Cowboy Bebop & Its Director’s Surprising Legendary Mecha Anime Origins

Shinichirō Watanabe, the famed director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Space Dandy, is about to release his next project, Lazarus, for Adult Swim’s Toonami. The beloved director has made a career in making some of the most stylish anime in the market, earning renown from across the world for his influences and musical taste. While Cowboy Bebop was Watanabe’s first overseas sensation, the animator’s first major work as a lead director was for an entry in a prestige mecha franchise. His work in this entry for this prestige mecha series firmly established his early style and opened doors for him, which led him to work on Cowboy Bebop.

Watanabe made his directorial debut with the Macross Plus OVA series as part of the greater Macross franchise. Macross Plus was the first major follow-up to the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross, excluding the OVA Flash Back 2012 and the much-maligned Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again six-episode OVA series. Plus served to wipe the slate clean for the Macross franchise, giving the franchise a new shot in the arm. Even though Watanabe was a hired hand for the project, Macross Plus featured many stylistic choices that informed Watanabe’s sensibilities as a director, showing off his interests in Western culture and music.

Where Macross Plus Lands in the Franchise’s Timeline

Macross Plus came about at a weird time in the Macross franchise. Although Flash Back 2012 was done under the supervision of the same team that worked on the original Macross show, Macross II was produced without any influence from the original creators. Furthermore, it is the only show in the franchise without any input from the brand’s lead creator, Shoji Kawamori. Macross II left a sour taste in fans and creators’ mouths, and, even though it has developed a small fan following, the original creators decided to start fresh with Macross Plus.

Macross Plus appears to be more of Kawamori’s project than Shinichirō Watanabe’s. Kawamori overseas most of the Macross shows, often serving as either the lead director, writer, designer, story idea, or all of the above. He was the acting co-director of Macross Plus alongside Watanabe. The OVA presents multiple story ideas and aesthetics common in Kawamori’s work, including love triangles, musical concert set pieces, and using music in a sincere form to bring people closer together. The Plus OVA is more serious than other Macross projects, lacking the goofy yet genuine charm shown previously in the franchise. There’s even a serious plot point of sexual assault that doesn’t feel like the other Macross shows would even dare touch at that point. Macross Plus is the franchise’s coming-of-age story, moving into more mature and cerebral storylines. It’s possible the more serious tone in Plus was Watanabe’s influence, as the next entry, Macross 7, returns the series to its more campy tone.

[RELATED – Macross Is Already Huge but Falls Short of Gundam for One Simple Reason]

Macross Plus Reveals Shinichirō Watanabe’s Love of Music and Western Media

Despite Macross always being entwined with Kawamori’s involvement, Macross Plus features plenty of choices that become hallmarks of Shinichirō Watanabe’s future work. Watanabe is infamous for how much music and Western media influence his projects, with Cowboy Bebop being particularly famous for how it infuses jazz with typical anime aesthetics. Macross, from its inception, has always been about music, with songs often presented as the ultimate form of artful expression that can bridge people together.

Macross Plus’s plot centers on an AI songstress, Sharon Apple, with many standout moments taking place in a concert. The climax of the series hinges on the intimacy of music between the two main love interests. While music saving the day is a typical Macross cliche, it’s also very in line with how Watanabe presents the medium in his other anime. Watanabe’s Carole & Tuesday is all about the importance of music, starring teenage girls pursuing a musical career on Mars. The emotional hook of Carole & Tuesday is about using music as a valid artistic expression, not too dissimilar to the themes and messaging presented in Macross. Macross Plus would also be the first time Watanabe would work with Yoko Kanno, who later collaborated with him on Cowboy Bebop and Terror in Resonance. Kanno was responsible for many of the jazz pieces presented in Cowboy Bebop, establishing that show’s unique style.

Watanabe is also known for his obvious influence from Western films and media, with Cowboy Bebop taking clear inspiration from the noir and gangster films from classic cinema. Macross Plus takes direct influence from Top Gun, with the two lead male protagonists being test pilots for a military-sponsored jet program. The two leads are lifelong friends and rivals, and most of the OVA’s runtime is them competing in aircraft tests. The main protagonist, Isamu Alva Dyson, is a loose cannon who feels akin to Tom Cruise’s Maverick in Top Gun. Proceeding Macross shows would put more emphasis on the pop idol aspect of the franchise, whereas Macross Plus still seems more like a jet/mecha series centering on men who want to prove their masculinity, possibly because of Top Gun‘s influence. The OVA is one “Danger Zone” away from being an unofficial sci-fi Top Gun sequel.

With Macross Plus and the rest of the franchise now available on streaming across the globe for the first time, people are experiencing one of Shinichirō Watanabe’s earliest directorial works. After Plus, Watanabe’s next work would be Cowboy Bebop, cementing him as one of the most influential anime directors of the ’90s and 2000s. Despite Macross Plus following the blueprint established by co-director Shoji Kawamori’s other work, the OVA still feels unmistakably Watanabe.