the West. Transformers went on to influence the Hollywood movie industry. In contrast to earlier mecha anime which focused on combatants, Macross portrayed mecha conflict from the perspective of non-combatant civilians, such as the fictional singer Lynn Minmay. She went on to become the first virtual idol. 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?" (from the film Macross: Do You Remember Love?) reaching number seven on the Oricon music charts in Japan. 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, and in Macross 7 with the virtual band Fire Bomber who became a commercial success and spawned multiple CDs released in Japan. Macross set the template for later virtual idols in the early 21st century, such as Hatsune Miku and Kizuna AI. Another innovative character concept in Macross was the role of Misa Hayase in Super Dimension Fortress Macross (called Lisa Hayes in Robotech), who was one of the main commanders of the Macross battleship. She was the boss and commanding officer of the fighter pilot protagonist Hikaru Ichijyo (called Rick Hunter in Robotech), and later his love interest. This was a scenario Kawamori came up with which he had not seen in any Hollywood movies before. A similar scenario, however, later appeared in the Hollywood movie Top Gun (1986). 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." References External links Macross episode reviews at MAHQ Macross Compendium Macross World Japanese New Official website Macross 30th Anniversary Official Site Macross F Official Big West Bandai Visual Extraterrestrials in anime and manga Faster-than-light travel in fiction Mecha anime and manga Military anime and manga Military science fiction Space opera