Both the OVA series and movie were released in Japan by Bandai Visual and in North America and Europe by Manga Entertainment.

Three decades after the great war between the humans and the Zentradi, in January 2040, the U.N. government is developing new technologies to use in their transforming fighter aircraft by running tests on the colony planet Eden.

Military test pilots and former childhood friends, loose cannon Isamu Alva Dyson and the Zentradi mixed race Guld Goa Bowman, are selected to each pilot a new aircraft (Shinsei Industries' YF-19 & General Galaxy's YF-21) for Project Super Nova, to choose the newest successor to the VF-11 Thunderbolt variable fighter which is currently still in use by the U.N. Spacy military forces.

After returning to duty, a military tribunal questions Guld about their fight in the test area, but ultimately the decision is left up to the Admiral in charge of the project.

Chief Millard, the station commander of New Edwards Test Flight Facility, reluctantly tells both pilots that their mission and the project has been scrubbed by the U.N. Spacy High Command – due to the completion of a newer, and previously unknown aircraft, the Ghost X-9 (ゴースト X-9), an advanced stealth UCAV prototype which was secretly being produced on Earth while two other prototypes (YF-19 and YF-21) were simultaneously being tested for Project Super Nova in planet Eden.

Meanwhile, the AI Sharon Apple has developed a malevolent consciousness, due to an illegal bio-chip having been installed by lead scientist on the project, Marge Gueldoa.

At the climax of the fight Guld, finally achieving a target lock, releases a large fury of missiles seemingly destroying the YF-19.

While Isamu goes after Sharon, Guld fights the X-9 and ultimately destroys it by removing the gravitational safety limiters on his aircraft, and matching the X-9's velocity/maneuverability, which is much higher than normally possible due to it being computer-controlled and having no pilot, until he achieves a target lock and shoots the X-9 down.

The story ends as the sun rises over the Macross Fortress, with Myung waving to Isamu, who has survived the destruction of Sharon's computer.

The wind farms throughout the planet were based on those found in California's Central Valley, while Eden's highways were designed from those seen in Orlando, Florida.

Sharon Apple's songs are performed by a number of different artists – namely Gabriela Robin, Akino Arai, Mai Yamane, Melodie Sexton, Wuyontana and the Raiché Coutev Sisters.

In North America, only the first two soundtracks were made available; first through JVC, then subsequently through AnimeTrax (a division of The Right Stuf International).

When it came to Episode 4 of the original translation, due to a rights issue at the time, the entire soundmix including music and sound effects had to be recreated from scratch.

It was later that Bandai Visual commissioned a new dub for Episode 4, retaining the original Japanese soundmix but utilizing a new voice cast due to actor availability.

Macross Plus Movie Edition had a limited theatrical release at the Barbican Centre in the UK on September 14, 2019, and in the U.S. through Fathom Events on December 14, 2021.

Manga Entertainment released the series in VHS (dubbed and subtitled versions) and Laserdisc formats in Europe and as their first title in the North American market.

The DVD version is a direct transfer from the VHS release, causing the subtitles to be part of the footage itself, so they can't be turned off.

On August 24, 2007, an HD Remastered DVD box set containing both the entire OVA series and the Movie Edition was released in Japan.

The Movie Edition is Japan-exclusive but offers English subtitles, plus a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to go alongside its PCM option.

During the release of the series, Shogakukan published the companion visual book This Is Animation Special: Macross Plus, which covered the first two episodes.

[10] None of these toys are widely available in the U.S. due to ongoing legal disputes between Big West and Tatsunoko Production/Harmony Gold USA over the Macross copyright.