Before this get locked just wanted to post my opinions,
I've watched SDFM, DYRL, M+, and the first two episodes of M0. M+ kicked ass and M0 so far is ok.
With M7, I watched it with a pretty broad expectation. I really didn't like the first 7 or 8 episodes and I probably won't go back to them for some time. Yes, I already suspected that Basara could be a part of a secret development project. I found him to be really arrogant and had the typical anime male macho thing in that he doesn't answer little girls' obvious questions that probably would've explained the plot and saved the production team about 10 episodes of work. Nothing in the series is particularly surprising, but M7 is not really about plot twists, technical jargon, and seriousness. It is really about *showing* how ideals can make a possible difference, that 99% of the time history repeats the same mistakes, and maybe just once (or a few times, like in the macross universe), everyone makes the right decisions and have an understanding between each other.
Yes, it sounds incredibly corny, and M7 could've been a pretty cynical & manipulative propganda, had it not been for the fact that Basara is really NOT to be liked. He just stands for an ideal, or faith, and like any ideals, it can be either hated or loved depending on the situation and times you're in. He really is an a--hole, and if the enemy were plain normal guys, then he would've been an utter failure. Even Ray during the latter parts of the series told him that people themselves decide if they like the music, not himself.
Another thing too, is that the antagonists in all of Macross series are not one-dimensional bad guys whose sole purpose is to make the good guys look good. They all have different agendas and "winning" isn't really the end solution. In about 99% of the time in battles, even in the Macross universe, yes, killing the enemy is the strategic solution and that's a reality. Don't you ever think: what makes bad guys BAD BUYS? Did they go to The Graduate School of Evilness? No, they are just people who sees thing differently. And of course, if the bad guys were all droids commanded by one single madman, then yes, killing the dude would've been the solution. But Macross only focuses on the times when that ISN'T the case. It's aways about those rare moments when each sides getting a certain understanding of one another.
So, my point is that M7 is really about showing how faith can change things under certain circumstances. There have always been musicals and movie about the power of music and this is one of them. I never took M7 that seriously and I enjoyed it very much. It's simply fun to watch. I laugh everytime when Basara is making a fool of himself, I laugh even harder when he goes out and is the only hope of saving the universe. I enjoy his stubborness, I enjoy his craziness in the face of death. I respect his dedication like I respect William Hung in American Idol. It is not The Best Macross Ever. I felt the first third was dragging too long, and the ending was too abupt. I don't expect my friends to like it at all. But I'm okay with it.
