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| Hikaru is torn between the life he once wanted and the one he's come to know. |
Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Farewell to Tenderness
Original Air Date: June 26, 1983.
Written by: Shôji Kawamori. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro, Ryô Yasumura.
Robotech: To the Stars
Original Air Date: Apr. 22, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
Minmay, now living with Hikaru, presses him to resign from the military. Misa is also considering resigning, unable to bear the thought of seeing Hikaru every day while he forges a life with Minmay. Then Admiral Global offers Misa a new assignment: To take command of a new battle fortress that's currently under construction. Her remit will be to spread human culture among the stars, so that civilization will survive even if another attack comes.
Meanwhile, Kamujin has completed repairs to his ship. He takes off with a very specific target in mind: The Macross!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Minmei, now living with Rick, presses him to resign from the military, but he clearly doesn't want to; as Roy once told him, "this Robotech stuff gets in your blood." He finds himself reflecting on Lisa, musing that she would understand...
Lisa is also considering resigning, unable to bear the thought of seeing Rick every day and feeling that she is in no condition for duty in her current state. Then Admiral Gloval offers her a new assignment: To take command of a new battle fortress that's already been constructed. Her remit will be to find the Robotech Masters and destroy their capacity to make war, in order to preserve the future of humanity - and she leaves tomorrow!
Meanwhile, Khyron has completed repairs to his ship. He takes off, planning to head to deep space and rejoin the Robotech Masters. Before he leaves, however, he plans to take his revenge by destroying a very specific target: The SDF-1!
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| The three leads air their viewpoints in the midst of battle. But in Robotech, Minmay doesn't seem to have a point. |
CHARACTERS:
To the Stars continues the trend of Robotech's epilogue arc: It engages in yet more character assassination of Minmay. Macross's Minmay is going through a personal crisis, but she also is generally maturing. By the end of the series, she is ready to find her "real songs" on her own, without her family, Kaifun, or even Hikaru shielding or controlling her. In Robotech... Minmei is a petulant child pretty much the whole way through.
It is understandable that the writers wanted to push the audience toward the Rick/Lisa relationship. But I suspect most Macross viewers already preferred the Hikaru/Misa pairing (I certainly did). Misa comes across as better for Hikaru not because Minmay is a spoiled child, but because life has taken him in a direction where Minmay is no longer a good fit for him as a partner. And, yes, there certainly are Macross viewers who prefer Minmay; but allowing for discussion, debate, and differing audience opinions is not a bad thing. Regressing one of the main characters to the point that she's actually less mature in the series' final episodes than she was in the early ones? That is a bad thing.
Advantage: Macross.
NARRATION:
The Macross episode plays out without narration, while the Robotech episode leans heavily on that crutch. In Robotech's defense, story changes to accommodate the next two series make some of this necessary. But there are also several points at which the narrator literally tells us what is happening on screen, with the usual internal voice overs added for good measure. In the final episode of "The Macross Saga," Robotech continues with its most annoying trend: being terrified of any moment of silence.
Advantage: Macross.
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| Kamujin attacks for the sake of attacking. Robotech's Khyron actually has a goal. |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
Hikaru and Minmay vs. Rick and Minmei: In Macross, Minmay is disappointed that Hikaru hasn't made up his mind yet about leaving the military. She talks about how much she wishes they could go back to how things were when they first met, before she was a singer and he was a soldier. This reinforces one of the episode's major themes, of the futility of wishing for a past that's already gone. Robotech simplifies the scene by having her push him to quit, then asking him to marry her and pressing for an immediate answer. It more or less accomplishes the same narrative task, but there's no thematic resonance - and this interaction makes Robotech's Minmei come off far worse than Macross's version.
Khyron Wants to Join the Robotech Masters: It's been several episodes since the Robotech Masters were last mentioned, and the show is literally one episode from starting the "Masters Saga." Thus, while Macross's Kamujin just wants to attack the Macross to lash out destructively, Robotech's Khyron has a larger goal - destroy the SDF-1, then take the ship to space to rejoin the Masters. Thus reminding viewers that the Masters exist and are still coming.
The Admiral's Plan: In Macross, Admiral Global wants humanity to spread out to the stars in part as a survival plan: Should the Zentradi or another alien menace appear, humanity simply could not survive another blow if it's all gathered on one world, so he wants to seed the galaxy to make sure that doesn't happen. In Robotech, his plan is more militaristic. He wants to track "the Robotech forces" back to their home world and destroy "their capacity for making war." This seems rather aggressive and likely to bring down the very attack he fears. It's also overambitious, given that humanity would certainly be both heavily outnumbered and technologically outmatched.
Misa/Lisa's New Assignment: Global wants Misa to command a ship that's under construction. Robotech's Gloval is putting Lisa in charge of a ship that's already been completed, with orders to "leave tomorrow." That change is as senseless as it is unintentionally hilarious. Given the scale of the mission, she needs months of prep time to: (a) make both short-term and long-term mission plans; (b) select crew members and assign them to their best roles; (c) familiarize herself with the specs of the new ship and take it for a couple test flights; (d) make sure all logistics regarding supplies are taken care of, with suitable backups in case of emergencies... and probably about a hundred other things that I don't even know to think of. Misa has time for all that, since her ship is still being built. Lisa leaves tomorrow on a long-term, complex mission on a ship she didn't even previously know existed. Frankly, Lisa should refuse on the spot; "Sir, if you want to kill me, wouldn't it be a lot more efficient to just shoot me here and dump my body in the water?"
Misa Describes Her Assignment to Hikaru: A small but critical difference occurs in the scene in which Misa tells Hikaru about her assignment. In Robotech, Lisa just talks about the strategic value of finding the Robotech Masters. In Macross, Misa discusses Global's deep space settlement plan and notes that the mission is to spread culture, "not to kill" - which strikes a chord with Hikaru, who has struggled with his affinity for military life vs. his distaste for killing. The Macross line is so effective, both on a character and thematic level, that this change really harms the American version.
Arguing in the Midst of Battle: Also changed is the scene in which Hikaru and Misa talk with Minmay. In the original, when Minmay tries to stop Hikaru from joining the battle, Misa stops her by asking who she sings for, and then adding that she and Hikaru fight for the same reason that Minmay sings. After Minmay protests again, Hikaru announces that he is a soldier and has to "protect you... and the city." Robotech completely changes this. Now Minmei now spouts off about "war, devastation, and battle after battle," all to set up Rick and Lisa lecturing her like a small child. In the process, an extremely good scene is transformed into a rather bad one.
The SDF-2: In Macross, there is only the one battle fortress, with Misa's ship something that's only starting construction. In Robotech, the SDF-2 is already finished, which is folded into the climax. While Kamujin only has one ship to attack, Khyron's first assault is on the SDF-2, which he destroys before the SDF-1 is able to fight back. I actually think this is a good change. Given how devastating the first attack appears to be, it seems odd that the Macross doesn't seem to be particularly damaged by it, something that's addressed by Robotech's new context. However, the effectiveness of this change has one big limitation: the actual artwork and animation, which only ever shows a single battle fortress.
Lisa Survives Because of an Ejection Module: In Macross, Misa survives the battle, with the fates of the rest of the bridge crew left unresolved (sequels would later clarify that everyone survived). Robotech is actually bleaker here. Admiral Gloval pushes Lisa into an ejection module, allowing her to survive... while a bunch of other characters we've followed over the past 36 episodes died.
The Final Conversation with Minmay: In Macross, Minmay declares that she will start over and create new songs that will be more meaningful than her old ones. She then asks Misa for permission to join her when her ship takes off on its mission to bring human culture to the stars. In Robotech, Minmei puts on a brave face when Rick chooses Lisa and promises to have new songs ready when they return to Earth - which means that unlike her Japanese counterpart, Robotech's Minmei does not intend to join them in their voyage.
Advantage: Macross
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Though the Robotech score is well applied in the final battle scene, overall I thought Macross made more effective use of its music. This is particularly true of the emotional confrontation among Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay. Macross's score underlines this as a character-focused scene, drawing the viewer's attention to the mindsets of the three principals. Above all, it is an emotional moment, as all three get to say their piece eloquently.
Robotech scores the same scene with its signature "tense music." This shifts viewer attention away from the emotion of the conversation (which has been dumbed down anyway). The music basically tells us that what matters is the battle, so Minmei delaying Rick and Lisa is an annoyance. Instead of drawing us into the characters in this moment, the score instead has us mentally telling them to hurry up and get to the fighting.
To say that I found the Robotech version of the scene to be less memorable would be an understatement. Yes, a lot of that has to do with the writing - but the way the music is applied also takes away from the moment.
Advantage: Macross.
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| The Super Dimension Fortress Macross makes its final stand. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
As with many elements across the two series, the most significant thing about the changes is the way they shift the focus. The Macross episode is heavily centered around the characters of Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay. The Robotech episode focuses far more on Plot... and to give credit where it's due, many of the actual plot changes are for the better.
I genuinely prefer Khyron's subplot in Robotech, because Khyron actually has a goal while Kamujin is just lashing out for the sake of it. I also think the destruction of the SDF-2 during Khyron's first pass makes clear how devastating the attack is. In both of these instances, the Robotech changes strengthen the plot.
Unfortunately, everything else is much weaker. Farewell to Tenderness has a strong sense of thematic unity, with a script that is very much about bringing the series full circle. Minmay wants to return to the way things were when she first met Hikaru at the series' start, but Hikaru just isn't the same person (really, neither of them are). Misa pitches the space mission to Hikaru as having a goal to spread culture and not kill, which speaks to his series-long dilemma of wanting to protect while at the same time hating violence. The episode's final Act sees the Macross crew back on the original bridge - during an attack that bears more than a passing resemblance to the one in the opening episodes. There's a strong sense throughout of the series' finale echoing its premiere, with the echoes showing the ways the characters have changed in the intervening years.
Much of this is lost in Robotech. Minmei no longer talks about wanting things to be the way they used to be. Lisa doesn't say anything about the mission being one of peace... not least because the writers have changed the mission from a peaceful one to a hyper-aggressive pre-emptive strike. Hikaru resolves his dilemma when he announces that he's a soldier and has to protect Minmay and the city. Rick has already made his decision before the episode even opens, with him musing about preferring Lisa to Minmei in his very first scene. Some of the themes are still present for those who want to search for them - but they are considerably weaker and pushed to the background, and they don't resonate the same way as a result.
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| Snowfall or ash? Hikaru and Misa stand in the wake of the battle. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
In the first episode of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Hikaru scorned Roy's pride in being "a killer." Throughout the series, he has wrestled with a distaste for violence. Here, he finds an answer - in Misa's promise of a mission whose goal is peaceful, and in his own realization that he finds meaning in protecting those he cares about. Like the series itself, it's rich in both theme and character... though like much of the epilogue arc, the actual episodic story feels a bit thin.
Robotech has largely been a series more focused on plot mechanics than on the characters. This shows in its adaptation of the finale, which loses much of thematic strength and flattens out the layered characterizations... but at the same time, also makes the standalone plot a bit stronger by giving Khyron an actual long-term goal. While the wholesale creation of an SDF-2 is a bit strained, its destruction means that Khyron's assault does tangible damage, and Rick's and Lisa's determination to rebuild manages to be a pretty good thematic fit with the entire epilogue arc.
In short, each finale ends up being appropriate to its series. Each version's strengths reflect the strengths and priorities of the series as a whole - Macross with character and thematic depth, Robotech with plot. Since themes and characters tend to stick with me long after plot mechanics have been forgotten, I prefer Macross - but it's still interesting to see how differently the same story plays out with just a handful of shifts in focus.
Overall Rating - Macross: 8/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 7/10.
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