Way back in the 80s, at the forefront of the anime craze that has lately swept the U.S., was a cartoon series known as Robotech.  I used to love this series as a kid.  Giant robots beating the snot out of each other in deep space was all the entertainment I needed.  It was the Robotech series that nurtured my own love of anime.  It would be many years (and an improvement in internet information searching capabilities) before I found out that Robotech was, in fact, three series strung together to create one American mash-up.

Eventually, I discovered the truth and went on to hunt down the originals.  Super Dimension Fortress Macross was the end result.  It covers the original storyline of the first 36 episodes that aired as the Robotech series.  While the story is much the same, minus a few translational differences, there is a noticeable loss of the maturity level in the American version.

SDF Macross presents a more adult approach to the war between the humans and the Zentradi.  The characters are better developed and more human, the language a bit stronger and some of the subject matter is less appropriate for an after-school viewing crowd.  After watching SDF Macross, I finally understood what the series was meant to be.

Any fans of the original Robotech, and even those who have never seen it, should take the time to watch SDF Macross.  It is, in essence, a space opera, with love stories and tragedy and explosive combat, but it is also done so well that it’s hard not to get caught up in it.  And for fan-boys of Robotech, a nude Minmay shower scene is included in the original version that was, for obvious reasons, removed from the American re-do.