Macross Zero

[Aion]

After finishing Macross Plus, I felt like giving another short OVA series a go. Since Macross Zero had been sitting on my HDD for a looong time, selecting the OVA to go with wasn't difficult. I'm so glad I decided to stay up to something like 4 AM to watch the series at random now, and I'm planning on re-watching it tomorrow in order for the events to sink deeper into my oh-so-forgetful brain.

I can safely say that, after watching all 5 episodes in one sitting, it's one of the best animated series in existence. It had everything, from a man coming to terms with the primative way the people on the island he crashes on live to the most convincing (and understandable!) battle with a God-like entity to grace anime. The only flaw the series had was the slightly depressing and inconclusive ending...I wanted a happy ending; not one where all the couples end up unhappy and the fate of a certain somebody is left up in the air. It always, ALWAYS gets to me when characters fall in love during a story and don't get a happy ever after ending. Why am I such a sucker for romance?

The story of Macross Zero isn't hard to digest: A war is on-going between two halves of humanity. On one side is a pilot called Shin, a rookie who learnt about war the hard way as a child and got involved in order to stop the fighting. During a battle he ends up getting his plane badly damaged, forcing him into an emergency eject. When he wakes up later, he finds himself wrapped in bandages and inside a strange hut with bird images around him. He soon discovers that the island he's found himself on is inhabited by primitive people, and the leader of these people, Sara, wants him to leave as soon as possible in order to avoid him bringing a curse on her people. However, with the war taking place near the island due to an ancient lifeform having been discovered underwater close to it, things soon take a turn for the worse...

For some reason, I like stories that involve a primitive race of people having to come to terms with the realities of the modern world, or the reverse. Macross Zero showed a primitive group being forced to experience the pain and suffering of war AND had the main character, to a certain extent at least, become one with nature. I haven't seen this type of story in anime before and that semi-original vibe allowed me to get even more out of the viewing experience. Originality aside, it's a good thing when mecha series are grounded in some reality by a plot element because it prevents the story being too far-fetched and allows people to connect to the story and characters on a real world level.

Another impressive aspect of the show was the multiple love stories. Macross is well known for its blend of romance, singing and sci-fi, and Zero didn't let the series down. The romance never came across as fake or forced, which surprised me a little given the short length of the story. The relatioship between uptight Shin and primitive Sara was very touching, and it had a very funny beginning since Shin unknowingly threatened Sara with what the Mayan people think of as love letters of sorts. The other major relationship between Aries and Roy Focker wasn't quite so moving due to them having been together (and later splitting apart) prior to the start of Macross Zero, with the events of the story pulling them back together, but it had its moments and, like with the other relationship, their relationship created a fairly amusing scene or two.

As for the visuals, they're fantastic. The art and animation is up to the standard I expected an OVA series of a huge franchise to be at, but the CG aerial battles blew me away. They were a little difficult to follow at times due to the frenzied pace aerial battles move at, but I never lost track of who was shooting at who. And, unlike with lower quality anime that features CG, the CG blended excellently with the animation.

The music was less impressive than the other aspects. There were a few decent songs here and there but, overall, nothing stood out as truly special. Off the top of my head, I can't even remember any of the BGM music right now, which is an indication of how much of the soundtrack caught my ears. I don't feel the soundtrack was bad (I'd be being far more critical if that were the case), I just felt it lacked something in comparison to everything else.

All in all, I loved the series. I enjoyed it so much that it got a 10/10 and has gone straight into my top 5. For someone as critical as me to rate something 10/10, it has to be brilliant, and Macross Zero had every element an anime needs to be as close to perfection as humanly possible. It's hard for me to imagine a better blend of reality, mecha and a sci-fi 'God' story. If this series never gets released outside of Japan it'll be a crime - every (and I mean every!) anime fan should see it.

 

[fabio de lunatico]

Why the bleedin' hell is this not licensed? "Acquring" as we speak...

 

[Aion]

They can't release macross zero in the US because of Harmony Gold's legal ramblings.
Harmoney Gold owns the original Macross series, aka robotech and they wont allow it to enter because it would conflict with the robotech timeline and other minor technicalities that are too much to list.

In short, Robotech is the reason. Zero is the prequel to the original Macross and Robetech is the badly edited version of the first Macross series. Since Robotech changed everything, Zero conflicts with it, and the people who released Robotech don't want questions raised over their 'creation'.

It'll probably never see the light of day outside of Japan, which is a shame when it's far superior (and has a far more understandable sci-fi finale!) than the more famous Macross Plus.

 

[Dracos]

They can't release macross zero in the US because of Harmony Gold's legal ramblings.
Harmoney Gold owns the original Macross series, aka robotech and they wont allow it to enter because it would conflict with the robotech timeline and other minor technicalities that are too much to list.

In short, Robotech is the reason. Zero is the prequel to the original Macross and Robetech is the badly edited version of the first Macross series. Since Robotech changed everything, Zero conflicts with it, and the people who released Robotech don't want questions raised over their 'creation'.

It'll probably never see the light of day outside of Japan, which is a shame when it's far superior (and has a far more understandable sci-fi finale!) to the more famous Macross Plus.

I don't know why they can't just let it be released and let people make up their own minds. Or just say it is another timeline or whatever like so many series have done with OVAs, films and the like.

 

[Martin]

I found the characters and the romance subplot to be a bit lacking when placed alongside the rest of the Macross franchise but I agree with Aion that the culture clash aspect was a refreshing break from the norm and as for the aerial combat scenes...I don't think any other show has matched them.

It's a very pretty-looking series but I also think Aion is right about the patchiness of the soundtrack - there are one or two standout tracks but the rest is a bit forgettable. Quite a disappointment from the composer of Gasaraki and Monster, but I guess we Macross fans have been spoilt with so much Yoko Kanno over the years.

I'm not holding my breath for a DVD release either. The CGI combat would make it a good seller but I think the cost of the OAV licence would be prohibitive. Just look how long it took for FLCL to be brought out over here; and we haven't even seen M0 licenced in the USA yet. It's out in Blu-ray in Japan *drools* but sadly there aren't any subtitles.

 

[Aion]

Out of Zero, Plus and Frontier (8 or so episodes watched), I liked the romance in Zero the best.

In Plus it took far too long for the backstory of the love triangle to be revealed, and their past turned out to be anti-climatic after all the build-up. The other problem was that the female in the middle of the triangle not exactly being a prize: she didn't look jaw dropping, she wasn't rich and I saw no real reason for two men to fight to the death over her.

The love triangle in Frontier kinda failed for me because the green haired chick (forget her name) was too moe and the male lead far too plain to like. Only the sexy looking, big-boobed pop star (I've also forgot her name!) was likeable.

In Zero, however, the romance worked...or, at least it did in my mind. I liked Shin from the start. His character wasn't original but I could understand why he went within himself, not being very friendly after seeing what happened to his family. I also thought it was perfectly believable for him to open up when withdrawn from the war and put in a situation new to him. I liked seeing him open up as he first got closer to Mao and then eventually got closer to Sara. Sara acted how you'd expect a tribal leader uneducated about the ways of the modern world to act and, like Shin did by spending time with her, opened up the more she spent time with him, putting aside the laws of her people. You could say that their differences drew them together, both giving each other what they were missing due to their differing lifestyles.


....Anyway. After reading a few views of other people, it seems like a lot of the negative reviews are down to fans of the original series being unhappy with what was revealed during the story. Fans of the original wanted to know more about the ship that crash landed on Earth, more about how the world war ended prior to the alien invasion and other things. I, not having watched the original series, didn't go into it with any expectations, and that allowed me to ignore the issues a lot of people. I was told before watching that it's best to watch the original series first because, even though Zero takes place before it, Zero has some spoilers in it...yet it's worked out that I got more out of it by not watching the original first.

The other major issues mentioned are related to EP5. A number of people found the rushed start of the episode a problem, and even more were bothered by the inconclusive nature of the end. My thoughts are that the rushed start allowed the story to keep moving and I didn't mind the ending too much, although I would've liked to know more about what happened to the characters.

 

[kupocake]

For someone as critical as me to rate something 10/10, it has to be brilliant

Meaning no specific offence, don't you think that makes you sound just a little bit full of yourself? Being critical isn't even necessarily anything to do with actually being discerning. It's far easier to pick holes in something that's good but flawed than it is to pick holes in something that really isn't much of anything, which brings me onto Macross Zero...

Or does it? I've had to check on myanimelist.net to confirm that I've even watched it. Apparently I have, but where my memories of stylish mecha love fest should be, there's just this generic grey pool of slush. Not to say it's particularly bad. I only have to go next door to the 20 odd episodes I saw of Macross 7 to determine what makes an anime series actually bad... but at least Macross 7 was memorably bad. Zero does nothing new, nothing objectionable, but nothing interesting. I'd call it a 6/10 anime you watch once and forget about, because, err... that's exactly what I've done.

 

[Aion]

All I was trying to say was that I don't give 10/10 scores cheaply like some people do. Others give 10/10 for enjoyment alone, rating series like Love Hina 10/10 just because they laughed a lot. I can't bring myself to give top marks unless there are so few flaws (in my mind at least) that I see no reason not to do so.

I must apologize if you felt I was being arrogant, suggesting that everyone should watch it because my opinion is always correct. I was simply attempting to say that, given my critical nature, most people should be able to enjoy a series I gave top marks to.


Less serious response: It isn't my fault that I was born with good taste.

 

[Ryo Chan]

Zero wasn't bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to Frontier, Frontier focuses on what Macross is about the most, the story and the music evenly, not the story or the music.

But yes, Zero is a good series, but it's hardy the greatest thing since sliced bread, nor in my personal opinion the best in the Macross series

 

[kupocake]

I can't bring myself to give top marks unless there are so few flaws (in my mind at least) that I see no reason not to do so.

So how does that work in a case like I'd argue we have here: a series with nothing to specifically complain about, yet nothing really to rave about? That seems a lot like the critical approach of anyone into modern art: so long as it doesn't actually do anything, it's a masterpiece by default!

I really don't see what's wrong with declaring Love Hina a 10/10 because it caused you to laugh a lot either. As a comedy, that's surely what it's aiming to do. To bring the mark down because of... what? An unbelievable plot twist, an animation inconsistancy? It seems petty. Not being in love with Love Hina (or any anime 'comedy'), I'd say it's like marking Blackadder down because the sets are cheap and because Doctor Johnson couldn't possibly have met the Prince Regent. That and rating anime on some kind of Critical framework just seems daft to me as someone who sees it as a medium almost purely watched for 'enjoyment alone'. Anime isn't High Art, and you can thank your lucky stars that it isn't.

 

[Aion]

As the saying goes: just like everyone has ********s, everyone has opinions. You may have seen nothing of value when you watched it, but that doesnt mean that I didn't. As I said in my above review, I thought the blend of cultures, romance and sci-fi was executed close to perfectly and I gave it top marks due to that. If I'm being honest, I find it very difficult to understand how others could view such excellence as being forgettable, but then I remember that it's impossible to understand others and don't concern myself with such thoughts.

If I were to guess based on your comment about Macross 7, which suggests you've watched a lot more of the Macross series than myself, I'd say that you went into it expecting more out of the story. Could it be that your love for what you'd seen before made you want to see a repeat of the other series, preventing you from enjoying Zero for its own qualities? I don't know. But what do know is that, from my perspective, there were very few flaws. I'd ask you to highlight what made you rate it 6/10 in detail, but that would be pointless when you commented that you found it to be unmemorable and that's why you have issues with it.

Like I said in my review, what made Zero stand out for me was the primitive Mayan side more than anything. Up until that point I hadn't seen an anime that attempted to show a modern person go back to experience living, for a want of a better way of putting it, at one with nature. And, the music aside, I thought everything else was outstanding. How could I not rate an anime that, in my eyes, did practically everything right 10/10?

As for the Love Hina issue, I was referring to the anime. I used that, an awful adaptation of the much loved manga, as an example of people rating average quality anime as high as possible with little to no thought. I wasn't really trying to suggest that it's a sin to rate light-hearted anime 10/10 because light-hearted anime can never go toe-to-toe with serious, more mature anime.

But, since we're on the subject anyway, it is true that I don't think comedy and adult content should be scored the same way. It's unfortunate that you can't split things into different categories and have to rate everything using the same numbers. The reason why, for example, comedy and martial arts films on IMDB tend to be rated far lower than 'serious business' films is because others use the same awkward logic as myself, those people finding themselves unwilling to give top marks to things not made for the adult arena.

 

[Otaku-san]

They can't release macross zero in the US because of Harmony Gold's legal ramblings.
Harmoney Gold owns the original Macross series, aka robotech and they wont allow it to enter because it would conflict with the robotech timeline and other minor technicalities that are too much to list.

In short, Robotech is the reason. Zero is the prequel to the original Macross and Robetech is the badly edited version of the first Macross series. Since Robotech changed everything, Zero conflicts with it, and the people who released Robotech don't want questions raised over their 'creation'.

It'll probably never see the light of day outside of Japan, which is a shame when it's far superior (and has a far more understandable sci-fi finale!) than the more famous Macross Plus.

simplistic working minds no

i mean correct me if i'm mistaken but they won't license it simply because of how it fits in with the plot

 

[BlackWolf]

They can't release macross zero in the US because of Harmony Gold's legal ramblings.
Harmoney Gold owns the original Macross series, aka robotech and they wont allow it to enter because it would conflict with the robotech timeline and other minor technicalities that are too much to list.

In short, Robotech is the reason. Zero is the prequel to the original Macross and Robetech is the badly edited version of the first Macross series. Since Robotech changed everything, Zero conflicts with it, and the people who released Robotech don't want questions raised over their 'creation'.

It'll probably never see the light of day outside of Japan, which is a shame when it's far superior (and has a far more understandable sci-fi finale!) than the more famous Macross Plus.

simplistic working minds no

i mean correct me if i'm mistaken but they won't license it simply because of how it fits in with the plot

That's a bit strange since ADV released an uncut SDF Macross set over there in america :? But that reason doesn't surprise me, i guess Macross Plus slipped through because it was set after and thus wouldn't cause headaches to those people just learning that Robotech is three different shows.

 

[kupocake]

If I'm being honest, I find it very difficult to understand how others could view such excellence as being forgettable

Like I say, it's not a matter of it being forgettable: it's proven itself forgotten. Nothing grabbed me to the extent that I couldn't tell you if the mystical 'Culture is some kind of alien mystical power' angle was as half-thought out / explained, or the ending as abrubt and conclusionless as I remember it being.

If I were to guess based on your comment about Macross 7, which suggests you've watched a lot more of the Macross series than myself. Could it be that your love for what you'd seen before made you want to see a repeat of the other series, preventing you from enjoying Zero for its own qualities?

I'd seen only SDF Macross and Plus before Zero. 7 would have been handy to watch since it develops the role of music as a force. Excruciating slowly, but it's there nonetheless. I'd rate Macross and Plus high enough, but they're hardly sacred favourites. Plus is very slick but... it almost lacks some kind of warmth because of that. SDF Macross is very twee. Good fun, but pretty immature. I'd happily embrace a Macross series with something genuinely deep about it. Zero wasn't that series.

Up until that point I hadn't seen an anime that attempted to show a modern person go back to experience living, for a want of a better way of putting it, at one with nature.

I can't think of it being executed in the same specific way, but I think I must have felt it to be a common enough theme in anime to not feel especially unique to me. Anime with ecological themes are everywhere, Anime where a modern protagonist is sent to an archaic fantasy world are common too, and the whole idea is basically a post apocalyptic one. Just a personal apocalypse.

Like I say, I can't come up with an anime that specifically mixes those elements in the way that Zero does (Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke and Turn A Gundam seem there in different ways), but I'm pretty confident that Zero never explored such a theme in such a great depth. I remember it being far more about incoherent Gaia mystics than the protagonist's growth in such an environment. The girls drove the story (and then fizzled out somehow) and I only need to look at your description of Shin as "a rookie who learnt about war the hard way as a child" to remember him as a pretty generic hero.

 

[Aion]

Like I say, it's not a matter of it being forgettable: it's proven itself forgotten. Nothing grabbed me to the extent that I couldn't tell you if the mystical 'Culture is some kind of alien mystical power' angle was as half-thought out / explained, or the ending as abrubt and conclusionless as I remember it being.

I didn't go into it expecting a complex, impossible to follow plot. I prefer anime with stories that I can follow without needing to read a plot summary. In my eyes, a story is fine as long as I'm unable to guess exactly what's around the corner, and I never expected the final episode to turn out to be an all out war against the God-like "Birdman" that had been mentioned in the story told by the Mayans at the very start.

Talking of which, the Mayan story of how men were once fish and only became men after a bird ripped off the fins was great. It not only came into play during the story; it was even used during battle sequences when the mecha action moved underwater. The simple Mayan story was easy to understand and tied together the events of the story.

As for it not being very well explained, would you have rather the plot became slow and incomprehensible as a result of the director attempting to make sci-fi believable? It would've ruined it. This was a fast-paced 5 episode OVA - there was no place for a needless explanation about how the alien lifeform came to be. It would've been like trying to explain why the alien in 'The Thing' was on earth, and I'm sure you're aware how great the film was without the the roots of the alien ever being looked into.

Plus is very slick but... it almost lacks some kind of warmth because of that.

I thought that Plus, while very good, failed because of certain aspects of the plot.

The most troublesome problem was the anti-climatic reasoning behind the love triangle going their separate ways: the giant guy (lol) raged, punching his friend and ripping his love interests top off, and the two males hated each other after that... It was really a something and nothing incident. And the way they suddenly made up after the giants memories came back was a little hard to believe.

And, like with so many sci-fi anime, another of the failings was the hard to understand plot. I was left a little clueless at the end when a singing A.I. was able to put people into a trance with 'her' voice and control all the machines around her. And I had no idea why the evil looking guy with glasses wanted to help the A.I. attain power and then randomly comitted suicide. It REALLY pisses me off when anime goes incomprehensible for the fun of it.


I haven't yet really bothered with the original series. I tried to get into it after starting Frontier, but it was hard when the art is the worst I've ever seen and Frontier stole a lot from the original. I might give it another go at some point...

"a rookie who learnt about war the hard way as a child" to remember him as a pretty generic hero.

Give me a list of all the 100% original characters that have been created over the last few years. Every character is built ontop of older characters these days. It's impossible to come up with new characters when every type has been done before.

I care more for believability, and I found it perfectly believability for someone to enter into a war when he saw his family shot to death in his house as he hid under the bed. And him having seen all the people close to him die explained why he put distance between himself and others - he didn't want to get hurt. It was natural for him to come out of his shell when removed from war and put with a couple of cute girls who lived in a different way than he had.


I think this is one of those times where we need to agree to disagree. You aren't the only who has been critical of Zero - I've seen some harsh reviews - and I'm not the only person to give it top marks. Maybe it's a love/hate series? I wouldn't have thought so but, going on the anti-Zero reviews out there, it's starting to look that way.

 

[Ryo Chan]

As said before, it's all down to whoever watches it.

Air is another example of the marmite series, where you either love it or hate it. All youy can do is leave your own opinions and accept that not everyone will enjoy it. In the end though, they're your precious memories, not anyone elses, so what does it matter