Collected here is all the interviews and translated material for the Macross franchise that I know of. Whilst it is predominantly of Frontier at present, I will be updating it with Delta as well as the earlier Macross series when I find the time. It is split into two parts – sites that cover a broad range of material, and more specific interviews that are organised in chronological order by series.

But first, let me start off with some important discussions about ‘translated’ material online:

The Ohnogi/Shaloom Question (Macross World, AnimeSuki Forums)
The “Yoshino was responsible for what’s wrong with Frontier” issue (AnimeSuki Forums)

And my three–post series on Macross ‘Canon’.

OFFICIAL STUFF

Official sites

Official website
Official Twitter

Interviews etc

General

1998-09 Shōji Kawamori, from Macross 7 Fun Net

SDFM, DYRL and related works

1983-08 Interview with SDFM producer Hiroshi Iwata
1984-10 Animage “Minmay: Ai Miemashita ka Book” supplement
1985-12 Shōji Kawamori’s Advanced Valkyrie
2005-07 BS Anime Yawa: Macross Do You Remember Love” TV special (summary).
2009-11 Macross the First 1, Hidetaka Tenjin: “I’m like a backlash against Kawamori-san and Mikimoto-san”
2015-02 SDF-1 Macross: Thorough Dissection, Kazutaka Miyatake: “Working on Macross was nothing but fun!”

Macross Plus

2010-?? “Blackout” (Itano Ichiro on authenticity in Macross Plus), from NEO magazine #69
2010-?? “Entering the Itano Circus,” from SFX Total Anime #3
2012-11 Shinichirō Watanabe (Macross Plus) at AFA 2012

Macross Frontier and related works

TV series
2008-06 Macross Frontier OST 1 Nyan Fro, Shōji Kawamori & Yōko Kanno; Liner Notes
2008-08 Kawamori x Yoshino On Creating Macross Frontier, from Animage Original Vol.1
2008-09 Otona Anime #9, Shōji Kawamori (commentary on MW)
2008-10 Shōji Kawamori on ‘story’ in Macross Frontier, and his episode commentary from 2059: Memories
2008-11 Otona Anime #10, Risa Ebata & Yūichi Takahashi
2009-09 Interview with May’n during AFA 2009, Singapore
2009-01 Macross F Official Fanbook
Shōji Kawamori on Conceptualising Frontier: gut feelings and cyborgs
Yasuhito Kikuchi on Remember Love through Macross Frontier
Hiroyuki Yoshino on triangles, loli characters and working with Kawamori
Episode commentaries
Episode 1: Close Encounter (Yack Deculture Edition)
Episode 4: Miss Macross
Episode 7: First Attack
Episode 10: Legend of Zero
Episode 12: Fastest Delivery
Episode 16: Ranka Attack
Episode 18: Fold Fame
Episode 20: Diamond Crevasse
Episode 25: Your Sound
And some brief notes on the Macross F Radio Show

Films
2009-12 Macross F The Movie Official Guidebook: Perfect Triangle
Yasuhito Kikuchi On Directing The False Diva, p.52
Shōji Kawamori on bringing Frontier from TV to Theater
2011-04 Wings of Farewell Official Complete Book
Director’s Comment, p.12
Voice Actor Interview, Aya Endo x Yūichi Nakamura x Megumi Nakajima, p.54-7
Yōko Kanno, p.92-5 – including Kanno’s comments on many of the songs from the Frontier films.
The very first interview, reprinted from the July 2007 issue of Newtype, p.114-5
Director Interview, p.120-3
2011-05 “After tea, it’s time to solve to mysteries…” from the May 2011 issue of Animedia
2011-10 Some of the “Special Talk” from “The Wings of Farewell” Blu-Ray

Sheryl Nome Visual Collection Final short story
A Day in Alcatraz

From Sheryl ~Kiss in the Galaxy~
vol 1: Shōji Kawamori’s Special Interview
vol 3: A Threeway Conversation with Risa Ebata, Shōji Kawamori and Kariko Koyama
vol 4: “Now we can finally lay it bare! Juicy quips about the couples of Macross F!”, with Shōji Kawamori

Macross Delta

2016-03 Kenji Yasuda on Macross ∆ (from his Bandai Channel interview, March 25, 2016)
My coverage of the Macross ∆ radio show, “Gori Gori Radio Shicharu Kara ne!”

Interviews Published in non-Japanese Media

Ollie Barder’s interviews on Forbes
2015-11 “Shōji Kawamori, The Creator Hollywood Copies But Never Credits.”
2016-05 “Shōji Kawamori On ‘Macross Delta’ And His Hopes For The Series.”
Interview from Kawamori Expo (2019) on Full Frontal

2019-08-01 “40 Years of Shoji Kawamori.”

Disclaimer: As far as I am aware, there is no publicly available Japanese text/audio for any foriegn-language interviews through which one might check the original phrasing of any controversial quotes. Barder’s interviews also omit the questions asked and hence some of the context in which those statements might have been made.

This section was edited on 13 May, 2021, to better reflect my personal concerns about interviews published in foreign media. But something else to keep in mind for everything linked in the “Interview” section is that interviews published in any media (and in any language) are edited for clarity and sometimes for length, especially when they’re presented in text. That’s apparently the reason some creators are difficult to follow in text interviews, because editors have cut out context they might have used to set up their points. (NB: I heard the latter anecdote at a talk even directly from a certain creator, who shall remain unnamed.)

BY FANS FOR FANS

Databases

Macross wiki (Japanese site)
Egan Loo’s Macross Compendium
The Macross Mecha Manual
Sketchley’s Translations – the biggest collection of translations of ‘canon’ material such as mecha stats and character descriptions/biographies. Sketchley’s current project is to translate as much of the renewed Macross Chronicle as possible. There’s a lot of information there, about characters, the mecha and about the broader Macross universe. But whichever of these floats your boat, I recommend that you start with Kawamori’s foreward to the updated, 2013 Chronicle. (p.s. the Chronicle’s TOC)

Newtype character polls over the years (incomplete)

Other Fansites

Deculture Shock, home of the SpeakerPodcast.
Gubabablog, where long-time Macross fan Gubaba somehow finds the time to translate novels associated with the franchise. He’s also recently conducted a massive rewatch of the entire franchise, pointing out references and little behind-the-scenes tidbits in each and every episode, OVA and film of Macross so far.
Shawn & Graham’s Macross World

SpeakerPodcast highlights

Ep.8-1 (and 2): Egan Loo speaks
Ep.14-1: Tom Bateman on working at Harmony Gold
Ep.14-3: Macross Mythbusters
Ep.19: A report on a Kawamori x Tenjin talkshow
Ep.25: Talkin’ Takani
Ep.29: Triple Encore! (Mari Iijima in concert)
Ep.31-1 (and 2): Shoji Kawamori’s ‘The HENKEI’
Ep.33: US Renditions Orguss Panel at Macross World Convention 2015
Ep.36 and Ep.37: The Macross Live Action Movie Treatment
Ep.39: SDF-1 Macross Designer Kazutaka Miyatake-on a BOAT!

If you know of anything I should add, please drop me a note so that I can add it to the list! —karice