Back in December 2009 I gave the Macross Frontier TV series a 5 out of 5 review . Not only was it a brilliant series, but it was also my first foray into the Macross franchise, which quickly became one of my favourite anime properties. But the Macross Frontier story didn't end there (well, it technically did, but work with me here), as 2 feature films were released in 2009 and 2011. These films, titled 'The False Songstress' ( Itsuwari no Utahime ) and 'The Wings of Goodbye' ( Sayonara no Tsubasa ) do not follow the events of the TV series, instead offering an alternate story with the same characters much like 'Do You Remember Love?' did with the original series. I decided to patiently wait until both films were released so I could review the entire story, and now that time has come. Since I've already reviewed the series, I won't go into the initial premise of Macross Frontier, and will begin by taking a look at the first of the two movies. The...

"After being threatened by extinction at the hands of alien invaders called the Zentradi, humanity undertook the task of guaranteeing itself a future by launching fleets of colony ships into space. On Macross Frontier, one such fleet, high school student Saotome Alto's life is changed forever: the fleet is suddenly attacked by unidentified creatures while he is performing aerial stunts for a concert by the wildly popular idol Sheryl.  Alto quickly finds himself in the cockpit of a new-model fighter struggling to protect Ranka Lee, a young girl he met only hours earlier, from the invaders' swath of destruction. Noting his performance during this incident, the S.M.S. Skull Squadron private military company invites Alto to join their organization, where he continues protecting his friends and Macross Frontier."  Ah the Macross franchise, arguably one of the biggest mecha (or even anime in general) franchises in Japan and yet, much like its main rival Gundam , I kno...