--I've recently re-watched the original Macross series. Well... more accurately, I've watched it for the first time. As a kid, I really liked Robotech, an adaptation of the show for the US and international distribution. The producers of Harmony Gold had the show edited and some of the dialogue re-written to connect three unrelated shows into one with three seasons, as the minimum number of episodes a show can have to be aired on their TV stations at the time was 60 something.
--They also had a new soundtrack recorded, which was honestly much better and varied than the original Japanese version and likely in part influenced by Star Wars. Both versions feature pop idol songs which were very watered down and overused, although the melodies are slightly more complex in the US version, but overshadowed by the otherwise fairly good Robotech soundtrack. Also, an interesting thing occurred with the script in the rewrites... They kinda improved it by cutting some of the melodrama from the original show, and they added a narrator which allowed discussion of the inner feelings of characters, making them more fleshed out. Also, I'm not sure if it was less misogynistic than the original Japanese script, or perhaps the bad writing simply flew by my attention as a kid, and I was too fascinated with the sf elements and the characters actually changing dramatically throughout the course of the show. The Japanese version however has some intense levels of misogyny displayed mostly by the two main female characters, which soured the experience quite a bit for me.
--After re-watching it, I got disillusioned with my idea of what the show was as a kid. I love the pacifist threads in it, but it is ultimately definitely trying to show a pro-military story and the pacifism is a caricature contrasted by the glorification of the fates of soldiers. When I watched Gundam, I could instantly see how it influenced Robotech, as many elements were directly lifted from there, some of them being explored a bit more, with a relatively serious tone. The mature themes of the show are sadly just a backdrop for the dreaded love triangle. One which is played out so much, to absurdity, until the episodes revolve only around it, and there is no story and it's just nauseating melodrama and rather shallow writing.
--The show required too much work for the original studio to complete, so a lot of the work was outsourced, creating a ton of animation discrepancies, as well as some downright ridiculous drops in quality, all the way down into the territory of "so bad it's good." And although the bad parts are hilariously bad, this really butchers the premise and the elements of the show which were actually good and showed potential if they were written with the pen of a more skilled writer and with a consistent tone.
Realistically a 2/10, although I'll probably always have a soft spot for this one.
--They also had a new soundtrack recorded, which was honestly much better and varied than the original Japanese version and likely in part influenced by Star Wars. Both versions feature pop idol songs which were very watered down and overused, although the melodies are slightly more complex in the US version, but overshadowed by the otherwise fairly good Robotech soundtrack. Also, an interesting thing occurred with the script in the rewrites... They kinda improved it by cutting some of the melodrama from the original show, and they added a narrator which allowed discussion of the inner feelings of characters, making them more fleshed out. Also, I'm not sure if it was less misogynistic than the original Japanese script, or perhaps the bad writing simply flew by my attention as a kid, and I was too fascinated with the sf elements and the characters actually changing dramatically throughout the course of the show. The Japanese version however has some intense levels of misogyny displayed mostly by the two main female characters, which soured the experience quite a bit for me.
--After re-watching it, I got disillusioned with my idea of what the show was as a kid. I love the pacifist threads in it, but it is ultimately definitely trying to show a pro-military story and the pacifism is a caricature contrasted by the glorification of the fates of soldiers. When I watched Gundam, I could instantly see how it influenced Robotech, as many elements were directly lifted from there, some of them being explored a bit more, with a relatively serious tone. The mature themes of the show are sadly just a backdrop for the dreaded love triangle. One which is played out so much, to absurdity, until the episodes revolve only around it, and there is no story and it's just nauseating melodrama and rather shallow writing.
--The show required too much work for the original studio to complete, so a lot of the work was outsourced, creating a ton of animation discrepancies, as well as some downright ridiculous drops in quality, all the way down into the territory of "so bad it's good." And although the bad parts are hilariously bad, this really butchers the premise and the elements of the show which were actually good and showed potential if they were written with the pen of a more skilled writer and with a consistent tone.
Realistically a 2/10, although I'll probably always have a soft spot for this one.