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Macross Frontier Compared to Other Series Thread *Read 1st post*


David Hingtgen

So how was it?  

163 members have voted

  1. 1. Was Frontier the best Macross ever of all animated Macross productions?

    • Yes
      42
    • No
      121
  2. 2. Was Frontier the best Macross *TV series*---compared only to SDF:M and M7 (as the rest were movies/OVAs)

    • Yes
      65
    • No
      98


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I have indeed seen DYRL - just rewatched it last night matter of fact. forgive me for saying that I greatly prefer SDFM the series, as I feel that DYRL suffers from the same issues that movie adaptations of Tom Clancy novels do - it tries to distill something that really shouldnt be distilled, and loses a great deal of nuance in the process... it just doesnt have that epic feel the original series gives me.

Yeah...in terms of story, SDFM kicks DYRL's butt...the way you worded that just made me think you hadn't seen it. :)

lol mark my words I will eventually get to it - I know it's those first few eps that are the really big hurdle. it's mainly the whole thing with the speaker missiles that makes me want to retch.

It's not just the first few...it's about the first thirteen to twenty episodes (your results may vary). But it'll put hair on your chest, that's for damn sure. :D

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Here's my personal series ranking.

1. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross/DYRL (The original is still the best...)

2. Macross Frontier (As a Macross fan, I must ask "Where have you been all my life?" B)) )

3. Macross Plus (Still Macross at its finest. Never gets old no matter how many times I watch it.)

4. Macross Zero (Great, as long as you don't watch it for the plot. :wacko:)

5. Macross II: Lover's Again (Not a bad series for being non-canon)

6. Macross 7 (This was the toughest one for me to watch. Especially jarring if you're expecting another SDFM or Plus.)

Edited by ShizumaRobo
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Chiming in after cramming ep 16-25 in one sitting...

MF was good, one of the best anime I've seen in recent years (being a big fan of Mecha Pron, most of the recent mecha animes just blew chunks in my book). That said, while MF was a good ride, there were a few major points about it that really disappointed me.

Since everyone and their dogs are doing rankings, I'll throw mine in here.

1: SDF:M/DYRL

2: M7 (Yes, there, I said it)

3: MF

4: M+

5: M0 (god I hated Zero, Skull 1 on screen again was what ranked it above M2)

M2

Here are my major issues with MF:

1: Life on the fleet wasn't really explored as much as I would've liked. That's always been one of the biggest draw for me about the Macross franchise, the fact that human created a whole mobile world (well, city, sorta), and how they lived within that constrained environment. SDFM and M7 explored this issue really a lot better than MF did (while M2, M+ and M0 didn't really have much to do with it).

2: Sense of urgency and desperation. The story behind SDFM is a given, but with M7, I truly got a big kick out of the way that City7 and the rest of the fleet were forcibly separated (As well as the rise of Fire Bomber/Basara to stardom during the event), for MF... yeah, a tad lacking there. Watching it I got more the sense that they were harassed instead of truly being threatened.

3: Mecha Pron. Yes, I'm taking an issue with this in terms of MF. In SDFM and M7, I was showered with one mechanical glory after another, may it be ships, VFs, or Destroids. For MF, what did we get? Not much beef, and not even quality beef at that. For a 25 episode series, it offered me about as much mechas as the OVAs. The only saving grace with the new armor pack that transforms along with the VF, and thats about it.

4: The humanizing of the enemy was way too rushed. In SDFM and M7, the Zentradies and Protodevilins were introduced to us gradually. We got to see how they and humanity slowly headed towards common ground, while in MF (aside from Ai-kun) it was suddenly wham-bam-they are your friend in the last episode.

Does that mean I don't like this series... heck no, though perhaps it was all the homage within the show, but it really made me remember my love for the franchise as a whole instead of loving this show over those that came before it.

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I guess I'm just weird, Macross Plus is my second least favourite Macross Production. I don't know, I guess it's a little too depressing for my taste.

So anyway, I say no to both questions. The original SDFM is still better than all the sequels, the plot/story is just that tight compared to the rest. But Macross Frontier is a very close second.

1. SDFM

2. Macross Frontier

3. Macross 7 - Yes, I went there, LOVED it

4. Macross 0

5. Flashback

6. DYRL - Good film, but it freaking crawls at some part.

7. Macross Plus OVA

8. Macross Plus Movie - I'd rather not have my Mecha porn cut out to make way for concert scene.

9. Macross II

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When I was younger, I remember I would watch bad entertaintment just for the battle porn/mecha porn/cool-stuff-porn, even if the show was lousy. But as an adult viewer, I've no patience for a lousy story even if the porn is cool. So I'm pretty harsh with my entertainment; it either works for me or it doesn't so I end up with good Macross and bad Macross. I'll only ever rewatch the good (unless I need reference for building a fan site about Macross mecha, LOL) :)

Good = SDF Macross, DYRL, FB2012, Macross Plus + Movie, Macross Frontier

Bad = Macross 7, Macross Dynamite 7, Macross 7 Encore, Macross II, Macross Zero

Among the good...

1. SDF Macross and DYRL sit firmly on top

2. followed by Macross Plus and Macross Frontier

3. Flashback 2012 bringing up the rear

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For me, there's only one bad Macross and that's Macross II. The rest are varying degrees of good.

My Macross ratings in the order in which I liked them are:

SDF Macross

Do You Remember Love

Frontier

Zero

Plus

7 and its OVAs/movies

Flashback 2012 (only because it's so darn short!)

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#1: Macross The First One. Maybe not a clear winner. The animation was terrible in certain episodes, but as stated earlier in the post, the climax was in the middle of the series (the battle b/w Dolza and SDF1 with Minmay singing) with an adequate conclusion. I also liked that Hikaru, MAKES A DEFINITIVE CHOICE in the love triangle. He says, MinMay adios, hello Misa Hayase. The last episode is absolutely gut wrenching... at least to me. The story was compelling, and understandable. There were several subplots, from Max and Miriya, the 3 stooges, Breetai's fleet, Khron (sorry for mixing the names with Robotech, I apologize to the "purists". All in all I felt that the original series packed the most emotional response, and was better written, and more creative.

#2 Macross Frontier: Very close to the original Series. Provided TONS of new ideas from Ranka's frog phone, to the new flight suits. The love triangle storyline was pretty good, but I mean, hmmmmm should I choose Hot Girl Rockstar? or cute girl soon to be hot girl rockstar? I just don't know In the original Misa was the polar opposite of Minmay. It provided for more of a theme, to me. The production value was superior to all the other ones combined. All in all a great series. BUT no conclusion to the love triange. NO real conclusion at all??!?! The last episode is the climax!?!? WTF!?!?!?

#3 Macross Seven: Horrible. Bottom line, it was an episodic series, aka Voltron. They'd start to lose to the Protodevlin, (Voltron starts to lose to the "bad guy of the week) then they get some super powerful song to win (Voltron assembles from it's miscellaneous pieces, whips the sword out and slices said "bad guy" of the week in half. When MF references Seven, it's almost laughable that we're supposed to believe that the protodevlin is part of the macross universe. Absolutely NO resolution in the love triangle, and not even that much tension since Nekki Basara NEVER shows any interest in Mylene.

Only covering tV series here.

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I think Mylene actually rejected Gamlin in one of the later episodes, stating that she respects him but just likes Basara more. Even though I can't understand how she could go after the most asexual guy on 7, who has shown no interest whatsoever in women vs. the guy who actively courts her.

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I think Mylene actually rejected Gamlin in one of the later episodes, stating that she respects him but just likes Basara more. Even though I can't understand how she could go after the most asexual guy on 7, who has shown no interest whatsoever in women vs. the guy who actively courts her.

Not entirely true...he had some kinda/sorta interest in Sivil, and a definitely romantic interest in Emilia.

So there you go...not only does Mylene want what she can't have, she's out to hustle her older sister's crush. ^_^

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Much, much more than some kinda/sorta, I may add. He's still thinking about Sivil in Dynamite (he gives water to "her" little plant).

Sorry, I should've explained better...by "kinda/sorta," I meant that I was never sure if he "liked her" liked her, or if he just wanted her to listen to his song.

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Puh-lease! When you're going to talk about another culture, put yourself in their shoes, and judge the entertainment produced by and for it, by their cultural values, not yours!

The law: http://www.interpol.int/public/Children/Se...ws/csaJapan.asp

Edited by sketchley
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SDFM is still the best, as dated as it is.

It was a compelling war story which didn't back away from mature themes, however Frontier is definitely second on my list!

For animation quality, Frontier is certainly the best. As much as I love the animation in Zero, Frontier took it so much farther...

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Puh-lease! When you're going to talk about another culture, put yourself in their shoes, and judge the entertainment produced by and for it, by their cultural values, not yours!

The law: http://www.interpol.int/public/Children/Se...ws/csaJapan.asp

Wow dude, I knew it was young, but wow! 13 years? It hasn't been that way in the West for about 90 - 100 years....

Canada used to be 14 years then recently it was changed to 16. There were many various stipulations as to what was and wasn't considered legal attached to the criminal code.

Edited by Zinjo
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Wow dude, I knew it was young, but wow! 13 years? It hasn't been that way in the West for about 90 - 100 years....

Canada used to be 14 years then recently it was changed to 16. There were many various stipulations as to what was and wasn't considered legal attached to the criminal code.

Please people, enough already with this discussion ^_^

Let's go back in discussing Macross okay.

When I compare the Macross class ship in Frontier with other series I realized that all other Macross class were destroyed at the end of the series since they have all-girl bridge bunnies, in Frontier M-0.25 survives due to Bobby and Battle Frontier survive since there are probably more man than the female bridge bunny ^_^ .

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One thing that I want to add about animation for Macross 7 is that the daily animation for the show is actually really good but it's really hard to tell unless you have the good quality video, i.e. the Mac7 LDs or the remastered DVDs that came out recently. While the reused animation is pretty amusing, the day-to-day animation is superb IMO.

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Since everyone and their dogs are doing rankings, I'll throw mine in here.

1: SDF:M/DYRL

2: M7 (Yes, there, I said it)

3: MF

4: M+

5: M0 (god I hated Zero, Skull 1 on screen again was what ranked it above M2)

M2

I'll second that list... Frontier was just crammed into too tight of a package for my liking. It seemed like a lot of exposition got overlooked, and it did seem to lose its focus later in the series. From the beginning, it was set against the backdrop of the high school students, but it seemed like they dropped that angle and suddenly went straight to Soldiers, Mecha Porn, & Love Triangle.

The supporting cast wasn't really expanded on, except for a couple of character-centered tribute episodes. Even the main character didn't get defined very thoroughly... I didn't feel like I was familiar with Alto, he was just the pilot who looked uncomfortable whenever the girls in his life started making romantic overtures, and really only demonstrated any desire to do anything when it was a life-or-death situation. Heck, I feel Michel's death was more meaningful to him than either Sheryl's or Ranka's unexpected kisses. Isamu in Plus had that same craving for pushing life to the limit, flying in the infinite sky, and putting the girls on the back burner... but in 2 hours I got more familiar with him than I did with Alto over 25 episodes.

That's not to say Frontier disappointed me, I really did enjoy it, as I have pretty much every Macross series/OAV to grace us. But because of its shortcomings, I think it'll eventually be forgotten, especially if we get a better-developed Macross story with the same beautiful packaging later on in life.

And I STILL think Frontier was Kawamori takin' it back from Robotech ;)

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Ooooh rankings.

1. Macross Seven (yes, they're tied)

SDFM: Macross

3. Macross Zero (also a tie)

Do You Remember Love

5. Macross Frontier

6. Macross Plus

Regardless of the mecha action in Plus, the storyline just kind of fell apart for me; same with Frontier, although I might remember it more fondly down the road. Loved 7, loved Zero, definitely in the minority on those.

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I really liked the way the story was handled in Frontier. I might have mentioned that I love stories with a slow reveal of the facts. I suspect with subsequent viewings people will realize that there's really not very many plot holes. Even up to the last episode they would refer back to things from early in the series, though, so I suspect a lot of people may have forgotten certain things from that far back.

Of course, there are certain things to which I wish there had been more focus on the secondary and tertiary characters the way SDF:M had. The bridge crew of the Quarter all seemed interesting, and I wish more of Battle Frontier's bridge crew was seen, whenever they did appear it was to deliver only one or two very brief lines to move the story along. Really, it's that kind of secondary character development and day-to-day storytelling for which I still enjoy Macross 7, which excelled at it.

One thing, that surprised me when I realized it, was that I tend to re-watch Macross 7 far more often than I re-watch SDF:M. I've always though SDF:M had a better, and better balanced, story, and more compelling action than Macross 7, yet I can pop in a random Macross 7 episode on a whim and just go, where as I'm unlikely to crack open my SDF:M DVD cases in a given year. I've never been much to do a marathon viewing of a show, but I can do that with Macross 7. I've sat down and rewatched episodes of Frontier several times each, and am currently working my way through the entire series, about 6 episodes at a time, with some friends. I wonder if, once the honeymoon is over, I'll still be able to come back to it as frequently as Macross 7?

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My votes were yes on both accounts. I really really really enjoyed every episode, and loved the ending: I cant believe it ended well, was expecting all my favorate characters to die like some of the other macross series. Also, in this love triangle, its harder to make up your mind which girl should alto pick, cause they are both great. Honestly, in the original Macross (not Dyrl), it was easy for my to pick which girl i wanted for hikaru (rick), but in macross frontier, i just loved both and thus enjoyed the fact that in the end, we didnt see the choice. Heck, Alto can have both girls!!!! Other than that, all the mechas were amazing, and excellent animation, i really loved it. Music was great too, liked it alot. Story, wow, i was really into it and had to get myself to the end, and couldnt wait to see what happens next. I got to say i have never been as excited to know the next episode than i was here. I feel it took all the other macross, and fixed the things i didnt like. And.... beatifull girls, alot of them, and nice shower scenes ;). A++, good job on this excellent show.

Now, here is how my ranking on the ones i have seen:

Macross Frontier (will be hard to beat i think in the futur, thank you for this series, and cant wait for getting the toys with fast packs)

Macross (this is what started it all, and our childhood, and was great at the time, though very sad, and thus harder to re-watch over and over)

Macross + (excellent story and mechas)

Macross 2 (here, i said it, i do like this one, but it has been awhile i havent rewatched it.... and lets be honnest, the vf-2ss is our favorate valk that we all want as a toy one day, and best design)

Macross Dyrl (found it too short, and fast.... also, much thougher chosing the right girl for Hikaru, so not sure i liked the resolve there... Nevertheless, entertaining, and nice mechas and music)

Macross 0 Did not like this one that much, specially not the ending, but i did like the mechas to buy vf-0s and vf-0a :)

Have not seen Macross 7 yet, but its next on my list. Hope i like it.

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