Macross Zero (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray) Unboxing

Macross Zero (マクロス ゼロ) is a 2002 original video anime series created by Shōji Kawamori and Studio Nue, directed by Shōji Kawamori and produced by studio Satelight. Staff credits also include series composition writer Shōji Kawamori with script writer Hiroshi Ohnogi, character designer Takuya Saitō, and music composed by Kuniaki Haishima. The series started releasing its episodes in Japan from December 2002 until October 2004.

Background:

“Taking place one year before the Zentradi arrive on Earth, Macross Zero chronicles a key conflict between the U.N. Military and the Anti-Unification Alliance during the Unification War. After being shot down by the anti-U.N.’s newest fighter plane, ace pilot Shin Kudo finds himself on the remote island of Mayan, where technology is almost non-existent. While Shin stays on the island to heal his wounds, the tranquility of the island is shattered by a battle that involves the UN’s newest fighter – the VF-0.”

Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, March 2025.

A few years ago, a deal was made where a majority of the Macross anime was allowed to be released internationally without any interference from US company Harmony Gold. Sadly the original series Super Dimensional Fortress Macross is in limbo whilst the film Do You Remember Love has issues of its own in licensing but the latter was recently released in Japan with English subtitles so there is an option available.

I would say out of all of the Macross instalments, the one that I had known the least was Macross Zero, which is a five-episode OVA series and one of the first projects by studio Satelight back in the early 2000s. The studio would eventually animate Macross Frontier and Macross Delta with Shōji Kawamori.

Macross Zero, alongside Macross Plus and Macross Plus Movie Edition, were licensed for the UK and US by distributor Anime Limited on behalf of BIG WEST. Macross Plus was announced and released first in an ultimate edition package that I thought was pretty good overall but is clearly too big for many fans and the OVAs were made exclusive to that set for English audiences (France got a different edition but the OVAs are still exclusive to that specific set also). Macross Zero on the other hand is released in a traditional collector’s package by Anime Limited and looks like they have mirrored the Japanese version with some adjustments.

Currently this is the second Macross anime to be made available in English-speaking territories since the announcements that the franchise would be released in the west. At the time of this write-up, Macross II: Lovers Again is expected to be available later this Summer via AnimEigo (which I have donated to the kickstarter to get the 4K Premium Edition set) and the others are pretty much in licensing hell thanks to Sony purchasing Rightstuf which includes the Nozomi catalogue where Macross 7, Macross Frontier and Macross Delta are at. Anime Limited could release them for the UK to work around it, but if they do they should not cheap out like they have done with various releases in the past year.

One other thing to mention is that Macross Zero was released in Japan on Blu-ray twice. The first was a traditional HD remaster released in 2008, while the second & most recent 2024 release was remastered with AI. Now given the current trends it does sound worrying (especially considering Do You Remember Love was also upscaled with AI and had pretty mixed results) but it can work if done correctly like the AstroRes technology that Discotek Media uses with some of their titles. I’m not saying the remaster here will look amazing but I’m curious to see how it holds up when I get the chance to watch the series.

Collector’s Edition Contents:

Macross is a big deal for Anime Limited and thanks to Big West, they have enough assets to produce a collector’s edition for this OVA series.

This release is presented with a rigid box containing a Scanavo case that house the Blu-ray disc. Also included with the set is a 132-page booklet and 8 art cards. The booklet featured character designs, background information about the series, interviews with the staff and background artwork. An A3 poster was also listed on the website and information sheet but it’s not included with my copy.

The rigid box artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray & DVD has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £69.99. The Region A/North American release will also have the exact same set, also distributed by Anime Limited, for an SRP of $89.99 (~£69.66).

The series was included as part of their November 2024 early bird pre-order range on their AllTheAnime online store where I ordered from. The set was on offer for £39.99 + £3.50 postage, with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £35.99 + £3.50 postage (totalling £39.49).

Physical Contents:

• Rigid Box with Scanavo case packaging and clean artwork
• Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
• 132-page Booklet
• 8 Art Cards
• A3 Poster

On-Disc Contents:

Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 31st March 2025

The collector’s edition release for Macross Zero contains all 5 episodes on a single Blu-ray disc. The disc has been authored and encoded by VDMS, who have worked with Anime Limited on a couple of their releases including Great Pretender, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Macross Plus.

Upon starting the disc, you’ll be greeted with a menu that allows you to choose between English and French. On the English menu, you have Japanese with English subtitles as well as two audio commentaries (for Episodes 3 & 5) which are also subtitled. On the French menu, you have Japanese audio with French subtitles but no audio commentaries.

Considering the Japanese release also included English subtitles, I suspect Anime Limited have probably re-used that translation for this release. The white subtitles (yellow for some on-screen text) are locked during playback, and the Blu-ray disc is compatible with players set to either Region A & B.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages	Japanese
Audio	Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video	1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Region	A B
Subtitles	English, French
Locked Subtitles	Yes
Discs	1 BD-50

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

• Episode 3 Japanese Audio Commentary with BIGWEST’s Yuichi Hatanaka, unknownCASE members Hiroyuki Kashima, Atsushi Sakiyama & Tomisaburou Hashimoto, and EDP & WATO Unit member Hiroshi Yagishita. (30:51 runtime) [Not available in the French menu option]
• Episode 5 Japanese Audio Commentary with BIGWEST’s Yuichi Hatanaka, unknownCASE members Hiroyuki Kashima, Atsushi Sakiyama & Tomisaburou Hashimoto, and EDP & WATO Unit member Hiroshi Yagishita. (34:27 runtime) [Not available in the French menu option]
• Macross ZeroZero Advertisement (02:51 runtime)

Unboxing Photos:

Final Notes:

Macross Zero is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.

The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be bought exclusively through the AllTheAnime Store, and for North American users they can also order the US/Region A version on the Crunchyroll Store.