Yeah, Macross was made in the '80 and in some parts is a reflection on Gundam, but also on Space Battleship Yamato. The later is somewhat even more important, as it's the civilians aboard the megaship and the culture they embody that saves the day instead the blazing guns as it happened in Yamato.
Yes, there are nationalistic elements in the cartoons, but compare them with American stuff from the '60. However what strikes me even more is how the conflict between the crew of the Yamato and the Gamilans is portrayed - while you might feel the Yamato is too "Japanese" and acts as a standby and apology for earlier nationalistic Japan, when compared with the Gamilans they fight there are some *very* startling diffrences:
-The Gamilans fight for victory above all
-To them death is the only way to absolve your honor it you failed
-They don't negotiate, don't surrender
-They don't show pity or hesitate to destroy their opponent
Contrast this with the crew of Yamato:
-Although conflicted, as the Gamilans haven't pulled their punches, in the end the crew lets their prisoners live and finally comes to the conclusion that they should also treat them humanely. (There is also a nasty incident with torture, but the show portrays it in bad light and does not justify it!)
-The crew constantly tries to negotiate and understand their foes
-They also frequently try to think about the greater implications of their actions. Once they learn how destructive their main gun is, Captain Okita refrains from using it when it could have dire consequences for non-combatants.
-When the ship finally wins the war, Kodai - then Captain - breaks down in tears, as they've just learned that they've inevitably destroyed the Gamilans. He exclaims bewildered, why the Gamilans have gone so far, why they couldn't have just asked for help? "We could have been brothers!" - he exlaims.
This is corny and overacted, but a far cry from WWII Japanese gang-ho attitudes... and very tolerant and liberal compared to even some current sentiments. By comparison the Gamilans are acting in accordance with traditional Bushido rules and could be poster boys for the WWII Japanese sentiment. One could even say, that the franchise is a parallel about a battle between the old and new Japan.