The best cure for a bad case of Mondayitis is… Robo-Pop! Here are the top 5 of the best (some would say worst) J-Pop songs from Robotech and the Macross saga.
Want to skip the quirky commentary and go straight to the playlist (with extra clips)? Then check out Healthy Geek’s playlist collection.
5. We Will Win: Lynn Minmei
Perfect for the trip to work when you feel like you are marching to your doom, or the complete destruction of the human race.
An invading armada of 4.8 million Zentradi spaceships was no match for the psychological weapon of mass destruction that was Lynn Minmei singing. But love her or hate her (and a lot of people did the latter) it did help turn the tide of battle and as a result, only 95% of the world was decimated, as opposed to the 100% that was originally planned.
If you ever debate whether the animated shows we watched as kids in the 80s were a little more hardcore than today’s stories about rainbows and lollypops, just take note of the death and destruction on screen that starts to take place around the 0:20 mark in this clip.
If you want to gently introduce kids to the concept of “genocide” start with this clip.
4. Look up the sky is falling: Yellow Dancer
Feeling a little oppressed? When it seems like the world and the Invid Regent are against you, the best thing you can do is dance like it’s 1986 and all your friends are slaves growing flowers that power multidimensional spaceships.
Just because the Earth has been through 3 interstellar wars that killed almost all of humanity and left the place a post-apocalyptic ruin under alien occupation for 13 years doesn’t mean you can’t still find some backup dancers when you need sing your way to victory at the end.
Don’t believe me? Just watch this little performance by Yellow Dancer and crew in the ruins of New York as Scott Bernard the douche and his far more interesting band of resistance fighters fly around shooting aliens. The fashion. The dance moves. The special effects. It’s like an entire decade of scifi in 4 minutes.
3. After in the Dark: Sharon Apple
Do you feel like you work for a cult and everyone else has been brainwashed by an AI? Well if you’re going to be brainwashed, just remember the giant bird flying across the screen isn’t real… or is it…? The computer is your friend.
The mid 1990’s was when the first “official” sequel to the original series was released was Macross Plus. Once again a pop star character would take central stage as a major plot device to rally the troops for the final climax – only this time, the pop star was actually a sociopathic AI intent on brainwashing everyone. The AI’s name is Sharon Apple who is a pop star with brainwashed obsessed fans. Apple is a technology company with brainwashed obsessed fans. No one has made the connection yet, perhaps because if Apple is anything like Sharon Apple from Macross Plus, then anyone who comes close to working out what’s going on always ends up dead.
This is the opening song of the brainwashing concert, in this clip you know when people start to lose their free will around the 5:50 mark when a giant bird flies across the screen.
This particularly clip also conveniently includes subtitles, so everyone can oh-dohaddy along with Sharon Apple as she tries to take over your brain.
2. Welcome to My Fan Club’s Night!: Sheryl Nome
Do you feel like you need a fan club? So does Sheryl Nome! This tune is perfect for when you need a montage to build friends and allies to go take on the world (or just some aliens).
By 2008, the most recent series Macross Frontier, has well and truly entered into the J-Pop genre – though as per the common theme of all Robotech/Macross series, there is a pop star that provides motivational music while people shoot at aliens intent on destruction.
Sheryl Nome the “Galactic Fairy” is not just a pop star – she’s also a medical experiment with cybernetic implants who can use her singing to create “fold waves” that allow her to control aliens. Which proves convenient when those aliens are trying to attack everyone.
1. This is my time to be a star!: Lynn Minmei.
Feeling a little crap? Did you just screw up something massively important? It’s ok – just listen to Minmei and realise things could always be far, far worse…
The Robotech/Macross obessession with pop stars should always begin and end with Lynn Minmei, who first short to fame with this little number. Rediculously optimistic, full of cheesy liners like “stage light, flashing, it’s really smashing!” this song just demonstrates that *anyone* can go on to save the world as a psychological weapon of mass destruction.
For the full playlist, check out Healthy Geek’s playlist collection.
