Seriously, this series really doesn't hold up. The characters are completely unlikable, and none of it makes much sense. Isamu might be one of my least favorite anime protagonists ever. He shows up, treats everyone terribly, keeps ignoring what he's supposed to do in a job he supposedly wants, but the anime frames everything as if you're supposed to be sympathetic to him. The rival is only slightly less of a dick, and he also does terrible things with little to no consequence. Most of the series is basically a dick waving contest between the two of them. They're largely fighting over a woman from their past who they've become reintroduced to. She's sad, and she can sing, but no longer does. That's her entire character.
The weird thing is that this is has great direction and some of Yoko Kanno's best music. So you'll get what's visually a great dogfight between the protagonist and his rival, but they're arguing about nonsense from high school the whole time (like they literally argue over who bought the other one lunch more), and show no attempt to avoid killing civilians. In fact the entire reason the protagonist went there is to blow up some government drones because the government cut funding to his project. Which pretty much makes him a terrorist, but the anime never acknowledges this. If that scene had actual stakes or something, it would probably be one of my favorites, but as it is, it's just weird. Luckily, there are a few times where the series shuts up and just lets itself tell a story through music and visuals, and those moments make it feel like it's a completely different anime. The highlight is the much lauded concert scene from the second episode. It really is one of the best pieces of animation from the 90s. It's just sad that little else in Macross Plus comes close.
I don't hate Macross Plus. On an audiovisual level it's fantastic, and it's quite watchable. It's just dragged down by a terrible script by a usually good writer. I'd recommend watching some highlights on Youtube over watching the series as a whole, but if you're a fan of mid 1990s style animation, you still might want to give this a go.
