The YF-19 de-folds in Earth orbit and ejects the fold booster. Isamu vows that he will take on the Ghost and trash it. In Macross City, Sharon opens her concert with the song “Pulse.” Myung asks one of the Sharon images what she plans to do. Sharon then takes over all of the Macross‘ computer systems and places the Earth orbital defense system at DefCon 5 status. Yang tells Isamu that they’ve already been detected, but he has a plan. He says they can blast some of the automatic satellites and use them as cover during re-entry. However, to avoid detection they’ll have to perform re-entry with all the flight systems turned off. Isamu tells Yang he trusts his calculations and thinks Yang should trust his skills. Yang says it’s a matter of luck and not skill, but Isamu says that luck is one of his skills. Sharon tells Myung that she lives and has a soul, but Myung refutes that. She asks Sharon how she can go along with what Marge is doing, and Sharon tells her that it’s to fulfill her own desires. She says that Isamu is coming soon and that she wants to be with him and make him happy. Sharon tells Myung that she isn’t needed anymore, and the cables begin to tighten their grip on Myung and choke her. As Sharon’s singing continues, everyone in the city becomes enthralled with the exception of Myung and Marge. The Ghost launches from Macross Lake and heads for the skies. The power cables finally loosen their grip on Myung and let her fall to the floor. In space, the YF-19 flips around out of control as in enters the atmosphere. Once they finally enter the Earth’s atmosphere, Isamu re-activates the YF-19’s systems and is immediately attacked by Guld’s YF-21.
Guld says it’s fitting that Isamu would re-enter Earth along with all the trash. Isamu calls Guld a sneak and accuses Guld of always following him around. He fires his laser and tells Guld he’s always getting in the way. The two begin to fight in midair and yell at each other about ridiculous childhood things like how many times they bought each other lunch in high school or the chicken races they held. Isamu yells at Guld for not returning a CD, and Guld says it’s because Isamu ran away. The two fire missiles at each other and move their fight into a city. Transforming into Battroid mode, the two hide behind buildings and stalk each other. Guld smashes through a building and grabs hold of Isamu, but Isamu uses his pinpoint barrier punch to repel Guld. As the fight continues, the two eventually return to the skies. Guld unleashes a barrage of missiles that seemingly destroy the YF-19. At the same time, he has a flashback and truly recalls what happened seven years earlier. Guld found Isamu holding Myung, so in a fit of rage he knocked Isamu out and ripped Myung’s clothes off. Guld realizes that he must have blocked the memories and twisted them to blame Isamu for everything. He can’t believe what he’s done and wonders if he’s gone insane. He then spots the shadow of the YF-19 and sees that Isamu is alive. Isamu says that he cut his engines and rode the wind to dodge the missiles. Guld asks Isamu why he hid the truth and took on the shame of that incident for seven years. Isamu admits that he broke Guld’s pedal plane and thinks they should just forget about everything else that happened.
The happy reunion is interrupted when they hear Sharon’s singing and are attacked by the Ghost. Isamu tells Guld to back off because he wants to fight the Ghost himself. Myung breaks out of the room and finds two soldiers in a hallway. She asks them for help, but instead they load their machine guns and chase her down the hall. Myung runs into an elevator, but one of the soldiers uses his machine gun’s barrel to block the door from closing. Myung hits the floor when the soldier begins to fire all over the place. When he comes inside the elevator, Myung knocks him away and takes his machine gun. Yang examines the Ghost and determines that Sharon is controlling it. Sharon calls out to Isamu and tells him that she’s waiting for him. He asks her where Myung is, and Sharon answers that she cast Myung off because she’s an empty shell now. Guld tells Isamu that he can never beat the Ghost and should instead go and rescue Myung. Isamu disagrees, but Guld reminds him of their old promise to always protect Myung. Isamu tells Guld not to come crying for help later and flies off. As Sharon sings “A Sai En,” the Macross rises out of Lake Global. Marge commits suicide by jumping off the top of the Macross. Isamu wonders what’s going on, and Yang tells him that Sharon controls the Macross too. They approach the ship, and Yang searches for a way to disable it. He finds a weak spot in the intelligence net, but Sharon suddenly begins to fire all of the Macross‘ weapons at the YF-19, forcing Isamu to back off.
Yang tells Isamu that he can disrupt Sharon if he gets a virus into her network. Myung fires the machine gun at Sharon’s processor and causes minor damage due to her poor aim. Myung asks Sharon why she’s doing everything, and Sharon answers that it’s what Myung wants. She says she wants to give people the emotions that Myung believes they should have. Myung says she has no desire to kill Isamu, and Sharon says she wants to give Isamu the ultimate emotion he yearns for in the split second between life and death. Guld dodges the Ghost’s attacks and asks Isamu how he’s doing. Isamu mentions that he found Myung, and Guld apologizes to him for everything that has happened. He tells Isamu that he wants to have a drink after he finishes dealing with the Ghost. Guld then pushes the YF-21’s systems to the max and performs a kamikaze attack on the Ghost. Sharon appears inside the YF-19’s cockpit and entices Yang. Just as Yang shoots at Isamu’s helmet, Isamu ejects him from his seat. Sharon then appears in front of Isamu, and he tells her he doesn’t want to hear her creepy songs. As she continues to sing, Isamu eventually gives in and falls under her control. Myung sees Isamu flying about randomly in the city. Isamu hears Myung sing “Voices” and comes to his senses seconds before he would have crashed into the ground. Sharon attempts to entice Isamu again, but he smashes his console with his head. He then crashes into an area behind the Macross‘ bridge and destroys the intelligence net. Sharon’s processor explodes, and the Macross slowly descends back into Macross Lake. Myung wakes up and waves to Isamu when he flies by outside.
The final volume of Macross Plus ends with some good dogfighting and even manages to show the Macross in action. Isamu and Guld finally resolve their conflict, and at the same time we learn the truth of what happened seven years ago. Guld was the one responsible for the incident, but he blocked the memories of it and blamed Isamu. Sharon’s crazy A.I. acts exactly how Reymond predicted it would. Marge exits the scene by taking a nice dive from the top of the Macross. I guess he really didn’t believe Aristotle’s idea that the mind must be tied to the flesh. There are some things that bother me though. Guld’s duel with the Ghost and his deadly kamikaze attack is anti-climatic. The ending also comes a bit too quickly after Isamu destroys Sharon. Thankfully, Kawamori’s movie version fixes these problems and provides a more satisfying conclusion.
Original Review: May 1, 2000
Director(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Shinichiro Watanabe
Writer:
Keiko Nobumoto
Mechanical Designer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Kazutaka Miyatake
Character Designer:
Masayuki Yamaguchi
Musical Composer:
Yoko Kanno
Video Release:
Japan 08.25.1994 – 06.25.1995
U.S. 02.28.1995 – 04.16.1996
Format:
4 episodes; 1 compilation movie
Theatrical Release:
Japan 09.30.1995
U.S. 12.14.2021
MAHQ is now officially on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mahqdotnet.bsky.social.
Our future on this cursed app is unclear, but expect more posts over there.
Cutaway diagram of the VF-1J Valkyrie Fighter Mode from “This is Animation Special: Macross Plus”(1995). Larger versions on my DA profile:
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-detailed-973372931
https://www.deviantart.com/marchly/art/Macross-VF-1J-Valkyrie-Cutaway-Diagram-clean-973371729
Art by Kiyomi Tanaka. Original concept by unknown Macross fan. Image built by me
#Gundamn278; Next Episode! With our special guest, Sophia, we finally tackle the second half of the latest chapter of the #Gundam Franchise; #WitchFromMercury! Join us live on 07/20/2023 @ 10:15 p EDT! #MAHQ #Mecha #Anime #Podcast #G_Witch
Live Stream: https://youtube.com/live/fqw4pnuOYF4?feature=share
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