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| Milia brings her infant daughter along on a mission. |
Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Viva Maria
Original Air Date - Macross: May 15, 1983.
Written by: Hiroshi Ônogi. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro.
Robotech: Viva Miriya
Original Air Date - Robotech: Apr. 12, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
Hikaru, Misa, Max, Milia, and Claudia find themselves working under the command of their former enemy, Lord Britai, on a mission to claim a Zentradi factory. If successful, this operation will reduce the threat of Zentradi attack and increase Earth's ability to defend itself, allowing the human/Zentradi forces to rapidly manufacture ships capable of repelling a new assault.
Max and Milia have brought their baby, Komilia, along. Misa is critical of them bringing an infant into a warzone... at least, until she gets a chance to hold the child, at which point her focus turns toward the future she would like with Hikaru. The couple has brought their child for a reason, however, and young Komilia will become a critical part of the battle ahead!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, Max, Miriya, and Claudia find themselves working under the command of their former enemy, Lord Bree'tai, on a mission to claim the last remaining Robotech factory. If successful, this operation will reduce the threat posed by the Zentradi and the Robotech Masters, and will also increase Earth's ability to defend itself.
On Bree'tai's request, Max and Miria have brought their baby, Dana, on the mission. This isn't mere whim, with little Dana forming a critical part of Breetai's plan.
Meanwhile, the Robotech Masters begin their journey to Earth - but when a critical experiment fails, they also start becoming desperate...
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| The humans and Britai work together to prevent a new invasion. |
CHARACTERS:
Though many of the Zentradi on Earth are chafing against their new existence, Britai seems happier than he's ever been. He's all smiles as he greets Exsedol and the humans, and he takes pride in his newly developed conversational skills. Even when the mission is underway, he seems more relaxed than before, including when he's interrupting the humans' conversations to steer them back to the task at hand. The dynamic of the mixed human/Zentradi crew is enjoyable throughout the episode, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it - though with only a few episodes left, I doubt there will be much opportunity for that.
Advantage: None.
NARRATION:
The Robotech episode opens with an internal monologue from Rick in place of the usual opening narration. This actually works well, becasue there's a rather nice bit in which he muses about feeling "homesick for space." It rings true for the character and is just enough for me to give a rare nod to the American version in this one category.
Advantage: Robotech.
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| The Robotech Masters' experiment fails, making them more desperate. |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
The Robotech Regulars Don't Know What the Mission Is: In Macross, everyone knows the basics of the mission before it begins. Some last-minute aspects of Britai's plan surprise them, but they at least know what their goal is. In Robotech, Bree'tai's plan has been kept a complete secret - which doesn't make a lot of sense, as springing surprises on people in the heat of battle is a very fine way to lead to avoidable errors.
The Baby's Name and the Episode's Title: In Macross, Max and Milia's baby is named Komilia Maria Fallyna Jenius, and the title of the episode (Viva Maria) applies to her. In Robotech, the baby is named Dana, with the adjusted title (Viva Miriya) instead applying to her mother.
The Baby's Presence: Macross's Milia and Max chose to bring Komilia, with Milia defending her decision by declaring that she is more than capable of protecting her daughter. The way the baby is used in the final battle is portrayed as an idea that Max and Milia came up with. In Robotech, young Dana is part of Bree'tai's plan from the start, and she's there because he asked for her to be brought.
The Return of the Robotech Masters: More Southern Cross footage is cut in to continue the setup for the next arc. This time, we see the Masters conducting an experiment to clone "Zor Prime." When the experiment fails, it becomes clear that they are desperate and have no choice but to recover the protoculture from Earth.
A Dinner Party: In Macross, Max and Milia host a party, with Hikaru, Misa, and Claudia visiting. Misa fusses over the baby to a degree that makes Hikaru nervous, because he's not quite as clueless about Misa's feelings as he likes to pretend. Robotech removes all of this to make way for the "Robotech Masters" scene... which is a bit jarring, given that the following scene has been retained, complete with references to Lisa's enthusiasm for the baby.
The Derelict: Midway through the episode, Britai's ship encounters a derelict vessel. He and Exsedol identify it as a warship from the Supervision Army, their old enemies and the creators of the Macross. In Robotech, they instead state that it is an old Zentraedi ship. This renders the scene narratively pointless, meaning that this would have been a better scene for Robotech to cut than the dinner party.
A Better Edited Kiss: As part of Britai's plan, Hikaru and Misa kiss while one of Minmay's songs plays, all to throw the enemy Zentradi into disarray. This is basically the same in both shows, but Robotech cuts the scene a bit tighter, and it works slightly better as a result. It's not enough to make up for all the other changes for the worse, mind you... particularly since This Is My Time to Be a Star is playing during the scene, making me think that the Zentraedi are plugging their ears for a different reason than the writers intended...
Advantage: Macross
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
This is an area where Macross has grown steadily stronger throughout its run. Though Robotech's music is perfectly fine here, I think the parent show uses its score to stronger effect - particularly when an instrumental version of one of Minmay's songs plays toward the end.
Advantage: Macross.
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| Hikaru gets a thumbs-up from a Zentradi. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
Once again, squeezing Southern Cross footage into the episode weakens a decent episode, though not nearly as badly this time. As with the previous episode, I understand the reasoning. The first "generation change" was bound to be the hardest one for viewers to get past, and original animation was beyond the limits of the schedule and budget. I'm not going to argue that the Robotech producers needed to do whatever they could to at least try to keep it feeling like a single story.
Still, even if you don't know that this scene was taken from a different show, I think you'd know something was up: the differences in visual style and character art just stick out too much. Also, the cuts made to accommodate the new scene were not well judged. The scene with the derelict is a "spare part" in the new Robotech context, and it would have been a much more invisible removal than the one the producers selected.
OTHER MUSINGS:
Both versions of Viva Maria are entertaining and briskly paced, mixing just the right amount of humor into the now-familiar space action shenanigans. I'd argue that the battle is won a bit too easily. I also think there's a lot of untapped dramatic potential involving how strange it must feel for both sides of this joint mission to be working together; after all, it wasn't that long ago that each race was regularly trying to kill the other. But to actually mine that vein would have required a lot more than a single 25-minute episode.
The whole thing is played with a pretty light touch, honestly a bit too light for my tastes. But I had fun watching it, I laughed in the places I was meant to laugh, and I found the finale to be satisfying. It's not a "great" episode - but on its own terms, I think it manages to be a good one.
Overall Rating - Macross: 7/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Lonely Song/The Robotech Masters
Next Episode: Satan's Dolls/Khyron's Revenge
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