Nah, i do not get what you mean by the try hard element? No rapping in Cowboy beepop, as it had more of a jazz and Noir vibe. Also it had some humor, but not enough it would damage the chill nior vibe. This is what made Cowboy beepop so good.
With Champloo more Rap and the way of the samurai / shogun seemed to fit well Imho. And i could appreciate it for being it's own thing wile not wanting it to be another beepop, as it was not, and for me Nujabes fit the show well. And Samurai Champloo is what got me involved in collecting Nujabes, may he rest in peace.
Regarding Macross plus:
Yeah Macross plus was ok, but i did find it very annoying for the most part, especially the whole over dramatization of the potential love triangle with between friends, and hiding that Guld Goa Bowman attacked them, which he forgot aboot... And his friends wanted to protect him from the memory... yeah i found it a little worrying there. What was the takeaway? Protect the perpetrator at the cost of the victim?
Unless i misunderstood something?
I prefer Macros Zero, and even do you remember love more then plus, just as they are less problematic.
And take it form me, i am a snake!.