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| Misa waits for Hikaru, who is late for very stupid reasons... |
Original Air Date - Super Dimension Fortress Macross: June 12, 1983.
Written by: Hiroshi Ônogi. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro.
Original Air Date - Robotech: Apr. 18, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
When Hikaru asks her out on a picnic date, Misa is so excited that she rushes early to the coffee shop that is their meeting place and settles in to wait patiently. But Hikaru is an imbecile. When Minmay calls him up out of the blue to ask him to meet her, he agrees - leaving Misa to continue waiting at the coffee shop and wonder what happened to him.
As fair reward for his stupidity, Hikaru has a truly terrible time. His date with Minmay is interrupted by Kaifun. He has arranged a last-minute concert appearance specifically to break them up, and he isn't above being an abusive lout to make sure he gets his way. When Hikaru tries to get back to Misa, he is stymied by an attack by Zentradi rebels. Breaking that up is no problem, but it makes him even later than he is already.
But at least Minmay gifted him with a nifty scarf...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Lisa is thrilled when Rick asks her out on a picnic date, so much so that she waits patiently when she arrives on time to their coffee shop meeting place, with him nowhere to be seen. Rick is late for a very simple reason: He's an idiot. Minmei called him out of the blue to ask him to meet her, and he agreed - leaving Lisa alone at the coffee shop, wondering what might have happened to him.
As fair reward for his stupidity, Rick has a truly terrible time. His date with Minmei is interrupted by Kyle - and while he may be an abusive jerk, he isn't wrong to wonder why she has blown off the press conference he had gone to so much trouble to set up. After Kyle drags her out to meet her professional obligations, Rick runs into more trouble: an attack by Zentraedi rebels. Breaking that up is no problem, but it makes him even later than he is already.
Still, at least Minmei gifted him with a nifty scarf...
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| Hikaru meets Minmay and proceeds to have a really lousy time. |
CHARACTERS:
In this episode, Hikaru - our hero - comes across as almost as much of a lout as Kaifun. All he has to do is to politely but firmly tell Minmay that he's already made a commitment for the day, and to offer to meet her the next day. But Hikaru has somehow missed every '80s sitcom episode that shows what a bad idea it is to try to have two dates simultaneously, with predictable results.
This is made even worse in Robotech, as Rick tells Minmei that he was meeting a male friend who was fine by changing plans. Hikaru's behavior was already bad enough; why make Rick's even worse? Voice actor Tony Oliver tries to offset this by adopting an air of affable cluelessness... but honestly, in this episode, Rick is just a jerk (and Hikaru, in the original, is barely any better).
The single biggest difference in characterization is Minmay. She's finally decided that she does love Hikaru and wants to make up for lost time. Sure, she should have called in advance rather than expecting him to drop everything and come to her. Still, given the limits of what she actually knows (which does not include Hikaru's budding relationship with Misa), none of her behavior is actively unreasonable - just a little self-centered and thoughtless, in a way that's entirely consistent with how she's been characterized in other episodes.
Robotech does everything short of inserting shots of Minmei drowning kittens to make sure that she comes across as badly as possible. She is whiny and petulant, complaining about her fame and the annoyance of being recognized. She is rude to the waiter at the restaurant (in Macross, the same interaction comes across as teasing and good-humored; in Robotech, she's borderline belligerent). Then Kyle arrives, and the entire context of him pulling her away from the date is changed to make her seem selfish and irresponsible.
Yes, I know the writers were putting their thumbs on the scale to make sure viewers were invested in Rick/Lisa and not Rick/Minmei. But this is nothing short of deliberate character assassination, and it's not even the first time Robotech has done this.
Advantage: Macross.
NARRATION:
The Robotech version adds narration to several sequences and also adds extra internal monologues. I'm not entirely sure why. This episode has so little plot, kids would be more likely to fall asleep than to get confused by anything.
Advantage: Macross.
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| Kaifun breaks up the date. In Robotech, he's arguably in the right. |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
Misa Is Early to the Date; Lisa Isn't: In Macross, Misa thinks nothing of it when Hikaru isn't at the coffee shop, given that she arrived early. In Robotech, Lisa is instantly concerned because Rick is already late. Macross allows Misa's concern and frustration to build, while her early arrival also emphasizes how much this date means to her. The alterations mean that Lisa's worry begins to early, leaving little room for it to build in the rest of the episode. There's also an unintended side effect: Since Rick is already late when Lisa arrives, that implies that she is also late!
Minmay and the Waiter: A serious conversation between Minmay and Hikaru is interrupted by the waiter serving their wine. In Macross, Minmay wonders why he's serving them so early, and he responds that young people are always in a hurry. This exchange comes across as good-natured, sort of half-grousing/half-joking. In Robotech, Minmei is genuinely annoyed by the interruption, with the waiter snarking back about how "movie stars always complain."
Kaifun vs. Kyle: In Macross, Kaifun arrives to break up the date with a last-minute concert that he's drummed up, and it's obvious to all that he's done this specifically to separate Minmay and Hikaru. When Minmay balks, Kaifun becomes abusive, splashing water in her face and all but dragging her out. There is no reading of the scene in which he's anything but horrible, or in which she's anything but a victim.
But Robotech is so laser-focused on making us hate Minmei, the context is changed so that the abusive cousin/boyfriend now comes off as better than his victim. Kyle has already arranged, in advance, a press conference which she has blown off. Now she really is ignoring her professional obligations; and in this new context, her responses are those of a sulky child. It's bad enough as a scene in its own right; when viewed side-by-side with the Macross scene, the changes are nothing short of jaw-dropping.
The Bridge Crew Responds Differently to Misa's Phone Call: After Hikaru continues to not show, Misa calls the ship to find out if he has an official reason for missing their date. In Macross, this leads to an argument among the bridge crew, with Kim and Shammy bullying their male co-worker (again) until he finally snaps back at them. Disgusted by all of this, Misa hangs up. In Robotech, the bridge crew grows incensed about Rick standing Lisa up, and she hangs up in embarrassment.
Hikaru Gets Betrayed By His New Scarf: Hikaru finally reaches Misa in time to walk her home. It's cold, so he wraps the scarf around her - only for her to discover a couple's monogram for Hikaru and Minmay. Robotech has to cut the shot, since "H. I." doesn't exactly match up with "Rick Hunter," so in this version Lisa recognizes Minmei's perfume instead. My thanks to Gubaba Blog for pointing this out, as I missed it when first posting this review.
Kaifun's Farewell Speech is Better-Written than Kyle's: The episode ends with Kaifun saying farewell to Minmay. In Macross, he gives a speech about wanting to hear a song from her that has real kindness. In Robotech, he complains about her wasting her gifts. Kaifun's speech is better written... but in either version, who cares? The entire epilogue arc has painted him as a selfish, abusive lout, and allowing him even an inch of moral high ground feels incredibly wrong in both variants. Ah, well - At least he finally seems to be gone for good.
Advantage: Macross
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Macross again uses incidental versions of Minmay's songs as counterpoints to the (would-be) emotional moments, while Robotech recycles its standard cues. Both are fine, and honestly even a compositional masterpiece wouldn't have saved this episode. I'm going to give the nod to Robotech this time thanks to the episode's one action scene, which at least allows the American version to break out the bombast for a few entertaining minutes.
Advantage: Robotech.
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| Misa meets the episode's only well-written character. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
I found this to be a bad episode in either version. Macross is slightly better, mainly because the Robotech episode performs an all-out character assassination on Minmei. Still, it's only better in the way that being punched in the stomach is preferable to being kicked in the groin. Both are painful experiences best avoided - one just hurts a little bit more than the other.
OTHER MUSINGS:
A Rainy Night was a fine character episode that advanced the central relationship while also being consistently enjoyable. Private Time seems to want to answer the question: "What if we do that again, but this time make all the characters stupid and obnoxious?"
This episode's sole purpose seems to be to pad out the episode count. By the end of its 25 minutes, the only things that have changed are: (1) the progress in the Hikaru/Misa relationship from the last episode has been undone; and (2) Kaifun is gone. And while that second item is cause for celebration, it can't make up for how irritating the rest is.
The script treats its characters horribly. Hikaru has never come across worse, being not only indecisive but inconsiderate to both of his potential love interests. First he stands up Misa, then he just sits there like a useless lump as Kaifun roughly grabs Minmay's wrist and thows a drink in her face. Misa has been possessed by the spirit of a hapless doormat. Even in the Macross version, Minmay is heedless of others, and in Robotech she's rude on top of that. Oh, and Kaifun is given a farewell speech that seems to want to make him sympathetic. Because what terrible episode could be complete without granting an abuser the moral high ground?
I had previously regarded Global Report as the series' weakest installment, and that had the excuse of being a standard clip show. Well, Private Time is worse, using a tedious sitcom plot as a vehicle to make the main characters as unlikable as possible.
Overall Rating: 1/10.
Previous Episode: A Rainy Night
Next Episode: Romanesque/Season's Greetings
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