Robotech: The Sentinels.

The wedding of Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes, who have
received a copyright-safe makeover between seasons.

Also Released as: Robotech II - The Sentinels.

Original Release Date: September, 1988. Running Time: 75 minutes (original version)/69 minutes (remastered). Written and Directed by: Carl Macek. Produced by: Ahmed Agrama, Hiroshi Ōnogi.


THE PLOT:

It has been nine years since the destruction of the SDF-1 at the hands of rebel Zentraedi Khyron. Now the SDF-3, under the command of Rick Hunter, prepares to embark on the mission devised by the late Admiral Gloval: to lead the Robotech Expeditionary Force to Tirol, the home planet of the Robotech Masters.

Though this is viewed as a diplomatic mission, it includes a strong military force - one which General Anatole Leonard fears leaves the defense of Earth badly compromised (thus representing the one time in the entire saga that Anatole Leonard is ultimately proved right about something). Rick is also troubled, plagued by doubts and worries about the upcoming journey even as he prepares for his long-delayed wedding to Lisa Hayes.

Meanwhile, Tirol is already being invaded by an alien force. The Invid Regent has come in search of the Flower of Life, which was stolen by the Robotech Masters. The Masters have abandoned their home planet, leaving only helpless civilians behind. Tirolian scientist Cabell and his assistant/bodyguard, Rem, begin probing the Invid for weaknesses - but it's clear to Cabell that it's already too late to save the populace from the devastating attack!

Bree'tai warmly greets Lisa and Miriya.

CHARACTERS:

My single biggest gripe with The Sentinels is that I find the characters completely uninteresting. The returning regulars can just about skate by on "TV reunion movie" goodwill; most of them are only onscreen long enough for the brief pleasure of saying, "Oh, there's Miriya! And that's a young Dana and Bowie! And Anatole Leonard's actually right about something, but he's still a pompous idiot!"

The characters created specifically for The Sentinels don't have that advantage, and they are all established in tropey broadstrokes. Hotshot pilot Jack Baker has plenty of talent but a tendency to ignore orders - oh, and his establishing scene is lifted, some lines almost verbatim, from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. Test pilot Karen Penn's scientist father is upset that she isn't following in his footstep. Jack and Karen meet exactly once, for a period that could be tallied in seconds, but they are already coded as a future couple. And why not? Their personalities are matching shades of beige.

Cabell and Rem come across a bit better, mainly because they're defined through action rather than having characters stand around reciting their character briefs. They still don't amount to much more than "wise old scientist" and "young fighter," but I'll admit to finding their scenes more interesting than those on the SFD-3.

In fairness, this "movie" only represents what would have been the first three episodes of a full season arc. Had the series been completed, any or all of them might easily have gained depth - particularly if some stronger scripts were waiting in the wings.

Nice kitty... Cabell has a close encounter with an Invid Hellcat.

BACKGROUND:

The Sentinels movie cobbles together the three fully animated episodes of what would have been Robotech's second season. Unlike the previous season, this was an original story boasting original animation, something that was affordable thanks to an association with toy company Matchbox and a dollar/yen exchange rate that made employing Japanese animators extremely affordable.

Then everything went wrong.

A brief article on Cancelled SciFi details some of the issues. Toy sales were middling, leading Matchbox to pull out. At roughly the same time, the dollar/yen exchange rate shifted from 220 yen per dollar to 160 yen, greatly raising the price of the animation.

The loss of its toy company partner and the increase in the animation cost were simply too much for Harmony Gold to afford. With only three episodes in the can, the company pulled the plug, with the episodes edited into a movie for a 1988 VHS release.


VERSIONS:

The 1988 version of The Sentinels featured flashbacks using footage from Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Harmony Gold no longer had rights by the time it made its way to disc, so the flashbacks were excised. Though there are a couple of points where it's clear that a dialogue exchange was meant to go into a flashback, this mostly isn't a loss. I do miss one moment, however, an effective visual beat during the wedding when Rick sees images of their fallen comrades.

The only other notable difference is a very slight extension to the ending, with a title card added to act as a lead-in to the then-upcoming Shadow Chronicles.

T. R. Edwards resents Rick Hunter, a thread
that would likely have become interesting.

OTHER MUSINGS:

Despite being incomplete, Robotech: The Sentinels works reasonably well on a story level. Characters are introduced and various plot threads are planted.

Though Rick's mission doesn't intersect with the Invid Regent's invasion of Tirol yet, it's evident that a confrontation will soon occur. One of Rick's officers, T. R. Edwards, is established as resenting him, and it's obvious that he will cause trouble down the line (from his character name and status as "untrustworthy officer," I'm guessing he was originally intended to be B. D. Andrews from the movie, before Cannon imposed a new ending). On Tirol, Cabell and Rem study the Invid for weaknesses, which I'm sure would have led to new developments as well.

In this way, the movie repeats something I noticed about the series: the priority is on plot, not characterization. Earlier in this review, I wrote that any of the bland and tropey characters here might have become interesting later. This is true... but it's also true that by the end of Space Fold - Episode Three of Macross - I was invested in Hikaru/Rick, Misa/Lisa, Roy, Global/Gloval, and Minmay/Minmei. The same simply isn't true of the characters here. I had to look up most of the new characters simply to remember their names!

Character art is noticeably different than in Macross. Rick and Max have grown about a foot taller and even wider than that in the shoulders, Bree'tai wears a full face helmet that makes him look less like an alien than a Viking, and every character's hair has changed. Given that the Southern Cross characters look the same, with even child Dana and Bowie drawn to resemble their Southern Cross versions, it's evident that this was done to dodge copyright issues. Too bad that the new character models are so much less expressive than the originals.

Animation is uneven, and there's a visible split by location. The scenes on the SDF-3 feel choppy and static, with only an action piece involving a failed test flight and some bits of the wedding showing any sense of style. The scenes on Tirol are altogether more dynamic. Even allowing that the Tirol scenes are more action-heavy, I came away with the distinct impression that the animators were more interested in the Tirol plot than the SDF-3 scenes.

Rick and Lisa prepare to leave Earth.

OVERALL:

Given the criticisms above, I should stress that I enjoyed The Sentinels. It's a far more watchable Robotech continuation than the theatrical movie, and there are elements that could have made for an interesting story. Beyond that, it's fun to see all three "generations" interacting in the same film.

That said, when it ends, I'm not particularly fussed that the story is incomplete. Had Macross ended with Space Fold, I would have been genuinely upset. As much as I would have liked The Sentinels to have finished its run... I'm just not left feeling that anything special was lost.

It's an OK film to watch. But my feelings are largely summed up by those two letters: "OK."


Overall Rating: 5/10.

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Codename: Robotech.

Zentraedi warships close in on the SDF-1 as the film opens.

Original Air Date: Mar. 1, 1985. Running Time: 74 minutes. Written by: Carl Macek. Directed by: Robert V. Barron.


THE PLOT:

As the converted alien battle fortress SDF-1 rests in the ocean, having returned to Earth after two years away, Capt. Gloval prepares a report on the events that led to this moment. He recounts how the alien ship crash landed on Earth. The discovery of the existence of aliens possessing vastly superior technology led to a focused worldwide effort to reconstruct the battle fortress for human use.

The Zentraedi reached Earth just as the SDF-1 finally became operational. Thanks to the Veritech fighters created from the alien "Robotech," the humans were able to hold the aliens off long enough for the battle fortress to take off. However, a desperate space fold resulted in not only the ship, but also the entirety of Macross City, being transported into deep space.

Gloval recounts how the ship began its return voyage. It would be a long journey - with the Zentraedi chasing them every step of the way!

Rick, Ben, and Lisa are taken prisoner by the Zentraedi!

CHARACTERS:

Codename: Robotech is a heavily abridged version of the first thirteen episodes of the series. As such, the characters are reduced to their most obvious traits. Capt. Gloval and Lt. Commander Lisa Hayes come across most strongly, not least because Gloval is the one preparing the report and a number of scenes are ones showing them on duty on the bridge of the SDF-1. Even with them, we see Lisa as a stern military commander, but we don't see her emotional side at all.

Rick, who is the hero of the series, almost comes across as a supporting character. Since most of the plot-establishing scenes in the early episodes were focused on either the bridge crew or the Zentraedi, many of his scenes are heavily condensed or removed entirely. He comes to the fore in the second half, and we get glimpses of his infatuation with Minmei and his early sniping with Lisa, but there's little indication of him being a character of any depth.

In short, the film fulfills its function of introducing the major characters, but they are only shown in the broadest of strokes.

The heroes engage in a fistfight with
the giant Zentraedi commander, Breetai.

INCIDENTAL MUSIC:

Codename: Robotech makes a couple of misjudgments with regard to music, the biggest of these being the repetition of the same couple of tracks. I hope you like the main theme and the show's primary "battle score," because you are going to hear them a lot.

As I've noted in my episodic reviews, I don't think the Robotech theme works very well as incidental music. It's a superb '80s television theme, setting a tone that suits both this adaptation of Super Dimension Fortress Macross and the American audience that was Robotech's target. However, it's extremely bombastic, drawing attention to itself rather than supporting dramatic scenes. Magnify that issue exponentially here, where the theme is recycled seemingly once per Act, to a point that's somewhere between annoying and comical.


BACKGROUND:

Codename: Robotech was broadcast on March 1, 1985, the Friday before the first episode, Boobytrap, aired. The goal was to introduce the ongoing story and its complex mythology to an American after-school audience that would be made of kids not used to following complex ongoing narratives. The hope was to create a picture of the larger story to prepare them for watching it in single installments.

I think it's better viewed after the series. The first set of episodes are quite well-scripted overall and make a much better introduction to the narrative than this movie does. Still, on its own terms, Codename: Robotech is a decent abridgement of the "Macross Saga's" first Act.

Once it gets past a badly misjudged opening, at least...

Khyron disobeys orders while sneering.
So at least the film captures all of his nuances...

A MISJUDGED OPENING:

The goal may have been to clarify the series, but the 10-minute, context-free opening action sequence seems ready-made to confuse the heck out of series newcomers. Who are these people? Why are they so confident that the attacking aliens won't destroy the ship? What's this "pinpoint barrier" that they keep screaming about? Since nothing has been introduced, none of this means anything - It's just activity.

Not helping is some truly awful editing continuity. The sequence was pieced together from bits of multiple action scenes, and it shows. The SDF-1 transforms into robot mode to fight the Zentraedi. Then it's a ship again for a couple shots. Then it's a robot. Then it's a ship again. Macross offered plenty of action scenes with the ship in both modes, so it should have been possible to put this together with more consistency.

Once that sequence is done and the SDF-1 lands on Earth, things settle down, and then the film actually becomes enjoyable.

Rick battles the Zentraedi as the Miss Macross contest airs.

OTHER MUSINGS:

At its core, Codename: Robotech is basically a feature-length version of the clipshow, Gloval's Report, with the captain detailing the ship's long journey for his superiors. I wasn't a fan of that episode. Within the context of the ongoing series, I was basically watching a rerun of episodes I had just viewed, with the minimal new material adding almost nothing.

As a standalone film, the frame works much better. Thanks to having a couple of years' separation from my viewing of Macross, the action has sufficiently faded in my mind that I can enjoy re-watching the story in this form. Also, the feature-length running time provides breathing room for the flashback narrative. A number of small character interactions that Gloval's Report lacked time to include have been put back into Codename: Robotech, giving viewers a chance to form some level of attachment to the main characters.

Wisely, the editors have focused on just a few incidents from the first 13 episodes. Included are: the opening three-parter; the modular transformation and Lisa's Daedalus Attack, which are edited to be part of a single fight rather than two separate ones; the Miss Macross contest and Rick Hunter's encounter with the three Zentraedi spies; and the three-parter in which Rick, Lisa, and Ben are captured, with Max going to their rescue.

The biggest chunk of running time goes to the initial episodes. The heroes' capture and escape forms the movie's climax, and thus also gets a fair amount of screentime. Other incidents are represented by a couple of scenes each, and between Gloval's narration and (mostly) good editing choices, each bit that's included develops the characters or introduces a piece of information about the overall conflict. Given the restrictions of the running time, it's reasonably well done.

Inevitably, there are a few seams. There are minor continuity issues, such as Gloval reassuring Lisa that the ship's engines will work because they were build on Earth - a reassurance that feels odd, since a previous scene in which the SDF-1's original alien-built engines pulled free of the ship was removed. Khyron and Azonia receive a fair amount of focus in the in media res opener; Khyron is then barely featured in the rest of the movie, and Azonia is never seen again. Most glaringly, the scene in which Rick, Lisa, and Ben are brought before Lord Dolza has been cut for time, with Gloval narrating what happened and the regulars commenting on it.

Most of this could have been reduced or eliminated had the film simply opened with the ship on Earth and Gloval preparing his report. That would have allowed another ten minutes to include at least some of these scenes, notably the one with Dolza.

Capt. Gloval takes in the sunrise for the first time in two years.

OVERALL:

It's a shame about that misjudged opening, because Codename: Robotech is otherwise a decent presentation of Robotech's first 13 episodes. There's enough retained to introduce, or at least tease, many of the series' major themes and character dynamics, from the way Earth's popular culture confuses the Zentraedi to the character interactions among Rick, Lisa, and Minmei.

It's limited by being an abridgement - but it's pretty good for what it is, and it's much better than I expected it to be.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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1-36. Farewell to Tenderness/To the Stars.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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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1-35. Romanesque/Season's Greetings.

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!

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.

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.

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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1-34. Private Time.

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...

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.

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.

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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1-32. Broken Heart.

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...

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.

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.

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!

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.

Previous Episode: Satan's Dolls/Khyron's Revenge
Next Episode: A Rainy Night

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