Anime Colony: Macross Plus the Movie

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  Rating: PG-13
  U.S. Distribution Rights: Manga Entertainment
  Genres: Mecha, Sci-Fi

Macross Plus the Movie (Movie)

Description: It is 2040 AD on the colonial planet Eden, where Myung, Dyson, and half-Zentraedi Guld are from. They were the best of friends until one traumatic day destroyed their relationship. It's seven years later and the three encounter each other again. Myung, losing her dreams as a singer, is now the manager and voice of the Virtual Idol Sharon Apple. Dyson and Guld are rival test pilots for the new Valkyrie VF-19 & VF-21, one out to destroy the other— both fighting to be the winner, as other hidden plans are put into play.
This movie is the re-edited version of the OVA series.

Overall Grade: 95% (A)

The Macross 7 (TV) Review
The Macross 7 Dynamite (OVA) Review
The Macross 7 Movie: The Galaxy is Calling Me! (Movie) Review
The Macross Flash Back 2012 (Music Video) Review
The Macross II (Movie) Review
The Macross Plus (OVA) Review
The Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Movie) Review

Reviewer #1: Leonard Leung
Episodes reviewed: Subtitled

Grade: 88% (B+)

This anime is very good. If u watch the Movie and the OVA tapes, you'll get about an extra 15 minutes ? and more descriptive facts on a number of missing gap. The reason is that each of these 2 versions of Macross Plus was reedited. Another example of differences between the two is that in the Movie version, Isamu meets his former childhood friend Guld in the hangar, while in the OVA they both meet face to face in a conference room where other characters are discussing the test results of the prototype Valkyries. If you had to pick and choose between the Movie version and the OVA, the movie is a better choice, due to its more orderly storyline. And I find the music video scenes are way cooler. Just in case you still need to feel those "Rick Hunter"-style action sequences that were edited out in the Movie version, then see the first OVA tape.

The animation sequence is very high and fluid-like in the Movie version; especially the Macross Plus logo that is computer generated 3-D art. The music/singing for this story like in most Macross story is still used but also in a different way which can highly appeal to one's inner psyche.

Reviewer #2: Clyde Adams III
Episodes reviewed: Movie; Subtitled

Grade: 97% (A+)

Macross Plus is an outstanding science fiction drama. I give it my highest recommendation.

The production values are tops. Art, design, color, and animation are all great, showing the master hand of Shoji Kawamori (Escaflowne). The show boasts a superb musical score by the incomparable Yoko Kanno.

This show is more mature and realistic than most anime. The three main characters-Isamu, Guld, and Myung-- are twenty-something self-supporting professionals, not teenagers. (The only teenager present, the computer prodigy, is portrayed and treated as an adult.) The art is all quasi-realistic; there are no comic facial distortions.

Each of the main characters is one corner of a love triangle, and each has a flaw to struggle with. Isamu, impulsive and rebellious, seems immature; Myung seems lonely and emotionally empty, having given up her dream; Guld, grim and quick to anger, is hiding a terrible secret, mostly from himself.

Their personal crisis parallels and feeds into a larger crisis, when the artificial intelligence Sharon, with Myung's borrowed and distorted emotions, achieves self-awareness and seizes control of Earth's defenses.

Macross Plus is related to the other Macross shows that started with the TV show in the early 1980s-it takes place in the same universe-but it can and should be viewed as an independent work.

The Macross Plus movie is a condensation of the four-part OVA series, with some plot adjustments and additional footage. The additional footage is well worth seeing, but you should see the OVA series first; the movie cuts out a lot of the character development.

Reviewer #3: Mariela Ortiz
Episodes reviewed: Movie; Subtitled

Grade: 100% (A+)

The movie version of the Macross Plus OVA series, Macross Plus Movie Edition features the same great animation, tense drama, incredible dogfights and wonderful music as the OVA, but with some marked differences. The tale is streamlined to feature length, meaning some material is cut, but other is added, and the story is subtly altered.

In editing the four part OVA together, some scenes were reordered, which changes the pace of the story, not necessarily for the better. On the other hand, the additional footage is usually a blessing. While an extra scene with Lucy may make Isamu seem even more a jerk, added flashback scenes to Myung, Guld and Isamu's childhood help flesh out characters.

The biggest difference from the original is the ending. No, it's the overall outcome that's different, it more like the fourth episode of the original was expanded. This is a big improvement, Guld's battle with the Ghost is much more visually impressive, and the final shot much more satisfying.

Sharon Apple fans can rejoice, as she gets a new song, and a new sequence in the movie, which is quite stunning, even if the song is completely unintelligible. (It's in a non-existing language!)

The best advice is really to see both versions, preferably OVA first. Each has its merits, and by seeing both the viewer can decided which parts he or she prefers.