Macross Plus
A jet-dogfighting, AI-idol thriller; gorgeous, grown-up, and the breakout score for composer Yoko Kanno. Widely held up as the franchise's finest hour.
Overview
Macross Plus is the grown-up, jet-fuel-scented jewel of the franchise: a test-pilot rivalry, an unresolved love triangle and an artificial idol whose idea of audience engagement becomes rather more invasive than any venue manager would recommend. Set in 2040, it follows Isamu Dyson and Guld Bowman, rival pilots testing next-generation variable fighters on the planet Eden, while their shared past with producer Myung Fang Lone rises unpleasantly from storage.
Directed by Shoji Kawamori and Shinichiro Watanabe, with music by Yoko Kanno, it is sleek, tense and unusually adult for Macross. The aerial action is thrilling, but the emotional hangar is full of old damage.
Why it matters
Macross Plus is often held up as one of the franchise's finest works because it distils Macross into a compact, sophisticated form. It has planes, songs and romance, but also ego, memory, guilt and the seductive danger of technology that understands desire too well.
It is also a landmark for its creative personnel. Watanabe's direction and Kanno's music give the OVA a cosmopolitan polish that points toward later anime classics. Sharon Apple, the virtual idol at the centre of the story's technological anxiety, has only become more relevant as synthetic performers and algorithmic intimacy creep from science fiction into the inbox.
What to expect
Expect superb dogfights, moody character drama, corporate military testing and an AI-idol thriller that becomes increasingly unnerving. The tone is more restrained and sensual than the broader television entries, with fewer comic safety nets.
The rivalry between Isamu and Guld is not harmless masculine swagger. It is tangled in trauma and competing memories. Myung's role is equally important, though modern viewers may want to approach some of the backstory material with care, as the emotional violence under the triangle is part of the work's darker charge.
Content includes combat, psychological manipulation, traumatic memory and sexual-threat implications.
Adaptations and versions
Macross Plus exists as a four-part OVA and as a film edition. The OVA gives the story more room, while the film offers a tighter presentation with some changes.
Both are worthwhile. The OVA is the safer first choice if you want the complete shape; the film is useful if you prefer a concentrated cinematic route.
Where to start
You can watch Macross Plus after only basic knowledge of the franchise. It stands well on its own and is often the easiest recommendation for adults who want to know why Macross matters.
If you only sample one non-original Macross, make it this one. The jets are beautiful, the music is magnificent and the AI is a lawsuit waiting for a body.
Verdict The SFcrowsnest take
Macross Plus is stylish, mature and still alarmingly current. It understands that the future of performance may not be whether machines can sing, but whether we can survive wanting them to sing only to us.