History Anime / MacrossZero

** Later on, GundamSeedDestiny had a protagonist called Shinn Asuka. It doesn't help that he had Shin Kudou's japanese VA...

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific? Might not have been intentional since it's just called "Mayan" island, but still raises questions.

* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Sara, who comes in two flavors!

* MagicalNativeAmerican: Sara. [[spoiler:also Mao although she initially ignores many of the traditions]].
* UsefulNotes/NuclearWeapons: But actually not a nuke this time, but a fuel-air explosive.

MacrossZero is a five-episode OVA, set as a {{Prequel}} to the popular ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' series. The story takes place in the year 2008, nine years after an alien ship crash-landed in the south pacific, in the final days of the Unification Wars mentioned earlier in the series. It involves Shin Kudou, a [[ButNotTooForeign Japanese-American]] UN soldier who crash lands on a small island after a fateful encounter with one of the first of the series' transforming HumongousMecha.

Like the Anime/MacrossPlus OVA before it, Anime/MacrossZero eschews the usual SpaceOpera setting for a more personal story. Like the rest of the Macross series, it involves a LoveTriangle and the [[PowerOfRock Power of Music]] saving the world. Unlike the rest of the series, the usual J-pop/J-rock has been replaced with a much earthier tribal soundtrack, reflecting the setting in the South Pacific.

** ''Retroactive'' Continuity Nod. [[MacrossFrontier Sheryl Nome]]'s earrings were {{retcon}}ed into the scene where Mao looks at her parents' picture in the Blu-Ray release.

* {{Retcon}}: [[MacrossFrontier Sheryl Nome]]'s earrings get added in a shot at the [[ThereAreNoCoincidences Nome]] beach house in the Blu-Ray release.

* AmbiguousRobot: [[spoiler:It is really hard to tell just where the machinery ends and living technology begins with the bird-human.]]

Like the MacrossPlus OVA before it, MacrossZero eschews the usual SpaceOpera setting for a more personal story. Like the rest of the Macross series, it involves a LoveTriangle and the [[PowerOfRock Power of Music]] saving the world. Unlike the rest of the series, the usual J-pop/J-rock has been replaced with a much earthier tribal soundtrack, reflecting the setting in the South Pacific.

** WordOfGod states that the infamous 'Hanou Heiki' are actually [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Antimatter Pair-Annihilation Weapons]].

MacrossZero is a five-episode OVA, set as a {{Prequel}} to the popular ''Franchise/{{Macross}}'' series. The story takes place in the year 2008, nine years after an alien ship crash-landed in the south pacific, in the final days of the Unification Wars mentioned earlier in the series. It involves Shin Kudou, a [[ButNotTooForeign Japanese-American]] UN soldier who crash lands on a small island after a fateful encounter with one of the first of the series' transforming HumongousMecha.

MacrossZero is a five-episode OVA, set as a {{Prequel}} to the popular {{Macross}} series. The story takes place in the year 2008, nine years after an alien ship crash-landed in the south pacific, in the final days of the Unification Wars mentioned earlier in the series. It involves Shin Kudou, a [[ButNotTooForeign Japanese-American]] UN soldier who crash lands on a small island after a fateful encounter with one of the first of the series' transforming HumongousMecha.

* TheDeadliestMushroom: But actually not a nuke this time, but a fuel-air explosive.

* NoExportForYou: Due to the various legal issues surrounding the Macross franchise. Tommy Yune, representative for Harmony Gold, has stated that they're willing to license it and sublicense it to Creator/ADVFilms, but Big West isn't willing to play ball with them.

* BrokenBird: Sara Nome.
* ButNotTooForeign: Shin is Japanese-American.
* CharacterDevelopment

* TheDeadliestMushroom
* DuringTheWar

* FighterLaunchingSequence

* HumongousMecha

* JustPlaneWrong: VF-0s are powered by Turbofans (that is, NORMAL JET ENGINES), yet are able to 'dive' underwater, FridgeLogic hits hard.
** But it doesn't. The VF-0 also has a few rocket motors, shutters for the engine intakes, and massive capacitors. It's also explicitly noted to be capable of space travel, and has that absurdly tough armor, so it's at least air-tight where it counts and is very strong. A shallow dive won't hurt it.

* {{Prequel}}

* ScienceFiction

* YouFailGeographyForever: What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific? Might not have been intentional since it's just called "Mayan" island, but still raises questions.

* SuperRobotWars: So far, only in the Scramble Commander the 2nd. Also appears in AnotherCenturysEpisode R.

* ShoutOut: the carrier ''Asuka(ASCA) II'' might be a homage to [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Asuka Langley Soryu]] whose middle name is the name of two US carriers.

** The animation in the opening scene with F-14 Tomcats launching from an aircraft carrier at the crack of dawn is a homage to the opening scene of TopGun, one of Kawamori's favorite movies.

* TheAce (Roy Fokker)
* BeamSpam ([[spoiler: The bird human does this whenever something gets close.]])
* BetaCouple (Roy and Aries)
* BrokenBird (Sara Nome)
* ButNotTooForeign (Shin is Japanese-American.)
* CharacterDevelopment (and how!)
* ContinuityNod (A prototype Destroid Monster shows up near the end. [[spoiler:Iris' death is what causes Roy to sink into depression until he met Claudia.]], Edgar shares the last name as Claudia.)

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ([[spoiler:The bird human singing the song of death]] is a bad thing.)

* GenkiGirl (Mao Nome)
* HarmfulToMinors (Of the violent kind. Children get to see what a battlefield looks like first-hand.)
* HandsomeLech (Roy)

* IdolSinger (Notably averted. In a notable departure for the series, Sara and Mao are singing shrine maidens rather than idol singers.)

* JustPlaneWrong: Hell, VF-0 are powered by Turbofans (that is, NORMAL JET ENGINES) yet are able to 'dive' underwater, FridgeLogic hits well.

* LoveTriangle (Sara/Shin/Mao)
* MacrossMissileMassacre (Don't leave home without it)
* MagicalNativeAmerican: Sara, [[spoiler:also Mao although she initially ignores many of the traditions]].
* MindScrew (The ending: [[spoiler:Sara inside the Bird Human tanks the nuclear explosion that would render Maya Island uninhabitable, [[FasterThanLightTravel Folds]] into space with the exploding nukes. Shin's damaged VF-0, which is glowing blue for some reason, almost crashes into the sea, but pulls up just in time to... follow Sara into foldspace? Maybe? Did the Bird Human grab it using its magic telekinesis? I don't know. It's strange.]])
* NoExportForYou: Due to the various legal issues with the Macross franchise. Tommy Yune, representative for Harmony Gold, has stated that they're willing to license it and sublicense it to Creator/ADVFilms, but Big West isn't willing to play ball with them.

* NukeEm ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon Fuel-air bombs]] and reaction warheads.)
* PointDefenseless (The carrier ''Asuka II'''s battle group. It's just more dramatically tense for the battroids to be able to attack rather than be destroyed before they even get there by an AEGIS system (or whatever overtechnology equivalent).)
* PowerOfRock (Actually, Power of Religious Island Music.)

* RedOniBlueOni (Nora and DD of the anti-UN forces.)

* '''SceneryPorn''' (And not just landscape. The Destroid Monster near the end practically oozes sex appeal.)

** Later GundamSeedDestiny have a protagonist called Shinn Asuka...it doesn't help that he had Shin Kudou's seiyuu...

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: (There is some minor disagreement over whether the aliens should be referred to as "Birdmen" or "Bird Humans.")

* TheSquad: (Skull Squadron)
* SuperRobotWars: (So far, only in the Scramble Commander the 2nd. Also appears in AnotherCenturysEpisode R)
* TransformingMecha: (Series staple, although the jet form is emphasized much more than usual)
* WaveMotionGun: ([[spoiler:Used by the Bird Human after it goes OneWingedAngel]])
* YouFailGeographyForever: (What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific? Might not have been intentional since it's just called "Mayan" island, but still raises questions)
* YouMonster: How Nora describes the UN military to Shin, held captive, when she [[spoiler:shows him the scar she got from a knife wound made by rogue UN troops.]] To be fair, we don't know if there were UN troops who went rogue and committed war crimes. Nora tells this to Sara when she believes the UN Air Force could have bombed the island. On the other hand, Nora could try to shift blame from the Anti-UN force.

* NoExportForYou: Due to the various legal issues with the Macross franchise. Tommy Yune, representative for Harmony Gold, has stated that they're willing to license it and sublicense it to ADVFilms, but Big West isn't willing to play ball with them.

* JustPlaneWrong: Hell, VF-0 are powered by Turbofans (that is, NORMAL JET ENGINE) yet able to 'dive' underwater, FridgeLogic hits well.

* SpellMyNameWithAnSL: (There is some minor disagreement over whether the aliens should be referred to as "Birdmen" or "Bird Humans.")

* SpellMyNameWithAnS (There is some minor disagreement over whether the aliens should be referred to as "Birdmen" or "Bird Humans.")

* TheSquad (Skull Squadron)
* SuperRobotWars (so far, only in the Scramble Commander the 2nd. Also appears in AnotherCenturysEpisode R)
* TransformingMecha (Series staple, although the jet form is emphasized much more than usual)
* WaveMotionGun ([[spoiler:Used by the Bird Human after it goes OneWingedAngel]])
* YouFailGeographyForever (What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific? Might not have been intentional since it's just called "Mayan" island, but still raises questions)
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* YouFailGeographyForever (What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific? Might not have been intentional since it's just called "Maya" island, but still raises questions)

* YouFailGeographyForever (What the hell are the Mayan people doing in the South Pacific?)
** To be fair, their island is called Maya.

* MindScrew (The ending: [[spoiler:Sara inside the Bird Human tanks the nuclear explosion that would render Maya Island uninhabitable, [[FasterThanLightTravel Folds]] into space with the exploding nukes. Shin's damaged VF-0, which is glowing blue for some reason, almost crashes into the sea, but pulls up just in time to... follow Sara into foldspace? Maybe? Did the Bird Human grab it using its magic telekinesis? I don't know. It's strange.]])
* {{Narm}} (The designation for the space ship that would be Macross is ASS-1)
** Alien Space Ship 1. Unfortunate, but justified.

* SuperRobotWars (so far, only in the Scramble Commander the 2nd. Also slated to appear in AnotherCenturysEpisode R)