Macross - Il film

"Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?" is a cinematic rendition of the popular Japanese TV series "Macross", best remembered in the West as part of the "Robotech" series. A previous viewer maintains that this movie predates "Robotech". This may be true to the extent that "Robotech" began airing in the U.S. after the Japanese release of this movie, however the movie is based upon and postdates the Japanese series "Macross" which was the first saga of the "Robotech" trilogy.

Those fans of "Robotech" who've not seen this movie should remember that "Robotech" was actually a combination of three unrelated series cobbled together with a drastically altered plot so as to seem part of a trilogy. One must watch the movie without thinking of "Robotech. "Protoculture" is not some vague energy source. Minmei is not a complete airhead.

All that aside, this is an outstanding movie and is well worth seeking out.

Japanese animation has brought forward many films which are regarded as classics of the genre (for now ignoring the fact that anime isn't really a genre in and of itself, but rather a style of animation which encompasses several different genres, eg. horror, comedy, sci-fi, etc), but for some reason Macross: Do You Remember Love is seldom mentioned alongside gems like Akira, Ghost In The Shell, or Mononoke Hime (and pretty much every other Studio Ghibli effort) - something I find quite difficult to understand. I was lucky enough to catch this movie on late night TV several years ago and was completely spellbound by it. It has a simple storyline (boy loves girl, while humanity's future is threatened by warmongering cyborgs - hey, it's anime) but an innocence at heart which very few movies, even animated ones, are able to match. I was even luckier when I discovered a subtitled VHS copy of it, and it has since become one of my favourite animated movies of all-time.

For its time, the standard of animation is quite impressive. This movie must have taken at least a few people's breaths away when it was initially screened in 1984, because, even when you compare it to Japanese animation of the time (including Hayao Miyazaki's much-lauded feature debut Nausicaa), the level of detail and movement on display is mind-boggling. People don't just move their eyes and lips (as was the case in virtually 99% of animation then); their hair moves, their clothes show wrinkles, whilst the background details are nearly inch-perfect. Macross itself doesn't just look like a huge intergalactic space station, it also *feels* like one. I can think of few films which display a similar attention to detail as DYRL, and for that reason alone it deserves its rightful place in the animation hall of fame, next to anything Disney or Ghibli have ever brought forward.

The storyline, as mentioned before, is fairly straightforward (and admittedly clichéd at times), but thankfully this doesn't sidetrack from its unique charm, especially as the narrative progresses from a bogstandard battle of Good vs Evil into something else entirely, which I won't describe in great detail lest I completely ruin the surprise for you - however, I will say this: the ending itself is one of the most awe-inspiring things I have ever seen. Quite aside from the strangely moving premise of J-pop saving the universe, the entire choreography of that scene is an utter stroke of genius. It's a bizarre ending, but strangely enough it works.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no expert on the Robotech series - in fact, I know pretty much next to nothing about the other instalments in the Macross/Robotech series. But I like to think that I know good film-making when I see it, and Do You Remember Love certainly is that. It's an unsung classic of Japanese animation which does not deserve to fester in obscurity, but instead requires widespread recognition as the ground-breaking work of art it truly is. Simply put, it's wonderful.

(NB, I want to point out that this review concentrates solely on the subtitled version of Macross: Do You Remember Love, not the dubbed and narrowed-down version of the movie entitled Clash Of The Bionoids, which, as many here have pointed out, is a monstrosity to be avoided.)

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? Ah, what a name and what a movie. This is what classic Japanese Animation is all about. Just the name itself conjures up nostalgic memories of yesterday, running home from fourth grade to catch the latest episode of Robotech, to attending my first Anime convention and realizing the true power of the unedited series as well as this incredible film which retells the story. The music, the characters, the animation and the story are the very things that attracted me to Japanese animation in the first place. And still, even after all of these years, SDFM:DYRL not only holds up, but is still a force to be reckoned with.

This is due, in no small part, to the creative talent and storytelling capabilities of Shoji Kawamori. Although his filmography may be small, it is an example of quality over quantity. Kawamori's Macross series made giant transforming robots, singing pop-idol young starlets, heroic floppy haired boys, and melodramatic drama popular to thousands of fans across the globe. Who in their right mind never dreamed of someday flying a Valkyrie, or meeting a girl as spunky and hot as Lynn Minmay or as gorgeous and smart as Misa Hayase? Or who never wished that their hair were as cool as Max's blue locks or Hikaru's tangled mop? And who never wished for the experiences and friendships shared by the Defense Force as they battled the onslaught of the Zentradi forces? Without Kawamori, none of these questions would have ever even been possible. To me, this is like trying to imagine a childhood without Star Wars.

SDFM:DYRL is at it's core, a story of an alien invasion. The Zentradi, a race of aliens created for only war are hell-bent on tracking down a lost ship, the Macross, which is the key to the universal power of Protoculture. Protoculture is the universal matter from which all things were created and it gives life to those who have it. The Zentradi track down this lost ship, which has landed on Earth. The humans of Earth learn, to a somewhat limited degree, the power of the Macross, and are able to escape with a few hundred survivors to the outer reaches of space, thus setting in motion the constant game of cat and mouse between the Zentradi and the humans. Although this story is quite basic on the surface, what really set Macross apart from the other giant-invading-robot movies/series was the investment the audience had in the characters.

The animation itself is quite beautiful, although it may seem somewhat primitive by today's digital standards. It is, however, a great example of how Japanese animation differs from its Western counterparts. While Western animation, especially concerning studios such as Disney and Warner Bros., put more energy into creating smooth animated movement, the Japanese directors and artists have always been more interested in creating insanely detailed drawings. Some Japanese directors have claimed that Japanese animation is actually more of a mix between the detailed still drawings of manga and the fluidity of traditional Western animation, thus it is an art form in and of itself being neither comic book nor cartoon. Macross is a perfect example of this ideology. Although the animation may not be extremely fluid, what we are given are vastly detailed cityscapes, landscapes and space frontiers, as well as mechanical and character designs to die for.

And how can I possibly even mention the word Macross without at least a brief mention of the music? Kentaro Haneda, who created the original music, made sure that the score and songs were as captivating as the film itself, as well as making sure every note of every song fit perfectly with what was being shown on screen. After all, with music playing such an intricate roll in the entire Macross saga, the music really needed to be top notch – and it was.

SDFM:DYRL is a classic in every sense of the word. A movie that is just as good today as it was almost 20 years ago. Some films do not live up to the memories we have of them, and as we get older some films lose their power. SDFM:DYRL on the other hand, becomes a beacon of light to remind us of the reasons we fell in love with Japanese films in the first place.

"Macross: Do You Remember Love?" is set in the Macross universe of anime fame. "Macross: Super Dimensional Fortress" is the series off of which the first segment of "Robotech" is based, so any Robotech fan will recognize the characters, the battlefortress, the aliens, etc. Almost all of the characters in Robotech/Macross appear, with their original (mostly Japanese) names. The story is substantially changed as well, so it is really a fresh take on the saga, not just a rehash of twenty-some episodes.

Do You Remember Love (DYRL) was made way back in 1984, before Robotech was even introduced to American audiences. The story might be confusing to a viewer who has never watched Robotech or its Japanese predecessor, Macross. The animation is very, very crisp and colorful, considering the 20 year age. It looks better than most big-budget Hollywood science-fiction movies of the same time period. The music is great! A huge surprise, and a pleasant one, since the story revolves around music and love.

The overall story remains the same as in the two landmark TV series: Giant aliens have attacked the Earth for an unknown reason, and the last hope of mankind is a huge battlefortress carrying a city of people inside. The fortress is defended by the standard giant transforming robots that seem to be pervasive in many anime films. Although this is a movie about an intergalactic war, the underlying theme is how music and love are more powerful than aggression. That said, there is also a lot of violence, definitely not suitable for children.

I recommend anyone who is a fan of either Robotech or Macross to find this movie and check it out. You won't be disappointed.

The Macross purist who said this is an encore of Robotech,didnt do his homework. Any japanese person who is familiar with Anime will tell you that this movie came out before Robotech. This review should be Number 1 since it will give you almost all the details of the film.

It takes the Robotech theme to the limit. I like Robotech, but since Robotech was targeted at a young audience, the violence and intensity of the fighting wasnt shown in its entirety. Also in Robotech you had the soap opera mentality to it, which kinda made me bored in some episodes. Finally Robotech has a lot of loose ends , the awful Robotech 2 Sentinels movie only made matters worse.

This movie tells the real tale of MACROSS (Robotech was the English name for Macross) and its real conclusions to the characters involved like Max and Miria. Whereas in the tv series they fall in love , in this movie they fight to the death (who falls in love during combat anyway) and its the REAL ending between them.

The mecha designs were and are revolutionary (Tatsunuko Productons and Bandai), and the character development done here is excellent done brilliantly by Shoji Kawamori and NOT Carl Macek. There is absolutely no flaw in this film and thats why 15 yrs to 18 yrs later it still beats the c**p out of American cartoons and bad cartoons in general.

It has never been commercially released except in its birthplace Japan. Luckily several auction sellers sold off copies to lucky buyers.

Dont get me wrong, Robotech is great but the watchful and greedy eyes of corporate people (Harmony Gold) prevented fans from seeing it to the limit. Watch this film, you wont regret it.