Knights of Sidonia Anime Review

Knights of Sidonia
Shidonia no Kishi
Netflix Original Series
300 mins. - 12 episodes
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kobun Shizuno
Studio - Polygon Pictures

Synopsis: In the distant future the Earth has been destroyed by a fearsome alien species called the Gauna.  It has been one thousand years since humanity became adrift in space on massive colony ships.  They travel the galaxy looking for a new home and trying to stay one step ahead of the Gauna.  The ships were spread out in hopes of being harder to track and to improve chances of finding a suitable planet.  One such ship is the Sidonia and it could quite possibly be the last human population in the universe.

Tanikaze Nagate trained in the underworld to be an expert Garde pilot

Human culture and science have evolved on the Sidonia.  To bolster and safeguard the population cloning has been accepted and even a third, asexual gender was developed which adapts to their partner.  All humans now photosynthesize to conserve resources aboard the ship and are only required to eat once a week.  Even anthropomorphic animals exist and participate in the workforce.  Everyone wears a belt with a clip to attach to safety rails throughout the interior buildings when the ship performs maneuvers.

The Sidonia is a massive ship build around a fragment of the Earth

The Gauna are large alien creatures which can survive in the vacuum of space.  They are highly self-sufficient and can self-propel through the airless void.  Their bodies consist of an impenetrable core surrounded by a malleable proto-mass called Ena which can be manipulated to different needs of the core.  They remain a mystery, but one thing is clear - they are a near-impossible enemy to defeat and have pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.

The Gauna are a terrifying alien race which seem to be pursuing the human race

The Sidonia has not encountered a Gauna for almost a century after a hero from the last generation drove them off piloting a Garde Type 17 called the Tsugumori.  A special substance was discovered which could pierce a Gauna's core and destroy it.  Now nearly every able-bodied youth is trained to become a Garde pilot and defend the Sidonia.  Civil unrest has become more commonplace as protesters claim the Gauna are a hoax of the government.

The Sidonia is guided by the Immortal Council

Tanikaze Nagate was raised in the Underworld (the unpopulated areas of the Sidonia) by his grandfather, but is captured when venturing out to find food.  He has trained exhaustively on a simulator to be an expert pilot of the Garde Type 17, but has no social skills.  He is enlisted into the Guardian program to be a pilot when the Gauna reappear on his first assignment.  Now the Sidonia must send another generation of pilots to battle an impossible enemy for the survival of the human race.

From left - Midorikawa Yuhata, Shinatose Izana, Tanikaze Nagate,
Kunato Norio (background), Hoshijiro Shizuka, and Ren Honoka

Pros: Epic storyline as humanity teeters on the brink of total extinction, some exciting plot twists and reveals, Gauna are a fearsome enemy, character deaths are meaningful and tragic (Yoshiyuki Tomino would approve), killer opening theme and good ending theme, some actual science fiction with cool concepts (cloning, humans photosynthesizing), good series ending, suspenseful and made me want to watch each new episode immediately

Cons: Character animation looks awkward and artificial due to full CG rendering, characters and some mecha have too dark black flecks on them meant to look like weathering (too harsh, where's the color rendering?), looks kind of CG cheesy when a Gauna's body disintegrates after its core is destroyed, plot progresses a bit disjointedly and too many questions raised with few answered

Hiyama Lala is the bear lunch lady who takes Tanikaze under her wing

Mike Tells It Straight: Let's set the record straight - this series originally aired in Japan and was licensed by Netflix for broadcast distribution.  Netflix added a dub (for its various international audiences) and premiered it outside of Japan (the same way Funimation licenses anime series).  When I first saw the 'Netflix Original Series' label I thought they had produced the series and were moving into original animated content, but it's not true.  They're just cutting out the middleman (i.e. Funimation and other anime licensing companies) and doing the dub/sub themselves.  Netflix is a billion dollar company and depending on how successful this first series performs then they could become a player in the anime distribution game.  Could impact Funimation, the biggest anime licensing company, and possibly Cartoon Network, one of the bigger anime broadcasting channels.  Time will tell, but I think KoS was a good gamble.

Tanikaze gets in big trouble early on with the female pilots

While the series may only be available through streaming, rest assured it will eventually hit Blu-Ray/DVD soon (House of Cards did).  It was highly suspenseful and kept me enthralled to watch the next episode (binge watching fodder).  The series is based on the manga by Tsutomu Nihei (Blame!, NOiSE, Abara) and follows it very faithfully.  The manga is still ongoing and ending date is unknown.  In Abara, Nihei's protagonist is a Gauna who can form bone armor and weaponry from his body.  The Gauna in KoS appear to be a nod to this previous series.  Nihei is known for his futuristic storylines and unique art style which were both present.

Human cloning is now commonplace to bolster the population count

I found the series very enjoyable and had to watch the next episode to find out what happened next.  It was addictive and fun, but mildly disturbing as well.  The show is fairly mature and I don't recommend it for younger viewers.  The Gauna are a fearsome opponent and the pilots have a high mortality rate.  Yoshiyuki Tomino (creator of Mobile Suit Gundam and well known for killing off the majority of the main cast in his works) would definitely approve.  The science fiction concepts were pretty cool - humans photosynthesizing is a first, clones, and a third gender (transgender).  The mecha designs were decent and CG rendering was great.  Loved the opening theme by Angela and good soundtrack.  Characterization was well done and suspense was killer.  Reminded me of Attack on Titan which is high praise.

Tanikaze is an expert Garde 17 pilot as seen by this simulation footage
- too bad the current generation of mecha is the
Garde 18 with significant interface changes!

What didn't work for me were the CG character renderings, these were mostly terrible.  Movements were unrealistic, jerky, and the only way to tell characters apart were their hairstyles.  The characters and mecha had these black marks on them which were meant to be weathering/wear, but were just harsh black lines and too simple.  The plot progressed in a non-linear fashion and more questions were posed than answered.  I guess it sets groundwork for future reveals which will probably be spectacular.  I've read many complaints about Tanikaze's bland personality and I can rationalize his demeanor as being caused by living underground his whole life.  I wasn't very happy to see a makeshift harem forming around him which is an anime genre I'm not really into.

Hoshijiro and Tanikaze are shipwrecked in space after a battle
- Hoshijiro photosynthesizes while Tanikaze nervously looks away

Despite its flaws KoS was an epic series and I was hooked from the first episode.  It's mature and carries a sense of urgency as humanity fights for survival and characters die.  A nice mix of science fiction and storytelling among many familiar anime themes.  Tanikaze is the epitome of a last, best hope (at least he trained for it and it's not just inherent to his being).  I rank it among the new breed of anime which strives to surprise and engage the viewer instead of carrying down the familiar path.  If you have Netflix and enjoy anime then give it a shot.  Looking forward to the second season when it gets released.

The Gauna find a way to demoralize the human pilots by
using the fallen Garde pilots against them

TO BUY and Recommendations:
 

Macross Frontier Anime Review

Macross Frontier
Makurosu Furontia
Bandai Visual
Complete Collection - 5 discs
600 mins. - 25 episodes
MSRP - n/a (no official US release available)
¥33,600 (2013) Blu-Ray
¥3,990 (2008-2009) Vol. 1-9/ea.
¥7,350 (2008-2009) Vol. 1-9/ea. Blu-Ray
ISBN - n/a
Japanese Audio - English Subtitles (only on HK bootleg version, not official Japanese version)
Director - Shoji Kawamori/Yasuhito Kikuchi
Studio - Satelight

Synopsis: The human race was almost wiped out in Space War I when a massive alien spacecraft crash-landed on Earth in 1999 and then a hostile alien race attempted to reclaim it ten years later.  The alien race was the Zentraedi, giant humanoids bred only for war by a mysterious ancient race called the Protoculture.  The alien craft was studied and rebuilt by a consortium of the world's governments called U.N. Spacy and commissioned as the SDF-1 - Super-Dimensional Fortress.  Incredible technology allowed the creation of variable fighter planes called Valkyries.  The brave crew managed to defeat the race of giants by exposing them to the rich culture of humanity - music, love, and laughter.  They were victorious, but not before the Earth was razed by the giants' leaders.

Macross Frontier colony ship with Battle Frontier space fortress in front.
A small fleet of auxiliary ships serve as main line of defense.

The world was rebuilt and a strategic plan was launched to colonize the stars in an effort to safeguard humanity from extinction.  Massive colony ships containing an entire city were built and each was guided by a space fortress into the far reaches of the universe to find habitable planets.  Most of the Zentraedi were assimilated into human culture, but some pockets of resistance still existed.  These colony ships were a combination of both races and encountered new dangers in uncharted star territories.  Valkyrie and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies flourished.

The latest Valkyrie type is the VF-25 Messiah (shown with upgrade armor and
 reactive missiles) which has only been deployed in limited numbers to special
 groups within the fleets. Standard NUNS variable fighter is the VF-171 Nightmare

It's 47 years after the first encounter with the Zentraedi the colony fleet called Macross Frontier is travelling through space.  There is a New U.N. Spacy government (NUNS) which controls and coordinates between the colony fleets and planets.  They are visited by Sheryl Nome, a famous idol singer known as the "Galactic Fairy", who comes from the Macross Galaxy fleet.  Alto Saotome is the heir to a prestigious kabuki family, but has chosen to become a pilot instead in an effort to escape his rigid upbringing.  He is part of a group of aerialists who perform as part of Sheryl's concert on the Frontier.  During the concert a group of hostile alien lifeforms attack the fleet.  Alto saves the life of teenager Ranka Lee who is an aspiring singer.

Sheryl Nome's first concert on the Frontier with Alto flying aerial
acrobatics and Ranka watching in the crowd

The lifeforms are an incredibly deadly organism called the Vajra.  They continue to trouble the Frontier while Alto becomes friends with both Ranka and Sheryl.  Alto pilots a new VF-25 Messiah Valkyrie during a Vajra attack and later is accepted into a private military force known as the SMS (Strategic Military Force).  Both of his aerialist partners were secretly part of this group as well.  They are Mikhail Blanc, pilot of a VF-25G sniper type Valkyrie, and Luca Angelloni, pilot of a RVF-25 reconnaissance type Valkyrie with three Ghost drones.  The three pilots go to flight school together as well as serve with the SMS.

A swarm of Vajra spot the Frontier fleet.  They are deemed the first
Super Dimension Life Form due to their ability to fold space

Leader of the SMS squadron is ace pilot Ozma Lee who also happens to be Ranka's older brother.  He is very protective of her and gives Alto a very hard time for being her friend.  During the fierce battles with the Vajra it becomes clear the creatures are a potentially devastating threat to the entire fleet.  The Macross Galaxy later is assailed by a swarm of Vajra and Sheryl is stranded on the Frontier.  She and Alto become close friends despite her galactic fame.  She gives Ranka singing advice and she later joins a Miss Macross contest.  It soon becomes clear Ranka has real singing talent and her career begins.

Alto and Ranka become good friends. He is constantly folding paper airplanes

Something is not right within the NUNS government when it is revealed the Vajra have come into contact with the colony fleets before attacking the Frontier.  What is their strange link to Ranka and Sheryl's past?  Ozma's former lover, Catherine Glass, is the daughter of the Frontier's President and Ozma tries to get clues to the mystery surrounding the Vajra from her.  She is sent to keep tabs on the SMS which possess a small version of a Macross class space fortress called the Macross Quarter.  Vajra attacks become heavier and the Frontier's fleet is in real danger.

Ranka enters the Miss Macross contest and competes against
some majorly hot girls!  Does she even have a chance?

The true threat is slowly revealed as Alto must choose between supporting Sheryl or Ranka.  The SMS goes into action, but will the corruption plaguing the NUNS government stop them?  Will Ozma Lee's love of pineapple-cake spell his doom?  It's an epic continuation to the grand Macross story, but will humanity prevail?

Sheryl gets Alto to take her on a 'date' to see the sights of the Frontier

Pros: Complex story with several exciting plot twists, excellent variable (transforming) mecha designs (VF-25 Messiah, VF-171 Cannon Fodder, and Koenig Monster), Shoji Kawamori directs, incredible musical score and original songs (May'n!), pays homage to every Macross release that has come before, validates Macross Zero due to the addition of Mao Nome references and Bird-Human movie, excellent music by legendary Yoko Kanno!

The Frontier's colony dome closes to protect the city during a Vajra
attack.  A powerful pinpoint barrier system deflects any direct hits.

Cons: No official U.S. release (EVER, due to the Macross copyright dispute between Harmony Gold and Big West), CG rendering of mecha is pretty stiff, HK version subtitles are not great (some missed timing in later episodes), no English subtitles in the official Japanese release, Alto is a former Kabuki actor who was prized for his female portrayals (his hairstyle is very feminine) - ha!

One of the Vajra beams breaches the Frontier's protective dome

Mike Tells It Straight: This latest Macross series is absolutely incredible!  The sheer amount of production values present are staggering and I was quite impressed.  Shoji Kawamori and Studio Nue really pulled out all the stops to create this epic series.  It was released during the 25th anniversary of the original Macross series and firmly established a continuing legacy.  One of my first introductions to Japanese animation was the highly edited cartoon series Robotech from the 1980s.  It was spliced together from three separate anime series and Super Dimension Fortress Macross was the first season (Super Dimension Calvarly Southern Cross was the second and Genesis Climber Mospeada was the third).  I truly loved Robotech when it aired and later discovered the original series (shout out to Sean and Graham's MacrossWorld).  Due to a copyright conflict the original Macross owners Big West have with Robotech producers Harmony Gold it has been almost impossible to release Macross-related merchandise domestically.

Ranka and Alto discover a destroyed space fortress

Super Dimension Fortress Macross was developed into a movie called Macross: Do You Remember Love? (DYRL) which was a retelling (with better animation) of the original series.  It was wildly popular in Japan and had a cult following in the West thanks to Robotech.  DYRL had an epilogue released as an OVA (original video animation) called Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012, a sequel OVA (released domestically as a movie) called Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lover's Again which was a resounding failure (lacked story involvement from Kawamori and Studio Nue - relegated to 'parallel' world status), a highly successful OVA (later spliced into a theatrical feature) called Macross Plus (this time Kawamori/Studio Nue were involved and the show was able to be released domestically), a 49-episode series called Macross 7, a movie and OVA series of Macross 7, a prequel OVA to the original series called Macross Zero, and then this series Macross Frontier.

Klan Klang is a macronized Meltran who leads the Pixie Squadron for the SMS.
  She and Mikhail are childhood friends, but they have never dated because
she turns into a child when micronized.  Bummer!

Macross is one of the most popular mecha anime series next to Mobile Suit Gundam, but with far less 'parallel world' and spinoff series in its production history.  Macross Frontier represents a major leap forward in storyline and evolution of production values, but managed to pay homage and includes almost every single preceding Macross story.  The love triangle between Alto, Sheryl, and Ranka hearkened back to the classic one with Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa from the original SDFM and DYRL.  Ranka works in a Chinese restaurant and competes in a Miss Macross contest just like Lynn Minmay in SDFM.  Ozma Lee is highly reminiscent of Roy Focker right down to enjoying pineapple deserts - will he suffer the same fate?  A movie called Bird-Human is produced on the Frontier and based on the events of Macross Zero.  Artificial intelligence plays a big role as it did in Macross Plus.  VF-17 Nightmares are the cannon fodder planes of the Frontier and first debuted in Macross 7.

The Macross Quarter goes to battle the oncoming Vajra swarm

Music is always a primary component to any Macross series and Frontier has incredible music.  Yoko Kanno is a preeminent anime soundtrack composer and was responsible for the epic Macross Plus soundtrack.  She returns to Macross and delivers another set of breathtaking songs.  Rising star singer May'n was the vocal talent for Sheryl Nome and her career has taken off after Frontier.  The voice of Ranka Lee was Megumi Nakajima who was discovered for Macross Frontier and has started a promising career.

Alto pilots his VF-25 against a mysterious VF-27 during a Vajra battle

Macross Frontier was a crossover media sensation and truly unforgettable chapter in the Macross franchise.  The characters were endearing and story contained all of the rich history built over the years.  Great music, awesome new mecha designs (VF-25, VF-27), complex plot, and spawned two compilation movies (slightly altered from the series and deemed 'alternate timeline') - The False Songstress and The Wings of Goodbye.  I'm a huge Macross fan and this series was an absolute treat.  Don't get me wrong, a few things didn't resonate with me - the mecha were all CG rendered (just like in Macross Zero and Aquarion) and felt it, some of the characters were lame, a few scenes of the Macross Quarter reminded me of old super-robot shows, and the ending could have been more definitive.  None of these nit-picks matter because seeing this amazing Macross series and being held at the edge of my seat was so much fun.

Sheryl falls mysteriously ill and Grace, her singing manager, gives her
an unknown medicine to make her better.  What is the shocking
secret behind her ailment?

It breaks my heart to say this series will probably never see a domestic release due to the Robotech/Harmony Gold copyright issues.  With the advent of Blu-Ray and new region assignments putting Japan and the US in Region A I really wish Japanese companies would add English subtitles or dub to their releases.  I would literally kill to have an official (not HK bootleg) Macross Frontier Blu-Ray set with English subs!  As of this post the new BD box set is not going to have subs or a dub (the only Japanese BD Macross release I know of with subs or dub is Macross Plus BD).  I had to resort to getting this series as an HK bootleg in order to watch it, but find it any way you can and check it out!  Highest possible recommendation!

Sheryl and Ranka sing together for the survival of the Frontier!

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Big Wars Anime Movie Review

Big Wars
Central Park Media
Movie - 70 min. - 1 disc
$9.95 (2003)
$29.99 (1998)
ISBN 014381441024
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Issei Kume/Toshifumi Takizawa
Studio - Magic Bus

Synopsis: In the early 25th century the human race is losing a war with an alien race called 'The Gods'.  These beings seek to halt human expansion and the primary battleground is the previously terraformed planet Mars.  Humanity had colonized the Red Planet several hundred years earlier, but the Gods superior technology and mental subversion tactics were slowly winning the war.

The Gods fighter craft battle a land ship

Massive anti-gravity land ships carrying squadrons of fighters are the primary offensive and defensive tools of the human military.  These giant ships roam the deserts of Mars fighting the Gods when they can find them.  The Gods possess an invincible stealth ship dubbed 'Hell' which travels under cover of an artificial sandstorm.  Nothing man-made can stop Hell and the military needs a counter-weapon to turn the tide of the war.

Captain Akuh arrives and runs into his girlfriend

The most insidious weapon of the Gods is their ability to psychologically subvert humans.  Subverted humans align themselves with the Gods and display a cult-like mentality.  One of the first symptoms of subversion is an enhanced libido or nymphomania.  Rampant terrorism has become a major concern.

It is revealed the Gods are humanoid

Captain Akuh returns to military duty after several months spent recovering from a devastating battle where his ship the Aoba was destroyed.  He is assigned to command a powerful new ship which is nearing completion of its construction.  This new ship is faster and tougher than any which has come before it. Akuh arrives in the city where the ship is being covertly built and reunites with his former girlfriend.  She is an intelligence officer who interrogated one of the Gods who was captured.

Akuh and his crew get a tour of the new Aoba with its designer

The ship's doctor has developed a detection device for subverted humans utilizing hypnosis.   As the new ship is almost complete, Akuh faces a dilemma - his girlfriend is really horny!  Will he be able to deal with her while trying to save humanity by discovering a weakness in Hell?  It's a battle to the finish on Mars!

Akuh's girlfriend reveals her alignment with the Gods

Pros: The Gods' fighter craft sound just like land-speeders from Star Wars, some interesting mechanical designs - particularly the land ships and power suits, some nudity and sexual situations, Captain Akuh's girlfriend is a nymphomaniac

The Aoba's doctor uses a hypno-ray to test for subversion

Cons: Animation is inconsistent with some sloppy/lazy shots (i.e. using camera panning instead of actual movement for characters), weak attempt to link biblical events with the Gods by showing a bunch of angels, plot resolution at the end was pretty weak

Captain Akuh starts having crazy visions

Mike Tells It Straight: I was expecting Big Wars to have more action based on the title, but it had a lot of science fiction setup and not much payoff.  The nymphomania by Captain Akuh's girlfriend was a thinly veiled attempt to gain attention by including nudity and a few sex scenes.  These were probably the best parts of the movie.  Not to say the premise wasn't good - aliens watching over humanity and attempting to halt us when we got too advanced is a neat idea.  I thought parts of the story and animation were actually pretty good.

Akuh and his crew prepare to infiltrate Hell!

The animation was inconsistent and the ending didn't finish the story adequately.  It seemed like there could have been more story to tell after the finale, but we'll never see it.  The Gods concept was interesting and could have been fleshed out much further.  Overall Big Wars was a decent movie, but neither compelling nor memorable.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again Anime Review

Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again
Manga Entertainment
Complete Collection - 1 disc
160 mins. - 6 episodes
$29.95 (1998)
$29.95 (2000)
ISBN 660200405625
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kenichi Yatagai
Studio - AIC

Synopsis: It has been eighty years since the human race was almost wiped out by an invading alien force known as the Zentradi in the first Space War.  Ten years prior to the war a mysterious ship crashlanded on Earth and was rebuilt by the unified world governments.  The rebuilt ship was called the Super Dimension Fortress Macross (SDF-1 Macross).  Its reconstruction was completed just in time to repel the first wave of Zentradi forces.  Over the course of the war the Macross executed a space fold to the outer edge of our solar system and contained a small city of civilians.  The Zentradi were giant humanoids and feared humans (called 'microns') possessed the secrets of the Protoculture (thought to be the creators and masters of the Zentradi).  99% of Earth's population was annihilated over the course of the war, but the crew of the Macross and its civilians were able to defeat the Zentradi through a combination of variable mecha fighters (transforming planes called Valkyries) and human culture.  The Zentradi race was consumed by war to the point where males (Zentradi) and females (Meltrandi) stayed in separate fleets and never mixed together.  They used cloning for procreation and had lost all aspects of culture to the point where a simple love song could irreparably disrupt their composure.

The SDF-1 Macross main cannon lights up to fire on the new alien threat

The human race has repopulated the Earth and the Macross is now considered an ancient relic.  It sits lifeless in the center of Macross City.  Renegade Zentradi forces still attack the planet occasionally, but the 'Minmay Attack' (where love songs are broadcast to throw the Zentradi forces off-balance) has successfully prevailed ever since the original war.  The U.N. Spacy forces have grown complacent and soft without a true threat to challenge them.   Hibiki Kanzaki is a young reporter for Scramble News Network (SNN) who is trying to make a name for himself.  He is critical of the government due to their tendency to censor any broadcasts which don't portray them in a positive light.

Silvie and Hibiki disagree due to their differing views of the U.N. Spacy 

Enter the Marduk - an alien micron race seeking to destroy every other culture they come into contact with in the universe.  They use enslaved Zentradi (both male and female) warriors as their main combat force through the singing of specially trained female Marduk called Emulators.  They sing songs of war and destruction to boil the blood of their fighters.  Needless to say, the Minmay Attack fails miserably and the U.N. Spacy forces are being crushed mercilessly by the Marduk.  Hibiki rushes out to cover the combat with veteran reporter Dennis Lone (who is drunk) who values seeing both sides of any conflict and urges Hibiki to break enemy lines to get more information.

Hibiki kidnaps the beautiful Ishtar, a Marduk Emulator

Inside a Marduk ship, Hibiki and Dennis discover Ishtar, one of the Marduk Emulators.  Dennis is killed and Hibiki steals Ishtar away to Earth.  He becomes obsessed with showing the truth after his footage of the initial defeat by the Marduk is censored by the U.N. Spacy government.  Ishtar is delighted by the rich human culture she witnesses with Hibiki because the Marduk only wage war.  Lord Feff is the Marduk commander in charge of Ishtar and attempts to get her back by invading Macross City.  He pilots a fearsome battle armor against the U.N. Spacy's current variable fighter - the VF-2SS Valkyrie II.

Hibiki introduces Ishtar to human culture

After being exposed to Earth's culture, Ishtar renounces the war-like ways of the Marduk and wishes to see peace among the three cultures (Marduk, human, and Zentradi).  Can Hibiki with the help of ace pilots Silvie Gena and Nexx Gilbert get Ishtar back to the Marduk to spread the word?  They had better figure it out fast as Lord Emperor Ingues, the xenophobic and despotic ruler of the Marduk, has ordered all of his forces to crush Earth!

The fearsome Emperor Ingues - more machine than organic being

Pros: Marduk are cool villains (except that bastard Ingues!), Ishtar is beautiful, Haruhiko Mikimoto's character designs are great (he did the original SDF Macross designs), new mecha designs for practically all of the original series' mecha (VF-2SS Valkyrie II is particularly striking along with the Macross Cannons), songs are slightly decent in the old J-Pop 1980s way

The VF-2SS Valkyrie 2

Cons: Quite possibly the worst anime dub ever perpetrated upon the American public, plot is so bad it was expunged from canonical Macross history, none of the original Macross characters are seen or referenced (except the SDF-1 Macross itself), original creators Shoji Kawamori and Studio Nue were absent from this production, characters are terrible - Hibiki, Silvie, Nexx, Mash, Ishtar, and Feff, death of Dennis Lone in the beginning was almost comical in its absurdity, mecha designs are very different from original Macross series

Marduk-controlled Zentradi/Meltrandi battle armors

Mike Tells It Straight: Macross II is almost universally despised by the anime fan community for being one of the worst sequels in history.  I see where the producers went wrong - the original movie Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? (which was an original retelling of the Super Dimension Fortress Macross television series, i.e. original = no reused footage from the show) was a huge success and they wanted to capitalize on the franchise by creating a sequel.  Unfortunately the majority of the original creators didn't sign on for the sequel - writer/mechanical designer Shoji Kawamori, director Noburu Ishiguro, composer Kentaro Haneda, and the art studios: Studio Nue/Artland/Tatsunoko.

Ishtar implores Lord Feff to spare the humans

Only three original creators joined the sequel production team: character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, the scripter, and the sound director.  The sequel had an all new writer, director, mechanical designer, composer, and animation studio with incredibly big shoes to fill.  Expectations were high and only perfection would be satisfactory to the fans.  I believe the creators did their best and produced a relatively good quality work, but nothing close to the cultural phenomenon of the first Macross.

Emperor Ingues supreme battle fortress closes in on Earth

The storyline itself was mildly compelling with the Marduk a clever foil to the established Minmay Attack of the first Space War.  This time around the love triangle felt forced between Hibiki, Silvia and Ishtar.  They should have focused on Hibiki and Ishtar by themselves.  The character of Hibiki himself was slightly dubious as he seemed to be more interested in breaking a story to make his career than truly caring about Ishtar.  The mecha designs were also highly controversial and a departure from the original series.  The VF-2SS and practically all the mecha are love-it-or-hate-it - over-complicated upgrades to the originals.  Ending was too similar to the first movie as well - final battle with alien fleet and finishing barrage to destroy the head bad guy (it was satisfying to see Ingues get his in the end).

Beautiful artwork by Haruhiko Mikimoto

Weak characters, horrendous dialogue and general plot issues combined with impossibly high expectations and the lack of original creative staff doomed this sequel from the beginning.  The voice acting and dub are particularly bad along with quite a few animation issues.  I wanted to like this sequel due to my absolute love of the first television series and movie, but the show was downright bad.  It had some good moments yet overall was a tremendous letdown.  It has since been relegated to alternate universe status and purged from canonical Macross history - that just about sums it up.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Stratos 4 Anime Review

Stratos 4
Bandai Entertainment
Complete Collection - 4 discs
325 mins. - 13 episodes
$39.98 (2006)
ISBN 669198254116
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Takeshi Mori
Studio - Studio Fantasia/Bandai Visual

Synopsis: 50 years ago scientists determined a huge meteor cloud would intercept with Earth and the world government organization CEMA (Comet Emergency Management Agency) was formed.  Two stages of interception/deterrence are developed - the first line of defense are orbital space planes launched from space stations, the Comet Blasters, and the second are high-altitude planes, the Meteor Sweepers.  These planes would carry payloads to destroy/break up the largest comets with any large remaining pieces intercepted within the atmosphere. 

Meteor successfully destroyed and lives saved

The Comet Blasters garner much higher status than their ground-based counterparts in the Meteor Sweepers.  One MS base is located on Shimoji Island near Japan and the story focuses on an all-female squad - Mikaze, Shizuha, Ayamo, and Karin are the pilots and co-pilots of two BAC TSR-2MS high-altitude interceptors.

Mikaze and crew (she's got the pigtails) in a typically compromising pose

Mikaze is having a hard time committing herself to being a part of the Meteor Sweepers and is incredibly jealous of the Comet Blasters.  She feels like a second-stringer cleaning up their sloppy seconds.  Her teammates are the opposite and are enjoy being part of the ground team.  For Mikaze the journey cannot end until she reaches space.  Can she focus herself enough to become the best pilot and take that next step into outer space?  Will she let her teammates get close enough to help her?

The Meteor Sweepers have to pilot lying down for some reason

There was a rift in the CEMA organization many years ago which caused the creation of the separate CB and MS teams.  They have a heated rivalry and the CB teams openly snub the MS.  What could have caused the rift and is there a secret behind the meteors?

Something is not quite right on Orbital Station 7

Pros: Lots of fan-service (if you like that sort of thing) and the ubiquitous hot springs trip, orbital and high-altitude planes were pretty cool, overall message of trying your best to follow your dreams and sticking together with your friends was positive, a bunch of cool extras including voice actresses/director/staff visit to the real Shimoji Island plus official aerospace consultant commentary (this guy's comments were hilarious, but his teeth were awful!), Admiral the cat is pretty funny (loved the episode where we follow it around)

Mikaze and the girls show off their work on the prototype Stratos 0

Cons: Not much action, heavy on the soap-opera drama, CG elements were just okay, overall simple animation style (especially the character designs), highly superficial plot for most of the show (goofy), the plot shift to space at the end was a bit silly

The Comet Blasters scramble for an intercept mission

Mike Tells It Straight: Stratos 4 is a lighthearted anime title with a very positive message - try your best to live your dreams and stick together with your friends.  The writers needed to use a lot of fan-service to get their message across and it appears they were very successful because there is a lot of fan-service.  The show is entertaining with a lot of comedy and some drama centered around the girls doing their best to stop meteors from hitting Earth.  

One of the male instructors 'accidentally' wanders into the hot
springs while all of the girls are bathing

The message would be great for kids, but the abundance of fan-service disqualifies its suitability.  As an adult show the plot progresses too slowly and its too silly at times.  Things get a bit more serious at the end as the secret behind the meteors is revealed, but the conspiracy theory felt like a digression.  I guess this show could be considered charming if you buy into the characters and like some fan-service with your comedy.

The Meteor Sweeper cast from Shimoji Island

It just didn't resonate with me and my recommendation is pretty low.  Some parts of the plot didn't make sense - like why did the girls work at a restaurant when they were full-time pilots?  I think Divergence EVE and Misaki Chronicles were better in comparison (plotwise only, their CG was heinous).  Amusing, but definitely not a keeper. Oddly enough, this show spawned three sequel OVAs (only one has been released in North America - Stratos 4: Return to Base).  Guess it resonated with some fans and they kept it going to see where the final plot thread would lead. I guess you can never underestimate the power of fan-service on otaku.

TO BUY and Recommendations: