Robotech: New Generation Volume 1

After the lacklustre and frankly dull Robotech Masters arc I didn’t approach The New Generation with much enthusiasm. Fortunately the character development, storyline and artwork are a marked improvement and the overall product is much more enjoyable.

The story picks back up when the Invid, the race of aliens whose arrival was predicted by the Masters, have already laid waste to much of the Earth and taken out the Earth Defence Force in the process. A detachment of the humans who left Earth at the end of the Macross arc make a desperate attempt to reclaim their home planet but only one man, Scott Bernard, survives. Alone on a planet he has never before seen with his friends and fiancée gone, Bernard begins to recruit a small group of resistance fighters as he journeys to the Invid base of Reflex Point to complete his mission and avenge their deaths.

The New Generation arc uses footage from Genesis Climber Mospeada, a series that was made around the same time as the other two shows that make up the Robotech saga; despite this the animation is an improvement (relatively speaking, anyway) over the earlier episodes. This time around there is some new mecha in addition to the old varitech fighters too: armoured battle suits that double up as motorbikes! The battles against the Invid aren’t any more impressive than those we’ve seen in the previous two arcs though, but fortunately the New Generation has much more to offer than dull laser battles against faceless mecha and aliens.

For one thing the characters are likeable and are more than mere space opera stereotypes: as Bernard meets each of them and continues his journey we slowly but surely learn more about them. Sure, there’s still the token brave hero, the tech nut, the “mysterious’ girl, the cute girl and, er, the cross-dressing bishounen pop singer”¦

As the ragtag band of fighters travel towards Reflex point they meet a whole host of colourful characters and places that paint a grim but believable picture of a world in which, after years of being ravaged by galactic warfare, is filled with pessimism and lawlessness. More often than not it is this feeling of hopelessness shown by fellow humans that presents the biggest challenge in each of our heroes’ adventures; there is also quite a variety of attitudes towards the Invid occupiers that goes from quiet hostility to passive acceptance.

In some episodes the main characters meet faces from their respective pasts; every time this happens it reveals more about each of them and provides some interesting drama, comedy and occasionally tragedy while they continue towards their destination. Bernard, being the central character, receives the most attention, at least initially. My personal favourite scenes of his were those in which he vows to complete the mission in the name of his lost comrades and friends, before showing awe and fear when experiencing a planet Earth rainstorm for the first time. This sort of human element adds much to what could otherwise have been another dull addition to the Robotech saga.

In Summary

The New Generation offers aliens and struggles against the odds but after fast-forwarding through the invasion in the first episode, this arc focuses more closely on those trying to survive in the aftermath. While it brings little to the table in terms of excitement from the mecha battles the characterisation ensures that it’s an improvement on the Robotech Masters arc and promises an enjoyable conclusion to the series.