This one is another one of my stock recommendations.
Title: Macross Frontier
Studio: Satelight
Year: 2008
Quote:
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The year is 2059. Humanity has recovered from near extinction during its war with the Zentraedi, and vast fleets have been dispatched to explore and colonize the galaxy. But for the citizens of the 25th Large Scale Colonization Fleet Macross Frontier, all this is just a backdrop to their daily lives. Former kabuki prodigy turned stunt pilot Alto Saotome dreams of flying Valkyries and a sky that is not limited to the height of a city ship’s dome, while Ranka Lee works part time at a Chinese restaurant, her cheerful and energetic disposition masking her repressed childhood memories of another fleet’s destruction. The biggest news in the fleet is a visit by Sheryl Nome, a super star singer from one of Frontier’s sister fleets known as the Galactic Fairy. But there is danger lurking is the vastness of space. One of Frontier’s recon craft is attacked and destroyed by the insectoid Vajra, and soon the colony fleet itself is under siege. Against this backdrop Alto, Ranka, and Sheryl’s paths begin to intertwine, and all three will find themselves playing an important part in the conflict.
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Perhaps the highest praise I can give this series is that it reminded me of when I first saw Star Wars as a kid. Produced as a 25th Anniversary series for the Macross franchise, it has all the music, mecha, missile spam and love triangles the franchise is know for, and is chock full of references to previous Macross series. Yet it is (for the most part) very accessible to franchise newcomers. It also features surprisingly strong characterization, with Sheryl Nome being a particular standout -a complex, charismatic, multi-faceted character who demonstrates incredible strength in the face of adversity.
There are also two alternate continuity movies*, which are in many ways superior to the TV series, though I personally much prefer the original TV version. If you are going to watch both versions I strongly recommend watching the TV version first (and not only because its my favorite version).
*Actually Shoji Kawamori has stated that he considers all Macross productions to be
in universe historical fiction (meaning that no version is more canonical than any other) so perhaps alternate continuity is not the most accurate way to describe things.