The original name for the Macross project was Battle City Megarōdo (or Battle City Megaroad, as the Japanese transliteration to either "L" or "R" gives the title a double meaning in reference to the story line: Megaload, referring to the spacecraft containing an entire city of people; and Megaroad, referring to the long journey through space back to Earth); however, one of the sponsors of the project, Big West Advertising, was a fan of Shakespeare and wanted the series and the spacecraft to be named Macbeth (マクベス, Makubesu).

The word Macross comes from a wordplay combination of the prefix "macro" in reference to its massive size in comparison to human vehicles (though when compared with the alien ships in the series, it is a relatively small gun destroyer) and the distance they must cross.

It was established by the successor to the modern United Nations in order to defend Earth from a possible attack by hostile aliens, and was involved in Space War I against an extraterrestrial race called the Zentradi.

They are generally able to transform into jet/space fighters, Battroid (a humanoid robot) and a hybrid of the two modes, called Gerwalk (Ground Effective Reinforcement of Winged Armament with Locomotive Knee-joint).

The metaplot of the franchise is centered on a purportedly extinct humanoid alien race called the Protoculture (プロトカルチャー, Purotokaruchā).

It was first conceptualized during the pre-production of The Super Dimension Fortress Macross when the creators were researching cultural studies to develop concepts used in the plot.

However it was discovered that 10,000 years ago, the Protoculture remnants made contact with humans in "Mayan Island", genetically re-engineering the native inhabitants to utilize the artifacts left by them.

The franchise also explores minor themes including culture shock, capitalism, coming of age and nostalgia.

The new era following the end of Space War I is part of the ongoing fictional time-line of the Macross franchise.

Along with Gundam, a real robot mecha series of which Shoji Kawamori is a fan, Macross explored how individuals cope with warfare.

Whereas Gundam is far more political and direct on the horrors of war, each Macross television series is unique for never depicting the antagonists as inherently evil and proved in the end that love, culture, and music can be used to resolve their conflicts.

The main of Macross production consists of (in chronological release order): A feature film, subtitled Do You Remember Love?

(愛・おぼえていますか Ai Oboete Imasu ka), was released in 1984, with a condensed version of the storyline and cutting-edge animation.

In March 2007, Studio Victor placed a casting call for a voice actress to play the heroine Ranka Lee,[18] in a then untitled new Macross series.

[19] Eighteen-year-old Megumi Nakajima selected in the nationwide singing and acting audition for the role of Ranka Lee in Japan.

Later, as part of the 25th anniversary concert, a trailer was shown that revealed the new tentative title of Macross F (Frontier).

The new show was produced by Satelight and its episodes began their regular broadcast on April 4, 2008, in MBS channel of Japan.

[39] Voiced by Mari Iijima, Minmay was the first fictional idol singer to garner major real-world success, with the theme song "Do You Remember Love?"

[41] This was later further explored in Macross Plus with the virtual idol Sharon Apple, an artificial intelligence (AI) computer program who takes the form of an intergalactic pop star,[42] and in Macross 7 with the virtual band Fire Bomber who became a commercial success and spawned multiple CDs released in Japan.

[43] Macross set the template for later virtual idols in the early 21st century, such as Hatsune Miku and Kizuna Ai.

According to Kawamori, "Many people pointed out that later films like Top Gun copied that idea and setting, as well as including the combination of many songs and fighters too.