Special thanks to Egan Loo for pointing out the many errors in earlier versions of this mini-essay.
One thing fans have a very hard time understanding about Macross is how all the different series and movies fit together. The official Macross Chronology was written by Shoji Kawamori and Masunhiro Chiba back in 1983, and despite rumors to the contrary has actually changed very little over the past 12 years. Unfortunately some fans confused by apparent idiosyncrasies in shows such as Macross DYRL and Macross II have tried to put forth their own versions of the timeline as the "official" one, which has led to even greater confusion on the part of less knowledgeable fans. It is important to note that there is only one official Macross timeline written by Shoji Kawamori and Masunhiro Chiba and honored by Big West/Bandai.
The official timeline of Macross consists of the original TV series SDF Macross (which takes place in the year 2009 AD), followed by Macross Flashback 2012 (2012), Macross Plus (2040), Macross 7 (2045-2046), and Macross Dynamite 7 (2047). In addition, there are several officially-approved side stories to the Macross saga. A side story is an extra story (usually a manga or novel) that occurs in the same time period and location as the TV series it is based on, but focuses on secondary characters or different characters altogether. There are three Macross stories that fall into this category. Macross 7 Trash is a manga series that tells the story of two civilians on the Macross 7 colony during the Macross 7 TV series. Macross 7: The Galaxy Is Calling Me! was a 30-minute theatrical released that was shown alongside the movie version of Macross Plus and featured a solo adventure by Basara Nekki on a remote colony world. Finally there is Macross Digital Mission VF-X, a Sony Playstation game that takes place after the Macross 7 TV series where you play the hero trying to rescue the Milky Dolls, an all-female rock group kidnapped by renegade Zentraedi.
Macross: Do You Remember Love has been one of the most controversial parts of the Macross saga with fans. The movie version of Space War One seems to contradict the TV series in several ways and appears to not fit in very well with the rest of the official chronology. The key thing to remember is that the events in the movie never actually happened in the Macross continuity. Macross DYRL is an "entertainment documentary" of Space War I, sort of a "movie within a movie" meant to honor and remember the heroes of Space War One to those who didn't live through it. The movie is very popular in the Macross universe and serves as an inspiration to some of the characters in Macross 7. But the story itself is completely fictional and merely based on "actual" events in the Macross chronology.
Macross II is the oddball of all the various Macross shows. The story was never officially endorsed by Kawamori and is therefore not considered part of the official Macross continuity. Instead, the show is considered to be in a "parallel world" to the real Macross and none of the dates or events in the story correspond to the official timeline. Rumors that Macross DYRL, Macross 2012, and Macross II make up a second official Macross continuity created by Bandai are actually false, propagated by fans who have trouble reconciling the events in DYRL. It is unlikely that a sequel to Macross II will ever be produced in Japan, though Bandai did license the series to Viz Comics in America, allowing them to produce a sequel in comic form.
Finally, here in the United States there is Robotech. In 1984 Carl Macek and Harmony Gold purchased the rights to the animation of the original Macross TV series from Big West, and combined it with footage from two other Japanese mecha shows (The Super Dimensional Calvary Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada) to form the American TV series known as Robotech. As a result, most Americans upon seeing Macross Plus or Macross II in a video store exclaim "Cool! A sequel to Robotech!" It is important to remember that except for the fact that some of the TV footage from Macross is used in Robotech, the two shows have absolutely NOTHING to do with each other and in fact contradict each other in many ways. Likewise Southern Cross and Mospeada have absolutely no relationship to Macross in Japan; you will never see Dana Sterling or Scott Bernard appear in a sequel to Macross.
Fortunately Kawamori is continuing the Macross saga. On December 18, 1997 volume 1 of the new Macross OAV Macross Dynamite 7 will be released in Japan, followed by the remaining 3 parts in the first half of 1998. Based on the current popularity of Macross worldwide it is highly likely that there may be more OAVs or movies released in the near future. Currently however no confirmed plans have been announced for new shows following Dynamite 7.
For more information on the official Macross continuity I urge you to check out Egan Loo's timeline in his Macross Compendium. It is by far the best source of information on official times, dates, and events in the Macross universe.
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 http://www.mcs.net/~deitrich/index.html deitrich@mcs.net |
Last Updated: Friday, 18-Jan-08 02:59:00 PST |