Studio Satelight's Macross Frontier (2008) is probably one of the most overlooked anime at that date. Being completely overshadowed by the success of Gainax's Mecha Anime Gurren Lagann and the release of Code Geass R2 on that same year.
The Macross franchise has not been as popular among other mecha animes at that time, what originally started as a 36-episode show in 1982, featuring space battles with transformable fighter jets into Gundam-styled mechas, combined with a love relationship with a famous singer, the show definitely had something unique going on. While other shows like Macross 7, Macross Zero didn't really shine as much, and sadly OVAS like Macross Plus suffered the same fate.
Nevertheless, I am here to shine a light on this anime, which was definitely one of the most enjoyable shows to this date, filled with such amazing soundtracks, great animation and well-written characters.

PLOT

The plot isn't entirely complicated, humanity has send large colony ships for expansion, however, they soon face alien threats, known as Bajiras, which compromise their survival. Following the Macross Universe, they fight these aliens with transformable fighter jets known as Valkyries. High-schooler Saotome Alto is dragged into this conflict after witnessing a fighter pilot of the Valkyries die at the hands of the Bajiras. He then soon enlists into the army as a sense of duty, arguably for guilt by not being able to save the pilot and due to the casualties in his first battle with the Bajira. Along the way, Alto meets a young and charismatic classmate known as Ranka Lee, who aspires to be singer like universally famous singer Sheryl Nome, who quickly develops feelings for our young fighter pilot. Thankfully, the story doesn't stick there, more than fighting the "alien scum" and getting the girls, Alto needs to develop the sense of protection, as he is admitted into the skull team, lead by Ranka Lee's older brother, who puts a lot of pressure in him. As well, he is dragged on larger conflicts, in which he will have to make decisions which may or may not decide the fate of the Frontier colony and the galaxy.
The Macross formula is very present in this show, and I commend the studio by going with something unique, continuing the story of Macross 7 in a more "2000s romance" way, but the good type of romance.

SOUNDTRACKS

Highlight of this anime, listen for yourself.

• ▶
• ▶

Soundtracks are what makes this anime amazing, they help set the tone of certain scenes in such a unique way. Macross has always been about popular pop stars, and this anime is no different. taking full advantage of such talented voices like May'n and Megumi Nakajima. One of the strongest points of the anime set foot here, and one of the few reasons this show is one of the best in the Macross franchise; picking a favorite song from the catalogue is very hard at times.

ANIMATION

The animation can be pretty hit-or-miss for this anime. Animation of music videos or concerts which definitely help to emphasize the tone of music concerts in this anime are extremely well done. Nevertheless issues occur due to the heavy use of CGI for the Valkyries, giant ships and Bajiras and it sometimes not blending well at times with the hand-drawn animation and countable instances of reused animation. I commend the studio nevertheless for bringing animation that is never too distracting and definitely bringing some scenes which are very pleasant to the eye when it comes to fight scenes.

CHARACTERS

The characters in this show are filled with personality, very few characters feel stale and most have real motivations which drives them forward. The chemistry between characters is rarely forced and it's definitely a step forwards from other Macross animes. It would be hard picking a favorite secondary character as almost all get badass times to shine, you tell me which one is your favorite. The love-triangle between the main three characters is one of the best this series has seen, I'd boldly say that is even better than what the Macross Plus OVA had to offer.

CONCLUSION

Overall:

• Plot: 8/10
• Soundtrack: 11/10
• Animation: 8.5/10
• Characters: 9/10

I watched most of the Macross shows a while ago, and this one definitely is the crown jewel of the series. Macross Frontier is an almost-perfect mixup of what made the previous Macross animes special, going all-out with the soundtracks and the Mecha fights, taking good advantage of the technology at that time. Another thing to commend is that this show works very good as a standalone, the references to previous animes are there but they are not completely relevant to the story; mostly small details that longtime fans would recognize and make them love this anime even more.
Watch this anime, you won't regret it.