Interestingly: In 1984 Robotech ends with Rick Hunter (Hikaru Ichijo) disappearing in deep space on the SDF-3 (Fate uknown) In 1987 Macross: Flash Back 2012 Hikaru Ichijo is on the SDF-2 Megaroad and disappears in deep space. (Fate Unkown) Also, Robotech changes Macross from a philosophical war to one of fuel and resources. While maybe not as "deep" I do enjoy the grounded realism of Robotech's three generational war between four alien species over a limited fuel supply.

I love how you manage to accurately explain what makes Macross within the few 1-2 minutes.

I have been a Macross fan for quite along time. Of course it all started with Robotech but after seeing the original there was no going back. I enjoyed your overview of the franchise. I always like seeing what others have to say about one of my favorite anime series.

Thank you for this video! Macross is my absolute favorite anime franchise and I think it's greatly underrated in these parts of the world.

Coming by late as a big gundam fan to say thank you for giving me a good jumping point into watching this series. I've always been intrigued by Macross/Robotech, I saw some episodes when I was a kid but never bothered to really get into it, and getting the tabletop game for it finally convinced me to watch the series to know what's going on.

Thanks for releasing this badass recomendation video for those who wanted to get into the amazing Macross series. Seriously who doesn't like transforming jets that battle aliens that aren't all evil.

We need Macross more than ever right now ❤

As far as I know, DYRL is a movie retelling of the original because it's an in-universe movie. As in, the movie you're watching exists in the world of of the main series post the end of the original. And you know how movies about historical events are, they are changed and spiced up to make it more entertaining even if it loses historical accuracy in the process. I dunno if that's the case for the other retellings, though.

This is a great beginners' guide. I grew up on Robotech, and when I found out about Super Dimensional Fortress Macross I had to watch the original and fell more in love with it than I did with Robotech, and I love Robotech back in the day, but now I don't hold as much love for Robotech other than it being the entry into my exposure to Macross. From my experience, there isn't much change between Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and Robotech: The Macross Saga (the first 36 episodes of Robotech), mainly just name changes the main hero in Macross being Hikaur Ichijo, his name is changed to Rick Hunter in Robotech, Misa Hayase in Macross, her name is changed to Lisa Hayes in Robotech, there's several other name changes too, even some of the mechas are renamed, the transforming fighters in Macross are called Valkyries, in Robotech they're called Veritech Fighters. Where Robotech really falls apart is because they attempted to combine 3 completely unrelated anime into one series, is in Robotech: The Next Generation I remember an episode where they are supposed to be on Earth, the episode ends with them staring off into the sunset, but the sunset if a binary star system. Continuity error much? lol And Robotech: The Movie wasn't any better, it was basically just scenes from the Robotech TV series edited together with anime movie Megazone 23. Personally I'd just recommend watching Megazone 23. I haven't watched all of the Macross series, I've avoided Macross 7 because of some of the things I've heard about it, and I have seen clips that verify what I'd heard about it, the Firebomber's Valkyries being controlled by musical instruments. Yes it fits with the them of using music and love to in wars, but why not just use the neural interface that the YF-21 has in Macross Plus? The concept of having a pop band play instruments to pilot fighters/robots is seems extremely lame to me. I think Macross II: Lovers Again had a better option, though it's not considered to be canon, that is holographic musical performances projected over the battle area. Though I enjoyed Macross Frontier, I had a problem with one of the characters, Ranka Lee. I've noticed, and normally don't have a problem with it, that a lot of Japanese artists get their inspiration of the real world, one of my favorite Manga artists does this a lot, Masamune Shirow, I have one of the Intron Depot books that shows several of his illustrations, he gets a lot of inspiration from insects, he'll start with a study drawing of a bumble bee for example, and then he'll redraw it as a mecha, then he'll redraw it over and over until he comes to the version he likes and you have an awesome looking mecha/power armor initially based on a bumble bee. Ranka Lee's artist obviously did something similar with her, if you look at images of her after I say this you'll probably notice it too. Ranka Lee's hair style is clearly based on a shih tzu, the hair on the sides of her head are shih tzu's ears, and the little curl on the back of her head is a shih tzu's tail. I think mainly the reason I'm irritated by her hair style is because every shih tzu I've ever known were really stupid dogs. Every time I'd see her in Macross Frontier all I could think is, "why'd they model her hair off of one of the stupidest breeds of dog?"

I would also recommend watching Macross: Do You Remember Love. It's a movie retelling the events of the show but changing quite a lot of it up. Its soundtrack is fantastic and its animation is absolutely beautiful.

Yeah Robotech (1985) is the red-headed stepchild of the Macross franchises. Carl Macek was a visionary genius when he worked his ass off to adapt the Macross story and bring it to American audiences as well as incorporating three separate anime franchises into Robotech's 85-episode story. Unfortunately, Robotech has been neglected. Robotech II: The Sentinels (1988) was a pilot episode that never got off the ground after Robotech's 85-episode run ended and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) was supposed to shed some light on the plot parts that were in limbo but left people with more questions than before (and nothing has been released since then). But the good news is that Harmony Gold (owner of Robotech) and Tatsunoko/Big West (owners of Macross) have reached a legal agreement after years of court battles to finally be able to move forward with new projects so we might finally see a live action Robotech movie within the next few years (about damn time!).

This helps. It's been a while since I've started a long running anime franchise.

Thank you sooooo much for creating this video and clearing up all the confusion for me. As a huge Macross fan back in the 90s and early 2000s (when I was a kid), I loved SDF, but was so confused with all the sequels, later on. Also props on the pinned comment!! Thank you you two ♥️

Great guide. Thanks for this! 👍

Fantastic video. This was exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for that watch order chart, it's super useful👍

Thank you for another great video Bob!!!

thanks for your sharing this information

Thank you, for the video.

Thanks, this video help me a lot

Appreciate this video, sold me on trying out to the series. Been a fan of Gundam and had heard of this but hadn't delved too much into it. As a fan of Ace Combat and mecha media I think this will have appealing action that combines both of them.

Excellent!! Excellent!! Excellent !!!

Great narration, man.

Damn thanks bob you sold me on this show. Will definitely check it out

Maybe someone already said this? Shōji Kawamori was the Chief Director for Plus and is also the creator. Watanabe is my favorite anime director, so I had to double check because I don't generally credit him with Macross Plus.

Waiting for _Macross_ to be widely available. "I haven't seen Robotech." Yeah, you look too young. Trust me, those of us who saw it when it first came out thought it was amazing. And They DID make a coherent story out of 3 separate series. And the books help really flesh out the universe. Now if only they had finished _The Sentinals._

Been a Macross fan for over 23 years. Started with Robotech, but after finding the original series. I could never go back. Your video is awesome and very well done at explaining Macross and the viewing order. Thank you and keep up the great work!

I'll give the rest of the series a look, sucks that I have to watch most of them subbed but I will deal with it.

DYRL is absolute must- if you watch Robotech as its own thing it is ok- parts 2 and 3 are a little hard to get through 😆

I just saw DYRL for the first time and was blown away, the atmosphere was just pure bliss. Boy is 80s anime special, can't wait to get my hands wet with SDF Macross

this is literally what is going on in the world right now crazy. Great content man!

This content is truth!!!

I understand your point about Robotech. However, as someone that has watched both, you are wrong and right. The Macross saga of Robotech, is practically untouched. Even in dialogue. The biggest change is the changing of the meaning of Protoculture. Though today, there is really no need to watch it. Further by not watching Robotech, one can watch Macross and Genesis Climber Moespeda and not feel compelled to watch Southern Cross.

This is a fantastic summary that also does a good job of differentiating this series from “Gundam”, but I would offer a polite & friendly counterpoint to your claim that “Gundam” is about meeting violence with more violence: That *can* be the case with some Gundam protags & series, but I’d say that more than that, the overarching theme of most entries in the franchise is “lasting peace through mutual understanding”. The Universal Century’s Newtypes are basically superpowered über-empaths. Amuro Rey, the original protagonist of the Gundam franchise, never wanted to fight - and certainly never wanted to kill *anyone*. He only ever wanted to protect his home and his loved ones. His storyline culminates years later during thefinale of Char’s Counterattack, where his longtime rival Char Aznable has decided to drop a meteor onto the earth. Amuro is able to convince all of the mobile suits actively engaged in combat, on both sides of the conflict, to cease fire & prevent this asteroid from hitting earth. Both franchises, Gundam & Macross, have an ideal about people trying to understand one another & thereby eliminating conflict, that I greatly admire.

dude you make the best anime review of youtube

Great video! But I still don’t know where to watch the entire series. I only found SDF macross on KZfaq.

When i saw Robotech i got confused in why the show as so different from each other and was a big part of my childhood especially playing the Battlecry game on Xbox back in the day. So Robotech has been a big part of my life. Its mind blowing getting into the Macross Series and seeing the Canon and Lore. Like it feels like im going into a alternative universe where my childhood self would have had there way if they just continued Robotech using the season assets. Its so wierd because it feels like im watching fan fiction but its actually Canon. Damn Harmony Gold for making a great TV show and to only find out its three completely different shows just put to together and edited to seem as if it was all one universe.

0:51 you can say that again i was downright drained after finishing 0079 and zeta back to back that i had to take a long break before continuing with CCA you should check out robotech one day and make a comparison video with that and macross

The reason why i want to get into macross is because of the music and mechs. I bought the original anime soundtrack on vinyl and even though i havent seen the anime yet, the music is beautify writen.

Thanks for this great video. But I must say concerning Delta movie 1. It's entirely false to claim there's no new footage. It's an alternative take on the season's plot, yes, and there's a lot tweaked footage reused in mostly clever way, but there's a lot of new footage and a TON of new music. I definitely don't recommend to watch it instead of the series, but It's a great supplement if you liked the season. It would be more accurate to say that there's no new plot in this movie.

I convinced my partner to start watching Macross Plus with me because she likes Bryon Cranston. I tried to summarise the general concept of what makes Macross, Macross, but struggled to not harp on at length or make it sound goofy. Might just show her this instead 😅

The second Macross Delta Movie 2 is pretty good I saw the Japanese release. I suggest that anyone wanting to view it has to be familiar with all of what has happened since it connects to a lot of areas. The mini movie on the Labyrinth of Time was also done well although I think it was a teaser of what could be coming but no official announcements where made. I always have liked and followed the series since I was young the translated version in English was aired on TV (I guess it was a direct purchase from Japan by passing Harmony Gold but it was short lived) where I lived in south east asia. The comment on the whole series being centered on love thru challenges is really true and probably why I keep coming back to it. Hopefully with the fiasco on licensing that Harmony Gold caused this series will finally be made more available to those who watch anime and will grow in popularity but until then I guess its the generations who where able to watch and follow it who will be the ones promoting it.

yeah, I only watched macross frontier. if I remember correctly, there was a love triangle which I didn't like HAHA. but love triangle aside, I thought it was pretty good- for being one of the first anime's me seeing at age idk... maybe 11? But now, I found out it's actually a series! so I can't wait to binge all of them xD

You left out the Macross Frontier movies… and Frontier is my favorite of the series. An actual love triangle with a clear winner. While Macross Delta wasn’t really a love triangle I still enjoyed the character development. And the music from the original and Frontier are the best imo.

I've read somewhere that the movies starting from Frontier is it's own timeline and do you remember love is something like a in univers documentary about Lynne Minmei. I don't know if it's true though

This is a great synopsis!! Where would you put "The Shadow Chronicles" in the watch order, please?

I think I'll check out the Macross series but only when they can fix the licensing issues and releases BluRays of the series in the US.

Can you do a review on Seinfeld and Fraiser?

i have to say, i hope you didn’t miss macross frontier movie 2 in theaters yesterday, because that movie was killer

Was playing macross triangle frontier it's only in Japanese and I've only seen robotech good looks w the watch order list

The saddest part about Macross is how it could have been massive in the West but Harmony Gold ruined all that and I say that as a Robotech fan too. Just the Macross saga of course as the other 2 series never made sense to me even before the answer was provided to me by the internet in the mid 90s

The game "Macross Do You Remember Love" on PSX/Saturn have an intro of 2min15sec. This intro is the real start of "Macross Do You Remember Love" movie.

Where can I watch all these? I can't seem to find them.

Where can I watch them in order?

I didn't like 7 at all and skipped whole thing after couple of episodes but still got the references here and there in delta and frontier.

Man, I was just getting into Robotech and found out it used one of the Macross shows. But then your video came out lol.

reminded me of Close Encounters ending

Why did the original macross logo no longer appear in other series?

I hope macross will become a thing that will transcend time. Like I hope there will be new seasons, new stories, every decade for at least a century Until the story reaches a peaceful end.

Delta movie 1 got new scene at end

My impression from the games was that macross was about space transformer-jets pilots, who are powered by the power of idol music. And after watching this video, I'd say I wasn't far off.

Just wanted to ask if you ever intend to review either of the other super dimension shows. Also I learned about Macross through BattleTech, it was only after that I learned about RoboTech, so it’s interesting seeing so many people talk about RoboTech when I only know it as a dead franchise causing problems for one I like (BattleTech) and one I’m interested in getting into (Macross)

"Just ignore Robotech", words I wish Battletech could also live by. Unfortunately, we also have to deal with the same legal entanglement if not more so than Macross fans. The recent legal news involving Harmony Gold just adds confusion, as Sony mght be putting it up behind paywalls.

You need to understand with the Macross theatrical releases like DYRL are actually "in universe movies" about the events of the respective series they are connected too. You see them actually filming a movie about macros Zero in Macross Frontier... This is why the films are different, they are a retelling of the story, but in a more digestible movie format Just like real movies about historical events don't actually depict they most accurate history.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross are actually spiritually related to each other. They are both part of a trilogy of shows with Super Dimension Century Orguss sandwiched between Macross and Southern Cross. 1. Macross, 2. Orguss, and 3. Southern Cross are referred to as the "Super Dimension Trilogy."

When watching a series I prefer robotech and DYRL when a prefer a movie, at least when it comes to the macross saga of robotech since the story of that first robotech war of saga that adapted is pretty close to the original macros plot just changing the names of some stuff. Is the second and third robotech war arcs that are infact completely change from Southern cross and Mospeda but that is to blend their plots to the basis made by the macross saga or robotech. I tend to call the characters by their robotech names, but a like quite a look the macross OST and I think robotech managed to pull and almost just as good OST.

Imagine a War of Worlds ending due to singing. You get Marcross.

I love the F-14 and Macross

Wow, thanks for taking the time to make this super informative video! Everything was eloquently said, adequately explained and answered pretty much every question I had about the series, including it’s connections to Robotech 😂 A couple years ago I took a dive down the Gundam rabbit hole and after watching pretty much every entry of the franchise I’m interested in, I’ve been digging deeper into the mecha genre. Macross is next on the list and I’m excited to sink my teeth into the franchise. Thanks for putting me on once again!

I personally wanna watch Macross Frontier and Macross Delta, because studio Satelight very good animation like Symphogear.

i started the series with The Macross Frontier coz the animation suited my taste so far. It is okay ? when I see the picture of older Macross , it doenst attract my attention

It makes sense that majority of the battles are in Fighter mode, we don't want drag to slow down your mech, yes in space it doesn't have that drag problem but when in other modes you have a way bigger surface area to be hit, Which is why dogfighting in fighter mode will still be the prominent way of Macross battles. Why only have your mech stay humanoid and have a higher chance of being hit than staying in fighter mode. Unless your like Max. Which is why the combination of all 3 modes in a battle make the Variable fighters so dang powerful.

I've been looking to start Macross for ages now, but I think because I'm not into the style of music that moments that are heavily weighted by those elements will be a bit of a drag that I will have to push through. But I am very interested in every other aspect of it. Hope to satan that Funi rereleases the OG macross with the 5.1 ADV dub, cuz screw rereleasing robotech for the 50th time and no Macross

Gundam - "solution to war is violence" Macross - "solution to war is love" Sort of... Macross' solution to war is love AND more violence. It's love, some love song, and LOTS of explosions

Well, thanks for that. For the longest time Macros was 'Those Guys who are the reason Battletech had to redesign a bunch of their mechs'

imo macross frontier is a 10/10 tied with the original.

I think its a huge mistake to not acknowledge that everything that came after Do You Remember Love is based on it and not the series. The original series is basically stand alone, where as DYRL formed the basis for everything that came after it, not the other way around.

As someone who watched SDF Macross such a long time ago that I remember little of it, should I just rewatch it entirely, or continue down the list?

I'd argue the DYRL version of the first series is canon. The reason why is that the SDF-1 in DYRL with the space platforms attached vs the sea based carriers are seen on the "arms" of the ship in all depictions after. Also, Exedol in Macross 7 looks more similar to the DYRL version of his character.

2:52 should be rephrased "When a giant starship crashes down to earth ENDING the current world war." Governments were all freaked out and decided to unite together against a possible threat that they all realized could easily destroy the entire planet

Best way to watch Macross, watch it chronologically it makes it easier to understand the whole lore of Macross. That is just my opinion. Unlike gundam and other mech anime from my personal experience I might be wrong but unlike other mech anime Macross lore is insanely detailed. The Macross Mecha Manual explains all the lore from Macross Zero to Frontier. All the terminologies, and technology, and mechs vehicles, plus all the feats with real numbers like thrust to weight ratio, Max G force Load. What type of engines, all the armaments, and the in lore to the creation and RND behind the vehicle. There is so much love poured into the series.

Which one is the one with the pink hair girl dancing to Earth wind and fire's September.

One of the few reasons why the Humans are good at war is because they made it an Art.

I like the Delta movies over the series.

Did you review Macross Plus because I don't see it.

Although you claim that Robotech would undermine Macross, I've watched both and the storyline between super dimension fortress and Robotech remain almost unchanged. Later Macross sequels could even make perfect sense as robotech sequels, as the "megaroad" is essentially the same as the SDF3 in the unfinished Robotech storyline

No! No! What are you doing!? Macross DYRL is required viewing. It sets up a new continuity which is the setting for everything Macross starting with Macross Plus and ending with Macross Delta. Macross Zero is the prequel to DYRL. Macross 2 is a bastard child created by a completely different studio, and isn't considered official canon by the Macross creators. Also, there's been an agreement reached in the Macross Licensing debacle. Macross can finally come to the US.

ok so the first anime I ever watched was robotech my dad had a VHS of the first episode I watched it so much the tape broke I think I was 7 when I saw the whole show air and I was hooked it had a huge place in my heart then when I was like 14 or 15 I was at a sam goodie or something and saw a VHS that just said macross on it and I remembered the island was called macross from the show they also had a macross plus movie as well I bought both and watched them so much then toonami aired robotech the macross saga and I recorded it all then ADV made DVD and I bought the collector sets I don't know why I waited so long to look up macross I was hoping they would get an official US release but I've waited long enough I'm laid up in bed with a screwed up knee with nothing to do so ya thanks for the list I'm going to try to put it to good use

i wish they would bring out some kind of deluxe box with all the Macross series in a unified design. kinda like the books that you put together to get a picture. I have still a lot of Malaya DVDs cause no nice Blu Ray versions in the West, only Delta and Fs Movie is in Japan aviable with Engl. Subs. Man that opening concert from F 1 blew my mind.

Macross Delta was okay, action-wise, but they leaned too far into the "virtual idol" thing, and it started devolving into Hololive with mechs.

Can you tell me why some people hate Macross? I heard it's due to it copying scenes from other mecha anime and I'm not sure if that's true or Not. Regardless I will still give it a chance, but When giving it credibility I'm not sure how much of it I can give.

Patrick bateman but a hillbilly... Damm dude you won life

due city pop a stumbled on macross

That is not technically true. You CAN watch the original series of Robotech in English up until the episode "to tne stars" (final episode) and still have that be Macross, because it is, technically the same as all other english dubbed anime and it dkes tell the origin in full of the beginning of Macross for those who don't like subtitles.

Arrange watching Macross anime????????

Gundam way to end wat is through understanding. Macross is about culture

日本国外のロボテックファンの皆さん。 マクロスシリーズ、サザンクロス、モスピーダ、メガゾーン23は本来全く別の作品です。 掛け合わされ改変された作品ではなくオリジナルの作品を見て欲しいですね。

So is macross a genre or a series?

Is there version of Macross with Robotech soundtrack?

+ !