Macross Zero

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Macross Zero


caption = DVD 1 cover
ja_name = マクロス ゼロ
ja_name_trans = Makurosu Zero
genre = Adventure, Mecha, MilitaryInfobox animanga/OVA
title =
director = Shoji Kawamori
studio = Satelight
episodes = 5
released = December 21 2002

Nihongo|"Macross Zero"|マクロス ゼロ|Makurosu Zero is an anime prequel OVA to "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross". It was directed by Shoji Kawamori and produced by Satelight.

Premise

"Macross Zero" is set in 2008, one year before the events of the original "Macross" series, depicting the final battles of the global unification war between the UN Spacy and the Anti-UN forces set in the South Pacific, where a gigantic alien space ship crashlanded 9 years earlier. Amidst the violence, a U.N. Spacy F-14"KAI" pilot named Shin Kudo is attacked by a strange enemy aircraft that can transform into a robot. Crash landing on Mayan Island he learns that this remote island and its peaceful native inhabitants hold a great secret linking them to the alien space ship and would become the focus of the war, whether they like it or not. Shin eventually returns to his carrier fleet and joins the Skull Squadron, who also operate brand new transforming fighters, the type Zero Valkyrie. He trains and engages Anti-UN forces operating from a converted ballistic missile submarine as both sides fight to locate and control alien artifacts, with the peaceful and agrarian Mayan caught in the middle of the war.

Characters

*nihongo|Shin Kudo|工藤 シン|"Kudō Shin": Japanese-American fighter pilot flying for the UN. Lost his parents early in the U.N. Wars. Voiced by Kenichi Suzumura
*Sara Nome: Priestess of Mayan Island. Highly skeptical of outsiders and the violence they bring with them. Voiced by Sanae Kobayashi
*Mao Nome: Sara's younger sister. Cheerful and outgoing, and longing to see the outside world. Also has a very obvious crush on Shin. Voiced by Yuuka Nanri
*Roy Focker: Famed UN ace and test pilot for the new and experimental variable fighter, the VF-0. Voiced by Akira Kamiya
*Edgar LaSalle: Shin's Radar Intercept Officer, and best friend. Voiced by Sousuke Komori
*D.D.Ivanov: Ace pilot flying for the Anti-UN forces. Roy Focker's former instructor turned rival. Flies the SV-51 Anti-U.N. variable fighter. Voiced by Ryûzaburô Ôtomo
*Nora Polyansky: Ivanov's wingmate. A ruthless and highly skilled warrior dedicated to the Anti-UN cause. Voiced by Minami Takayama
*Aries Turner: A 26-year-old government researcher known for her genius-level intelligence. She studies and gives top secret seminars about the Protoculture research being undertaken by the U.N. She has known Roy Focker in the past, before the events that will take place in the South Pacific Ocean one year before Space War I. Voiced by Naomi Shindou
*Nutouk: The Mayan Island tribal chief. Voiced by Tamio Ohki
*Dr. Hasford:The Anti-UN scientist who theroises that intelligent life on Earth might have originated off world from the Protoculture, a race of ancient aliens . Voiced by Nachi Nozawa

English Release Possibilities

As of 2007, there are no plans to officially release the series in English due to legal concerns with the "Macross" copyright, including but not limited to the original series. According to Tommy Yune of Harmony Gold USA (sub-licensor of the original "Macross" series and merchandising rights of "" outside of Japan), the company would have been "willing to let the deal go through" for a possible release by A.D. Vision. [cite web |url=http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TS-8042.mp3 |title=Melanie MacQueen Interview, Part Four |date=2007-01-30 |last=Meadows |first=Chris |accessdate=2007-01-31 |format=mp3 |work= [http://terrania.us/liberty Space Station Liberty] ]

According to the Japanese company Big West, it (and the Studio Nue creators of Macross) is the "copyright owner of all character" designs of the original Macross series, and through that, other Macross products. [cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20040806174222/http://www.macross.co.jp/contents/index.html |title=Big West letter on Macross copyrights |date=2002-02-25 |accessdate=2004-08-06]

Episodes

eries Notes

During the third "Macross" TV series, "Macross Frontier", the new show's 10th episode ("Legend of Zero") retells the events of the series in the form of a movie made in on one of the colony's city ships. The movie depicts the events of the series based on survivors from the events depicted in the fifth OVA of Macross Zero.

Later episodes explicitily stated that "Macross Frontier" singer Sheryl Nome is the grandaughter of doctor Mao Nome, and showed a photography of an older, heavier but still recognizable purple haired Mao with glasses. This also implies that Mao must had survived somehow the cataclismic events of Space War I.

*List of Macross Frontier episodes

References

External links

Official Sites:
* [http://www.macross.co.jp/ Macross Official Web Site] ja icon
* [http://www.macross.co.jp/zero/ Macross Zero Official Site] ja icon
* [http://www.bandaivisual.co.jp/macrosszero/ Bandai Visual's Macross Zero web site] ja icon
* [http://macross.anime.net/wiki/Category:Macross_Zero Macross Compendium "Macross Zero" section] Other Sites:
*
*
* [http://www.new-un-spacy.com/m3.html Macross Mecha Manual] A website profiling the fictional vehicles of the Macross series
* [http://www.mahq.net/mecha/macross/zero/index.htm Mecha Anime Headquarters] Another site with information about the mecha of the Macross series