In light of the upcoming Anime Expo in Los Angeles and the Comic-Con in San Diego, I thought I would offer a few words on some anime that I just cannot stop watching. So, when you're strolling the packed halls of these convention centers, keep an eye out for these titles.

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? is a rare gem from 1984. © Bandai Visual.

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?
1984. Director: Shoji Kawamori. 115 minutes. DVD, bilingual. Distributor: Bandai Visual.

For anyone who found anime during the 1980s, Macross (a.k.a. Robotech) is a cherished word. In a very Proustian way, it can conjure up memories of hunting down manga, toys, and VHS tapes at hard-to-find comic book shops. Lynn Minmay, Rick Hunter, and Lisa Hayes, to some, are undoubtedly household names. And for Americans growing up on G.I. Joe, where no one ever dies, the drama of their lives and relationships were probably didactic in their overall influence.

Now, rather than looking back to the televised series itself, I would suggest you seek out and find this rare gem from 1984. Macross: Do You Remember Love? is a full-length Japanese feature set in 2009. In the film, which fundamentally retains the same plot structure as Robotech, the space fortress Macross has made its disastrous jump to the edge of the solar system. However, the human race now finds itself embroiled in a three-way war with the Zentrans (male Zentradi) and the Meltrans (female) as it limps back to Earth. Here, the familiar love triangle between Hikaru Ichuyo (Rick), Misa Hayase (Lisa), and Lynn Minmay unfolds. But by the time they reach Earth, it has already been destroyed, and only the remnants of an ancient song can ultimately reveal the common ancestry between the humans, Zentrans, and Meltrans.

Obviously, for anyone familiar with this long-running series, there are no surprises in regard to story line. The love triangle works out as expected, as does the eventual alliance between the aliens and humans. Be that as it may, the sheer artistry of this production is a visual feast. That's right; it was all done by hand. Moreover, it still surpasses (in my opinion) any of the computer-enhanced anime being produced nowadays. Better yet, this film displays a powerful dramatic vein that is undeniable, even to the toughest critic. At its heart lies the concept of protoculture -- literally, the "first culture." And this is what Macross/Robotech is all about; the discovery of mankind's origin, and what it ultimately means to the future of the race.

Macross: Do You Remember Love? is undoubtedly a classic, since Robotech literally gave birth to a generation of anime fans (myself included). Find it.

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles taps into what made the original series so popular: the lead characters and their families. © Funimation.

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
2006. Director: Tommy Yune. 88 minutes. DVD. Distributor: Funimation.

In anticipation of the Robotech booth at the Anime Expo next month, I feel compelled to mention this somewhat new series. Tommy Yune (its director) will be there talking about the future of the project, as well as perhaps announcing the live-action feature film. Now, this is arguably the most successful Robotech series since the original television series of the 1980s. After all, unlike the rather uninteresting sequels produced over the years (Macross II, Macross Plus, etc.), The Shadow Chronicles taps into what made Robotech so popular: the original characters and their families. Finally, we have a sequel that incites our curiosity and desire to know what happened to Admiral Rick Hunter, Max Sterling, Dana Sterling, Scott Bernard, etc.

Literally picking up where the earlier series ended, Shadow Chronicles finds the alien invaders the Invid abandoning the Earth and abruptly ending their war with the Robotech Expeditionary Force. From this point, two main story lines dominate the plot. First, as Scott Bernard reunites with the RDF, his love interest Ariel quickly follows. However, her actions are not so much fueled by emotion, but by premonitions of a new and deadly enemy on the horizon. Second, Vince Grant, who has been sent to find Rick Hunter and the missing SDF-3, encounters a mysterious alien fleet that easily forces him to jump back to Earth's orbit. Not surprisingly, the alien force Vince encounters is the same entity that appeared in Ariel's vision. The long-alluded-to Children of the Shadow finally appear on the Robotech scene!

For fans of the Robotech series, Yune is a veritable prophet, if not savior. He has blended together the characters from all three series, as well as their now extended families, into one cogent story. So, it's like returning home after a long absence and reconnecting with old friends. Some new faces may appear, but in one way or another they are intimately connected to the group.

Moreover, Yune smartly uses both old and new Robotech mecha. Never-before-seen battleships of the RDF, Alpha fighters, Cyclones, and even the Skull Squadron, with their newly designed fighters, are all present. Simply put, this concise blend of the old and new firmly grounds you in the Robotech tradition, while simultaneously creating a new direction, a new path forward. Better yet, it's like you never stopped watching.

Most Robotech fans have probably seen The Shadow Chronicles already. But let's keep watching it. We finally have someone with a clear vision of how to bring the lives of these characters to a fitting conclusion.