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Macross the Ultimate Collection is one of the most time consuming
reviews that I've ever had the pleasure of doing. Not because the show was
bad but because this collection (6 discs) showcases all 36 episodes of this
land marking event of anime and the entire series is shown in its original
uncut Japanese dialogue with only English subtitles. Fast forward time one
month later and although there was quite a lot of subtitles that sometimes
made me feel like I was reading War & Peace, I finally came to appreciate
this series because this is how the series was meant to be shown... pure,
uncut and without any bad English translations.
This
anime series is considered a cult classic around the world because it was
the actual precursor to the legendary Robotech series and left a
variety fond memories in the hearts of both the fans and creators of future
anime series. This DVD was easily one of my most time-consuming reviews that
I've ever had the pleasure of watching, not because it was tedious or
disappointing but because it ran for a little over 800 minutes. To make
matters worse, the characters were real and identifiable, as was the
storyline which was quite simply breathtaking. Another important fact about
Macross the Ultimate Collection, is that the entire series has been
digitally restored and not just the video quality but also the audio.
Macross the Ultimate Collection is probably one of the most awe-inspiring
anime sagas to ever grace DVD and the storyline starts in 1999 when a huge
alien spacecraft crashes into the remote island of South Ataria that causes
the history of mankind to be suddenly rewritten. This harbinger from the
stars also caused the various nations of Earth to band together and rebuild
this craft so that man can finally conquer the stars. Unfortunately for
Earth, not all the nations agreed with this decision and a bitter war starts
to scorch the lands of Earth. Fast forward the series ten years later and
the unification wars are finally over and the strange craft named Macross is
about to launch into the heavens.
The
main characters of Macross soon get introduced in the first few episodes of
the series that include the hot-headed pilot Hikaru, the militaristic war
hero, Roy Focker and the sexy civilian called Minmay are just a few of the
characters who star in this series. Unfortunately the day of celebration is
soon turned into a blood fest when a fleet of alien crafts are detected
around the orbit of the moon. The Macross automatically attacks this alien
invasion but the alien crafts retaliate and start attacking the island of
South Ataria. Unaware to Roy and his friends, he eventually uncovers a
gigantic mech that will eventually be the star of the series.
The
enemies of Earth are called the Zentraedi who are a fierce race of warriors
with extraordinary technology. The Zentraedi forces are made up of diverse
and approachable characters such as the ruthless warlord called Khyron and
deadly Commander of the Zentraedi Armada called Dolza. Although humanoid in
appearance, the creators have done a great job at breaching the gap between
human and alien in the way they talk or the strange activities that they
engage in. Macross the Ultimate Collection is more than just your standard
anime series but is a very compelling story that revolves around love, war,
death and resolution.
Although the video quality of Macross the Ultimate Collection has been
digitally restored, it still looks quite dated when compared to other anime
in the genre of today. Although I must admit, the animation, colours and
gigantic space battles look extremely impressive and my hats go off to the
creators of this amazing series. The series is also presented in original
format of 4:3 as it was shown on television those so many years ago.
The
audio quality is presented in Dolby Digital and quite simply sounds phenomenal
through my surround sound setup, especially when the action starts to heat
up in the series. The dialogue is extremely clear, even though I did not
understand what they were saying (besides the name of the characters), it
actually helps draw you into the world of Macross even more than cheesy
English dubbing. Fortunately you can even turn off the Japanese dialogue and
just listen to the music and sound effects.
Macross the Ultimate Collection is clearly a series for purest only because
the entire series is in Japanese. The story however is magnificent and is
easily one of the most impressive DVD's that I have watched in a long time.
If you're sick of Hollywood rubbish than I strongly suggest that you check
this DVD collection out! Highly Recommended!
- Andrew B
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