Macross Delta is the most recent entry in the Macross franchise. To fans of the United States, this franchise is much better known under the name "Robotech". Though it's to be noted that after Macross Plus, no Macross Anime has ever made it beyond Japan because of the legal complications that surround it. But I'm not here to talk about that, as it's just a bunch of headaches coming in. So I'll just talk about what I think of the latest Macross Anime.
I will confess, after watching the series to its completion, I pretty much have forgotten what the plot is all about. That already is my first problem with Macross Delta with the plot being confusing, complicated, and in my case, forgettable. So much so that I actually had to rewatch the series again just to jog my memory.
The plot of Macross Delta can be divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the three main characters. Hayate Immelman is a young man who makes a living going from one job to the next, moving from planet to planet. In one of those days, he encounters the second main character Freyja Wion, who wants to audition to be part of the singing group Walkure, to fulfill her dream of being an idol singer. A series of circumstances leads the two to encounter the third main character, Mirage Farina Jenius, who is a descendant of Maximillian Jenius from the original Macross series. For Robotech fans, you will remember Maximillian Jenius as Max Sterling, so there's the connection. And thus starts the love triangle between the three protagonists.
The 2nd plot focuses on that of the singing group Walkure. Composed of 5 members, with Freyja among them, they are the ones that provide the songs for Macross Delta, as is every other Macross series. This is the first time, at least in Anime form, that a Macross series features an idol group, rather than single person doing the singing. Walkure's singing also serves a secondary purpose storywise, in which it's to qwell the Var Syndrome, a neural virus that makes ordinary people go berserk. The air squad Delta Platoon, of which Hayate and Mirage are members, serves as the group's bodyguard.
The third plot of the series deals with the intergalactic war between the New United Nations Spacy, or N.U.N.S., for short, basically the United Nations who now have control over the Milky Way. And the Kingdom of Windermere, of which Freyja comes from, who seeks to weaponize the Var Syndrome, and the Protoculture Ruins, in order to control the remote part of the Milky Way of which the series takes place. Again, you'll probably understand it much better if you've seen the previous Macross series.
Macross Delta tends to cycle around these three plotlines a lot, which ends up being a hit-or-miss at times. I'll be frank, what interests me on the plot is its ties to the previous Macross shows. At the same time, it's also one of its major flaws. You HAVE to know the franchise at least to understand what's going on. So this isn't exactly an entry point to the franchise if you've never seen Macross.
And because its ties to the past Macross series is what's interesting, everything else is left out. Unlike the previous entries, of which I get attached to the characters after a few episodes, I fail to gain that same attachment towards anyone in Macross Delta. I don't hate the characters, but I don't find them interesting, either. In fact, I do remember on my first run watching Macross Delta that I didn't like the character development so much that I'd wish I'd get in there and give them all a Bright Slap, shouting "G-Saviour, the WORST Gundam entry in the franchise, has even better characters than you guys!"
Now this is the part that made Macross Delta a hit in Japan, but I will disclose I have a totally biased opinion on this - I hate Walkure. This is mainly because they are an idol group, of which I am not a fan of. I like the Spice Girls and the other girl groups before that. But Momoiro Clover Z, AKB48, Girls' Generation? They are simply not to my liking at all. I totally understand these idol groups are very popular in Japan and across Asia, which is why Anime like Idolmaster and Love Live are huge successes, and Walkure is made to capitalize on the Idol Group trend. The first two albums of Walkure were certified hits.
Aside from me not a fan of modern Idol Groups, the songs from Walkure aren't to my liking, either. I'm not a music enthusiast, but I couldn't enjoy a single song off Walkure from music composition to its lyrics. It's made worse when Walkure performs their songs over and over again throughout Macross Delta to the point it becomes quite an annoyance. Yes, other Macross shows repeat songs frequently as well, but at least those songs, especially in Macross Plus, Macross 7, and Macross Frontier, are catchy, likable, memorable, and you hardly get tired of it. Not so much with Walkure.
And then there's the scene in the final episode where Mikumo, the lead singer of Walkure, performs her version of "Do You Remember Love?". This is of course, the song by Lynn Minmay from the original Macross series that not only was a turning point in the narrative, but also what ultimately defined the character of Lynn Minmay, and her voice actress Mari Iijima. It's a blessing and a curse for the latter, unfortunately.
After that scene, I have declared "Do You Remember Love?" as the most overused song throughout the Macross franchise. And for that reason, I labeled it as my most hated song of the franchise. I know it has a signifant connection to it in general, but I'm so sick and tired of it that I refuse to listen to even the original version on my music player when I used to love it back then!
Animation-wise, there's nothing bad about it. Animation and character designs are good. Sexy and cute are a given with regards to Walkure, but I do commend the staff for forming a lesbian couple among its members. Mecha and battles are all done in CG, while not as great as what I've seen in Macross Plus or Macross Frontier, they're quite ok.
Macross Delta may not be a good entry point to the franchise, but if you want more of its lore, you'll get plenty here. Whether or not you are into Idol Groups will also play a factor if you like this series or not. I personally still rank Macross Plus and Macross Frontier as my two top favorites, but Macross Delta? Not even close. Different strokes, for different folks, so they say. But in my opinion, on a scale of 1 to 5, I give Macross Delta, a 2 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment