In 1983, an animated television show debuted in Japan and instantly became a classic : Macross. The futuristic plot centered on the conflict between different factions of a domineering, warlike race of giants and a small group of highly skilled pilots and their enormous Superdimensional Space Fortress which had fallen to Earth mysteriously 10 years before. Macross combined an apocolyptic with action, drama, romance and music to create an engrossing storyline which spawned three sequels and won the hearts of thousands of people. This page is dedicated to two of the heroes of Macross; the star-crossed lovers super ace pilot, Maximillian Jenius and Melantraidi warrior Millia Fallyna.
"There quite simply had never been anything like it, and veteran fighter pilots who witnessed it shook their heads and did quite a bit less boasting for a while."
As the greatest pilots of their respective races, it was inevitable for Max and Millia to meet in battle. The battle was somewhat orchestrated by Millia in her desire to face an opponent worthy of her. She disobeyed direct orders and attacked the SDF-01 in an attempt to draw out the vaunted "Micronian" ace pilot who flew as none before him in a blue trimmed valkyrie. She suceeded.
The battle was fast and furious. Millia attacked and Max evaded; Max retaliated and Millia defended. They danced in the stars in the greatest battle of their young careers. Finally, in a move of great arrogance and some desperation, Millia flew directly into the SDF-01. Max followed. The battle continued on the streets of Macross City until Millia fled vowing to return in strength and destroy the Micronian ace. Max wanted to follow but he was called back by the bridge.
"Millia will not forget this day, Micronian - and you will pay for it. So I vow!"
Millia was not the type to settle for second best. As a self proclaimed demigoddess of battle, she had never lost. She became obsessed with hunting down and destroying the Micronian who had defeated her. She came before her superior and asked permission to infiltrate the enemy battleship as a micronized spy and exact her revenge on the pilot who vaunted her. Permission thus given, though not without pause, Millia had herself micronized to human size and proceeded to infiltrate the SDF-01 and begin her hunt for the warrior who'd bested her in battle.
Max, meanwhile, had put the battle behind him and was enjoying a night out at the movies (the first filmed entirely in space!) when he caught a glimpse of a beautiful young woman with exotic features and flowing green hair. Max was never much of a ladies man but he became infatuated with the girl on sight. Little did he know the girl he was so enamored of was plotting his demise with every thought - and little did she know the man she'd vowed to destroy was swiftly falling in love with her.
"Oh! That girl! Sitting at the game! Isn't she incredible? I've been seeing her everywhere. Maybe I can get her in a game with me!"
Millia finally found her quarry in the Video Arcade she'd begun to frequent on the SDF-01, believing it to be a training center. While trying to cheer up his distaught squadron leader Max glimpsed his dream girl across the room intent upon a veritech fighting game. Thrilled to find they indeed had something in common, he vaulted the staircase and pushed through the crowds watching her play to ask her for a game. Noting his obvious skill at games (indicated by his winnings) she agreed, though it was inconceivable that this young pilot with a somewhat goofy (though endearing) grin could be the ace pilot who had so defeated her. The game began.
As the game went on it became increasingly obvious to Millia and the crowd on on-lookers that the two were in fact very well-matched. The game escalated beyond any earlier one played. The minute blue and red simulated valkyrie flew at eachother with impossible force of will. Millia looked at her opponent, beyond his grin, beyond his glasses and falling hair and recognized the enemy pilot she'd vowed to kill. Max looked at his opponent and saw only beauty and love. The game ended with a second victory for Max. Disgusted Millia turned to go but was caught by the effusive Max, determined to get to know the girl he already loved. Max suggested a meeting in the city's park and unwittingly gave Millia the perfect oppurtunity to realize her goal and vanquish this hated enemy once and for all.
"Maximillian, Prepare for your doom!"
Max came to Millia with his best suit and dreams of romance. Millia came to Max with a with a knife and dreams of vindication. She pounced in the dark, her knife held high and caught him completely unawares. But Maximillian Jenius is not the best pilot in the known universe for nothing. With lightning fast instincts, he evaded her attack seemingly before he realized she was attacking. But Millia persisted, coming at him with a second knife, swinging furiously and daring him to try and fight back. Thoroughly confused and albeit a little wary, Max was nonetheless still head over heels for Millia. He didn't run, he didn't strike back, instead he asked her whatever she was doing and why? Millia had no time for explanations though and continued at him, forcing him to arm himself with the first knife thrown.
The dual that ensued was fast, furious and a bit absurd as the two fought with knives as if they were rapiers. Millia fought with a desperation she'd never known, Max with the fury he felt not at Millia but at the mess she'd made of their romantic evening. In the end it was Max' incredible instincts which won out and Millia's knife was wrenched from her hands. Defeated yet again, Millia slipped to the ground in tears.
"Millia, this is crazy, but...Will you marry me?"
Millia fully expected to die at the hands of the microninan pilot who'd defeated her again and again. But nothing, not even attempted murder, could sway Max' heart from this girl. It was not the cold, hard knife Millia felt on her neck, but Max' warm, soft hands, picking her up and holding her to him. With a kindness she'd never known, Max wiped Millia's tears away and with them all her inhibitions toward contact between men and women. Looking into Max' eyes Millia saw something she'd never seen before and with a kiss he opened up her heart and soul to love. Millia fell into Max' arms. In a hushed tone, Max asked Millia to marry him. And having no concept of the word or custom, Millia nonetheless said yes.
"I love her and there's no problem love won't solve!"
The wedding was triumphant, the first wedding in space, the first joining of a human and a zentraidi. At the reception, the captain of the SDF-01 made a speech begging for an end to the hostilities and asking both sides to forgive eachother. Max and Millia became symbols of peace and love, just as Minmei, the young singer who so enchanted the zentraidi they lay down their arms, was. The zentraidi watched the wedding from their battleships and wondered what had happened to turn their most vaunted pilot into this small, smiling, somehow glowing micronian girl? What power did the micronian pilot seated beside her, smiling that same glowing smile possess?The zentraidi never knew love, only battle. When they came in contact with the emotional micronians they had no defense. Millia was the best melantraidi warrior but she had no recourse against the love Max felt for her. In the end it was Max' love and not his battle prowess which defeated her, but in defeat, Millia gained more than she had ever won in victory. And this the zentraidi feared most of all. Thus, on the day of the wedding they once again attacked.
"I promised in our vows I would stay by your side and I will. From now on, we fight together."
Max was excused from the fighting, but his concsience would not let him stay out of it. Turning to tell Millia he had to go, he found her preparing to go with him. Millia had vowed to stay by Max' side and she intended to do it. Hand in hand the two ran to Max' blue valkyrie. They blasted into battle together. Max had the enemy in his sights when he heard Millia cry no. She repositioned his aim and firing, they blew out the enemy pod's engine, crippling the battlepod but leaving the pilot unharmed. Millia knew it was time to stop the killing and she gave Max a way to do it. Max believed in his new wife and he began aiming for the disabling mechanism; watching his friend, who never missed, Hikaru realized what was going on and he started aiming for the same disabling point. Soon all the valkyrie fighters were trying to disable the pods allowing the attackers to escape alive. Faced with this and their own troops defection, the battle was called off and the enemy retreated. When they resurfaced it was in peace.
"Max and Millia were like two avenging angels, beyond any mortal power to resist or stop. Faced with the red-trimmed valkyrie or the blue, all any enemy pilot could do was resign himself to death."
Seperately, Max and Millia were the top two pilots in the universe. Together, they were an unstoppable fighting force. In closely matched blue (Max) and red (Millia) valkyries, the two ruled the skys as the King and Queen of valkyrie flying and fighting. They dominated during the final battles of the war.
"Little Millia"
Komillia was the first child born to a human and a zentraidi. A bright and beautiful little girl, Komillia had her mother's green hair and eyes and delighted in playing with her father's wayward hair. Komillia was an important addition to an attack against the remaining hostile zentraidi. Millia held her daughter high over her head proudly proclaiming her birth to the zentraidi and the galaxy alike as Max stood by with a smile as big as the sun for his beautiful wife and daughter. The mission was sucessful and the little family returned home in safety.
"And so on and on, we belong two as one in a galaxy where through the years all can hear our sweet harmony."
Max and Millia rose in the ranks swiftly and never stopped being two bright stars of UN Spacy; personally their love grew as their family expanded. They had seven children, all girls. They travelled all about the expanse of UN Spacy controlled space and eventually were assigned to command the Macross 7 fleet.
In 2031, the historical movie, MACROSS : Do You Remember Love? was released. It was a slightly romanticized version of the first Space War between the zentraidi and Earth. The love story of Maximillian Jenius and Millia Fallyna (called Millia 639) was given very little screen time but was nonetheless engrossing. In this film version, Max comes upon the still macronized Millia after she's been defeated by him in battle and the two fall instantly in love. They fight side by side in the final fight in matching power armor (of course Max's is blue and Millia's red), Max having been macronized to Millia's size. This movie proved to be very popular and it inspired a new wave of Minmei fans, including young Emilia Jenius.
The Macross 7 Fleet of seven residential ships and their corresponding battleships was launched in 2038 under the command of Captain Maximillian Jenius and his Executive Officer Captain Millia Fallyna Jenius. Their youngest daughter, Mylene, accomponied them. This was a launch in hope and wonder; the seventh such fleet to leave Earth in pursuit of a new world to call home.
"Why are you so confrontational, Mom?"
After thirty years of relative happiness and seven children, the glow had somewhat dimmed on Max and Millia's marriage. First, it is very stressful to be quite so famous a couple; second it is equally as stressful to command a Macross fleet. The pressures began to wear on Max and Millia.
In 2032, Millia was elected Mayor of City 7, the biggest of Macross 7's residential cities. This gave Millia her own command, as it were, but put even more stress on her relationship with Max as it put her, as head of Macross 7's social structure in sometimes direct conflict with him, as leader of Macross 7's military. It also took away the time they had to spend together and with Mylene as a family. This finally led to a formal separation.
"After all the love is over, a loneliness remains; a loneliness to prove my love. Even when a song is over, a melody remains; a memory of harmony and you."
The Macross 7 fleet encountered their first enemy in the year 2045. By this time, Max and Millia were living apart and could hardly speak to eachother without an arguement. The rumor had spread that UN Spacy's most famous couple had separated. Max and Millia conspired to deny all such reports in an effort to retain control over the fleet and peace within the streets. This became especially important in the face of the new enemy and they even agreed to appear in a film together : "The Lynn-Minmei Story" starring their daughter Mylene as Minmei. Mylene had made quite a name for herself as a member of Fire Bomber, the galaxy's hottest new band.
"If someone doesn't fight we can't protect the citizens!"
The enenmy suceeded in separating City 7 from Battle 7, the flagship attached to the City, and the rest of the Macross 7 fleet. This left City 7 stranded without any defense - except Millia. Millia had kept her special red Millia-type VF 1 Valkyrie all these years and to insure victory she fought back against the enemy herself. When her valkyrie was destroyed in a later battle (Mylene's friend Gamlin was flying it and was shot down), Millia had the deck crews repaint one of the newer VF 17 's (its owner was in the hospital) bright red and again flew out into battle proving once and for all that age, parenthood and a political career do nothing to slow down Millia Jenius!
"I'll show them the way Maximillian Jenius fights!"
Meanwhile, Battle 7 was searching the galaxy for sign of City 7. However, though capturing City 7 was the enemy's true objective, they did not forget Battle 7 and her fleet. The enemy brought a full scale attack on the fleet finally forcing a real battle between the two fleets. Max transformed Battle 7 and used the Macross Cannon for the first time, destroying a third of the enemy fleet instantly.
Finally, one of Battle 7's scientists devised a way to find City 7 by way of listening for Fire Bomber. As it turned out they were just in time to help City 7 stave off an attack - but almost not in time to save them from falling into a star. However, when Max and Millia stopped bickering and put their minds together as they used to, they figured out a way to save City 7.
"Which one do you think I'm like, Mom or Dad? Mom? But I think I'm like my Dad, too. Which is it? Both, I guess."
Mylene Jenius is the youngest daughter of Max and Millia and the only one who accomponied them on Macross 7. Mylene is a member of the rock band Fire Bomber! which later becomes Sound Force a division of the Unified Army. It sometimes seems Mylene is the only connection Max and Millia have in these troubled times. She brings her parents together more often than not and like any child of a troubled marriage she is always hoping for a reconciliation. Mylene is determined to prove herself and by just being herself she reminds her parents of all the love they shared and all the good that came about because of their union.
"I'm the only one who could make a desperate plan like that work. Me, and you. If we team up again it just might suceed....I won't let you say you failed because you didn't have me along!"
UN Spacy makes the decision to attack the enemy, now known as the Varuta / Protodevilin; they send the Macross 7 fleet in with a mission that has a 0.00001% chance of success. Earth and UN Spacy have (again) disowned the only thing standing between them and annihilation, cutting off all the heroic men and women who make up Macross 7. Captain Max decided to fight with Battle 7 alone and together with Millia, he devises a plan of attack. Called Operation: Stargazer; it is made up of only volunteer pilots. Max decided to command the unit himself and places Millia, who of course volunteered, in command of Battle 7.
The operation is a success in that they achieve their objective of sending reaction weapons to the homeplanet of the Protodevilin; however it is a failure in that there is no effect noted. Max and the others are captured but escape with the help of Mylene' song energy.
"I'm in love with you, I will survive until the wait is over till you and I again begin the way we both began."
In the end, it is Basara and the rest of Sound Force's sound energy that turns the tide and saves the fleet and the galaxy from destruction. Battle 7 is destroyed in the final attack and Max and Millia end up fighting the last battle as pilots - their best destiny.
It is through this crisis, the Varuta War, that Max and Millia are brought to a tentative reconciliation. It is apparent to any outside observer that they remain hopelessly in love despite their differences and troubles. Max is honest about his feelings and for Millia's part, she expects so much of Max because of her regard for him; he remains her better half and in her own way she is utterly loyal to him. Their love is greater than their problems, greater than the war, greater than themselves and their song truly echoes throughout the galaxy.
