AKA: Macross II: Lovers Again

Genre: Mecha sci-fi

Length: OAV, 6 episodes, 25 minutes each

Distributor: Currently licensed by Animeigo, also available streaming on Disney Plus.

Content Rating: PG (violence)

Related Series: Macrioss: Do You Remember Love

Also Recommended:

Notes: Macross II: The Movie is *not* a separate movie, but rather, the six Macross II: Lover's Again OAVs pasted together end-to-end (with some edits) with the opening and ending credits omitted. This feature is set in the Macross: Do You Remember Love "Movieverse" and is not considered part of the canon Macross storyline.

Rating:

Macross II: The Movie

Synopsis

This movie is considered by Macross fans to be non-canon and takes place in an "alternate universe."

We've got the same things going as in Do You Remember Love: the Macross is still there on Macross Island, and all that jazz. The Zentraedi/Meltrandi peace treaty with the Earth has been in effect for several generations, and all seems well. Until, of course, an attack by a fleet of what seems to be Zentraedi soldiers breaks the treaty. Worse yet, the Zentraedi forces seem to have developed their own musical defense, rendering the Minmei defense Earth has so long relied on useless.

During another sortie against the Zentraedi, Hibiki, a young news reporter, captures one of the Zentraedi's singers, a beautiful green-haired Micron named Ishtar. On Earth, Ishtar learns about the Earth's culture. However, the forces who control Ishtar aren't gonna let her go without a fight, and the Earth's military seems intent in making sure no civilians find out about how badly Earth is losing in the fight against the Zentraedi.

Review

Many fans of Macross absolutely abhor Macross 2, saying that it detracts from the Macross universe. Be that as it may, I actually enjoyed this flick quite a bit.

The animation and art are done very nicely, and some of the battle sequences are wicked fast in their execution. Makes you wonder how the guys inside can operate the mecha controls so fluidly. The main characters are much more engaging than the ones in Do You Remember Love, and are much better fleshed out. They seem like real people, at least a lot more than Rick Hunter and Minmei did.

Plotwise, Macross 2 suffered from some of the same maladies Do You Remember Love did. The premise of culture being used as a destructive weapon still makes me scratch my head in puzzlement, and the ending was a bit strained in credibility, but not quite as much as DYRL was. However, Macross 2 did do a better job explaining to me why music is so important in war, death, and life. Plus, the side-theme of censorship and repression of truth was quite interesting.

Overall, much better executed than DYRL, and a quite enjoyable watch. A bit long in areas, but pretty good.

— Raphael See

Recommended Audience: Cleaner than DYRL; no nudity, on-screen deaths, or gore to be found anywhere. Good for just about all audiences.