Macross Plus (OAV)

Macross Plus was inspired by the U.S. Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) project (1981-1991), which pitted two prototypes - Lockheed-Martin's YF-22 and Northrop/McDonnell-Douglas' YF-23 - against each other.

The YF-21's Brain Control System was inspired by the 1982 Clint Eastwood movie Firefox (based on the novel by Craig Thomas).

In order to capture the essence of aerial combat, Shoji Kawamori and the production staff traveled to Edwards Airbase in Palmdale, CA, to study and test-fly American fighter jets. They also used San Francisco, CA, Orlando, FL, and the Windmill Farm in Palm Springs, CA, as the basis for planet Eden's landscape designs.

Like the Variable fighters in the original Macross series, Kawamori based the designs of the Macross VFs on real-world fighter planes. The YF-19 takes its styling cues from Grumman X-29 and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. The YF-21 is based on Northrop-Grumman's YF-23 prototype, and the VF-11B Thunderbolt is patterned after the Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker.

Kawamori based the protagonist's name Isamu Alva Dyson from renowned inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) and phycisist Freeman John Dyson (1923-). Isamu means "brave" in Japanese.

A documentary of the Macross series with a preview of 7 was only featured on the Japanese release of the OVA.

In episode 1, when Isamu is debriefed on his transfer, one of the planets mentioned is Banipal, which is a reference to Triangle Staff's 1995 film Banipal Witt (Catnapped!).