Plot Summary
Set one year prior to the beginning of the Macross series proper, Macross Zero depicts the escalation of warfare between U.N. and anti-U.N. forces, with a focus on an alien spaceship which crash-landed on Earth years ago and holds technology hitherto unknown by humans.
Kudo Shin, a young U.N. pilot, get shot down by an anti-U.N. prototype military airplane/mecha model, and he lands onto an unmapped island in the Pacific ocean. He is rescued by a local native tribe whose primitive culture and religious relics are oddly similar to the alien technology uncovered by scientists. Nome Sara, the high priestess of the tribe, and her younger sister Mao, seem to have a genetic affinity to the relics and can cause paranormal phenomena around them.
Shin is soon rescued by his comrades and returns to his fleet, but his arrival at the island has alerted both the U.N. and anti-U.N. to its existence, and both forces race to acquire and uncover the secrets of the ancient tribe.
Sara is digusted by the humans’ rampant exploitation and opportunism, and the alien mecha which is composed of the various ancient artifacts on the island is activated as a response to her emotions and channels its powers against the U.N. fleet. Amidts a dogfight with anti-U.N. planes, Shin manages to reunite with Sara and placate her, and she decides to sacrifice herself and the alien mecha in order to save her island and tribe from a nuclear barrage launched by the U.N.
Review
All right, let’s get the weak points out of the way first: the story, on its own, is not particularly interesting. The premise of an aircraft pilot getting stranded on an island steeped in alien artifacts and natives following ancient traditions sounds very promising. But from the point of Shin’s rescue and eventual return, the story gets needlessly convoluted, with frequent scene and setting changes without much actual progress being made. Eventually the OVA rushes to its climax, but it is an artificial and unforeshadowed climax so it feels like a cop-out, a way to make the OVA end with a bang.
Likewise, the characters initially introduced are interesting, especially the Nome sisters in their interactions and relating to Shin, but they fail to develop during the course of the OVA so they stagnate into stereotypes instead. Especially Sara, which should have become likeable by the end of the OVA in order for the ending to work, does nothing to escape her stereotype of an anti-progressive traditionalist tribe leader. The secondary characters introduced later into the OVA are also heavily typecast, and some of them are completely redundant other than acting as references to the rest of the Macross universe. One of the possible exceptions is professor Aries Turner; although her relation to several characters across the board seems slightly forced, she is one of the few characters, secondary or not, who reacts and adapts adequately to the events around her.
However, the whole point of this average story is that it is wrapped up in delicious eye candy. The various vistas of the tropical island are stunningly drawn, and the designs of the ancient culture presented are suitably alien and weathered at the same time, so their origin and effect is completely believable. The CG dogfights are seamlessly blended with the handdrawn graphics, which is an accomplishment difficult even nowadays. Macross Zero depicts a wide range of environments, from gentle ocean breezes to underwater ruins to aircraft warfare, but it manages to impress on every front.
The characters are also very nicely drawn and display a wide range of emotions, both with their facial expressions and with the help of the voice acting. The musical score also complements the scenery and action very well, with few exceptions (the tribal hymn verges on being slightly annoying).
Of course, the throwback references of this OVA to other parts of the Macross mythos adds to its value for those who have watched or plan to watch the series proper. Much of the OVA is dedicated to exploring the protoculture theory and its effect on human civilization, and the end result of a blend between advanced technology and ancient religion is presented very nicely in my opinion. There are also cameos and secondary roles to characters who appear elsewhere in the Macross universe, most notably Roy Focker, and this kind of fanservice adds to the value of the OVA.
Macross Zero can serve as a good starting point to explore the Macross saga, or it can be faced as a self-contained OVA of rediscovering a lost civilization. Whichever way one uses to approach it, it should be done to enjoy the amazing animation and CG scenes, rather than placing attention in its lacklustre story.
Stats
Type: OVA
Length: 5 X 30 min
Rating
Production: 9/10
Plot: 6/10
Setting: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
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