SDF-2 Megaroad-01

The SDF-2 Megaroad-01 is a fictional spacecraft from the Macross series. It was first featured in the OVA title The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012, a 30-minute Music Video production released on June 21 in 1987 in Japan. It was designed by Mechanical Designer Kazutaka Miyatake.[1][2][3]

The SDF-2 Megaroad-01 as it appears in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012

Fictional History

In the fictional setting of Macross, the SDF-2 Megaroad-01 was initially slated to be the second Macross-class Super Dimension Fortress space battleship, but went on to become the first long-distance Megaroad-class colony ship.[1][2]

According to the fictional continuity of Macross construction of the SDF-2 ship began on the lunar surface at Apollo Base in November 2003. Initial completion date set as 2013, with service launch date set as 2014. Construction continued even as Space War I with the Zentradi began in October 2009. This went on till February 2010 when UN Earth forces suffered total annihilation, forcing all work on the ship to halt.

After the end of the first Space War, construction on the half-complete SDF-2 resumed in June 2010, this time as a colony vessel. Renamed the SDF-2 Megaroad-01, the ship launched in September 2012 with a capacity for over 80,000 colonists. Construction on the second and third ships of this new class, Megaroad-02 and Megaroad-03 began in September 2012 to coincide with the launch.

A completely indigenous ship design based on feedback gleaned from 'Over-Technology' found on the "ASS-1"(later rechristened SDF-1 Macross) and the needs of Earth's forces, the completed SDF-2 Megaroad-01 is vastly different in size, hull design and capacity for war. Also, unlike the SDF-1 Macross, Megaroad-class colony ships lack modular transformation as its designers deemed it unnecessary after realising and overcoming the many problems that so plagued the SDF-1 following its launch.

Command of the Megaroad-01 was given to war hero Misa Hayase Ichijyo. Aboard the fleet were her husband, Hikaru Ichijyo, leading the entire Skull group, and the famous idol singer Lynn Minmay.

The SDF-2 Megaroad-01 lifting off.

The Megaroad-01 set out towards the center of the galaxy in 2012.[3] However in July 2016, barely four years into its voyage toward the center of the Milky Way, all contact with the fleet abruptly ceased. This information was never made known to the general public for fear it would jeopardize all ongoing and subsequent colonization efforts. The many victories and momentous events involving Minmay and the Skull Team during the Space War have been played up over and again to the point of legend ever since, just so everyone not already in the know would believe Megaroad-01 and its fleet are still in active contact with Command. A direct result of this is the release of the film "Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love" in 2031 to remind the masses of the fragile peace they now enjoy with themes like the near extinction of humanity and some of the momentous events leading up to the end of War with the Zentradi and ending with 'Actual' footage of Minmay's Goodbye Concert Tour.

According to the official Macross continuity, in 2025 the Megaroad-13 fleet discovered a habitable planet near the center of the Milky Way. This planetary system was named the Varauta system. In total, 30 of these Megaroad class vessels were built and launched. Production ceased in the late 2020s with the introduction and launch of the first of the New Macross-class colonization ships in 2030. The Macross-7 fleet being the 37th Long Distance Colonization Fleet with Macross-7 being the 7th of the New Macross-class.

SDF-2 Megaroad-01 depicted lifting off in Macross Frontier.

Background

The name Megaroad originated in a pre-production name for the first Macross series, namely "Battle City Megaroad".[4] This pre-production name was written as a deliberate wordplay on "Megaroad" (a long journey through space) and "Megaload" (a massive cargo in the form of a civilian city).[4][5] After the first Macross series went into production, an additional wordplay, "Megalord," was considered for the second super dimension fortress before the name SDF-2 Megaroad-01 was finalized. There were plans for a splashy ending to the original Macross series, one that would have shown Misa Hayase and Hikaru Ichijyo blasting off in the SDF-2 ship, but the sequence was scrapped due to lack of time and budget. Due to fan demand this sequence was later used in the Macross Flashback 2012 OVA (1987).[1] Incidentally, neither the "SDF-2" nor "Megaroad-01" were specifically mentioned or ever featured in the original series, save some vague references to a new ship in the final episode.[2] However, the Macross Perfect Memory Japanese reference book for the original series that was released in 1983 includes a profile and artwork for the first SDF-2 "Megalord" design, which was originally very similar to the SDF-1 Macross design used in the 1984 movie The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?.[6] Samples of the early Megalord design by Kazutaka Miyatake were also included in his Macross and Orguss Design Works reference book from 2005.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Translation & Cultural Notes". The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Liner Notes. AnimEigo. 2001-12-21. Retrieved 2009-05-12. Originally, the creators wanted to end the series with the launch of the SDF-2 and the newly-wed Ichijo Misa in her new captain's uniform. Mechanical designer Miyatake Kazutaka and character designer Mikimoto Haruhiko even drew new designs appropriate for the occasion. Unfortunately, the sequence was never animated. The creators finally got the chance to redesign and animate the SDF-2 Megaroad launch (along with the Minmay Sayonara Concert that was planned but canceled for the Do You Remember Love? movie ending) four years later. The conclusion of Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay's story appears in the 1987 music video The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Macross Chronicle Issue 14. Mechanic Sheet: FB: U.N. Spacy 01A: SDF-2 Megaroad. We've Inc. 2009.01.22
  3. 1 2 Best Hit Series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 Graffiti. Shougakukan, Japan. Y910. 1987.
  4. 1 2 "Translation & Cultural Notes". The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Liner Notes. AnimEigo. 2001-12-21. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  5. ↑ "Mecha Data". The Super Dimension Fortress Macross Liner Notes. AnimEigo. 2001-12-21. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  6. ↑ Mechanic of Macross: SDF-2 "Megalord". Page 150. Macross Perfect Memory. Reference Book. 260 A4 pages. Minori Library, Japan. Y2800. 1983, October 10.
  7. ↑ Miyatake, Kazutaka (2005-06-01). Macross and Orguss Design Works (in Japanese). Japan: Mobic. p. 14. ISBN 4-89601-629-7.

External links

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