Imagine humanity finally has the opportunity to explore space with technology capable of supporting life, traveling across the stars similar by crossing dimensions, fighting aliens as well as befriending them, and most important of all: singing. These are some of the critical elements you see in Macross. Spanning 4 TV series, six movies, seven concerts, and even a musical, Macross has remained a popular franchise within Japan.
The series began with The Super Dimension Fortress Macross taking place in the year 1999. A massive alien spacecraft crashes on earth and over ten years the humans' research, and incorporate alien technology from the ship into their civilization. What comes after is a series of wars against foreign forces, peace treaties, and space exploration. Every installment in the Macross franchise makes character references to their predecessors. The newest series, Macross Delta, is set in the year 2067, so that means 68 years have passed since that spacecraft landed in the beginning!
What do you think about mechas in anime? If done well, you can almost guarantee it can be one of the best parts of an anime. And Macross is no joke when it comes to fantastic action involving giant mechs. The designs of the mechs themselves are all unique, and the animation during transformation sequences is a sight to see. The mechs themselves are capable of transforming between 3 different forms: Fighter, GERWALK, and Battroid. The Fighter form is meant for aerial combat and is the fastest of the three types. Battroid is the humanoid form and is intended mostly for ground combat. GERWALK, the most unique of the three forms, is a hybrid form of Fighter and Battroid. GERWALK has the top of the mecha in Fighter form and the legs of Battroid form shaped like those of a chicken. For many people who watch the series, it’s known as “chicken mode” because of the appealing appearance.
If you like building plastic models, did you know there are kits you can create of the mechas from the shows? ZenPlus has many model kits from Macross 7, Macross Frontier, as well as Macross Delta available for anyone with an itch to build!
The music of Macross is reminiscent of idol music which has made quite a bit of money in Japan, roughly $1 Billion a year. It’s no surprise that Studio Nue, the creators behind Macross, decided to incorporate that into the series because it had a long-lasting effect on what the entire franchise would become. Music can inspire and encourage its listeners, and Macross is no different. Singing has an immense impact on the story. Whether it's to increase morale in fighters, countering a mind-controlling virus, or reviving energy-deprived pilots, music can change a person’s life.
Unfortunately, if you’re outside of Japan, there’s a slim chance you’ve heard of the series or even seen any of the merchandise if you have. Due to an interesting issue with the Macross copyright, it is nearly impossible for products to be sold outside of Japan unless it is by Harmony Gold. Harmony Gold holds the rights to distribute any products from Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. Any intellectual properties that bare a resemblance to the designs in any of those shows may be face-to-face with a cease and desist order. Unfortunately, this also includes any Macross series not under the license held by Harmony Gold.
Thankfully, you can find a fair bit of merchandise on ZenPlus! There’s a lot of products you’re missing out on like figures, full versions of the songs you hear in the shows, and even adorable badges of your favorite characters! If you’re more of a gamer than a collector, you might be interested to hear that the video games are also available! The Macross series is one you should watch if you enjoy high-paced action, musical scores, and out of this world animation!
So that's our spoiler-free guide of what Macross is all about. We hope you enjoyed reading it and learned a few things you didn't know beforehand. What is your favorite Macross series? Let us know on our social networks below.
