Macross Zero



I recently reacquainted myself with the dying art of fan subbing by getting a copy of Macross Zero (2003), the most recent entry in that long running series. This five episode series hasn’t been released in the U.S., which I find curious. Macross is fairly popular here. The craptacular Macross II: Lovers Again (1992) even got a theatrical release, while the far superior Macross Plus (1994) got a high profile video release. (The TV series Macross 7 [1994] is MIA, but it sounds a little strange.)



Macross (1982) was the series that made up the first generation of Robotech (1985), and was the least changed by the Americanization. In the year 1999, in the midst of the Global Civil War, an alien space fortress crashes on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. The nations of the world join together to rebuild the fortress and send it back into space. Just as the newly dubbed SDF-1 is about to launch a hostile alien race called the Zentradi arrive looking to take back their ship. Oddly the Zentradi not only appear human, except for being 50 feet tall, but are genetically almost identical to humans.

The main difference between the Robotech and original Macross version of this story is the definition of protoculture. In Robotech it was an energy source, but in the original story it was exactly what the name means – an ancient high tech culture that is the common ancestor of humanity and the Zentradi. The original protoculture concept is central to Macross Zero.

The year is 2008, and the remnants of the Global Civil War are still causing sporadic fighting. U.N. forces have retrieved an large, vaguely anthropomorphic alien artifact from the waters of the Pacific near Mayan (Marian? Mariana?) Island. Anti-U.N. forces have moved into the area to capture the artifact for themselves.



Shin is an F-14 pilot for the U.N. is flying a sortie over the island when his plane is attacked by a new high tech jet with the ability to transform into a robot. The fighter makes short work of Shin’s plane and Shin is forced to eject over the ocean. Later Shin is washed ashore near the idyllic village of the Mayan islanders. Shin meets the village priestess, Sara, who is desperate to keep evil “kaduns” (spirits?) from the nearby battle from harming her people. She also tells Shin about the island’s legendary history. Her people were created by the “bird-human” who was then instructed by the gods to “sing the song of destruction.” Rather than submit to their demands the bird-human cut his own head off. The ability to awaken the bird-human is contained in the “two entangled snakes” Sara claims the islanders have in their blood. (Hmmmm...)

Shin is rescued by U.N. forces and is give the chance to join a special squadron that is testing the U.N.'s own prototype transforming fighters, The VF-0 Valkyrie. This squadron is headed by Roy Fokker, a character who should be familiar to anybody who watched Robotech. While Shin trains the two armed factions continue to fight over the artifact, as well as the secrets related to it that my be found on the island.



Macross Zero is a gorgeous piece of work. The animation is generally expensive looking, but the fight scenes, with CGI mechs, are breathtaking. These are the best high-speed dogfights I've seen in any anime, even the exemplary Macross Plus. Where Macross Plus contrasted the freedom of the sky with the dusty ground, Macross Zero uses a predominantly blue palette to connect the sky and the ocean, and uses animals that can travel between them to reinforce the theme. The ending was a bit too New-Agey for me, as are the conclusions of so much Japanese sci-fi, and the influence of Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) is clear, but this is an excellent entry in a historic anime series, and I don't understand why it's not available in the U.S.

Posted: Mon - May 9, 2005 at      

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