Reviews

The futuristic world of 2059 Macross Frontier is the setting of an adventure, where we travel with a squad of space explorers looking for a place to live outside of the universe. Among them are three teenagers: Alto Saotome, who is a kabuki artist but gives up his job to follow his passion to explore the outer space; Ranka Lee, a waitress who aspires to become known as an idol singer; and Sheryl Nome, who is already an accomplished singer that both Ranka and Alto are inspired by. Suddenly, they are involved in a fight against mysterious alien forces, and their colony and its population are in danger. These unassuming heroes, however, are not prepared to give up and they accept their shared mission.

Channelling the creative sparks from the original Macross saga and its Robotech adaptation, Macross Frontier presents a fresh plot with a new cast of characters and a unique storyline. While maintaining the core of the series, the new one added several new characters and unpredictable plots, even reaching the point of referencing other parts of the Macross universe like naming attack formations after the "Fire Bomber" band from Macross 7.

In the middle of all the action, the central theme of the Macross Frontier series, is the character development and the connections built between them. The plot is characterized by the ordeals of Alto, Ranka, and Sheryl, who are accompanied by their friends and allies. Alto displays his determination to overcome difficulties and his great talent while Ranka transforms from a mere singer who finds her meaning in life to an epic role with symbolic meaning in the story. Besides, like Sheryl, her mentor-mentee relationship evolves and she accepts a different level of maturity because of her younger friends.

Music is another distinctive element of Macross Frontier, whose singing by Megumi Nakajima (Ranka) and May’n (Sheryl) resulted in them being incredibly popular in the arena of anime music. To make it even more thrilling, there is an incredible music score by Yoko Kanno, who is famous for the music to the TV series Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell. The series has an interesting combination of an intense war and touching moments between the characters.

Visually, Macross Frontier astounds with great display of animation and the smooth integration of CGI for the space battles that set a new CGI standard for traditional animation. Its well carried out action sequences create a more immersive experience, making the rough edges on the visuals less noticeable.

Accessible to even those coming to mecha series, Macross Frontier offers a lot more than mere fun, as it explores deep issues of love and life. Through its captivating characters, thrilling plots, and great music and visuals, the series demonstrates the lasting appeal of the Macross legacy.