Macross Plus: The Movie Anime Review
Macross Plus: The Movie
/ Movie / Drama / 13-up
Bottom Line
Further polishing the OAVs into an emotional and visual spectacle near perfection.
It’s Like...
...Macross meets Top Gun with a ridiculous budget and all the unnecessary stuff cut out and a better end.
Vital Stats
Original Title
same
Romanized Title
Macross Plus
US Release By
Genre
Sci-fi Top Gun-Style Action Drama
Series Type
Movie
Length
120 minutes
Production Date
1995-08-27
What's In It
Categories
Look For
- Transforming Robots
- Unparalleled Dogfighting
- Awesome Aerial Chases
- Romance
- Amazing Robo-pop Music
Objectionable Content
- Violence: 3 (significant)
- Nudity: 1 (mild)
- Sex: 2 (moderate)
- Language: 1 (mild)
Plot Synopsis
Seven years ago, three young kindred spirits shared wonderful moments together. Now, they've each gone their own way: Isamu Dyson; a wild and carefree daredevil who lives to fly, Guld Bowman; a cold, formal half-Zentraedi dedicated to the military, and Myung Lone; a former singer who now works as the manager for the wildly popular Sharon Apple, an artificially intelligent computer singer.
Isamu and Guld, both test pilots, are reunited as part of two opposing teams vying for the contract to design the new U.N. Spacey Veritech fighter. It's not long into the combat testing before old animosity between the two pilots surfaces, and a violent confrontation between the two during testing is only the first run-in. Things are complicated further when they find that Sharon Apple is on the planet doing a concert, bringing Myung with her. Though they have all changed over the years, Isamu and Guld's feelings for Myung still run deep, but there is a dark secret from their past that continues to drive them apart.
Quick Review
Switch to Full ReviewMacross Plus: The Movie polishes the visual and emotional feast of the OAV series into something even better.
Macross Plus takes all the fundamentals of the Macross heritage--strong characterization, interesting (if not wildly original) plot, pop singing, and plenty of transforming robot action--and elevates them to something entirely new. Wrapped in world-class visuals, seasoned with spectacular action, grounded in a rich and emotionally nuanced plot, and backed by one of the most memorable scores of all time, it is Macross Plus is everything you could ask for in anime.
Despite its long lineage and relatively archetypal story, Macross Plus feels fresh, interesting, and is just plain good anime. Truly one of the new anime classics, it is a must see for almost anyone: For Macross fans, for transforming robot fans, for admirers of beautiful art and animation, and for basically anyone who even claims to like anime.
You'd do well to watch both the OAV and Movie version, but if you're only going to watch one and have the choice, make it the movie.
Full Review
Switch to Quick ReviewNote: Since the Movie and OAVs are substantially the same, this review only covers how the changes in the movie affect the quality. For a more detailed review, please see the OAV review.
Macross Plus: The Movie takes the visual and emotional feast of the OAV series and actually makes it better.
The Movie is an alternate version of the Macross Plus OAVs. Unlike many "Movies" or "Perfect Collections" based on OAV series, it is more than just the set of OAVs pasted together and passed off as a movie--it is carefully pared down and sprinkled with new animation and minor plot adjustments throughout. The changes are, in my opinion, all for the better.
One plus is that a lot of minor scenes are trimmed down, giving the story a much tighter feel. The most major changes (including most of the new animation), and the alterations most beneficial to the story, occur at the very end. I won't go into any detail so as not to spoil it, but the end of the movie is significantly more satisfying and tightly wrapped up than the OAV version.
In all, the movie flows beautifully throughout, and you would have no idea that it had been an OAV series in a past life. The only real issue with it is that by watching the movie, you're missing a fair chunk of some of the best animation you're ever likely to see. For that reason, as well as the fact that the plots are somewhat different and both quite good, I'd recommend seeing both versions, particularly if you're a big fan of either fantastic animation or Macross in general.
In all, a tightened, even more satisfying version of a modern anime classics.
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Related Recommendations
If you're a Robotech fan, you should love it if for nothing more than the visual spectacle. If you're a Macross fan, you're almost certain to love it. Gunbuster, though quite different in plot, is in a similar spirit and style. Finally, though the setting and story is entirely different, The Place Promised in Our Early Days shares some of the emotional character and sense of lost childhood innocence.
Notes and Trivia
This Movie edition, as discussed above, is composed of the four OAVs cut together into a 2-hour movie. Some scenes are cut or shortened to tighten it, the story is adjusted, and new animation added to even out the plot. The most substantive changes, and most of the new animation, come at the very end.
The Macross Plus story is based on the long-running Macross series that began with the original Macross TV series (which was commandeered for the first part of Robotech). The setting will be recognizable to Robotech fans, but differs greatly from later parts of that saga.
US DVD Review
The "Movie Edition" DVD is Japanese-language only with English subtitles, and claims Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Extras are listed as photo galleries and apparently little else.
Parental Guide
Some serious violence and mature themes make for a 13-up (note that the movie is slightly more gory than the OAVs).
Violence: 3 - Quite a bit of realistic fighting, plus one fairly bloody scene that was absent in the OAVs.
Nudity: 1 - Sharon's avatar is dressed provocatively, but no real nudity.
Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Significant mature themes, but nothing explicit.
Language: 1 - Some mild expletives.
Availability
Available in North America from Manga Video on subtitled (only) DVD, labeled the "Movie Edition." Was originally available on subtitled VHS.
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