A refurbished alien battleship becomes the centre of humanity's fight against the giant Zentradi. Young pilot Hikaru Ichijo joins its forces, while singer Lynn Minmay and officer Misa Hayase become central to his life. Military survival and civilian life occupy the same enormous ship.
The Macross carries people displaced during its departure from Earth, and they build a town inside it. Hikaru begins as an air racer before entering military service, while Minmay starts at the shipboard Chinese restaurant. That inhabited space gives the war story homes, work and popular entertainment alongside the transforming fighters.
Hikaru's skill with aircraft does not immediately make him comfortable in a transforming fighter. In an early mishap, the Valkyrie changes into a walking machine and carries the danger into the town around him. The mechanical transformation changes what piloting demands, while civilians remain close enough to be caught in the confusion.