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| Kamujin takes Minmay and Kaifun prisoner! |
Original Air Date - Super Dimension Fortress Macross: May 29, 1983.
Written by: Hiroshi Ônogi. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro, Hiroshi Yoshida.
Original Air Date - Robotech: Apr. 16, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MACROSS:
Kamujin and his renegade Zentradi stage a raid on Minmay's latest concert, kidnapping her and Kaifun. Kamujin threatens to kill the two celebrities unless he is given a battleship. He's confident his terms will be met. After all, the new Earth government is fragile, and Minmay is a symbol for much of Earth's Zentradi population.
Hikaru and Misa are put in charge of a rescue mission, one that relies on Kamujin falling for a deception that Misa worries might be too obvious. Both are fully ready for the actual operation. However, Hikaru's desire to rescue Minmay and Misa's jealousy quickly create tension...
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
Khyron and his renegade Zentraedi stage a raid on Minmei's latest concert, kidnapping her and Kyle. Khyron threatens to kill the two celebrities unless he is given the ultimate prize: the SDF-1 itself!
Of course, there's zero chance that Admiral Gloval and the Earth government will agree to such a request. Instead, it's agreed to send Rick Hunter on "Operation Star Saver," with Lisa coordinating the mission. However, Lisa worries that Rick won't be able to maintain the objectivity needed to complete the operation...
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| Minmay defends Misa from Kaifun's anger. |
CHARACTERS:
There is roughly a full galaxy of difference between the demand made by Kamujin in Macross and the one made by Khyron in Robotech. Kamujin makes a demand that he has reason to believe the humans will grant. Khyron's demand in crazy on the face of it, and I'm surprised that neither Azonia nor his lieutenant, Grel, point this out. Basically, Khyron is made to look stupid and unbalanced in comparison to his Macross counterpart.
The characterization of Lisa in Robotech also differs from that of Misa in the Macross original. Misa is fiercely jealous almost from the start of the mission, reacting badly every time Hikaru even mentions Minmay's name. Robotech's Lisa behaves more professionally. Sure, there's an element of jealousy in her reactions, particularly at the end, but most of her behavior is filtered through a concern that Rick won't be able to keep his perspective for the mission. Given that nothing in the episode pays this off (since it wasn't a factor in the original version's script), it's a strand that goes nowhere.
Finally, while both Kaifun and Kyle are unbearable as always, Kyle is portrayed more negatively. Kaifun makes a valid, if futile, attempt to reach the Zentradi holding him and Minmay captive; Kyle just insults them and seems surprised when that doesn't work. Kaifun complains that Misa's operation endangered him and Minmay. This makes him a jerk, since he's yelling at someone who saved his life... but not as much of a jerk as Kyle, who shamelessly lies about Rick's conduct.
Basically, take it as read that every character behaves more simplistically - not to mention stupidly - in Robotech.
Advantage: Macross.
NARRATION:
There's no in-episode narration in either version.
Advantage: None.
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| Debating Kamujin's demands. In Macross, this is actually interesting. Not so much in Robotech. |
CUTS AND ALTERATIONS:
The Abandoned Weapons: The episode opens with Hikaru and Misa finding a missile base recently abandoned by the Zentradi rebels, with a large weapons cache left behind. In Macross, the weapons are real and their abandonment sets up that Kamujin's ammo suppply is limited - something that pays off at the end. In Robotech, the weapons are counterfeit, the whole operation amounting to the humans falling for Khyron's distraction while he kidnaps Minmei.
Demands for the Hostages: Kamujin demands a battleship, a request that might conceivably be granted given Minmay's importance to the Zentradi who haven't rebelled. By contrast, Khyron's demand for the SDF-1 is ludicrous, and Khyron and Azonia simply aren't (or, at least, shouldn't be) either stupid or deluded enough to think otherwise.
The Admiral Discusses Options: In Macross, Admiral Global observes that Kamujin's hostage taking is very human, and that it appears that the rebel Zentradi are learning from humanity in all the wrong ways. There's also some discussion about Minmay's celebrity and how it complicates matters, particularly given the fragility of the new Earth government. All of this has been removed from Robotech, to the point that I'm not even sure why any of the scene was retained. Gloval and the others still talk for a bit; they just no longer actually say anything.
Misa and Hikaru Argue: In Macross, it's extremely clear that the arguments between Misa and Hikaru are driven by her jealousy. She also worries about the plan, which counts on Kamujin falling for what she sees as a pretty obvious ploy. Hikaru argues that the only alternative is a violent assault that will almost certainly get the hostages killed. In Robotech, no "Plan B" seems to exist, with neither Rick nor Lisa showing any doubts about the main plan working. This, and Lisa's fretting about Rick keeping his perspective during the fight, has the effect of making him more responsible for the tension between them - a complete reversal.
Kaifun Tries to Persuade the Zentradi, While Kyle Just Antagonizes Them: Kaifun urges the Zentradi to let them go, reminding them of the power of culture that led them to defect in the first place. It doesn't work, but at least it feels like a real effort. Robotech's Kyle... um... yells at the Zentraedi, calling them "baboons" and "cowards." Yes, insult the giants who are bred for war, that should go well.
Advantage: Macross
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Robotech has one thing going for it: the music. As usual, the Robotech score boosts the action scenes to a degree that the Macross score doesn't. There's also a strong moment that sees Khyron responding to Kyle's jibes about the Zentraedi's lack of culture by demonstrating a kiss with Azonia. The scene in similar in context in both versions - but the Robotech version uses the series' "alien/eerie" music, which emphasizes the wrongness of this moment from the usual Zentraedi viewpoint.
Advantage: Robotech.
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| Kaifun and Lap Lamiz kiss. In an otherwise woeful Robotech, the music in this scene is very well applied. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE: MACROSS:
To be clear, I think this is a pretty weak episode in either version. The whole thing feels rushed, oddly paced, and strangely unfinished. Even so, the Robotech is not only worse - it's much worse. The Macross episode at least touches on potentially interesting elements: the fragile government, Minmay's symbolic importance to the Zentradi, Misa's jealousy. The script doesn't quite know what to do with these elements, but at least they exist. Robotech sands them down to almost nothing when it doesn't jettison them entirely, leaving nothing beyond a thin cartoon story about cartoon heroes foiling a cartoon villain for the umpteenth time.
Robotech has an ongoing problem with awkward dialogue. This episode's dialogue is particularly bad. Conversations are clunky and downright juvenile, from Lisa's childlike wail about how "it isn't fair" for Rick to be sent on every mission, to Gloval entirely unironically apologizing to Khyron for his rudeness while the latter is making his hostage demands. It's as if the American writers, not only rushed but conscious that this episode was a bad one anyway, just shrugged their shoulders and churned out a single draft before moving to the next one - which, come to think of it, may not be entirely unlikely!
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| Like children playing at war: The renegade Zentradi on the rampage. |
OTHER MUSINGS:
The overall role of the last two episodes has been to refocus the final arc around the threat posed by Kamujin. The last episode saw him achieving a victory and attracting yet more Zentradi to his cause. This episode sees him failing, but only after making a bold attempt that rattles the entire Earth government.
In terms of the arc, this is structurally sound. Each episode's plot is relatively self-contained, but together they advance the threat of the rebel Zentradi in preparation for the big finale.
Unfortunately, while the last episode was better than this one, both share similar problems. The stakes just don't feel as high as they need to, and the characters seem a lot less clever than they should be, certainly less clever than they have been in the past.
The further along this final arc goes, the clearer it becomes that it's not quite working. Which is a shame. From a conceptual standpoint, I love what the writers are trying to do. The end of the war is not the end of the story. Between cultural differences and ongoing dissatisfaction with postwar life, a successful peace keeps slipping further and further away. The ideas are all there, and they're very strong ideas. They just don't seem to be coming together properly. I've read reports that the epilogue was a last minute addition to Super Dimension Fortress Macross when the episode count was raised from 27 to 36. If that is the case, I'm afraid it shows.
There are good moments, at least in Macross. Kamujin's rebels ride into battle at the start of the episode, but they behave less like soldiers than like children playing at war. This demonstrates not only that the rebel Zentradi are giving into their warlike tendencies, but also that they've lost their previous military discipline. There's another small moment late in the episode, in which a human uses a flamethrower to light the cigarette of a Zentradi ally. This reminds us that most of the Zentradi have remained with the humans, and that peaceful coexistence remains possible.
I also like the observation that Kamujin's plan here is very human, albeit one that mirrors humanity's worst traits. This echoes in his kiss with Lap Lamiz and his riding into battle in a way that reminds his soldiers of a western movie he has been watching. It's not that he's immune to cultural influence; he's just being influenced in the wrong ways.
These moments aren't enough to save even the Macross version from falling below the series' usual standards. They do, however, show the same frustrating issue as the epilogue arc itself: interesting ideas are present, but they aren't being developed to their potential.
As for the Robotech version? It doesn't even have interesting ideas. The only thing that keeps the Robotech episode above a "1" is good handling of the action climax. In all other respects, it's woeful.
Overall Rating - Macross: 4/10.
Overall Rating - Robotech: 2/10.
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