You only have to watch the first 5 minutes of "Macross: Do You Remember Love" to be slammed with the realization that they simply don't make things like this anymore. A gorgeous, fully hand drawn, cell by painstaking cell, fully animated film with no CGI and an original music soundtrack. Even if nothing else was good about it, "Macross: Do You Remember Love" would be a stunning work of art.
But lucky for us, almost everything is good about it. The multi-layered story, the voices, the dialogue, the music - all phenomenal. Watching the remastered version makes it hard to believe this originated in 1984, almost 35 years from the date of this review. It stuns me how well it holds up, how forward looking and ahead of its time it was. Lost in the shuffle of bad Anime over the years is this true gem. I describe this to people as an animated sci-fi-action-romantic-musical. That will make no sense unless you see it, and then you will know it's true. And somehow it works brilliantly.
But I can also see why this is not more widely appreciated, at least in America. I had to watch the film twice to fully understand the story, and I'm no slouch. The story explains little, is slow to reveal itself, and if you don't have a good translation it might never make sense. But if you are willing to put in the effort, the rewards are outstanding.
Out of all of the classic Japanese Anime films, "Macross: Do You Remember Love" just might be my favourite. Give it a try, and see for yourself.
But lucky for us, almost everything is good about it. The multi-layered story, the voices, the dialogue, the music - all phenomenal. Watching the remastered version makes it hard to believe this originated in 1984, almost 35 years from the date of this review. It stuns me how well it holds up, how forward looking and ahead of its time it was. Lost in the shuffle of bad Anime over the years is this true gem. I describe this to people as an animated sci-fi-action-romantic-musical. That will make no sense unless you see it, and then you will know it's true. And somehow it works brilliantly.
But I can also see why this is not more widely appreciated, at least in America. I had to watch the film twice to fully understand the story, and I'm no slouch. The story explains little, is slow to reveal itself, and if you don't have a good translation it might never make sense. But if you are willing to put in the effort, the rewards are outstanding.
Out of all of the classic Japanese Anime films, "Macross: Do You Remember Love" just might be my favourite. Give it a try, and see for yourself.