Macross FAQ - Please read this first

[Onizuka-GTO]

[Macross is a 25+ year-old franchise comprising many works; almost all of which are in the same universe. There hasn't been a new TV show since 1995, so this is a good place to get new viewers up to speed. Experienced Macross viewers can feel free to ignore this thread.
- 4Tran]


What are Zentradi/Meltrandi?
The Zentradi are a warrior race of giants who attacked the Earth in 2009 with massive spacefleets.

In this race's language, "meltran" appears to mean female with "meltrandi" being the plural term. Among males, "Zentradi" appears to be both the sigular and the plural term. Because the Zentradi are sexually segregated, Meltran and Meltrandi tend to be used for females of the race.

Anatomically, Zentradi are almost indistinguishable from humans, with some slight differences in skin tone, hair color, and a massive difference in size. After being "micloned" (miniaturized), Zentradi shrink by about a factor of 5 in every dimension, and a factor of 125 in mass. For example a particular Meltran who was 855cm tall and 6250kg originally would be 171cm tall and 50kg after the miclonization process. Genetically, the two races are similar enough to produce viable offspring.

Zentradi commonly have the following pigmentation combinations:

Skin Colour	Hair Colour	Eye Colour
Dark purple	Blue	Blue
Light purple	Green	Brown
Light blue	Purple	Green
Grey	Black	Black
Pink (Caucasian)	Brown	Brown
Green	Red	Red

[Note that Zentradi portrayed after Do You Remember Love came out have largely dropped the different skin colors (with one major exception), and used pointed ears to denote their lineage.]

[If you're interested in contributing to this FAQ, please post what you want to add in the Request Thread.
- 4Tran]

[4Tran]

I've never watched a Macross show before, I need to have see them before watching Macross Frontier?
Probably not. So far, most Macross shows have been relatively separate from every other work so that no prior knowledge has been necessary to get into the story. There may be story elements that aren't fully explained initially, but they will probably be covered in enough detail in the show itself. As for the rest, that's pretty much the reason for this FAQ.


I've never watched any Macross shows before, so where's the best place to start?
To be honest, Macross Frontier is as good a choice as anything else. It covers many of the main bases that other Macross shows do, and it's new, so you can share the experience at the same time as the more experienced Macross fans.

Another good show to start with is the original SDF Macross. It's old, but it forms the basis of every subsequent work. It's also regarded as an anime classic for pretty good reasons. Alternatively, you can watch the "Do You Remember Love?" movie since it covers the same material as SDF Macross, but does so in a much shorter time, and with vastly improved artwork. The only problem is that it's a very condensed retelling, so the elements may be a bit difficult to absorb, and there's quite a bit of material that's unexplained.

Macross Plus is another good option. It's available either as a four-episode OVA or a movie, and it tells a very complete story that serves as a decent introduction to the franchise.


What is the relationship between Macross and Robotech?
Robotech is an amalgamation of three different shows: Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Super Dimensional Cavalry Souther Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada; and fused them into a single show. There are a few changes to the Macross portion of Robotech like the nature of Protoculture and the Robotech Masters but it captures the original fairly well. The other two shows, along with subsequent Robotech works, are completely unrelated to the Macross universe.


Are the people with pointed ears aliens or are they genetically alterd humans or what?
They are likely to be either Zentradi-human hybrids or full-blooded Zentradi.

[4Tran]

List of Macross anime in chronological order:

Macross Zero (OVA) - 2008
A small conflict between UN Spacy and Anti-UN forces before the unification into the United Nations Earth Government.

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (TV) - 2009-2010
The war between the Zentradi and Earth.

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross - Flash Back 2012 (OVA) - 2012
A series of music videos; shows the launch of Megaroad-01.

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Movie) - 2031
In-universe, this is a fictionalized retelling of the war shown in SDF Macross.

Macross Plus (OVA/Movie) - 2040
Details the competition for a new variable fighter to replace the standard model.

Macross 7 (TV) - 2045-2046
The war between the Protodevilin and the Macross 7 fleet and other UN forces.

Macross 7: The Galaxy's Calling Me! (Movie) - 2046
A short adventure taking place during Macross 7.

Macross 7 Encore (OVA) - 2046
Miscellaneous stories

Macross 7 Dynamite (OVA) - 2047
A retelling of Moby Dick with the Macross 7 and space whales.

Macross II: Lovers Again (OVA - Released in US as Movie) - no date
Alternate universe setting about the war between the Marduk and Earth.

Macross Frontier (TV) - 2059


Bolding denotes a licensed work - please don't request or provide links for downloading fansubs of these titles. Doing so may lead to a ban.

[Yot-chan]

The Shaloom Question

Soon after Macross Frontier began its run on TV, a lot of behind-the-scenes information began to enter the English-speaking fandom courtesy of Shaloom of the Spanish forum, Macross Generation. This information was initially leaked out bit by bit, and then more information was consolidated in the form of liner notes, which accompanied Macross Generation's fansubs of Frontier. Shaloom not only provided exclusive information about Frontier, but also about previously unknown books and magazine articles about the original Macross series from 1982.

The sheer amount of data makes it difficult to summarize the contents of these posts, but the most exciting or controversial of them were:

1) That Sheryl was originally meant to be a minor character, until she proved popular in episode 5. The following episodes were hastily rewritten to give her a more prominent role.

2) That Sheryl was meant to die at the end of the series, but due to overwhelming fan support, this outcome was changed.

3) That Kawamori let his college friend (and frequent collaborator) Hiroshi Ohnogi write episodes 18~24, giving Ohnogi free rein to do whatever he wanted with the series. And also that Kawamori himself wrote episode 25.

4) That Ohnogi came out squarely on the side of Sheryl, wanting to sculpt her into the most memorable character he could; yet he encountered resistance from Kawamori, who favored Ranka.

5) Various personal stories about, for example, how Ohnogi and his wife met while making the first Macross series in 1982, and a script Ohnogi wrote for a love scene between himself and his wife, and how those "real-life" moments became part of the story of Frontier.

6) Many Macross novels and short stories written by Ohnogi in the early-to-mid 1980s.

Unfortunately, investigation of Shaloom's claims indicate that none of this information is true. The scripting duties on Frontier, according to every Japanese source, were performed by Hiroyuki Yoshino. Ohnogi is mentioned nowhere in any book, magazine, or DVD relating to Frontier (with the exception of episode 10: since some of the dialogue is taken verbatim from Macross Zero, which was written by Ohnogi, he is listed as a "script collaborator" for that episode).

Shaloom later admitted that his information was false, but declined to give specifics; without those specifics, it is hard to tell how much behind-the-scenes info about Frontier that has been disseminated among western fans is accurate, and how much is false. Furthermore, Shaloom gave similar information regarding Macross Zero, including claiming that he flew to Japan to interview Kawamori (the interview appears to be mostly cut and pasted from various existing Kawamori interviews).

In his explanation and apology, Shaloom said that he misremembered details while putting together the liner notes, but this does not appear to be credible, given that sources cited include interviews with Ohnogi (that Shaloom claimed he painstakingly transcribed) and books that Shaloom claims he owns, none of which appear to exist.

The current administrators of Macross Generation Forums have indicated their support for Shaloom and their belief that it was all a series of innocent mistakes. They have also made clear that they no longer view the topic as being worthy of discussion. Many errors remain, both in Shaloom's posts on the forum, and on the main site itself.

Recently (Aug. 6), Shaloom made a statement on Macross Generation that he would still be getting exclusive information direct from his contacts at Big West, the production company behind Macross. Since he does not appear to have any contacts at Big West, and since all his previous information was found to be false, this statement is suspect.

As such, any information from Macross Generation should probably be viewed with skepticism, unless accompanied by verifiable sources.

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Link to the thread discussing this entire affair at Macrossworld: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/inde...howtopic=30224

[karice67]

NB: SPOILERS ahead - please stop here if you haven't already seen the series, or continue on at your own risk.


Kawamori, Yoshino and the ending of the Macross Frontier TV series

There are a couple of myths about the ending of the Macross Frontier TV series, myths which have been floating around for the last three years. They have typically been used by shippers on both sides to support their ships, leading to arguments that have gotten out of hand on more than one occasion.

To help reduce these arguments, I'd like to debunk those myths here. They are:

(1) that Kawamori did not have a say in the ending to the TV series, and was subsequently disappointed/upset because of the way it ended.

As creative director of the Macross series, Kawamori approved everything. Furthermore, as far as I know, he has not expressed disappointment at the way he chose to end the series.

(2) that Yoshino was the one responsible for the triangle non-resolution in the TV series,

In his fanbook interview, Yoshino ascribes the responsibility for this non-resolution to "everyone", because all involved felt that "it wasn't something that would end along the lines of someone winning, along the lines of Alto ending up with one or the other; that it need not end in that manner".

(3) that Yoshino outrightly stated where Alto's feelings lay at the end of the TV series.

This rumour stems from a few mistranslations, including one from Yoshino's fanbook interview. I have not read every interview he's ever done about Frontier, but as far as I am aware, Yoshino has not made a clear statement about the outcome of the triangle (except to say that he doesn't want to comment on it).

Please refer to the following thread, Macross Frontier (Macross 25) general discussion [No Spoilers], for a translation of the relevant sections of Yoshino's fanbook interview and any further discussion.