Akadot - Review: Robotech: Volume 1, First Contact page 1


Akadot Retail - Pop Japan Mercantile

by Dan Borses

In 1999, the crash landing of an alien battle fortress on Macross Island ends a decade-long global war as the nations of the world unite to restore the battle fortress, dubbed Super Dimension Fortress-1, and to understand its alien technology known as Robotech.

Episode 1: "Booby Trap"

The eyes of the entire world are locked on Macross Island as the crew of the SDF-1 prepares for launch. But the festivities are suddenly interrupted by the flashy arrival of stunt pilot Rick Hunter, fresh from his father's air circus. Meeting with his long time friend, Lieutenant Commander Roy Fokker, Rick receives an up-close tour of the Veritech fighters, the new warplanes of the Robotech Defense Force. When mysterious aliens known as the Zentraedi initiate a surprise attack on Earth, Rick is mistakenly ordered to help the pilots meet the onslaught. Unprepared for his stint at combat, Rick is quickly shot down by the enemy and crashes into the city. But a change in the vehicle has allowed Rick to survive the descent in equipment that more resembles a bipedal warrior than a warplane.

Episode 2: "Countdown"

The Robotech Forces continue to fend off the enemy attack on Macross Island. Meanwhile, on the ground, Rick Hunter tries to understand the strange piece of equipment he has been piloting. In the process, Rick meets the young Lynn Minmei, a beautiful if somewhat vacuous aspiring actress, who steps into the line of fire. Though Rick is able to save Minmei from the advancing aliens, Rick's inexperience calls for the intervention of Roy Fokker who saves them both from the Zentraedi, fierce fifty-foot-tall giants.

Episode 3: "Space Fold"

After initial failure to take off, the SDF-1 uses its earth-built boosters to lift off into space. Ignoring Fokker's warning, Rick vows to return Minmei to her family on the ground using his stunt plane. As they exit the ship, Captain Gloval orders the the crew to use the SDF-1's untested space-fold technology to escape from the advancing alien ships. The space fold carries the SDF-1 into the orbit of Pluto, but the fold rips Macross Island out of the ground and carries it with the SDF-1 into space. Rick and Minmei, confined to Rick's tiny stunt plane and unable to navigate in deep space, crash back into the SDF-1.

Episode 4: "The Long Wait"

Trapped inside a forgotten section of the immense battle fortress, Rick and Minmei struggle to survive until they can make contact with the ship's crew. Fearful of dying, Rick and Minmei become intensely close to one another. After twelve days, a construction accident rips away the roof of their compartment, revealing the astounding fact that the inhabitants of Macross Island have rebuilt their city inside the SDF-1.

Episode 5: "Transformation"

Plagued by feelings of uselessness and badgered by Fokker and Minmei, Rick debates joining the Robotech Defense Force. Meanwhile, the Zentraedi follow the SDF-1 into deep space. During the battle, Captain Gloval and Chief Engineer Lang discover that the fortress's main guns, which saved the day in the initial alien attack, can no longer be fired without subjecting the ship to a modular transformation. Making the fateful decision, Gloval orders the ship to reconfigure into battle mode. Though the Defense Force wins the battle, the transformation once again tears Macross City asunder. Witnessing the destruction, Rick swallows his hatred of war and fear of killing, and decides to enlist in the Defense Force.

Episode 6: "Blitzkrieg"

Two months after the space fold that plunged the SDF-1 into deep space, the battle fortress approaches the rings of Saturn. The Zentraedi commander Breetai believes he will soon be able to recapture the ship as it attempts to hide behind the planet's rings. Gloval surprises the Zentraedi by instead launching a large-scale attack against the SDF-1's pursuers. During the battle, Rick finds himself inside an enemy ship once again face to face with an enemy soldier. Despite his best attempts, he is unable to kill his enemy face to face.

In discussing a work such as "Robotech," it is difficult to find a starting point, not only because of the monumental length of the work (a whopping 85 episodes), but also because of its monumental importance. There is little dissent to the contention that "Robotech" secured a place for Japanese animation in the American mainstream during a time when animation had been relegated to a kiddified block of time on Saturday morning while more mature audiences lurked quietly in the dark, nursing their Friday-night hangovers with aspirin and black coffee. "Robotech" came along and re-established animation as a legitimate vehicle for a complex epic, carrying in episodic format a tale unlike anything ever seen on American television.

The story certainly contains complexity of character and situation. In the fifth episode, "Transformation," Rick Hunter faces an identity crisis. His life as a stunt pilot at his father's air show is a distant memory and the wreckage of his stunt plane lies covered as if by a shroud on one of the lower decks of the ship. His more recent romantic interest in Minmei seems equally distant, since Minmei's world (her family's Chinese restaurant) has been brought with her aboard the battle fortress. Without that sense of loss, her connection to Rick is shallower than it had been when they had been trapped on the lower decks.

Further complicating Rick's life is the fact that hints of his former life abound. All around Rick sees Robotech pilots performing the kind of risky flying he craves, but he knows that such a life comes with a hefty price. If Rick is to fly, it can be only as part of the military. For Rick to join the military, he must learn to kill and to devote himself to the art of war. Meanwhile, Captain Gloval faces a similar decision on the bridge of the Battle Fortress that has become home to nearly 70,000 survivors of Macross Island. The configuration of the ship prevents it from firing the main guns and acting as an effective warship. Under the circumstances, Gloval chooses to subject the ship to modular transformation, readying it for war. In the aftermath as Rick looks upon the ruins of the city, he decides that he too must undergo a transformation and become a warrior himself.

Complexity aside, there are some weaknesses to the picture that time has mercifully allowed longtime fans to forget. First of all, the many advances in animation technique since the creation of the original source material, "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross" has left the animation in "Robotech" showing its age. Though the new release is on DVD, the sound retains the limits of quality placed on the medium by VHS since it would have been prohibitively expensive to re-record the voices and the music. Also, some of those voices are extremely overacted, most notably that of Lynn Minmei, which initially sparkles with girlish charm but becomes grating by the second episode and excruciating by the sixth. Furthermore, the narrative voiceover that made it possible for the original audience to catch up on missed episodes may come off condescending to those who have been closely watching the plot.

Flaws aside, "Robotech" is a remarkable trip down memory lane. At this time when anime as a genre has reached new heights of popularity, it is certainly appropriate for a title like "Robotech" to resurface. The fact is virtually inescapable: for many fans of Japanese animation, "Robotech" started it all.

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