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Hello. I’m new here. Please forgive me but my post turned into an essay. A moderator here named Roy Focker suggested I repost this as one giant post. It was previously seven different topics. I want to thank all the Macross fans and this forum for allowing this post about the Frankenstein monster called Robotech. I want to thank everyone for their sincere, mature, and intelligent replies to this post. I am a fan of Robotech and I would like to hear your thoughts about Academic Gender Studies and/or Female Character Analysis in regards to Robotech. I would like to critique Robotech as a work of art similar to art criticism or media criticism of any novel or painting. Furthermore, I would like to critique Robotech as a work of art through the lens of Gender Studies and Female Character Analysis. I am curious about themes and symbolism in Robotech. Themes and symbols can creep into a work of art either consciously or subconsciously and thus can be intended or unintended. I am interested in decoding these symbols and imagery. I am interested in your ideas about Robotech and its interpretation as it relates to Jungian Archetypes and Freudian Analysis. Does anyone have any links to other Forums or Topics on this subject? Does anyone recommend I discuss this on a different Forum? Thank you in advance. Robotech has been discussed for 33 years and I am interested in new perspectives and new angles of inquiry. I am interested in exploring new territory within the Robotech universe. This post deals with Robotech in all its canon and non-canon manifestations. I am taking a very macro level view of Robotech. I am examining broad overarching themes, patterns, re-occurring symbols, imagery, coincidences, motifs, tropes, plot devices, and narrative techniques. I mean no harm or ill will. Please enjoy the post. I hope this read is a positive experience. In the future I hope to analyze Robotech through the disciplines of Formalism, Structuralism, Ecocriticism, Post-Modernism, Post-Colonialism, Moralism, Marxism, and Psychoanalysis. I hope to answer the following questions with this post. What are we responding to within Robotech? What intrigues us about Robotech? What resonates with us about Robotech? Why do I like Robotech? 1. The Tragic Incompatibility of Opposite Genders in Robotech First, please consider the iconic imagery of a full size Zentreadi holding a Minmei doll. Academic literary analysis, film critics, or anime scholars might speculate it demonstrates the male gender in awe of the female gender. Or perhaps it demonstrates how the male gender is frustrated by its inability to connect and communicate with the female gender. Another piece of supporting evidence presents itself when Minmei wins the war by singing and dancing. This is symbolic of the true power of the female gender (or weakness of the male gender). One female contains enough power to destroy an entire battle group of giant homicidal aliens. Personally, I was a 9 year old male in 1986 and perhaps this imagery spoke to me. If I saw myself as the Zentreadi holding the Minmei doll, it encapsulated my inability to approach a girl. I was fascinated with women but unsure of what to do with them. This imagery may have resonated with me. The iconic image of a Zentreadi clutching a Minmei doll bears some similarity to King Kong clutching Ann Darrow atop the Empire State Building. King Kong is symbolic of race, racism, and colonialism. I feel King Kong also symbolizes an extreme version of the male libido, lust, and desire for possession. Music seems to soothe the savage beast. In this vein, Minmei’s singing seems to intoxicate the Zentreadi, Musica’s harp placates all the clones, and Lancer’s singing inspires humanity. In addition, the Empire State Building and the SDF-1 share a similar rigid shape. The SDF-1’s Main Gun builds up tension and shoots out a giant stream of laser fire in order to release this tension. The initial crash landing of the SDF-1 on Planet Earth resembles a galactic fertilization event of two gametes combining in the womb of space. When Khyron captures Minmei and puts her in a cage, his eventual demise warns male viewers against allowing their desires to run wild. Dolza almost killed Lisa in another King Kong-esque scene. King Kong and the Zentreadi are also tragic heroes. In some moments they inspire sympathy in the viewer. They are outcasts. They do not fit in. They are misunderstood. The scene showing the rotting skeleton of a Zentreadi corpse in the wastelands holding a Minmei doll is tragic and encapsulates the flaws and miscommunication of the two genders. On the theme of masculine desire for possession, the SDF-1, or mothership, can be seen as feminine. The Masters are similar to a crime boss using their muscle, the Zentreadi, to retrieve a wayward concubine. Likewise, the Regent chases the Regis. If the SDF-1 is seen as female, Khyron’s obsession with her eventually leads him to murdering her. This could be viewed as matricide if the protoculture matrix is seen as a womb which enabled the creation of Khyron or the Zentreadi themselves. Further evidence to support incompatibility of the male and female gender occurs when Azonia and Khyron finally have physical contact and their union is explosive and fatal. This is symbolic of the futility of relationships. I would also argue the Regent and Regis’s estrangement throughout the series further supports a theme of incompatibility of opposite genders in Robotech. Additionally, Admiral Donald Hayes loses his wife and later gets toasted, Lisa loses Karl, Claudia loses Roy and eventually expires herself, and Scott loses Marlene. While these relationships can be viewed as successful, the shapings ultimately deems them incompatible. Minmei’s toxic relationships with Kyle, T. R. Edwards, and Jonathon Wolfe can also further support the theme of male and female incompatibility presented here. 2. The Effect of Love on Strong Female Characters in Robotech Second, Robotech has strong female characters. Granted, from our contemporary point of view, they are manifested from 1980's Japanese culture and Carl Macek's 1980’s re-interpretation, but they are a breakthrough for female empowerment. Some examples are Lisa Hayes becomes Admiral, Minmei is a tool of the military, Miriya is an ace fighter pilot, Dana Sterling is a commanding officer, and Rook Bartley is a kind of anti-hero and a fierce warrior. On the other hand, The Regis is a typical wicked witch villainess character which is a bit misogynist and stereotypical. The new Titan Comics (spoiler alert) are taking female empowerment to a whole new level. The re-imagined Minmei is assertive, Lisa is obviously Captain, and Azonia and Miriya are amplified. There are other patterns of female characters in Robotech. One of these patterns is Dana and Annie are tomboys. Miriya is a tomboy, but all Zentreadi females are tomboys. Lisa, Marie Crystal, and Nova Satori are shrews. Lisa’s tough exterior is eventually softened by Rick. Rick accomplishes what the bridge bunnies and Claudia all seem to fail at (As an aside, who first coined the term “bridge bunnies?”). Marie is almost softened by Sean Phillips. Nova is a little softened by Zor Prime. Rook is almost softened by Rand. Scott Bernard is uptight and Ariel softens him to a point. Minmei softens everyone… except Lisa. Miriya is softened by Max and Dana. This is all commentary on the transformative power of love. Additionally, the Zentreadi, Zor Prime, Ariel, and Sera become deserters and embrace love over their own sterile and aseptic cultures. On the topic of Love, Robotech also warns the viewer against toxic forms of love. Upon exposure to the micronian emotion love, the Zentreadi begin to fight and manifest greed as their passions are enflamed. The Regent and Regis are estranged due to her extramarital inter-species affair with Zor. This inspires the Invid to oppress the Regis and avenge the crimes committed against them. Scott seeks revenge for a lost love. The Masters are drunk with power and seem loveless. Minmei has abusive relationships with Kyle and T. R. Edwards. Minmei has a small romance with the married Jonathon Wolf. In the novels, Minmei eventually follows the typical rock star career arc of Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, and Whitney Houston. Minmei and Kyle are an animated version of Ike and Tina Turner. This is all commentary about the dangers inherent in love. 3. Romance in Robotech Third, some recurring patterns in relationships or romantic interests exist in Robotech. The amorous couples all have a romantic tension and the female is often the same archetype. The female is very confident and self-aware of her feminine powers. The female is in the position to allow physical intimacy at a time and place of her choosing while the male waits patiently. The couples I am alluding to are Rick and Minmei of The Macross Saga, Lisa and Rick of The Sentinels, Max and Miriya, Marie and Sean, Rook and Rand, Jack Baker and Karen Penn, and finally, Marcus Rush and Maia Sterling. Some of these couples may have unrequited, unconsummated, or platonic love. Some caveats are Miriya is not aware of what love really is, but she does initially feel she can dominate Max in physical combat. Minmei is initially completely unaware of her power over Rick and the viewer can only suppose she eventually realizes her allure. Lisa of The Macross Saga is a bit insecure, but she does have rank over Rick. Later, in The Sentinels, Lisa is transformed into the female archetype I am referencing in this paragraph. Gnea, Bela, Musica, and Minmei are all completely unaware of the feminine power they exert over the men around them. There is symbolism in Max and Miriya’s physical confrontation with knives. This is a sword fight and Max subdues Miriya through the prowess of his weapon. Miriya is disarmed of her pseudo weapon appendage and embraces her true female form. This may be commentary on orientation. Miriya leaves behind her all female Zentreadi society and embraces a new orientation. Later, their conjugal relations produce Dana. In the new Titan Comics Issue 10 (spoiler alert) the imagery of sword fighting is re-contextualized and exaggerated in a new setting and timeline. Likewise, Musica has an instrument or tool and co-exists with her sisters in supposed harmony. However, she abandons her instrument and joins Bowie. This may also symbolize switching a character’s orientation. On the subject of physical attraction, Robotech also alludes to the celibate ascetic. Captain Gloval seems to be celibate. Dr. Lang is also celibate and possibly slightly warped and misogynistic when he creates Janice Em. Janice Em is a gynoid which is a female android. Lisa, Claudia, and Scott all attempt to be celibate ascetics after losing loved ones. Perhaps even Rook, Marie, Nova, and Karen Penn are celibate ascetics. Miriya is celibate but initially so are all male and female Zentreadi. There is a subtle message suggesting if the viewer channels their libido into their career, this will yield higher productivity. At the end of The Macross Saga, the entire bridge crew is killed except for Lisa. With the death of Roy, the entire bridge crew can be seen as celibate, untouched, and pure. They are noble saints martyred for Lisa’s chance at true love. While we are on the topic of physical relations, the Zentreadi are asexual clones with isolated genders, the Masters are celibate immortals with populations of clones in same-sex triumvirate sibling groupings, and the Invid are a strange hive species with a single female Queen and the female Princesses Sera and Ariel. The Invid also seem asexual or only requiring a single fertilization of the Queen by the Regent. Later, Tommy Yune turned the cyborg-esque Haydonites into villains. I assume the Haydonites do not partake in carnal relations. Apparently, Zor and the micronians are the only characters consummating their love. On the subject of clones The Macross Saga shows the Zentreadi as clones and their ability to be micronized or restored to full size. The Masters episodes portray clones and dismembered body parts of clones. The Invid are protoplasmic. The Robotech Comic Clone/Mordecai involves odd clones referred to as spleens. They seem to be subnormal clones created for organ harvesting. There is a vague Goth erotica underpinning the entire Clone Comic series. The spleens almost seem to be fetishized gimps or submissives within a sadomasochistic framework while the main characters are the doms. The Invid also portray a sort of BDSM (bondage discipline/dominance sadomasochism/submissive). The Regent and Regis seem to enjoy abusing their subordinates. The new Titan Comic (spoiler alert) veers into BDSM in disciplining Khyron with a spreader bar restraint. There seems to be a running theme professing the benefits of healthy physical manifestations of love in Robotech while the villains are warped in this capacity. There is also a theme of cuckolding in Robotech. Nova cuckolds Dana and Annie cuckolds Lunk. Within the Rick-Minmei-Lisa love triangle, Minmei cuckolds Lisa and later Lisa cuckolds Minmei. Minmei also cuckolds Rick as she seemingly leads him on but won’t commit throughout the series and later cuckolds Rick with Lynn Kyle. Azonia is cuckolded by Minmei. The Regis cuckolds the Regent, and in a way, Zor cuckolds his elders by sending the SDF-1 to Earth. Something which rings true for all viewers is when Dolza forces Lisa and Rick to kiss, Lisa allows herself to be intimate by convincing herself it is a military mission to kiss Rick. She had experienced emotional pain and loss when she lost Karl. Her coping mechanism was to throw herself into work in order to avoid the pain of loss. In this moment she discovers a loophole in her own defense mechanism. She can indulge her physical desires without fear of rejection or creating a lasting connection. An alternate interpretation is Lisa truly is innocent, similar to the maddening whims of Minmei. However, as happens in life, love often flourishes when both parties are innocent of their circumstances. Love often requires serendipity and occurs when we least expect it. There is a certain element of fate or destiny (the shapings) involved. If the relationship ends poorly, each partner can deny blame or responsibility for initiating it. This is similar to the phenomenon of ‘spin the bottle.’ Dolza was a really big bottle. 4. Gender in Robotech Fourth, if we are to make a scholarly study of Gender Studies in Robotech we must address Yellow Dancer. It is very unusual for a 1980’s American children’s cartoon to portray a transvestite. I’m not sure certain Midwest television markets would allow this to air in 2018 let alone 1985. Of course, we all know this is not an American cartoon. I asked the Robotechx San Diego Comic Con booth about this topic. They informed me of the Japanese tradition of Kabuki theatre. This usually involves all male actors playing all the parts and all genders. It’s hard to believe Lancer made it onto public airwaves during the conservative Republican Reagan administration. The most obvious exploration of gender in Robotech is the Zentreadi culture itself. The two genders are completely segregated and even seem to despise each other. It is human nature for us micronians to take things for granted. Thus, we take our gender roles and all they entail for granted. The Zentreadi allow the viewers the thought experiment to contemplate gender in a vacuum. It is often helpful to isolate the subject of study from all variables. The Zentreadi provide this possibility and the two genders are shown to be equal in all respects. Through the Zentreadi, the viewer can discover again for the first time certain aspects of the human condition. These include kissing, marriage, pregnancy, child birth, and domestic bliss. It is truly profound for children’s animation to accomplish such noble artistic rhapsodies. The viewer lives vicariously through Dolza as he perspires over the power of a kiss. As Breetai is nauseated, we observe voyeuristically. Our heart is warmed as Commander Reno is paralyzed with fear of an infant. We delight in seeing Miriya transformed by her love for Max and Dana. Of course, the Zentreadi genders do eventually warm to each other as seen with Azonia and Khyron and Breetai and Kaziana. On a side note, Azonia seems to be the only full size Zentreadi female on Earth. However, I believe the comics, novels, and role playing games do insert more full size females on Earth. In conclusion, the Zentreadi’s social structure seems to imply equality of the two genders will only arise after the elimination of childbirth and motherhood. Gender roles can loosely be observed in military positions. In Macross, the bridge is all female and the fighter pilots are males. While not necessarily co-ed, the Zentreadi do have female fighter pilots. Southern Cross has co-ed mecha pilots. Rook is definitely a mecha pilot in The New Generation. One point about The New Generation Cast is they bear a resemblance to The Wizard of Oz or any motley crew type film. Scott Bernard assembles his team of misfits. The team is almost a human personified. The group becomes a ‘super organism.’ Each member has certain strengths and weaknesses. Scott is logical and goal driven but tainted by revenge. Annie is fun and gregarious but absent minded. Lunk is protective but cowardly and ashamed. Rook is fierce with emotional baggage. Rand is youthful and trusting but proud or persecuted. Lancer is cool and suave but hiding behind a mask. Ariel is innocent and vulnerable. Each may engender (no pun intended) a hyper-exaggerated gender specific trait. Each member of the group or each gender provides certain assets. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Continuing with a scholarly analysis of gender and female characters, we can turn to the aliens of The Sentinels. They all seem to have balanced genders similar to humans. Of course, The Praxians are the exception here. Similar to the Zentreadi, they allow the viewer to re-examine one’s own gender and its pros and cons. The Praxians and the Zentreadi are an artistic device utilized to illuminate gender roles and possibly orientation. Even the cyborg-esque Haydonites have genders. 5. Character Designs in Robotech Fifth, let us examine the physical attributes of the characters in Robotech. The alpha males are taller. Dolza is taller than Breetai, Breetai is taller than Exedore, and Exedore is the shortest of all Zentreadi males. Roy is taller than Rick. Emmerson is taller than Leonard. Ben is taller than Max, but Max is a wolf in sheep’s clothing… and aviator glasses. Captain Gloval is taller than everyone. The Mayor is short and plump embodying the corruption, greed, and gluttony of politics. Anatole Leonard is obese which signifies a gluttonous villain. Minmei, Max, Annie, Louie Nichols and Exedore are all small but mighty. Their innocent exteriors conceal incredible strengths. Max and Louie wear glasses which indicates physical weakness compensated by intellect and skill. Lazlo Zand wears goggles concealing his eyes. This signifies a villain or hidden agenda. Jonathon Wolfe wears sunglasses and his eyes are hidden. He betrays his fellow soldiers and has somewhat of an affair with Minmei. Breetai and T. R. Edwards have faceplates which signifies a villain. They are disfigured physically as well as spiritually. Most recently, (spoiler alert) Rick Hunter has enhanced vision in the new Titan Comics similar to Neo in The Matrix film. Ben Dixon is gregarious like Annie, Dana, and Minmei but he pays a high price. There is foreshadowing of Ben’s death in his obesity and appetite for life. His gluttony, impulsivity, and unbalanced desires have a fatal consequence instructing the viewer on the lesson of self-control. At the other end of the spectrum a character with too much self-control, Sue Graham, while professional, is consumed by her mission and likewise pays a high price. Oddly, she was using a recording device reminiscent of Lisa recording her visit with Dolza. Sue also parallels Lisa in being so mission oriented as to lose one’s humanity. Whereas Lisa evolves and matures, Sue does not live long enough to learn this lesson or embody it. Robotech seems to preach a healthy work/life balance. The heroes and protagonists of The Shadow Chronicles all have extreme buffness and buxomness implying good health and virility. The villainous Haydonites are featureless disembodied ghouls. Perhaps subconsciously, Tommy Yune chose The Haydonites as the next villain because they are featureless. This could be seen as symbolic of a hidden agenda or ulterior motive. 6. Contradictory Characters in Robotech Sixth, there is often a contradiction in the portrayal of female characters in Robotech. I suspect viewers or consumers of art respond to truth. We respond to what we see reflected on screen from the world around us. Thus, I feel Minmei is definitely life-like. Minmei is a coquette or ingénue or at least very coy and innocent. While I alluded earlier in the first and second sections of this post (see 1 and 2 above) to Minmei’s strength, perhaps she is not a strong female character at all. If Minmei was a cookie cutter version of female empowerment or a heroine, the character would not resonate with us. Instead, her flaws humanize her and make her real… like we are. We cannot escape our nature. I feel Minmei is selfish and needs validation from her fans (in-universe) or from stealing someone's man as seen with Rick and Jonathon Wolfe. She plays dumb and is non-threatening in order to gain access to levers of power. She never emasculates a man or threatens a man. Women must play dumb. Minmei plays the game. Since Robotech was written in Japan, is Minmei a chauvinist 1980’s Japanese man's version of a strong female character? Or is Minmei a true heroine? Is Minmei the result of misguided character design/writing? Is Minmei a lame attempt by a writer to create a female heroine? Is Minmei a misogynist's dream? Or is Minmei a roaring success? Is it possible the Japanese creators were misogynists with the best of intentions aspiring to create empowered modern female characters only to reveal their own chauvinistic world views? Did the Japanese creators succeed not because of their genius but in spite of it? This is where the wisdom of the Japanese creators of Robotech materializes. Minmei and Lisa are doppelgangers. They each have vulnerabilities. They each take separate paths to their goals. They each utilize different strategies. Neither is more right or more wrong than the other. Minmei weaponizes her femininity. This weaponization is eventually manifested literally. Lisa takes the path of academic and professional achievements. Lisa actively attempts to conceal and subjugate her femininity whereas Minmei exploits it. Lisa’s flaws make her realistic just like Minmei’s flaws make her realistic. Minmei and Lisa each illuminate the other by comparison. The female gender is revealed in a study of compare and contrast between these two characters. Each character is set against the backdrop of the other. Later, it can be said Lisa is the more fully realized female. Lisa is married and has a child while Minmei has internal and external struggles. Robotech’s commentary on the female gender is a stunning achievement for a children’s cartoon. Other contradictions showing strong female characters to actually be weak are Lisa Hayes starts out as a sort of prude or... sourpuss, and eventually she loosens up. In Lisa’s case it can be said the male gender (Rick Hunter) still dominates her as Max dominates Miriya. This is a motif referred to as “the taming of the shrew.” Claudia plays the typical sassy African American. Sammy is a ditz. These are all standard female archetypes of fiction. If the media often portrays damsels in distress, Robotech seems to buck the trend with strong female characters as detailed in the second section (see 2 above) of this post. However, Rick does rescue two damsels in distress. These being Minmei and Lisa. Bowie rescues Musica. In the end, Robotech embodies a patriarchal society which is a reflection of the real world we inhabit. Captain Gloval is the protagonist patriarch. Gloval’s governing body, The United Earth Government, is gender-inclusive at Alaska Base, and is antagonist. Anatole Leonard is the antagonist patriarch in Southern Cross. Scott Bernard is the protagonist patriarch in The New Generation. Finally, The Sentinels resolves Robotech’s internal struggle with gender by inevitably arriving at a presumed utopian future of a gender-equal co-command of Admirals Rick and Lisa Hunter. Allow me to discuss contradicting gender themes in The Shadow Chronicles. Superficially, Janice Em and Ariel appear to be strong female characters, and yet, it can be argued their physical proportions and costumes appeal to a male viewer’s most primitive stimulation centers. These characters appeal to my Lynn Kyle/T. R. Edwards nature but revolt my Captain Gloval/Max Sterling sensibilities. Robotech succeeds when it depicts dramatized events demonstrating the highest ideals of humanity. 7. Kinship and the Absence of Maternal Love in Robotech Seventh, there are no micronian mothers in Robotech. Rick is raised by Pop Hunter and Roy Fokker. Lisa is raised by Admiral Donald Hayes. Karen Penn is raised by Doctor Harry Penn. Minmei visits her parents in Yokohama in the Japanese Macross but resides with her Aunt and Uncle aboard the SDF-1. Captain Gloval is a father figure to the bridge crew and the entire SDF-1 population. Rolf Emerson is a father figure to the 15th Alpha Tactical Armored Corps (ATAC). Scott Bernard is a father figure to his group of freedom fighters. Rook, Rand, and Annie are all semi-orphans. Cabell clones Rem from Zor, the Masters clone Zor Prime from Zor, and Zor himself is a father figure disseminating spores and fertilizing several different worlds. Haydon is the uber-patriarch of the known universe and the Masters, Dolza, Leonard, and the Regent are all patriarchs over their subordinates. Finally, after the creation and broadcast of the three original Japanese cartoons, The Sentinels portrays Jean Grant as mother to Bowie Grant. The only moms presented in Robotech are aliens. Miriya is a mother in The Macross Saga. Ariel comes close to being a mother in The New Generation by demonstrating unconditional love for her comrades, and, for purposes of this discussion, the androgynous Zor Prime becomes a mother to the 15th ATAC and Earth in Southern Cross. Is the theme the inadequacy of paternal love? Is there a message of moms being foreign or alien to us? Is a mother’s capacity for unconditional love only explained by her super human background? In summary, alien outsiders arrive as recent converts to micronian culture and fill the void in the character’s lives by providing a mother’s love. This may be a phenomenon referred to as the zeal of the convert. Furthermore, the alien achieves an idealized and divine version of motherhood through freedom from any emotional baggage or even past. The alien becomes more human than the humans thus providing a measuring stick by which the viewers can assess themselves. Of special note, the SDF-1 itself is the most iconic super-maternal image of the entire Robotech opera. In Macross the SDF-1 is pregnant with a civilian population it incubates, gestates, and delivers safely to its nest, Planet Earth. Paralleling this, the gravid SDF-1 eventually releases spores and fertilizes all of Earth in Southern Cross. In this light the protoculture matrix can be viewed as a type of womb containing regenerative and rejuvenative powers. The Praxians go beyond demonstrating the inadequacy of paternal love and illustrate the utter uselessness of it. Meanwhile, Zor singlehandedly disorders and upsets the entire Tzuptum System, the Tirolian Local Group, and the micronians. Dolza and later the Masters each fail their own respective cultures. The Regent fails his race while his wife transcends to a new plane of consciousness. Finally, Admiral Donald Hayes asks his daughter to betray her friends and responsibilities while he condones the SDF-1’s assignment as a decoy in play for time. For his flawed paternal advice he is incinerated in the Grand Cannon in an act of cosmic justice allowing Captain Gloval to ascend to his place as Lisa’s true father figure while Claudia becomes a sort of maternal figure for Lisa. Not only does Robotech detail the inadequacy of paternal love, but it warns against bad moms. The Regis is a controlling, unavailable, self-involved mother. In regards to themes related to family, the three original Japanese cartoons are all loosely connected by Tatsunoku Productions, country of origin, culture of origin, and chronological proximity of creation. To form Robotech and fit these three series together, Carl Macek created artificial contrivances to merge them as one. In the case of familial love, Carl Macek exerted a large impact on any lessons, intended or unintended by the Japanese, when he created genealogies between characters from different shows. Therefore, in the case of kinship, a note of caution should be heeded as well as discernment between the Japanese audience’s impressions and the American audience’s impressions when searching for social commentary within Robotech in an analysis such as this. The three Japanese cartoons suggest the importance of family. Max and Miriya and Lisa and Rick are the beginnings of two families. The 15th ATAC squad forms their own family, and Scott Bernard forms his own family of resistance fighters. However, Carl Macek re-characterized Dana as the daughter of Max and Miriya and made Bowie the son of Vince and Jean. This artificial creation to establish continuity within the series almost reverses the implied message of the importance of family as the parents choose to leave their children behind. Maia Sterling is either left behind in the Shadow Chronicles or is serving a tour of duty away from her parents. There is a theme of adoption or mixed families in Robotech as well. Bowie and Dana are under Emerson’s guardianship, and Miriya, Zor Prime, and Ariel are each aliens adopted into a group. As stated previously, the SDF-1 bridge crew and maybe the entire SDF-1 population, the 15th ATAC, Scott’s freedom fighters, and the Sentinels all form family bonds stronger than their un-relatedness would predict. Minmei’s living situation with her Aunt and Uncle gives her a sense of vulnerability and of being a misfit. She is fortuitously paired with Rick who himself was simply visiting his friend Roy. Lisa is also orphaned after the rain of death. The SDF-1 adopts the entire population of Macross Island. Minmei is adopted as Macross City’s collective daughter. Later, the population of Earth adopts all the Zentreadi. In summation, Robotech espouses love, friendship, mutual respect, inclusiveness, teamwork, compassion, understanding, empathy, and cooperation as the sources of humanity’s resiliency and strength in the face of adversity. Thanks for reading my ramblings. I hope you enjoyed this post. Please do not get too angry or passionate Lol! I wrote this in good faith for the fans to enjoy, discuss, and dissect. What are your thoughts, questions, comments, corrections, and/or criticisms?