“1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4. 1,2,3,4… Ah 1! 2!” I love, love, love the original Macross. This was a cornerstone series, via Robotech and eventually the original, that I can say without question was the most important influence for my entire interest and fandom for Japanese animation. Macross was a series that defined anime in the 1980s, redefined the mecha genre in many ways and gave us a sci-fi epic that was an original to itself. All wrapped around one of the best love triangle’s in anime history and a lot of music as well. But what happened to our illustrious cast of heroes? The answer would be given in an OVA release, Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flashback 2012.
Many examples of complied music video styled OVAs exist in plenty during the 1980s that were offshoots from original television productions. Obvious examples include Creamy Mami’s Lovely Serenade and Curtain Call and Mospeada’s Love Live Alive. Each example would follow this idea, or direction in their own way. Macross would be an obvious candidate for this listing as well as this show made the pop idol in anime a standard character stereotype. The song book of Lynn Minmei is synonymous to the backbone of Macross as a show. She was a pioneer in every respect, so where is her representation. Come 1987, the fifth anniversary of Macross’ debut on television, we would get that very answer.
Flashback 2012 in all respects is the final part in the original Macross trilogy of releases that tell the story of the SDF Macross’ fight against the invading Zentaedi. This is the swan song for the triptych of the Macross main cast, Hikaru Ichijo, Miss Hayase and Lynn Minmei. All in all the final wrap up and conclusion for Macross’ signature love triangle dynamic. This was to be the end… and yet sequels and spin-offs would follow much later, but in the classical sense of the original, this was it. 1982 brought Macross to TV, 1984 would bring the Do You Remember Love? blockbuster film and finally in 1987 Flashback 2012. And as a fan I am really disappointed in Flashback 2012. Why?… well… maybe I had my expectations set really high.
The TV Series was a well done affair most of the time, the movie is too me, basically perfect in terms of visual expression and Flashback 2012 brings some new footage of Minmei, Hikaru and Misa including a full animated version of the song Tenshi no Eno Gu (Angel’s Paints) split in half for some reason. We get to see the new Macross life off for outer space with Misa as captain. Hikaru is still a fighter jock, a pilot’s pilot and Minmei’s career seems to be doing quite well. All three meet up again, but this is all for new material, not very much I must say. So what fills the majority of the half hour running time? Compiled footage from the TV Series and the movie over Minmei’s hit songs. Not a bad idea, but the editing and addition of early computer effects make the whole production kind of awkward. This may have been state of the art at the time, but it sometimes ends up looking a little funky around the edges.
Again as a fan I expected something a little more higher echelon in terms of a grand finale. But in the end all we have is Flashback 2012, which does in fact close the original Macross storyline and gives us a tribute of sorts to the music of Lynn Minmei. … If only I was in charge, things would have been different… if only…
The Rose of Versailles has high regard for being a standard of anime excellence. Shojo perfection? Though I feel the show goes beyond the general demographic designation… as most anime does in any case. And with the show turning 40 this year of 2019, it still looks and presents flawlessly; a gorgeous visual masterpiece! The first half directed by Tadao Nagahama is bright and sparkly reflecting naive youth with the second half under the helm of Osamu Dezaki (GENIUS!) is gritty and intense showing the politics of revolutionary France. Beautiful and timeless, this is a show I am honored to share as a virtual twin (both RoV and I joined the world in 1979).
So what of the personal? The Rose of Versailles’ main protagonist. Oscar Francois de Jarjayes. is one of two women in anime that I whole heartedly admire; the other being Remy Shimada from GoShogun. Blonde, graceful, intelligent and independent speak to both ladies, but Oscar has something else, a particular fragility. Her sense of duty as a noble, a military commander and her enforced gender classification. Raised as a ‘boy’ and expected to follow into her father’s footsteps, much dysphoria abounds in the beautiful Oscar. This expectation of a gender role, to be a ‘man’ in public, tugs at the truth in her heart that she is a woman. Yet also the role of being a noble who has lived in luxury and comfort and seeing first hand the life outside the gilded cage. Being rich and powerful in a position of authority is not all that it is cracked up to be and the same goes for being a ‘man’ as well. To quote Alan Watts, “don’t envy rich people, it’s a great mistake. Don’t envy anyone.”
In terms of the winter of discontent from 2018/2019, I had The Rose of Versailles as a catalyst to pull me out of my depression. Watching this time round made personal issues come into a better perspective; including waking up occasionally in pools of tears. Beyond these personal points, it is a show about love, politics, desires and revolutionary France with occasional sparkly eyes. God I love shojo anime! The Rose of Versailles, a bonfide masterpiece, oh how I love you. I hope for this show, or any particular anime that you watch, you somehow take something of it with you to heart. Because sometimes a show is more a mirror of your inner psyche than just ephemeral entertainment. Think about that one!
Following up the success of 1982’s Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Big West advertising and Studio Nue would strike out again the following year with Orguss. Retaining much of the staff from the previous year including director Noburo Ishiguro, character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto and music composer Kentaro Haneda to name a few, Orguss would despite similarities adapt to change. Shoji Kawamori did not stay and the services of Tatsunoko, who did the heavy lifting of animating Macross, would be supplanted by Tokyo Movie Shinsha. Thus we have a slightly different product. As a Macross fan I am often jealous of Orguss as TMS in general always has a certain patina that cries quality in terms of line work and color palette. Orguss is for that time (and even now!) an attractive looking show, but what about the bigger issue? What of the story and the characters?
Speaking of characters, let’s start with our protagonist Kei Katsuragi. Fighter pilot, happy go lucky and the biggest ladies man I have ever seen, Kei is a complete 180 from Macross’ Hikaru Ichijo. He eyes all those who are cute to his ocular perceptions, but in the end he is ever faithful to the ones he is truly in love with. The series begins with him in an intimate moment with his girlfriend at the time, quite bold, which is interrupted by her father barging in with a shotgun. Not many times I have seen that to open a piloted robot show. And like Lupin III, he escaped unscathed to be picked up by his best friend and fellow pilot Olson (or is it Orson?). Together they are part of a mission to use the previously mentioned space time oscillation bomb in order to get rid of a space elevator. The mission goes awry, but Kei feels it is only right that the mission
Arriving in a parallel alternative Earth, which at the time he does not know, Kei is thrust 20 years into the future into a world born of his consequences. Here he meets friendly nomadic traders known as the Emaan, who oddly have tentacle like antennae coming out of the back of their heads, the aggressive Chiram, a militaristic society and Jabbi (I’ll let you figure out who he is!). All parties involved have interest in capturing, or obtaining Kei… why? Because he is the chosen one, or in more precise language the singularity (or, differentiated idioblast… what did you call me?) This makes him quite valuable on the market. So what are the issues that the Earth is facing in Orguss? First it is suffering from excessive heating, global warming to the extreme. And second, the mixing of races and landscapes on Earth are appearing from different dimensions due to the explosion of the previously mentioned space time oscillation bomb. Space and time are unstable and guess who is the one who can right these events? A little hint, he’s a womanizer fighter jock who happens to be named Kei! Now I know that name from somewhere? (sarcasm)
Oh Kei, look what you have done! Orguss is an interesting show in that we have a character that has to come to terms with fixing past issues that resonate with the present. Call it karma, fate, or what have you, Orguss is a show that strikes a chord as a mech show for a more mature audience looking for an alternative to the usual space opera of the time. Like Macross, we again have transforming mechs and a heavy romantic subplot which makes Orguss ever more enjoyable. Just be ready for the final climactic moment, as the scene appears to be very open ended, but from my eye brought in an element of the tragic, which really left me surprised… and a little teary eyed.
The Classic Anime Museum 
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