QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why is Macross 7 your favourite Macross series??
I first got into Macross in general purely because of Fire Bomber's music, and when I was looking up guides on what order to watch the franchise in, a lot of them kinda.. really talked shit about Macross 7. That made me worried and wary when I finally got to the show because I loved the music so much I didn't want to be disappointed with the characters that 'made' it.
Thankfully, I didn't have to be, because the show was RIGHT up my alley. It's a show about an artist, about marching to your own beat and never giving up, but told in a very different way than I'm used to. Most of my favourite shows tend to stress the value of friendship and teamwork, but Macross 7 is different, as it's about this one ridiculously stubborn guy who does what he wants and never lets anyone tell him differently, but not in a villainous or egocentric way. It's about personal strength and ideals, and building the future YOU wish to see for yourself - all told through a extremely artistic character and therefore very relatable to me, who is an artist. It was a show different in every aspect from what I'm used to, yet it still retained such a powerful positive force that it really struck with me. It also very different in tone than the previous two shows (SDF and Plus). Unlike SDF it was greatly character-driven as opposed to narrative-driven, which really appealed to me, especially as the characters were amazingly written. Unlike SDF and Plus, M7 has a lot of comedy and is more of an adventure and a character study rather than a mecha drama about a love triangle and space wars. There was in general very little impact on romance and combat which appealed to me a LOT, as I'm not really into that genre. I am aware that some stuff in Macross 7 is extremely out there, but in my opinion it's a perfect blend of goofy things that make the show fun to watch, and serious things that evoke intense emotional reactions and keep you invested. Lastly, if one can't suspect their disbelief for the Sound Force, then why watch anime? It always felt that anime is all about throwing bizarre concepts at the wall and seeing what sticks. After all, that's what makes it fun, unpredictable and unique, just like Macross 7! |
How do you like Basara so much?
Because he is a beautifully written and extremely relatable character with depth that's so complex, that it sadly appears to flies above many people's heads.
Almost every time I see anyone talk about Basara I feel like he's being greatly mischaracterized, which is why I took it upon myself to write an 22 page essay explaining the most likely reasons behind his behaviour. (Said essay can be read here) I love Basara because he's just so unabashedly flawed, with such real human flaws. He's extremely hard to work with because he's stubborn and proud, but that also turns into his unyielding determination and integrity which make him so powerful as a protagonist. It's two sides of the same coin; if he wasn't that stubborn, he also wouldn't be as determined he wouldn't be the same person without that attitude. He finds a lot of things to be a waste of time and is therefore very efficient because he focuses on things that he thinks matter more, but that also means he doesn't take time to explain these things to others, which can throw his own team mates (especially Mylene) completely out of the loop. Most things he does come from a genuine place of wanting to help in his own way, and he doesn't realize he comes across poorly. All of this behaviour makes a LOT of sense when you consider that he was an orphan until he was roughly 13-15 years old, and he most likely had no one to regularly interact with and learn proper communication skills with. He is a character type you rarely see as a main protagonist, especially one that is this well executed. His flaws and strengths are BEAUTIFULLY balanced. It really felt like watching a kindred spirit in this show and it just meant a lot to me to see a character like this written so well. |
Doesn't all the filler bother you?
I honestly failed to see the supposedly problematic filler in this show. There were VERY few episodes that I thought were unnecessary, and even those had at least one or two very good or meaningful moments of plot or character progression.
I noticed that often times when people complain about filler, they are actually complaining about episodes that give us time to get to know the characters, and I greatly disagree about that being a bad thing - especially in a show as character driven as Macross 7. But then again I'm as much of a sucker for slice-of-life genre as I am for the adventure genre. Good character writing is what makes the story for me. SDF lacked greatly in this department. While I liked the story of it well enough, I couldn't care less about any of the characters. I can't even say with certainty what kind of person Hikaru was, because he left such a weak impression on me. Not every episode that doesn't advance the plot is filler. Almost every episode in Macross 7 helped me understand the characters and their relationships and thought processes better and made me love and appreciate them more. It made their growth more apparent later on, because you saw in great detail how they behaved before, and how much they changed since then. If giving the characters time to fully develop is considered filler, then I guess I can proudly say I absolutely love filler. |
What is your least favourite Macross?
At the time of writing this, meaning I haven't seen Zero, Frontier and Delta yet, I have to say Macross Plus.
Its more serious genre is generally not what I look for in a show. I'm also not too interested in the rogue AI genre of science fiction. However I like to imagine that the reason there is no highly developed AI in Macross 7 is because Sharon Apple was a colossal and dangerous failure. Just all in all I found it somewhat boring, but again, it's purely because its genre completely missed me. I prefer fun and light-hearted things! |
Why does your site look Like That
I distinctly wanted to capture more of a Web 1.0 aesthetic with how my website is set up, as a loving nod to many old, and now sadly defunct Macross 7 fansites I visited in preparation to make my own. I think the more primitive style of web design is very charming and has a genuine and nostalgic feeling to it.
Of course, since my site is built using Weebly's engine the true vibe of a Web 1.0 couldn't be fully captured, but I tried to come as close as possible while still making the site easy to navigate for someone used to the workings of modern internet sites. |