Macross

Originally inspired by Gundam the Macross Franchise is a Franchise that started as a passion project of the mecha fan club consisting of Shouji Kawamori, Hiroshi Oonogi and Haruhiko Mikimoto. They put their own twist on the Mecha genre mixing it with Music, specifically idols, being insanely important in the history of both genres.

There is multiple ways to approach this franchise with the "optimal" way to approach the franchise being to at least watch the original macross before watching any other entries. If you prefer not to watch older anime and are contempt with missing some references and maybe not fully understanding some core concepts realistically any Macross entry works as an entrypoint into the franchise.

Synopsis

In 1999, an alien spaceship crashes on South Ataria Island and makes the human race aware of other life in space. Ten years later, the ship is reconstructed and christened as the SDF-1 Macross. However, on the day of its maiden voyage, an alien race called the Zentradi make their appearance on Earth—thus beginning Space War I, a UN Spacy/Zentradi war that would change the history of both races forever. (Source: Anime News Network)

Order

In the Macross Franchise alternative versions are a common occurrance, most main entries in the franchise have movie alternatives that vary in how "different" they are to the original versions. In some cases they are just summaries / recuts of the original and in some cases they start off full on alternative timelines. Some really short entries showing off Fighter Designs and Music entries are excluded.

My personal recommendation on how to tackle this franchise is the following:

If you want to experience Macross but aren't committed too much or have issues with older series:
--> Watch Frontier and the Delta Entries

If you are willing to watch older shows and want to experience the original Macross but don't want to watch the entire franchise:
--> Watch the Original Series, (you can consider watching Zero here) then watch Frontier and the Delta Entries

If you are willing to spend quite a bit of time into this franchise and are willing to watch older entries:
--> Give the entire franchise a shot! Not every entry is perfect, some may be disappointing but in the end most of the Macross entries are a lot of fun.

Main Entries

Note 1: The 'Main' entries are marked with bold names, if you want to only watch the mainline Macross realistically you can watch only these entries
Note 2: Macross Zero is a prequel to the original Macross but should not be watched until AFTER finishing the original TV series
Note 3: Macross Flash Back 2012 is a compilation of songs and scenes from both the TV Version of the original Macross and the Movie Do You Remember Love which is listed in the Alternative Timelines section

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date
OVA	Macross Zero	5	Dec 21 2002
TV	Super Dimensional Fortress Macross	36	Oct 03 1982
OVA	Flash Back 2012	1	Jun 21 1987
OVA	Plus	4	Aug 25 1994
TV	Macross 7	49	Oct 16 1994
Special	7: Plus	12	Jan 25 1995
Movie	7: The Galaxy is Calling Me	1	Sep 30 1995
OVA	7: Encore	3	Dec 18 1995
OVA	Macross Dynamite 7	4	Dec 18 1997
TV	Macross Frontier	25	Apr 04 2008
TV	Macross Delta	26	Apr 03 2016
Special	Delta Special	9	Jul 22 2016
Movie	Delta: ZETTAI LIVE!!!!!!	1	Oct 08 2021

Alternative Timelines

Original Series

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date	Notes
Movie	Macross: Do You Remember Love?	1	Jul 07 1984	Alternative movie version of the original TV series, varies especially in the second half and has an entirely different ending
OVA	Macross II: Lovers Again	6	May 21 1992	Follow-up on the alternative timeline of DYRL, completely unrelated to any other Macross entries

Plus

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date	Notes
Movie	Plus Movie Edition	1	Oct 07 1995	Movie version of Plus, just full on recut, almost no difference

7/Frontier?

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date	Notes
Movie	FB7: Ginga Rukon - Ore no Uta o Kike!	1	Oct 20 2012	Frontier characters watching a summary movie of Macross 7

Frontier

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date	Notes
Special	Deculture Edition	1	Dec 23 2007	Alternative expanded first episode of Frontier
Movie	The False Songstress	1	Nov 21 2009	First half of a movie alternative timeline to Macross Frontier, some parts taken from the TV series, some completely original
Movie	The Wings of Farewell	1	Feb 26 2011	Second half of the movie alternative timeline with a full on original ending
Movie	Labyrinth of Time	1	Oct 08 2021	Short movie playing in the timeline of the alternative movies, this plays AFTER the movies

Delta

Type	Entry	Episodes	Start Date	Notes
Movie	Delta: Gekijou no Walküre	1	Feb 09 2018	Recompilation of the TV series, with some new scenes trying to fix some plotholes of the TV series, also cutting some parts
Special	Delta: Pajama no Megami-tachi	1	Aug 28 2018	Small specials included with the blu-ray release
Special	Delta: Gekijou Delta Shougekijou	1	Aug 28 2018	Chibi shorts included with the blu-ray release