Macross Plus - The Collection (1995)

Great idea for the plot...

The Macross anime series actually is really interesting. The idea of Macross Plus, however, has, to me, one of the best plots they have ever. It is about 2 ex-best friends fighting over a girl--the one they have been friends with just as long as they themselves were. It's basically a love triangle drama. Macross Plus is great, except for one fact--it's a bit slow. I actually fell asleep halfway through it, then had to replay what I had slept past. However, if you can get past that, you get a decent if not great anime movie with great music. Good luck deciding. =) September 2, 2008

a wonderful story of the search for peace at the end of war

I found this movie to be full of action and true life experiences. A truly great story. July 21, 2008

A spin-off that's better than the original (in some respects)

I purchased this originally on VHS when Manga released it on 4 VHS tapes 1995-1996. This DVD provides nothing new. There is no commentary or behind-the-scenes featurette. The old 'next episode' previews and previews of 'coming soon' releases (from 1996 - many of the previewed titles have been out for a decade) are the special features. These can be found on the old VHS tapes too.

The real advantages to buying this DVD collection are the lower cost and that you get both the sub and the dub.

The lack of special features is more than made up for by the 4-part OVA. This is a side story. The original Macross was the story of how humanity survived an encounter with highly advanced giant soldiers. This story is set decades after Macross. It's about a design competition between two companies to build the next Valkyrie (a jet that transforms into a giant robot). The two opposing test pilots have a shared past - and an intense rivalry.


The mecha fight scenes are very fast, highly detailed, and even somewhat realistic (for a sci-fi show about transforming airplanes made with alien technology that borders on high fantasy). The characters have quite a bit of depth. They aren't relatively innocent kids taking the final step into adulthood, as in the Macross TV series. These characters are definitely adults with quite a bit of emotional baggage.

The tension is quite high - I still remember the very sharp cliff-hangers at then end of each part. In the VHS days, you had to wait 4 or 5 months for the next volume to be released. grrr

The music is excellent. These aren't songs and instrumental tracks you listen to without the movie. The music really supports the movie. It supports, and sometimes creates the emotional tone for the scene. There are also very unique - and odd sound choices.


The cover bills it as 'the top-gun of anime'. As cheesy as it sounds, they're right. I'd even recommend this to people who don't normally watch anime. July 14, 2008

Awesome, but only as a supplement to the OVA.

Macross Plus is Robotech at it's best: cool mechs, love triangles, ultimate sacrifice, and fantastic music.

This version, however, cuts much of the OVA's great story and as a result it's not as good.....BUT-- the movie edition also has new footage and new story archs, most of which are very enjoyable. The movie edition is worth it if for nothing more then the final battle (longer and better then the OVA).

Bottom line: until they make a new version with all the movie edition changes and additions plus the longer story of the OVA (obviously some story elements wouldn't work perfectly), the fan has no choice but to own them both. May 5, 2008

Worst DVD transfer ever!

What were Manga thinking releasing this? Hands down this is the grainiest, spottiest, mind-shatteringly terrible transfer I have ever seen. Read the review over at AnimeOnDVD to see what I'm talking about, wish I had read that first before purchasing. As for the movie? Going by some of the reviews here I expected this to be a classic anime the likes of Ghost In The Shell et al. Talk about Robotech/Macross fans seeing things through rose colored glasses. This film is all over the place, granted it was culled from a four part OVA, but even so, it truly is bad. I love mecha anime as much as the next guy, but there is little to recommend here. Go ahead and purchase based on the glowing reviews, but don't say you weren't warned. April 21, 2008

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