Macross

In 1999, a giant alien spacecraft crash lands on South Ataria island. Humanity proceeds to attempt to rebuild this marvel, but political conflicts centered around the Macross result in a global war. After 10 years, the Unification Wars are finally over, the new Earth United Nations Government is in power, and work on the Macross is complete. On the day of the launching ceremony, its main cannon fires on its own, destroying an alien spacecraft. This fateful day marks the beginning of the war between the humans on the Macross and the Zentradi, a race of humanoid aliens of giant proportions.

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Macross Frontier 89%

25 eps · 2008

Same idol-fueled love triangle amid alien war, just wrapped in a newer, glossier fleet-in-space setting.

Mobile Suit Gundam 86%

43 eps · 1979

Trade the idol concerts for grittier refugee drama, but you get the same teenage pilot thrust into a war he didn't choose.

Star Blazers: The Quest for Iscandar 85%

26 eps · 1974

A wounded Earth sends one desperate ship on a long voyage, echoing that same mix of military tension and hope.

Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross 80%

23 eps · 1984

Colonists facing reclaiming aliens gives you the same clash of war and displaced humanity in space.