The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012

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The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 is a 30-minute music-focused original video animation (OVA) from the classic Macross mecha sci-fi franchise, directed by Shoji Kawamori and released in Japan in 1987 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the original 1982 Macross TV series. It combines remastered footage pulled from the 1982-1983 television show and the 1984 theatrical film Macross: Do You Remember Love? with small sections of newly animated, previously unproduced story content set in the franchise's official in-universe timeline.

Key moments

1982-1983Original The Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series first airs in Japan
1984Retelling theatrical film Macross: Do You Remember Love? premieres in theaters
1987Flash Back 2012 OVA is officially released for home video
2012 (in-universe)Lynn Minmay holds her farewell final concert on Earth, followed by the launch of the first interstellar colonization ship Megaroad-01
2020sThe OVA receives global official distribution via mainstream streaming platforms including Disney+

Long-Awaited Canon Narrative Closure

Prior to this OVA, neither the original TV series nor the 1984 film fully depicted the events immediately after the end of the interspecies war that forms the core of early Macross lore. The new animated segments fill long-standing gaps in the canon, showing the iconic pop idol Lynn Minmay's final Earth performance and the historic launch of the first ever long-distance human interstellar colonization fleet, which the original productions had conceptualized in pre-production but never fully animated.

Successful Reinvention of the Compilation OVA Format

Unlike typical compilation releases that only repackage existing series footage with no new content, Flash Back 2012 centers its structure around Minmay's most famous musical tracks — the franchise's signature narrative device that uses pop music as a tool for cross-species communication and peace building — turning the clip show format into a nostalgic, thematically cohesive love letter for long time franchise fans rather than a low-effort cash grab.

Foundational Reference for Later Macross Entries

The OVA's debut of the VF-4 Lightning III advanced variable fighter, the full launch sequence of the Megaroad-01 colony ship, and supporting timeline details established in this release became permanent, core canonical reference points that were referenced repeatedly by all later Macross sequel works, including Macross 7, set further in the franchise's extended far-future timeline.

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross

SDF-2 Megaroad-01

It was designed by Mechanical Designer Kazutaka Miyatake.[2][3][4]

In the fictional setting of Macross, the SDF-2 Megaroad-01 was initially slated to be the second Macross-class Super Dimension Fortress space battleship, but went on to become the first long-distance Megaroad-class colony ship.[2][3]

A completely indigenous ship design based on feedback gleaned from 'Over-Technology' found on the "ASS-1" (later rechristened SDF-1 Macross) and the needs of Earth's forces, the completed SDF-2 Megaroad-01 is vastly different in size, hull design and capacity for war. Also, unlike the SDF-1 Macross, Megaroad-class colony ships lack modular transformation as its designers deemed it unnecessary after realising and overcoming the many problems that so plagued the SDF-1 following its launch. Command of the Megaroad-01 was given to war hero Misa Hayase Ichijyo. Aboard the fleet were her husband, Hikaru Ichijyo, leading the entire Skull group, and the famous idol singer Lynn Minmay.

The Megaroad-01 set out towards the center of the galaxy in 2012.[4] However, in July 2016, barely four years into its voyage toward the center of the Milky Way, all contact with the fleet abruptly ceased. This information was never made known to the general public for fear it would jeopardize all ongoing and subsequent colonization efforts. The many victories and momentous events involving Minmay and the Skull Team during the Space War have been played up over and again to the point of legend ever since, just so everyone not already in the know would believe Megaroad-01 and its fleet are still in active contact with Command. A direct result of this is the release of the film "Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love" in 2031 to remind the masses of the fragile peace they now enjoy with themes like the near extinction of humanity and some of the momentous events leading up to the end of War with the Zentradi and ending with 'Actual' footage of Minmay's Goodbye Concert Tour.

The name Megaroad originated in a pre-production name for the first Macross series, namely "Battle City Megaroad".[5] This pre-production name was written as a deliberate wordplay on "Megaroad" (a long journey through space) and "Megaload" (a massive cargo in the form of a civilian city).[5][6] After the first Macross series went into production, an additional wordplay, "Megalord," was considered for the second super dimension fortress before the name SDF-2 Megaroad-01 was finalized. There were plans for a splashy ending to the original Macross series, one that would have shown Misa Hayase and Hikaru Ichijyo blasting off in the SDF-2 ship, but the sequence was scrapped due to lack of time and budget. Due to fan demand this sequence was later used in the Macross Flashback 2012 OVA (1987).[2] However, the Macross Perfect Memory Japanese reference book for the original series that was released in 1983 includes a profile and artwork for the first SDF-2 "Megalord" design.[7]

type	ova
director	Shoji Kawamori
music	Kentarō Haneda
studio	Tatsunoko Production
licensee	Big West (licensing) Disney Platform Distribution (worldwide streaming license)
released	21 June 1987
runtime	30 minutes