I thought I was going to have to write something to catch up anyone who hasn’t seen Macross II, but Hulu has all six episodes available (there is also a link to a movie version of the story if you want something shorter), at least as of this writing. I’ll try to give you the basics where needed, though.
Paintball isn’t my idea of a first date, but we all have our own ways.
Macross II: The Micron Conspiracy
Viz Comics (1994)
WRITER: James D. Hudnall ARTIST: Schulhoff Tam COVER DESIGN: Viz Graphics LETTERER: Wayne Truman ASSISTANT EDITORS: Toshifumi Yoshida & Annette Roman EDITORS: Satoru Fujii & Trish LedouxThis one is a bit rare from Viz in that it isn’t a translated Japanese comic, but an original story set after the events of Macross II. Reporter Hibiki Kanzaki is now dating U.N. Spacy agent Silvie Gena after the Marduk invasion. However, a new threat appears in the form of the UNR, a resistance movement that has the police and military working together to stop them. Hibiki is turning up few leads but after Hibiki and Silvie make up from a fight he gets a call that someone wants to meet with him to discuss the UNR. Silvie tags along but what they find are two UNR mecha waiting for them!
What they got right: If you didn’t follow the original anime you may be confused about the Marduk or Ishtar, but after that you know all you need to know to follow the story (and as I recall they aren’t factor in this tale anyway). Instead it introduces the characters briefly for newcomers without bogging things down for fans. (For the record, when I first read this I hadn’t seen the movie or miniseries. I have since seen the movie edit.) The art is very good, in keeping with the art style of the anime.
What they got wrong: This is a nitpick but a one-page history text about the events of Macross II wouldn’t have hurt. Even then, I only mention it because there’s nothing else to complain about this issue.
Recommendation: Thus far this is a decent story, as this issue sets up the important stuff. This is a five-issue miniseries so we will be using the entire week (or at least until Friday) to go over it. This is a decent introduction to things, though.
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