「絶命 ジャッジメント」 (Zetsumei Jajjimento)
“Fatal Judgment”

And so, a farce trial begins with no prosecution, defense, or jury present. As the classic villains they are, the Windermeres force our cast to literally walk off a plank, and at this point I’m surprised they even follow any treaties at all. Heinz putting himself into the equation was a surprise in terms of him admitting how he doesn’t feel anything when he sings, but for the most part this episode was a confirmation of the things we knew and the things we expected to happen.

For one, the Windermeres higher ups are confirmed to be classical villains willing to twist the system wherever possible to mete out their brand of justice. Joining them are a large contingent of people blinded by their words, rounded out by a handful of people with at least some sense of honor, albeit none of which are willing to put their lives on the line to change the status quo (likely because they felt the alternative could be worse than the current state of things).

On the flip side, Berger confirms himself to be a wild card in the grand scheme of things, and it’s his falling out with Roid that gives our cast the chance they need to perform the tactical show they’ve been aiming for all this time. As expected, the cast getting captured by the Windermeres served to benefit them in the long run more than anything—they got closer to the sanctum than they would’ve otherwise—even though Roid’s machinations prevent them from destroying the Protoculture ruins as intended.

Through it all, Freyja begins to show signs of her life wearing down as a result of her songs and its reaction with the Protoculture ruins, and it’s but confirmed that things won’t end up all sunshine and rainbows for her no matter who comes out on top in the end.

Ultimately, it was a pretty straight forward episode for the most part, and I think the most interesting part wasn’t the developments regarding the Star Singer, but how different Walkure’s songs were without Mikumo at the lead. Losing Makina midway further emphasized how strong they are when singing as a full group, and whether or not it was intentional on their part, it was clear just how much less “oomph” they had when attempting to continue without them. Either way, the fact that they left Mikumo with the ever more creepy Roid means they’ll likely have to deal with her continued absence for the time being, and it’ll certainly be a sight to behold if Walkure have to engage in a “sing-off” with the former to ensure that Roid’s machinations don’t succeed.

Just two more weeks to go.

 

Preview

26 Comments

  1. I thought the Mikumo reveal was quite obvious for a while.

    The final battle will probably be.

    Saving Mikumo/Ranka, Stopping Windermere/Vajra, and thwarting Roid Brehm/Grace O’Connors plans. All we need is a giant holographic Mikumo and it’d be Deltas edition of the Frontier finale! 😉

    Lyfe
    1. It’s been obvious for a while that there is somethin up with her. I’m a bit surprised though on the “switching sides” all be it that she is being manipulated. I thought it would go more along the established sides with a face off between the singers.

      Juan
    2. Personally, I will love a Macross Zero Finale in which Mikumo actually wakes a Birdman, and the AI decides Windermeres ought to be destroy. The icing in the cake will be that Roid goes “WTF is that?” while Berger says to him “Thank you. Wright tried to destroy it 7 years ago, but finally the experiment did work”.

      Then it will be Hayate and Freyja to the rescue. Sounds good to me. 😀

      Maverick05
  2. Even for the not very well thought out second half of this series the last 2 episodes have been stupid. The only thing they succeed in doing was to get Mikumo captured and Makina shot. Why didn’t they just go around freeing the planets and breaking the fold booster things. With the added bonus that they might even be able to put Heinz out of action if he kept trying to song battle them at the booster towers.

    Magewolf
  3. Im not gonna lie, the storytelling has been kind of stagnating since ep 16 of this series. Here’s hoping the last two eps wrap this series off strongly. I always felt that even tho the series wasnt reinventing the wheel of narrative, it was effective in telling a decent story while keeping the characters likable, slowly revealing the plot, and keeping the main characters story arcs fairly immersive. But then the show quickly began to get bogged by over exposition (not well integrated at that) and lack of urgency as the eps went on; it really started to pull the narrative down for me. Here’s hoping the last two eps go back to focusing on what made this series a good watch in the first place; something tells me that may happen

    sonicsenryaku
    1. I had mentioned this too, about this story being stagnanting.
      Mikumo should switch side at around ep 20,plot move at ep 24 just too rushed it’s all over to climax ending with Mikumo rescue potential glorious ending? indeeed but filled with amount wasteful potential.After watched this episode i feel for potential of additional sub romance Mikumo x Roid/Heinz/Keith so strong especially with Heinz.
      the focus for main triangle and teamwork definitely the reason for this wrong pace.

      Omnisword
  4. What I dislike about this show as compared to SDF or frontier is that they have given negligible importance to Mirage from story point of view. Even when she is on screen she hardly does anything. And to think she is part of love triangle feels compelled.

    SM
  5. Pretty obvious that there was never really a love triangle and Freiya’s birthday in episode 16 pretty much sealed it. Mirage’s only development came from how she tried to deal with feelings that would never be returned.

    My speculation on how Delta ends: Freiya’s song is able to reach Mikumo but at the cost of her rune running out and near death. Mikumo accepts her star singer side and power and offers Hayate a choice of saving Freiya by transfer some of his life into her. It would cost him 40-50 years of his life to give Freiya 15. Hayate gladly accepted over Freiya’s objections and they live happily ever after for the 15 remaining years of their lives.

    AnimeJounin
  6. Leaving aside the cartoonish nature of the Windermereans in general (sans Freyja), is there any reason to feel even pity for them? Heinz has been fed lies all his life that he can’t use the little bit of brains his tiny head has, Keith could do something to avoid his people’s incoming demise but “his sky” makes him as blind as a bat, Bogue is just a robotic arse and Roid is just plain evil. Hermann is the only one that can fit onto the role, but he’s also almost at the end of his lifespan. Maybe a Rain of Death against the planet could be good for the buisness…
    Berger’s actions are too plot armorish to be even creditable, Arad is a bad pilot (who DARES to lose having a VF22?!), and this whole series feels more like a prologue.

    SeedStriker
  7. Somebody kill Bogue already, the racist little shit has been getting on my nerves since the begining.

    Anyway, random thoughts about the next 2 episodes :
    – Heinz realizes Roid has been using him and must be stopped (cue classic Macross final battle with old enemies joining forces against a greater evil)
    – Singing showdown with Heinz/Freya/Walkure vs Mikumo
    – Freya either burns herself out and dies/has little left to live, or gets magically healed by the Protoculture ruins
    – Mirage finally unlocks her awesomeness and gets into a duel worthy of her grandparents
    – Hayate and Keith team-up

    Weird D
    1. No point in killing Bogue now, he’ll only miss the last episode. Besides, I’d rather see him injured, sidelined, and stuck in a hospital room filled with patients playing Walkure mobile games.

      theirs
  8. What is your agenda Berger you magnificent bastard?
    As much as Roid is quite the chessmaster, I think he is about to be outplayed…
    And then , what path will take Mikumo as newly awakened Star Singer? Wills he become ultimate weapon or a peacemaker?
    And I hope Makina will survive her wound. Too many good people already died in this war…
    And if Freyia is going to wither away due to overburdening with songs and emotions, does that leave Mirage to console Hayate?

    ewok40k
  9. That feeling when even your enemies can point out your weaknesses. The sad thing for our two pilots is, those weaknesses are still the same ones as seen in episode 4. That reminds me, it’s been ages since I saw Hayate dance in batteroid mode. His non-Freyja powered flying skills has only slightly improved, while his strengths hasn’t really been used much.

    Anyway, hope Makina survives. But damn that pool of blood under Kaname’s legs. Gives memories of Roy. At least she got quick first aid and proper medical attention in the shuttle.

    theirs

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