Without Star Wars and Star Trek, sci-fi wouldn’t be the juggernaut it is today. America’s influence on the genre has been so immense, that you can even feel its presence in the works of other countries. We Brits have had our beloved shows - Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Blake’s 7 - and a couple of those definitely pinched an idea from America’s big moneymakers. But in that time, Japan has been going just as big on Star Wars-inspired animated space operas. And the undisputed king among those is Macross.
Macross, or Super Dimension Fortress Macross in full, has one hell of a history. It’s a franchise that has sprawled five decades and spawned a dizzying number of TV series and spin-offs. Its first run in Japan back in 1982 was a tremendous success, and it still retains a venerable status as being one of the greatest animes ever made. It even birthed a fervent fanbase in the US - at least if you count the edited-down Robotech, which was largely derived from Macross. But its associated feature-length movie, released in 1984 under the subtitle Do You Remember Love?, has an even larger reputation. More than a mere spin-off film, it is regarded as a major milestone for anime’s ascendance into artistic renown. And thanks to its recent Japanese re-release - one that comes with a 4k edition - it just got its most lavish rendition yet.
The original Macross TV series tells the tale of humanity’s struggle after the event of a gigantic spacecraft crash-landing on Earth in 1999. The ship itself is uninhabited, but the technology on board is like nothing encountered before. In the ten years that follow, the U.N Spacy, Earth’s space defense corps, are tasked with restoring this craft - one they dub the Macross. They research, learn from its tech, and bring it back to operation, ushering in a new period of technology with everything they found along the way. A new golden age for mankind! What better time for aliens to invade?
Right on cue, that’s what happens. The Zentradi, an imperialistic humanoid race that thrives only on war, need the craft at all costs. Worse still, they’ve managed to trace it to Earth, and have brought a whole fleet of warships to claim it. Luckily, humanity’s ten-year head start on learning the Macross’ systems has enabled them to develop weaponry capable of withstanding the initial Zentradi onslaught. But as the Macross launches with its full crew (along with 50,000 escaping Earth citizens), the difficulty of its mission becomes more clear. The invading Zentradi armada is truly immense - Earth’s defense forces pale in comparison. As the most advanced weapon humanity has in its new war with the alien threat, the Macross is indisputably mankind's last hope from impending annihilation. And it already faces an uphill battle.
Do You Remember Love? (which I’ll now shorten to DYRL) mostly re-tells the TV series’ plot beats, and picks up the story at the point of the Macross’ escape. Against the backdrop of the ongoing Zentradi conflict, it centers around hot-shot pilot Hikaru Ichijou. As a member of the renowned fighter unit Skull Squadron, Hikaru isn’t just flying his mech-transforming Valkyrie jet fighter into danger. He also has a difficult professional relationship with his commanding officer, Lieutenant Misa Hayase, to navigate as well. Ever at loggerheads with his superior, Hikaru finds better relations in a chance encounter with the Macross’ resident pop idol, Lynn Minmay. The two meet following the detection of an incoming Zentradi attack, sending the ship into full combat mode. As the Macross transforms itself to arm for the threat, Hikaru rescues Minmay as the ship’s gravity inverts, using his Valkyrie to catch her from a deadly fall.
The pair end up in an isolated part of the ship’s interior structure, and as they work together to find a way back to civilization, they develop a keen fondness for one another. But nothing is fair in love and war. As Hikaru begins to lose more of his squadron mates in the Zentradi conflict, he also finds himself growing closer to Misa for comfort. Is their squabbling merely over expectations of duty or a hint of something deeper?
The Zentradi are also having a hard time with emotions, too - mostly because they’ve never had to experience them until coming into contact with humans. An all-male contingent, the Zentradi are long estranged from the females of their race, the Meltlandi. Both genders hate each other with equal passion. But as Zentradi soldiers infiltrate the Macross during an incursion, they find that male and female humans co-mingle without issue - a troubling thought. And then, there is the culture. When faced with music for the first time - especially Minmay’s pop songs - the Zentradi are completely psychologically dismantled. Their legends tell of their creators, known as the Protoculture, possessing such powers. Are these humans as puny as they seem, or are they the very race that brought them into existence?
Mysteries of the heart, mysteries of origin: DYRL has them all. Better yet, it’s got plenty of blood-pumping mech battles and dogfights to go with all the heartfelt stuff. And it’s all in glorious 4k - which looks phenomenal. There is some occasional blurriness, likely due to the source material being so old. But this is an upgrade that has made the original animation shine. It’s fluid, flows well, and looks fantastic during the film’s bigger moments. These ‘bigger’ moments aren’t just on the battlefield, either - Hikaru and Minmay’s first encounter with each other has an especially enchanting quality to it. The ‘city’ aboard the Macross also resembles the glittering neon photos of Tokyo at night, from around the time the movie was made. You could knock points off for this movie’s generally dated look, but you cannot fault its production quality. Or its enduring vividness.
As for those battle scenes, they deserve their own paragraph. They truly are amazing. Missiles stream in every direction. Ships explode in booming, chain reaction fashion. Starfighters twist and turn with a rapidity that looks impossible for a 1984 animation. Better still is that the Macross’ designs for both ship and setting alike are so distinctive. Against the aerodynamic ‘cool’ factor of the human crafts, the Zentradi ships do look alien: stilted and bulbous in their awkward manner. This difference especially comes alive during close-quarters fight scenes. There is, admittedly, a surprising amount of graphic violence that pops up. Completely absent in the original TV show, the animators here did not miss a chance to add an exploding head or two when they could get away with it. But still, there is at least nothing about Macross’ style that is lifted from other franchises of its time. It is a triumph for the imagination of sci-fi as it is for the viewer’s eye.
The film also succeeds at snappy narrative. Despite its need to tell the majority of a 36-episode story in two hours, DYRL never gets confusing. It keeps things fluid, knowing that most viewers won’t want to slow down for deep exposition when the action is so enjoyable. But when it does need to deliver, it does so, and well. The Zentradi's existential crisis following their exposure to human culture, and the real secrets behind the origins of Protoculture, make for intriguing sci-fi storytelling. The development of the love triangle between Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa is also done with genuine heart. Initially, Hikaru is snared by Minmay’s captivating idol charm - she’s a real sweetheart, if a bit naive. But as Hikaru journeys to Earth with Lt. Hayase - the planet now ruined by Zentradi bombardment - he finds that Misa’s steely exterior is a front hiding a sentimental, maternal nature.
Hikaru’s final choice between the two is not without dramatic consequences, even if it does lack the nuances from the TV show. It’s also a product of the 80s, and not without the era’s casual misogyny. So your mileage may vary. But in the end, it does provide an effective plot twist that doesn’t just determine Macross’ romantic angle - it determines the fate of humanity as well.
Above all, DYRL underlines the importance of culture - especially music - as a potent weapon for peace. Minmay practically embodies it as a plot device: her songs being the crucial factor in helping humanity turn the tide of battle and helping the Zentradi soften their souls. With music being key, you’d hope the soundtrack would be nothing short of fantastic - and it is. It’s a mix of tumultuous orchestra for the war scenes, and Showa era J-Pop, with the J-Pop being infectiously catchy. Annoyingly so, in fact. Minmay’s ‘My Boyfriend Is A Pilot’ is guaranteed to stay lodged in your head for inappropriate lengths of time. But it is, nonetheless, a splendid musical backing for a space opera that prizes the feelings as much as the fighting. And it’s also no surprise that Mari Iijima, who provided the voice for Minmay, wound up being a pop megastar herself thanks to her work on this series.
Iijima’s stellar musical performance also means that the film’s climax is delivered on a bittersweet but satisfying wave of emotional closure for all characters involved. One final, beautifully animated battle sequence with one final Minmay song - a sweeping synth ballad matching the title of the film - is all it takes to lift this movie to a rousing conclusion. When all is said and done, this is a space opera that remains incredible to look at, has charm and thrilling fight scenes galore, and manages to add human pathos to the often rigid genre of mech anime. Do You Remember Love? Hard not to after enjoying this classic.
