Every time I watch this OVA I love it more. As much as I absolutely adored the ending of Macross 7, it was a bit bittersweet and left me with a bit of a heavy heart. Dynamite fixes that little issue and is a PERFECT ending to Macross 7, as it's finished on a more upbeat and fun note. If you liked Macross 7, I implore you to watch Dynamite. It's wonderful to see how Basara's character has grown in the year that passed between M7 and Dynamite. --STORY-- I feel like many people write this off as a 'save the whales' narrative when that's really just sort ofa background plot of the story. It's prevalent, yes, but it's definitely NOT the core focus of the show.

The actual narrative is pretty much spelled out in the opening;

"A passionate feeling from the time I started singing
Has been left sometime somewhere somehow
Here I say goodbye to boring everydays
No one can stop my burning feelings"

It's essentially a story about Basara heading out to find a new muse after Sivil has left - and he happens to find in the galactic whales. His almost childish obsession with these gigantic aliens is one of the most charming things I've ever seen in an anime.

Along the way Basara meets Elma and her father Graham, who he forms a very interesting bond with.

The only complaint I have about the story is the Mylene subplot in episode 2, which doesn't fit into this series at all and leaves a very bitter taste in everyone's mouths. If I enjoyed Dynamite any less than I do this MIGHT'VE lowered my rating of the story a bit, but the rest of the OVA is so charming and fun that I can give it a pass... bitterly.

--ART--

The art in this show is absolutely *GORGEOUS*.

It's a wonderful step up from Macross 7, and the designers really brought in their A game when it came to Zola's environmental design. The entire OVA has a very unique, very colourful aesthetic, and it's absolutely creatively inspired.

Many characters have slightly more realistic features than in the cartoonier style of Macross 7, and they look amazing and consistent.

The character designs are beautiful of course, as they were done by none other than Haruhiko Mikimoto.

--CHARACTERS--

I absolutely adore Basara in this OVA, as it shows a very natural progression of his character.
He's still the same person at the core, but more open to other people, and he has shed pretty much all of the repressed irritation that he held on to throughout most of the main show.
Having suffered a burnout on City 7, he decided to leave to see the galaxy (most likely inspired by Sivil to do so!) and he found a brand new source of inspiration in foreign places. Again, Basara comes through as an IMPECCABLY written artist, and a consistently wild-at-heart character who follows his instincts first and foremost.

Graham is the second most important character in this show and I find him a very interesting one. Him and Basara have opposing views regarding a certain issue, but while there's clear tension between them, there's also immense respect. I wish I could go more in depth regarding this, but that would reach into the spoiler territory.
He does come across as a bit of a Captain Ahab stereotype at first, but there's much more depth to him beyond that, and his motives come from an interestingly misguided place.

Elma is one of my favourite children in anime. She's written very realistically and is thoroughly lovable, but it did make me a little sad to realize that the reason she talks so much whenever she gets a chance is most likely due to her being pretty much neglected by her entire family and not really having anyone to talk to.

The rest of the characters get less screen time and development, and the other characters from Macross 7 don't get much character progression, but a lot of nice moments, such as Gamlin jumping in to support his homie Basara even when he has no idea what's going on.

--SOUND--

It's Macross 7. It's Fire Bomber. It's Yoshiki Fukuyama on vocals. What else do you need to know, aside from maybe the fact that Angel Voice, the big finale song, was composed by Yoko Kanno, famous for her score for Cowboy Bebop.

Every song in this OVA is a solid 10/10.

--ENJOYMENT--

As it's fairly clear by now, I am absolutely in love with this OVA. It was an emotional rollercoaster and it completely blew me away with it's breathtaking ending when I watched it for the first time... and it continues to do so upon every rewatching.