Exsedol informs Britai that there is an abandoned miclone base on Mars. Britai thinks it will be an excellent opportunity to lure in the Macross and capture it. For the operation he has called in reinforcements from the 7th sector Armored Division of the 109th branch of the Bodol main fleet. Exsedol is shocked, because that group is commanded by the infamous Kamjin Kravshera. Kamjin is known for getting drunk during a battle and killing most of his men, which earned him the nickname “Ally Killer.” Despite Kamjin’s reputation, Britai is sure that he can control him. Kamjin’s ships suddenly de-fold from space in close proximity to Britai’s ship and crash into it. Kamjin calls to introduce himself, and his subordinate Oigul says he won the bet for the booze because they crashed into four ships. Britai becomes angry and tells Kamjin he won’t take any of his stupidity in this operation. Meanwhile, Hikaru, Roy and the other Valkyrie pilots fight off attacking Regults and Gnerls. After the battle, Roy tells Hikaru he should go into town to relax. Hikaru runs into Minmay and hears an announcement about the battle that contradicts what he saw. She takes him to a café and gives him an invitation to her birthday party. On the bridge, Vanessa receives a transmission from Salla Base on Mars, and Global is surprised. During the Unification War, the soldiers at Salla Base were all killed on their way back to Earth by Anti-United Nations forces. Global decides they will stop at Mars to get supplies. Upon hearing mention of Mars, Misa thinks of her boyfriend, Riber Frurink. Riber was in the army and went to Mars, and Misa decided to join the army to be with him. Kamjin’s forces plant gravity mines underneath the surface and wait for the Macross. The ship lands outside of their range and sends Valkyries and Destroid Spartans to secure the base. Misa asks Global for permission to investigate the base, and he agrees. He moves the ship closer to Salla Base, which brings it within the range of Kamjin’s mines and his force of hundreds of Regults.
As the resupply continues, Hikaru and Roy patrol Salla Base. Hikaru asks Roy if he can have some leave time next week, and Roy says everyone in the squad has asked for a day off to go to Minmay’s birthday party. Claudia interrupts and tells them not to chat, and Hikaru is surprised it isn’t Misa on the radio. Claudia tells him that Misa is driving around nearby him. Misa enters the abandoned base to search for any signs of life, but she finds nothing. As Kamjin waits, he asks his man Gerao how much longer it will take for the mines to reach full power. One of the Regult pilots can’t stand to wait and takes off, and Kamjin shoots him down with his Glaug. He states that if he can wait, then his men can wait too. Vanessa detects the explosion, and Global orders Claudia to send a Cat’s Eye recon plane to investigate. The Cat’s Eye flies over the canyon where Kamjin is hiding and sends a report back to the Macross. Vanessa pulls up the report, and Global is shocked to see a thousand Regults in the canyon. Since that far outnumbers their own forces, Global tells Claudia to take off immediately. As the Macross attempts to take off, Gerao activates the gravity mines that prevent the ship from lifting off. Kamjin and his forces then emerge from the canyon and attack. As the attack continues, Global wonders how they can get to the underground mines. He has an idea, and he wonders if blowing up Salla Base’s nuclear reactor will destroy the mines. When Vanessa runs a simulation that proves his theory, Global orders Misa to overload the reactor. At first she hesitates, but she agrees when he decides to send in Roy. Misa takes the elevator down to the reactor room and sets it on overload. When she tries to escape the compound, emergency doors trap her in a small corridor. Coincidentally, the corridor is where Riber’s room is located. Roy tells Hikaru to rescue Misa, and Hikaru fights off many Regults to reach the base. He blasts the window open, and Misa yells at him and tells him to leave. He grabs her with his Valkyrie’s hands and takes off just as Salla Base explodes. The Macross takes off, and Kamjin is angry that he lost a battle.
This is probably my favorite episode of the entire show because it was the first one I saw, and it managed to hook me even though I lacked context on the story and characters. The action and character development in this episode were enough to get me hooked on the entire series. Hikaru is starting to become used to the military life, and he has yet another encounter with Misa. He isn’t featured much in this episode, which gives enough time to focus on her. This episode shows she is much more than a no nonsense military officer. She actually was in love before, and that love almost gets her killed. I was surprised she was willing to die just because she found Riber’s room. It’s kinda like when Minmay wanted to throw herself into space a few episodes back. On another note, in this episode we’re introduced to one of the series’ more colorful villains, the scheming Kamjin Kravshera. His own soldiers don’t seem to like him, and Britai certainly doesn’t like him.
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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