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December 13, 2004
Macrossxephon
Perhaps this is good a time to finally buy my own set of the original SDF Macross TV series from AnimEgo, seeing as they are planning to discontinue it after Dec 31. Gah. NOW they say. I foresee a mad rush for the last few sets in their inventory and subsequent ridiculous eBay bidding wars.
Anyway, about Macross Zero - yow. I knew it was more serious than the others in the Macross series (Macross 7 - yick), but I wasn't expecting that ending. I also was not expecting it to be so much like RahXephon. Or maybe it's the other way around. ...then again the original SDF Macross didn't have the apocalyptic mysticism theme. Then again maybe it did and I wasn't paying attention.
Anyway, Macross Zero continues the theme of the destructive/creative power of song, and has a lot of characters who looked a lot like the original SDF characters. Shin = Hikaru of course; Sara = Misa + Minmei; and Roy Fokker = ...well, Roy Fokker. The blue-haired chick was most definitely on the other side, though.
Most of the action takes place on a remote, vaguely Polynesian island paradise that is apparently the landing ground for the Bird Man, a v.powerful critter from outer space. (Yes! Outer Space!) Island priestess Sara is the keeper of the song (the Minmei part) that can, depending on her mood, activate the Bird Man's song of creation or destruction, and is also the de facto leader of her village (the Misa part). Into this Pacific idyll drops (literally) hot young Shin, a UN pilot, following a nearby dogfight. Seems both the UN and its nemesis, the creatively named Anti-UN, each have a piece of the Bird Man and want its trigger, i.e. Sara, to turn on its song. of course. Sara naturally wants Shin and his war-type stench off her island, and Shin wants to leave, but he's stranded. So of COURSE they reluctantly fall in love, but alas It Is Not Meant To Be, because of the aforementioned conflict over the Bird Man. And of course the Bird Man is not going to sit back and let itself be fought over - in fact, if all goes according an ancient Prophecy...
So, yeah. It's a predictable mess. But a beautifully animated predictable mess. Seamless integration of CGI and 2D animation, and fluid, silky motion that was solidly grounded in realism. It's gorgeous stuff! And the music wasn't bad - if I didn't have a tin ear I might appreciate it better. or not. meh. It also took nearly 3 years to be completed, as a 35-minute episode was released every 6 months or so. I guess the producers were banking on brand recognition to keep it selling. Frankly, I kept forgetting about it, and it was only my frequent checking of BT sites for other series that allowed me to see when bits of it were released and I would remember "Gee, that looks familiar - oh yeah, I was watching that, wasn't I? It's not done yet?" I should sit down and watch all 5 episodes one of these days.
Posted by Innocent Sidekick of Evil at December 13, 2004 08:12 PM | Posted to Anime/Manga
