Am I alone, or am I just old?

[Roy Focker]

I think Macross TV/DYRL? is the best for some of us is because a lot of creators were college age friends making something that they would like to see. Later Macross projects were either influenced with whatever side hobby Kawamori was interested in to this week or was an attempt to appeal to the mass market.

[VF5SS]

we need another hate thread.

hate on, dudes.

[Gubaba]

we need another hate thread.

hate on, dudes.

Macross 7 CD Cinema 2: Melodious Illusion sucks!!!

Let's hate on that.

[alvaro]

u do enjoy raging ppls hatred, then something is very wrong with u.

harhar! couldn't blame u as leader of leaders did too. nobel peace prize 09 winner...dusts on earth still aren't enough. given current human mentality situation, its better to have toys then real machines. macross forever.

Edited October 10, 2009 by alvaro

[VF5SS]

Macross 7 CD Cinema 2: Melodious Illusion sucks!!!

Let's hate on that.

I suppose at least Trash gave us this thing.

[Ginrai]

dusts on earth still aren't enough.

You're right. Dusts on earth certainly aren't enough. We need many more dusts on earth.

[Mechinyun]

I'm not setting up this thread to trash other Macross series, but I think there's something seriously wrong with me and I'm wondering what it is and if I'm alone on this.

I watched Robocrap when I was a kid (I was probably 9 or 10 when it came out back in 1984), hated the voices, hated some of the story concepts, but loved the action. I had an inkling that Robocrap the Macross Saga was based on a series called Macross, but that's about it. Macross II came out and I thought it was ok.......I had no idea why the SDF-1 looked different. Some time after that, I discovered DYRL and loved it.....oh, that's why the SDF-1 looks different. It also explained the Strike Packs I found on some Japanese model kits of Macross. I was now on a crusade to find out all I could about the original story. Macross Plus came out, watched it, liked it. When the Animeigo DVD series came out for the original series, I blew $400 and got it.

So, here I am, 34 years old in 2009 and I find myself hating Macross 7, not really liking Macross Zero all that much, though it was cool to see the new animation styles/techniques and of course, Fokker. I have to admit, I'm not really taking to Macross Frontier either. The animation, and the fight scenes are cool, but the mech designs don't sit right for me, when everyone else seems to love them.

When I think about it, I'm not even sure if I like the designs from Mac Plus. When I'm on the forums here, I find myself drawn to topics (especially toys and models) only related to SDF Macross and DYRL, completely ignoring MF toys/models.

What's wrong with me? It seems like all the new stuff seems to be working for everyone else except for me. Is it because I'm just too old for this stuff? If I am, why do I cling on to SDF and DYRL? The same thing happened with Transformers. Everyone I talked to loved the new Transformers.....I hate Michael Bay's new Transformers and I find myself searching for images of G1 figures and toys. There are others my age that seem to like the new stuff, so I don't think age is an issue here......

I love the fact that there's still new Macross products coming out, Yamato and Hasegawa have been doing a great job with that. When Hasegawa released pics of the 1/48 scale YF-19, I was mildly amused. I'd probably buy one, but it was one of those things that didn't excite me all that much. When I saw the test model for their 1/48 VF-1, I $hit myself. Maybe I'm just getting really closed-minded. I really tried to like Macross Zero and Macross F, but I don't find myself wanting to buy the toys and models.......maybe it's a good thing....for my wallet. Am I alone or am I just old?

I am going on 34 and am feeling the same way on all points you mention. It's definatley age and experience kicking in, the been there done that syndrome, small tweaks on original materials just don't get me excited anymore and sadly.. not much really "new" stuff coming out these days, of anything.. just rehashes.

[Roy Focker]

Sucks doesn't it?

Over 30 and it is all down hill.

[mikeszekely]

Sorry for picking on you - but your post was so detailed that I couldn't resist having a conversation with it

Pete

I don't think you're picking on me, Pete. I do read the Transformers thread, and compared to your posts there, this was pretty tame.

But it's such a compelling love story, unlike DYRL, which is less compelling - in this one you can really feel Shin and Sara's relationship blossom and come on

I agree, Macross Zero's love story is better than DYRL. Which factored in to me rating it better than DYRL. What holds it back from being higher in my personal Macross pantheon is how irrelevant the story is. Some handful of very limited-production mecha duke it out over a space monster that disappears without adding anything to the Macross mythos? What about that monster? The events were classified until recently; they could have given us some deeper insight into the Protoculture or human evolution, and they could have used it as a better tie-in to Frontier than a simple episode about them making a movie. I don't know, I guess it just feels like a missed opportunity.

Well, technically we can't blame the designs of Sound Force's valkyrie for "flying in the face of serious military design" because...they seriously aren't military jets. They are customs and privately owned valkyrie. Plain and simple. This was actually something I really liked about M7 - it showed that valkyrie eventually weren't something that only the military had and the rest of us rubes never got. People could buy their own and do what they wanted with them. Bassara got his, painted it red, gave it a face and made it into a music machine. You can say they are silly designs - but not silly because they aren't true to military form, since they never were meant to be.

Yeah... except that Basara didn't know much of anything about his Valkyrie, aside from the fact that he got it from Ray. And Ray apparently got it from the military, as part of some sort of clandestine project that he cooked up with Max's blessing. (This was the reason why it had to be services by the military, and why it had missiles.) I guess you could make the case that we don't really know if the Fire Valkyrie was red and hand a face when it was given to Basara, of if those were Basara's idea of after-market mods, but we do know that Mylene's Valkyrie and the Storm Valkyrie were built with faces (and speaker-boobs) from the get go, as a continuation of a military project, and are NOT indicative of civilian Valkyries (the VA-C-3 and VT-1C from Dynamite 7 are probably better examples).

But my point about them and their departure from military norm, as well as my critique of some of the more stylized ships in the fleet, aren't specifically aimed at them but the atmosphere they bring, if that makes sense. SDF Macross, Macross Zero, Macross Plus, Macross Frontier... they're all real-robot shows. Sound Force drove Macross 7 into the realm of sentai. I'm not saying this to hate on Macross 7; I'm actually in the camp that enjoyed it. This is just my reasoning for why I enjoyed it less than some other Macross.

[bob joe mac]

I'm 24 and the original/DYRL is in my eyes a near masterpiece everything else is from ok to good at best and Frontier was the only one I could never understand why people liked it. I actually gave up on the show before the mid point waited for it to end then marathoned it because I couldn't remember all the plot points and characters that never went anywhere

Macross TV - 9.5/10

DYRL - 9/10

FB 2012 - 9/10

II - 5/10

Plus - 7/10

7 - 6/10

0 - 5/10

Frontier - 4/10

So I don't think you're getting old I just think macross (as much as it pains me) should die.

[Seto Kaiba]

I don't think it's that you're getting old... everyone has their own individual likes and dislikes, and clearly some of the later Macross offerings just don't suit your tastes. That's all I think it is. Rare is the fan who enjoys each and every installment of a long-running title... and Macross is no exception.

Personally, I got started in REAL Macross (not Harmony Gold's imitation brand) with Macross II: Lovers Again, which I enjoyed so thoroughly it prompted me to seek out the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross series in its unaltered form, and later the rest of Macross (which, at the time, ended with Macross 7). I found the whole Macross Plus and Macross 7 affair to be highly disappointing, and for the longest time I was convinced that the magic was gone from Macross... an impression Macross Zero did nothing to change.

When Macross Frontier started airing, I resolved to follow the series for its entire run, fully expecting to hate the show every bit as much as I hated Macross 7. What I got instead was a show that so thoroughly exceeded my expectations that I actually found myself impatient for each new episode to come out, which, as anyone who knows me can tell you, is pretty much unprecedented.

[Kronnang Dunn]

I'm not setting up this thread to trash other Macross series, but I think there's something seriously wrong with me and I'm wondering what it is and if I'm alone on this.

I watched Robocrap when I was a kid (I was probably 9 or 10 when it came out back in 1984), hated the voices, hated some of the story concepts, but loved the action. I had an inkling that Robocrap the Macross Saga was based on a series called Macross, but that's about it. Macross II came out and I thought it was ok.......I had no idea why the SDF-1 looked different. Some time after that, I discovered DYRL and loved it.....oh, that's why the SDF-1 looks different. It also explained the Strike Packs I found on some Japanese model kits of Macross. I was now on a crusade to find out all I could about the original story. Macross Plus came out, watched it, liked it. When the Animeigo DVD series came out for the original series, I blew $400 and got it.

So, here I am, 34 years old in 2009 and I find myself hating Macross 7, not really liking Macross Zero all that much, though it was cool to see the new animation styles/techniques and of course, Fokker. I have to admit, I'm not really taking to Macross Frontier either. The animation, and the fight scenes are cool, but the mech designs don't sit right for me, when everyone else seems to love them.

When I think about it, I'm not even sure if I like the designs from Mac Plus. When I'm on the forums here, I find myself drawn to topics (especially toys and models) only related to SDF Macross and DYRL, completely ignoring MF toys/models.

What's wrong with me? It seems like all the new stuff seems to be working for everyone else except for me. Is it because I'm just too old for this stuff? If I am, why do I cling on to SDF and DYRL? The same thing happened with Transformers. Everyone I talked to loved the new Transformers.....I hate Michael Bay's new Transformers and I find myself searching for images of G1 figures and toys. There are others my age that seem to like the new stuff, so I don't think age is an issue here......

I love the fact that there's still new Macross products coming out, Yamato and Hasegawa have been doing a great job with that. When Hasegawa released pics of the 1/48 scale YF-19, I was mildly amused. I'd probably buy one, but it was one of those things that didn't excite me all that much. When I saw the test model for their 1/48 VF-1, I $hit myself. Maybe I'm just getting really closed-minded. I really tried to like Macross Zero and Macross F, but I don't find myself wanting to buy the toys and models.......maybe it's a good thing....for my wallet. Am I alone or am I just old?

LOL, there's nothing wrong with you man. I'm 33 years old and loved Bayformers designs & effects (but hated the plot). I loved Frontier and Zero. Liked Plus and II. Think 7 was okay. And love the original SDF and DYRL above all the others... DYRL because of the animation and SDF because of nostalgia (and the fact that it was the first).

I don't think is an age think. But I've been told that I'm a pretty open-minded & adaptable person too... Must be a matter of taste though, hehe...

[Marzan]

Everyone are allowed to like or dislike whatever they want.

Thats why Macross is so great, diversity.

There is something for everyone, even though everything may not be for everyone.

There is nothing wrong with you, you have your tastes and opinions and others have their's.

What pisses me off though is when some people come in and say this sucks, i am right, those that disagree are wrong and my opinion is the only one that matters.

I think if every macross show looked like the original people would complain too.

Personally i prefer that each show has its own story and unique mecha designs that set them apart from the last, even though i may not like everything.

And I bet that whatever Kawamori comes up with in 2012 for the 30th anniversary will feel so different from all the previous Macross that many of us won't like it. Or maybe love it to death?

[Bri]

Don't think age has much to with it other then that peoples interests and tastes change over the times. Things you enjoyed while younger may or may not last the test of time. For me Macross is still every bit as enjoyable as when I first saw it but other things have faded. I can relate to Peter story if we are talking about Transformers. Only have some nostalgic feelings for it and tbh I only like G1 even if Beast Wars had a much better story, I just lost my ability to care for it.

What fundamentally appeals to me in Macross is the characters and the universe they are placed in. Kawamori and co share a postive view on humans as rarely seen in Sci-fi. In a way they seem related to the vision on people by Roddenberry sans the camp factor. Also the sense of adventure in an expanding universe where mankind has left earth and eploring the galaxy while still living in a recognizable world. As long as they keep these two things (and variable jets) I'll remain hooked.

[Black Valkyrie]

For me it doesn't me it matter now, the most important thing are the VFs but Mac-0 is different story. Well at least Macross is my second fave sci fi anime of all time.

[VFTF1]

Mikeshekely - can't argue with any of your points You're too reasonable

To take a little bit to get back the the subject- I do think it's an interesting question what age does to us. I just turned 30 this year, and I've discovered that I've mellowed out a lot. But my parents, who are in their sixties, seem to have totally gone bonkers - well, mainly my mom, who melodramatizes everything... I used to go emo a lot - now I go emo...err...less than usual. It wasn't just a matter of having a bad temper - I just really really let stuff get to me. I was never suicidal or anything like that - nor did I hurt other people. I just would stress so much that I'd get sick; like get the flu, or get a rash - like it would be "under my skin" and I would physically suffer.

Then again, I also started working out regularly after turning 30 (contrary to my sig, I have actually been working out for like three or four months now ) ... That helps a LOT with dealing with stress on a physical level.

But I wonder - to get to th point - how age effects things that excite us. Could it be that, just as age makes us less excited over the bad stuff in a bad way...so too we get less excited over the good stuff in a good way?

Take women. I used to find myself able to do anything for a cute girl. Now I'm like - yeah whatever. You're cute, but you're annoying me. Go away. Or I actually think to myself "yeah well, don't expect me to dish out money on you because I would prefer to get a Yamato, so either go to bed with me or go home" - it's wierd.

I don't have that problem with anime - but then again, I mainly watch only the anime that I really love, and I seldom watch multiple animes - so I don't really get any "bad experiences." Like... I read up on stuff before watching it. Spoilers be damned. I just want to know what I'm getting into, because gnerally I think one can't judge a series by one or two episodes - and to really give an anime a shot, you need to watch a significant amount of it... so...to avoid dissapointment/wasting time - I like reading up on stuff before watching it.

I dunno. I tend to think I agree more with the people here who say it's not a matter of age, but rather of taste.

On the other hand - no doubt aging has some effect on how we experience "new" things. Like, why is it that the original Transformers means more to me, despite comparatively crappy animation, plot etc, than the Bayformers? Simple. Because when I was a little kid, I experienced that feeling of 'OH MY GOD! THIS IS SO COOL!" and it was "new."

Now - that feeling - that special special feeling is a ONCE IN A LIFE TIME thing - it's like your first love, you never forget her. Heck, just yesterday I went to teach an english class that happened to be at a place that was on the same block as where my first Polish girlfriend lived - and I walked down the street to where she used to live and even though now I hate her guts, it was a magical experience remembering her - and in a sense, if I hadn't had that one true love, then I would have been a be able to have lasted 5 years with my newer girlfriend, who I loved in a different way - namely not in this "OH MY GOD I'M IN LOVE!' kind of way - but in a less emotional, more stable kind of way, where the lack of passion meant that things were relatively safer - that there were no big fights (although she says there were, but I compare to my earlier relationships and say they were peanuts in comparisson - proof enough is that we're still on talking terms!) ...

But see - it's the same with cartoons and anime. That first one is always going to be the one that made you feel so excited - and the excitement is the feeling you feel when you see that first one again - and never with any "newer" ones.

What I enjoy about Macross is actually the fact that each consecutive show is different and fresh enough that I don't need to like them out of nostalgia's sake. I don't like M7 because it "brings back memories" of SDFM TV. It doesn't. It's so totally different. Continuity wise, it holds together, but the story takes a totally new tack. And that's good - because I can feel excited about it in a new way. Same with MF. Even though it's a homage series, I see predominantly what is new and fresh in the series. To me the homage is just the icing on the cake..or the outer layer os something like that...

But again..I wonder...age...how come age effects how I look at women and Transformers but not how I look at Macross?

Pete

[nexxstrait]

Am I alone or am I just old?

I wouldn't worry too much. You're just old.

[peter]

I wouldn't worry too much. You're just old.

Hey all, like I said, this wasn't supposed to be a thread to trash other series and the people who watch them. I was just curious if it my sentiments had to do with my age and the things that interest me more nowadays than when I was a kid. I guess I should have done a poll or something to get the statistics I was looking for.

I guess maybe I should also rephrase some of what I said about the other series since it is drawing some negativity to this thread and arguments over "hating". It's not that I hate the other series, it's just don't like them as much as SDF and DYRL.....that being said, I guess the only one I really didn't like much at all would be Mac 7, which is in my opinion a story about a bunch of anti-military hippies. It's like sitting down and watching a sequal to Generation Kill that focused only on the POGs. Haha, but that's my personal opinion because when I sit down and think why I started liking the original series in the first place, I'd say it was probablythe battles, not so much the love story....which wasn't horrendous or anything. But I stress, I do not hate people who like Mac 7, and I certainly am not interested in making others follow my opinion. It just wasn't for me.

I agree though....I think it's my age....I am just getting old.

Edited October 10, 2009 by peter

[Gubaba]

Y'know, I remember reading an interview with Robert Hilburn, who for a long time was THE primier rock critic for the L.A. Times, whose first famous piece was his obituary for Jimi Hendrix, and later went on to champion many bands of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and yes, the '00s.

In the interview someone asked him how he managed to stay current with music and enjoy it, and his response was something like, "Never, ever think that you have 'heard it all,' because you haven't."

I believe he's right, and moreover, I believe it's kind of an anti-aging secret.

If you really go into art (be it music, movies, anime, whatever) with fresh, open eyes, even if you GET old, you'll never SOUND old.

All that said, people like what they like. DYRL blew me away when I was a kid, but Evangelion similarly blew me away when I was in my mid-twenties. Some other anime will surely blow me away like that again...but I doubt it will be a sequel to anything that I currently like. The element of surprise should not be underestimated here. You go into Frontier (or whatever) thinking, "Ah, now THIS is Macross!" Or not. Everyone already has notions about what Macross is.

It's far more likely to get blown away by something that makes you think, "I've never seen ANYTHING like this before!" And sequels, by their very nature, won't do that.

[Bri]

I believe he's right, and moreover, I believe it's kind of an anti-aging secret.

If you really go into art (be it music, movies, anime, whatever) with fresh, open eyes, even if you GET old, you'll never SOUND old.

Amen, well spoken

[Vi-RS]

I kinda feel the same with OP, all my collection is about VF-1 and nothing else.

[sketchley]

(...)

I guess maybe I should also rephrase some of what I said about the other series since it is drawing some negativity to this thread and arguments over "hating". It's not that I hate the other series, it's just don't like them as much as SDF and DYRL..... (...)

I think it's simply that some of the other members automatically associate not liking as synonymous with dislike. Which is hardly the case.

Case in point: there are many Macross series' that I do not like as a whole, but I do not dislike nor hate any of them. And I like certain aspects of each one.

[Vile]

Sucks doesn't it?

Over 30 and it is all down hill.

Nah, that's just a dip in the foothills. Over 40 and you start climbing the Mountain of Macross Appreciation!

Edited October 11, 2009 by Vile

[Vic Mancini]

I'm not setting up this thread to trash other Macross series, but I think there's something seriously wrong with me and I'm wondering what it is and if I'm alone on this.

I watched Robocrap when I was a kid (I was probably 9 or 10 when it came out back in 1984), hated the voices, hated some of the story concepts, but loved the action. I had an inkling that Robocrap the Macross Saga was based on a series called Macross, but that's about it. Macross II came out and I thought it was ok.......I had no idea why the SDF-1 looked different. Some time after that, I discovered DYRL and loved it.....oh, that's why the SDF-1 looks different. It also explained the Strike Packs I found on some Japanese model kits of Macross. I was now on a crusade to find out all I could about the original story. Macross Plus came out, watched it, liked it. When the Animeigo DVD series came out for the original series, I blew $400 and got it.

So, here I am, 34 years old in 2009 and I find myself hating Macross 7, not really liking Macross Zero all that much, though it was cool to see the new animation styles/techniques and of course, Fokker. I have to admit, I'm not really taking to Macross Frontier either. The animation, and the fight scenes are cool, but the mech designs don't sit right for me, when everyone else seems to love them.

When I think about it, I'm not even sure if I like the designs from Mac Plus. When I'm on the forums here, I find myself drawn to topics (especially toys and models) only related to SDF Macross and DYRL, completely ignoring MF toys/models.

What's wrong with me? It seems like all the new stuff seems to be working for everyone else except for me. Is it because I'm just too old for this stuff? If I am, why do I cling on to SDF and DYRL? The same thing happened with Transformers. Everyone I talked to loved the new Transformers.....I hate Michael Bay's new Transformers and I find myself searching for images of G1 figures and toys. There are others my age that seem to like the new stuff, so I don't think age is an issue here......

I love the fact that there's still new Macross products coming out, Yamato and Hasegawa have been doing a great job with that. When Hasegawa released pics of the 1/48 scale YF-19, I was mildly amused. I'd probably buy one, but it was one of those things that didn't excite me all that much. When I saw the test model for their 1/48 VF-1, I $hit myself. Maybe I'm just getting really closed-minded. I really tried to like Macross Zero and Macross F, but I don't find myself wanting to buy the toys and models.......maybe it's a good thing....for my wallet. Am I alone or am I just old?

I'm about the same age as you and have a similar story - growing up with Robotech, kind of knowing it was adapted from something else, finding Mac Plus, searching for the real macross and what it's all about, learning what a bastardization RT was and how much better the original is...etc..

But the ending of my story is the opposite of yours. I find all the SDFM and DYRL designs dated. Every time someone posts a new thread about some new VF-1 CG, toy, or model I cringe. I just don't get where the undying love for the VF-1 and those old characters comes from. I'm a bigger fan of Plus, Zero, and Frontier than the original series.

Point is, it's not an age thing obviously. It's just personal preferences.

[peter]

Well, it's good to know that I'm not all that strange in my thinking....thanks for the input everyone. By the way, someone asked earlier how my Animeigo DVD set cost me $400. I should have posted Canadian dollars. At the time, the exchange rate was at an all-time bad, and with shipping and taxes, it worked out to about $400 CAD....

[SkullLeaderVF-X]

Are you reading the same Macross World Forums that I am...? Sometimes I think I'm alone for liking pretty much everything Macross...

No your not. I'm a addmited Macross whore. I pretty much will get/buy anything as long as it pertains to Macross (thats how I ended up buying Fire Bomber American ). Now the real problem is trying to keep the cash flowing to support my addiction.

[dreamweaver13]

Maybe it's as simple as this: we placed SDFM on a pedestal so freakin high, that anything else pales in comparison. if i look at it objectively, SDFM has its flaws (particularly animation and editing wise), but pigs will fly the day i ever say that SDFM isn't the best damn macross series of all time (and that includes macross series yet to be produced in the future). I think nostalgia plays a big role, and sometimes even if an anime is a decent series, it could be lambasted as a failure, just because it isn't the original SDFM.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Am I alone or am I just old?

You might just like the design of the original more.

I have the same thing going when I think about the bubblegum crisis shows, where I think the older stuff was better.

Also with TF G1 its probably because you hate the busy live action movie designs so now you wish the style of the originals was used. So many people wanted to see the live action version be based on the animated movie and tv series characters of the 80s because that's what they remember. Prime with flames and exposed internal skeleton is not as appealing as the older robot design with coverings all over to make him look clean from a distance.

You are not alone.

[VFTF1]

Gubaba wrote:

If you really go into art (be it music, movies, anime, whatever) with fresh, open eyes, even if you GET old, you'll never SOUND old

Exactly.

That's why I dumped my Misa-girlfriend and started dating two high school lolis in the hopes of creating a Macross-like love triangle war...although I guess this one is a "love square" since my Misa-girlfriend still calls me sometimes, which puts psychological pressure on me.

We'll see how long these two lolis last though. Younger girls are such a pain in the butt!

Still, as Gubaba says - one must try to stay young and hip to the current "it"...

Pete

[Gubaba]

Gubaba wrote:

Exactly.

That's why I dumped my Misa-girlfriend and started dating two high school lolis in the hopes of creating a Macross-like love triangle war...although I guess this one is a "love square" since my Misa-girlfriend still calls me sometimes, which puts psychological pressure on me.

We'll see how long these two lolis last though. Younger girls are such a pain in the butt!

Still, as Gubaba says - one must try to stay young and hip to the current "it"...

Pete

I said ART. Not athletics. Art.

[hutch]

I have to change my vote.

I started watching Frontier last week and I love it. Great show.

[Funkenstein]

You are most likely:

a) older, wiser and more experienced (the same old shlock doesn't wind your clock anymore (re: Transformers live action movie). I'm in the same boat)

b) more mature (the juvenile, coming of age, breast fetish, et al aspects of the latest series belong to a phase that you've already grown out of)

c) stressed/troubled/insert appropriate word here about your life, and yearn for the simpler days of childhood.

Therefore: welcome to adulthood!

Nevertheless, I dig aspects of 7, 0 and F. But I don't like them in their entirety. I think the last Macross series that I liked all aspects of was Plus. But I overwatched it, and don't like it anymore.

So yeah, time to make your own Macross series? (I'd plug the Macross RPG site that I play at and the transforming fighter craft manga that I'm penning, but as this is your thread...)

No matter how old I get, I will always love well shaped breasts, in animation and in real life.

Boobs 4 lyfe.

[Fortress_Maximus]

I completely understand where you are coming from peter. I use to feel the same way about Macross II, Plus, Zero, 7, and now Frontier. What I found about the different series was each contained certain qualities that made some more worth watching than others.

I found Macross II had some really nice music but he storyline was weak and the characters were pretty boring. And I found Macross Plus possessed some really clean animation for the mecha and the dogfights. Also Plus had some amazing music too! For Zero I really enjoyed the dogfights and re-watch mainly for them and the music. I second the romantic elements for Sara and Shin; I too felt their romance was much more focused b/c it had considerably less angst/drama than SDFM TV & DYRL. I can see how it might be viewed as overly simple, but Zero to me really stripped away romance to the core elements (communicating, empathy, fear, vulnerability, trusting, cooperating, growth, and compromising) without the mind games and angst of youth.

For 7 honestly have not watched the entire series b/c I found Basara really annoying and I do not enjoy his songs. Someday when sick I expect to finally watch it all. As for Frontier, initially did not care for it but felt the numerous nods gave me enough reason to pause and watch. I've re-watched the series twice and I can see how the series can really annoy some and draw in others. I found there was a lot of good mecha and suspenseful generally well placed drama.

Ultimately, what helped me was just finding a few elements I really enjoyed and latched onto them.

The bottom line is if you do not connect with the series after SFDM TV & DYRL it is fine. Some fans do not care for certain main characters like Minmay, Ranka, Mylene, and Myung, while others love them. Imo all that matters is if you give the various series a fair chance. After doing so, if you still do not like it, then it does not matter.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Fortress_Maximus

[Lolicon]

I find it amusing when people say they hated Macross Frontier for being "juvenile" and then say they loved the original SDFM/DYRL, like they were the equal of Citizen Kane or something. Perhaps they're not on exactly the same level maturity level, but we're talking about transforming jets, giant aliens, anthropomorphic starships, and lots of singing.

For the record, I love both series. Heck, my handle was taken from the three Zentradi spies.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Lolicon

[VFTF1]

and then say they loved the original SDFM/DYRL, like they were the equal of Citizen Kane

For the record, I think SDFM/DYRL is better than Citizen Kane, which I actually haven't even seen yet, so maybe I shouldn't compare the two... But my point is that I think SDFM TV (DYRL not so much story wise) is much, much better than lots of "serious" movies or at the very least their equal. I challenge anybody to name a serious, generally respected movie that is considered high art and I would probably be able - or at least willing - to make the case that SDFM TV either equals or exceeds said movie.

Pete