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| A depressed Minmay shows up at Hikaru's door. |
Original Air Date: June 19, 1983.
Written by: Sukehiro Tomita. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro, Fumihiko Takayama.
Robotech: Season's Greetings
Original Air Date: Apr. 19, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
It's almost Christmas, and Minmay is depressed. In the wake of Kaifun's departure, she no longer wants to sing, and she flees from the recognition of her fans. With nowhere else to go, she shows up at Hikaru's door, begging him to let her stay - an interaction observed by Misa, who is heartbroken that her rival is now moving in with the man she loves.
Meanwhile, Kamujin and his renegade Zentradi are in the process of repairing his battle cruiser, using the skills taught to them by the humans. They are able to get many of the ship's systems working, but they will need a new reflex engine to get it fully operational. Kamujin orders an attack on the city, not only to steal what he needs, but also to deliver the humans a Christmas they will never forget!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
It's almost Christmas, and Minmei is depressed. In the wake of Kyle's departure, she no longer wants to sing, and she flees from the recognition of her fans. With nowhere else to go, she shows up at Rick's door, begging him to let her stay - an interaction observed by Lisa, who is heartbroken that her rival is now moving in with the man she loves.
Meanwhile, Khyron and his renegade Zentraedi are in the process of repairing his battle cruiser. Much to Khyron's displeasure, his men report that they won't be able to complete the repairs unless they obtain more protoculture. Khyron orders an attack on the city, not only to steal what he needs, but also to deliver the humans a Christmas they will never forget!
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| It's hard work being the villain. Fortunately, Kamujin enjoys his job... and Khyron really loves it. |
CHARACTERS:
After the mess that was the last episode, the characters are thankfully back to being themselves. The episode focuses heavily on the same romantic triangle, but at least Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay are back to being likable - all of them flawed in their own ways, but all of them also fundamentally decent human beings.
The three leads are all characterized similarly in both Macross and Robotech. As usual, however, there are noticeable differences between the characterizations of Macross's Kamujin and Robotech's Khyron. Kamujin is intent on his goals, and he is absolutely the villain; but he also is an experienced commander who trusts what his men tell him. By contrast, when one of Khyron's subordinates gives him bad news about needing protoculture for the ship's engines, he goes full movie maniac, instantly threatening the man's life. When Macross's Kamujin breaks off the end attack, he simply radios instructions to his men. Not Khyron, though! He breaks off the attack to send a transmission to the city, gloating.
Simply put: Kamujin is a villain because of the things he does. Khyron actively pursues being visibly evil, and he seems to need to remind us of how evil he is every time he so much as breathes. I actually find Khyron to be fun - but while Kamujin is a fully realized character, Khyron is Batman's Joker if he was an alien.
Advantage: Macross.
NARRATION:
As with the past several installments, the Macross episode features no narration. The Robotech episode has quite a bit, with some internal monologues added on top of that. As with other character-focused episodes, it's clear that there was nervousness about some of the younger members of the audience following all of the emotional arcs.
Advantage: Macross.
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| Misa consoles herself by getting drunk at a bar, something that's de-emphasized in Robotech. |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
Khyron Needs "Protoculture" Instead of an Engine: In Macross, a reflex engine is required for the renegade Zentradi to complete repairs on their ship. When his engineer tells him that he cannot complete repairs as is, Kamujin accepts this without argument, because he knows that his subordinate is simply telling him the situation. In Robotech, the Zentraedi require "protoculture" - aka, the all-purpose MacGuffin that powers literally everything. Oh, and when Khyron is told that repairs are impossible without it, he snaps that this simple reality is "not good enough." Because unlike Kamujin, Khyron is an idiot.
Rick Thinks About Lisa: When the snowfall starts while he's leaving the base, Rick begins musing about how he was with Lisa the last time it snowed. This internal monologue does not appear in Macross, and I suspect it was added to push Rick's connection with Lisa in an episode that otherwise focuses on his relationship with Minmei.
Rick Accuses Minmei of Self-Pity: The first conversation between Hikaru and Minmay is mostly the same in both versions... with one notable exception. In Macross, Hikaru listens to Minmay and tries to comfort her as best he can. In Robotech, Rick calls Minmei out on her self-pity. This is a change that I like. Rick is 100% correct (and Macross Minmay is just as guilty of self-pity), and he's actually being a better friend by making her confront that. Score one for Robotech.
Misa Is Hungover; Lisa Is "Not Feeling Well": A minor change that I suspect comes down to mid-'80s US broadcast standards and practices. The Macross episode makes references to Misa being hungover after seeing Hikaru and Minmay together. Robotech deletes all references to a hangover. This has the effect of making Kim and Sammie's furtive conversation incoherent, and I'm not sure why it wasn't just removed.
Kamujin Orders His Men to Deliver His "Christmas Present," While Khyron Personally Gloats to the City: In both versions, Kamujin/Khyron leaves the city with a particularly nasty "Christmas present." In Macross, he radios his men to deliver it. In Robotech, he does the gloating villain thing by announcing it to the city before he leaves.
Advantage: Macross
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Both series use their scores to good effect. Robotech probably has the edge in the late episode action scenes, but Macross's score is better for the earlier character material. Neither has any musical moments that feel misjudged, so it works out to a wash.
Advantage: None.
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| Just in case you forgot this was a Christmas episode... |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
This time it's a close call, as both versions are good. Macross wins out mainly because of the villain. Robotech's Khyron has always been more overt in his villainy than Macross's Kamujin... and readers of these reviews know that there have been several times that I've found Khyron's camp to be more fun than Kamujin's grim determination. This time, however, Khyron is pushed too far into silent movie villain territory. Yes, by all means threaten the man who's telling you what is required to get your ship working, because that will make the engine all better.
Also, the Robotech episode loses the irony of this situation. Kamujin and his men are repairing the ship using the very skills taught to them by the humans... in order to wage war against the humans. I can't possibly think of any real-world situations this might parallel. It's an effective moment in the Macross episode, one that Robotech completely overwrites in favor of more Technobabble about protoculture.
OTHER MUSINGS:
Romanesque is a nice recovery from the abysmal episode-long character assassination that was Private Time. Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay are back to being themselves; and while the love triangle has never been my favorite part of the show, the script does a fine job of juggling that and the action story without ever losing focus on either strand.
It also represents a moment of truth for Hikaru. In the first part of the series, he disdained the military and desperately wanted to be with Minmay. By the end of this episode, Minmay has come to him, clearly wanting to be with him, and is asking him to quit the military. In short, his dream has been delivered - and in the next episode, I suspect he will conclude that he no longer wants what he once yearned for.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: Private Time
Next Episode: Farewell to Tenderness/To the Stars
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