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Summary:
In the days leading up to the Miss Macross contest, Ranka acts absent-minded until she gets a message saying that she qualified. Alto is meanwhile training inside an S.M.S combat simulator and dies for the 25th time, earning him congratulations from Mikhail who had intentionally set the simulator to a high difficulty. Mikhail forces him to do 25 laps around the hanger while wearing his Ex-Gear, and all this leaves Alto exhausted. He nevertheless continues his training with the various members of the S.M.S, and he later gets a message from Ranka asking him to come to the Miss Macross contest’s final round on Sunday. Unaware of Ranka’s entry into the contest, Ozma plans a final test for Alto on that same day. When the day comes, Ranka goes to the contest site and feels out of place backstage with all of the beautiful women around her. It makes her think that this is impossible for her, but she then gets a message from Alto saying that he’s there and urging her to win. He came after telling Mikhail that he was doing it because he was obligated to due to a promise.
Shortly after she gets the message, Ranka is found backstage by Sheryl. Sheryl calls this is the gateway to the dream, but she feels that Ranka has only just put her foot on the stairs, and she urges Ranka to chase after her without hesitation. Up for the challenge, Ranka takes her place on stage with the other contestants and spots Alto in the audience. Unfortunately, right as the contest is getting underway, Alto gets an urgent call from Ozma ordering him to come to his final enlistment test. Before Alto can answer Ozma, he spots his father entering the auditorium, and his father sees him too. However, his father claims not to know him and continues on into the auditorium. Alto heads the other way and returns to the S.M.S hanger where he boards his VF-25 with the intent of finishing this quickly so that he can go back to the contest. The test consists of a mock battle with Luca and Mikhail as his wingmen against the Pixie Squadron’s three Queadluuns on an old Zentradi battlefield.
At around the same time that Alto and company engage in battle, Ranka’s turn to perform comes up in the contest. She sees that Alto isn’t there anymore and accidentally hits her head against the microphone, but she eventually regains her composure and starts singing the legendary song, Watashi no Kare wa Pilot. Alto meanwhile manages to defeat one of the dark-colored Queadluuns, however he then gets targeted by the red Queadluun. This leads to a heated dogfight through the asteroid field, and it is interrupted when a large red Vajra suddenly appears. Seeing it reminds Alto of how Ozma had earlier told him about the 117th Massive Research Fleet incident from 11 years ago. Officially, it was reported as an accident where 1000 people died, but Ozma had revealed that those people were actually annihilated by the Vajra. Ranka was a survivor of that. Remembering how terrified Ranka had looked after finding out that her brother was hurt, Alto ignores Mikhail’s warnings and charges at the Vajra with his VF-25’s knife drawn.
The Vajra grabs the VF-25 before it can get close and tosses the craft away. Alto is ready to charge again, but the red Queadluun pilot stops him and attacks the Vajra instead. The Vajra survives both the Queadlunn’s missile barrage and a point-blank shot to the weapon above its head, and shortly after it counterattacks, Alto reenters the battle. While the Vajra and the Queadluun had been fighting, Alto had looked around and spotted an old Zentradi weapon floating in space. He now uses that weapon on the same spot that the Queadluun had just hit, and this succeeds in blowing up the Vajra. The group then returns to base, and in light of the heavy damage to the VF-25, Ozma lectures Alto on how they’re given expensive equipment to survive, not to fight. Despite Alto’s recklessness though, the giant female Zentradi pilot of the Queadluun – Kuran Kuran – compliments him on his senses, and that’s enough for Ozma to pass Alto on the final test.
In the aftermath, Alto, Luca, and Mikhail go to the Nyan Nyan restaurant to celebrate, and Kuran Kuran and her two wingmen show up too. Alto is surprised to see how young Kuran Kuran looks in her micronized form, and Mikhail angers her by teasing her about it. The waitress Ranka then brings Alto some buns, and, based on what’s on TV right now, Alto realizes that she didn’t win the Miss Macross contest. He apologizes for not staying until the end, but Ranka doesn’t mind and changes the subject to how Alto has joined the S.M.S. When she asks him why he’s taking such a tough job, Alto explains that he thinks of it as a chance, and he urges Ranka not to give up. The following day, Alto is walking by himself when he suddenly gets tripped. The person who stuck her foot out turns out to be none other than Sheryl Nome.
Preview
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The singing + battle scene this week is a welcome touch, but it doesn’t come close to being as good as the scene from the original first episode. The mecha battle itself was pretty cool, however the new song (technically not new – it’s a cover of Minmay‘s Watashi no Kare wa Pilot) was a bit too upbeat to accompany that scene. It still works to an extent, and as much as it might sound like I’m complaining, I wouldn’t mind if they did something like this every few episodes. The real standout this week though is the very cute Kuran Kuran. When I saw her, I laughed because I realized that this is akin to them having the best of both worlds: a big-breasted Zentradi giant who can turn into a fiery-tempered loli.
The one thing that I’m confused about after watching this episode is what Ranka actually retains in her memory. After what happened to her brother, I thought she would have had a much more negative reaction towards Alto joining the S.M.S, but it then occurred to me that it’s not clear whether she still remembers her brother’s secret after she fainted. She does have dissociative amnesia after all. If she does still remember, does that mean that she thinks Alto has a desk job too, or does she just not care that much for him yet? Speaking of which, the two still feel like a mismatch to me relationship-wise, due in no small part to how Ranka seems like a little kid at times. They’re getting pretty close though with all the text messages and supporting each other at key moments. Next week turns the focus to Sheryl and Alto, but I assume Sheryl still only really cares about getting her earring back and only has a passing interest in him.
Awesome episode..we finally see how inexperienced Alto and Ranka are..
Oh..and Alto kicked ass and took names in this episode..too bad he is so hotblooded..XD
And I also liked the fluid animation.
Huh?! You mean this girl
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
and this girl
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
Are the same person?! O.o How does a fully mature Meltrandi turn into a Miclone Loli?!
(and while at the time I’m making this post I’m the first one, I bet somebody got a first post in while I was typing this up. 😛 )
heh heh halright
Awsome finally it’s macross time again 😀
Ranka and Alto doesn’t look good together to me. But their relationship is developing and I guess I enjoy it. Sooo i think i ship them.
Poor Ranka, she doesnt win the Frontier Idol T_T
@Shinji103:
She has a genetic defect that causes her body to to turn loli when Micronized.
Kinda silly, but what the hell!
Hmm… look to the back of the picture left side…. Wonder if it’s a homage to Minmei’s “Fish Head” recipe. The episode when Minmei and Hikaru were stuck under the SDF-1 (not the DYRL Ver.)
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2037.jpg
Alto apparently becomes a man next episode:
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%20Preview%2001.jpg
How many times can you enter the contest?
@ mikemil828
I wonder about that screenshot too, however I don’t think it’s what we think it is.
The series is just too young for that stuff.
Young as in it targets a young audience..or young as in we are still in the beggining and this will come at the end? xD
mikemil828 and mutio: I’d wager that that’s a red herring of some sort. She’s probably just teasing him.
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
Talk about a blast from the past.
i actually love Ranka and Alto together. Id be pretty sad if he ended up with Sheryl.
thanks for the coverage! 🙂
That blush in the next week preview is damned… suggestive. Very, very suggestive.
I can’t wait to see what that’s about. And it looks like Ranka’s a slightly different Minmay-type, and that they’re following the manga so far, which is interesting as a lot of adaptations DON’T.
mutio: Given the original Macross had Roy Focker leering at Minmay’s legs (and he’s thirty-something while she’s 16), this seems to fall right within the target demographic for this audience, and maintains a theme.
Really there should be a limit how girly a man can get. Now Alto is posing and smiling at himself in a mirror. Seeing how he sleeps like a log if what we can see in this episode is true, Michel should shave him bald in the night.
That said it was a cool episode especially Kuran-Kuran FTW. And I wonder if that painting they showed us twice is supposed to be a reference to Alto’s mother and whether the reason for his girly look is that he wants to look like her. If so Alto could very well become the king/queen of metrosexuality.
I saw the raw and came upon some observations:
Ranka and Alto do seem to care about each other alot. We see Alto checking his looks quite thoroughly before going to the Miss Macross contest among other hints. He’s also quite revved about protecting Ranka from the Vjara when he confronts the red one during the training mission. This could be a setup similar to how Hikaru and Minmay were together at first but a series of events later draws him toward Misa.
On screenshot #30, it looks like Leon might have put in a few words against Ranka and Christine is getting suspicious.
Could Alto’s kabuki training be helping him w/ his piloting? No screenshot to show it, but it was funny when his VF-25 struck that pose in screenshot #12 and Ozma yelled at him for standing still like that.
Next episode will be funny. Ranka is throwing all kinds of cookware at Ozma. I wonder what he said.
Another note – Stripey’ll be ALL over this episode…
Personally, I prefer Alto and Ranka together than Shirley. Anyway, great displaying of piloting skills by Alto in his debut 🙂
VF-25 posing like a person… it sure does Macross Plus a good homage. That cracked me up a bit. The whole pilot in training thing is a lot better than what Hikaru went through and more fun I think. The Ranka x Alto is looking more like a Alto is going to replace Ozma rather than a true pairing. I still think Sheryl is the better candidate for change for a better personality.
Mikhail and Klan seems to be new Max and Milia!
@Jounin:
(MANGA) Ozma doesn’t want Ranka to be a pop idol and drop
out of school, so Ranka threw the living room table on him. He has
her transferred to Miboshi academy (Alto’s school!), probably so
Alto and the gang can keep an eye on her. Sheryl’s there too, much
to Alto’s horror. The latest chapter ends with Macross Galaxy under
attack
After reading the latest chapter, I’m wondering what will Sheryl do
when she learns that the Macross Galaxy is destroyed. Transfer to
Alto’s school?
Spoiler tag, man. Spoiler tag.
@calde: I tried using it. It didn’t work on me. 🙁
Omni, Spoiler tag in Aisle 2!
I know, huge spoiler, uncool JB.
It’s interesting to see the Quimeliquola Queadluun-Rau design keep up w/ the latest VF design. The main thing I was always curious about: while the variable form design makes sense in an atmosphere (fighter design is more aerodynamic, GERWALK for VTOL, and Battroid for ground, urban combat), what’s the advantage in space? Wouldn’t you be just as fast in any form? And transforming just adds a second or 2 of vulnerability. Wouldn’t it be better to stay in Battroid so you can independently aim the gunpod while moving?
Okay I need this NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.
Jounin:
Yeah there’s no benifit to having them as variable fighters at all if they are to be used almost exclusively in space. Unless they had the thought in mind that they may have to enter atmospheres from time to time (which doesn’t really justify the technical effort required to make it transformable).
Wow, never expected to see Zentradi giants again.
Okay, you guys. TONE DOWN with the spoilers, please. I don’t want to accidentally come across another huge spoiler and ruin my interest in this show.
But anyway, Alto’s reaction whenever they make fun of him looking like a girl is amusing. I don’t know about Sheryl, but he probably will be prettier than Ranka if he decided to cross-dress haha ^_^ Between Ranka and Sheryl, I’ll say Ranka and Alto fits better. There’s more ‘aww’ factor to them and they’re not really mushy since Alto has yet to treat Ranka like a grown-up.
Washi: I think the reason is because a) Valkyries are iconic in-universe as well as to fans, so there’s a psychological reason to do so, and b) because they DO see use in atmospheres, and there’s no real reason to not devote research and development money to developing them this way.
To elaborate: the Valkyries were what served the SDF Macross as its primary offensive weapon during the war; all other mecha were support mecha, and were frankly unsuitable for space work… but the Miclones (us) had only the Valkyries as effective space-based weapons, and they’ve become associated in the minds of the survivors as THE mecha. Therefore, having non-transformable mecha become the primary defense/offense units of the Macross universe would be somewhat… unappealing to the public, due to this image.
Plus, if we’re going with point b), the Valkyries are deployed everywhere anyways, and primary development goes on at factories and design firms based on Earth or the various Macross city-ships; places which have atmosphere, and which are looking for Earth-like planets to colonize. Places that have to be defended… which means atmospheric-capable mecha. It doesn’t make sense to have a bunch of specialized designs when you can have one or two really good designs that can fight in air AND space almost equally well versus just-fighters and just-Battroids. I suspect the limited mobility of the Monster units (those walking cannon units) was why the VB-6 “Konig Monster” was designed… so you could drop a walking cannon anywhere you could fly. The Rau-suits are excellent in space, and okay in atmosphere… but they depend a lot more on their jets and brute-force to maneuver, whereas Valkyries with their aerodynamic shapes have a very slight edge in maneuverability, and probably one in endurance when it comes to long-distance travel and deployment range.
I have no problems w/ them transforming (an aspect I love, by the way), but I wonder about the practicality of them transforming in space when there is no aerodynamic benefit in a hard vacuum. Aside from the thrusters, maneuvering jets and center of balance being in different places I was wondering about the benefits when Alto was constantly switching between GERWALK and Battroid on the Zentradi ship.
Also, I understand that the Valkyries were developed b/c the SDF-1 showed humanity that they were going to come up against a giant-sized species and needed a platform that was more flexible than the currently deployed Destroids. Even after the Valkyries served their purpose at the end of the war, there were still rebel forces using Zentradi tech (beginning of Macross Plus) so the variable fighter tech continued developing.
I wish they’d cut Alto’s hair, he looks like a girl, and Ranka’s hair looks like dog ears, the bad hair in this series is way too distracting.
//And transforming just adds a second or 2 of vulnerability.//
Not sure what you are talking about, for the most part it takes a split second for the variable fighter to go between the modes, not really enough time for someone to take advantage of.
//there is no aerodynamic benefit in a hard vacuum. Aside from the thrusters, maneuvering jets and center of balance being in different places I was wondering about the benefits when Alto was constantly switching between GERWALK and Battroid on the Zentradi ship.//
Because it looks cool, duh….and also it’s probably because it’s easier to aim the gunpod at Kuran when he’s in battroid mode and it’s easier to evade and move around while hovering (GERWALK), they transform for combat benefit, not aerodynamic benefit
depending on the mode the size profile changes, makes it harder to keep a consistent target lock if the object targeted changes shape. Also manuverability changes. In battroid mode, there’s limited forward mobility where as in gerwalk you get some lateral manuverability of battroid with the ability to move forward at a much faster rate.
I’ll take the it looks freaking cool aspect as the best explanation. This is a fantasy story afterall…
Well it’s a good thing Ranka didn’t win Miss Macross. Now the “minmei clone” tag can finally die.
Ether wy Ranka is more important to the story than Sheryl is, but this doesn’t in any way mean we’ll get a Alto x Ranka pair. For those who remember the original series this was also the case with Minmei and Misa.
That sed I think Alto is better with Sheryl, why I say this is because of the chemisry tey share right from the start. You see a good chunk of it in episode 2 but even back to episode 1 it’s there in smll parts.
The Altoh and Ranka relationship right now seems more like that of a brother and little sister. It’s too early to tell if they’re going to push it deeper but since the next ep will be bout Sheryl this trend of going one ep ranka one ep sheryl is going to hold out for a good long while.
Also now that I think about it the Sheryl and Altoh pair matches pretty well with the originals Hikaru and Misa with the same “hate” they also seemed to share for each other at the start until they got to grow on each other as the series went on.
It’ll be a good ride either way, and I like both girls at this point. And i’m more for the altoh x Sheryl because we just get more there in my opinion.
I agree with GP that Alto and Sheryl have that chemistry working for them, that’s I’m more for their pairing. Ranka is too cute to belong to only one guy ^___^, she’s on her way to stardom (even if she lost this one).
I’m gonna spit fire if RankaxAlto doesn’t happen in the end, seriously. Saw first and second episode of the original Macross, and I can tell right away the main girl is Misa. Minmay didn’t even appear till the SECOND episode. Macross Frontier had Ranka going along the frontline of main characters on the get go–even before the official first episode–the promo episode. Homage or not, it’s going to be messed up if they let the audience’s first impression fall on Ranka only to break their hearts by letting Sheryl win the triangle. x___x Seriously.
How long is this series? 13 episodes? 26?
anyone noticed that Luca’s the more understanding one? though it might be more from the television recap of the miss macross…
(it’s in the raw, not the screencaps; after Ranka came in with the more food and gotten into a conversation with Alto, Luca’s eyes went girl-like cute and slide out of the frame, that made me loled)
For once, Sheryl is dressed “normally” and not like some pop idol or celebrity…very down to earth. And plus she looks just plain beautiful…cute even.
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2039.jpg
-D
You know Alto.. and Shyrl Interaction is quite funny. I just love that face Alto made when he saw Sheryl at the end of the episode. As if he was saying “OMFG Not this girl again!”
I am starting to think that Sheryl has more interest in Alto than just her earrings. It’s seems like she has found him as a rebel pet to toy with. I mean he is the only youngster thus far that didn’t go head over heels for her and you know hot girls like it when the guy is hard to get.
i think Sheryl is just finding excuses to meet with him…but I dunno about the wavelength of Alto and Ranka relationship…it can be a brotherly-sisterly thing or wahtever….
to sabil8-
Look up anime info in wikipedia or animenewsnetwork next time for stuff like that, but to answer to your question, ther series is slated for 13 episodes.
I’m hoping around 50 episodes like Macross 7. Speaking of Macross 7, I’m beginning to suspect Macross is all about love triangles.
SDF Macross (WMW)
Macross Plus(MWM)
Macross 7 (MWM and a little WMW but Basara was more interest in music than people)
Macross Frontier (WMW)
I’m not complaining here. It makes the story (and forums) more interesting with people cheering for their ideal pair.
Four really good…..dare I say GREAT episodes.
Frontier is off to a great start folks. Ranka is just too cute.
@ Bakanekokun
I read somewhere its supposed to be 25 episodes (by counting the number of DVDs and from some other source. 13 episodes would be too short IMO for a nice story.
i ship for alto x ranka!i bet shirley isnt such a bad person..but i dont like her wth alto.
and great battle scenes in this ep!!i was laughing my head off when mikail and luca draw on alto’s face while he was sleeping^^
the japanese wiki doesn’t say it’ll be 13 eps, nor do the official sites
luv the giant heart Alto and Kran formed when they broke and re-engaged just as Ranka got to the ‘Ookina- Ha-to ga… Aoi Oozora Rabu saiin-‘….dakedo kare-tara.. watashi yori… jibun no hikoki ni…
realized i got Tanaka Rie’s character name mixed up with that Bobby fellow…
Leon may have interfered in the officials’ decisions on Ranka, cuz if she did win(however unlikely), ppl are gonna look into her origins.. dig into her past and come across the loss of the 117th Science Exploration(?) Fleet as an anomaly and maybe even realize there was a cover-up…
Poor Alto, how many times did he get hit in this episode? Even with make-up!
Ah this is a very nice episode, it is like a new spin to the love triangle in the orignal Macross. Also Alto kicked ass in his test! 😀
Hmm. If I remember correctly, the main pilot in the original macross didn’t fall in love with the singer, but the uptight officer… I think it may be Alto and Catherine glass. 😛
@Douche007 I only watched Robotech, as I couldn’t find the original macross series, but the Main character(Rick Hunter), was already attracted to Minmei since the start and eventually developed a relationship, that was somehow in the long run becoming more stagnant with minmei getting closer to a cousin, and her job as well took her most of the time. Furthermore, the catalyst to this was also Rick and his recon team getting captured by the Zentraidi pretty much after there first date I believe.
But truth is, even if Rick started in a relationship with his CO, he was still madly in love with Minmei, enough to risk his life multiple time to rescue her.
Leon haircut makes me lol’d everytime i look at him > .
GP: I think everyone and their sister has pointed out the parallels to the first series’ love triangle by now… but Sheryl and Ranka are really interesting ‘what-if’ versions of those characters: Misa as a pop idol, while Ranka gets to be a Minmay who didn’t win the Miss Macross thing and immediately get catapulted to superstardom… the initial split, beyond her not understanding that Hikaru was in love with her, that led to their growing apart. That is what opened up the romantic angle between Hikaru and Misa; Minmay was growing away from him due to her job (and then later, Kaifun), and despite their fiery meeting Misa and Hikaru kept getting thrown together into various situations (being stuck together on a Zentradi ship, that infamous rescue, being stuck together in a part of the Macross for a while).
I don’t see Ranka and Alto having a romantic ‘thing’ yet – they’re close, and they’re helping one another by giving the other a person to confide in and someone to encourage (and be encouraged by) as they pursue their own dreams/goals… and giving the other someone outside of their normal circle of peers to interact with, which is helping both of them develop emotionally (Alto being a little standoffish with everyone, Ranka having no close ties except to Ozma).
sheryl nome will end with alto…book it
@Haesslich
Yeah, you’re right, Hikaru like Minmei from the time they where trapped together for a week in the macross and thought they’d never make it out.
But I use this last comparison with the original series to show that even if the early and or deeper connecton has happened with one girl it doesn’t mean that girl will win in the pairing race if you will.
It’s like this…
Minmei is more important to the story in the original.
Ranka is more important in Macross F. We don’t have all the details yet but it’s safe to say she is key to the plot in some way.
Minmei and Hikaru get close early on in the original.
Ranka and Altoh get close in MacF also.
Misa and Hikaru don’t like each other from the start and on until pretty far into the original series.
Altoh and Sheryl don’t like each other from the star and so far.
The thing is though that I like Altoh and Sherl togeher because they’re different and haven’t just gotten along and close from the start. It’s better to watch them develope together much like Hikaru and Misa did throughout the series than just get together early like it’s something natural.
Ranka and Altoh are close just like that, it’s just happened without much for us to see. I think that’s why many don’t get any “love” vibes out of the two. They seem to just be friends who are going through the same sorta stuff and understand each other best.
Now I am bias towards tsunderes in any show, and that’s Sheryl in this. But again seeing her and Altoh develope into a pair over time is better by far to me than just having them getting along from the start and be close. Now I don’t hate Ranka or anything, but yeah with her and Altoh we just don’t get much going on. They talk about their “dreams” or goals or w/e, both understand each other and that’s that. All the “action” and drama is with Sheryl, it’s just more entertaining and a better fit.
I know it’s early but i’m expecting for Altoh to save Sheryl later on like he saved Ranka.
hahahaha, no screenshot when alto was asleep and had makeup put on his face? that scene was hilarious!
Hmm…
Anyone noticed that Alto is getting becoming quite a celebrity for all females … guess he got the pilot charm.
Hey you have to give Ranka credit for claiming that her boyfriend is a pilot.
Finally I think Catherine suspect that Leon is a player. I think he put his influence for Milanda Merlin girl. At least that is what Catherine’s expression seemed to me like on Leon. It was definitely “bastard, your helping one of your bitches to win aren’t you” expression.
Sheryl on the other hand seems to be really bent on competing vs. Ranka for Alto.
Alto definitely has admiration from the ladies (not to mention a few fellas).
I also like how Sheryl and Ranka already have a good friendship, this is something that wasn’t around with Misa and Minmay. It brings a different element to the love triangle that looks to pick up with next week’s Sheryl centered episode.
GP: I don’t think I’d say that Hikaru and Misa had quite as… warm a relationship as Alto and Sheryl do now – Misa was much frostier to start, and kept professional until the rescue from Riber’s room. Sheryl seems less antagonistic towards Alto than Misa was at the equivalent stage of the series… I mean, she’s teasing him about seeing her half-naked, and even though he’s the one who knocked her off the stage doesn’t seem to hold any real ill-will towards him – she wants her earring back mostly, and he responds well to taunting so he’s fun to bug. Their interactions have been much more playful and less acrimonious than Hikaru and Misa’s were right up till the end (with a few moments after Earth got nuked by the Zentradi).
They’re not close… but they’re not yelling at each other as often as Hikaru and Misa did. Remember the dress shop in the original Macross, after Hikaru joined the UN Spacy? That ended pretty badly for Hikaru, and things weren’t so good at that stage between the two – whereas by this episode, we have Sheryl playfully tripping Alto and intentionally seeking him out. Even if she’s doing this for the earring, she’s not showing the ‘bitch’ side to him that she did in episode 1. Even if they don’t end up together (and I’m not saying that they aren’t), they’re starting to develop at least a friendship. It’s just that Ranka and Alto have developed their friendship much faster, perhaps due to the fact that both kept getting thrown together just as Hikaru and Minmay did at the start of the original series.
I haven’t said a thing about love between either pairing yet – they’re still in the ‘get to know one another’ stages… and Alto and Ranka are probably close more because they’ve gotten a connection to someone outside of their families, and because Alto saved Ranka. She’s outgoing, and he’s been needing a friend outside of flight school – that’s part of why things clicked so fast in the friendship department.
Sheryl and Alto, on the other hand, aren’t clicking quite as quickly – the former was knocked off stage by the latter’s ‘amateur’ flight maneuvers, he has her precious earring (she thinks), and he’s argued with her for most of their first two encounters… but the third looks to be starting off on a less aggressive footing. Yet, even with their arguments, they both seem to have had a good time (especially with the shelter situation), and Sheryl sure didn’t seem put out by the fact that she’d forgotten to ask him about her earring as expressed by her slight smile in the bath during Episode 3. She definitely got something good out of the argument… or maybe just out of teasing Alto. And given her access to data (she got his name and information pretty quickly), she may even know of his Kabuki background, which could prove quite interesting if she teases him about it at some point.
Ranka and Alto are a lot like Hikaru and Minmay in the early days; sharing dreams and providing one another support. Alto and Sheryl are a lot like Hikaru and Misa in the early days… but minus a lot of the friction which marked their relationship right up till their captivity in the Zentradi ship. Sheryl and Ranka, however, are an interesting friendship dynamic… or at least a mentor/student one – Sheryl likes what she sees in Ranka, and feels compelled to encourage her for some reason. Whether this is due to other earlier similarities, or the possibility she’s just a nice person who finds the cute quarter-Meltrandi to be someone who makes a good target for this sort of thing is currently the question.
Personally, I’d love to see the relationships develop more before we get to the love triangle, since the friendships that they’re forming would make for interesting drama. That, and Alto really doesn’t seem to be hunting for a relationship right now unlike Mikhail.
26 episodes is too short for a series this good; maybe 39 would be better. I doubt they could do a full 50 without compromising the series quality, but that would be something to wish for.
As to the love triangle, my money’s on Alto ending up with some girl besides Ranka or Sheryl, simply because I don’t think that the writers would be so straightforward as to make an obvious pairing from the beginning. Who writes this series, anyway? Depending on their track record, it’ll be easier to predict how the love story will end. Also, neither of the girls seem to be a fit match for Alto right now anyway. Ranka is more like a little sister, and Sheryl seems too much like Alto for the two of them to get together well. they’re both very self-confident and tend to work to accomplish things on their own; they wouldn’t want each other’s support. And yeah, Alto doesn’t seem to be looking for a relationship right now.
All I have to say is Sheryl needs to stay away from Alto, he’s Ranka’s man lol
who knows, but making the main character look like a girl was lol. i hope he gets a haircut sometime in the series.
@mutio:
If the sloppy kissing scene between Cathy & Leon is evidence. I think they may push the envelope on how much they can get away with on the love scenes with this series.
There is already quite a bit of sex appeal going on left, & right. I wouldn’t be surprised if it verged of the edge of the map.
As for why Ranka’s not going psycho over Alto joining SMS, I have a simple answer – her psychosis and amnesia don’t involve people going into combat specifically – it’s the idea of losing her family that does it. It already happened once, and Ozma being her brother means that if he dies, she’s all alone. Given this already happened ONCE (not that she remembers), it’s her trauma switch; anything trips that (like danger to Ozma), and she’ll blank out after losing it. That’s why Alto being an SMS member doesn’t make her go all crazy – he’s not family, just a friend. Now, if they get married or too close, then she’ll probably have issues with him going out in a Valkyrie. And that’s when he’ll have to make up some excuse to soothe her nerves.
Forget Sheryl or Ranka
Gimmie one of them Zentraedi bitches.
Was there a potential love interest for Luca in this episode?
Michael mentioned that he had an interest in someone there.
Maybe Nanase? Maybe one of the Pixie Squadron members?
I always knew that Ranka didn’t get the 1st place.
Anyway, I like the new Ranka song and the CGrahpics from this episode.
Can’t wait to watch the next!!!
Goodbye (^^)v
pinoy78: Nanase, the fellow waitress at Nyan Nyan who accompanied Ranka to the Miss Macross competition. She’s the busty purple-haired girl who sits a row or two in front of Alto. Mikhail is basically saying that the reason Luca wanted to go to the Miss Macross competition was not to support Ranka, but so he could get some quality time in with his extremely well-endowed classmate…
I get a sibling type feeling when I see Ranka and Alto together. It just feels like he is filling up this “space” that Ozma can’t fill. He is also spending more time with her and looking after her more than Ozma. Don’t forget in ep 2 was it? She made a mistake and called him “onii-chan” while he was protecting her…
I’m shipping Alto x Sherly, because it’s just funny to see him squirm when she is around and IMO…. the love-hate relationships are far more enjoyable (wither they become canon or not), than the gushy no-fight relationships in animes… 🙂
Kaori – given her reaction to family members in danger, if Ranka seed Alto as a brother type, then she should be freaking out over him joining SMS, probably to fly a Valkyrie into combat… but she seems fine with it. So she sees him as a friend, as she probably sees Luca and Mikhail, but not as a brother.
Copied everything!
http://raymond.santosestrella.com/reviews/14-anime/64-macross-frontier-episode-4-miss-macross.html
Is the guy here with the glasses Michael Blanc?
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2002.jpg