| Sketchley's Translations Main Index | Macross Portal |
| By AARON SKETCHLEY (aaronsketch@HOTdelete_thisMAIL.com) | Ver 1.0 2014.03.25 |
| Episode: M28A & B: Super Dimensional Fortress Macross Eps. 28 "My Album" |
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Story
(...)
Commentary
A new chapter begins from this episode. Set on the Earth, where 2 years have passed since the defeat of the Bodoru Fleet, it depicts the strife caused between Earthlings and the Zentraadi, and the new patterns of love between Hikaru, Minmei, Misa, and others. In addition, it induced the drawing of new face setting images for Hikaru, Misa, and Minmei; and their faces, which seem to have more or less become grown-up, have changed hairdos. Even though Misa's clumsy expression of love by handing pictures of herself to Hikaru, who has Minmei's album on hand, is memorable in this episode, according to Kawamori Shouji's comments in Anime Mooks at the time, we heard that Hikaru actually has an album with only Misa's pictures in it. Also, Kawamori purportedly left the comment about the story after this episode, which was set on the Earth two years later, that he wanted to lay out a "background that wasn't war", such as a temporary peace, and there were advantages to depicting the story set in a place that was separate from the Macross.
Staff
(...)
Cast
(...)
Song
"0-G Love" Lynn Minmei (Iijima Mari)
"Silver Moon, Red Moon" Lynn Minmei (Iijima Mari)
"My Boyfriend's A Pilot" Lynn Minmei (Iijima Mari)
"Tender Sayonara" Lynn Minmei (Iijima Mari)
Characters and Mechanic that appear
Note: items that appear are in colour with a yellow background; (y) in the following. Items that don't appear are black and white.
Character
(y) Ichijo Hikaru / (y) Lynn Minmei / (y) Hayase Misa / Roy Fokker / Claudia LaSalle / (y) Bruno J. Global
(y) Kim Kabrinov / (y) Shammy Milliom / (y) Vanessa Laird / (y) Maximilian Jiinasu / Kakizaki Hayao / (y) Miria Fariina Jiinasu / (y) Lynn Kaifun
Buritai Kuridaniku / Exsedor Forumo / Warera/Rory/Konda / Kamjin Kravshera / Rap Ramizu / Bodoruzaa
(y) Matsuki / (y) Komiria
Mechanic
(y) Macross / VF-1J (Hikaru) / VF-1J (Max) / VF-1J (Miria) / (y,N/S) VF-1S / (y,N) VF-1A (general)
VF-1A (Max) / VF-1A (Kakizaki) / Tomahawk / Defender / Phalanx / Spartan / Monster
(y) Rigaado / Guraaji / Nuujaderu Gaa / Quadoran Roh / Buritai's Ship
N: Normal, S: Super Valkyrie, A: Armoured Valkyrie
Topics: The Changes In The "Macross" TV Series' Episode Number
Even though "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross" was conceived as a total of 52 episodes in the initial planning (around Summer, 1981), due to such things as production reasons, the number of episodes was gradually shortened to 48 episodes + 4 highlight episodes (around Fall, 1981), to 39 episodes (late Fall, 1981). After that, although the production was genuinely advanced on a plan with 39 episodes from Spring, 1982, it was decided to reduce the series to 26 episodes 5 months before broadcasting started (Oct. 1982). However, about 10 weeks after broadcasting began, the series was extended this time to 36 episodes, and the extension after "Love Flows" (the last episode in the 26 episode plan), came to depict the story 2 years after the great war. In addition, concerning the content of the extension, it's said that the plan was at first to depict "even more of the decisive battle with the Zentraadi" and "animate 'the episodes that weren't broadcast in the 1st to 27th episodes'".
Topics: The Fleeting Shifts And Changes In The Extended Part
Even though the broadcast of "Macross" was extended and 9 episodes were ultimately added, it appears that the number of episodes in the extension changed many times; and various numbers appeared in anime magazines at the time, such as "a 13 episode broadcast extension" (Mar. 1983), and "7 episode extension" (Apr. 1983). In addition, director Ishiguro Noboru's comment of "a surprisingly lovely new heroine appears and plays an important role" -which was published in several anime magazines in the same time period-, was an idea that seems likely to not have been realized. Also, as the details of the extension appear to not have been reported in anime magazines at the time, planning for the extension took place in a way where they turned the tables on the uncertainty of the details by soliciting such things as "the predicted story extension that our readers thought up".
Topics: The Two Blank Years
The novel "The Blank Two Years" (production: Kawamori Shouji), which is written about the 2 year period between episodes 27 and 28, was published in the Mook "Macross Perfect Memory" (Minori Bookstore), issued after the end of the series broadcast. Such things as the details of the construction of Macross City, the circumstances of the Earth's revival, the development of Minmei and Kaifun's love, and Hikaru and Misa's relationship of uncertainty are depicted in this short story. Also, with image pictures of Macross City that Kawamori apparently drew during the broadcast, and incorporating illustrations by Hirano Toshiki, Takayama Fumihiko and others, it supplements the 2 years of information that weren't told in the TV series. Incidentally, according to this novel, Hikaru's heart was changing toward Misa at the point in time of this episode, and we've heard that the album with Minmei was one that showed Hikaru, who was tired of military affairs, yearning for a peaceful period.
Preview of the Next Episode
The revolts that successively occur in various places finally spread to Macross City, and they show aspects of enlargement. At such a time, the results of a study brought about by Exsedor concerning the relation of Earthlings and Zentraadi, hint at a dreadful future.
Next time, "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross", "Lonely Song".