This is random, sudden, and very late, I know. But better late than never! I watched the TV series when it was airing and always wanted to watch this movie, especially after hearing how it rewrote the latter half and came out better, but it came pretty late to English-speaking world. I eventually got it, but I didn't immediately watch it for some reason. Why now? I don't know what came over me. I was looking through TV Tropes pages and found it, which reminded me to watch it. It's been so long that I've forgotten many things about it, so I thought it's a good time to FINALLY watch it. So that I can watch the sequel/2nd movie as well.

(Disclaimer: This is my first entry into the Macross franchise, so I don't have any strong feelings about it. I'm not exactly a big mecha fan, either. I tried watching Macross Frontier before, but I paused it for some reason. Maybe I'll revisit it someday.)

I expected this since it's a compilation of the TV series, but it feels like a speedrun (laughs). I'd say compilation movies like this is good for people like me, who want to refresh their memories of the series, but are not willing/don't have the time to watch the entire TV series again. But clearly, some pacing and some characters suffer as a result of the much shorter runtime.

Hayate doesn't feel like a protagonist as he lacks spotlight, Freyja feels like one instead, at least in my eyes. That's not exactly a complaint, Freyja's coming-of-age story is nice, and their romance is still cute, but it feels a bit jarring. I feel like his snark is barely present as well, which is a bit of a shame, since I remember liking that part of him and his banters with others. There's also Mikumo, who lacks focus in the first half, but turns out to be very important for the climax. Perhaps this movie is more akin to a story with a somewhat ensemble cast instead, or with Walküre as the main focus.

The antagonists' screen time is clearly reduced due to time constraints, for better or worse. This and the downplayed love triangle (which I appreciate, since it feels forced and pointless in the TV series - poor Mirage stood no chance), however, makes the story more streamlined. Still, overall, the story is a bit of a mess, though perhaps not as messy as the TV series - not that I remember much.

The visuals are solid for a recap movie, even if off in some areas, and the 3D performance caught me off-guard. For a mecha series, there doesn't seem a lot of dogfights here, but what few remained are great for me. The climax especially is an exciting spectacle in both bombastic action and catchy songs. In fact, the songs are pretty frequent, making this movie feels like a musical, which I think worked pretty well. There's no need to mention how good the songs are - I still listen to them sometimes even now. The more popular/catchy songs being played actually got me excited.

Despite all its flaws, I enjoyed it, and I'm excited to watch the 2nd movie. I wonder how exactly it compares to the TV series. Should I rewatch it, at least the first half? On another note, I kind of want to rewatch AKB0048 again now.

(By the way, Kaname best girl.)

SPOILERS ALERT.

Random thoughts:

• I thought the change to Hayate being a member of Delta Flight as a rookie already is a clever move.
• I know Messer's death scene was changed, but wow. I just can imagine the audience halting their breaths to watch his bloody death again, only for him to dodge the fateful shot. I remember a comment long ago pitying whoever had to clean the cockpit (laughs).
• Doomed yaoi my beloved.
• "Giraffe Blues" wasn't played like how it did in the TV series, which was a memorable scene, but hey, we got the beautiful requiem version in the end! I remember I actually saw that part in YouTube before.
• I think I'm going to try to read the spin-off manga. I want to see my handsome men.