Macross II: Lovers Again

[USMCBebop]

I did a search here and didn't really find any dedicated threads.

Anyways, is Macross II worth my time?

I remember my brother buying the VHS tape over thirty years ago, but I never had the time as I  had a career and college at the same time.

Now it's on Disney+

Thoughts?

[jenius]

This just tells us how bad the search function is

[Seto Kaiba]

48 minutes ago, USMCBebop said:

I did a search here and didn't really find any dedicated threads.

There are two right on the front page... one of which is someone else asking basically the same question.😅

 

48 minutes ago, USMCBebop said:

Anyways, is Macross II worth my time?

Well, without knowing you it's kind of hard to answer an open-ended question like that.

Personally, I would say that Macross II: Lovers Again is just as worthy of your time as any other Macross title.  It was kind of the odd man among Macross sequels (at least prior to Delta) in that it didn't take a radically new approach to the setting.  It's a fairly safe, conventional sequel that builds on what came before but takes no major risks with it.  It presents a rather different view of Macross's future than the sequels that came after, built exclusively on DYRL?.  

[jenius]

I would say it's definitely worth the time because it doesn't take much time at all... It's movie length.

[sketchley]

I'd say it's worth a view—even if it's just to see a "what if Kawamori-san wasn't in charge of Macross".

If memory serves, there is a massive drop off in animation quality in the last episode.

[USMCBebop]

On 2/20/2026 at 1:49 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

Well, without knowing you it's kind of hard to answer an open-ended question like that.

Personally, I would say that Macross II: Lovers Again is just as worthy of your time as any other Macross title.  It was kind of the odd man among Macross sequels (at least prior to Delta) in that it didn't take a radically new approach to the setting.  It's a fairly safe, conventional sequel that builds on what came before but takes no major risks with it.  It presents a rather different view of Macross's future than the sequels that came after, built exclusively on DYRL?.  

I was really into the originals plus the companion movie DYRL?  

With sequels, they really continue the previous one with references or they are their own stories---whether well written (and executed) or otherwise.  That's regardless of whether some characters from the original come onboard or not.

I loved Star Trek The Next Generation, even if it began slow.  Obvious references to TOS, but became its own show and story.

Sure, Macross isn't Star Trek, but the latter had some very good continuations. 

Does Mac II continue the story well?  (I see it's eighty years after the original.  Kind of like STTNG was for the franchise.)

Edited 8 hours ago by USMCBebop
Grammar

[USMCBebop]

On 2/20/2026 at 11:43 PM, sketchley said:

I'd say it's worth a view—even if it's just to see a "what if Kawamori-san wasn't in charge of Macross".

If memory serves, there is a massive drop off in animation quality in the last episode.

Thanks.  

Animation woes?  So long as they wrote and continue the story well, I'm game.

[USMCBebop]

On 2/20/2026 at 8:15 PM, jenius said:

I would say it's definitely worth the time because it doesn't take much time at all... It's movie length.

Works for me!

[USMCBebop]

On 2/20/2026 at 8:15 PM, jenius said:

I would say it's definitely worth the time because it doesn't take much time at all... It's movie length.

And hopefully it's well written, thanks!

[Seto Kaiba]

4 hours ago, USMCBebop said:

I was really into the originals plus the companion movie DYRL?  

Well, in that case you may like Macross II: Lovers Again because it is really just more of that.

In terms of themes, tone, and content it's easily the sequel closest to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie.  

It's a very "safe" sequel that takes relatively few risks and doesn't do much to change up the established formula.  It's very like a Gundam sequel in that regard.  That lack of innovation is one of the main criticisms Macross fans level at the OVA.  The setting hasn't really changed substantially despite 80 years of in-universe time passing.  The mechanical designs are, in large part, 90's updated versions of the original designs instead of anything really new or radically different.

 

4 hours ago, USMCBebop said:

Does Mac II continue the story well?  (I see it's eighty years after the original.  Kind of like STTNG was for the franchise.)

Well, like I mentioned above it's a very "safe" sequel that's not really taking many risks with its story.

It still has the same themes about idols and song as a form of communication, but mixed in with a plot heavily inspired by Roman Holiday and some new themes about nationalism, xenophobia, and journalistic integrity.  The one area where it really diverges from the established formula is that its protagonist is a civilian journalist rather than a soldier, which lets the story go in some new directions.  I think most fans would agree that it's merely "pretty good" where most other Macross titles are usually "great".  Partly because 6 OVA episodes isn't really enough time to fully develop every character, so the love triangle can feel a bit one-sided.

It is the title that hews most closely to the original form of the Macross formula, so if that's what you're after you'll probably enjoy it.

[jenius]

When I first watched Macross2, I had never seen Do You Remember Love and probably only robotech's Macross Saga and I enjoyed it. Watch with subs! Later I watched DYRL and realized just how on the rails Macross2 was and just how great it's predecessor was so it lost a lot of it's shine.