Robotech was an interesting import, because it consisted of three totally separate anime series in Japan, that were re-written to be interconnected stories in America, by Harmony Gold. (Big ups to Carl Macek)! It wasn’t the first anime I’d ever watched, but it was the first, really good, anime I’d ever watched… it had drama, great voice acting, an interesting storyline tying the three shows together, and awesome character designs.

Robotech – Macross (Generation 1)

My #1 anime crush during the Robotech series, goes to Max Sterling because he had a great voice, and he was humble, and the Ace pilot, and wore those cool blue glasses and had the blue hair… and he scored the hottest chick in the whole seires, Miriya! (Who was also the Zentraedi’s ace pilot, and had green hair)! Max and Miriya also tie the first generation to the second, since the writers made the main character in Generation 2, their daughter, Dana Sterling. This irked me since Dana didn’t seem anything like them and was blonde instead of the green-haired baby shown in Macross… but being as they were the only main characters to have a child in the first generation, I suppose it was the most logical tie-in for the writers.

Robotech Southern Cross (Generation 2)

Even though Dana Sterling was the leader of the group, she was one of my least favorite characters. My anime crush in this generation would have to go to Sean Phillips because he was the romeo of the crew, and fell in love with Marie Crystal in a weird way, by pretending to be interested in her, and then actually becoming smitten in the process. His character design was also pretty cool and often comical. People seemed to hate on the second generation the most, but over the years, I grew to appreciate it. I dug Nova Satori’s character design, and Marie’s as well.

Since I mentioned them, here’s Nova Satori and Dana Sterling:

Robotech The Next Generation (Generation 3)

This one is tough. When I was younger, it was probably Rand who was a big deal, because he was one of the younger members of the group, so I identified with him, and he had red hair and was overall a cool member of the team. He’s also introduced in the first episode as a resourceful survivor. His goggles and jacket were also cool. Him and Rook Bartley were good together.

And of course, I have to include Lancer, because of the purple hair and the fact he had the same voice as Max Sterling! And it didn’t bug me that he dressed up as a woman and sang songs as a rebel fighter on the run, and in disguise. It made him seem even cooler. Lancer fell in love with the Invid alien, Sera, with the bright green/yellow hair. :) Lancer was pretty bad-ass, especially in the novels that came out later.

My list remained pretty constant over the years, until I watched the third generation again not too long ago, and I had to add Scott Bernard to the list. I found Scott Bernard’s character attractive, because he was always so tragic and tightly-wound. He also had the cool blue hair. (What can I say, I was a sucker for colored hair from way back). Yes, it was pretty weird that he named the young woman with amnesia they found Marlene, after his dead girlfriend… but hey.