Yes, I know the order of posts is a bit backwards – I should have written this post before publishing my review of Misa Hayase: White Reminiscences, but I decided otherwise. I’d written the review and its Greek translation anyway, and I reckoned I could decide how to write this “prologue” later. So, here it is, without further ado.

Neither the Macross franchise nor the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series need much introducing, at least for fans of the real robot mecha anime genre. So, I think it’s best to make this post into a description of my personal journey with Macross. The original series from 1982 is widely considered one of the genre’s “big three” – the other two being Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) and Armored Trooper VOTOMS (1983). All three pushed the genre forward, each introducing its own innovations and unique plot elements. In Western critical discourse, however, Macross hasn’t really been given the coverage it deserves. Most critics tend to bypass it, perhaps because it was obscured by the derivative Robotech and the licensing issues that still affect the availability of key installments of the franchise. This, however, harms our understanding of the evolution of the genre.

So, I’m going to leverage my own academic background as a source of discipline and rigor in my analyses, which will tackle as many of the franchise’s installments as I can. My analysis will be informed by the methodology applied by Umberto Eco in his analyses of popular literature, from Sue through Pitigrilli to Fleming, and I’ll examine plot elements, tropes, archetypes, narratives, cultural influences, and even the legacy these works left behind.