Which way do the main mecha face?　Deciphering the Conflict Diagram of "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross" from the Viewpoint of the "Direction of the Mecha"! Nostalgic Anime Retrospective No. 39

Macross Delta the Movie: Gekijo no Valkyrie" has been in theaters since February 9, 2018. Needless to say, the origin of the Macross series is "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross," a TV animation broadcast in 1982. The first and second episodes of "Macross" were broadcast simultaneously in a one-hour slot on October 3, 1982. Since the third episode takes place in outer space, the first two episodes, which take place on the ground, can be regarded as a single episode.
The Zentraedi Army and the Space Force of Inspection are engaged in a long war in the far reaches of space. One day, a spaceship of the Supervisory Space Force falls on South Atalia, a small island on Earth. Over the course of ten years, the people of the Earth transform the spaceship into a gigantic fortress ship, the "Macross. However, on the day of the Macross launch ceremony, when the Zentradi fleet appears in the vicinity of Earth, the Macross defense system is activated, and it fires its main cannon on its own to destroy the Zentradi ships. The Zentradi forces launch a counterattack against Macross, and the island of South Athalia is engulfed in flames.

Why Macross is depicted in a "right butt" composition

Macross attempts to fly into space using an anti-gravity system, but is forced to remain on the island of South Atalia due to a flaw in the system.
On the other hand, the Zentradi fleet appears in lunar orbit using "fold navigation. The Macross forces remain on the island, while the Zentradi forces attack from space. Let us examine how this confrontation is structured in the first two episodes of "Macross.

First, let us look at the opening scene in which Macross falls from space.

(1) South Atalia Island at night, general view.
(2) A light spot can be seen in the sky above the island of South Atalia.
(3) A mass of light appears from outer space.
(4) The light is heading toward the earth.
(5) A damaged spaceship emerges from the light.
(6)The spaceship descends to the earth.
(7)The spaceship enters the atmosphere and is surrounded by light again.
(8) The buildings collapse as the ball of light passes over them.
(9) A ball of light flies toward us from the horizon.
(10)The island of South Atalia is illuminated by light.
(11)The sea is split to the left and right, and the light extends to South Atalia Island.
(12)The mountains of South Atalia are gouged out.
(13)A large explosion occurs in the center of the screen.

Of the above 13 cuts, Macross appears for the first time in (3). It appears from the left to the right of the screen. At (4), the MACROSS curves and changes its direction of motion from right to left. At (5), the MACROSS reveals its wounded form and continues to fall with its bow pointing to the left.
The next cut is a general view of the MACROSS crashing on South Atalia Island. As in (5), the bow is pointing to the left and the stern to the right. Since the ship's buttocks face the right side of the screen, let us call it a "right buttock" composition for convenience. In fact, since (5) above, Macross has been almost always in the "right buttocks" composition. In the first two episodes, a total of 105 shots of Macross (including close-ups of details and glimpses as background) appeared. If we exclude the ones whose direction is unclear, there are 67 "right buttocks" compositions. In fact, 70% of the shots are of the "right buttocks.
In contrast, the Zentradi fleet appears with "left buttocks," which is the exact opposite of Macross. The Macross automatically fires its main cannon in response to the Zentradi fleet, but the beam fired by the main cannon extends from right to left. The Zentraedi ship being shot by the beam is proceeding from left to right. In other words, the Macross team is positioned on the "right" side of the screen, while the Zentradi side is on the "left" side of the screen.

Two mecha appear from the left side of the screen and "transform" to the right side.

It is a basic production technique to place the allied side on the "right" and the enemy side on the "left" of the screen in order to clarify the antagonistic relationship between them. However, it is not as simple as simply placing the "enemy" in the story on the left side of the screen. When Macross, the main character, first appeared, it appeared from the left side of the screen. This is exactly the same composition as the appearance of the Zentradi fleet. However, Macross is not an "enemy. It was originally an alien spacecraft, but it was turned into an "ally" by the people of Earth. In the cut (4) above, the "transformation" of the MACROSS is vividly illustrated by the large curve of the ship's bow from right to left.

There is another mecha that has undergone a "transformation. It is the propeller plane of the main character, Hikaru Ichijo. Hikaru is a civilian who was invited to the Macross launch ceremony by his senior, Major Roy Fokker. Hikaru has a mild dislike for military personnel, as he jokingly calls Major Fokker a "murderer. In other words, even if he is not an "enemy" to MACROSS, which is a warship, he is certainly a foreigner.
So, how does the propeller plane of the shine behave?　In the first cut, the plane is flying from left to right. The propeller-driven plane of Teruaki is flying from the left to the right, and passes by the Valkyrie, a military aircraft on board the MACROSS, as if it were facing it. However, while arguing with Major Fokker on the ground, Teruki's propeller-driven plane turns from right to left, and in the landing cut, the nose of the plane is turned to the left in a complete "right buttock" composition. This change from "left buttock" to "right buttock" seems to anticipate the dramatic "transition" of Teruki, who disliked military personnel, to eventually become an official pilot of the Valkyrie (i.e., an "ally" of Macross), doesn't it?　Which way will the nose of the Valkyrie that Teru has boarded be pointing when it launches for the first time? I hope you will find out for yourself.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)
(C) 1984 BIG WEST