Hanabatake

Light the Light

I have to admit I’m in a strange mood tonight. Maybe it was watching Mama Mia for the 4th time…. I suddenly had a strong urge to listen to Macross 7 music.

Macross was brought to the US in the 80′s as Robotech. Watching that series as a child imprinted me with a strong love for Japanese Anime.

Once I got to college, I joined the UCLA Anime Club and was eventually introduced to Macross 7, a series that centered around a ROCK BAND! They were called FIRE BOMBER! It was cheesy as all get out and one of the main characters was a 14-year-old with pale pink hair, but I totally enjoyed it.

One of the main reasons that it was so enjoyable was the music. Actually… the music was the main reason. The rest of the series was a bit silly. They sang. While piloting. Seriously. And it was awesome.

Sure, other Macross series feature the marvelous Yoko Kano writing the music. She’s classy! There is still something crack-a-licious about the music of Macross 7. Maybe you had to (fast-forward) through it in the late 90′s like I did, but I think it’s arresting.

Macross 7 rocked power ballads, pop, and straight rock songs. The creators had a whole shadow band who sang all the music, leaving voice acting to the voice actors and singing to, well, singers. 

It totally worked. Well, music-wise. Sure, Basara kept yelling, "Listen to my song!" every episode… And sure, the main female character was only 14. But Mylene is the freakin’ seventh daughter of Maximilian Jenius and Milia Fallyna Jenius! And I did enjoy fast-forwarding through the tapes in college. Hard subs and VHS tapes made it so much easier to watch anime without having to…watch it. Anyway, youtube has vids!

Macross/Macross 7 Fan Video Duet (Minmay and Basara) [It says it's Minmay... but is it?]