Macross Plus | Retcon_404 (Anime Retrospective) 

The scene of them entering Earth's atmosphere while Information High plays is the peak of the media, this OVA is just incredible.

Worth mentioning too that the dub for Macross Plus has Bryan Cranston as Dyson. The dub is a really good one as well.

This stands alone, to me, as a perfect OVA. Animation, voice work, story and THAT SOUNDTRACK are just absolutely timeless. 10/10 would fly with Dyson again.

The Earth atmosphere descent scene with Information high playing is still one of if not my favorite anime scene ever, and it gives me goosebumps everytime.

When I was a kid this is the OVA that made me want to be a fighter pilot. I so wanted to be Isamu Alva Dyson. One of the all time great anime.

M+ is one of the best mecha medias in existence. It's fun cause Kawamori model it the flight competition after the Lockheed YF-22 vs the Northrop VF-23 program that eventually lead to Lockheed winning and producing the F-22 Raptor. EG it was more of a head to head contract trial for all the marbles.

Yoko Kanno is a musical genius. Every series she's composed music for has its own unique sound. The character designs for Macross Plus is al ogorgeous. I believe the same character designer from Gundam 0083 & Cowboy Bebop.

Ok, now that I've finished watching it; you REALLY need to watch the movie version of Macross Plus. There are enough differences to justify the watch. I actually like it a bit better than the OVA as it flushes out more background & the relationships. There's seggs. Beyond that I won't ruin the other changes made. One thing I'll point out is the drugs Guld takes are to suppress his natural Zentradi violent tendencies. A la call back to the 2nd half of OG Macross. Also very important is that Shinichiro Watanabe was a director, though Kawamori was the chief director.

This and Do you Remember Love is peak Macross. Thank you for bringing more attention to Macross and Mcross Plus great video and coverage of the OVA recommend watching the movie too. Side note, when Gould crashed Isamu's plane after being rescued, it actually was an accident. When he was saying the thought control system needs adjusting he was telling the truth, thinking about how he could crash the plane was misinterpreted as an action by the computer, which is why he looked surprised when it happened. Also if you want to look into something interesting, look up who performed the singing for Sharon Apple and see what the results are 😊

“Idol Talk” by Sharon Apple does hit the dopamine part of my brain pretty hard. I think it’s one of the best songs ever produced.

M+ is permanently fixed in my memory after I heard "Voices" for the first time at 2 AM. This was a few years after the dub came out. The fact I have a vivid impression of the room still says something.

Macross Plus is actually the anime that got me into anime in the first place, specifically Kanno's soundtrack. Ironically, it was about 3 months before I left Japan.

How respected is Yoko Kanno? I brought a Macross Plus art book to Otakon 2023 for Shoji Kawamori to sign. I showed him that Yoko Kanno also signed the book back in 1999, and aftwr seeing it he stopped, smiled, and showed the assistants her signature.

If you're going to be reviewing Macross 7 right after this, then I just wanna warn you of the extreme tonal shift, haha. Macross 7 is a bit like "Hair Metal Mecha" which really toes the line between campy and serious.

Great video! You misinterpreted the Bowman "accident" scene though - he *feels* like hurting Isamu, and he immediately realizes that the plane will act on his thoughts, that's why he switches to manual to *prevent* it. Although, not entirely successfully. That's a commentary on the perils of hooking tech to your mind, opening the gate to several levels of consciousness.

The MOVIE is one of the arguably greatest animes of all time. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and I still listen to it to this day. CREAM PUFF!

The Movie Edition of Macross Plus is also incredible. They shorten it considerably, while also re-editing some scenes and adding some new ones. They also add a lot more detail to certain sequences. I personally think it's better. The pacing of the story is a lot better, and while some of the missing scenes did add a little bit of flavor, the additions and the more focused plot are a definite improvement.

yee.! Yes! YES!!! Macross Plus! I was not ready for this. One of ... if not the greatest entry in the franchise. Thank you

It upsets me that I only now really cottoned on to the allusion of Sharon Apple being introduced to New Eden. Also, in retrospect - especially after seeing the rest of the Macross franchise - it's kind of bizarre to see music presented as a weapon used against the protagonists, one that enraptures the senses like a Siren. Music's usually a powerful force for harmony and mutual understanding, with pop music + transforming jet fighter mecha being what makes Macross Macross. I suppose the idea in Plus is that the synthetic nature of Sharon's music is a corruption of Myung's spirit, or something to that effect.

I first saw this in its movie format back in 2000. It was awesome, and still holds up to this day! And the qualit of the music AND visuals, and how they blend together to amaze the viewer....HOT DAMN!!!!

One thing not mentioned is that this was codirected by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame. And the redux version movie is credited as being directed by him with less Kawamori. Then, he did Bebop. And Yoko Kanno kind of became his go to music maker. Also. If you loved the trippy concert sequence, then you need to look up Koji Morimoto that made that bit. He has a long history of doing trippy animation that bends viewing brains. And he was one of the cofounders of Studio 4° where he made the Genius Party anthology movie entry Dimension Bomb that is my favorite work by him. You might have also seen Animatrix where he did The Beyond, the one where a girl looks for her cat and finds kids playing at a "haunted"/glitching house.

Casshern Sins is a masterpiece that I never hear anyone talk about, highly recommend

Yo man, I'm still looking for a Big-O retrospective! Hope to see it soon!!

Thanks! This is one of the few OVAs where you'll enjoy the 4 episodes or the movie just the same, there's very minor differences, but worth watching both. I have fond memories of watching the movie on VHS at a friend's house and playing VF-X 2 on his ps1. I personally love the design of the YF-21 over the YF-19. Well I hope you go back into Macross and maybe do Zero or 7 next.

Great review. Macross Plus is one of my favorites. It had so many talented people working on it.

So glad that you finally got to watch this and that you've enjoyed it so much! The dedication and roll-in of Yoko Kanno's soundtrack at the beginning of the first episode never fails to give me goosebumps. Don't sleep on the movie version of Plus either, it is very worthwhile to watch on its own. Fair warning, Macross 7 is a very very different kettle of fish... My best advice is just to luxuriate in the nineties'esness of it all and power through it.

there's a reason many fans consider it as the "Top Gun" of anime. You could sneak in Kenny Loggin's "Danger Zone" into all the flight scenes and it would fit right in, plus Isamu Dyson's character is like a mirror image of Tom Cruise's Maverick

In the first crash, Bowman doesn't turn off the thought control system. He briefly fantasized about what would happen if he employed downward momentum and has a surprised look when it happens. I believe this was a flaw in the system that Bowman, being self delusional already, chocked off to being an accident or glitch. Bowman is interesting because his mixed heritage has some serious side effects. His aggression is spiked and he struggles to restrain. Ultimately resorting to medication. Likely something akin to psychotropics. This is likely why he thought it was perfectly ok to load a live round. "Ya, sure we are just training. It's not like I'll actually use it... Maybe if he does something first".

Im still gonna ask for Big O but dude macross plus was such a good choice for a video thank you.

I have to admit, the “I wanna stop and thank today’s sponsor… ME MF!” got me good. Take that like, you King 😂

My all time favorite Anime. Thanks for giving it more exposure! Amazing as always!

More Macross, please. Especially frontier and delta. Xabungle and Dougram are good series to cover too

In the movie version, they fill a plot hole (heh) that Isamu was busy sleeping with Lucy and didn't get that weird phone call and that is why he didn't help. Plus Movie Edition is kind of the superior version of the story in my opinion.

This was my mecha awakening almost thirty years ago. My sister got sent a bootleg VHS from some guy she met online and it became mine. So thanks to my sister, that dude and I guess Prodigy internet, too. I think the movie version also deserves a watch. It has some changes from the OVA and the YF-21 vs. X-9 Ghost duel is done better, in my opinion.

Macross Plus as well as the Macross Plus Movie cut deep into that emotion deeply imprinted into my soul by Macross/Robotech. Thank you for mentioning Gundam: War in The Pocket as a great one-off equivalent of the Original Anime Series they both respectively followed up on. Kind regards from an old Macross/Robotech and to a certain extent, Gundam fan.

Macross Plus, GITS, and Akira were my introduction to anime in the 90s.

Macross Plus is great! The Movie Edition, where they edited the 4 episodes into a feature length film with some changes and new animation is a must see. I hope now that the Harmany Gold nonsense is FINALLY behind us, I hope we start seeing Macross streaming.

I saw your 0083 review first and noticed you did Macross as well. Good stuff man!

Great recap! I forgot all about this anime but it’s still a good one. Thanks for the vids. 🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽

I was so looking forward to this video from you (as I watch this 5 months late). Great work and Thank you!

Man I love your videos I share your sentiments so often and I I'm thrilled to see such a channel like yours dedicated to Mecha anime dude love the humor love the tidbits love the info keep up the stupendous work man

Epitome of Futuristic techno mecha anime. None shall ever surpass this. The theme of AI is ever more pertinent today and proves this anime was way beyond its time

Fun fact Dyson appears later on and you'd be surprised in what he flies.

I saw this on tv visiting my aunt in Cali in 2000. Loved this shit! Thanks for refreshing my recollection

Inspiration for Macross Delta Absolute Live, from the side of the AI tech

OG super dimensional fortress macross is one of my all-time favorite series. I had no idea that this second iteration even existed. Thanks, gonna enjoy this.

Macross Plus ignited the spark for me to continue writing my Macross RPG game, which I still play to this day.

man the movie cut of the yf-21 vs ghost fight is so much more extreme.

Another banger video, another mecha to add to the list for when I need an older mecha to fill the void.

This was an awe inspiring ova...I wore out my vhs of it

As a child, I would run home just to watch Robotech, then I saw Macross the movie on Vhs rental and was blown away. I remember going to see Macross + at the Key theater in Georgetown Washington DC. I was lucky to see independent movies played there. I saw Akira there also around the late 80s to 90s was some of the best anime (my personal opinion) Gen X baby

Great summary of the movie! I was expecting some mention of MP: The Movie, but that's ok. Liked and subscribed!!

I hope you cover Macross: Do You Remember Love. Its an amazing movie summery of the last bits of the original Macross. It has mind blowing visuals especially for somthing made in 1984.

Your music choices are always on point. When Golden Axe popped up, I knew we could be friends.

Oh Gundam age, the video game that got turned into a full series, I think it probably would have been better as an OVA, with like three episodes per age. still I got to admit the enemy suit designs are pretty unique

Been so looking forward to this one.

M+ is the Top Gun Maverick of anime. It took everything we loved about Macross and cranked the volume up above 9,000. Saw it as a kid and it's still great to this day.

Macross Plus is the GREATEST Ova ever made.

Must support boi 😂 u caught me and other schmucks off guard lol. Sponsor 👀 when 😤

Still to this day one of my favorite films of all time.

Some would say that Macross Plus is the greatest OVA of all time...

22:20 I believe it was part of the plot that Bowman was taking the drugs to supress a part of his Zentraedi physiology that made him lose his shit, and Myung and Izamu were covering for him after he lost his shit back in highschool. There is even a scene where Miller covers up a toxicology report about Bowman, unless that was specific to the movie version of the OVAs.

great review.. saw this years ago and cracks me up that their take on AI and manipulation is err... our lives now! Good job pointing out how ahead of their time anime can be!

So i want to say this, Macross Plus was my introduction to Macross, i never watch Robotech or at least i don't remember having watch Robotech before, tho i knew that Robotech was a thing that existed...somehow? BUT, i remember having watch Macross Plus in the earlier 2000s, one of my older cousins have this box full of complete official and absolutly not fake anime DVDs and he hand me some of them and one of those was Macross Plus (alongside Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, the first Street Fighter Alpha anime movie & Amon, The Apocalypse of Devilman), and i love it, but i love it because of 2 things, the super crazy animation and the music, with the song know as "Information High" being one of my absolute favorite anime songs to be ever made, with that being said, i never care much about the story and it was until the mid 2000s that, thanks to the power of the internet, i get know that Macross was a franchise and that M+ was just one entry of it...and i never care about it, im a Gundam fan, mainly thanks to Gundam Wing in Toonami during the 90s, so I never care much about the other popular and important japanese mecha anime with the transformable jets, that being said, i still appreciate M+ for being part of my (weird) childhood none the less.

MACROSS PLUS a freaking Masterpiece...90's era Anime is PEAK.

Ah one point, guld does not crash isamu into the desert on purpose. He is thinking about it and the BDI system follows his instructions, not realizing its an errant thought. He takes the blame with isamu to make it look like he'll do anything, but then he brings it up to millard later that he thinks there might be a fault in the BDI, before covering it up. I adore Macross Plus :) It's got everything ;)

Heh. Any stages in a Super Robot Wars game that have the last episode of Macross Plus as its focus (first part of Stage 9 of Alpha Gaiden and somewhere in the mid 20s of Alpha 3) are some of the most infuriating stages due to the absolute dodgyness of the Ghosts...

Dang Retcon is about to have a meltdown from that one song. Someone help him!

Plus is one of the greats. Some of the behind the scenes stuff is wild. A bunch of the animation team actually went to the real Edwards Airforce base to get some location research and experience in the air in 2 seater training planes. One of the animators wanted to know what it felt like to be in a high g turn and accidentally blacked himself out after the air force pilot gave him the controls. He woke up on the ground with a very pissed off pilot screaming at him and in between bouts of throwing up was forced to write down notes of what the experience was like by his senior animators. Also as other people have said, check out the movie edition if only to watch the extended final dogfight they added for the finale.

The whole thing about Bowman having the "convulsions" and needing to take meds has to do with his acute case of "Spock Syndrome". He's half Zentraedi, a race literally engineered to be walking death machines. He exerts every bit of control he has to supress his violent instincts, and it's this internal conflict you see driving his character throughout the entire series. He HAS to be 200% in control of his emotions at all times, or else the thing that happened to Myung that he won't let himself think about will happen again. His entire character arc is about this internal conflict, and how he finally redeems himself by succumbing to those base instincts to take out the X-1 and save those closest to him

_Turn A Gundam_ came AFTER _Macross Plus_ by about five years. This is EARLY Yoko Kanno, the point where she took off; her work here is what got Kawamori to tap her for _The Vision of Escaflowne_ two years later (1996), which is what would get her to the notice of Watanabe for _Cowboy Bebop_ and Tomino for _Turn A_ after which she became a go-to name in the business and earned her gigs with _Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex_ and reaching a crescendo with _Macross Frontier_ about 15 years after this point.

As a Robotech fan from when it came out, Macross Plus was a huge deal when it finally arrived in the states. At the time Harmony Gold hadn’t attained its true litigious form(and was busy trying to destroy Battletech). So they allowed both Macross 2 and Plus to get US distribution. Sadly they got wise before Macross 7 could get an official US release which is why we are just finally getting access to stream it in the US this year. I personally had some bootlegs I bought off EBay decades ago with some of the worst subtitles I ever saw.

2:34. This is why I adore this channel ❤😂❤

I'd love to see a retrospective on Macross Frontier as well! It's a love letter to the Macross franchise and honestly is the last "good" Macross show in my opinion. Delta failed to live up to the quality set by previous entries. I'm a bit biased as I watched way too many Lion AMVs in highschool.

I saw maccross + when I got video store/coffee place. And I rented it and watch it.

Hey, all right. An unexpected one here, but an OVA that I always liked.

I haven’t seen all of macross or all of gundam but I have always said macross plus always felt like the 08th ms team of macross… idk it kind of had the same feel to me or I guess with releases maybe vise versa… but yeah I remember this series very fondly! Great video!

Macross Plus was an awesome OVA. To me it was like mashup of Top Gun and the first part of the Right Stuff movies.

My God.. I 1st saw this back when it came out in the 90s. Macross Plus and Akira were my introductions to was we called at the time "Japanimation".

Doing great Ret, love ya

Plus and Orguss 02 were the last Super Dimension shows I purchased on VHS back in the mid 90's. Wish I had more income to complete them both back then. I enjoyed watching them but didn't engage in mailorder for anime. If it was available at the local comics store and I had money, I told them to shut up and take it!

This anime and Ghost in the Shell that both came out in the mid-90s was what hooked me in to anime. And Voices is quite the haunting music for something that's not even in English.

They really need to remaster this classic into widescreen format.

Hope you get a sponsor sometime soon! :)

peak anime. with an amazing soundtrack.

Macross 7 is a bit goofy for me. They also did a prequel Macross zero which has some great flight scenes (the animation that shows how they can target multiple objects by looking at them was cool, and some of the subtle technical flight bits were really impresive), but it kinda made the first generation fighters seem more advanced than the later models. The mystical angle didn’t work too well but it’s short and worth the watch. Also watch the English dub version of Macross Plus…Bryan Cranston (yes Walter White himself) plays Isamu

So I watched the movie not the OVA, I believe the movie cut some parts out. What I gathered from the movie: Bowman: Stoic; but is having trouble fighting his personal demons. Dyson: Charismatic; but a jerk Myung: Some hot chick that other guys fight over . They all had something going for them, I personally liked Bowman more than Isamu because he came across as more mature. I think calling Isamu narcist was abit strong; yes he was selfish and cocky at times but was willing to prioritize Myung's life over his when he tried to save her. While Bowman didn't apologize to Myung; he did sacrifice his life for both Myung and Isamu. So you can take it how you like, but I think a friend sacrificing their life to protect me is the ultimate apology. Enjoyed the video! I think I'm willing to give this series a shot again because man Mac + was an emotional rollercoaster!

One of my favorites, music was great and loved the mechs

Dude, you're playing that Toonami/Adult Swim old theme music between anime series episodes.....right to my old weeb heart!

Cant wait for the next vid but you should try to do a vid on macross 2 as it is a good stand alone movie

This is tied with Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Thunderbolt S1 as my favourite mecha anime. It takes the best parts from the original SDF Macross, and updates them and condenses them in a fantastic way, with a compelling plot to boot. Not to mention excellent animation, voice acting (I went English, but the Japanese is also meant to be fantastic from what I've seen), music and the best designs from Shoji Kawamori! Hell, Bandai-Namco recently began a line of Macross model kits, and do you want to know the first kit they did? The YF-19 from Plus. Not kidding when I say that the designs are his best work. Now, I know you'll probably go for Macross 7 after this, but personally, this is where I stop. Not because Macross 7 is bad (it is, apparently), but because Plus is soooo good it renders everything before and after irrelevant. It's _that_ good. In fact, I can guarantee that the reason the focus of the franchise went from "Space is for Lovers" to "Idols and Rockstars are Gods" with reckless abandon was exactly BECAUSE of Macross Plus and how Kawamori himself probably felt like it was so refined and excellent that there was no other place to go with the property but to turn it into a giant musical. Because when your sequel is THIS great, there's no other way to go but down.

You still need to view SDF Macross: do you remember Love. The movie was a huge hit in Japan. It had Star Wars lines to see it and box office numbers. The animation is mind blowing for its time. And still is (it rivals Akira). Make sure you only watch the uncut Japanese verision and not the cut American version.

Macross plus holds up well even after all these years. I would love to see some Gundam games or other Mecha games on the channel

my absolute favourite Macross series

Who's sponsoring this video? Too good!

You definitely need to do DYRL soon!

Liking, subscribing and commenting in the hopes this guy gets big enough so that I never have to hear him talk about raid shadow legends

I've never forgotten how they handle the cliffhangers with the opening of After In The Dark building up as the episode ends.

I love everything about Macross Plus. Macross 7 is pretty great. Think I need to go watch them again

And Macross Frontier, ALSO GOOD! Macross 7 and Macross Frontier! (Frontier has the series and an OVA, same story told two different ways).