So. Here is my breakdown of viewing the first episode of Maross Frontier:
1. Story:: A+ so far. I already felt an immediate connection with the characters after just one episode. It seems to capture the original archetypes without being ham-fisted about it. Alto is Hikru, Ozama is Roy, Sheryl is Minmay, Luca is Max, and Grace as Misa. I felt immediately comfortable with all the characters, like I knew them already, yet there was room for personal growth for new story telling for each new role. It's comfortable, but not lazy. Alto isn't Hikru obviously. He's much more willful and sure of his desires. I also really enjoyed Ranka. She was cute without being fooking annoying. I also loved her little squishy phone guy. How cool! haha.
2. Art:: A. Fantastic. It was clean and visually stunning. Everything felt high budget and new, without being too derivative of current anime trends like 7/+ were. Again, I immediately felt comfortable here as a Macross fan, but excited with the updated visuals.
I'm not really a fan of Anime. If that makes sense. I love the 80's shows/classics and the updates of my favorites, but I don't keep up with the newer kids shows, or current trends. There are some modern classics to be sure, and fantastic uses of the medium since the 80's, but I do see it as a medium to tell a story and not a genre that I love, as a lot of the content out there is crap or aimed at children/teens. After 7 and + I was a bit skeptical on my journey that I would feel "left out" as a fan. Thankfully Frontier is providing the goods.
3. Mecha/Valk design :: A++The Mecha design is fantastic. It made me wanting a Cannon fodder robot drone toy! and those are just the Canon fodder! Keep in mind this is the first time I've seen any of these valkyrie animated, or at all beyond the Bandai boxes. I've never owned a Bandai reneweal either, though I do have two pre-ordered from the new re-issues. It has a Sci-fi feel, while retaining all the beats you want in a valkyrie design. I can't wait to see more as the story unfolds. I also felt like the valkyrie are part of the story, instead of a commercial for toys.
I would also like to say that I was blown away by the ending fight scene inside the city dome. It was like a giant Robo monster fight! I loved the scale and nature of the enemy monsters. I think that, honestly, that is something that Macross has never really captured. Even with the original TV show and DYRL it never felt like giant robots so much as extended suits. Which is fine, as the valkyrie isn't meant to be a clunky mecha. But with DYRL and the Tv show, during any fight the Batroids were shorter than the buildings. I also enjoyed this in Zero... there was more scale, though Zero didn't have any city fights.
So again, this was after one episode. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series and the movies. I would have to say that Frontier seem superior in every area to Plus and 7. I never felt like those shows were Macross. They just came off as random cartoons with Macross like elements to cash in on the "craze" as it were. Too dated in their time and lacking the lasting universal appeal of true Macross storytelling.
