|
First, a confession: I've never watched any of Macross' previous incarnations - not even Robotech - so I went into this half-expecting it to be over my head. You have been warned...
First impression? Visually beautiful - the opening scenes feature
one of the best-animated air battles I've seen. Good way to grab my
attention, but Gonzo's Yukikaze was just as well presented & didn't really grab my attention...
Having come off second-best in his first battle with an Anti
Alliance transforming fighter, Shin awakes to find himself on stranded
on an island, Mayan. Stuck with them while his wounds heal & while
he tries to find a way to signal his base, he strikes up a friendship
with island girl Mao, and an understanding of sorts with Mao's older
sister, Sara.
Meanwhile, the Alliance have developed their own transforming
fighter, the VF-0 (or 'Zero'). It first sees action in the skies above
Mayan, placing the lives of Mao & the other islanders at risk but
giving Shin his opportunity to return. From there, we skip to Shin's
efforts to learnhow to handle the Zero. His first mission after
training takes him back to Mayan...
Colour me pleasantly surprised. As mentioned, Macross Zero
is beautifully presented (typical OVA budget at work there...), and the
story doesn't seem to rely on any knowledge of the previous Macross
series or movies. The story relies pretty much evenly on action &
general character development, too - genuinely something for everything.
After 2 episodes it's still not overly clear what direction things
are going to go in, but despite my initial doubts I really enjoyed
watching them. Looking forward to the next batch... |
