Macross PLUS

MACROSS PLUS

The 4-part OVA sequel to Macross, released in 1994. Centering on a former love triangle, re-united after 7 years back on their home planet. With the two men competing as test pilots and the women now a producer for the hottest celebrity in the Galaxy, the AI songstress, Sharon Apple.

OVERVIEW - Set 30 years after the end of Space War 1 (thats 2040 if you were wondering)the OVA's departs from the space battle theme, and focuses on the interpersonal relationships of three former friends and members of a love-triangle that ended badly for them all, as well as the testing for the next generation of Variable Fighter in the form of two competing designs. Notable for its at the time groundbreaking use of CGI in an anime as well as the first point of collaboration between the Macross Saga and the composer Yoko Kanno, with Kanno's ethereal music providing much of the reasons for the high level of respect this series enjoys in the fan base. 

REVIEW - In 2040, the hotshot pilot Isamu Dyson is pulled from fontline duty and assigned to a test centre, noted as about the only place that would take him due to his history of reckless behaviour and disobedience. The move sends him back to his home planet, the colony of Eden. The testing is in the form of a compitition between two rival designs, with Isamu assinged to one of the teams. Upon his arrival he is reunited with an old aquaintence, Guld Bowman, a half Zentradi and test pilot for the rival team. The antagonism between the two is apparent from the start, and as the current galactic idol, the AI songstress Sharon Apple, arrives on the planet for a performance, the two warring men are also reunited with Myung Fang Lone, who is acting as producer for Sharon Apple. 

It becomes quickly apparent that the troubles between the two men revolve around Myung, with Guld quickly and confidently stating that he will have them both, the test pilot project and Myung. Myung herself states she wants nothing to do with either of them, clearly upset by them being there. As the concert begins, Isamu is in the audience as his project leader is a huge Sharon Apple fan and had dragged him there. Its at this point we are shown Myung's real role in the Sharon camp, With Sharon's AI incomplete, unable to generate emotions so essential to providing a realistic and empathetic performance, Myung's own mind and emotional state are used to create that effect in Sharon. However, due to Isuma's project leaders "hacking" Myung becomes aware of Isamu in the audience, affecting her emotional state. 

As the competition between the two rival VF designs continues, with Isamu's VF-19 now beginning to out-perform the VF-21 of Guld, thanks in part to Isamu's ace piloting being able to bring the previously almost uncontrollable VF-19 under his control, the tension between the two pilots constantly spills out into the testing, and in the base itself. When Myung goes out for a drink with an old school pal, and runs off after that pal calls up Isamu to ask him what happened to make Myung stop singing herself, she ends up backstage at the concert hall, under Sharon's gaze. As both Isamu and Guld recieve strange calls warning of a fire at the concert hall in 30 minutes, they race to the scene, Guld getting there first, just as an apparent short circuit starts a fire in the room with Myung in. Guld manages to save Myung, becoming injured in the process, and ends up spending the night with a highly emotional Myung. When smugly stating the next day to Isamu that all he had left to win now was the project, the two almost come to blows. 

During the next test session, the two break off from their assigned course, cut communication and proceed to fight it out in their respective VF's. Ending in what appears to be a victory for Isamu, Guld takes Isamu's discarded gun, supposedly loaded with training rounds (paint bullets essentially) and shoots Isamu with a live round, show as loaded in earlier by Guld himself in an effort to discredit Isamu. Isamu is severly injured and while Guld tries to claim Isamu and his team set up the accident while being accused of doing it himself, the hearing is eventually dismissed with the event written off as an accident caused by an error in the inventory system. As Isamu comes to in the hospital he finds Myung looking over him. He then proceeds to break out of the hospital with Myung in tow and they go to a forest, where they talk about the past between them. Returning hours later they find Isamu's project team waiting along with Guld, who instantly flies into a rage about Myung being with Isamu and starts a fist fight against the still heavily injured Isamu. In the course of this Myung gets hit trying to stop it, leading to some harsh words exchanged between herself and Isamu, who in the end vanishes off on the stolen hospital bike again, with Myung telling Guld to leave her alone too. 

While this is happening, the engineer in charge of Sharon's AI obtains a chip in secret, stating that it will finally complete Sharon. When Myung arrives back after the fight and row at the hospital he is waiting, and tells her they are going back to Earth to take part in the 30th anniversary celebrations for the end of the war, noticing the holographic Sharon behaving differently Myung realises her emotion program is complete. The engineer states that the concert on Earth will be Sharon's true debut. The following morning Myung leaves, after being seen off by Guld who proclaims once he wins the project he will travel to Earth to be with her, and to stay with her always. Myung is shocked by this, saying she's not ready but Guld tells her he will wait. Back at the base however, just as Isamu completes the first round of test flights since his injuries the two pilots are called into the commanders office. The test project has been cancelled, due to the completion of an unmanned AI fighter back on Earth. The government decided to go with the unmanned plane and has stopped all development on manned fighters, and the "X-9 Ghost" will be unveiled during the 30th anniversary celebrations.

Furious, Isamu plans to steal the VF-19 and show up the X-9 during the ceremony but finds his project leader had already anticipated this, and had not only prepped the fighter for the long distance journey with a fold-booster, but had also disabled base security and was waiting in the VF-19 for Isamu to arrive. As the pair escape from the base and planet, the base are left with no choice but to send Guld after them, as the VF-21 is the only craft that can catch up. On Earth, Myung overhears the truth about Sharon's upgrade, made using an illegal bio-neural chip known for being dangerous due to an inherant self-protection flaw. Sharon's manager goes to call off the concert prompting the engineer to kill him, all witnessed by Myung who runs off in a panic, ending up in Sharon's control room. Sharon has taken complete control of the room, locking Myung in and physically capturing her in cables. As Sharon's holographic persona explains to Myung how Sharon has absorbed and accepted Myung's own emotions as her own, and that she "loves Guld, but loves Isamu more" she tells Myung that she is no longer needed, and begins to constrict her with the cables.

The concert begins, and it quickly becomes apparent that Sharon's AI is now using the music to hypnotise the audience, as well as take over any and all connected systems, including the military networks and the SDF-1 Macross itself, now the central point of Macross city and the location of the concert. Folding into near-earth orbit, Isamu's VF-19 tries to sneak by the defence net, but due in part to Sharon's AI taking over the Macross, it fails, and Isamu is forced to pull off a high-risk move in order to be able to enter the atmosphere. Just as he does however, he comes under attack from Guld, who arrived just after him and hid behind the space junk in the same manner Isamu had. The two begin to fight in the upper atmosphere, exchanging shots and arguments as they get closer to the surface, eventually fighting inside the city for a while before heading to higher altitudes. During their exchange of angry words and old grudges Guld has a revelation over the incident that caused the three to fall out. 

Seen in part in flashbacks all throughout the series so far, The image of Myung in torn clothing, obviously distressed and Isamu's arm around her has been the flashpoint for Guld's anger at him the whole time. It is left open to look as if Guld found Isamu trying to attack Myung, possibly sexually. However Guld's real memories come back at the point where he thinks he's finally killed Isamu. He came across the two sharing a tender moment, instigated by Myung herself, and lost his temper, attacking Isamu, trashing the room and then tearing Myung's clothing himself, before the sight of his own face in a mirror stopped him from actually raping her. The image Guld had been seeing wasnt Isamu attacking Myung, it was Isamu helping Myung after Guld's attack. Wracked with guilt over his supressed memories, the pain he'd caused and the apparent death of someone who had taken the blame for Guld's actions while being innocent, he finally notices the shadow of Isamu's Fighter in the clouds below him. Confirming Isamu was alive the two move past the anger of the past and begin to talk and laugh like the old friends they should have been, but it doesnt last, as the X-9 Ghost makes it appearance, engaging the two in combat.

On The Macross, Myung manages to escape from Sharon's control room, possibly let out by Sharon herself, but runs into some brainwashed guards who attempt to kill her. Barely escaping into a lift, managing to get hold of one of the guard's machine guns in the process she ends up in the room housing Sharon's AI box. Sharon, now in full control of the whole of Macross City, raises the SDF-1 from its place in the lake, with her hologram superimposing itself over its frame. The entranced audience and city failing to even notice.Isamu, at Guld's urging, had left the X-9 behind to head to the macross to save Myung, after his project leader realised Sharon was controlling everything and that Myung may be in danger. As he arrives Sharon is telling Myung that she will have Isamu, not Myung, and she will give him what he most desires, what Myung wants to give him. At that point the Macross begins to open fire on Isamu, prompting Myung to tell Sharon that she has no desire to kill Isamu. Sharon's response is that she will give the world the feelings Myung wanted them to have, that they need, and she will give the thrill of the moments "between life and death" that Isamu seeks when he flies as well. Myung tries to stop Sharon by opening up with the machine gun she'd carried in from the lift, but fails to stop her. 

Guld struggles against the X-9, due to its manueverability being many degrees higher as it doesnt need to worry about G-force strain killing the pilot. Isamu dodges and endless barrage of fire from the Macross as his project lead tries to hack Sharon and plant a virus, and Guld realises the only way to stop the Ghost is to disable the limiters that keep the pilot alive. His radio transmission to Isamu is overheard by Sharon who plays it to Myung as it happens. Guld apologises to Isamu for what he did in the past, and promises to go have a beer with him once all the chaos settles, he then suicides his plane into the Ghost, destroying it at the cost of his own life. Sharon catches on to the hack attempts, and forces herself into the VF-19's systems, hypnotising the project lead who nearly shoots Isamu in the head before being ejected from the back seat. Sharon then tries to hypnotise Isamu, who begins to fall asleep and his plane begins to spin out of control. Its the singing of Myung that revivies him, and he manages to pilot his fighter out of danger and takes out the central computer of the Macross, the feedback of which finally "kills" Sharon, plunging the city into darkness but finally free of the hypnotic music. The show ends with the Macross sinking back into its position in the lake, and Isamu circling near the room with Myung in it. 

************

The production of this OVA is incredible, comparable to early 2000's anime. While its groundbreaking CG is barely used and highly obvious by today's standards, this was one of the first anime's to use it, certainly one of the most high-profile anime's to make use of it as openly as it did, and it also does it in such a way that it makes sense for the effects to "look" different, mostly used for Sharon's concert holograms and adverts, as well as computer displays and tactical information screens. The story is compelling, due to its unusual twist on the typical love-triangle that had become a staple in most animes by its release an it also introduces many of the new VF's that would become famous in the soon-to-be-released MACROSS 7 TV series, with the VF-19 becoming the next-gen fighter and the VF-21 becoming a specialist "commander" unit. Of equal note was the soundtrack, heads and shoulders above the music of SDF MACROSS thanks to a larger budget and the impressive work of Yuko Kanno. 

I feel I should take a moment here to explain about Yuko Kanno, PLUS was only her second score for an anime series, and is part of what made her so legendary. Probably better known in the west for her work on Escaflowne and Cowboy Beebop she is a composer without style, no set genre or type of music seems beyond her grasp. The soundtrack to PLUS is most noted for Sharon's music, much of it containing tribal sounds, late 80's funk-pop styles (similar to Prince's work of the time) and an otherworldy quality that is almost impossible to describe. However, the rest of the music in the series was also composed by Kanno, pieces as diverse as "Welcome to sparefish" (for the cowboy beebop fans), "Pulse" (for that early 90's/late 80's trance-y etheric feel), "Information high" (an orchestral dance piece), "Fly up in the air" (epic background piece), "After, in the dark" (the closing piece for the first three episodes) and Myung's theme, "Voices" (one of the best pieces in the series) really highlight just how diverse and impressive Kanno's work is. I remind you that this was only her second anime score.. Yuko Kanno's name attached to an anime score pretty much ensure's some of the best music you'll find anywhere, not just in anime or Japan.

In Short, PLUS is another groundbreaking piece in the Macross saga, adding depth to the overal story and realism to the action (the animation staff spent several months at Edward's airbase in America studying dogfighting for the series), while short in length, its influence would have been huge even without the powerful association with the Macross saga. Still very watchable despite its age, 18 years now, it remains one to catch for sure.

MACROSS LOVE TRIANGLE

The love triangle here is unique in that it played out off-screen seven years before the series. Ending an what could be deemed a tragic turn of events, its impact has shaped and warped the people involved ever since. 

Myung, Guld and Isamu were all childhood friends, growing up together and always at each other's side. Both Isamu and Guld promised to always protect Myung, but as we see in the final OVA episode, Myung's feelings for Isamu were stronger and more romantic than her feelings for Guld, causing Guld to erupt into a rage, probably not helped by his half zentradi heritage. While blanking out his memories of his own actions, he placed the blame for the attack on Myung purely on Isamu, letting it simmer for years. The fall out of this saw Isamu leave the Planet Eden, and presumably Myung soon after.

The unexpected reunion of the three after seven years apart obviously opens old wounds among them, evident in Guld's borderline psychotic behaviour, Myung's reactions during the concert and Isamu's refusal to talk to Myung for the most part. Its likely that Isamu's reckless behaviour is born from the event seven years previous, as he seems to become more and more reckless after seeing Myung, and in his rivalry with Guld. The final resolution, while not seen, would be to assume that Myung and Isamu likely started a relationship, as Sharon's actions clearly showed Myung that her feelings for Isamu were still there.

SUMMARY - 

Story -  While not much time is there for a full story, or much character development, they manage to squeeze it in, how many other 4-episode OVA's that feature characters not seen elsewhere can create almost 20 years of devotion and fandom? the tale itself isnt anything grand, just the story of settling old grudges, and the dangers of sentient AI's and unmanned weapons, which when compared with the universe-altering events of the other series is pretty small, its still well worth watching however, as Sharon's fame reaches far beyond the 4 episodes she's contained in. 7/10

Production - Values are high, with virtually no distorted characters or poor attempts at perspective fouling things up, "Blurry" motion is used in places however, which was a standard method for shortcutting action sequences with high realism at the time. By today's standards its ok, but 18 years ago this was literaly cutting edge stuff. The use of CG was groundbreaking, a major first for the industry, and while it feels odd and out-of-place, its use could easily be accounted for in-universe as it was meant as computer generated work in the world too. Mostly used for Sharon's "Adverts" and during her holographic stageshows, you can also see it in computer displays and tactical information screens for the VF-21. Voice acting is impressive, emotional and well cast. Character designs are about the only let down, very obviously dating the anime to the early 90's period. 9/10

Music - What can I say other than "Yuko Kanno". Her epic score and soundtracks bring a whole new level to almost everything she touches and PLUS is no exception to that rule. I've already raved about her vast range of styles, her excellence in composition and how people still cant get enough of these pieces nearly 20 years later, Sharon has very little speaking in the series, and her singing is handled by six, yes 6, different singers, many covering the various different languages she sings in (Japanese, english, french and the fictional zentradi language) but as she's meant to be an AI, having the ability to have several different voice sounds is acceptable. Great music, excellent score used well and still legendary. 10/10

Accessability - The anime actually feels more american than anything else, with the airbase modelled after Edwards airbase in the US, the city scenes after san fransisco and the highways after those in florida, about the only "really japanese" thing is the karaoke room and the "idol fanclub" at Sharon's concert. No-one should have any real problem in any cultural referances in this show. 10/10

Overall Impression - The OVA series seriously is too short. I wish they'd have done more with it, but coming out in the same year as the new major TV series, and obviously spending so much on production I guess its no surprise its so short. Watchable with ease even now, the music of Sharon Apple feels somewhat dated in places, more at home in the pop-funk styles of the early 90's but the soundtracks other pieces still stand up well as timeless tracks. The characters are well done, with the little chance at development they get being squeezed to its maximum potential. While not adding anything heavily major to the overal "Meta-plot" of the Macross Saga, outside of Sharon's fame, its still very much one to watch, if only to hold the next series, MACROSS 7 that was released in the same year, up to it for comparison.  7/10

 

Final Score - 43/50