Macross Zero
Who said Macross’s magnificence only shone through back in the 1980s and 1990s? The series was so successful that it extended into the reaches of the 2000s as well. Even in the advent of the new century, Macross released new titles that appealed to fans old and new. Among the titles released at this time, Macross Zero stood out for being visually stunning and entertaining.
Macross Zero is a 5 episode OVA series that started airing on 21st December 2002 and concluded on 20th October 2004. The series is produced by Bandai Visual and created by Studio Satelight. This original series features the genres of Adventure, Mecha, Military, Sci-Fi, and Shounen. The anime is rated R+ for mature audiences, as it features mild nudity.
The primary team behind the series includes Kawamori Shouji (Director, Storyboard, Original Creator, Mechanical Design), Oonogi Hiroshi (Script), Mima Masafumi (Sound Director), and Nanri Yuuka (Theme Song Performance). This OVA series is a prequel series for the main Macross TV anime series of Fall 1982. A side story was also released on 25th July 2008 titled “Macross 25th Anniversary: All That VF Macross Zero Version,’’ a single episode ONA (original net animation) that includes a short movie about the Macross Zero Variable Fighters.
The story takes place one year before the Zentraedi arriving on Earth. Instead of the fated space wars, Macross Zero focuses on the final climactic days of the eventful war between the U.N. Spacy and resistant anti-U.N. factions. After being shot down by the anti-U.N.'s newest fighter plane, protagonist and ace pilot Shin Kudo finds himself on the remote island of Mayan.
On this island, technology is almost non-existent as a whole. Shin chooses to stay on the island while he heals his wounds, where tranquility is predominant. But the peace is swiftly shattered when a battle breaks out involving the UN's newest fighter - the VF-0.
Macross Zero is best watched in one sitting; this way, the beauty of the series is made very apparent. It shows viewers how Shin, a man who lived surrounded by technology, comes to terms with the primitive way of life of the people on the Mayan island. The main downside to the series is the slightly depressing and inconclusive ending. Love and romance are a big part of Macross, so a finish where the couples wind up unhappy and the fate of a pivotal character is left uncertain just doesn’t bode too well.
The story of Macross Zero is pretty simple and straightforward. There is an ongoing war between the two opposing halves of humanity. Protagonist pilot Shin is a rookie who learned about the cruelties of war the hard way as a child and even ended up getting involved in it in an attempt to stop the fighting. During a fateful battle, his plane gets badly damaged, leaving him no other choice of survival than the emergency eject. He wakes up later to find himself wrapped in bandages and inside a strange hut. He proceeds to discover that a race of primitive people inhabits the island he’s crashed onto.
The leader of these people, named Sara, wants him to leave as soon as possible to stop a curse from being brought upon her people. But the war continues to wage so close to the island due to a particular ancient god-like lifeform having been discovered underwater so close to it. With this, things soon start to take a turn for the worse…..
This story involves a primitive race of people having to come to terms with the realities of the modern world and vice versa is a highlight of this series. Macross Zero shows how this primitive group is forced to experience the cruelties, pain, and suffering of war while the main character learns to become one with nature.
This type of premise is generally rare in anime, and this semi-original theme allows viewers to get even more out of the experience. Mecha series of this type are grounded in reality by a plot element as it helps prevent the story from being too far-fetched and gives it more realism. It even allows viewers to connect to the story and characters more on a real-world level.
Another praise-worthy aspect of Macross Zero is how it weaves multiple love stories into one series and makes it all work. Macross itself is a franchise that beautifully blends romance, music, singing, sci-fi, and Mecha into their stories; Zero does not fall short. The romance does not come around as fake or forced, even within the limited episode span.
The relationship between Shin and Sara is very touching and even starts funny since Shin unknowingly threatens Sara with what the Mayan people think of as equivalent to love letters. On the other hand, the couple of Aries and Roy Focker isn’t quite as moving due to them having been together (and later splitting apart) before the start of Macross Zero. The story’s events pull the two of them back together, and it has its nice moments. On a side note, their relationship also created an amusing scene or two.
The Art and Animation of Macross Zero were absolutely fantastic. The visuals are on another level from most other Macross titles, with the art and animation being well up to standard for an OVA series stemming from a bigger franchise. However, the CGI aerial battles are what really blow viewers away.
At times these are even a little difficult to follow due to the fast-paced aerial battles, which are seemingly all over the place, but they keep it pretty clear who is shooting at who. Unlike many other lower quality anime that focus on and feature CGI more, Macross Zero manages to blend the CGI excellently with its incredible animation.
The Music and Sounds of Macross Zero falls a bit short compared to other aspects, and there’s nothing spectacular about it. It includes a few decent songs scattered throughout the series, but overall, none of them stand out as truly special. Most of the music is easily forgettable and will not linger on in viewers’ heads much.
Thus the soundtrack isn't at all memorable. This does not mean that the soundtrack was wrong; it was simply just there and ignored most of the time. Overall the sounds were just lacking compared to everything else in the series, which were pretty good in their own rights. Featured tracks included "Arkan" by Holy Raz, "Life Song" by Yen Chang with Holy Raz, "Yanyan" by Yuuka Nanri, and "Forest Song" by Kuniaki Haishima.
As a final verdict, this OVA series is overall enjoyable and entertaining. Macross Zero is brilliant. It possesses every element an anime needs to be such a great show and watching experience. It has an incredible blend of reality, mecha, and sci-fi in the form of a good story; all brought together in stunning animation and artwork. This short series is highly recommended to almost any anime fan and is a must-see for Macross franchise fans and Mecha fans alike. It will be well worth your time and might even become one of your all-time Anime favorites!
