Matthew Alt has a fascinating article up on Néojaponisme that analyzes the classic Anime Macross as an allegory for Japan's WWII experience, arguing that its "creators... re-cast the narrative of Japan’s role in World War II within the context of their own comfortable modern consumer lifestyles." It posits the Macross as "a lone space-fortress, an island if you will, drift[ing] alone in the sea of space. Its inhabitants are outnumbered thousands to one by enemies from a completely alien culture." In the end, the Macross is saved by consumer culture, as Minmei's pop songs paralyze the enemy ships and accounts of consumerism brought back by spies seed dissent among their fleet. "Modern consumerism is venerated as the savior of all civilization, much as home electronics 'saved' Japan in the postwar era."
It's a very interesting argument, but I think I'd favor interpreting Macross as an allegory for the Cold War. Remember, the creator, Shōji Kawamori, wasn't born until 1960. WWII might have been something related by his parents, but the Cold War he knew personally. The series starts with a calamity and destruction, after which civilians must rebuild, just like the beginning of Japan's postwar period. Shortly after reconstructing, however, they are beset on all sides by a fearsome, expansionist alien race that is most notable for its total lack of culture. They have a strictly structured society that obviates any civilian culture or love (or indeed, contact with the opposite sex), and channels all energy into more war production, war-waging and expansion.
The day is saved, however, by capitalist consumerism. Away from the strict ideological indoctrination of their society, the Zentradi spies aboard the Macross quickly become enchanted with the many amazing things capitalism has to offer (as well as inter-gender relations), and bring stories and artifacts back to their fleet, eventually causing a wave of defection. We learn that this "protoculture," as the Zentradi call it, was something they used to have long ago, but lost in a series of utilitarian social changes.
The article argues that "The Zentradi aliens are... a mish-mash of old-school authority figures. Their obsession with war and willingness — even desire — to die in combat is stereotypically medieval or Imperial-era Japanese, while their utter cluelessness as to the 'protoculture' aboard the Macross is akin to that of American Occupation soldiers dropped in the midst of a society they only vaguely understood." However, I think a better parallel for America is the unreasonable, overbearing, stodgy Earth government, which refuses to let the Macross crew return home once they make it back to Earth, or even admit the ship's survival to the public. This reflects the sentiment that Japan, although it had come into its own in the postwar era and was ready to reemerge as an equal in the community of nations, was being held back by America for political reasons.
Incidentally, the Néojaponisme article criticizes Macross for positing a thriving pop culture in the middle of a warship plagued by weekly crisis. However I've always found that to be not only unproblematic (after all, what are a large number of civilians going to do for a year except create a civilian society?), but actually refreshing compared to other scifi works (I'm looking at you, Star Trek) that fiat a societal ideal, but then never actually portray that society because they can't figure out how it would work.
(The great image above is from an artist named Jason Park, apparently drawn on his DS!)
