This director's cut of Shoji Kawamori's Macross Plus miniseries is missing a great deal of the character development and abstract imagery of Manga Video's lengthier alternate version, which is still available on four 40-minute videotapes. But oddly enough, the pared-down movie still contains more than 15 minutes of new footage. The differences between the two versions are vast and surprising.

Most notably, the movie cut makes Isamu into more of a human being, with dreams and desires other than obnoxious self-aggrandizement. The movie version fleshes out its three principals better, if in less detail, and clarifies some obscure scenes and relationships from the miniseries.

But the four-tape version still has a great deal more to offer, with expanded versions of Sharon Apple's fantastic virtual concerts and Guld and Isamu's breathtaking sky battles. The miniseries cut also makes subtler and broader use of composer Yoko Kanno's wide-ranging musical score, turning an above-average anime film into an exhilirating emotional virtuoso experience. The visuals in both versions are strikingly inventive and blindingly intense, but again the longer version offers more bang for the buck.

Granted, buying four miniseries installments (at $14.95 apiece dubbed or $24.95 subtitled) isn't as economical as getting this standalone film. And diehards may need to see both versions, as that's the only way to get the full story. But until there's a definitive Macross Plus with all of the footage from both versions, this one will remain the lesser of two really good things.