The creator of Macross and the creator of Cowboy Bebop team up on one of the best animated and best scored sci-fi action films to ever come out of Japan: MACROSS PLUS.

A high-octane high-flyer with a killer soundtrack, Macross Plus follows a pair of high school rivals turned test pilots – Isamu and Guld – as they compete over a fat government contract in the skies above their home world. On the ground, their mutual schoolyard love – Myung – quietly returns home as the producer of the galaxy’s most popular singer, the computer generated Sharon Apple. Myung’s return sparks a long-dormant affection between the three, but an unspoken trauma prevents them from making peace. As the war games rage on and their passions intensify, an illegal computer chip inserted into Sharon causes her to become sentient, threatening Myung’s life and turning the for-play war above into one for-keeps.

Technically detailed and oozing with style, Macross Plus is a child of two minds. The business of million-missile space battles belongs to Shoji Kawamori, the creator of the original Macross TV series; while the film’s heart, tone and soundtrack comes from its co-director, Shinichiro Watanabe, who would go on to create other cheeky, beat-heavy titles like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and Space Dandy.

Part of Nitehawk’s November ANIME AFTER DARK 2 midnite series.