2026-06-07
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: The 1983 Animation
A nostalgic look back at the 1983 classic anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, its iconic Valkyrie fighters, and its connection to childhood memories of Robotech.
This is a cartoon I loved as a child, and even as an adult, I don’t think there has ever been an animation I’ve liked quite as much as this one.
These images were collected from various places on the internet, so please contact me if there are any copyright issues; this is not a commercial blog.
In the beginning, I just liked robots without much thought, but I think the concept of a fighter jet that could transform really captured my heart.
The fighter jet that made my heart race was the Valkyrie: in Japanese, ‘Barukkiri’ -_-;
It looks like this. But this is the Super Valkyrie...
The true basic form of the Valkyrie is:
This is it...
But wait... it looks a bit familiar. For someone like me in their 40s, there was a similar knock-off cartoon when I was young...
Its name was ‘Space Gandam V.’ Not Gundam, but Gandam...
Actually, I saw this one first...
A cartoon that imitated the variable fighter.
Then, around 1984, it was broadcast on AFKN under the name ‘ROBOTECH.’ When I was a kid flipping through the TV, there were only four channels in Korea at the time (KBS1, KBS2, MBC, Educational Broadcasting), plus AFKN.
AFKN was an English broadcast created for the US military, and they showed cartoons on Sunday mornings.
Even though I didn’t know English back then, when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I watched it because the animation was so fascinating. Haha.
Anyway, it’s a cartoon full of memories.
Since the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross, series have continued to come out like Macross II, Macross Plus, Macross 7, etc., but I haven’t seen the ones after the original...
Only the original series for me...
But this itself has an incredible worldview, much like Star Wars.
I plan to post about it slowly while reminiscing about my childhood memories. ^^;;
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the name of the transforming fighter jet that appears in Super Dimension Fortress Macross?
Yes, it is the Valkyrie. The author recalls being greatly attracted to the concept of a transforming fighter jet and the appearance of the Valkyrie in their childhood.
What similar domestic animation did the author watch before Macross?
It was Space Gandam V. It was called Gandam, not Gundam, and was a cartoon that imitated transforming fighter jets, which the author encountered before Macross in their childhood.
Under what name was Macross broadcast on the AFKN channel in the past?
It was broadcast under the name Robotech. It was aired around 1984 during the Sunday morning cartoon time on the AFKN channel, an English broadcast for the US military.
Did the author watch all the subsequent Macross series?
No, they did not watch them. Although subsequent series such as Macross 2, Macross Plus, and Macross 7 continued to be released, the author stated that they only watched the original series.