Often regarded by fans as the red-headed stepchild of the Macross franchise, 1992's six-episode Macross II OAV series was rights holder Big West's attempt to make a sequel to seminal 1984 movie Macross: Do You Remember Love? (DYRL) without the involvement of original creators Studio Nue. As a result, this is the only Macross entry lacking input from director Shōji Kawamori. In fact the only returning talent of note is character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto, whose instantly-recognisable style provides consistency in visual identity, at least.

Despite keeping an unwatched copy of Kiseki Films' ancient early 2000s region 2 PAL DVD release on my shelf, until recently, Macross II was the only part of the franchise I'd never watched. Put off by criticisms that it was “non-canon,” and also not very good, I left it to languish in the depths of my Eternal Backlog of Shame. I've now arrived at the conclusion that this was a mistake. With Disney/Hulu now streaming what appears to be a beautifully remastered version with (mostly) pin-sharp picture quality, I finally gave Macross II a chance to impress me on its own terms, and I'm glad I did.

Set eighty years after the events of DYRL, Macross II shares no characters with its predecessor, only a setting and similar mecha designs. Space War I has long since resolved, the alien Zentradi (male) and Meltrandi (female) races have finally settled their differences, making their home on Earth, and building a peaceful, integrated society with humans. The original Macross ship sits majestically in its place at the centre of Macross city, while a fleet of similar-looking ships built using Zentradi technology now protect the planet.

17-year-old Hibiki Kanzaki is a brash, impulsive reporter desperate to make a name for himself with big “scoops.” We first meet him during an altercation with blonde ace UN Spacy Valkyrie pilot Silvia Gena, who has one quarter Meltrandi blood (through her grandmother). Hibiki's attempt to expose her secret meeting with a high-ranking military commander earns him a punch to the nose. As this is Macross, we know such violence is but a prelude to inevitable romantic entanglement, and with Hibiki, Silvia becomes part of the patented Macross Show Central Love Triangle.

The final side of this triangle is Ishtar, a blue-haired alien girl, a singer and “Emulator” for the invading Marduk army, a race who enslave Zentradi warriors with mind control technology activated by singing. Hibiki meets her during the UN Spacy's ill-fated attempt to fight off the invaders using the “Minmay Attack,” a musical weapon inspired by DYRL's heroine Lynn Minmay. Turns out Hibiki's also a skilled Valkyrie pilot, and during his attempt to document the truth of the Earth/Marduk war, his journalistic instincts lead him to pilot his Valkyrie inside a damaged Marduk ship, where he essentially abducts Ishtar.

Hibiki's intention with Ishtar is to seemingly Stockholm Syndrome her into not only falling for him, but also for Earth's Culture. Unlike the Zentradi, the Marduk already know about music, and have already weaponized it to control their slave warriors. Hence the previously successful tactic of Valkyries blasting idol music, as well as missile and lasers, is ineffective on them. Only if one of their own singers (such as Ishtar) sings Earth songs will it free the captive Zentradi from mind control. Ishtar then becomes the central MacGuffin/bargaining chip that every faction wants to possess.

In many ways, Macross II is very much a product of its time – for better and for worse. Made in an age where most anime was still produced using entirely analogue techniques, its wonderfully detailed cel animation with high-contrast color schemes and deep black shadows are complemented beautifully by spectacular, glowing painted backgrounds. Modern, digital anime techniques struggle to emulate the kind of luminescent warmth and soft-focus blurring that adds so much to Macross II's gorgeous visual identity. Overwhelmingly showy ship-to-ship battles coruscate with searing light beams that bleed across the darkness of space, transforming mecha tearing across the screen, their intricate details shifting, rotating, and twisting hypnotically. The plentiful action sequences truly are a mech-lovers' dream.

While many of the slower dialogue scenes, with their far more limited animation, look unsurprisingly static in comparison, Mikimoto's designs, with his women all given trademark huge moistly glistening eyes, give the show an emotionally evocative, charmingly retro feel. The camera has an unfortunate tendency to leer particularly at Ishtar's body, with some questionable framing and positioning that isn't helped by the decision, for much of the runtime, to dress her in what appears to be a skin-tight leotard with most of its fabric cut our. I can't help but roll my eyes at the multiple boob jiggle instances (her breasts bounce around even when no other part of her body is in motion), or when we see completely unnecessary butt close-ups. I'm not suggesting this kind of thing doesn't also happen in modern anime – it most certainly does – but it seems somewhat out of of place here.

While the visuals are generally top-tier, I can't say the same for the storytelling, for its frequent lack of clarity and… bizarre narrative choices. For example in the first episode, Hibiki's fellow reporter just sort of suddenly dies from a random explosion mainly because the plot no longer requires him to live. It's so abrupt, so out-of-nowhere, I had to rewind to clarify what the hell had just happened. That wasn't the only time I had to do that! As a result of these random heel-turns, the plot doesn't tend to flow very smoothly. The show, at least in the early episodes, is also terrible at clarifying where any of this happens. I wasn't initially sure if Hibiki lived on Earth, or on some kind of colony ship. At one point, Hibiki shows Ishtar around a bunch of major Earth landmarks, such as what looks like the Louvre, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Coliseum, all within walking distance of one another. Only later does it become clear these are all replicas, in a “culture park.”

The overall plot and lore of Macross II is all over the place, too. Ishtar, and some of the other Marduk, believe that the original Macross ship is “The Ship of the Alus” that will bring culture to the Marduk, destroying them. Main big bad Ingues fears this prophecy so much that it's his main motivation for wreaking havoc on the Earth, and even killing his own people when they don't follow orders. It's all very silly, but then that's pretty much on-brand for Macross, so I don't mind that much. When it leads to such spectacularly shiny space battles, I'm willing to forgive a lot of narrative daftness.

Central to most Macross franchise entries is the music, and Macross II absolutely does not disappoint in the soundtrack department. Idol singer Wendy Ryder is merely a background character, but she performs two excellent tracks: "For Now a Friend" with its prominent saxophone, and the iconic "Riding in Your Valkyrie," both of which are reprised in later, canon, Macross shows set decades earlier in the timeline! Make of that what you will…Outside of 90s J-pop, Shirō Sagisu's mixed orchestral/rock soundtrack provides bombastic and exciting accompaniment to the already spectacular battles. He would later go on to provide equally iconic scores for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Bleach, Berserk, SSSS.Gridman, and SSSS.Dynazenon.

Unusually for a Macross series, there is a definitive ending to both love triangle and plot, leaving little ambiguity regarding characters' fates (looking at you accusingly, Macross Zero.) Personally, I don't really buy Hibiki's sudden choice of one girl over another, which seems almost like an afterthought tacked onto the final episode in an attempt to drum up some kind of emotional tension. Did the writers run out of time to include interpersonal conflict? All potentially difficult feelings are shrugged off almost immediately.

Despite a few of its flaws, I'm glad I finally got around to watching this seemingly almost forgotten aspect of Macross history. It stands on its own two mechanical legs as a thrilling sci-fi action show with some cute and fun characters, super-cool mecha, and a superb soundtrack. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, US boutique label AnimEigo are set to release a physical blu-ray Macross II set soon. I'd recommend snapping one of those up before they disappear, especially if you're not keen on a Hulu or Disney+