History Anime / SuperDimensionFortressMacross

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: In the ADV dub, more often than not, the word "Macross" is pronounced "Muh-CROSS" (the accent on the second syllable). Creator/MariIijima, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHy4YFFSmLI as shown in this interview]], says it's meant to be pronounced "MA-cross", the accent on the first syllable. Even Anime/Robotech pronounces it the second way.

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: In the ADV dub, more often than not, the word "Macross" is pronounced "Muh-CROSS" (the accent on the second syllable). Creator/MariIjima, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHy4YFFSmLI as shown in this interview]], says it's meant to be pronounced "MA-cross", the accent on the first syllable. Even Anime/Robotech pronounces it the second way.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The original series is mostly SpaceOpera, but the last six episodes shift into [[spoiler:the survivors of the near-destruction of Earth trying to restart civilization on a dead planet]].
* JustForFun/ApocalypseDayPlanner: This 1982 series had shown much of Earth's surface being destroyed sometime in early 2010.

* IncrediblyLamePun: A visual version: In 'Romanesque' the three Zentradi spies are shown manning a toy booth that isn't exactly successful. Just before one of them [[LampshadeHanging explicitly points this out]], he is shown holding a box featuring a Valkyrie in fighter mode on the front. Except it isn't called "Valkyrie" on the box, but "''[[spoiler:[[{{Seppuku}} Harakiry]]]]''"[[note]]The difference between the [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseWritingSystem kana]] for "ha" and "va/ba" is a small diacritic mark known as a dakuten[[/note]].

* JerkAss: Minmay's cousin, local SoapboxSadie Lynn Kaifun, to the point where he berates Misa for rescuing him and Minmay from rogue Zentradi through force despite the fact that nobody was hurt, and the alternative was giving the Zentradi a warship that would have let them hurt innocent people.

* {{Meganekko}}: Vanessa from the BridgeBunnies team. Max is a male example.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Max and Minmay actually do have blue hair. Curiously enough, they are the only major human characters who fit this trope, though many Zentradi are true to it.

* MoralDissonance: In the backstory, the UN Forces, whom most of the protagonists work for, used the Zentradi's coming as a pretext to usurp the sovereignty of all the world's nations and violently put down any who didn't willingly go along with it. It mostly worked out for the best in the end, but still...

[[caption-width-right:350:''Do you remember love?''[[note]]Bottom to top: [[AcePilot Hikaru]], [[SugarAndIcePersonality Misa]], [[IdolSinger Minmay]], and the [[TransformingMecha VF-1S "Strike" Valkyrie]].[[/note]]]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: Zentradi plans to capture the SDF-1 ''Macross'' would have succeeded without a hitch were it not for the unpredictable fighting methods of the defenders, as well as the singer Lynn Minmay.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The show was originally intended as a parody of Space Battleship Yamato & ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', a plan which was abandoned early in production. Still, the show was radically different from the typical militaristic children's anime of the time and showed a conflict that is largely settled with ''[[ThePowerOfLove culture]]'': proving to the enemy that you're NotSoDifferent and that both sides deserve to live is what really leads to proper conflict resolution as opposed to the total annihilation of the enemy that was so prevalent in the show's day. The message resonated deeply with the Japanese public and the industry and the show's effects are felt to this very day. For that matter, the show deconstructs ''itself'' in its final arc, showing that despite one's best intentions you still can't solve all problems between two warring peoples just by saying they're NotSoDifferent.

* NotSoDifferent: A major theme of the show; something that the Zentraedi and humanity slowly come to realize. The Miss Macross episode in particular is full of it:
-->'''Hikaru''': "I can't believe this guy!"
-->-cut to the Zentraedi ship-
-->'''Rori''': "I can't believe this guy!"

* CoolPlane: The reason for the franchise's existence. Special mention to VF-1. It's based on the real life CoolPlane F-14 Tomcat, and it takes its emblem from the VF-84 Jolly Rogers, who did indeed do the skull and crossbones.

* {{Bishonen}}: Max; arguably, Lynn Kaifun and Conda Blomco.

* JerkAss: Minmay's cousin, local SoapboxSadie Lynn Kaifun, to the point where he berates Misa ''for rescuing him and Minmay from rogue Zentradi through force despite the fact that nobody was hurt and the alternative was giving them a warship that would have let them hurt innocent people''.

* SoapboxSadie: Kaifun is a rare male example.

* SuperToughness: Bretai. All Zentradi have it to some extent: they were genetically-engineered for war after all.
* TerminallyDependentSociety: The Zentradi fleets depend on a galaxy-wide network of fully automated factory satellites and repair facilities; no Zentradi, even among the Archivists, has any idea how to manufacture or repair any part of their technological infrastructure, and over thousands of years the factories have begun to break down -- for example, the Bodol Fleet has lost the ability to make new Glaug officer-model battlepods, and those that remain are hoarded; and after Max blasts through Britai's viewscreen, it remains broken for the rest of the series.
* TheyLookLikeUsNow: The Zentradi reveal having "Micronization" technology that shrinks them down to human size partway through the story. It takes the humans a bit to catch on when they start sending spies aboard the ''Macross''.

** Max starts in a custom colored VF-1A (the mass-produced Valkyrie version) and eventually upgrades to a VF-1J in time for the final battle against Bodolzaa.
** [[spoiler: Max's wife]] Millia actually ''[[InvertedTrope downgrades]]'' from a Meltrandi Queeadlun-Rau to a custom-colored VF-1J. Her switch can be considered a case of DiscardAndDraw however: in return for the Queeadlun-Rau's superior firepower, Millia's new Valkyrie has far superior flexibility and [[MechaExpansionPack can carry a FAST pack]] which more than makes up for the lack of missiles of the base Valkyrie.
*** The "upgrades" are actually very minor, with the differences between the three most used types of Valkyrie (the VF-1A, the VF-1J and the VF-1S) being mostly in the head units and the number of cannons carried on it, as well as the -J and -S types being somewhat more fine tuned (the S moreso than the J, hence why only squadron leaders flew on it - the J type is reserved for flight leaders and the A is the [[RedshirtArmy redshirt]] variant) compared to the baseline -A variant.

* ShowWithinAShow: ''Shao Pai Lon'', starring Lynn Minmay.

* SoapboxSadie: Kaifun is one of the rare male examples.

* TerminallyDependentSociety: The Zentradi fleets depend on a galaxy-wide network of fully automated factory satellites and repair facilities; no Zentradi, even among the Archivists, has any idea how to manufacture or repair any part of their technological infrastructure, and over thousands of years the factories have begun to break down -- for example, the Boddole Fleet has lost the ability to make new Glaug officer-model battlepods, and those that remain are hoarded; and after Max blasts through Britai's viewscreen, it remains broken for the rest of the series.

** The toy of the VF-1 Valkyrie was re-purposed as [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Jet/Skyfire]].

* {{Zeerust}}: We will still have LP records in the future, and no cellphones or Internet (though we do get cool self-propelled payphones and vending machines...) Avoided in the new manga adaptation, which, handily, is being drawn and written the exact year the events in the show were supposed to take place.

** Hikaru starts out with a VF-1D training Valkyrie (which he [[FallingIntoTheCockpit accidentally takes control of]] after being ordered to scramble), then debuts in the now-iconic VF-1J in his signature white-and-red color scheme in episode 5, and eventually gets the VF-1S "Skull Leader" custom [[spoiler: after Roy's death and his VF-1J being totalled a few episodes]] in episode 19.

* AliensMadeThemDoIt: "I demand you show me how this 'kiss' process works!" Which gets parodied to hell in a [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars SRW]] 4koma where a bunch of ugly guys ([[Anime/MazingerZ Boss, Dr. Hell,]] etc.) get caught and are commanded to demonstrate.

* AdjectiveNounFred: The title is Super (adjective) Dimension Fortress (noun) Macross (Fred). Or maybe Super Dimension (adjective) Fortress (noun) Macross (Fred); it’s hard to tell.

* IsThisThingStillOn: Kamjin's introductory scene includes this.

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: Although it's not included on any of the DVD releases, the original television run of the first episode had a cobbled-together opening designed to hide the fact that the fighter planes are, in fact, TransformingMecha.

** The character that makes up Minmei's surname got changed in the Chinese dub of the series? Why? Because the character for "Bell" (The original) and the character for "Grove" (The dub) have the EXACT SAME pronunciation in some Chinese dialects.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: The original series is mostly SpaceOpera, but the last six episodes shift into [[spoiler:the survivors of the near-destruction of Earth trying to restart civilization on a dead planet]]. See HolyShitQuotient under the YMMV tab for more.

* BilingualBonus: The three Zentradi spies are named Warera, Loli, and Conda, which put together reads as, "We have a [[LoliconAndShotacon Lolita Complex]]" in Japanese... whether or not they actually ''do'' is never said, though they DO wind up being avid fans of Lynn Minmay.