It is October 2011, and nearly two years have passed since the Rain of Death that killed most of humanity and decimated the Earth’s surface. Now, Earth’s population consists of some surface survivors, the civilians from the Macross and the Zentradi who remained behind. Hikaru flies over the wasteland and lands when he spots a field of grass and dandelions growing underneath the wreckage of a ruined Valkyrie. Nearby, Hikaru’s wingmen call him and get no response. One of them thinks their patrols of the wasteland are pointless, and another says there could be problems due to angry Zentradi. He says that the Zentradi have only known war, and now it must be difficult to adjust to life on Earth. In Alaska, Macross City has been rebuilt around the crater where the Macross landed after the final battle with Boddole Zer years before. In the suburbs, Misa washes dishes in Hikaru’s home. She wonders if she should charge him, but she reconsiders because he never asks her to clean his home. She goes into a room and finds a photo album near Hikaru’s bed. She looks through the album and finds that it is filled with nothing but Minmay pictures. She turns a Minmay poster upside down before leaving the house and dropping the keys in the mail box. Hikaru remembers Roy telling him he joined the military because he loved to protect women, and when he turns on the radio he hears Minmay singing “Zero-G Love.” He happens to find a live broadcast of a concert of hers in nearby Grante City. Kaifun announces that they must rebuild their city quickly and ignore the military. His wingmen contact him, and he tells them that flowers are growing outside of the area designated as part of the Nature Restoration Project. He then tells them they’re on their own because he’s heading to Grante City. Hikaru arrives at the concert and watches Minmay sing “Sunset Beach.” In Macross City, Misa sits at a sidewalk cafĂ© and sees that Hikaru still loves Minmay. She sees Max and Milia pass by with their baby daughter Komilia, and for a moment she imagines herself and Hikaru as parents.
In Grante City, Minmay watches as Kaifun chugs down a bottle of liquor. He’s angry that the citizens paid them with supplies and food instead of money. Minmay tells him he should stop drinking and that they should be grateful for what they have. Kaifun says he doesn’t want to accept anything from the military, and Minmay says she feels weird accepting things for her singing. Hikaru watches from nearby, and Minmay criticizes Kaifun for his feelings on the military. He wants to know why she’s defending the military, and he says they’ll never go to Macross City. She says that soldiers like Hikaru are better men than he is because they’re trying to make the Earth like it used to be. Kaifun thinks it’s the military’s fault that the world was destroyed to begin with. Minmay says she thinks they should be apart for a while and decides she will go to Macross City. Kaifun asks her how she plans to do that when it’s over 5,000 km away. Hikaru receives a call from Vanessa and is ordered to fly to Bjorn City where three Zentradi have stolen Regults and are on a rampage. Misa returns home and receives a call from Vanessa to come to the command center on the Macross. As Hikaru heads for Bjorn City, Misa calls him and lectures him on his dereliction of duty, saying he is an unfit leader if he can’t stick to his assignments. Hikaru’s squad arrives at Bjorn City and encounters fierce resistance from the attacking Zentradi. One of the Valkyries is damaged, but Hikaru arrives and takes on all three Regults at once. They ignore his call for them to surrender, so he disables their Regults and forces them to abandon them and retreat. When Hikaru returns to Macross City, he finds Misa waiting for him and expects a lecture. She tells him that Global wants to see him, and she gives him an envelope filled with pictures of herself and runs away. On the Macross, Global tells Hikaru that what they’ve feared is finally happening: Zentradi are beginning to reject culture. Hikaru hopes that it’s an isolated incident, but Global believes it’s just the beginning. He thinks they should reassign the Zentradi they have on patrols to the Macross for supervision. Elsewhere, Minmay thinks to herself that she misses Hikaru. As Hikaru leaves the Macross, he wonders if Minmay and Kaifun aren’t getting along.
Some may think, what story could there possibly be left to tell after the previous episode? Well, technically, none. Episode 27 was meant to serve as the finale for the series before it was extended to 36 episodes. Therefore, this episode and the ones that follow serve as an epilogue in the post-war period. While cities are springing up again, most of the Earth’s surface is still devastated from the Rain of Death. Even though Space War I is technically over, the conflict between humans and Zentradi is yet to be resolved. It’s interesting to see how the characters have changed after nearly two years. Max and Milia have a happy family. Minmay isn’t happy, and Kaifun is an alcoholic. Hikaru doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore, and Misa is clearly in love with Hikaru. How this all plays out in the remaining portion of the series will be interesting.
Original Review: May 1, 2000
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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