Macross: Do You Remember Love?

There will be spoilers.

Movies often fail when trying to retell a series because of how rushed and condensed they have to be. Still, "Do You Remember Love?" managed to cement itself as necessary viewing for after the series, despite its flaws. I watched this first not knowing what I was getting myself into, and with fascination, though I obviously missed a lot as this was intended for those who had already watched the series. After watching the series and coming back to watch this one more time after not remembering it so well, everything made sense, even more so at times. It felt like a whole different experience, so much more satisfying with it's breathtakingly beautiful art, so much more improved compared to the series. Seeing Minmay and Misa drawn so much more beautifully and moving so fluidly was a pleasantly otherworldly experience that can only be really appreciated if the viewer watched the series first. Consistently throughout, the animation shocked me in how good it looks. If I was alive back then, surely I would be one of those that slept in the streets outside the theater waiting for this to come out. At the time, the film was a massive success back in 1984, only coming second place to "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind."

The movie is very different than the series. In the movie, the writing makes Minmay look like the better choice for Hikaru while the series spent most of the time making Misa appear that way. The end of the series gets even deeper than this, however. Misa appears very unpleasant this time but Minmay is portrayed without many of her flaws from the series. Hikaru is much more decisive and assertive instead of feeling so confused and oblivious previously. The Zentradi's men and women get involved in the conflict. There is more explained about the story and origins of certain parts.

As the humans travel in space inside a city that is inside a giant robotic fortress that can transform into a soldier, they often get into fights with a strange alien race from far away. Humanity is struggling to stay alive against it as nearly the entire population has been wiped out by them. The secrets of protoculture, and a 500,000 year old song become their secret weapons.

As a romance it sadly did not get to develop itself out as well as it could, but tried it's best by changing even more from the plot to make it as dramatic and meaningful as possible. Since most who watched it had already seen the series, the majority of the characters were not developed at all here or rarely focused on to help make this just under two hours long. Nothing is perfect, but despite it's flaws, it still nailed the core of what Macross is about. I cannot forget the hilarious reactions of the Zentradi to the so called degeneracy of Protoculture.

The climax of the film is the famous "Do you Remember Love?" sequence. It is legendary, and the height of what the original Macross has to offer, for all it has in epic moments. If I was to name the greatest moments in anime based on what I have experienced, this would be near the top, as one of the most crowning achievements of the medium in what it can do, when there is love and passion behind a project led by legendary staff.

In the final confrontation, the Macross and it's cast are stuck between a crisis just as the main Zentradi forces begin their giant battle between their women and men. Through resolve, Minmay begins to perform "Do You Remember Love?" in the Macross as it is broadcasted for everyone to hear and see. It begins to return culture to an alien race that had lost it, as this is a 500,000 year old song that they felt sounded familiar. With space battles, explosions and death going on all around for her to see behind the glass, not to mention that at any time she could get attacked, Minmay passionately and unmovingly continues to sing her song as everything becomes chaotic around her. Her song creates an alliance between millions of Zentradi who then suddenly turn on their master in order to protect Minmey and her music. Hikaru, the ace pilot, moves out during the confusion as the song nears the end. There is an interesting use of imagery as Misa's frame flashes and alternates with Hikaru's plane before taking off. During the most passionate moment of the song, Hikaru charges at the Zentradi's main supreme commander while Minmay's frame with her hand reaching out flashes in and out behind Hikaru ship, as if to personally deliver to Lord Boldov not just the protoculture of her music, but their ace pilot as he grows near. The song ends as the action slowly cools down, and Minmay looks down looking a bit sad. After all, it was a love song that wasn't all too fitting for her to sing at the moment. Never having seen something of this quality in the Macross series, it was breathtaking.

The song itself is one of my favorite songs not just in anime, but all time. Tragically, the man who composed it committed suicide in the early 2000s. Not just him, but Hikaru's voice actor had suffered the same fate a few years earlier.

Despite all its flaws, this is still a masterpiece. And for anime, a historical document.