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Macross Delta is a unique show in the Macross universe, in that it appears to have been written by an ADHD victim without a clear direction on where it wanted to go.
Following the fantastic and hugely popular Macross Frontier, Delta comparatively fell flat on its face in every aspect it strove for. It had worse music, worse protagonists, worse characterization, worse animation, worse story and a much worse romance.
The show had tons of ideas which it refused to properly explore much less try to finish after it had tossed them into the room. Kaname declares a rivalry with Mikumo? Forgotten. Lady M is mentioned a gajillion times throughout the show and teased to be Lynn Minmey? Dropped or trolled, take your pick. Herman declares some sort of rivalry/mentorship in the second-to-last episode with Mirage? Apparently just there to fill up some airtime.
Still, the worst aspect of Macross Delta was its celebration of a culture of racial supremacists, who are beholden to a completely fucked up governmental system. Not only did the show never reach a point where the philosophy and actions of the Windermerans were soundly denounced, it also ended with said race of racial supremacists in the top position, having not been punished for enslaving millions of other sentient beings and killing at least thousands and still being convinced that they were in the right to do so. By the way, if there was any question if Imperial Japan would have cheering fans for their actions in modern times, that question has also been sadly anwered. I guess you just have to add a bit of bishi sparkle and Prussian uniforms.
Just as much as the story had a lack of consequence, so was the characterization of almost every character in the show woefully lacking. The worst culprits were, IMO, Frejya and Hayate, who both were presented as vastly superficial persons, who despite facing large difficulties were able to just barrel past them with the power of positive thinking and energy. It was kinda hilarious when the show ended with them both citing the vapid one liner sentences Hayate’s dad had sent him throughout his career, because it perfectly encapsulated their lack of depth as characters.
Mirage, touted as a third protagonist, was failed miserably in that role by the writers and should, IMO, be regarded as the only supporting character with any depth to her. I really liked her character and I hope they use her in another Macross show, this time maybe as a real protagonist.
Mikumo was the other character of which I wish I had seen more, since her story and plight was pretty heartwrenching to watch. That she was the best singer on the entire show also helped alot.
Every other character on the show is pretty much a one-note. Reina is stoic, Berger is mysterious, Bogue is an asshole. Any sort of introspection was shown by only a few characters and mostly for plot advancement reasons. The worst example of lack of character depth is Heinz, who is shown for most of the show as having no self-determination, no own goals, no introspection, nothing. People who claim that as a nine year old he has zero guilt in what he enables are insulting actual nine year olds, who have way more agency in their opinions than what some people here say. And that isn’t even going into the whole Windbag physiology deal, where Heinz would have to begin fathering children in about two years.
In conclusion, I have no idea what happened after the extremely good Macross Frontier to get to this generally mediocre and for a Macross show sub-par offering in the franchise. There has been speculation on the story being changed or on Kawamori losing his touch (for which a case could be made, given his track record since Frontier).
For me, Macross Delta is the worst Macross show I have watched. Every other Macross offering had something to redeem itself, but not Delta. I hope we will not have to wait for another decade to see the next show and this time around, I actually hope Kawamori takes a break and lets others take the reins, so that he can recharge his batteries.
3/10, would not watch again.
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