Two test pilots who were brothers in everything but blood tear each other apart because they both want the same dream so badly they can't see they're destroying it. Yoko Kanno's score wraps around every frame like it knows what's about to break, and the animation moves with such precision that you feel the weight of every choice they make. By the time the final sequence hits, you realize this was never about which fighter wins, it's about watching two people learn too late that some victories cost everything.

Three decades after the war between Earth and the Zentraedi, the U.N. Spacy is choosing its next variable fighter. Two rival contractors are competing for the contract on the planet Eden, and the competition is personal. Isamu Dyson, an unruly pilot, finds himself facing off against Guld Goa Bowman, a half-human, half-Zentraedi test pilot and his former friend. Their aerial duels push both machines and men to the breaking point as each fights to prove superiority. At the same time, Sharon Apple, an artificial idol and the most popular singer around, is set to perform on Eden. Her producer is Myung Fang Lone, who grew up alongside both pilots and dated each of them before an accident years ago split the three apart. Old tensions resurface, and an illegal, unstable AI component installed in Sharon turns the situation dangerous. This movie is a remake of the Macross Plus OVA that trims some scenes and adds others.