ

One sentence to describe the series: <<A show that had promise but was ruined by bad planning.>>

As someone who got genuinely hooked by the original Macross TV show and have watched all of its successors, this is the stance I would take as I write this review.
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1. Story: 4.5/10
The best way to describe the story of Delta is fictional ISIS vs fictional UN. On the drawing board, it certainly looks like an enticing concept where great stories can unfold, right and wrong muddle together in the gray area, emotions are faced with hard cold reality. Unfortunately, in Delta, the staff tried to chew more than ... they can. What resulted of this was an unfocused show, many subplots unresolved, characters remained to their shell-like personalities until the end, opportunities to explore the lore of Macross in a deeper level have been squandered due to mismanaged storyboards and screen time, pacing issues,some main characters are even pushed to the side to give even more time to the under delivered couple that this anime features and finally, characters are killed for the sake of creating drama and not steering the cast into a resolve. Added to this is the many recalls to older series’ moments and songs which makes some of the old fans laugh in sadness and contemplate what show this has become to use this move to keep their attention. The laid back and comedic atmosphere of the beginning didn’t help for the latter since it couldn’t bring the viewer to realize how dreadful the situation have become at the end of the show. The ending was rushed with the only closure being the result of the love triangle. All of this complies into a boring and unpolished show which at the end of a 8 years long wait, is not the masterpiece that many fans of the series have hoped for.
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2.Characters: 4/10
We always had a colorful cast in a Macross series and Delta is no exception. Hayate, the blue hair human protagonist, has a nonchalant attitude towards most things but have a unyielding desire to fly. Freyja, the energetic Winderemere girl who loves to sing and wants to be in the ranks of Walkure. For the Delta squadron, we have the captain Arad, second-in-command Messer, the joyful Chuck and at last, Mirage, who’s from a family of legendary ace pilots. For the idol group Walkure, we have the mysterious lead singer, Mikumo, the caring group leader Kaname, the friendly Makina and the cool but expert hacker, Reina. We also have the fleet captain, Ernest, in the mix.
For the Windermere side, we got Heinz, the prince and his father, the king Gramia, the Aerial Knights which ace pilot is named Keith or White Knight. There’s also Roid who help the king and the prince with battle tactics and politics.
With all this said, the characters remained much to their cliché-like personalities until the end. There’s little to no development on their part. They are like blank sheet of paper and as the story progresses, only few of them get some gribble on it while some of them get thrown in a fire pit while they are potential platform to create meaningful relationships between them or get their back story explored. For the lack of better words, the staffs wasted the materials on their hands. As for the viewers, there’s little to relate to these characters due to their bland, unrealistic and uninteresting personalities.
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3.Love Triangle 5/10
As for the love triangle we come to expect from this series, it is very much a linear line with a firmly marked line between Hayate and Freyja and a line composed little uncanny dots between Mirage and Hayate, closed with sometimes tense and loose line between Mirage and Freyja. Yet, the reason for weak link for Mirage to the two other characters is not because her character ,itself, is unable to express her feelings until the end. It is the consequence of her badly written and little-to-none development that everyone of them suffers but out of all of them, she’s the one who suffer the most because all she ever gets is one-liners and barely enough screen time to prove her relevance compared to the other two mains.
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4.Character Art 7/10
I won’t spend much time on this since it is not my area of expertise but the characters do have a lot of popping colors. You’re kinda looking at a candy show to be honest. Sometimes, it even detracts the viewer and break the show immersion when they bring in the serious moments since the characters looks so funky. Costume designs are ok. The main gripe I have and that is personal ,is the doodling on their nails when they are in some of their costumes aka nailpolish. Since those colors are meant to pop and to catch your attention. Closeface shot of their hand with their face on camera inevitably draws your attention to their nails instead of their intended focus of their faces. This may cause you to wonder if the artists have too much freetime on their hands and doodle them on the characters.
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5.Mecha design 3/10
For this series, we got the VF-31 Siegfield, which is, the mass production model of the experimental YF-30 Chronos from the PS3 Macross 30 video game. The VF-31 is essentialy it’s predecessor, with a forward swept wing design, the ability to deploy drones for Walkure use, a beam cannon and a wireless recharger for the drones on its foldable backpack system instead of the missile pods in the backpack(called multipurpose container), a pin point barrier system for shielding, a combat knife in the forearm and a fresh coat of paint. It has only one pack, the super pack, which give it additional missile pods. It also incorporate the fold crystals which where present since the YF-29 Durandal. Fairly disappointed for the lack of innovation in this domain and the lack of packs since we were so spoiled by Frontier with its multiple packs.

For the Windermere side, we have the Sv-262 Draken III which is a new design, with a delta wing design, have 2 drones on each wing tips that acts as secondary boosters and can be deployed for combat. It is also equipped with a gunpod and 2 small gunpods located in the nose of the plane.

Then we have Macross Elysion... Just imagine Macross quarter and twice its size. That’s it. Move along....
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6. 3D animation + battle choreography: 3/10
The 3D animation + models we’ve gotten have not been improved since Frontier. In some ways, it is even a step back. In all the battles, it seems like the animators have too much fun with the shading and made all the colors too dull and lifeless + a white filter that tries to bring the dull colors back to life and the result is a unattractive product that has uneven blend of gray and dull colors that make you question the effort put into it. The 3D models do not mesh with its surrounding. Beam effects and explosions are underwhelming at best and terrible at worst. There’s no sense power or magnitude coming from them. It seems dumb down. No soul. No spirit in these works. Well, at least the particle effects after the VF-31 look ok. That is the only effect that I deemed original.

As for the battle choreography, there’s none of that fluid 3 mode Valkyrie battles we come to expect. In Delta, what you have the majority of time is a watered down version of the dogfights from Top Gun. Gerwalk mode and Battleroid mode are barely featured in the entirety of the series. When there are of it, the sequences are incredibly short. Valkyrie battle choreography is one of the fundamentals of the Macross franchise. In this case, it is not taken seriously and the end result shows it.
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7.Sound and songs: 6.5/10
For the sound effects in this series, it is perhaps the most forgettable thing of them all. Why you may ask? They reused the sfx from Frontier or slightly modify it it and call it a day. To make it worse, they even forget to add sfx for the moving Valkyries. Normally, when mechanical parts move, you have piston sfx for the hydraulics. When you go into boost mode in your plane, you should hear the engine roaring. If you break the sound barrier, there should be a sonic boom. Yet, in Delta, they completely forgo the use of that because the songs played in the background are way more important than adding realism. The sound balancing was an issue during the first court of the anime. It was either too quiet or too loud or inconsistent at all.

This finally leads me to the songs. They are based on the popular idol group trend. Therefore, they are going for those catchy lyrics. As music is based on personal taste and experience, this will be my opinion. Due to the fact that previous Macross series had legendary songwriters/composers ( The recent one being Yoko Kanno who composed for Macross Frontier), Delta music feels underwhelming in comparison to its predecessors , though few of its songs are quite ok like “Hametsu no Junjou”, “Giraffes Blues” and “Ore no Senjou”. Yet, you gotta ask yourself: “Is it alright to ruin a song because you want it to follow a certain trend?” Because, Delta songs have a bad habit of doing this. The prime example is “Ichido dake no Koi nara” which started with a beautiful transition of voices, building up to the refrain with a dramatic fashion and it gonna be ecstatic to listen but the listener is greeted with some generic cute idol trick that ruins the momentum of the song and that’s repeated throughout it. “Ikenai Borderline” suffers greatly as a whole for the cute idol group singing style. How disappointing for the few decent songs the series have to offer, they get covered up by more of the mediocre idol group trend songs. Plus, a lot of these songs cannot convey the emotions they carried since the singers themselves are young, ranging from twenties-something to the youngest, 15. They do not have the the singing experience nor the life experience to pass the emotions in these soulful songs. But, I would say they do a decent job for an Idol group and considering the numerous blank music time have to be fill in with dances and stage choreography. As for the song that the prince sings, it is quite impressive, compared to Walkure songs, but it gets spammed to non stop and gets quite annoying by the end of the series.
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8.Verdict/ Enjoyment
Unfortunately, after 8 years of waiting, this may be the worst entry of this franchise but it is by no mean an awful anime in and out of itself. The show was planned to be a 13 episode anime + a movie but they decided to be a 2 court anime by the middle of it. Therefore, it is why I presented my thesis quote in the beginning of this review : << A show that had promise but was ruined by bad planning.>> They simply didn’t have enough time to plan the second court and it was kinda made on the fly, At the end, if not for its “ok” music and the few good moments it has, it would landed itself in the very bad category. But, with the flaws it present and the lack of novelty it brings to the franchise as a whole, I give it a 5 out of 10. It will be awhile again for the next Macross series... *sigh*
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Suggestion for those who wants to watch more Macross:
If you want story, I would suggest the original Macross TV show. It has, overall, better story, character developments and what establish the reasons older fans have fell in love with the franchise. When you finish it, take a look at the movie “Do you remember love”. It has some of the best tracks of the franchise.

For laidback and some fun like Delta, try the sorta sequel to the original, Macross 7. It has its quirks + rock and roll music in contrast of the more pop music. It should be a fun ride.

For dogfights and epic airplane maneuvers, Macross Zero and Plus are what it’s all about. Ace vs ace aerial combat.

If you’re more into recent pop music or wants some breathtaking 3 mode fluid Valkyrie battles, I would suggest Macross Frontier and its movies.

That’s it for me. Hope y’all got a good read. If you want to discuss about Delta, you can find folks in the forum. Who knows, I might even join in.

YK out.

Narrative formulas; conventions; archetypes; genres. In the event that a fictional narrative turns into a series, then later a franchise -a brand of its own so to speak- it comes as no surprise that eventually the formula which had more or less distinguished the work from others will then arrive at a point wherein it is forced to change completely, adapt to contemporary circumstances, attempt to maintain the status quo, dissolve into a state of total irrelevancy, or end for good and become fondly remembered by many faults and all. Such is the case with Macross Delta.

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Macross Delta is representative of the 'Macross formula' in ... the late stages of its existence, by that I mean that the Macross formula, if one continues to comply to it to a T as it has so done since its inception, only makes the formula age badly. Why? Because unfortunately at this moment in time, Macross as a whole has inexplicably entered into a dire situation of Catch-22. To change or not to change? IF we change, then HOW MUCH SHOULD we change? Do we leave Macross as it is and END it RIGHT NOW, or PERHAPS LATER? The extent of the questions that had ultimately left the Macross formula in this state ultimately consummates into what can simply be deemed as "If we change Macross then we'll end up upsetting the fans, but if we don't change then Macross will start to become stale."

This raises several questions. For one, just what about Macross ESSENTIALLY defines it as Macross? And for that matter, if we experiment around and create variations of the ESSENTIALS of Macross, will that in turn result in Macross no longer being 'Macross' too, or will Macross continue to remain as 'Macross' regardless of how many or what Macross series are produced? With all of this in mind, we can thus say that the first Macross series introduced to the audience the general outline of an archetypical Macross plot -which is itself somewhat of a Jungian archetype- as well as the themes and concepts it wishes to tackle. From there, it can be observed that all Macross series are variations of those ESSENTIALS, with Macross 7 being the zaniest Macross, Macross Plus showcasing Macross in its simplest form, Macross Zero being Macross at its most somber and poignant, Macross Frontier highlighting Macross at its zenith with the successful revitalization of the classic formula that propelled Macross into the world stage, and... Macros Delta with Macross retreading the same old formula in hopes of replicating the success of Frontier but ultimately fails due to the various components that the creators have used in an attempt to differentiate Delta from the rest- hence the formula showing its age REALLY BADLY. That, and well every aspect of Delta's concepts -from plot to characters- are simplistically understood and implemented.

Although it may seem that Macross 7 was unfortunately conceived with and steeped in such mistakes, rather what led to Macross 7's incredibly divisive response and resultant overall identity in relation to the other Macross series was its identity being rooted in an experimental lighthearted absurdism that is implemented in extreme fashions at certain moments within its narrative in comparison to Macross Delta, where as previously mentioned, the roots of its identity and narrative are built upon an attempted resurrection of the cultural impact of Macross Frontier, but that the comprehension and resulting implementation of the elements that constitute the core elements that made Macross and Macross Frontier so culturally impactful and resonant were disappointingly oversimplified, hasty and even outright incorrect.

In any case, to further expand upon the reasons as to why the formula has clearly shown signs of its age with Macross Delta, it can be said that there is just simply not much to expand FROM, without resorting to the constant homages and the mere repetition and toying around with motifs, plot points and the various structures in place, in addition to having to maintain a linear timeline of events, unlike Gundam- but even then, Gundam too is stuck in this stage and both will forever continue to remain in their current states so long as there is no CHANGE.

I'd personally rather not discuss about Delta's plot considering the above reasons, but I believe that nonetheless, whatever plot points that were introduced to us in Macross Delta were adequately developed with straightforwardness in mind, thus allowing viewers to be able to understand it well, even though the scripting of and the actual creative value of events is as textbook Macross as it can get, simply uninspired. In addition, Macross Delta in contrast to Macross 7 left us hanging with quite a few plot points that were simply left unresolved, which makes us question as to why in the Milky Way did the creators designed the plot in such a way so as to add them into it to begin with. There were several heartfelt moments emanating genuine sentiment but with the way the plot's designed, there's just simply not enough of that to bring the plot out of uninspired hell.

When it comes to the overall tone of Delta, it is generally much, much more lighthearted, carefree, optimistic (especially optimistic and carefree) and poppy which likens it to Macross 7, but considering the narrative structure and the various events scripted into it, results in a different product in the end because if there ever was one thing about Macross which gave it its distinctive identity is that as the plot nears its end, the situation becomes SIGNIFICANTLY DIRE thus giving the necessary emotionality to the bleak end game situations, whereas in Delta due to its very nature and uninspired and stock plot design results in the emotional charge of the plateau deflating before the plot had even begun to enter its climactic stage. In short, just about every single aspect of the narrative in Delta simply does not lend itself to the sense of sheer dread and desperation that previous Macross series had, hence the emotional blandness of the show.

The overall dialogue is frankly serviceable as it is simply not creative enough and once again, uninspired throughout to warrant much of viewers' attention, not to mention that due to the tone of Delta, comes off as quite cartoony. I just roll my eyes most of the time, hah.

Indeed, despite the inherent potentialities that lies within a much more carefree approach to Macross, it is regrettable to say that all of that is wasted in an unresolved Catch-22 problem resulting in a trite work which adds little towards fanning the infernos of nostalgia to Macross's past or even towards igniting the embers of Macross's future on fire. Absolutely disappointing- hhmph!

But hey, there's at least some of the songs and all so yeah, let's just move on and talk about that down below. Junbi wa ii ka nen?

Narrative, Thematic, Scripting & Character Design/Direction (Rating: 4)
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Okay, so before we get down to the music and sound, let's just talk about the visuals for a bit. For one thing, this show actually has very consistent visuals throughout, in the form of consistent animation both hand-drawn and computer-generated, consistent drawings, backgrounds consistently full of features, and constant inclusion of plenty of well-done visual effects. Once again, I'd like to reiterate that I'm simply no expert or even that deeply knowledgeable about these technical aspects, but simply put, Macross Delta is competently produced. It's just that, while it is indeed competently produced, it doesn't have many standout and highly creative visual features either, barring the straight-to-TV Macross shows of the pre-2000 years.

But wait, if there was anything about Delta that I could consider to be very creative, it would have to be the first ED sequence. It's basically a very well-made sequence featuring one of the main characters Freyja Wion going about locations in real life, in which all of that is animated via a technique that I'm frankly not knowledgeable about but can be described as utilizing captured video footage to set up as the visual basis for the sequence, then after animating and inserting Freyja into that footage, having the footage go through intensive post-processing with image filters and such which ultimately gives the sequence its highly distinct look. Very interesting and quite impressive I'd say.

Visual & Animation Design/Direction (Rating: 7)
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The overall sound design in this show is once again, just like the visuals competently produced- voice acting included. As for the music, wherein due to the tone of Delta, it is essentially designed to be as contemporaneous and poppy as possible- what with electronic and brass based music timbres, dance pop based song structures, generally faster time signatures, group based synchronized vocal performances in the style of so-called idol groups and whatnot. Not all of Delta's music consists of such style of pop music however, as there're some slower, more soulful songs as well, in particular the general vocal track sung by the opposing faction featured in Delta, as well as one Walkure song which is composed as more of a ballad than the more electronic dance pop based fare.

As for me, I generally really liked a fair bit of Walkure's songs, particularly Ikenai Borderline as well as the first OP song, and both main ED songs.

Sound Design/Direction (Rating: 8)
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The drive to constantly recapture the success of the original Macross in the post-2000s straight-to-TV Macross shows has resulted in the Macross formula becoming increasingly stale and trite, unless it changes or utilizes the formula to tell more different narratives like Plus and Zero did. In fact, one could even say that Macross Delta is ironically the antithesis of what was sooooooo extremely archetypal -in the Jungian sense- of the original Macross; Frontier came close to replicating this, but it was ultimately created in such a fashion so that it may stand on its own, i.e., with its own sense of identity, so as to become a fine addition to the over-arching narrative of the setting of Macross.

Speaking of which, you know what all of this "formula aging badly and getting stale" reminds me of? The entire post-1990s career of the rock band U2 and -in a different way but still quite the Catch-22- the Resident Evil series of games as a whole, go figure. That and well, there's just waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy less combat-based action in this show compared to previous ones.

Personal Enjoyment/Appreciation (Rating: 4)
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And with that, I shall bid all of you farewell and thank you for reading. Till next time then!

(Personal Rating: 5)

(Critical Rating: 5)

As a long time fan of Macross i felt a little disappointed with this serie, let me numerate the problems with this one

1) There is no focus on the mechs, that is one of the many selling points of Macross, there is barely a variety of mechs, only a Valkyrie that was recycled from one of the PS3 games of Macross Frontier (Macross 30) with a Super pack, and the antagonist have a upgraded version of a old VF, that's it, even the Macross ship doesn't do anything worthwhile (in the final episode it even does a Daedalus attack but it did not even use ... the Super Dimensional Cannon)

2) The plot is very lackluster the only thing that is worth mentioning are flashbacks and references to old series, this is Aquarion Logos all over again, they even did a "befriending" ending instead of "humanity (and some aliens) prevailed through sheer numbers and missiles"

3) It looks like Kawamori wanted to sell more Walkure CD's and less mechs considering all the history is around them, the pilots are just there for the sake of it, and Hayate is there to be shipped with Freja, even since episode one people already knew that they were going to end together, not like the old Macross that it was not until the final episode that the MC decided of what girl he likes (or in other cases is just barely mentioned)

For all the Macross out there this is one of the most boring ones, is not terrible but is not as good as the old ones, even Frontier was superior to this

This had a lot more potential than Macross 7 , but it went south-side real fast toward the end , to rushed , his choice of a girl is questionable at best , not that any of them were any good , Mirage for one has no development and Freyia's cute and all , but with her problem with dying really young, I don't know what to say , she is more of a friend material than GF material , I would've gone for Mikumo , mysterious and all , plus that they had some kind of synergy even with their little to none connection ... .
As many said before nothing really ended , no question answered , I can probably say that in 26 eps nothing happened .
If you watch this as any other anime , not as a Macross franchise than it would pass as something watchable , but if you want to see something that reminds you of how awesome the whole Macross universe is than you can kiss that thought goodbye since this is a total mess ...
I could go on on how bad this is but I will leave it as this . Some will say that 6 overall is to much , but I find it appropriate , since it was FINE , a FINE disappointment.

I think I don't have the choice to write my first review on this anime because i liked so much Macross F, but that...

Just one thing : How can they sing off key in a music anime ?

Even the story is bad, we can see good animations but it's impossible to have this level of musics compared to the other macross or anime in general.

Last episode is quite good but music Freyja's music ruined it. The only good song in this anime is the song of the stars.. And we can say that in the entire story, songs are the problem, or maybe ... just singers I don't know.. but i'm very disappointed by that.

For long time fans of the Macross franchise, you know it well for three things being prominent within the plots of all its titles: jets turning into mecha, the Power of Song, and a love triangle. Macross Delta continues this trend taking place eight years after the events of Macross Frontier where humanity is combating the Windermearan alien race to claim independence from the New United Government that has influence over all planets within the galaxy, with the series mainly focused on the developments of teen pilot Hayate Immelmann, Windermearan teen Freyja Wion, and half-Zentradi ace pilot Mirage Farina Jenius.

Before I get into exploring the ... plot and characters of Delta, I should first cover the obvious highlight of the series coming in the form of its presentation. Visually, Macross Delta is easily among the best-looking titles of 2016 with gorgeous and detailed scenic shots, CG-rendered mecha that are highly detailed and mesh well with the regular animation, and highly fluid and intense battle scenes involving both mecha and humanlike characters. There are a good deal of special effects employed for the animation with a number of the gimmicks that the series employs such as use of holograms, the clothing that Walkure can transform into when doing their musical performances, and use of interdimensional technology that help enhance the viewing experience of watching Delta. Speaking of music, Macross Delta employs an energetic J-pop soundtrack to complement its many combat and dramatic scenes that are catchy and engaging to listen to as past entries in the Macross franchise, though does gradually start to feel repetitive with some of the same songs being sung by Walkure.

When it comes to story and characters for Macross Delta, things are not as impressive. The biggest problem with this series compared to many others in the franchise is that while other titles made nods at best to past titles of Macross without it getting in the way of their storytelling, Delta gets too immersed into the franchise's lore by wanting to remind the audience about story elements to its past titles and not offering anything new to engage folks to Delta. The series had some opportunities to deeply explore new elements of Delta such as the shortened lifespan of the Windermearan and some shocking revelations about a few characters revealed later in the series. But it never takes these opportunities and as a result, the plot and characters to Delta look quite shallow and archetypal compared to many past titles of the Macross franchise. As a result, the love triangle that Delta tries to explore with Hayate, Freyja, and Mirage is not so convincing and engaging to see develop since the outcome for who gets Hayate was obvious and the chemistry between the three for the romance did not feel so genuine.

Overall while a presentation pleaser, Macross Delta felt like a superficial shell of its past installments as it got too immersed into wanting to remind fans of its lore and plot, leaving characters underdeveloped and missing out on some major opportunities at storytelling. It certainly sticks out as one of the weaker franchises of the Macross franchise I have watched.

Macross Δ is the Saturday morning cartoon version of Macross Frontier. There is less substance and narrative consistency, but the bright colors and cool action scenes make you want to continue staring blindly into the screen, while slurping up a spoonful of Cocoa Puffs. Though not completely bereft of significance in the franchise, Delta pales in comparison to some of its predecessors.

This review of Macross Δ is spoiler free!

—Story/Characters

Synopsis: Eight years after the events of Macross F, a mysterious phenomenon known as the Var Syndrome is gradually consuming the galaxy. It's up to a new generation of highly capable Valkyrie pilots to deal with this ... universal menace. And if they didn't have enough on their plate already, the Aerial Knights Valkyrie fighter team from the Kingdom of Wind have come to challenge the Delta Squadron.

The series takes place after Macross F, but you do not need to watch Frontier to understand Delta. You don't even have to know Macross linguistics to get a basic understanding of the show. While, it's easier to learn the usage of terms like "deculture," "fold-waves," etc. Sometimes it's easier to just dive into a legacy franchise, rather than ruminate over the semantics. If not immediately understanding every bit of slang in the show bothers you, if you browse a few Macross Wikipedia pages or forums, you'll be caught up in no time!

I think the most interesting theme that Delta explores is the effect that music has on the masses. The bad guys, the Aerial Knights of the Windermere Kingdom, have hatched a malicious ploy to use a young, possible castrato, boy to sing through a portal—which weaponizes the citizens of enemy countries, by zombifying them and thus, making attack each other by going berserk. This condition has been diagnosed in the Brísingr Globular Cluster as the Vár Syndrome. Only select idols, part of a group called Walküre, have the combined "fold-wave" abilities to counteract the disease. Interestingly enough, the main heroine, Freyja, is a Windmerian refugee, so she's essentially caught between two worlds.

The plot could have been more interesting in execution than it was. After watching Frontier and rewatching Delta, I understand the grievances that older fans have with the 2016 revival. First of all, by comparison, the characters are cardboard. Even if you like a character's aesthetic or a basic personality trait, it's hard to get attached to any of the characters, outside of their seiyū and design. Many episodes are just Shoji Kawamori's most bombastic ideas, come to life. There are some really neat world details, like area in the Brísingr Globular Cluster, where the main characters reside, is an Himalayan, beach resort type of place—where they part with the souls of the dead through a flying jellyfish ritual. I mean, that's cool!

The biggest disappointment was the slogging travel between the Brísingr Globular Cluster and the Windermere Kingdom, after Mikumo gets kidnapped. The characters just become more boring, shouty, and convoluted than ever before. Freyja's backstory is built-up to be something exciting, but it actually a pretty standard, boring backstory and Mikumo's utilization becomes the main focus of the arc.

The story even hints at the Aerial Knights all having unique and interesting backstories, and even though they're hinted at, most of them aren't full realized, if they're even mentioned at all! There's even a spin-off manga series that goes into their stories, called Macross Δ: The Black-Winged White Knight. My response to this is, why couldn't they have integrated more of that into the main plot? Do so many of the characters feel two-dimensional because Delta was simply too ambitious?

Secondly, compared the Frontier, Delta is lacking in quality. The first two or three episodes are absolutely gorgeous, but then the visuals devolve into lumpy, potato-faced people with clunky CGI graphics. It's apparent that in the television version of Frontier that they didn't have the greatest budget, but, boy, did that show have heart and it felt as though the animators put their most into making the best out of what they had to work with. A quality that Delta may have had, if it wasn't roughly effaced during production.

—Technical

Shoji Kawamori (director and original creator)
* AKB0048
* Chikyū Shōjo Arjuna
* Crusher Joe (mechanical design)
* Escaflowne
* Ghost in the Shell (mechanical design)
* Macross (mechanical design)
* Macross 7
* Macross Delta
* Macross Plus
* Macross Zero
* Macross: Do You Remember Love?
* Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (mechanical design)
* Transformers Zone (mechanical design)
* Transformers: Chōjin Master Force (mechanical design)
* Transformers: Scramble City (mechanical design)
* Transformers: The Headmasters (mechanical design)

Commentary: As I said in my review for Macross Frontier, Kawamori's directing can be hit or miss. In this production specifically, it passes the test. The main problem with Delta is some of the writing and the pitfalls in quality. While the CG isn't the best in this one, there are some really cool designs. For example, during the mid-series climax in Episode 13: Passionate Diving—the Elysion rises out of the ocean in all of its glory, with a semblance of the Yamato crashing through space in Uchū Senkan Yamato, to fire a gigantic laser cannon! It is coolness personified!

Yūma Uchida as Hayate Immelmann, notable roles:
* Ash Lynx, Banana Fish
* Kyō Sōma, Fruit's Basket (2019)
* Ritsuka Uenoyama, Given
* Iori Kitahara, Grand Blue
* Yūma Kōsaka, Gundam Build Fighters Try

Commentary: Uchida as Hayate is what you would expect from a mech pilot—hot-headed, impassioned, youthful. His casting is nothing out of the ordinary, and for a fresh face in the voice-acting community, I would say that he does very well. His role as Kyō in the remake of Fruit's Basket made me cry, so interpret that as you will.

Minori Suzuki as Freyja Wion, notable roles:
* Angie Yonaga, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
* Hajime Fujiwara, THE iDOLM@STER: CINDERELLA GIRLS
* Sagiri, Kantai Collection
* Sora, Arknights

Commentary: On Suzuki's biography, it says that she was picked out of a group of 8,000 applicants to be Freyja's seiyū and it was her first ever voice-acting role! That's impressive! Even though I prefer Frontier to Delta, I actually thought that Freyja's voice was more pleasing to listen to than Ranka's. I eventually grew to love Ranka's youthful je ne sais quoi, but with Freyja, her speech-style was instantly relaxing. Perhaps it was BECAUSE it was her first role, but her vigor didn't sound artificial or forced! I hope that Suzuki continues to get more anime roles in the future!

Ami Koshimizu as Mikumo Guynemer, notable roles:
* Aiko Sumeragi, AIKa (series)
* Nadja Applefield, Ashita no Nadja
* Makoto Kina (Sailor Jupiter), Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal
* Caren Hortensia, Fate/hollow ataraxia
* Kallen Stadtfeld, Code Geass
* Ibuki Mioda, Danganronpa
* Leonmitchelli Galette des Rois, Dog Days
* Ryūko Matoi, Kill la Kill
* Mother Spider Demon, Kimetsu no Yaiba
* Anemone, Eureka Seven
* Nina Wáng, Mai-Otome
* Maō, Maoyū Maō Yūsha (abbreviated as Maoyū)
* Nanaka Yatsushiro, Myself;Yourself
* Himari Noihara, Omamori Himari
* Holo, Ōkami to Kōshinryō (Spice and Wolf)
* Yukiko Amagi, Persona 4
* Hibiki Honjō (Cure Melody), Suite PreCure
* Nodoka Haramura, Saki
* Tenma Tsukamoto, School Rumble
* Charlotte E. Yeager, Strike Witches
* Mai Shiranui, King of Fighters
* Rosa Ushiromiya, Umineko no Naku Koro ni
* Saki Kawasaki, Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU)

Commentary: Before diving into Ms. Koshimizu's performance as Mikumo, I need to make the differentiation between her speaking and singing voices. Her singing voice is performed by the famous singer, known as JUNNA. So, her seiyū and singer are two separate entities. Koshimizu is a famous voice actress, known for playing sexy characters, and Mikumo is no difference. Her entire allure is the mysterious, sexy, onee-san. People have often compared to her Sheryl from Macross Frontier, calling her a more sardonic version of the character. Unlike Sheryl, Mikumo comes off as other-worldly and unattainable. Koshimizu did a great job with voicing the character, even though she has relatively few lines compared some of the other main cast members.

Asami Seto as Mirage Farina Jenius, notable roles:
* Raichi Hoshimiya, Aikatsu!
* Ichiyō Higuchi, Bungō Stray Dogs
* Chihaya Ayase, Chihayafuru
* Junsa (Officer Jenny), Pokémon: Sun & Moon
* Mai Sakurajima, Seishun Buta Yarō wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai (Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl-Senpai)
* Asagi Aiba, Strike the Blood
* Konatsu Miyamoto, Tari Tari
* Raphtalia, Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

Commentary: Seto's role as Mirage comes off as the awkward, geeky girl that is too prideful to confess her feelings. This kind of awkward pluckiness can be seen in her roles as Chihaya Ayase, Mai Sakurajima, and Raphtalia. Though not the most memorable, she perfectly conveys Mirage's personality as well as it could have been.

Ryōhei Kimura as Keith Aero Windermere, notable roles:
* Hideki Hinata, Angel Beats
* Kodaka Hasegawa, Haganai (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, or I Don't Have Many Friends)
* Eichi Sakurai, Full Moon o Sagashite
* Hirotaka Wakamatsu, Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun
* Yūgo Hachiken, Gin no Saji
* Kōhei Imamura, Grand Blue
* Kōtarō Bokuto, Haikyū!!
* Akira Takizawa, Higashi no Eden
* L-ef Karlstein, Kakumeiki Valvrave
* Aki Kuga, Kamisama Dolls
* Izuminokami Kanesada, Katsugeki/Tōken Ranbu
* Swamp Demon, Kimetsu no Yaiba
* Yūki Asaba, Kimi to Boku
* Ryōta Kise, Kuroko's Basketball
* Charles Grey, Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)
* Shōma Takakura, Mawaru Penguindrum
* Daryl Lorenz, Kidō Senshi Gundam Thunderbolt
* Cheren, Pokémon: Black and White
* Bumblebee, Q Transformers
* Kaoru Nishimi, Sakamichi no Apollon
* Chihiro Furuya, Sankarea
* Misao Kurusu, Sōkyū no Fafner
* Sorey, Tales of Zestiria

Commentary: Kimura is an unsung vocal talent. In every one of his vocal roles, I feel a strong affinity for his characters. Characters like Hideki Hinata, Aki Kuga, Izuminokami Kanesada, Ryōta Kise, Shōma Takakura, Daryl Lorenz, and even the Swamp Demon in Kimetsu no Yaiba made such a memorable imprint on me, that when I scroll through his filmography, I feel an intense appreciation for his work. In the last show I saw him in, Katsugeki/Tōken Ranbu, his character nearly brought me to tears when he had a mawkish reunion with his original wielder. His role as Keith is both cool and dignified, with undertones of sympathy for his companions and younger brother. I think Ryōhei Kimura was probably the perfect person to be cast in this role, an S-tier talent!

Other notable vocal talents: Nao Tōyama and Yoko Hikasa.

Aside from the vocal talents, the music itself is really good. Catchy idol tunes have become a staple in the Macross franchise, so if you like a musical brawl like Symphogear, or just a visual spectacle with a nice soundtrack: Delta is probably the right show for you.

—Differences Between the Original Series and Passionate Walküre

Passionate Walküre is a recap film, with some retold events from the original series. Unless you're thirsting for a refresher of the TV anime, the film isn't worth watching. The only changes they made is that Hayate is already a pilot, when he meets the stowaway, Freyja, at the beginning of the series. Which mean that Hayate and Mirage already know each other. He doesn't have a job as a construction site, mech operator, who handles imported goods. The only other noticeable difference is that they changed the scenery in the scene in Episode 13, when Freyja jumps off of the starboard side of the space craft. Nothing impressive, just a sloppily put together recap movie.

Conclusively, Delta is a shiny plastic action figure that you play with for a little while, before you get bored of it. It's as memorable as a plasticine PreCure series that is forgotten, a year after it has aired. Not HeartCatch or Go! Princess caliber, it's like the episodic slogs of Suite PreCure. While it's not bad, I rate it a solid 5/10.

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Passionate Walküre: ★★★☆☆

Other Macross Series Rankings:
Macross ★★★☆☆
Macross: Do You Remember Love? ★★☆☆☆
Macross II: Lovers Again ★★★☆☆
Macross Frontier ★★★★☆
Macross Frontier Movie 1: The False Songstress ★★★★☆
Macross Frontier Movie 2: The Wings of Goodbye ★★★★☆

"Will there be another Macross?"
"I sure hope so. Producing a series like Macross is hard work."
-- Shoji Kawamori, bonus interview content, Macross F: The Wings of Goodbye

I hope I can be forgiven for thinking when Macross Delta was announced: "Well, that sure didn't take long, Kawamori-san..."

Macross F, while it's not what I would consider a "great" Macross series, is one of the "good" ones: the story is pretty good for a Kawamori show, Ranka (Kira!) is fun to watch, the music is amazing, and the visuals are glorious. I'm guessing that in the meeting room, or, more likely, the bar/restaurant, someone tossed out the idea ... of doing Macross again, but with an idol group like AKB48 (only smaller, actually doing a group like that is instant character spam).

Now, I'm not a huge fan of idol groups (I know, I know, heresy, look, you can shoot me after you finish the review), but I think this isn't as bad an idea as it might sound. Done carefully, you can introduce all kinds of dynamics among the group members and pilot(s), even multiple romances (song and love triangle are 2 of the 3 Macross legs). Did they accomplish this? Well, I certainly didn't think so (character score: 4)-- it seems to me that important elements were simply not given the time and care needed to make them at least presentable.

The hero pilot, Hayate, is a rehash of previous pilots: the poor discipline of more than half the previous Macross heroes (Shin/Alto/Isamu), a similar background as Hikaru's, and Basara's carefree spirit. That's fine, that's a good starting point, but at least do something with him, Satelight! It really seemed as though he was in spectator mode for a good deal of the story (though to be fair, so was Alto). One heroine, Freyja, is basically Ranka Lee but with an accent/dialect of a country bumpkin, and the other heroine, Mirage, is the granddaughter of Maximilian Jenius (Macross and Macross 7)... which would be interesting had they done anything with that detail. Her real claim to fame is the fact that she's the first girl pilot since her aunt Mylene. This would be awesome if she were more interesting as a character.

As for the rest of the cast... ugh, where do I begin. Let's start with the idol group, Walkure, which is German for "Valkyrie". How very original. We have an ice queen, a veteran entertainer, a hacker, and... that's all I can remember. The characters that are memorable (and I say "memorable" very charitably here, all I remember is their general appearances and tropes) are like automata, and the rest are too uninteresting to be memorable. Similarly for the VF squad pilots, one sticks out (and not in a good way), the others I just don't remember. Messer could've been written as a really good tragic hero, but because the writing was likely done in a couple of days, he comes off as Iceman from Top Gun without Val Kilmer's good looks, and about as much charm as Full Frontal's sidekick in Gundam UC in a full-blown temper tantrum (in short: he's written as the biggest asshole ever). So when his story ends, the characters react, but it feels oh so contrived and forced. Uh, was I supposed to care? Please, Satelight, hire better writers, pay them well, and tell the broadcasters to piss off until they're done with their work. This level of poor writing is frankly embarrassing to watch and hear.

This isn't to say, of course, that the acting or direction are bad, but without a good script and good planning, even the best voice cast and directors can only do so much.

The VF-25 "Messiah" was a sexy aircraft, even if it did look kinda like a diving goose with its wings swung back (probably should've made it a fixed wing). The YF-29 from the second Macross F film looked like a mashup of the VF-25 and the VF-19. Uh, OK. The VF-31 of this show straight up looks like a VF-19 with a different nose. You could tell me that it's a different aircraft until you're blue in the face, and it'll still look like a VF-19 to me because of the swept-forward wings. Was Kawamori unavailable, or otherwise unable to do the mech design?

The music is... okay. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Yoko Kanno, who probably costs an arm and a leg now that she's written and directed soundtracks for 2 huge NHK productions (Gochisou-san, Lady Warlord Naotora). The intro/end credits songs are good and even catchy, but compare them to Maaya Sakamoto's Triangular, May'n's Northern Cross or Diamond Crevasse, or the Mamegu/May'n duet in Lion. There is simply no contest, Walkure's songs feel "cold" compared to Kanno's compositions. Even Seventh Moon from Macross 7 is a stronger song. The BGM... I just don't remember. I don't even remember if it was orchestral, pops, or electronic. Maybe it blended too well into the show. Macross F is certainly a tough act to follow musically, but I think they could've put together a better effort than this.

Coming back to the idol group idea. It sounds great on paper, but when I watched it in action, I kept thinking, "I've seen this before... Girls singing near-perfectly while dodging enemy attacks." It turns out that Satelight is the principal animation studio for the Symphogear series. So every combat scene involving Walkure feels like a combat scene in Symphogear because they're all singing. And you thought Sunrise abused recycled content.

I'm sure there's more I could complain about, but I value my blood pressure. Hey, at least the hero picked a girl this time, instead of a classic Kawamori "I have no idea how to end this, so here's a bundle of hanging plot threads" ending, so there's that.

All in all, the show was delightfully mediocre, a more "meh" Macross than Macross 7. It didn't make me want to shoot reaction missiles at the production staff (that's reserved for other train wreck animes), but it didn't wow me after the first episode, either. Cue Antonio Salieri from Amadeus, there is mediocrity to be absolved.

I really did had a high expectation of this show but it all fell flat as soon as it got to later episodes. The love triangle was lame, matter of fact it didn't even feel like love triangle at all and Freyja character might have excitement but it did nothing for me as she is the main character. I rather have the whole story based on Mikumo since she was the only one that kept me interested in the show. I really wanted to see Mirage grow but they basically but her in a boring love triagnle that we know from the first ... episode who will end up being together.

The storyline wasn't much I felt like they rushed in too much and left so many plots out the way that could've been great for this show but in this case it didn't happen. Also, by the way is it me or Walkure singing together always have mismatch feeling as i being off key together majority the time which really bothers me.

The songs were okay for me but if you ever want to get in the Macross series I advice you not to watch this first but hey this is only in my opinion because you may like it. Anyway I give this show a 5/10 which is just average it not bad but not good enough for me.