Macross Frontier | Review | Pinnedupink.com

Macross Frontier

Macross is such a huge anime franchise, with so many series under its belt, all coming together to make a vast universe within it. So there are always more words to be said, more songs to be sung, more romances to be spun, more battles to be expected, and more adventures to enjoy. Thus eventually, veteran fans of the series and new anime goers alike will tumble across the series Macross Frontier.

Macross Frontier or Macross F is a 25 episode TV anime series that started airing on 4th April and went up until 26th September as a Spring 2008 anime. It featured the genres of Action, Space, Mecha, Romance, Military, Music, and Sci-Fi, as to be expected from a Macross series.

The title was produced by Bandai Visual, Mainichi Broadcasting System, and Big West and brought to life by Studio Satelight. The main staff behind the anime are Kawamori Shouji (Director, Storyboard, Creator, Mechanical Design), Mima Masafumi (Sound Director), Kikuchi Yasuhito (Director, Storyboard, Key Animation), and Tsuruoka Youta (Sound Director). The series is Rated PG-13 for teenage audiences or older.

The series is adapted from two source materials; the 5 Volume Macross Frontier manga series from 2007 to 2009 by Author Kawamori Shouji and Artist Aoki Hayato and the 4 Volume Macross Frontier Light Novel series from 2008 to 2009 by Artists Aoki Hayato and Ebata Risa and Author Kodachi Ukyou. The prequel series to the series is Macross 7 Dynamite, a 4 episode OVA series from 1997.

Alternative versions of the title exist in Specials, Movies, and ONAs titled Macross F: Close Encounter - Deculture Edition, Macross Fufonfia, Macross F Movie 1: Itsuwari no Utahime, and Macross F Movie 2: Sayonara no Tsubasa. In addition, a side story ONA was released titled Macross 25th Anniversary: All That VF Macross F Version.

Other releases include an OVA Macross F: Choujikuu Gekijou and two music clips titled Gorgeous and Macross F Music Clip Shuu: Nyankuri. A spin-off movie titled Macross FB7: Ore no Uta wo Kike! was also released in 2012. The sequel to Macross Frontier was released in 2016, titled Macross Δ, which ran for 26 episodes in total.

The story takes place following a characteristic and catastrophic war against an Alien race of giants known as the Zentradi. In their desperate attempts at survival, humanity has managed to escape towards the center of the galaxy on a fleet of colonial space vessels termed the Macross Frontier. The further the extraterrestrial threat of the Zentradi drifts away behind them, humanity’s life aboard the Macross Frontier proceeds, as usual, becoming something very normal to its denizens.

In 2059, the protagonist, a young Mecha pilot trainee named Alto Saotome, and his colleagues prepare to perform an important accompanying routine for a famous singer named Sheryl Nome, who had come aboard the Macross Frontier to perform a concert.

Unfortunately, during the much-anticipated performance concert by Sheryl, a biomechanical alien species known as the Vajra make a sudden appearance at the venue, breaking right through the defensive perimeter surrounding the vast vessel and crash-landing near the concert location, plunging the entire city within the Macross Frontier into chaos in the process. As the panicking concert-goers’ hurry to evacuate, a young girl named Ranka Lee gets left behind and is targeted by the Vajra.

Luckily for her, though, she is saved by Alto at the last minute, not a moment too soon. After these chaotic events transpired, the Strategic Military Services program onboard the Frontier noted Alto's unique skills in battle and thus decided to recruit him into their ranks to combat the new alien foes threatening humanity’s existence.

Macross Frontier can be viewed as a sci-fi space opera that incorporates many anime clichés in the fandom. It features plenty of drama, action-packed Mecha sequences, and love triangles which are the Macross franchise’s signature tropes. However, the creators manage to create a series that delivers these aspects to the maximum capacity while also living up to the viewers’ expectations.

Even to viewers new to the Macross franchise and unfamiliar with previous installments, Macross Frontier manages to bridge almost all the gaps imaginable to create a series that can stand the test of time, much like its original predecessors.

Macross Frontier is directed pretty well. There is excellent new CGI imprinted into the series that masterfully portrays the meticulously drawn-out epic battles of the other titles in the franchise and remains unique in execution. This can be attributed to the masterful art direction and consistent quality prominent throughout the episodes. In addition, the story feels quite relevant and manages to stay very “Macross” right through to the end, enough to invoke the nostalgia that will appeal to any veteran fan of the franchise.

Macross Frontier takes many tropes from anime past and merges them into a great series, with a great story, clichés, and varying techniques. The plot is pretty straightforward but not dull in the least, allowing some more profound aspects of its meta-themes to emerge.

The story is an odd mix of moe, school drama, slice-of-life, mecha, space opera, sci-fi, action, and apocalyptic scenarios. This is nothing new for anime or even Macross. Frontier is unique in its ability to pull these aspects and many more into a cohesive narrative structure that viewers can thoroughly enjoy.

The characters of Macross Frontier undergo good character development on another level. Almost every character in the series is fleshed out, well-rounded, and relatable by the end. Macross Frontier is still mainly a plot-driven show; as such, many conflicts are stirred between the characters, which are generally well handled, which remain primarily unresolved through interactions and instead look to plot-driven consequences to keep the story flowing.

This is one downside, but overall the show is balanced. The drama is well-grounded and not just baseless sobbing either. The plot’s lack of overall character drive is compensated by foreshadowing to create an ever-shifting storyline, which is both enjoyable and exciting.

The sounds and music of Macross Frontier are its highlights. The Opening themes are "Triangler" by Maaya Sakamoto, "Seikan Hikou" by Megumi Nakajima, and "Lion" by May'n, Megumi Nakajima.

The Ending themes are "Diamond Crevasse" by May'n, "Aimo" by Megumi Nakajima, "Aimo~Tori no Hito" by Megumi Nakajima, "Neko Nikki" by Megumi Nakajima, "Ai Oboete Imasu Ka" by Megumi Nakajima, "Diamond Crevasse" by Megumi Nakajima and May'n, "Northern Cross" by May'n, "Triangler" by Maaya Sakamoto, "Empty Diamond Crevasse" by May'n and "Azure Ether" by Megumi Nakajima.

The climax of the series features one of the most interesting melody collages of music ever woven together and even establishes the composing mastery of the artists.

Overall, Macross Frontier is a series that manages to keep viewers in high anticipation of what's to come, overwhelm them with the intensity of the action, and let them feel the full impacts of rejection, doubt, and loss. It can even be considered a great series to jump into the Macross franchise with, and it’s an excellent successor to the Macross name. This anime is recommendable to almost any anime fan and even more so to fans of the genre!