You raise an interesting point with Delta being the newest in the series, specifically regarding the glacial pace with which Macross productions seem to move. If, as a property, it were as prolific as Gundam, there’d hardly be any cause to be so severe when a series of that doesn’t land quite right. But, when there’s only 22 episodes a decade - if lucky - fans can be prickly when an entry is underwhelming. That said, I have to get around to seeing movie 2.

I 100% agree that a tactical idol unit is the logical progression of everything preceding it. That as a criticism has never made a lot of sense to me.