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| A city emerges to support the reconstruction of a crashed alien spaceship in the near future of 2009. |
Original Air Date - Macross: Oct. 3, 1982.
Written by: Ken'ichi Matsuzaki. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro, Fumihiko Takayama, Yoshizo Tsuda.
(Note: Writing/Directing credits taken from IMDB, which is user-edited and may not be 100% accurate)
Original Air Date - Robotech: Mar. 4, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Directed by: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
In the future year of 1999, an alien spaceship crashes on a South Pacific island. Because people are basically short-sighted and selfish, the discovery kicks off years of global conflict over control of the SDF Macross.
By 2009, the Unification Wars have ended. The Earth United Nations Government has completed work on the Macross, with scientists extrapolating where necessary to create a vessel ready to launch into space. This prompts a huge celebration in Macross City, the metropolis that has sprung up around the crash site.
Hikaru Ichijyo has been invited to the ceremony by Major Roy Focker, the hero of the Unification Wars who now leads the Macross's fighter squadron. Hikaru is himself a gifted pilot, but he has no interest in the military. He's happy just showing off in his father's aerial circus. He is intrigued by the advanced Valkyrie fighters, however, and he waits in the cockpit of an empty plane for Roy to make good on his promise to take him up.
It's then that an alien fleet appears in orbit. They've traced the Macross to Earth. Detecting its old enemies, the Macross's systems spring to life, and its heavy cannon fires on its own - effectively declaring war on an alien race. Leaving Hikaru stuck in the cockpit of a fighter he doesn't know how to fly, with orders to launch at once...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
In the future year of 1999, an alien spaceship crashes on a South Pacific island. Though the Earth has been at war, this discovery leads to worldwide peace, with the governments of Earth banding together to unravel the secrets of this advanced vessel.
By 2009, the SDF-1 is complete, and Macross City holds a giant celebration in preparation for its launch into space. Young Rick Hunter has been invited to the ceremony by Major Roy Fokker, the ace pilot in charge of the ship's fighter squadron. Intrigued by the advanced fighter, Rick waits in the cockpit of an empty plane for Roy to make good on his promise to take him up.
It's then that an alien fleet appears in orbit. The Zentaedi have traced the SDF-1 to Earth. Detecting its old enemies, the ship's systems spring to life, and its heavy cannon fires on its own - effectively declaring war on an alien race. Leaving Rick stuck in the cockpit of a fighter he doesn't know how to fly, with orders to launch at once...
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| Roy confronts Hikaru after his antics disrupt an air show. |
CHARACTERS:
Macross's Roy is overtly lascivious, and dialogue among the bridge crew indicates that he is hard-drinking in his off hours. When combat begins, there's a moment in which he realizes that he's returning to action - and he seems to revel in it. Robotech's Roy still eyes a young woman at the celebration, but he otherwise seems to be all business, with the edges noticeably sanded down.
I think the change in backstory creates a plothole, by the way. Roy is a veteran combat pilot in both versions... but since the world of Robotech has been at peace for ten years, I'm not sure exactly when he managed the extremely unlikely feat of shooting down 108 enemies. Oops.
Both Macross's Hikaru and Robotech's Rick share a disdain for the military. In both versions, he responds to Roy's bragging about his military record by snarking about Roy being "a murderer." However, the delivery is different. Hikaru's comment comes across as him puncturing Roy; Rick's similar dig feels blunter and more heavy-handed, making him come across as rather unlikable.
The characterization of Hikaru also sells a key moment in the Macross episode a lot better than in the Robotech version. Even in the mid-'80s, I seem to recall wondering why Rick didn't just respond to the order to launch by saying that he's not actually a fighter pilot. Macross takes a few extra moments to establish just how much pride Hikaru takes in his flying skills. This makes it evident that he wants to fly the fighter. The order to launch just gives him the excuse to do what he wants to do anyway.
In short, while the overall characterizations are similar, they're just a bit more nuanced in Macross.
Advantage: Macross.
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| On the bridge: First Officer Misa Hayase and Capt. Global. |
NARRATION:
Both series use narration to set the stage, but the narration is used differently.
Macross opens with the ship's crash landing, with only the visuals, music, and sound effects. The narration, by a low-key female voice, kicks in only after the crash, the narration lasting just long enough to establish the overall world situation. Once the episode proper begins, the narrator is not heard again until the "next episode" segment at the end.
Robotech's narration is delivered by a bombastic male voice who sounds vaguely like a sports announcer. He starts talking the instant the credits end, narrating throughout the crash, literally telling us what we are seeing on screen as it happens. When the episode proper begins... He keeps going, informing us that the young bridge members are recent graduates. Then he comes back to tell us that aliens are arriving (over shots of aliens arriving), and he identifies the aliens as Zentraedi.
Basically, the Robotech narrator overexplains everything, to a point that brushes against the accidentally comical. Viewed with distance, I'm pretty sure the overaggressive narrator is a sign that execs were nervous about the young '80s audience keeping up with the story and its concepts. I understand that; the general backstory is substantially more complicated than the average '80s cartoon. Even so, I think they could have gotten away with just a bit... less.
Advantage: Macross.
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| Hikaru finds himself in battle... in a fighter he doesn't know how to fly! |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
The Robotech episode runs about two minutes shorter than the Macross version. A fair bit of that comes from the end credits; Macross's ending song runs just over a minute in length, compared to Robotech's 30 second end credits. Still, that leaves a fair amount of other trims distributed throughout the episode.
Tiny Trims: Most of the deletions are all but invisible. A couple shots are snipped from establishing montages, and a few seconds are dropped from the audience reaction to Rick Hunter's airshow antics. No one of these cuts has any real impact on the end product, but I think they do add up: The Robotech episode just feels like it lacks breathing room compared to the original.
The Mayor Frets About Economics: The captain is introduced riding in the back of a luxury car with the town mayor. In Macross, the mayor frets to Capt. Global that the departure of the Macross will spell economic disaster for the city. In Robotech, this is simplified (and the scene greatly shortened) to him merely observing that Capt. Gloval doesn't appear in good spirits. Dialogue that hinted at a more complex overall situation is simplified to keep viewers from thinking about anything other than The Plot.
An Argument on the Bridge: Both series see Flight Officer/default First Officer Misa Hayase/Lisa Hayes berating bridge officer Claudia for spending the night with Roy. In Macross, the scene ends with Claudia playfully offering to let Misa take Roy "off her hands," while Misa shrinks away in embarrassment. This isn't a particularly good scene - but it's a masterpiece next to Robotech's rewrite. Instead of shutting Lisa down by embarrassing her, Claudia launches into a laughably juvenile tirade that includes - I kid you not - a military officer crying out to her superior: "You're not my mother!" The animation of Lisa shrinking away no longer makes sense in context, and the reactions of the other bridge officers make an already bad scene (the episode's worst, in either version) that much worse.
Roy's Leering: In both versions, Roy leers at young Lynn Minmay. In Macross, this is more overt, with Roy's gaze cutting to a close-up shot of her thighs and rear. This shot has been removed from Robotech, making Roy just a man staring at a pretty girl instead of a lascivious creep.
Dialogue Is Noticeably Worse: Robotech's dialogue is functional enough in terms of establishing characters and plot, but almost every exchange feels more juvenile and dumbed down than in Macross. The pity of this is that the Robotech voice cast is actually quite good! Voices are well-suited to the characters, and the actors do a fine job of playing the light moments appropriately without going too broad with the comedy, then changing their tones to reflect when something important is happening. Hopefully future episodes will give these genuinely good voice actors some better dialogue to play.
Advantage: Macross.
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| The alien Zentradi track the Macross to Earth. |
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Macross's incidental music is... fine. It does its job, though the action music for the end battle is fairly generic. I will say that the title ballad is catchy, though I think it repeats "Mac-uh-ross" a few times too many for my tastes.
Robotech's incidental music is very good, however. Composer Ulpio Minucci's main theme is particularly good, raising excitement and hinting at something grand and epic. The incidentals are generally strong as well, from the slightly discordant "alien music" to the battle theme. There's nothing wrong with Macross's incidentals, mind you - but in this one area, at least for this episode, I think Robotech is clearly superior.
Advantage: Robotech.
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
I'm not going to damn the Robotech version. Despite simplifications and a more juvenile tone, it remains a fine episode, setting up the situation and characters in a way that's engaging to watch.
That said... I think the Macross version is clearly and obviously better. The dialogue is sharper, and the characters feel more three-dimensional; whereas in Robotech, dialogue is dumbed down and characters are flattened.
OTHER MUSINGS:
Whichever version you watch, Boobytrap is a strong first episode. The major characters are set quickly and effectively. Hikaru/Rick's hotshot traits are established through action, so that we already know that he's a good pilot (with a need to have his arrogant butt knocked down a peg or twelve) before he's thrust into battle. Character animations are well-done, and the handrawn art holds up surprisingly well.
In the Robotech version, some of the aliens' dialogue is used to set up elements for the future "generations" of the saga. Notably, when pondering the primitive nature of their opposition, the Zentraedi mention the Robotech Masters and drop the name "Xor." I'll admit that I was surprised to see the script laying groundwork for the next series this early on, and I was genuinely impressed at how well-done it was. The information is provided, but in a way that does not distract from the actual plot.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Next Episode: Countdown
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