Anime Watch: Macross Delta

Hopefully, by now, you understand my love for Macross. If you don't, then you should read about that here, and then look at my lunatic ravings over Macross 7. Only then will this truly make sense to you.

If you've already read those, or you just want to see me rave like some kind of crazy person, then read on, friends.

I.

F***ing.

Love.

Macross.

Delta.

Frontier, the previous show, was goddamn amazing. Great characters, wonderful designs, a well-thought-out plot, and ties to almost every other Macross title to date, it was absolutely wonderful. It felt like the original Macross all over again.

Delta feels like 7 all over again, and I freaking love it.

The premise is basically magical girls in Macross.

You read that right.

Magical. F***ing. Girls. IN MACROSS.

They play it pretty straight, but the idea is immediately ridiculous. Not quite as over the top as 7 was, but I think they really learned their lessons with that project, and scaled back just enough that you can still take it kind of serious. Already, I love the characters, and the art style. Not only that, but our main protagonists actually feel like people with motivations, and are capable of changing and adapting to their situation. When something conflicts with their worldview, the way they see the world changes. Three episodes in by time of this writing, and already I love where they are going with the series.

It also continues the grand tradition of being an honest-to-goodness Science Fiction anime. There's a huge difference between Science Fiction and Science Fantasy. Most works these days are Science Fantasy. The difference between the two are Star Trek vs Star Wars. One focuses on the technology and how it should work, while the other doesn't give a shit how hyper drives actually function. They're just a background element to get the characters to the next big event.

In every Macross, they try to look at how people would actually live under these extreme conditions. In nowhere is that more clear than in Frontier, and now, Delta. Technology is all around them, and influences the way they live their lives. It's familiar, yet totally foreign - we don't have cleaning robots that get in our way, or vending machines that follow us in an attempt to hawk their wares at us. We don't have cell phones that dance around or have personalities, nor do we have AI to help us fly aircraft. But in the world of Macross, they do, and it changes how they interact with the world around them.

Delta also chooses a very interesting musical motif - this time they're going with a very Latin feel, which is pretty awesome and really meshes very well with what they're doing. There are multiple singing girls this time around, as if they were a magical girl troupe, and they fly around and sing and cure people of illness that plagues them. Of course they're known as the Walkure, because you just don't pass up an opportunity like that!

From the start, they also introduce us with a whole new race of aliens, the Windermere, who seem pretty awesome. It's always fascinating how they keep coming up with ways to set each new race of aliens apart, despite all being somewhat similar in a lot of ways. They have a special relationship to Fold Energy, which is basically a way of saying they can more easily manipulate spacetime. Also, the new flying planes are based off the original designs, which look utterly outstanding.

Frontier was great, but I think that Delta might manage to do what 7 failed to do in a lot of ways - take the franchise into new and exciting territory. Already we have the hints of political machinations that will surely shape the course of the final arc, and probably drive most of the plot forward quickly once the main cast are firmly established into their roles.

I love the new music. It's just so good, and feels so drastically different from their previous works, which all had a very J-pop feel to them. It makes me glad that they're starting to move away from some of that, while still maintaining some of that J-pop vibe. I think some of this may have a lot to do with the fact that Yoko Kanno doesn't appear to be producing the score this time - an interesting choice that I hope reflects how different the rest of the series is.

Let me just be clear that I know Delta is not your typical Macross fare, and it's all because of the Walkure. Which is one of the reasons I love it. Old fans appear to be criticizing this choice, and they're absolutely welcome to do that - but their discomfort is one thing I adore, and that's not just trolling. That discomfort (and to some extent disgust) is one of the things that made 7 so divisive, and personally I'm totally looking forward to some absolutely ludicrous bullshit coming up in the next episodes.

While I'm sure it'll never be as f***awesome as "LISTEN TO MY SONG!", it's sure to be hilarious to watch.