Movie Edition
115 minutes
Bandai Visual
VHS (BES-1355): Dolby Surround Hi-fi 9800 yen
LD (BELL-887): CLV Dolby Surround Digital Sound 9800 yen

The two most recent installments in the Macross universe seem to have added MACROSS to the list of shows that can guarantee success just based on the popularity of the name (MACROSS II notwithstanding). The most recent installment, recently released by Big West, is the MACROSS PLUS Movie.
The MACROSS PLUS Movie edition was released earlier this year to much fanfare. Touting over 20 minutes of new footage, the edition saw coverage in theaters across Japan before being released in the home video market on both videotape and laserdisc. The question was: would fans still want to see something that's already been released?
The probable answer is yes. The four part OAV series was taken back to the drawing board and much of the continuity of it rearranged with the new footage inserted. The result is what director Shoji Kawamori claims as how he truly envisioned as how the MACROSS PLUS story should have been told. Somewhat successfully, the movie edition takes something that, by now, is very familiar to its fans and makes it seem new.

 Clocking in just under 120 minutes, the film tells the story of hotshot UN Spacy pilot Isamu Dyson, his estranged friends Guld Bowman and Myung Fan Lone, and the events surrounding a competition for the UN Spacy's new frontline fighter valkyrie. To make the old story new, Big West has defamiliarized it by rearranging the events of MACROSS PLUS, creating more shadows into the story. Gone are the simplistic introductions of the main characters and explanations of their relationships to each other.
To allow for this, scenes such as the exciting introduction of Isamu Dyson in combat at a desolate sector of the universe and his almost cliche run-in with Guld at a board meeting at New Edwards Base were cut. The film now includes a more breathtaking, contemplative beginning sequence with a voiceover by Myung and an ending that seems to have more closure than the original fourth OAV. Other inclusions to the movie edition are scenes that build further upon Myung's relationship with Sharon Apple and the staff that supports her, Isamu's relationship with fellow UN Spacy servicewoman Lucy and a more spectacular, albeit violent, end to Guld.
A notable new sequence to the film is an extension of the Sharon Apple concert that takes place at the 30th Anniversary of the First Space War's end on Earth. The new song that was included on the MACROSS PLUS Soundtrack Plus, "I Wanna Be An Angel," is incorporated into the movie, much of it with computer graphics. The result is a more electrifying concert that threatens to entrance the real-time audience, much like the reel-time one. Also striking is when Sharon hypnotizes Isamu into almost crashing his YF-19 into the ground.
Die-hard fans need to be forewarned that they should not expect exactly what was released in the OAV series. To do so would result in nothing but complaints and caustic feelings toward the movie edition. While it may be hard to do, a neutral view needs to be taken while viewing the film. Remember, this version is Kawamori's true intent and to discard that knowledge would be careless. While not a definite must for Macross Plus fans, the MACROSS PLUS Movie Edition should be seen if the opportunity arises.

--Ken Cho