Set in the year 2040, Macross Plus is about an ace fighter pilot, Lt. Isamu A. Dyson, who gets transferred from active duty to become a test pilot in the Super Nova Project. The project is a competition between two companies to test their new variable fighters. The winner of the competition will receive funding to mass produce their fighter so that it can replace the aging VF-11 "Thunderbolt" currently in service. Isamu is to pilot the YF-19 "Alpha One" in which several other test pilots before him had all been killed. Upon his arrival on planet Eden, Isamu meets up with Guld Goa Bowman, who is testing the competitors fighter, the YF-21 "Omega One". The two used to be best friends when they were growing up on Planet Eden, but something happened in the past had turned them into bitter rivals. Tension grows between the two pilots when Myung Fang Lone (a friend from the past) arrives on Eden. She is the producer of the galaxy's most popular celebrity, Sharon Apple a "Virtual Idol". The war between Isamu and Guld heats up as they both try to win the competition and also for the love of Myung. Things get even more complicated when one of the scientist working on Sharon Apple implants a bio-neural chip, which causes Sharon to develop a consciousness of her own, and leads her to stir up trouble for Myung and Isamu.
