Macross Zero: Any (sufficiently) Advanced OVERTECHNOLOGY is (indistinguishable from) Magic

Рет қаралды 87,318

Жыл бұрын

MACROSS ZERO was conceived as a prequel to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a story that would explore the unification wars that happened after the Alien Space Ship-1 crashed on earth... and more importantly, the alien protoculture from the perspective of an aboriginal tribe from the Mayan Island. But... is the story too ambitious for its own sake?
My name is Absa, and in this video I'll try to explore how Macross Zero changed forever how music was treated in the franchise: it adopted a more deus ex machina feel than anything that came before. That and also, improved how valkyries were depicted on screen and they fighted.
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Пікірлер: 74

@Ikcatcher Жыл бұрын

Macross Zero was honestly one of the best anime movies I’ve watched purely from an animation point, the fights were all so good

@h.b.hatecraft953 Жыл бұрын

I never saw it as magic in Zero. I just saw it as advanced ancient tech that we haven't figured out yet.

@XLA-zg1nn Жыл бұрын

it add to the mystery of the ancients and the city that was raised in 'do you remember love'

@endlesscroissant3663 Жыл бұрын

Now we wonder how Macross Zero would have turned out if 9/11 didn't happen.

@swg_svg Жыл бұрын

probably the best Macross entry one can wonder tho

@absa Жыл бұрын

What I like to imagine is that the original idea for Macross Zero ended exactly on the first episode when we see the transforming SV-51 and the big reveal is the introduction of the VF-0 that totally annihilates enemy forces... but gets destroyed. So now, with that test flight information, the UNSpacy decides to mass produce the VF-1.

@nerdyogericgutierrez8601 8 ай бұрын

The VF-0 is a stop gap. The VF -1 already exisisted by the Time of Macross Zero but they were having issues in mass producing the Nuclear engine. The 0 was rushed into production to answer the need for a VF with conventional fuel system. ANother thing is Macross Zero is actually an in Universe Movie done in the time of Frontier. The VF-0 in "the movie" is actually VF-25 adjusted to look like the 0, because there were no surviving examples (Zendradi Bombardment of Earth) .

@lesslighter Жыл бұрын

To be honest Macross 7 already established how "weird music could be" Macross Zero just Canonizes that Lin Minmay is not just an "ordinary singer" due to it being "first" in the franchise and thus still had no "canon" and Macross 7 canonically takes place after Macross Plus where the Sharon Apple incident put to stop unhinged AI R&D

@morganb6717 Жыл бұрын

start to finish, this video is wrought with easily consumed lore/information presented in an evenly-paced narration; an absa-lute excellent job (could not resist the pun). subscriber secured.

@weirdguy564 Жыл бұрын

I always took the floating rocks and growing plants as the power of the alien device, and music was how you communicate with it. If you can sing, you're its friend. If you shoot at it, it counter attacks and kills you. I will add that the VF-0 is a more modern looking VF Valkyrie over the VF-1, but with one major flaw. It streamlines the arm storage in jet fighter mode by tucking the wrists into the backpack thruster/pod thing rather than just sitting below it. The VF-0 also has fairing doors for the front end between the head top and arm shoulders, giving it more aerodynamics. However. It also has those unnecessarily small bicep parts that look flimsy. And guess what? I have the collectible VF-0 toy that costs $150 US dollars, and those damn bicep bits broke in no time. Thicken up those biceps, guys. The SV-51 for the Anti-UN forces is a decent machine, but good lord are the bits that connect the wing to the body complex and small. They're terrible.

@mahatmarandy5977 8 ай бұрын

Personally, upon watching it for the first time back when it was new, I never took the floating rocks and accelerated growth to be anything magical in Sara’s voice. I assumed the Bird Human was doing it. My reasoning: The Bird Human is an ancient alien device meant to monitor humanity’s development. The Mayan people, or at least the priestly line, had had their genes altered either directly or indirectly by the protoculture or possibly the Bird Human itself. Either way doesn’t really matter. The point is that Sara was effectively plugged into the machine and vice versa. So, the way I read it, her singing was the signal to activate the machine, which had the ability to manipulate gravity and affect growth rates and stuff like that. The words in the songs may have been like commands in a programming language or whatever, and to some extent it responded to her emotional state as well as what she specifically said. (My hunch is that this was an accidental development over time, but I base that on nothing whatsoever) So when she sings, she’s not causing stuff to levitate, the Bird Human is doing it because she asked/told it to. Sara herself *certainly* thought this was supernatural, but that doesn’t mean that it was. Anyway, that’s how I read it. That being said, I didn’t understand the ending at all. I loved all the stuff with Roy and Aires, though. That was just wonderfully done. A great way to meaningfully revisit a beloved character and develop them further without rewriting or undoing them.

@swg_svg Жыл бұрын

I really love the effort that you give to the macross franchise Its so sad not everyone does this

@absa Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! Hopefully now that most of the licences are available for international distribution Macross gets the attention that it deserves.

@swg_svg Жыл бұрын

@@absa YES SIR (*proceeds to milk the content/franchise like Kawamori) 🤣

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

He doesnt because he claims Macross II is not canon and is a parallel universe that needs to be changed to fit into the canon, because he cant read japanese and doesnt know that both Bigwest and Bandai have outright stated publicly that Macross II is canon.

@trodat07 Жыл бұрын

To be fair, even real world everyday technology looks like magic in a lot of movies and tv shows. It's the scriptwriters and directors stretching and breaking the rules of every element of the story to fit into their visions what makes it look unreal.

@Drega001 Жыл бұрын

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". - Arthur C Clarke

@TeslaToybox Жыл бұрын

Just found you and subscribed. Great work. Loving the Macross videos

@patricksotelo1217 Жыл бұрын

Ah, another fellow Macross purist, and great lore exposition. Insta-like. Thanks for this, man! 👍

@whitenoise8619 Жыл бұрын

I'm a main Gundam fan (especially the older ones).. I tolerate the magic in Unicorn and despise everything in Narrative...but I love Macross Frontier! (I can't remember how much magic is there but I love that series, the music is fire) that being said.. outside of Frontier I can never get into other Macross Series. Macross Zero animation look dope though :C also nice vid ! :D

@absa Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your words! And, to be honest, Frontier is one of the greatest entries of the Macross Universe but if you like the older UC Gundam you probably may want to check out the original SDF Macross. It's a nice show that, even though it shares some concepts with MSG, it subverts certain tropes in a very interesting way.

@HiTOKENmedia Жыл бұрын

With Yoko Kanno back as composer, of course the music in Frontier was gonna be a treat.

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

@@absa LOL Frontier is one of the best? Are you serious? The fact the ending of the tv series was hated because it was so open ended?

@MultiLalo12 Жыл бұрын

I really don't see how Macross 7 songs weren't magic. Basara sang away a black hole.

@kelvinchewjw Жыл бұрын

Great to see more Macross content getting around, as for the "music magic" zero introduced I'd like to think it was explained in Delta that it's a weapon/contingency the protoculture had made to control or effect their creations like even zentradi. Which in the ending conflict in Delta was the mass mind control of people all over the galaxy by Roid. Still have to see the 2nd Delta movie for what's that about but so far from summary I think it's about AIs and advancement of technology which I have an idea for how Macross as a series move forwards, explore more into digital idol and AI together a faction that maybe beyond protocultuire/extra galactic, a sentient machine race/splinter faction that works with/against with the NUNS to further nail down the technology and AI part.

@absa Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I don't really mind the "music equals magic" stuff of Macross, it's good music with good action scenes... yet, I do understand that it is a very noticeable shift from the "Minmay Effect" of the older series. And I'm also looking very forward to the Bluray release of the new movie to know more about the story and, more importantly, what happens with Max haha

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

@@absa Max kicks ass. Alad becomes captain of the Gigashion and Max goes out to fight in his Durandal. Exedor even says "in all the years I've been with you, this decision (the decision to stop being a captain and to return to being a pilot) is the best decision you have ever made." Max is also the catalyst for Mirage's character development, as he points out to Alad that Mirage might be better suited in a strategic role versus a "genius pilot" ala Max or Miria. She becomes Delta Squad leader at the end, and shows that shes a Jenius through her ability to command and lead. Yep I am dropping spoilers because I saw the movie last year and Idgaf at this point.

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

Its not about AI specifically, the Siren system is trying to improve on what Sharon Apple's neurochip did: Sharon had to base her emotions on Myung's, the Siren system is using a dna piece from the hoshi no utaite like Mikumo was created from to be more "independent." This is how at the beginning of the movie, the Battle Astrea can go to Windemear, as Windemear is surrounded by fold waves that can limit entrance into the system. Through the Siren system, heimdall is able to open the path to get in, which then allows the first battle to happen on Windemear, and the deep learning AI through the siren system is what allows the system to eventually create yami q ray (through observing Walkure singing). On top of that, the use of the hoshi no utaite DNA is also used to pull megaroad 1 out of fold space to destroy it. That is Ian Cromwell's ultimate goal because he sees megaroad 1 as LIMITING the use of technology that he believes should be used to continue the road for humanity to become closer to protoculture. The bigger issue is that the question of Megaroad 1's disappearance is brought forth, and we learn the truth of how it disappeared, and based on the events of the 2nd movie, they dont seem that interested in returning to normal space, as they are caught in a fold wave in fold space. This is not answered as Kawamori made sure NOT to write that answer in the movie on purpose (he stated this in interviews) and his logic was this: You never learn the entire story at the time the event happens. Most of the time you learn the truth many years later. Oh and youre completely forgetting that Macross II is canon and that the next series in line CURRENTLY is M2 in 2090, 22 years after the events of the 2nd delta movie.

@o-wolf Жыл бұрын

Is it just me or did they heavily imply that sara eas abused by the scientist? Her traumatised reaction cpulnt have JUST been because he took her blood could it? The way he handed out the beads feels very creepy as if he took advantage of her when she was young but i cant be sure

@dannylo5875 Жыл бұрын

Magic. Like Tony Stark said is "rules of laws not yet discovered" so science and magic laws or the supernatural is simply something that can be measured as crossing the boundaries between what is real and what can be achieved by using human intellect to make things real. Basically think science and magic laws as the same thing but on a spectrum where things are understood as real but then there things just get astronomically weird. But are real. It's just how the universe works. The rules and mechanics of the things we don't know off that we are discovering still

@cristopherpardo Жыл бұрын

Music is magic in the sence that you can figure out the feeling it wants to give even if you don´t undestand the languaje. The song of the Mayan in magical in the sence that activathes the Human-Bird and comunicates him/it how the human rase is developong. Thus the reason he attemps to destroy everything, because he/it can sence the negative feeling of everyone in the battlefield; And then , perhaps the most beautifull mesage ever given in the Macross franchise is given, the human-bird stops the attack ones he/it feels love between to simple mortals, realising there is still hope for us.

@GANAPATIIIII Жыл бұрын

AWSOME👀

@racingmaniacgt1 Жыл бұрын

Plus was where I first got into Macross the anime-fication of the real life ATF competition was a great entry point, I remember watching piecemeal of 7 here and there but never really followed it to the same extent of the other period shows like Gundam Wing or obviously Evangelion. But I remember watching fansubs of Zero and thought this doesn't seem like the Macross that I sort of know, and the CGI mechanical stuff was out of this world compare to the tons of reused cell animation of Seed at the same time. So when Frontier came out I started to follow that immediately, then stayed for Sheryl Nome and the music. Gundam UC magic was just the extension of the CCA's Newtype Psycomm magic, that was weird enough and UC just takes it to the next level. And if you thought the Thunderbolt's anime was like retconning the original Gundam, the manga was way more so, I think someone basically said its really an AU series in UC's clothing.

@absa Жыл бұрын

Haha that's what I've heard of the Thunderbolt manga, that it really is an AU series disguising itself as UC... and I am totally on board of that idea. And yeah, I also remember that many years ago I got into Frontier because of the valkyries but totally stayed for The Galactic Fairy.

@bryfunkenstein Жыл бұрын

@@absa I've said this before....there is nothing really AU about thunderbolt. There are in universe explanations for 'too advanced mobile suits' and it seems the animators went out of their way to make it as much as the UC as possible by staying out of the way of established cannon. It's a side story....like all the other ovas

@racingmaniacgt1 Жыл бұрын

@@bryfunkenstein manga is way more crazy in terms of the tech though

@bryfunkenstein Жыл бұрын

@@racingmaniacgt1 probably....but I haven't seen it in the anime. Even his 'full armor gundam' and the atlas can be explained. I guess we will have to wait for the rest of it to come out.

@4ngelo_ Жыл бұрын

excuse me, where can i view this anime? thank you very much!

@Exaris79 Жыл бұрын

You can always use that the mass production models are less advanced than the original prototypes which typically has the bleeding edge technology on them. It's likely that they weren't included in the mass production models due to being too expensive, too complex for quick mass production, and not enough good pilots to take advantage of that feature in the prototype. Fokker's VF-1 should had been the exception since he was the original test pilot for the prototype&should be able to operate the features that were taken out of the mass production model. It's likely that he didn't keep the prototype and was given the mass production model with a bit of enhancements in it. As for OverTechnology, it could be Instrumentality and advanced biotechnology. Best example of equivalent tech to OverTechnology from a sci-fi is actually the Taelons&Jaridians from "Earth:The Final Conflict" TV series for the organic/crystalline technology. A possible analog to the OverTechnology could be the Alterans/Ancients too from the Stargate TV series.

@soul-man Жыл бұрын

You do know tat the song min mei sings is a popular melody, of a love song of the protoculture race who created the zentraedi right? They didn't get shock, they remembered after listening to it. Tats why it's called 'do you remember love' dude.

@markglass6552 Жыл бұрын

Where can you buy this at?

@bombomos Жыл бұрын

The mechs are fucking glorious

@makavelimusolini1036 4 ай бұрын

Honestly, this is a decent macross that's worth watching. The original, especially dyrl is better imo. Plus will always be my favourite. 2 was pretty bad. 7, frontier, and delta were unwatchable for me. Btw, I wanna try frontier again. Are the movies the same story as the series, cause I'd rather watch the movies instead of the series.

@zhuzzir 6 ай бұрын

As it said the animation quality is way "delicious". Regardless I love the zero story more than the original macros series n movies.

@jujukamiyu Жыл бұрын

0:07 "wth was that?" Tom Cruise

@KMJW07 Жыл бұрын

Do you remember Love..... Timeless classic

@absa Жыл бұрын

Only one of the best anime films ever made haha.

@user-lx4rz4gq2b 9 ай бұрын

境界戦機コラボしてほしいです。

@mattmaddogwheaton4724 Жыл бұрын

I do like Macross Zero and consider the storytelling very good, but that's just me talking here.

@absa Жыл бұрын

No you're right, it's a nice story that does deliver tidbits of the valkyrie production process and the ancient protoculture; probably all of my "complains" could be resolved if the series length was extended to maybe 1 more OVA.

@xcutioner5537 Жыл бұрын

The music affecting the vajra in frontier makes sense and delta well delta is just dumb plot device to have cute girls in the battlefield

@hatsunevmiku7331 Жыл бұрын

it not because you look at something, it look like magic it is. To a primitive civilisation using lower technology meeting a more advance all the technology from the primitive point of view will look like magic trick

@4G12 Жыл бұрын

Basically, Clark Tech expressed in anime form.

@absa Жыл бұрын

Yes, Protoculture technology is just a fancy way of saying magic haha.

@AndroidSamsung-qz9pl Жыл бұрын

Using music in a supernatural sense is not strange. Tibetans used it to lift boulders. It was also used at Astroworld.

@weaselwolf Жыл бұрын

Macross 7 is where Macross became Macross. Not a military sci-fi featuring music. But a military sci-fi ABOUT music. Zero then codified it. Frontier helps to ground it again by explaining why music works like it does and Delta finally revels in all the setup coming ahead of it by making it something more known and thus logically exploitable in the setting. Anyone who doesn't like Delta (or 7) just doesn't understand Macross.

@bandoleerwaltzer4912 Жыл бұрын

It's a shame Claudia wasn't in this. That scientist lady doesn't hold a candle to Claudia. Also, Roy would have already met Claudia. He met her before his first flight of a valkyrie.

@absa Жыл бұрын

The timeline in Macross is... weird... to say the least haha. And yeah, my thoughts exactly. Other than Roy, what Zero is truly missing is more connections to SDFM: Edgar could've introduced "his sister" Claudia to Roy. Maybe Global was also studying the protoculture weapons. Maybe Shinn was related to Kaifun and that's why he was so against war in the original series. Things like that would've made the experience much more richer.

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

@@absa Edgar's last name is Russell. They never explicitly state he's related to claudia, but many people think he is.

@jessopjessopjessop860 2 ай бұрын

I always see Macross as the spreading of culture at its core - good and bad. The original is obviously earth culture to the Zentradi. Zero is about the 1st world bringing their war culture to a small isolated island tribe who live in peace and know nothing of advanced tech and weaponry that it brings. Frontier is about the Galaxy bringing the human culture of greed and ambition to the Vajra - an insectoid race with no real social culture of their own. I guess the Delta series is Windermerian culture Vs Human culture (honestly cant remember any thing about that crap). Zettai Live!!! was Madam M shaping culture and Heimdall (?) trying to break free.

@potatochobit Жыл бұрын

you know, if they just got rid of the name macross they could probably sell this in america.

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

ASS-1 stands for Alien STAR ship 1, Makina says it in macross delta. Jeez, get your facts right.

@koungendo6371 Жыл бұрын

Wait, you are here too =))

@pilotamurorei Жыл бұрын

@@koungendo6371 I had to see for myself what crap was gonna be said, it took me all of 2 minutes to find something :D

@Elios0000 5 ай бұрын

OK the music isnt magic... the music just controls the Overtechnology. its that tech that looks like magic

@OG-pn8ki 5 ай бұрын

lol forgot it was the ass 1

@davidnemoseck9007 Жыл бұрын

I think I have to disagree with you on humans and violence. It all comes down to greed, IMO. Wanting what your neighbor has, wanting it so bad you would be willing to do literally to get it. Even going to war.

@brunnen1 Жыл бұрын

get on the cross

@absa Жыл бұрын

???

@phrozac Жыл бұрын

I wish they would've at least drawn over the CGI elements. As it is, they look cheap and stand out in stark contrast to the traditional 2d animation. And yeah, the evolution of music going beyond extreme culture shock to essentially a magical power is lame. It's become very much a deus ex machina.

@danielcraig9666 Жыл бұрын

Basically, ever since Macross deviated from music being a distraction to being a magical power I haven't enjoyed any of the shows. Essentially Mac7 and on have been nothing but an avenue for new toys to me because I don't like the direction they took that mechanism.