Macross Zero Discussion Thread

[Yu Ominae]

Watched it in one go. And the ending may be a letdown, but it's still nice.

Even though Shin and Sara are permanently MIA.

[Jmac]

This OVA was really refreshing to watch after the goofiness and comedy of 7. Getting back the roots of Macross in the nitty, gritty "all things fair in love and war".

Animation and special effects were very good. Nice that they didn't cut any corners there. I really like the music and songs used too. Using traditional songs, instead of pop songs were a nice change of pace. Speaking of pacing, they did a job of developing the characters. I felt they covered Shin, Sara, and Maos' backgrounds pretty good given the 5 eps they had. Nice to Roy getting alot more screen time than I thought he would. Always good to see old SDF characters make appearances in later series.

I'm glad I watched this series before Frontier, because the way it was set up, had I watched it before SDF or chronological, it'd be more of a head scratcher to me. I'd say for Zero's case in the Macross timeline and how it fits in the franchise; rather than being a prequel to SDF, it can be taken as the beginning of Frontier.

With that beginning said, I finally reached the series I've been waiting for. Hopefully, Frontier will live up the expectations that I have for it.

[GundamFan0083]

Just finished Macross Zero.
Been meaning to watch this anime for a very long time and finally got around to doing it.
I have no friggin idea how this ties into SDF Macross, 7, or Plus.
Is the birdman a Protodevlin?
A Zentraedi device?
Or one of the Inspection group weapons/devices?

Anybody know?

[Tak]

Regarding Birdman:

The Birdman was an artifact left by Protoculture after they seeded planet Earth with life. Protoctulre was also responsible for creating the Zentradi.

Regarding Protodevlin:

When Protoculture created the gigantic Zentradi as their military arm, they were not satisfied. Hoping to create even more powerful Zentradi with aim to replace their numerically overwhelming intergalactic fleet, Protoculture gave a new series Zentradi the power to acquire energy from the vastness of Super-Dimension Space. This attracted the attention of the Protodevlin, beings who dwell in Super-Dimension Space, and they proceeded to take over the mind & body of these new series of Zentradi alongside half of Protoculture's intergalactic force. This resulted in a civil war that left Protoculture on the brink of destruction while creating an uncontrollable war machine that would become humanity's nemesis in the first Macross series.

Macross PLUS can be viewed as an independent story. It has more to do with human drama than intergalactic conflict. Though the weapons & equipment developed in PLUS will eventually be used in later series. The pilot exoskeleton for example, is a direct result of the research accomplished in PLUS.

- Tak

[GundamFan0083]

Originally Posted by Tak

Regarding Birdman:

The Birdman was an artifact left by Protoculture after they seeded planet Earth with life. Protoctulre was also responsible for creating the Zentradi.

Regarding Protodevlin:

When Protoculture created the gigantic Zentradi as their military arm, they were not satisfied. Hoping to create even more powerful Zentradi with aim to replace their numerically overwhelming intergalactic fleet, Protoculture gave a new series Zentradi the power to acquire energy from the vastness of Super-Dimension Space. This attracted the attention of the Protodevlin, beings who dwell in Super-Dimension Space, and they proceeded to take over the mind & body of these new series of Zentradi alongside half of Protoculture's intergalactic force. This resulted in a civil war that left Protoculture on the brink of destruction while creating an uncontrollable war machine that would become humanity's nemesis in the first Macross series.

Macross PLUS can be viewed as an independent story. It has more to do with human drama than intergalactic conflict. Though the weapons & equipment developed in PLUS will eventually be used in later series. The pilot exoskeleton for example, is a direct result of the research accomplished in PLUS.

- Tak

Thank you Tak.
But my question was specifically about the Birdman, and you did answer that.
I had seen all of Macross (including Macross II) all the way up to Macross Zero and Frontier and am now watching Frontier.
Therefore I knew about the origins of the Zentraedi/Meltrandi and Protodevlins (anima spiritua etc.).
What I did not know until you explained it, was where the Birdman came from and who built it.
I assume that the references made to the ASS-01 should have clued me in that the Inspection Army/Protocultures themselves had left it behind on Earth.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my question.
I do appreciate it very much.