Macross Plus Plot

Isamu and Guld

Isamu and Guld are childhood friends turned rivals after a mysterious incident in their past. Years later the two find themselves pitted against each other, as both are now test pilots on planet Eden for competing fighter jet companies. One company will win the funding of the military for their new jet, depending on which pilot can prove his craft and himself superior.

The YF21

Guld pilots the YF21, a new fighter prototype which is operated by the brainwaves of the pilot. In one of the initial tests of Guld's YF21, several dozen high-maneuver homing missiles are fired at the YF21 by several drone fighters. Guld actually accelerates towards the missiles rather than running, using the YF21's computer to predict the missile's paths. He then weaves and twists his way past every single missile.

The YF19

Later on in Macross Plus, Isamu gets his chance to impress with the YF19, the second company's prototype. However, this jet is controlled manually, the old fashioned way. Nevertheless, Isamu can make it perform just as well as the YF21, on his first outing taking the craft up and out of the planetary atmosphere in a matter of seconds, while also totally ignoring the testing procedure to show off his skills.

Myung and Sharon Apple

However, the fighter jet contract is not the only contest, as both Isamu and Guld love the same woman, Myung. Also a childhood friend of Isamu and Guld, Myung finds herself torn between them, as well as the bad memories of the past. Isamu and Guld are not the only ones with advanced projects, as Myung has Sharon Apple, an artificial intelligence pop superstar. Sharon's thinking and personality are partly based on Myung's and Myung is needed to help control Sharon at times, due to the incompleteness of the AI.

The Ghost Fighter

Despite all the time that Isamu and Guld spent proving their prototype jets, in the end the military decides to go with a new AI-controlled fighter known as the Ghost. Not one to take things lying down, Isamu heads to Earth in the YF19 to find the Ghost fighter and destroy it. Bent on revenge for the incident from their childhood, Guld secretly follows Isamu in the YF21.

Once on Earth the two dogfight it out above the cities until Guld finally remembers the full details of the incident from their childhood which his mind had blocked out: While teenagers, Guld had discovered that Myung had feelings for Isamu instead of himself. Guld had then gone into a jealous rage and began to sexually assault Myung, before stopping himself.

Now that he can remember things clearly, and realizing that he was the one to blame for what happened, Guld teams up with Isamu to take down the Ghost fighter together. Before long, Guld realizes that the Ghost fighter is too strong and that the only way to beat it is to ram it, kamikaze style. Guld then smashes the YF21 into the Ghost fighter, destroying it and himself.

Sharon Apple vs Isamu

However, things are not yet over, as Sharon Apple is also on Earth for a concert. Her incomplete AI has led her to become unstable. She takes over a flying battleship on Earth and uses its weapons to attack Isamu in the YF19, while holding Myung prisoner. Eventually Isamu manages to destroy Sharon Apple, saving both the battleship and Myung. The Macross Plus anime then ends with the words "Dedicated to all pioneers".

Written by Ben Wagner

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