''Macross The Ride'' or ''Macross R'' is a light novel series published in the ''

Dengeki Hobby Magazine was a Japanese magazine under the Dengeki Hobby brand published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) centering on information relating to plastic models and toys. It first went on sale on 25 November 1998. There was a Chinese version pub ...

'', a Japanese

model kit A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

magazine. It is based on the ''

Macross is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/ media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and th ...

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

mecha series. It was serialized from December 2010 until November 2011.

Plot

The plot of the light novel is set in an air race competition performed using advanced civilian "valkyries" (

variable fighter A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in fli ...

s) in the massive space emigration colony ship ''Macross Frontier'' in the year 2058 A.D., one year before the events of the ''

Macross Frontier is a Japanese anime television series and the third Japanese anime television series set in the ''Macross'' universe. It was broadcast on MBS from April 4, 2008 to September 26, 2008. ''Macross Frontier'' is the story of a human spac ...

'' anime television series. Many designs from the different ''Macross'' series also appear in this novel.

Production

Original ''Macross'' creator and

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...

designer Shoji Kawamori performed editorial supervision of the novel.

Ukyō Kodachi is a Japanese novelist, manga artist, and screenwriter. He started out writing tabletop role-playing games, before debuting as a novelist in 2008 and a screenwriter in 2013. From 2016 to 2020, he worked on the '' Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' ...

, who was in charge of the novelization of Macross Frontier, wrote the new novel series. Famous mecha illustrator

Hidetaka Tenjin is a Japanese mecha anime artist and science fiction illustrator. Personal life Hidetaka Tenjin was born in Nishinomiya, Kobe City, on October 13, 1973. After graduating from the Shibaura institute of Technology's Department of System Engineer ...

created graphic art adapted from Varchi Lee's new variable fighter model kit designs. Muneharu designed the color schemes of the new variable fighters and other mecha shown in the magazine. The character designer for the new novel series was Katsumi Enami. Tommy Otsuka was in charge of the illustration of the web adaptation of the novel. The new models of plastic model kits shown in the hobby magazine were sponsored and manufactured by Hasegawa and

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

. Garage kits were converted and customized for the new plastic model designs and were manufactured from scratch for the hobby magazine. Dengeki published submitted fan-based garage kits of various variable fighters. A book summarizing the light novel episodes was published on June 25, 2011. Also a visual book with photos of the new models published in the magazine was released with the novel. A limited sale kit of the VF-11D "Thunderfocus" variable fighter which appeared in the light novel was produced as a plastic model kit from Hasegawa in December 2011.

Episodes

#''Deep Space Warbird'' #''Up, up and Away'' #''Spiral Blue'' #''City Fight Step'' #''Virtual Sky'' #''Iron Maiden'' #''Past Days Attacker'' #''Combat Open'' #''Piece Children'' #''Fascas'' #''Try Again'' #''Final Rap''

References

External links

Macross R official Website
{{Macross series Book series introduced in 2010 2010 Japanese novels Macross Light novels