[4] The SDF-1 Macross still exists, as does the U.N. Spacy Minmay Attack stratagem, which has been successfully employed to thwart the Zentradi threat ever since.

However, a new humanoid alien race called the Marduk (Mardook in the original Japanese version), arrives in the Solar System with enslaved Zentradi and Meltlandi warriors who are seemingly unaffected by the Minmay Attack.

The story focuses on reporter Hibiki Kanzaki, who is caught in the middle of the action when he rescues an Emulator, Ishtar, while covering a battle between the U.N. Spacy and the Marduk.

[8] Shoji Kawamori, the creator of the original Macross series, did not participate in this project because, at the time, he had no interest in writing sequels.

Macross II was framed as six episodes because, at the time, it was felt that short OVA series were the current trend in anime.

Haruhiko Mikimoto explained that he and director Kenichi Yatagai differed on what they envisioned Macross II to be; compromises had to be made on both sides.

[13] The mechanical designs for Macross II were created by Junichi Akutsu, Jun Okuda and Koichi Ohata (who previously worked on Gunbuster).

Macross II is a six-episode OVA that was released in Japan from May 21, 1992, to November 21, 1992, on VHS volumes, on June 25, 2001, on DVD and on July 25, 2014, on Blu-ray.

[14] Manga Entertainment consolidated the six episodes in 1995 into a single VHS cassette called Macross II: The Movie.

Bonus materials included a music video (actually a creditless closing theme), four character profiles and an image and mechanical designs gallery.

Manga Entertainment released Macross II in 2008 as a downloadable video purchase on the iTunes Store in its original six-episode format with each episode available individually.

[17][18] Scramble News Network (SNN) entertainment reporter Hibiki Kanzaki exposes Sylvie Gena and Exxegran Giri at a secret meeting inside a hotel, earning his breaking story huge ratings.

He is reprimanded by veteran reporter and cameraman Dennis Lone for only being interested in ratings, and his bureau chief orders him to apologize to the two or he'll lose his job.

As they are talking at the Culture Park, the SDF-1 Macross gives off a huge energy burst, and then Sylvie is recalled due to a large number of unidentified ships defolding near Jupiter.

The media continues to cover up the Marduk threat and uses the opportunity to promote the annual Moon Festival, which piques Ishtar's interest.

She confesses her real identity to Hibiki, and explains that they use the Zentradi to destroy any foreign cultures, with the Emulators keeping them in line.

The supreme U.N. Spacy council questions Hibiki about the footage he shot inside the Marduk ship and also orders Sylvie's arrest.

Out in space, Ingues orders the entire Marduk fleet to begin the attack on Earth, and are successful in breaking the defenses with Zentradi forces leading the charge and the Emulators' songs encouraging them.

One of the UN Spacy's fleet commanders, Balser, is confident he can defeat them with four Macross Cannons (special transformable heavy artillery warships patterned after the SDF-1) under his charge.

The Zentradi/Meltrandi troops step up their ferocity and begin kamikaze attacks on the U.N. Spacy ships when Ingues orders the Emulators to sing their special "death song."

Feff is incensed by Ingues' denials about the legendary Alus and joins the barrage (along with the U.N Spacy's last two Macross Cannons), destroying both him and his ship.

This limited series was originally published as a manga in Shōnen Sunday Zōkan by Shogakukan in Japan and was released as a volume in March 1993.

Marketed as a "100% made-in-America sequel", the story is set one year after the events of Macross II and follows Hibiki Kanzaki and Sylvie Gena as they attempt to uncover the explanation behind a series of mysterious attacks against the Zentradi on Earth.

[20] In 1994, Palladium joined forces with Canadian role-playing game company Dream Pod 9 to produce a three-part Deck Plans supplement series, which featured technical schematics of U.N. Spacy and Marduk warships and new rules for ship-to-ship combat.

[22] Several companies have made garage kits of the VF-2JA Icarus, as well as additional parts to convert the Bandai Valkyrie II into an atmospheric mode fighter without the Super Armed Pack.

The game was a side-scrolling shooter, where the player controlled a VF-2SS Valkyrie II and battled Marduk units on the screen.

[28] Criticisms from Mecha Anime HQ concerned Macross II's decision to feature a journalist as the series protagonist instead of a military pilot, and that the storyline adhered too closely to its predecessor.

[29][30] Anime News Network described the plot as "unoriginal" and noted that it seemed as if too much material was squeezed into Macross II.