Defolding near Pluto has given the Macross and its crew a brief respite from the Zentradi attacks, time enough for shopping, Chinese restaurants, and the development of a new defensive system. Minmay settles back into (roughly) normal life as her relatives’ restaurant reopens and Hikaru eventually makes the decision to become a pilot again. Meanwhile the Zentradi pause to examine the data they’ve collected on the humans and plan to more meaningfully test the Macross’s capabilities. Onboard the Macross a new defensive system is tested and the crew prepares for their first decisive battle against the Zentradi.
Feels like a Mentos commercial.
Nyan Nyan: The Origin. (Also, the remix.)
Ever since the fold engines disappeared after the first fold the main cannon has been inoperable. Surveying his engineer’s recommendations, Captain Global learns that the main cannon can be fired again if the Macross is reconfigured into a different shape. Apparently made of modular components, this will allow power to transfer to the cannon from other energy sources. Elsewhere onboard Hikaru chats with Roy about his plane and flying in general. While Roy tries to sell him on joining the UN military Hikaru is more preoccupied asking about Minmay’s change in disposition lately. Roy gets a good laugh and tries to give Hikaru some advice, but it doesn’t seem to change his mood. At the same time the Zentradi are reviewing guncamera footage from one of their Regults and notice that humans are actually much smaller than them, calling them Miclones. But there is a saying in the Zentradi archives warning them to avoid the worlds of the Miclones and the commander decides to stay away from Earth and focus on the Macross.
You know, like Kamen Rider.
Wow, he must really be 7ft tall.
Why don’t you forget about that crappy racer and try one of these?
Yes he does. And so do I.
Shouldn’t the one in the middle be red? Or a Tallgeese?
Well the entry only says ‘mostly harmless’ but I guess the Zentradi don’t take chances.
Back on the Macross Hikaru goes back to Minmay’s, where he’s been living lately, to talk to her. Trying to judge whether he’s a friend or more, he teases her about a letter being from a boyfriend. But it is in fact a letter from a recording company giving her a chance at a deal, certainly foreshadowing a singing competition in the future onboard the Macross (this must be what Martian Successor Nadesico was parodying.) Going to something of a park overlooking the refugee city Hikaru is too despondent to be phased by the alert signal and says that Roy and his pilots will handle it. Minmay calls him on both not having a dream anymore and about how he’s doing nothing to help out on the Macross. Then Hikaru made me rage when he made a cowardly, selfish, emo comment about how he wishes the ship could just turn to space dust.
Surprisingly decent English for anime English.
An excellent shot. I really like the contrast between the ship interior and patched up buildings on the left and the nice interior and rabbit on the right.
Another Zentradi probing attack.
Sweet color scheme. Reminds me of the Titans.
Well he is a lot cooler.
Outside the ship the Zentradi attack is causing damage to the Macross despite the best efforts of the Valkyrie pilots. Inside damage control teams are doing what they can, but the ship is still taking damage. Captain Global then decides to initiate the transformation sequence so the main cannon can be fired. Despite the damage this might do to parts of the ship’s interior, he reckons that if this keeps up they won’t have a ship left. As the Macross folds and rearranges the civilian area is open to space for a few moments and some of the deck splits. Hikaru is just fast enough to catch Minmay from falling to a much lower deck during this. Reconfigured into a huge mecha, the Macross fires its main cannon, destroying the attacking forces. Hikaru and Minmay are then left looking at the damaged civilian area when he decides to stop being an emo kid try to use his piloting skills for the good of others.
Another nice shot.
Nice to see the show paying attention to the less glamorous but essential members of the crew.
Thankfully the ‘Kawamori Director’s Self-Insertion Center’ (red and white building in the upper right corner) is still standing.
Well at least they gave a reason for the ship to have to turn into a big mecha to use the main cannon.
Yeah, what they hell Hikaru. Who are you, Mirai or something?
After the attack Hikaru has a shounen training montage, though the short training period can be somewhat forgiven given their situation and the fact that Hikaru is already a pilot. Afterwards Hikaru and Minmay are out shopping where she draws him into a clothing store to check out the very 1980’s fashions. But while Minmay is trying on clothes who would appear but the bridge bunnies, also out shopping. While Hikaru is trying to pick up the different items he already bought that spilled, the girls notice him while looking at lingerie. Before an ‘eechi!’ can be uttered Misa discreetly ushers the girls out, instead giving Hikaru the subtle embarrassment.
Looking a bit like Heroo Yui there. I mean, Hikaru’s kind of annoying right now, but he’s not that bad.
Looks like one of Captain Harlock’s men has infiltrated the Macross.
Oh the 1980’s, when everyone tucked in their shirts, wore their pants high, and thought elastic waistbands on jeans were a good idea.
Hikaru was buyin new shit from NWA, it was gangsta gangsta at the top of the shopping list…
Shammy: Irashaimashita! (honorific [towards herself] ‘we’ve arrived’)
Haha, excellent Shammy.
Oooh, the subtle burn.
The Captain is brought to take a look at some mysterious sparkles and shimmering where the fold engines used to be, and is told by his engineer that their energy could be harnessed into a limited shield for the Macross. Preparations are also being made for an ambush against the pursuing Zentradi forces inside Saturn’s rings. The Zentradi are making plans themselves, this time for an attack in force on the Macross once it reaches Saturn. While they don’t understand why the Macross has taken its present form, they still decide to wait until it is near Saturn to corner it against the planet. Back on the Macross, Hikaru and Roy are walking outside the UN base when they run into the bridge bunnies again. Misa, Shammy and the others aren’t letting Hikaru live down the moment in the store earlier, and Misa continues with the understated teasing.
“Hmm, so if we build the center joint like this, it would make an excellent model kit.”
Rule of cool my ugly friend.
Good teasing, but a little direct.
Watch how a true master embarrasses someone.
The night before the operation Hikaru and Minmay meet in the park since Hikaru is worried that he might not return. But Minmay ignores his fears and focuses on being upbeat, which is better for him anyway. Calling a convenient coin operated cambot they get a picture together before Minmay has to return. Now we get our first big operation of the show. The Macross enters Saturn’s rings to hide its location while the Valkyries are launched and wait inside the shadow of one of Saturn’s moons for the Zentradi to approach. This time a full Zentradi capital ship engages them. As the Macross rises to fire the main cannon however, they once again run into a problem with their systems. The pinpoint shielding system, created by using the energy fields where the fold engines used to be, seems to be interfering with the cannon. As the Valkyries try to buy time for the Macross to think of something, Hikaru ends up entering the enemy ship, coming face to mecha-cockpit with a Zentradi soldier.
Minmay is much more impressed now that Hikaru isn’t acting like that despicable Mirai.
Ah, makes me want to play the original Wing Commander again.
I really like how this show is integrating the physical features of outer space into the action and ‘camera’ shots.
Shield bunnies too?
Regults have surrounded the Macross while their ship closes.
A computer should be handling this, but I guess it’s cuter this way.
What’s going on in this ship?
As the Macross seems to be losing the battle, Misa comes up with an idea. All the Destroids are loaded into the bow of the Daedalus while the pinpoint shields are focused there. Winding up, the Macross punches the Daedalus into the Zentradi ship, then the Destroids all open fire, destroying the ship. Celebrating their victory on the Macross, the bridge crew are ecstatic while Capt. Global soberly orders a damage report. The Zentradi commander, meanwhile, has realized that things have gotten serious and decides to call for reinforcements.
Apparently not just a pretty face.
Giga aircraft carrier breaker!!!!
Destroids, I presume?
The original Macross Missile Massacre.
Crusader and Calawain have corrupted my mind, so I must interpret this line as a declaration of yuri affection.
Awesome pic is awesome.
Final Thoughts: – Yet another technology malfunction, I love it.
- I hope we see more Destroids in the future.
- The use of celestial objects and locations is very much appreciated. It makes the battles more interesting and also makes it seem at the same time both more real and more epic.
- I’m keeping track of all the famous food things in this show. When I watch the final two episodes I will be sure to do so to a meal composed of them. So far: tuna sashimi, pineapple cake or salad, possibly Chinese style ramen.
18 Comments
I remember Macross. I was like 7 years old when I first watched. Very good series I am a fan.
Indeed Misa onee-sama is not only the idol of all the female bridge crew and support staff, but also a Kawamori class troll as she waited to troll Mr. Lingerie in front of Roy.
Daedalus Attack is why I adore Misa and put her way above Minmay in my book.
Gotta love how they used giant track balls to move the pinpoint barrier. Ah memories.
The outer space backgrounds of this episode are awesome…a really one of a kind…i was thinking to make a special in my blog about anime backgrounds…but i can’t get out of the blueprints… Awesome post by the way…
Keep up the good work!
Just in case you want to turn your Macross Meal into a full-course meal…
According to the impossible-to-categorize book “Dreaming Prelude~My Fair Minmay” (it’s kind of like a collection of linked short shories, but they’re all written in script format, each one by a different member of the scripting staff), Nyan-Nyan’s specialty dishes are “Dynamite Ramen,” “Shooting Star Pork-Fried Rice” and “Five-Ingredients Parfait.”
They also mention the “Choco-Parfait Monster,” in which the ice cram is shaped like the Destroid Monster, with four sticks of Pocky standing in for the cannons.
Shammy is rip-your-pants-off AWESOME.
DAEDALUS ATTACK!
Oh how I loved that one. Also, the pin-point barrier
If there’s one thing that Macross does better than any other similar show it’s bridge bunnies. The bunnies really get their due in Macross!
-A computer should be handling this, but I guess it’s cuter this way.
hehe… I imagine its presence was due to coin-ops like “Missile Command”.
Ah, a good episode. Things should start really picking up the pace from here on out. Mars is coming up fairly soon I believe.
You said minmay being upbeat. I say an insensitive bipolar bitch. Here he stands maybe for the last time, just about to sacrifice his life and you show no emotion? Booh minmay, booh.
Oh the memories of the SDF Macross ramming the Daedalus into the Zentradi ship, followed by Destroid Tomahawks… it was PIERCE THE ZENTRADI SHIP WITH YOUR DRILL awesome… good times, good times…
Like the dark blue Titans style color scheme, although Fokker’s white-yellow-black scheme with the VF-84 Jolly Roger remains a favorite.
“Wow, he must really be 7ft tall.”
Told you so.
Hooray for the Daedalus Attack!!!! Brings back some good memories.
“Like the dark blue Titans style color scheme, although Fokker’s white-yellow-black scheme with the VF-84 Jolly Roger remains a favorite.”
Roy’s VF-1 paint scheme is my favorite too. For some reason. to me that color scheme screams “BAD ASS”
Yep they did a great job explaining why they had to transform the macross to fire the cannon. All of the future versions of the ship in other macross series? Only cause it’s cool
.
@ Crusader
Misa is much better than Minmay at this point, and I suspect for the remainder of the series as well.
@ Taro-kun
Thanks. You should make that post, it sounds like a great idea!
@ Yot-chan
Thanks for the ideas, I think I can probably make something work, or at least my interpretation of the dishes, for the final episodes once those come around.
@ schneider
“rip-your-pants-off AWESOME” That’s certainly an adjective I haven’t heard before, lol.
@ random passing dude
But it wouldn’t have been good for Hikaru to just dwell on how he might die before going into battle, since he’s obviously not some stoic samurai or Spartan that could make his peace with that and still go coolly into battle. Minmay cheered him up a little and gave him a reason to come back.
@ Kherubim and grss1982
The white primary with black and yellow secondary colors is a favorite paint scheme of mine too. But I also love that dark blue with red highlights scheme as well. So hard to decide.
@ Square
Naturally
My soul shriveled a bit when you juxtaposed Power Rangers with the SDF-1.
That said, keep the love burning! Also, now that you’ve passed the Battle of Saturn’s Rings, here’s something for you [->]
@ ghostlightning
That was amazing. I’ve seen presentations on real battles with less detail and thought put into them. Pretty damn sweet!
@Ghostlightning and ExecutiveOtaku: A quote comes to mind when discussing Global’s plan… “His pattern indicates two-dimensional thinking…”
I enjoyed your new reviews.
It’s nice to see you seem to be enjoying it so far.