Macross Δ Movie 2: Zettai Live!!!

I enjoyed the characters from the Delta TV anime a lot but wasn't too fond of the actual show. This movie concludes a lot of the arcs set up in the anime with an breakneck rollercoaster ride of a movie. The visuals and music are beyond incredible as usual for the series. There's something for all Macross fans here. It's a wonderful celebration of the series as a whole while saying goodbye to the Delta characters we've come to love. I wouldn't consider myself a very emotional person but the final half of the movie had me heaving. I really can't say enough about this ... movie; I don't even write reviews normally but I feel like I had to get my thoughts on it out there.

If you like Macross in any capacity I think it is most definitely worth your time watching this, you won't regret it.

It is a very refreshing movie. The script is quite new for the Macross series, taking into account that the love triangle has a much more complete ending. And the best thing is that the open plots of Frontier and the general twist of the series also have revelations that were much needed.
But it is a somewhat boring, linear movie and the surprise of the plot... I think the direction was bad in general. The script was good. Music was fine, the previus Macross series had much better music in general and this movie had very low quality in that reward. But was fine in ... the end.

My biggest issue with these movies is that they don't follow up on the TV series. This is a sequel to the first Macross ∆ movie, which is just a retelling of the show. The prequel leaves out some things that happened in the show and instead puts them into this movie. Hayate and Freya's stories have also been altered, so they're not exactly the same characters.

Visually, the movie is beautiful; both the action scenes and the Walküre scenes are great (there's just one CGI performance that could have looked better.) The new songs were good too, as expected. Just like the TV series, this ... movie follows Hayate and Freya equally, and their dynamic is really beautiful. Thankfully, Mirage is out of the love triangle and she gets some time to shine, too. I'm also glad that this movie addressed the conflict with Windermere, even if it was brief. At least Bogue got some screen time, and it was nice to see Freya's village. The role of music in the fights was interesting too.

The poster makes it seem that this movie will have the Walküre compete against a rival singing group. Unfortunately, those other girls are just AI creations with zero personality. Apparently, it's impossible for women to be antagonists in Macross ∆. Even the main villains are so mysterious that they aren't memorable at all. The ending was also a letdown for me. I knew where the story was going and I was prepared to cry, but when the characters show so little emotion, the climax falls completely flat.

Overall, this movie is okay. It has something that both mecha and idol anime fans will enjoy. But like I said, it's a different canon from the series, and the story could have been executed a lot better.