MacrossReviews

Macross Ep. 15: Chinatown

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Summary

On the Macross, Global and Misa take off in a Mom’s Kitchen transport plane and head for U.N. Spacy High Command in Alaska. On the bridge, Maistrov arrives to take over command and bumps his head on the threshold of the door. He pulls out a cigar to smoke, but Shammy tells him there is no smoking. Claudia’s shift ends, so she leaves the bridge. Outside, a party is being held on the deck of the Daedalus. Loli, Conda and Warera take notes on what’s happening, but they get drunk on beer and decide to take the day off. Elsewhere, Claudia goes to Roy’s room and finds him sleeping in bed. She decides to take a shower, but he touches her butt and then grabs her and kisses her. Back on the Daedalus deck, Minmay is escorted to her Fan Liner in a limo. She gets into the Fan Liner with Hikaru, and her manager warns them both to come back on time. Hikaru takes off and is glad to be back in the air in a regular plane. Max and Kakizaki pull up beside him in their Valkyries, and Kakizaki says they’ll leave him alone to pursue his love with Minmay. Hikaru says it isn’t like that, and the two of them leave. Elsewhere, the transport plane lands on the surface of Alaska Base, which is heavily guarded by Monsters, other Destroids and Valkyries. The plane is lowered on a platform to a subterranean level. Over the ocean, Minmay tells Hikaru that it’s been a long time since they’ve been alone together. She tells him that she’s going to be very busy when she returns because she has to film a TV show and her first movie. Hikaru asks her if she can keep up with a schedule like that, but she’s fallen asleep. In Alaska, Misa and Global ride an elevator down the long shaft of the Grand Cannon. He asks her if she knows about the Grand Cannon, and she says she doesn’t. He explains that it’s a weapon based off the main gun of the Macross, which takes Earth’s gravitational forces and turns it into energy. The six kilometer shaft they are traveling down acts as the barrel of the cannon. Global tells Misa a story of when he served under her father Admiral Takashi Hayase during the Unification War. She laughs at his story, and he tells her he hasn’t seen her laugh in a long time. He tells her it will be very important for them to work hard to convince the high command of their findings.

Hikaru and Minmay arrive in Japan and fly by Mt. Fuji before landing in Yokohama. In Alaska, Misa and Global enter a conference room where the Admirals are displayed on large screens in a video conference. Misa begins to give her report on the Zentradi. In Yokohama, Hikaru and Minmay walk through Harbor View Hill Park and she shows him the New Marine Tower. After walking through the city, they go to Chinatown, and Hikaru is amazed by how different it looks from the rest of Japan. Minmay spots her family’s restaurant, Mei Sha Roh, and runs inside with Hikaru. A waiter named Chin slaps himself when he sees Minmay and runs to get Minmay’s mother Lynn Shigeyo. She can’t believe that Minmay is alive and thought she was killed in the Unification War. She asks who Hikaru is, and Minmay introduces him and explains he saved her life. Her father Lynn Paoshun comes into the room and asks why she didn’t call them earlier. In Alaska, the Admirals don’t seem to fully believe what Misa has reported. Global asks about the release of the 56,000 civilians on the ship, and the Admirals tell him they will discuss that topic later. In Chinatown, Paoshun yells at Minmay and refuses to let her go back to the Macross. She says that she has to go back to her fans and do her job, and he says he doesn’t want her to be like some prostitute for soldiers on a ship. Minmay’s cousin Lynn Kaifun comes down when he hears all the noise, and he is amazed that Minmay is alive. He hasn’t seen her since he left to join the peace movement, but he is glad she is alive. She tells him his parents are alive and well on the Macross. In Alaska, the Admirals pass down their decision. They will not allow the release of the civilians because they told the public that Anti-UN terrorists destroyed South Ataria Island. They don’t want the public to know about the war with the Zentradi, and Global says Earth is in danger anyway. They leave when the meeting ends, and when Global asks Misa if she will visit her father, she refuses. In Chinatown, Kaifun decides he will go back to the Macross with Minmay to keep her safe. As Global and Misa head back to the ship, she reads a letter from her father asking her to leave the ship and tears it up.

Commentary

After some battle-heavy episodes, this time we get a bit of plot advancement and character development. As expected, U.N. Spacy’s reaction to the Zentradi report wasn’t received any better than on the Macross. For military personnel, they seem more like politicians who are concerned with public image in their attempt to hide the war. They also seem very cold-hearted for wanting to use the 56,000 civilians as bait for the Zentradi. They seem determined to use their Grand Cannon to end the war, no matter what the losses might be. We also get to see Minmay’s parents and her cousin Kaifun, who is now a recurring character. As a peace activist, I doubt he’d fit in on a warship, and he already doesn’t seem to get along well with Hikaru.

Original Review: May 1, 2000

Overall Rating
4/5
Macross Info


Director:
Noboru Ishiguro

Writer(s):
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Shoji Kawamori
Noboru Ishiguro
Sukehiro Tomita
Kenichi Matsuzaki

Mechanical Designer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Kazutaka Miyatake

Character Designer:
Haruhiko Mikimoto

Musical Composer:
Kentaroh Haneda

Format:
36 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.03.1982 – 06.26.1983

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