The Super Dimension Fortress Macross

A good story is worth retelling, Part II

For years, MACROSS sponsor Big West had been itching to take advantage of its most popular (and most profitable) animated franchise. For years however, the original creators at Studio Nue had declined to participate, explaining that they were more interested in new stories against fresh backdrops. However, the gears were set in motion when former Artland character designer Mikimoto Haruhiko agreed to a new MACROSS sequel. Freelance writer Tomita Sukehiro (co-writer of DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE?) also signed onto the project.
In two short years between 1992 and 1994, Big West authorized the MACROSS II animated video series and three console games, all with new stories. Although MACROSS II lists Studio Nue for "Design Assistance," the credit means as little as the "Original Story Concept" credit which MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM gave to Tomino Yoshiyuki. Neither the main MACROSS creators at Studio Nue nor the original GUNDAM creator were actually involved in these productions.

The Return of Studio Nue

After saying he would never write sequels (FLASHBACK 2012 music video aside), Kawamori and his fellow Studio Nue creators returned to MACROSS in 1994 with MACROSS PLUS and MACROSS 7. Why the change of heart? First, Kawamori had been pitching an animated love story to sponsors, only to be told that Big West's MACROSS name was needed to help sell it. Kawamori agreed to fold his story into the MACROSS franchise, and it became the side story MACROSS PLUS. Second, Kawamori came upon an idea that would remake MACROSS anew. As he noted in interviews, we have had pop singers and fighter pilots—so why not a singing pilot? With that concept, MACROSS 7 was born.
The return of the original Studio Nue creators left some MACROSS projects in an awkward position however. In those two years before Studio Nue came back, the Big West sponsors took the MACROSS franchise in directions that Studio Nue was not interested in following. Rather than disavowing MACROSS II and its related works entirely, Studio Nue simply put it in a parallel world from their own works. MACROSS II was still a MACROSS anime—just not one that followed the same storyline as the others.
So when the lines are all untangled, the MACROSS Chronology follows the story of the first series, although the DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? film is still considered a fictional 2031 movie within the Macross world. With Minmay's final concert and the launch of the Megaroad-01, the creators animated FLASHBACK 2012 to provide the final chapter for both the first series and the DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE? film. Finally, MACROSS II became a parallel world story by being the only animated work without Studio Nue's direct involvement.

The Characters of Macross
The Mecha of Macross