Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Did You Know?

• The Robotech adaptation used the clip show to bring the total number of Robotech episodes to 85.
• Jeanne Françaix's character was voiced by Michie Tomizawa in the original Japanese.

Plot

By the year 2120, humanity has expanded beyond the Solar System, establishing colonies on other worlds. One of the most distant settlements sits on the terraformed planet Glorie, where the Southern Cross army stands guard against unknown threats. What the colonists do not know is that Glorie is the original homeworld of the Zor, a nomadic alien race far more advanced than humans, who have now come back to take it for themselves. Jeanne Françaix, a 17-year-old from the planet Liberté, commands the 15th Squad within the Southern Cross’s Alpha Tactics Armored Corps. She often acts on impulse and follows her emotions, leading her superiors to view her as a disgrace to the military for her lack of seriousness. Her repeated violations of orders and protocol get her thrown into solitary confinement, usually by Lieutenant Lana Isavia, though she always gets released when a crisis arises. Jeanne develops feelings for Seifriet Weiße, but he responds with confusion and scorn. Much of the story follows Jeanne’s adventures with her squad and her escalating personal conflict with the invading Zor. In the Robotech adaptation, she is renamed Dana Sterling. Marie Angel, known as the “Cosmo Amazon,” embodies the ideal soldier. A former biker gang leader with a talent for machinery, she hides deep emotions beneath a tough surface and enters a turbulent romance with the womanizer Charles Des Étoiles. Marie commands her own unit in the Tactics Armored Space Corps and is a top-tier pilot.

Production

In 1984, sponsor Big West released the third mecha anime under its Super Dimension label, following Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Super Dimension Century Orguss. Unlike its predecessors, which were created by Studio Nue with Artland, this series was produced almost entirely by Tatsunoko Production, with mecha designs from its sister studio, Ammonite. It ran for 23 episodes. While the three series share some creative staff and Macross appears via character cameos and inside jokes in the later two, their core stories are not connected. In North America, ADV Films released it on DVD under license from Harmony Gold USA, which holds all international rights. Key personnel included producer Masanori Nakano, executive producer Kenji Yoshida, chief director Yasuo Hasegawa, scriptwriter Masanori Hama, and composers Ken Satō and Yūji Dan.

Reception

Southern Cross was the least successful installment of the Super Dimension brand and wrapped at episode 23. The toy sponsor Popy pulled out of its sponsorship before the series premiered, which did not help selling it, as lack of merchandise was often detrimental to such mecha franchises. Anime News Network wrote that it is lightweight but fun and perhaps a bit better aged than its siblings in either the Super Dimensional or the Robotech universes. THEM Anime Reviews gave a rating of three out of five to Robotech: The Masters Saga and called it a relatively enjoyable show and somewhat inferior to the previous part of the series.