First Impressions / Macross

Summary:

When Sheryl had come to see Alto on the school rooftop, he had felt that she wanted to sing again and had caught her when she felt faint. With Sheryl in his arms, Alto had asserted that she wouldn’t abandon singing and had reminded her of how many people her songs reached, but their conversation is cut short when Ranka suddenly appears. Ranka assumes that she’s interrupting something and tries to run off, however she trips and falls flat on her face. The pain Ranka feels makes her want to die, and that causes a reaction in the Vajra inside the Macross Frontier. One of their first victims is the sniper who was trying to kill Howard Glass, and they soon start wreaking havoc all over the colony ship. Howard manages to get away safely, and one of the first things he does is to call Leon to tell him about the problem. This surprises Leon because he expected Howard to be dead already, and while Leon isn’t paying attention, Ozma and Cathy escape from his office.

In response to the developing situation, Alto begs Ranka to sing in order to protect the city, but she refuses to do so and declares that she’s not a tool to fight the Vajra. This leaves Alto unsure of what to do, so Sheryl takes the matter into her own hands by literally slapping some sense into Ranka. Sheryl feels that Ranka is a pro who has a power in her voice that Sheryl can’t have even if she wanted it, and although this convinces Ranka to sing, she does so with a pain in her heart. Instead of pacifying the Vajra though, this only causes their assault to intensify. Even more Vajra then emerge from the bowels of the ship, and Ranka stops singing when she realizes what’s happening. To make matters worse, the Macross Quarter suddenly detects numerous large Vajra defolding in the space around the Macross Frontier. In the midst of this chaos, Alto meets up with Mikhail and the others and proposes that they head for the S.M.S base where there are more weapons.

When Sheryl and Nanase get separated from everyone due to a stray shell creating a firewall between them, Sheryl urges the others to go on ahead so that they can put a stop to this. Alto thus grabs Ranka’s hand and runs, and as she’s being pulled along, Ranka notices how hot his hand is – it reminds of a similar feeling from her past. The person who was with her back then – Brera – is currently looking for her, but he gets instructions from Grace to go out and fight in his Valkyrie instead. Grace believes that the Vajra won’t harm the Little Queen, and she forces Brera to follow her orders. Ozma and Cathy meanwhile are making their way to the Battle Frontier via a shortcut when they find Howard’s bullet-ridden body – courtesy of Leon – lying in a corridor. By now, Alto’s group had made their way to the S.M.S base and have picked up some weapons and EX-Gears. While Alto and Mikhail hold off the Vajra, Kuran strips her clothes off so that she can enter the nearby macronization chamber, but she first takes a moment to ask Mikhail again about where his feelings of love lie. After Mikhail jokes about it without answering, Kuran decides that he is a coward, so she punches him and kisses him while he’s leaning down. She also confesses that she loves him before running to the chamber.

In an emergency shelter elsewhere in the city, Sheryl tends to Nanase’s wounds and overhears all the frightened people questioning why Ranka isn’t singing to stop the Vajra. Remembering what Alto had said to hear back on the school rooftop, Sheryl pulls out her earring and decides that if Ranka is the songstress of hope, then Sheryl will sing during despair. She thus starts singing Diamond Crevasse, and this calms everyone by drawing their attention to her. Back at the macronization room, Mikhail wonders about risking your life for the person you really love, and moments later, three Vajra burst through the room’s walls. The Vajra target Kuran, but Mikhail gets in their way and manages to take two of them out. The last one, however, comes at him from behind and succeeds at stabbing him in the gut. Despite his wound, Mikhail refuses to let the Vajra hurt Kuran and charges it, killing it and blasting a hole in the outer wall. As he floats past the macronization chamber afterwards, Mikhail apologizes to Kuran for not being able to say this sooner: he loves her. He then gets sucked out through the hole into space, leaving behind only his glasses.

Preview

Well that was depressing, though not completely unexpected. I suspected that they’d kill off either Mikhail or Kuran this episode, and it turned out to be the former (though it wouldn’t surprise me if Kuran died next week given how she looks in the preview). I had been hoping the two would get a happy ending, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Mikhail got a very nice/heroic death scene instead, with Sheryl singing Diamond Crevasse (so that’s why they named the episode that) in the background, and he was able to say that he loved Kuran at the very end after saving her. Plus the shot of the broken glasses after the ED – which was incidentally just a continuation of Diamond Crevasse with credits over a black background – was a nice sentimental touch.

I’m glad at least that Sheryl is back in the groove, though it irks me that – as if to balance Sheryl out – Ranka lost so much confidence. I realize that it’s something like a zero-sum game since theoretically only one of them can end up with Alto, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to watch. Ranka’s despair has bigger consequences though because of the implied effect her feelings have on the Vajra, and I hope she doesn’t ever realize that she might indirectly or partially be responsible for Mikhail’s death. Now that I think about it, if there’s one lesson I hope Mikhail’s death taught to the others, it’s that you shouldn’t be indecisive about love and the people that matter to you. And while I doubt it’ll happen soon, something like that could lead to Alto finally choosing between Ranka and Sheryl.

On a related note, now that the shit has begun to hit the fan, I wonder how many more of the cast will die. As I mentioned, Kuran’s one possibility, Luca is another, and there’s always the chance one of the main three won’t make it.

290 Comments

  7. AHHHH!!!! F*CK!!!

    I didn’t watch ANY macross for nine weeks, marathon it all today, then find THIS Spoiler?! F*ck YOU!

    *Disclaimer, yeah I know it’s really my own fault, but screaming about it willl make me feel better.

    SPINweel
    Reply

  11. GOD, always this deaths when a series approaches the final, sucks..
    And WHY Mikhail, sobbbbbb. He and Klan were so sweet together and then he just dies like that 🙁 Hope at least Klan will survive >.<

    @nelly
    What do you mean – what did Ranka do?

    mutio
    Reply

  14. Let this be a warning to all the Ranka haters out there. Do not piss off Ranka or she’ll sic the Vajra on you. I get it now. Ranka’s emotions control the vajra. Now WHO does she need to hook up with to make things better?:D:D This is too good. I’m laughing already.

    About Michael. I hate Kawamori right now.

    diva
    Reply

  15. Just pulled a Min Mei and didn’t want to sing for a minute. I still don’t count her out of the love triangle since this whole series has been turning Macross tropes on its head (Like Ozma living where Roy died and Michel dying where as Max lived).

    But yeah, hard core episode. We’re gonna have a seriously pissed of Melandri on our hands come next time.

    Machinegunkid
    Reply

  19. Michelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111

    Ranka killed Michael!!! Now it can only be a matter of time until she turns horribly ebil with those Vajra controlling superpowers…

    stray
    Reply

  23. Machinegunkid

    That’s because for one, Ozma =/= Fokker, to even say so is an insult to Roy, he’s probably spinning in his grave right now.

    And second Micheal =/= Max in any sense. Just because the guy has a blue VF? Come on guys.

    Ranka this ep was worthless, sorry to say. She pulled a Minmei and had to get the smack down. Sheryl clearly showed the difference between herself and Ranka in this episode.

    GP
    Reply

  24. Sheryl was awesome. Ranka doesn’t want to sing, so she slaps her and tells her she’s a pro now and has to sing.

    She protected and took care of Nanase, even though Nanase didn’t like her.

    Sheryl singing Diamond Crevasse in the shelter was beautiful.

    I say the Queen is coming back.

    Anyone else think Elmo’s gonna be her new manager?

    P3
    Reply

  30. I know it’s no excuse , but Sheryl didn’t see a “RankaxAlto” scene, and it’s really painful to see your love one with another one, and then some minutes after sing with your heart with all the pressure it implies. She tried her best episodes ago and succeed, she has never been a strong leader and is still growing.

    Aaand, even if Ranka became more popular, that doesn’t imply she is more mature nor that her self-steem has become any better.
    I’ve read several times how Ranka only thinks of Alto and not everyone else…what’s wrong with thinking first of you at times? Sometimes you can’t avoid it…Then, that Nanase hated Sheryl and Sheryl still saved her…oh come on, you wouldn’t let die someone just because you think she/he hates you…

    And yeah, Sheryl was great this episode -even though I don’t like her- but it’s obvious Ranka will also grow after this and well, this wouldn’t have been an epic episode if Ranka hadn’t failed.

    Ritsuka
    Reply

  31. I’m so frustrated! Michael could’ve still been saved, maybe it missed his vital parts, but they just had to kick him to outer space to make sure he dies. How cruel.:( They killed him because there’s more people who cares about Michael than Ozma, so it’ll stir more audience. I have to admit, Michael’s my third fave male character in MF next to Alto and Brera. So it worked.

    I have a feeling a lot of RIDICULOUS, childish Ranka hate are going to gush through, but I’m just going to say that we ALL know that Ranka will inevitably redeem herself in the future. You gotta be really naive if you don’t even think this’ll happen. I still have a strong feeling that it’s Ranka who’s going to do the biggest sacrifice in the end, so all these flaws she’s showing, she needs it as much as she needed that slap. She might even give up on Alto without even asking if he was ever into her, so if for some reason that happens, I wish Alto gets a clue.

    Speaking of Sheryl, I’m proud of her. Seriously, the scene with her in the midst of those people is awesome. The scene was made to look so right, it’s like she belongs there–with the people. ^_^ Diamond Crevasse is still my most favorite song of hers.

    ani_d
    Reply

  32. I’m sad, why does Mikhal have to die??

    Stop hating on Ranka, you mindless h4ters.

    @mutio
    “https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2020%20-%20Large%20Preview%2002.jpg”

    Alto looks so huggable. If I were Ranka I would throw myself at him and eat him alive XD I’m sad because of Mikhal, but a part of me is also happy because I’m really sure Alto and Ranka are going to get together in the end now.

    Rissa
    Reply

  33. WRYYYYYYYYYYY!? Mikhail x Klan was the only pairing I cared about aside from Ozma x Cathy… man, I feel terrible for her, first she loses her friend, and then her object of affection… if they kill her off too, people will be strangled. She’d best go on an unstoppable rampage.

    PhantomX
    Reply

  35. thats annoying mikail and Kuran were the only pairing which was Remotely interesting now this show has lost its entire romantic appeal!!Now ill just be watching it for every time the macross cann fires and the ship transforms! Tisk tisk they ust removed 20% of its substance (80% of its character substance!) What a shame…

    WingZero zxt
    Reply

  40. I’ll never be a Ranka hater. I can’t blame her for feeling what she felt …. SHE WAS HEARTBROKEN.
    She’s young . . . what, you expect her to shut down her heart-break so that she can sing and get the Vajra confused? She sings out her emotions . . . That’s why people like her.
    Tragic about Michel . . . just went things were finally progressing. Don’t know why the writers did that.
    Although . . . I wasn’t a Sheryl fan throughout the anime, but now . . . she’s all right, but I still don’t like her. You know . . . my first impression wasn’t good, and that will stick with me throughout the entire anime.

    dokushaku
    Reply

  42. Damn, Mikhail! ;_;

    And this episode made me wonder if, Ranka’s song was 100% affected by her emotion or we’ll get this scenario:

    Grace: Lol Guess what? =D
    SMS: What?
    Grace: Aimo doesn’t work on the Vajra anymore, they evolved from it too!
    Ozma: But i thought it was just all the emotional shit Ranka had on the moment!
    Grace: That affected it a little but they had also grown listening it, remember how they wanted to blast Ranka while she was singing before the Long Space Fold.
    SMS: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK
    Alto: Then what should we do?
    Grace: Dunno i don’t care ^w^
    Elmo: I have an idea! A duet between Ranka and Sheryl, that may give a new blast to the Vajra! =o
    SMS: Fuck yeah!, great idea Elmo!
    Grace: NOT AS PLANNED! D:

    And that’s how Elmo will save Frontier!

    Or at least we’ll learn that even Songs can be overpowered by the Vajra’s evolution.

    Za Third
    Reply

  48. Noooooo!!! Mikhail!! *sobs* He was such a great character (and he wasn’t dense *looks at Alto*) Well at least he told Klan he loved her… that as much I needed.
    And wait, what did Ranka do? By the screencaps I see AI-KUN doing something rather… Iwill not it hold against her. xP

    Jenn-Jen
    Reply

  49. @nelly- You sound pathetic blaming Ranka for Michael’s death and blaming her for being heartbroken. Anyone who blames Ranka for this tragedy is just looking for a pathetic excuse to hate on her because Ranka keeps getting in the way of SherylxAlto. Boohoo. Have you seen Alto and Ranka in SMS underground? They kept holding hands to the point that I can almost shout at Alto that Ranka’s safe now, stop holding hands LOL That’s love.

    diva
    Reply

  50. Michel, you will be missed. Sheryl was absolutely awesome this episode. Ranka was an absolute disappointment. I’m glad Sheryl slapped her, but she needed more than that. This is the first time I wanted to throttle Ranka. She was just awful.

    zalem
    Reply

  51. @Nelly

    We don’t know if that’s the only reason, they could had developed inmunity, after all, it was the Nest that was planted on Frontier by the token “Just as Planned” Characters of the series.

    With all the Rankamania going on, the broadcasts, concerts, etc. They could had started developing inmunity, to the poin that only a Ranka and Sheryl duet would be strong enough to stop them, after all, back in Episode 9 i think, a Duet of those girls was so strong that it even reached Alto between Ranka Capacities and Sheryl’s earings and own personal capacity. I’ll stick with my theory since it could become and important aspect for the story development and coudl explain a lot the whole Duet thing, since it was hinted even before the “Lion” Opening was broadcasted.

    Za Third
    Reply

  52. “I get it now. Ranka’s emotions control the vajra. Now WHO does she need to hook up with to make things better?:D:D This is too good”

    I hope for RankaXAlto shippers sake that’s not the case. It’s a really poor basis for a relationship. Ranka needs to mature and not depend on Alto so much, a situation like that would make her take a huge step backwards. If they are going to put these two together I would hope to see her become a bit more independent. They might just make her a Minmei, but I think she has much more growth potential than Minmei. Hopefully she will pull herself together soon.

    zalem
    Reply

  57. @diva

    That’s not love. It’s a minute thing in the midst of a massive Vajra attack. Surviving and protecting the lifes of others; holding hands with a girl… I hope you understand that.

    Ah Michel, you will be missed ;__; But at least you got an eyeful and a kiss.
    Sheryl’s words, thoughts, and actions were very admirable.

    Acquiesce
    Reply

  60. @zalem- Ranka’s more in love with Alto than Sheryl. I see why she said she wants to die just from heartbreak. She must’ve been REALLY in pain. Bobby said that this is the first time she ever fell in love. That puts more weight on it. She’s just a human. The time where she pulls herself together will be more epic because of this episode.

    I dont mean that Alto will be forced to hook up with Ranka. Ranka won’t be blackmailing Alto to go out with her or she’ll destroy everything, Alto will choose her by himself. And the Vajra will be at peace as a result. This is how I see things going. Sheryl will be back to being a songstress and escape death somehow.

    @Acquiesce- They’re consoling each other. They’re that close that they hold hands in the midst of a crisis. They could’ve just stood side by side but they just had to hold hands. And Alto looked manly tugging Ranka to him. He likes that role. Sheryl blew him off earlier using Kamina’s line. She doesn’t need Alto to protect her. Another reason why Alto will be more inclined to be with Ranka. Sheryl fans can say Sheryl is great and Ranka is a wimp. They’re right, but piss Ranka off and the Vajra will rip their anime equivalents to shreds hahaha

    diva
    Reply

  61. But I hate that kind of dependent relationship. Alto wants to be with Ranka because he can feel manly and protect her? That’s just really sad to me. I would hope that by the end of this Ranka can stand on her own two feet without Alto.

    zalem
    Reply

  62. Sheryl will definitely get back to singing… at least until the last few episodes before her disease gets to its fatal stages. Ranka’s song was rendered useless since she carried that baby Vajira and… they adapt without communication with each other. Hence, the duo of girls will have to sing together to lead Macross to victory.

    Whether or not the script writers will keep her alive is still up for grabs. I personally think not. I also think Ozma and now Klan will bite the dust… but that’s probably just my pessimism getting out of hand.

    FFVIIKnight
    Reply

  64. ^ What if in the end Alto, Ranka, and Sheryl will part their own ways? Just like in Samurai Champloo. They all don’t have to depend on each other and can stand on their own two feet. That might be the surprise Alto’s seiyuu was talking about.

    diva
    Reply

  68. @diva, ??? “…Alto look manly tugging Ranka to him” That just didn’t feel or sound right. If Alto hooks up with Ranka just to feel manly, I’ll bitch slap him :p. RxA is going to fail if that’s how it turns out.

    Browniekat
    Reply

  71. @Browniekat-Watch 14:10 for yourself. They didn’t say that in the show Alto feels manly so he needs to hook up with someone like Ranka, they just show it in his actions. It’s an observation of his character. He needs a reason for being a pilot stronger than his cursed Kabuki blood, he’s going to find it.:D

    diva
    Reply

  72. I’m not a Ranka hater. But in the beginning of the story I sort of sided with Ranka but after seeing all Grace put on Sheryl, I’m kind of shifting to Sheryl’s side. I feel SO sorry for her! I mean her career is going down the drain, Grace just lives to make her miserable, and Ranka (a friend) is taking her career! I personally can’t handle all of that. But I do hope that Sheryl will soon recover.

    Stop hating on ranka, she’s young. And I don’t really think she means that to Sheryl. I mean it wasn’t too long ago that Ranka became as famous as sheryl. Ranka hasn’t adjusted to the life of a celebrity or singer for awhile. So she probably doesn’t know what to do most of the time. That’s why she does nothing..or something like that.

    Applelina
    Reply

  73. At least he went out protecting Klan. I must say, he got a little bit of a better death than Roy did in SDFMacross. I was very shocked though. Klan may or may not die. I don’t know anymore.
    Poor Ranka and the Ranka haters. Weren’t you ever 15 and in love??? Goodness, I woulda done the same thing she did. (the slap scene reminded me immediately of DYRL? though) She was heartbroken, and then suddenly her entire world is on the brink of destruction? Wouldn’t you be a little scared?
    Something no one has mentioned yet, Sheryl KNOWS about the Fold Quartz in her earrings. THAT is why she wanted it back to bad when she lost it. Why didn’t she say anything before? I think Sheryl is just as emotional as Ranka is now, Sheryl is just the silent angsty type. Singing is Sheryl’s life. She just can’t QUIT. She did the same thing that Ranka did in this episode in 18. I still think she’s gonna die protecting everyone though(including Ranka) her Fold Quartz still works.
    Sheryl and Ranka are a combination of Lynn Minmay. They will BOTH save their people. Who will win in the triangle? Pft, who cares anymore the big battle has started!!

    Naru
    Reply

  77. In the hallway firefight, Michel asks Alto, “Is love something you risk your life for?”

    I guess he got his answer. Still, I’ve lost a few friends in war and other friends in tragedies. He embodies the cherry blossom metaphor. Perfect for only a short time, and then the wind blows him away. At least Klan got to hear what she needed to. I suspect she’s going to be really dangerous from here on in.

    Takeo
    Reply

  79. Duh. I’ve been spoiled.
    Anyway, saw it coming from the magazine summaries.

    Feelings:
    NOOOOOOO~~~~!!! Now my Mikhail x Klan can never be!!!
    They were honestly the cutest couple in MF.
    How could they do this?!? That’s totally mean.
    Seriously they shoud’ve killed Nanase. Or Ozma. Or Luca.

    Go Sheryl~! XD We love you!!

    Yukiruchan
    Reply

  80. I find that most animes has a common storyline where a character finally confess his/her feeling to another person, and next thing you know they go off fighting or doing whatever and get kill. So the moral of the story is never confess your true feeling or else you bound to hit the bucket in the next moment. 🙂

    Mike
    Reply

  82. Poor Mikhail, I’ve been hoping that he’d be safe ever since last week and look how it turned out.

    I have mixed feelings about Ranka, but I think I’ll wait until the very end before I judge her.

    lux
    Reply

  83. Aw,poor Mikhail..DX
    It’s like his death was predicted after that remark he made with Alto last episode.
    Klan seems really pissed in the preview..don’t blame her.
    Anyways,I like Sheryl way more than Ranka.
    I hope Alto chooses Sheryl in the end. ~
    She has a great personality..(She’s confident yet not conceited.)
    She’s helped Ranka many times and I also prefer her singing voice over Ranka’s.
    Ranka is jailbait fail. Her look and personality is generic.’nuff said.

    Kalulu
    Reply

  84. “You know . . . my first impression wasn’t good, and that will stick with me throughout the entire anime.” – Dokushaku

    i find it funny how people get a first impression and get stuck on that train of thought. what happened to being open-minded?

    Tmoo
    Reply

  88. After Mikhail was skewered by that Vajra and proceeded to kick its ass…I thought he’d possibly pull a “Pineapple Cake™” (pioneered by Ozma) and wake up in a hospital bed with Klan by his side…

    But no, they had to TOSS HIM OUT THE FREAKING AIRLOCK TOO!!!

    Bummer. Like many others, I thought Michael and Klan’s relationship was one of the better pairings in this series. Ozma+Cathy was preidictable and Luca+Nanase is just annoying. Speaking of which, I actually LOL’d when I saw Nanase in all those bandages…don’t know why though.

    I was waiting for the MDE bomb to make an appearance in this episode…we’ll definitely see it in action soon with all the Vajra on the loose.

    Anyway, back with more commentary after the subs are released

    Lurker
    Reply

  90. And back to the lively (albeit, violent XD) Macross Frontier discussion! (I could do this the whole week waiting for Thursday)

    Anyway, why do you people blame Ranka for Michel’s death? (Don’t you have to blame the Vajra first?) Ranka did nothing! (Sheryl fans: That’s the point, she did nothing!) Oh come on! Like Sheryl could have done anything if she were there! Ranka is not a pilot/fighter and her song is not working because of her emotions. So she acted a bit unprofessional, being heartbroken and refusing to sing now (and wishing to die even), she’s young AND new at being a singer. You don’t get all the ropes right during your first try! That’s why I love her character! She grows and grows, and is shown as an imperfect human which is the essence of being human. You have to grow! And I commend Sheryl big time for growing too this episode. Stopping her lies that she would stop singing, she realizes she still loves singing and even helped Ranka realize her faults (by slapping her hehe).
    The Diamond Crevasse this episode was sooooooo much better! I don’t know why I liked it better than the original, maybe because of the scene it was played with. I just felt the meaning of the song match very well with MikhailxKlan!
    I think Sheryl’s decision to go back singing endangers her chances with Alto. And now that Ranka will decide to reject being a singing tool, I think Sheryl will slowly take the Minmei way of exiting the love triangle. I was expecting so much in the AltoxRanka conversation but I didn’t see it coming that they didn’t even get a chance to talk that long! XD Oh well, Ranka will get her chance next episode it seems… <

    yuKime
    Reply

  91. So, when Ranka sings with negative emotions, she arouses Vajra instead of stopping them.
    It’s cool that the baby Vajra attack is part her fault.

    I find it strange how she wants to sing only for Alto, but she wanted to become an idol.
    And how she suddenly blurted out that she’s not a tool for fighting the Vajra, when nobody ever said that to her and actually she’s always consented to sing on her own.

    Yeah, I’ve noticed that I’m always criticizing Ranka.
    Truthfully I never wanted to dislike her but unfortunately she just always gets on my nerves.

    @Tmoo
    i find it funny how people get a first impression and get stuck on that train of thought. what happened to being open-minded?
    I think it’s because the characters in Macross F are too stereotypical. Which is the flaw to this otherwise great series. OK.. somewhat slow storytelling may be another–No, I take that back–I must stop comparing everything to Code Geass.

    Yukiruchan
    Reply

  92. @Naru

    Something no one has mentioned yet, Sheryl KNOWS about the Fold Quartz in her earrings. THAT is why she wanted it back to bad when she lost it. Why didn’t she say anything before? I think Sheryl is just as emotional as Ranka is now, Sheryl is just the silent angsty type. Singing is Sheryl’s life. She just can’t QUIT. She did the same thing that Ranka did in this episode in 18.

    Um, no. She doesn’t know and two she didn’t do anything but stop singing in episode 18 after she found out she was going to die and her whole life is a lie. Sheryl also does not have the power Ranka has, as she told Ranka. Sheryl’s actions only affected Sheryl, not anyone else.

    nelly
    Reply

  96. I don’t know how you had seen this episode but I think Ranka didn’t arouse/make the Vajras go berserk. In the first place, the Vajras were going berserk even before she sang. The only effect her singing did was nothing. You see, she didn’t make them go berserk but her heartbroken emotions and unwillingness to sing due to confusion and sorrow (she’s new at love, she can’t just shut the pain and move on with saving the world in a snap) only FAILED its usual calming Vajra effect.

    She never wanted to be an idol. She just wanted to sing to people (as many people as she can). She never asked for fame (i.e. become an I-D-O-L) And then she realized that’s not what she really wanted so let her be. It’s not her fault for being indecisive. Like I said, she’s young and just learning. When in her age, some wants to be so many things. It’s not like everyone has set a goal and didn’t back out on it realizing they wanted something else. Her mind changes because she’s human so it’s not strange that she changed her goals. Sure she’s consented to sing on her own but she doesn’t want that anymore, so the consent thing is nonexistent anymore. And Ranka’s feeling low, of course she will suddenly feel like being used. She wanted to sing for Alto but Alto insisted on her singing to fight–even though she said she didn’t want to. (It’s like Alto didn’t consider her feelings that time so she would feel used at that time.)

    “Yeah, I’ve noticed that I’m always criticizing Ranka.-
    Truthfully I never wanted to dislike her but unfortunately she just always gets on my nerves.”
    No problem with that. Ranka has her fans and haters because she can’t please everybody. Sheryl’s the same, don’t worry. ^^

    yuKime
    Reply

  98. i’m getting a lol @ the ranka fans defending ranka. If you can’t even admit she fucked up here than lol…. ss for some relationship comments I won’t say anything… i guess it’s unfair to have access to spoilers…. 22/23 should be lots of lolz on this blog.

    And ani-d…. no shit ranka will redeem herself, but have you heard of the expression, too little too late? I would hope the macros fandom in’t filled with idiots like geass who now love rolo after hating him lololol….

    Westlo
    Reply

  99. @Yukime
    Word. 😉 I don’t really get this ridiculous hating of Ranka. I understand that she’s really out of it this episode but just because she didn’t handle her situation as flawlessly as Sheryl did doesn’t mean she’s a disappointment. I’d be more concerned if Ranka didn’t act heartbroken and shrugged the whole thing off like it was nothing, then wholeheartedly realized that she needs to sing to the Vajra more than to Alto. (Hello? Griffith’s park? Galia IV? Episodes 1-19?) THAT would be poor, inconsistent writing. Give her a break. Anyone can tell this is just one of those episodes setting up for the character to redeem herself.

    Seems like plotwise, anything I deemed ridiculous turns out to be the case. Like the tamed Vajra in Ranka’s concert turning out to be the real thing (I thought that was so ridiculous), Michael’s death because Ozma didn’t die. Now maybe Sheryl WILL die since I think it’s so ridiculous that she will. =_= I also didn’t expect that Ranka’s emotions (not her will) can make or break the Vajra. She might choose to leave Frontier if she finds out about this. She can hitch a ride with Brera lol I’m counting on Alto to bring her back if that happens.

    And yes, this

    https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2020%20-%20Large%20Preview%2002.jpg

    I’m looking forward to. I hope it’s not a prelude to goodbye or anything yet. They look so content together.:) I agree with @Rissa. Alto looks so glompable here lol!

    ani_d
    Reply

  101. @westlo
    Less than 2 minutes of a brat attack, several hours of spacing out nursing a broken heart is too little too late? =_= You’ve been smoking too much of your victory cigar, it’s bound to run out in the last episode. I’m getting more and more sure. 🙂

    ani_d
    Reply

  102. Magnus: Like I said, it just showed that her singing didn’t work. It necessarily doesn’t mean that she caused them to go berserk even more. The stopping was to emphasize that they hear her. Then resuming the swarming means it doesn’t work. That’s it. Maybe you’re just thinking too much, wanting to blame Ranka on the Vajra attack? If we want to confirm the effect of Ranka’s emotions on her Vajra calming/stimulating stunt, we need to see her do that again next episode.

    yuKime
    Reply

  103. yuKime: Watch the scene again. Notice how Grace ( who must have amazing hearing capability, but then again she is a cyborg ) notes how Rankas “emotion index” is very low. There is a very direct visual correlation between her singing, her feeling hurt and the Vajra swarming out. The only thing more clear would have been a giant neon sign in the sky saying “It´s Rankas fault!”.

    Amazing ep otherwise, I´m devastated about Michael death and Klans loss, but at least the shipper wars are all but won. It pretty surely is a Sheryl X Alto end.

    Magnus
    Reply

  106. @ani_d: From what she’s realized in ep 19 concerning Alto, how Ranka acted this episode is just being consistent with her realization. Suddenly realizing this feelings for Alto and then being crushed before you even get your chance to say it, Ranka will be devastated of course. Her being nonchalant in this is just downright unlike her so I understand her. Like I said in previous post, still not sure if Ranka’s emotions really do affect the Vajra to go berserk. I thought her heartbroken feelings only caused her to lose the calming effect she had on the Vajra, meaning it didn’t work that time. But I still need another scene like this to confirm my opinion.

    I still hope Sheryl won’t die because her songs are surely going to be missed. If I were to make a wish for her, I hope she keeps her career (singing) and continue to support Ranka like she always had (even in this episode). And that she get her cure somehow.

    And the preview of Ranka and Alto together with the legendary paper airplane (seems like Alto enjoys making them when he’s with Ranka <3) looks promising! I hope this will make up for the lack of Alto x Ranka decent conversation this episode. Alto didn’t even try to explain himself to Ranka. He’s as dense as ever. Haha

    yuKime
    Reply

  107. Seriously, this is starting to look like Code Geass R2. Damn! I wasn’t expecting one of the remaining ‘strong’ characters to die early… I was expecting at least 50 episodes for Macross with Michel dying a very heroic death with Klan in his arms saying how much he regret not falling for her all this time, etc, etc, etc.

    For the “Triangle”, I guess Sheryl’s got my vote, though a sick female lead is just too redundant….

    moondoggiebuiscuit
    Reply

  108. @MichaelxKlan4ever

    Yes, yes, yes. And Sheryl will die, and THEN Alto-kun, THEN all of the Frontier will be overrun by Vajra, with Ranka as the Queen of Vajra or something….

    Joke…

    moondoggiebuiscuit
    Reply

  111. PhantomX,
    You can find spoilers under the Wikipedia Episode list. Really sorry to hear that Mikhail (sic?) was the one to buy this farm this ep. I really liked his character, and I’m sorry to see him go. I hope Nanase survives though.

    Spacehamster
    Reply

  113. Forgot to add…don’t know whether anyone else here has commented on Howard Glass’s death as well. So that’s two supporting characters (Mikhail and Glass) that died in this episode.

    Spacehamster
    Reply

  115. @yukime- lol! Legendary paper airplane. ^.^ Yeah, I guess with the vajra swarming around there’s no time to explain whatever he’s doing or atleast like kinda wonder why Ranka was suddenly on the ground distraught. Alto can be so dense, but in fairness, he was so protective of her this episode. He was always beside Ranka. When they got separated, I wondered why Alto was suddenly beside Ranka and Sheryl/Nanase are so faraway from them . Plot arrangement from the writers or just what exactly happened there? ^^

    Anyhow, the biggest mystery is where does Alto get his infinite supply of paper. I think he’ll be making one in Galia 4 too if he has some paper with him.

    ani_d
    Reply

  117. “@westlo
    Less than 2 minutes of a brat attack, several hours of spacing out nursing a broken heart is too little too late? =_= You’ve been smoking too much of your victory cigar, it’s bound to run out in the last episode. I’m getting more and more sure.”

    If you care to visit the Sher.. I mean Macross suki forum you fled from you’ll realize my problems with Ranka are much more than just what happened this episode. Seriously “I want to die” just fucking says it all… They way they have depicted Ranka from episode 16 to 20 clearly shows they are setting her up to finally fucking grow up after the loss of something. Now I wonder what that could be… couldn’t be the only thing that seems to matter in her life atm… hmmm nah couldn’t be!

    Sheryl otoh has been depicted amazingly well in episodes 16-20, the contrast is clear, both girls are hitting lows in various ways and the way they have handled themselves shows the clear difference between them.

    Ranka’s “I want to die” after seeing Alto and Sheryl together vs Sheryl trying to push herself away from Alto because she is dying shows who deserves who. Btw ani_D Seifall is making you look reasonable on Suki, he took your delusional Ranka gimmick and took it to a whole new level XD Like I said on AS you were Street Figher and he’s Street Fighter 2!

    Westlo
    Reply

  118. @Magnus: Unfortunately though, I can’t see the neon sign and the implication of her emotion being low just means it is being compared to her ability to control/calm the Vajra. Give me another episode then maybe, I’ll see your point more. I thought Grace would be laughing more evilly if she realized that Ranka’s low emotions can cause Vajra to go berserk–or maybe that’s just me thinking that Grace is too evil.

    @ani_d: I know if it weren’t for the Vajra maybe Alto would have explained or maybe not since he didn’t even realize that Ranka was crying. <__< But yeah, I give him credit for being protective of Ranka. Always keeping her close to him to make sure she’s safe. I also wondered why Alto became close to Ranka before the explosion. The scene before that I think Ranka was being comforted by Nanase (in Nanase’s arms oh lol!) while Sheryl looked at Ranka and the others shot at the Vajra. Then next scene Alto’s beside Ranka?! Did they purposely place him there so they won’t get separated (hence, the talk next episode?) Or we just think too much. Haha

    Alto’s paper supply makes me curious too. He just seems to get it everywhere! In the Nyan-Nyan restaurant (tissue?), in the hang-out/celebration for Ranka being scouted party, in Ranka’s room… everywhere! I bet he stuffs his pockets with paper/paper tissue then whips them out when he’s with Ranka. Always with Ranka comes the airplane making procedure. X3

    yuKime
    Reply

  120. @Westlo
    Yeah, Sheryl is always great that’s why Alto got mad at her for saying she won’t sing anymore. Sheryl also showed weakness and Ranka is the same. Sure they project it in different ways because they have different qualities but I don’t think Sheryl choosing to quit singing back in ep 18 was that amazing for Alto that Alto would choose Sheryl over Ranka nor would that make Sheryl deserve Alto. Sheryl stood up again in this episode after being crushed in ep 18/19. I think Ranka will stand up again after being heartbroken in this episode. Their problems are different but I don’t think comparing who got the bigger problem or how they react to the problem will decide who gets Alto. It’s how they stand up again that counts. Sheryl just got her ground back, Ranka has just fallen so don’t judge her just yet. Sheryl deciding to quit singing and crying helplessly in the rain was her initial reaction to her realization that she’s dying. Ranka’s initial reaction was wanting to die (extreme but it’s not like she actually went jumping off the building). Sheryl only got her strength back because of Alto, if it weren’t for him, she’d still be miserable, trying to protect others even though it’s hurting her. Do you think people wanted her to do that? Ranka will get her strength back… hopefully with Alto’s help too.

    yuKime
    Reply

  121. @yuKime

    I hope this will make up for the lack of Alto x Ranka decent conversation this episode. Alto didn’t even try to explain himself to Ranka. He’s as dense as ever. Haha

    LOL! When have Alto x Ranka ever had a decent conversation. You are funny.

    I think Alto was too busy trying not to die and to get Ranka off her ass to do something to worry about explaining anything to her.

    mel
    Reply

  122. OMG. I hate you for the preview, but, I hate them more for killing off one of the most interesting characters in the show.. damnit.

    ps. keep up the good work man, your blogging is much appreciated, even if it does come with bittersweet news sometimes..

    fuelharp
    Reply

  123. What was there to explain to Ranka? Alto isn’t obligated to explain anything to her.

    You Ranka fans are delusional. Did you forget when Alto made a paper airplane during the Star Date with Sheryl? Do you remember him making a paper airplane in episode 1 with Michael and Luca? He just likes making paper airplanes!

    There’s huge contrasts between Sheryl and Ranka’s mental maturity levels. Sheryl has shown to be a strong adult who does things for the sake of others. Ranka has shown to be a child who relies on other people to make decisions, and to act on those decisions.

    Ranka still knows nothing about Alto. She never gets him to open up about anything. She always sees things from only her point of view. We’re now 20 episodes into the series, and she hasn’t gotten Alto to open up once about himself. Where as Sheryl and Alto have shared more than several scenes where they open up to each other about their fears, their hopes, their dreams, etc. With Ranka and Alto, it’s Ranka’s feeling this, Ranka is thinking that, Ranka wants this, Ranka needs that.

    You are not getting your Ranka ending unless Sheryl dies, Ranka doesn’t join the Vajra, and we get a flash forward about 5-10 years…

    Oh yeah and, if you can’t see that Ranka was affecting the Vajra emotionally, you really are watching a different show from the majority of us. Might I suggest having an adult watch the show with you, who can read between the lines?

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  124. This episode, as well as the last, provides excellent setup for the Skull Fairy pairing. As for Ranka, I’m terribly disappointed in her actions, or lack of, but I’m not angry at her. Look at the bright side, she can’t fall any lower than she possibly could right now, which means there is only one place she could go: back up. Look at how much faith Sheryl still has in her. It’s time for her to do some soul searching of her own and realize what it is that’s holding her back. Only then, will she be able to grow and mature, just as her predecessor Minmei once did when she realized her beloved fell in love with another woman and lets him go.

    notcheese
    Reply

  126. Haha, all your shipping wars are amusing and highly entertaining. Much better than reality TV when I read all that sniping at each other over who Alto to choose and which girl will come out top when it’s plain as day that Alto has yet to show any romantic interest in either one. He cares for them, yes, but he has not yet made the decision who he loves. At the moment, it’s equal between the two and there is still the possibility he might not even choose either at the end. I for one want to see that for the end. Anyone else out there who is sick of this two-sided love triangle other than me?

    koyuki
    Reply

  128. If you’re so sick of it why do you want it left unresolved and hence be a fucking massive waste of time? Anyway rumors abound are that the triangle will be wrapped up slightly early, this shouldn’t be a last scene type of triangle.

    Anyway can’t wait for episode 22 and Northern Cross, to quote Yoko Kanno herself while the song was being recorded! “Sheryl-sama!

    “During the recording of this song, Kanno-san (Kanno Youko) cheered ‘Sheryl-sama~!!’ many times. And when we were doing the part where the lyrics went ‘Kiete shimae’: ‘I understand!!!’ — by Kanno-san””

    Westlo
    Reply

  129. @mel
    You’re the funny one. They had a lot of decent conversations. Gallia IV, at the hill, at Ranka’s room. And none of it involved Alto ever getting angry at Ranka because she backed out on her words of wisdom.

    @Justinstrife
    i didn’t say he was obligated I just wanted him to explain since I am a Ranka shipper. No need to go all hostile now. Oh and I meant to point out that almost every conversation he had with Ranka had airplane making session, I didn’t mean to point out that Sheryl didn’t have her moments. Sure she had some but generally all Ranka/Alto talks had airplanes (as long as he had paper supply). Sheryl only had one scene but yeah, it’s there don’t worry I didn’t forget it. I just overlooked it since my point was Ranka/Alto talks not Sheryl ones.
    And again, I’m not going to go reasoning that their characters were made differently and they mature/grow up in different ways since it will be endless. Sheryl had her down moments too when she decided to stop singing. Did she stop singing to help others? I think it was for her own reasons that didn’t concern others, right? Just because she’s dying, doesn’t mean she had to quit now, does she? But I admire Sheryl for thinking of Alto too. But I hope she’d also realize that she should rely on others too (even a bit) because others worry for her more if she kept her problems all bottled up. Look at how Michel and Klan were worried about her.
    Ranka also feels upset that she doesn’t know anything about Alto (see ep10). It’s not that she doesn’t care at all but it’s just that Alto shows different ways to interact with the two girls. Alto can share his problems with Sheryl like a friend but he also shares his thoughts with Ranka just like friends do. So they’re on the same ground. So far, SherylxAlto interactions and RankaxAlto interactions just shows that both girls are close friends with Alto. That’s all there is to it. Ranka is waiting for Alto to open up to her, it’s not like she can just go say, “Alto-kun tell me your problems, I’ll listen to them!” It’s just too bad that Alto feels like sharing his problem with Sheryl. Ranka got her moments too so I’m not bothered.
    Ranka ending is possible even if Sheryl doesn’t die (and like I said, I’m sure Sheryl won’t die), even if Ranka doesn’t join the vajra, and even if we don’t get a flash forward about 5-10 years.
    Yeah, I just watched Macross F Episode 20. What did you watch? Reading between the lines isn’t always needed in anime. If you read too much, you get led away. That’s why I said I need one more episode to ascertain/change my opinion on Ranka’s emotional effect this episode. It’s my choice to wait so whatever.

    yuKime
    Reply

  130. I think Ranka’s feeling have something to do with Vajra….You can see from last episode that yellow vajra in her concert didn’t attack anyone or do anything when Ranka’s feeling was so happy. But I’m sure that same yellow vajra was the one that attack the sniper after Ranka’s feeling change from heart break.

    I wonder why nobody or any guards notice or curious about that yellow vajra at all…

    AsPHERE
    Reply

  131. Also 1 thing I want to point out what would you think if the people of Frontier might think after they know that Ranka’s unhappy feeling make the vajra attack more aggressive and also that she was the one that illegal took baby vajra with her onto the ship….

    That would be totally waste all her effort to be recognized as Macross Frontier’s Idol that sing to stop war like Minmay. Don’t you think too?

    AsPHERE
    Reply

  132. Gosh, people. Why can’t we appreciate both Sheryl AND Ranka, regardless of whom we’re shipping for? Who says that it has to be either/or? They’re both excellent characters, and I sincerely want the best for both of them.

    Anyhow, this episode had one of the saddest character eliminations that I’ve ever seen. Alas for Mikhail and Klan! :'(

    And, just think of how f’d up Frontier is gonna be with President Glass gone. Especially if this means that Leon is now in power…

    Dandos
    Reply

  135. This was a fantastic way to really bring everyone’s emotions to the fore, but in all honesty this is Sheryl’s episode, where she finally rises from the ashes of her despair from previous episodes.

    I’ve always known she would find her footing and a deeper meaning in her singing eventually, and this was a truly poignant way to show how she’s matured and evolved from someone who had pegged her whole existence on her being able to sing and entertain to someone who could comfort people in their despair. Her singing in the shelter amid the frightened crowd was truly her shining moment.

    I don’t care to say much about the triangle at this point because each side has been beaten to death, but this is one way to speed things up when everyone is forced to confront what’s really important to them at the point of life or death.

    As for Ranka, she still has a lot of growing to do in terms of strength of will and maturity. How she reacted is pretty consistent with her character development though. As pointed out before, she’s naturally shy about her feelings and she’s covered up how much in love she is for so long that at the moment she’s gathered the courage to finally tell Alto how she feels that when she sees what she thinks is a confirmation of he has chosen, it’s almost unbearable.

    That plus the mounting pressure of everyone’s expectations pinned on her being able to deflect the Vajira’s attacks is not an easy burden to bear, for someone who just wanted to be a singing idol. So it’s not surprising that she eventually burst out with feelings of being ignored being used as a tool by everyone around her.

    I don’t think that she’s really to be blamed for Mihail’s death, as as she’s been kept in the dark about what she can really do apart from deflect Vajira attacks. She doesn’t understand either why her song didn’t work this time, so the only sin she’s guilty of is being young, and not asking enough questions from shady characters who tell her too little about what’s actually going on.

    Her challenge now is to rise to the occasion, and we’ll see if she’s going to be able to manage that next episode I think, in the wake of all the anger and despair over so many deaths.

    Poor Klan. I truly feel for her, and I hope she avenges Mihail next episode for what it’s worth.

    nezumibento
    Reply

  136. it’s bad to see my favourite character dies so soon
    but I’ve to agree that this is the world we’re living
    so whatever will be will be
    however i’ve to say fu*k off it’s just another good anime don’t be fuc*kin serious

    blackhowling
    Reply

  137. Seriously i think sheryl deserves to be with Alto, though she has a high level of confident of herself.
    and can be very bad manners but i think she truely cares abt Alto and well i think she surpasses Ranka in this aspect.

    I think Ranka is not that suitable for Alto..well too different in caring.. but up to script writers to think more then hahah..

    Mazcross
    Reply

  138. Just a theory and if someone has posted something similar,i’m sorry but i haven’t read it.
    This is a bit over the top but i think Ranka is an actual Vajra Queen, in the full sense of the term. Think about it, Ai-kun is the “larval” form of a Vajra warrior or drone or whatever you want to call it, he has green “fur” and connects with Ranka for no apparent reason. What if quenns, instead of furry little critters turn out to mature in human form? Ranka’s mother was in the 117th fleet and the Vajra attacked the fleet to reclaim their queen. They latter evolve like Ai-kun and turn into that big thing that appeared a few episodes back. I know its a wild gess but it’s only one of several going through my mind right now.

    RIP, Michael.

    westfall
    Reply

  139. I can’t stop laughing. Why are we suddenly having an animesuki level of discussion here? With all the ‘you ranka fans are delusional’ comeback again. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to explain that Alto looked the happiest/most content whenever he was with Ranka. Paper airplane + smiling Alto+ Ranka beside him =He.is.in.a.good.mood. And yes, Sheryl does make him smile, but Ranka takes the cake. They get along so well. I don’t really get why people are saying he’s being burdened with Ranka when anyone with two eyes can see how happy Alto is whenever he’s alone with Ranka. He’s never burdened. If you check out the two in the preview with the paper airplane. It’s a picture of BLISS. Accept it.

    @justinstrife
    Ranka risked her life for Alto when she followed him to Galia 4, more than WANTING him to open up to her, the fact that she can risk her life for Alto in a heartbeat beats your complaint by a MILE. 🙂 Also just because Sheryl has a more ‘mature’ relationship with Alto, doesn’t equate that she’s going to get chosen by Alto. I think episode 20 is really pushing Ranka to Alto, while Sheryl is being pulled back to her own calling which is the stage. It’s not the girl who has the more “mature” relationship with Alto that’s going to snatch him (how old are they, really? =_=), it’s the girl that’s affecting Alto in a biiiig way, whether she says something to him or not, that’s going to win him.

    @westlo
    You know, even if Ranka gives up on Alto for the sake of growth, she’s not going to fall out of love with him. The act will be more like letting go of something if you love it. When that happens, it’s going to be Alto’s turn to come flying back to her. 😉 THIS episode was the set-up for her heartbreak, so don’t expect a repeat. A vague heartbreak where she doesn’t even know if Alto loves her or not. She already thinks she’s heartbroken and Alto loves Sheryl. I’m having good vibes since woodblock Alto never really dumped her. 🙂 Plus with the Vajra becking on her emotions. I’m pretty sure she’ll get a happy end after all the craziness ahead.

    And reality check, everyone. I DON’T have anything against Sheryl even if I ship for Ranka. Unlike some immature fanatics here who can’t think objectively, I don’t hate Sheryl because she’s sexier than Ranka, or she interferes with AltoxRanka, or she was so emo in the rain, or she was so arrogant, and some more stupid excuse to hate her like getting jealous of Ranka for being the songstress of hope. Sheryl is starting to climb stardom up again and finally realizing her love for singing. More than her love story with Alto, the focus of her character seems to be like the path to becoming a real singer (touching people’s hearts with her song etc). I just really see that Alto is going to answer Ranka’s <3 at the end of all this because the hints are all there and the story has been pushing these two since the deculture version. I said my piece. Stop hating shipper haters. 😉

    @westfall-Another crazy theory from me, maybe it really was Ranka who destroyed the 117th fleet. Like something happened in the fleet that made Ranka really distressed and the Vajra went on a rampage. I think this is as ridiculous as Ranka and Sheryl being half sisters, so I’m using reverse psychology here. 😐 If she finds out about it, she would have a reason to stay away from Frontier. Granted if this is true, btw.

    ani_d
    Reply

  140. Alrighty folks. I have no stake in the Alto / Ranka / Sheryl triangle. I simply don’t care which two of the three end up with which.

    But Ranka, basing her heartbreak on a relationship that is ill-defined and not committed, lost control. Then people started dying. Yes, she was heartbroken. Yes, she was not mature enough to control her emotions in the first place or when she tried to fix things. She’s still responsible.

    A kid finds a gun in the woods, he doesn’t know what that gun does besides what he’s seen in cartoons, and he kills the family dog when he goes home with it. The kid is still responsible. He didn’t mean it, he was too immature to deal properly with it, but he’s still responsible.

    So I am not hating on Ranka, but if she’s allowed to slide out of this because her feelings were hurt? I call bull. If you are in a position where your choices have the level of repercussions hers do you are responsible for the death and destruction that comes of not being able to cope. Or worse, allowing yourself to break down because its easier than taking in and dealing with what hurts you, and it might get you the sympathy of a boy so he stops thinking of anyone but you.

    This? Is Ranka’s doing. No ifs, ands, or buts. Every death, every explosion that wouldn’t have happened if she’d been able to hold to the responsibility she presumably knows she has. She had to be reminded of that by others when this all started to go down. Every corpse is partially her responsibility and if she can’t get her bloody act together and be something other than a weight… then she is worthless. Want her redeemed? Don’t look for one moment where she simply makes a noble gesture. Redemption from this is possible, but it will require her to change and grow, not be the sacrifical lamb for some plot twist. I don’t know if she’s capable of that. Look at all she’s been through and she still breaks from one moment believing she doesn’t get what she wants most.

    Do I hate on Ranka? No. Does her existance currently disappoint me greatly? Oh yes. Yes indeed.

    Firseal
    Reply

  142. okay people stop getting emotionally wrecked over anime characters wake up! that is the reality I know ranka is a beeep! I hate her too but you know keep it cool or ranka fans will get on your tail! Michael rest in peace even you are just a fictional character.

    loli
    Reply

  143. @Firseal- Uhm, so what do you want Ranka to do then to atone for all this? Get hanged? Suffer till the ends of the galaxy? lol Even if that kid accidentally shot someone with a gun because he doesn’t know how it works, he sure did it, but that doesn’t mean he gets to have a lethal injection and be damned for the rest of his life. 😐 That’s so ridiculous. See, we all know that because Ranka’s feelings got out of control, the Vajra went wild. But noone SHOULD blame her because she didn’t want this to happen herself. She doesn’t know that the Vajra is affected by her state of mind. Ranka does not know that. She may be the cause of it, but it makes a difference if she willed it or not. And she did NOT.

    How are you able to blame someone for an action she never wanted to happen? She’s not all knowing. You’re hating on someone who has a functioning heart. If you’re heartbroken, you can’t just tell your heart to stop feeling pain. You can’t tell your emotion to shut up and behave since you’ll just end up PRETENDING. When you’re hurt, it is not a crime to cry your heart out and express yourself.

    Ranka sang to the Vajra because Alto and Sheryl asked her to. She PRETENDED she was okay. She cooperated even in that state. 😐 And that just made more harm than good. I’m just curious what exactly do people rather have Ranka do to stop blaming this catastrophe on her? I hope it’s not something as shallow as leaving Sheryl and Alto alone or backing off those stairs to suddenly forget about her overflowing feelings for Alto (even after her eye-opening scene in Griffith’s park).

    I hope someone sees how ridiculous all this “It’s-Ranka’s-fault” tirade is. Since we all know she’s going to redeem herself, why can’t we cut Ranka some slack for, y’know? acting like a human, and watch her transition till the end before jumping on her. =/

    ani_d
    Reply

  144. @ani_d: I don’t think the last theory on Ranka taking out the 117th is all that out there, honestly. Might have to do with why Ozma is concerned about her regaining her memories and distancing himself from her, somewhat.

    I’m kinda hoping she goes all Stephen King style ebil like Carrie or some such with the Vajra, as unlikely as it is, but my MichaelXSheryl ship is at the bottom of the ocean so I need a new nice boat. ^^

    Anyway, I can’t fault Ranka per se for going ga-ga for Alto and seemingly unreceptive to the fact there’s a crisis going on around her… this is a girl who up until a few episodes ago had a tendency to go catatonic when confronted with stressful situations. But as Firseal eloquently put it with the kid finding a gun in the woods analogy, it still came down to her. I really hope Ranka’s redemption is coming, but after episode 20 it’s just looking farther and farther away to me. I really like Ranka’s character… but I’m very, very disappointed right now.

    stray
    Reply

  145. @stray- Yeah, maybe Ranka really did bring down the fleet, but plus the fact that she got out of there in one piece. Brera was definitely attacked too. 😐 Anyway, I still say that the one who has the most right to blame Ranka is only herself. Once she regains her memories, and finds out that her emotions can control the Vajra, she’ll bring it all down on herself one way or another. So I think everyone shouldn’t really bother with the disappointment especially with her in the dark like this. I wouldn’t put it past Ranka to run away from it either as a conclusion. I seriously can’t picture her getting ‘bastardized’ like that. The story will not be looking this much at Ranka if she were to turn out like a loser in the end. I have high hopes!

    And you didn’t just mention Michael’s name again lol =___= I’m reminded of the frustration that they had to kick him outerspace to ensure 100% death. Sheryl should atleast shed a tear with Klan Klan once she finds out about him.

    ani_d
    Reply

  146. @ani_d: “Uhm, so what do you want Ranka to do then to atone for all this? Get hanged? Suffer till the ends of the galaxy? lol Even if that kid accidentally shot someone with a gun because he doesn’t know how it works, he sure did it, but that doesn’t mean he gets to have a lethal injection and be damned for the rest of his life.”

    I think he wants her to grow up and mature, reflect on what she does, why she does it and the consequences of that choice.

    I would like Ranka to think a bit more, speaking for me. At least acknowledge what she is, and make big decisions, like singing for the military, in full knowledge of the repercussions rather than emotionally. She’d come off less like a brat that way. Remember, this was one of the reason why everyone cheered when Minmay was dumped, because she came off as a self centered brat oblivious of the reality. Ranka getting more independent, developing other interests, and thinking for herself and a bit deeper than “here is a cute thing, let’s hide it from everyone” or “my abdomen is glowing, it’s normal” would be huge boon for her future romantic relations.

    To make short, I think most people just want Ranka to have a better chance to get a believable happy end, so if she got the guy by some authorial fiat it would still not feel wrong.

    Zeroooooooooo
    Reply

  148. Ranka… she better be held responsible for this. I didn’t care about Michel much but you have to admit he was a great support for Alto and got the story moving when it was stalling. He was a great wingman. Hopefully this changes Alto a lot and makes him become a true ace, Isamu Dyson style no fear of death!

    I am glad Sheryl is still got her personality got to admit even in her down times you had to like her acts. I have to say she is playing Misa’s role perfectly. Hopefully she get’s Alto in the end she deserve him atm. I always hated Minmei types… I guess I starting to see why when I see Ranka and her childish antics. I really hope Michel was the only casualty I hate to see Cararia kick the bucket cuz of her too. Although it will most likely happen, we got some forshadowing already.

    As for Leon … DIE ASS HOLE MAY YOU DIE A THOUSAND HORRIBLE DEATHS!

    jubei himura
    Reply

  149. To me this episode made the winner of the triangle very clear in my eyes, you just have to look at the way both ladies have been singing. Ranka sings for Alto and Alto alone, now that is pure love. Sheryl OTOH sung for Alto… but she also sung for those people in the shelter. Clearly Ranka’s love for Alto is more stronger and pure since she sings wholly for Alto while Sheryl can’t do that.

    RankaxAlto confirmed ^_^

    NotWestloNoReally
    Reply

  150. Whant to finish Ranka? cause she is guilty?
    hate her? Why?
    why not use Ranka as a shield?
    Hate is war…

    When grace and leon is using ranka(and sheryl too) as strategic tool, i don’t accept the fact that “she could be guilty for what happened to Michael” like some people said. So stupid thinking link!
    Shy characters as Ranka need time to realise the truth, become important person and make their own way.
    I am sure, that if Ranka was 90C breast-size and more aged, she would be appreciated (for some who hate her) as much as sherylu.

    Sorry for michael but what about the blue VF 25? ok sheryl you can pilote this? YES! that could be great.

    Go Ranka ! Go Sheryl!

    bobobobolo
    Reply

  151. “I am sure, that if Ranka was 90C breast-size and more aged, she would be appreciated (for some who hate her) as much as sherylu.”

    Yeah looks really count, which is why Ranka was the more popular character in the first 4 episodes right? Oh wait….

    Facepalm
    Reply

  154. @firseal

    So I am not hating on Ranka, but if she’s allowed to slide out of this because her feelings were hurt? I call bull. If you are in a position where your choices have the level of repercussions hers do you are responsible for the death and destruction that comes of not being able to cope. Or worse, allowing yourself to break down because its easier than taking in and dealing with what hurts you, and it might get you the sympathy of a boy so he stops thinking of anyone but you.

    This? Is Ranka’s doing. No ifs, ands, or buts. Every death, every explosion that wouldn’t have happened if she’d been able to hold to the responsibility she presumably knows she has. She had to be reminded of that by others when this all started to go down. Every corpse is partially her responsibility and if she can’t get her bloody act together and be something other than a weight… then she is worthless. Want her redeemed? Don’t look for one moment where she simply makes a noble gesture. Redemption from this is possible, but it will require her to change and grow, not be the sacrifical lamb for some plot twist. I don’t know if she’s capable of that. Look at all she’s been through and she still breaks from one moment believing she doesn’t get what she wants most.

    Well said.

    Ranka is in part responsible. Using “she’s young”, “she was hurt”, “she’s not strong” is not an excuse for how she acted. She needs to step up or go the hell away. Do people realize nearly all of Frontier was totally destroyed and thousands probably died because of Ranka’s inability to do something? This isn’t some little thing that happened. All Ranka fans can do is gush over Alto holding Ranka’s hand or some other bullshit. I don’t even think this episode had much ammo for either side in the triangle. It just showed what a pathetic character Ranka has become and how far she needs to go.

    mel
    Reply

  156. @firseal
    Coudnt of said it better myself

    @mel
    I agree this episode didnt give any side ammo. Instead it showed that Ranka just cannot hang and because of her selfish self, more people died in the episode. At the rate the fighting is going; There wont be any Macross Frontier fleet either due to the Vajra killing everyone because of Ranka being emo or the resources running out.

    RIP 2nd Lt. Michael Blanc, SMS

    Luke
    Reply

  158. oh and RIP Howard Glass, President 25th New Macross Colonization Fleet “Frontier”
    That sucks he had to go, poor Kathy. I hope Leon dies a slow painfull death, I hate his haircut!!!

    Luke
    Reply

  160. WOW. Shōji Kawamori is a genius and I wish people wouldn’t blast him for killing of a likable character. I remember when I was much younger and Roy Fokker died…. then Kanzaki…and he didn’t even get to finish his steak! *sniff*
    I love how he had us going, thinking Ozma was going to die.. he even put in a scene where the ground crew checks the seat of Skull-1 and sees blood a la the original Macross. Very nice touch.

    As for the Sheryl-Alto-Ranka-Scenario (SARS), I would be pissed if Alto ends up with either of them. He deserves SARS, It’s complete his fault SARS got to this point in the first place.

    OK, back to deaths… I think Nanase is gonna die..perhaps then Ranka will remember about her pass and Luca can grow a set. Also acceptable if Luca dies. I just don’t like his character.

    Ranka.. sure she’s a ditzy emo but she’s a scared confused little girl…didn’t expect much from this character to begin with…. does anyone remember Minmei?? I never thought that a fictional character could be so annoying.
    Alto’s really annoying…. I’m waiting for Klan to bitch slap him.

    but the thing that really bugs me?? NOW the bullets and lasers start working again…. how convenient.

    In closing, I was really hoping someone would jump into that VF-1 perched on the high school and start kicking some Vaj. Yes, pun intended.

    kuponoodles
    Reply

  161. @Bigtime: He’ll go look for Sheryl duh. Then Ranka will leave with the Vajra by then and Alto will run after her and pull a Gundam G. Something like that. I’ve gone numb now regarding Mikhail’s death. Who cares about President Glass? We don’t care about the oyaji.

    And you Ranka-whiners need to shut up. Im getting grilled listning to all of you complain for the 3948309th time that Ranka killed everyone. The Macross Frontier will not change and kill Ranka even if you go into a hunger strike. She’ll still be in the story pulling all your panties in a twist and occupying the majority of next weeks episode. Suck it up and just watch. You wont find a maturing Ranka in this episode.

    Fatal_fury
    Reply

  162. Man, that episode was hitting my tear glands badly.
    But I don’t despair, as someone mentioned Mikhail is part Zentradi and thus should have some resistance to the vacuum conditions. I hope Brera will pick him up.

    Yes and I spotted the Vajra too in last episode’s concert. Perhaps that was hatched Ai-kun?

    Your Bear
    Reply

  163. @fatal_fury
    You wont find a maturing Ranka in this episode.

    Is that supposed to shut us up? I still don’t think you Ranka fans realize it’s not being whining or hating for baseless, but people fed up with such a horrible character. Nobody has given a reasonable defense of Ranka’s actions or why we should even support her any longer after this episode.

    mel
    Reply

  165. @Your Bear
    No matter what reason we can think of, Mikhail is dead. If he wasn’t, we wouldn’t see Klan moping over his helmet.

    It sucks (IMO, Mikhail-Klan pairing > main love triangle) , but we have to face that fact already.

    paulrenzo
    Reply

  167. LOL at all teh crying. I think the series would be less interesting if no one died, and the characters had no flaws.

    Sure, people died as a result of Ranka not understanding how deeply her emotions are linked to the way her song affects the Vajira, but she has no prior knowledge of this, or or that fact that she is ‘the little queen’.

    So she can’t be called morally evil in this respect because that requires her acting with full knowledge of the above. It doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be held responsible for her actions, all it means is that she can’t be held culpable for things like Mihail’s death.

    That’s like saying a child playing around who kicked a stone that caused a monkey to drop a coconut onto a passer-by is a murderer. It doesn’t mean he should not take responsibility for the event, but he should learn to be more aware of his surroundings.

    That said, I’m curious as to how Luca’s involvement with Leon’s group is going to play out. I smell more conflict ahead if he’s going to be forced to choose between his friends and his ties to Leon and co. My hunch is that he’s doing this as part of his determination to protect Nanase, the girl he loves, but I wonder how he’s going to deal with it if he has to weigh that against his friendships?

    nezumibento
    Reply

  168. @ Fatal fury He’ll go look for Sheryl duh. Then Ranka will leave with the Vajra by then and Alto will run after her and pull a Gundam G.

    Yeah! He will do it after telling Sheryl she’s just a friend aka He will shut her down !! 🙂

    @ mel why we should even support her any longer after this episode.

    I don’t think seeing how you talk about her, that you even did support her !
    Ranka didn’t know it was her emotion which influenced the vajra action. If this is Ranka’s fault for you if many people died included Mikhail, then it’s also Alto’s fault for being this dense at this time of the serie and not choose a girl.
    This is so easy to blame Ranka !

    ichiYo
    Reply

  169. EEEEH!!?! TT>TT NOOO NOT MICHELLE!! why do ppl gotta die D:
    ….so ranka is the cause!? ….=_=’ alto if u care about everyone ull pick her so she doesnt get all the vjara to kill us! >:O sorry sheryl, but this is life or death!

    MFforever
    Reply

  170. @ MFForever

    Ranka is not the cause. Everyone tell she is but Alto is the one who didn’t choose and get them in this misleaded situation on the rooftop.
    Don’t assume Alto will pick her because, if not, she is going to go emo again and it will kill people.
    He will choose and realize his feelings for Ranka when she will be already gone with the vajra or Brera . He does like Sheryl as a friend and no more.

    ichiYo
    Reply

  171. Ignorance is a sin people, not knowing is NOT an excuse under any law EXCEPT for an anime so Ranka should be exempted?

    Someone should tell Ranka that her emotions caused all of those deaths. I’m guessing it’d be Grace to black mail her.

    Klan should also tell Alto that his “Friend” Sheryl is dying. Now, what would a “friend” do in this case, especially for Alto? GET MAD. In the process find an answer if Sheryl is just a friend or a possible love interest?

    BigTime
    Reply

  172. @BigTime Klan should also tell Alto that his “Friend” Sheryl is dying. Now, what would a “friend” do in this case, especially for Alto? GET MAD. In the process find an answer if Sheryl is just a friend or a possible love interest?

    I will wait your answer when you will see a Alto, who will not be in sheryl’s side( who is dying) for running after Ranka who left Frontier 🙂

    ichiYo
    Reply

  173. I’m posing a question not an answer.
    I personally don’t think that the writers would put up a sad ending. It is also stated that Alto would actually end up with one of the girls.

    After Episode 22, we’ll probably know.

    BigTime
    Reply

  174. You’re asking me and I’m answering you that YOU will find out that Alto think of sheryl as a friend when he will let her to go towards Ranka .
    I personally think it will be a sad end and yes Alto will end up confessing to Ranka. As for who is doing to buy the farm between these three, I don’t know.

    People will know, for those who don’t already 🙂

    ichiYo
    Reply

  175. I’ll rather this triangle was resolved without Alto knowing about Sheryl’s sickness or Ranka’s Varja connection. Because that crap will just give either side ammo for the next 3-4 years of whining about the triangle. Resolve it in 23 please Kawamori after the events at the end of 22 set the stage 😉

    Westlo
    Reply

  176. @ichiYo
    I’m asking everyone here, not just you.
    Well at this point both of them are just friends to Alto at the moment. Unless a tipping point comes, it might change.

    Unless you have real spoilers then I’ll believe you.

    BigTime
    Reply

  177. @Westlo
    They should end the Triangle asap and get on with the main story line and show more Mech pron. This is dragging out too much.

    Sheryl’s sickness and Ranka’s Varja connections would be a good reason to pick one but on the downside give a never discussion on this triangle even if it’s finished already.

    BigTime
    Reply

  178. @westlo Sorry, but your theory is not going to happen with more episode 🙂

    @ BigTime You’re asking everyone, not just me and some people know but don’t say anything, why in your opinion ?
    Sheryl’s fan are all in the excitement now! This is QUITE funny ! Believe in what you want but you should be more RESTRAINED with your pairing… 🙂

    ichiYo
    Reply

  179. Frontier is 25 episodes until you can prove otherwise.

    9 Volumes

    Vol 1 = 1 Episode
    Vol 2 = 3 Episodes (Got Confirmed 100% the other day)
    Vol 3-9 – 3 Episodes

    If vol 3-9 are also 3 episodes than that’s 25 episodes.

    Of course there could be a season 2 but the triangle should get resolved unless Kawamori was lying in his interview when he said “There will be highs and lows for both Ranka and Sheryl fans as the story move forward, but Alto is kinda dense. However, once Alto figures out how he really feels, expect it to move in a big way.”

    Westlo
    Reply

  180. @westlo I already tell what I know, after that, don’t even think I will prove you anything, like I care if you believe me or not ?

    And who talked about a season 2 ? Everybody know about the interview, Alto will choose..
    Don’t get me on your crazy ship war. I heard about it/you and don’t want to be involve, thanks 🙂

    ichiYo
    Reply

  181. oh my God…i know it’s too late to react coz i should have seen this days ago…

    i am so sad about what happened to Michel…he was one of my favorite characters. more so than alto actually coz i really liked the michaelxkuran tandem. it was lighthearted and playful. (T_T)

    from the way the summary was explained, it was indirectly ranka’s fault…this episode was disappointing. i don’t think i have the courage to watch this as of now. i’m still in denial.

    Eri
    Reply

  182. @vitaminless

    I’m not 100% sure but i believe she’s Nene Rora, the remaining member of Klan’s “S.M.S. Pixie Squadron”. The other one, Raramia Reremia, was killed in the battle in episode 14.
    This leaves Klan as the last of the “Pixie Squadron”.
    If someone knows who she is and it’s not Nene, please rectiffy this info.

    westfall
    Reply

  183. ichiyo I really hope you’re not basing it on the wiki entry from a week or two ago saying 28 episodes because whoever did that update did it based on one of my posts which was just conjecture. I already called that guy an idiot for running to wiki and updating without confirmation.

    The only thing that points to 28 episodes is ONE yahoo japan article from a few months back that said it ended on the 17th of October. It won’t be more than 28 if your “info” tells you so since the October 13th Macross F concert is being held in conjunction with the end of the Macross Frontier series. Anyway we should be getting the air date for the Tales of the Abyss anime adaption by Sunrise which should be replacing Frontier in its time slot.

    And don’t say your not in the shipping bullshit after saying crap like “I will wait your answer when you will see a Alto, who will not be in sheryl’s side( who is dying) for running after Ranka who left Frontie”.

    Westlo
    Reply

  185. hmmm, seems they managed to survive this one, frm what i can make of the preview shots…

    at least Mikhail(?) went down with a fight, and got his feelings thru to Kuran… sadly NeNe died b4 she could do a thing….

    wonder what Ai kun is up to now, since it wasn’t in pupae/cocoon state yet the last we saw it.

    tonbo
    Reply

  186. @mel:Youre Immature dude. Stop your whining and learn to read other people’s posts up there before you say there are no reasonable reasons why Ranka doesnt deserve to get blamed. It certainly hell as more reasonable than whatever youre spouting.

    Who’s the bint who spread that Macross Frontier will have 28 episodes? I didn’t even hear of that. There better be only 25 episodes.

    Fatal_fury
    Reply

  187. If i got anything out of this episode it’s Brera x Ranka and Alto x Sheryl. Poor Mikhail I can relate to him better than anyone else in the show. But finally the ball is starting to roll into a climax.

    buh
    Reply

  189. on hind sight, something in what Grace said in ep 19 makes it urksome, like they finally found the key to Vajra mind. the Bio-Weapons plant in Island 3 was already off limits with Vajra involvement… before all this. so its all stage opera…

    tonbo
    Reply

  190. Ichiyo: If anything, it will be Brera that will be chasing after Ranka. I’ve read all of your posts, and you have no logical evidence/arguments for why Alto would choose Ranka. You should spend time in animesuki, you will find essay after essay about each of the characters, their interactions and relationships, and the different speculations. Maybe it’ll remove your Ranka blinders. Or maybe not.

    ani_d: You are seriously setting yourself up for disappointment. I notice you don’t post in the Macross section of animesuki anymore. I’d like to see a post or two from you once the series ends. It would be very interesting to see what you would write. You guys talk about how ‘content’ Alto is around Ranka, but did you ever think that was because he didn’t see her as a love interest? It’s easy to be content with someone, who is like a friend, younger sister, etc. That does not equate romance by any stretch of the imagination. Most romances need fire in them(passionate fights, flirting, etc). Ranka x Alto scenes have none of that(outside of episode 13). You guys bring up the airplane making with Ranka scenes, did you ever think it’s because it’s one of the few quiet times he can make those airplanes and watch them fly? What does Ranka know about Alto other than his paper-airplane making? Why can’t she get him to open up about anything? Their conversations are always about her life. Never about his, or the future.

    As for anyone saying I let my arguments be clouded by the characters I support, you should see my posts in the anime where the characters I root for, lose, many episodes before the series ends. Fate Stay Night, I knew the ending long before the 10th episode, and it wasn’t the path I wanted. I admitted which way the anime was going, but gave my reasons why I thought it could have been better going another way. I at least can let reality happen, without turning a blind eye to it.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  191. Anyone else who’s watching Special A find it pathetic that in the first few times Megumi talked in the entire show she asked the person she was out on a date with more about himself than Ranka has asked Alto over the entire course of this show?

    Westlo
    Reply

  192. Thank goodness MF is just 25 episodes. I have school too. -_- As much as I love an extended series, 28 episodes will just drag the series longer than it is. Plus, this escalating climax will just be uneventful if we have 8 more episodes to go.

    @justinstrife
    It seems to me that the strongest SherylxAlto argument that you always bring up is that, Sheryl and Alto has a more mature connection that’s why they will end up together. 🙂 However, it isn’t an argument strong enough to conclude a Sheryl ending. Just because Sheryl is more mature than Ranka doesn’t mean that Alto will choose her. This also doesn’t make Sheryl more superior when it comes to Alto because Ranka even pulled a crazier stunt. And also this isn’t enough argument to conclude that I’m going to be disappointed in the end. I would rather have people bring up stronger facts from the story (proof that Sheryl is more important to Alto than Ranka) and not their ideal opinions on what kind of relationship the chosen girl should establish with Alto.

    The strongest SherylxAlto argument to me ‘would’ve’ been Alto’s family issues and her impending doom, but with the recent plot developments, Alto’s family issues seems to be more like a sidestory now. Even if Sheryl convinces him to go back to Kabuki, or talk to him about his mom, it would still feel lacking to me since the storyline didn’t really focus on Alto’s family. The story focuses more on Alto’s battles, and the reason why Alto fights instead of his return to Kabuki. Also, Sheryl is shown to be independent of Alto while Ranka was shown to be the one who needs Alto the most. BASED on Alto’s behavioral patterns in the entire series, he’ll more likely gravitated to the person who needs him the most, not the person who will talk to him about his past.

    @westlo
    I don’t see Megumi popping out of an airplane in mid-air and risking to be shot down by nonexistent Yahiro kidnappers to save Yahiro’s day either. 🙂

    ani
    Reply

  193. Considering Zentradri history which is well known throughout the Macross universe the chance of an idol singer getting harmed by them is laughably low. Why do you think they sent only 1 VF in Alto with Sheryl to a rebellious hot spot in the first place. I have no idea why Ozma tried to make it seem more dramatic and dangerous in both episode 11 (pre Ranka involvement) and 12, he of all people should know Zentradi are suckers for idols like Minmei and Meltradi for rock stars like Basara.

    In other words Megumi going out on a date with Yahiro is far more dangerous than Ranka going to Gallia IV XD

    “I would rather have people bring up stronger facts from the story (proof that Sheryl is more important to Alto than Ranka) and not their ideal opinions on what kind of relationship the chosen girl should establish with Alto.”

    Have you bothered to watch the last 6 episodes?

    15 pretty much set the two girls on an even pedestal with Alto.
    16 Sheryl and Alto were nearly there until Michael interrupted
    17 had no romantic interest from Alto in Ranka period, even after Ranka gave the cliche “Don’t think of anything weird line” (Such pure love!).
    18… “SHIT!!!!” says it all, not to mention Alto was so worried his piloting skills were well below normal.
    19 He went back to the place he sweared to never go again for Sheryl. We see that Sheryl’s words in the bunker in episode 3 had a profound effect on him (told you so! so many weeks ago…)
    20 Alto once again uses an emotional vocal range for Sheryl but hey that might just be because Alto’s VA is a Sheryl fanboy though right? Than there’s the I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU scene… also lol @ ALto going “Ranka!” and yet he doesn’t even take a step forward, to quote you guys “THAT’S LOVE!” But you guys want to ignore that and focus on Alto holding Ranka’s hand which gave her a flashback of Brera. We all know Ranka will regain her memories and hey that has nothing to do with Alto period… but Brera otoh…

    Westlo
    Reply

  194. Dramatic…so far this might become the best macross. There are 5 episodes left, I wonder if they can wrap it all in detail since we don’t know the origin of vajra, etc so….I hope there is 2nd season for this 🙂

    moogle
    Reply

  195. OMG !!!
    People there wont be a SherylxAlto … there wont be a RankaxAlto ending either! The only pair that is going to be is …

    Westlo x Magnus FTW !!

    For freaking sake, you must be seeing a complete different Macross cause i didn’t see ANYTHING you say in the last 6 episodes … I find your views of this series completely skew, which is expected since you’re a Sheryl Worship Forum – animesuki – user but goddamn son … you both take the definition of ‘troll’ and ‘fan boy’ to a hole new level!

    Get off your pathetic pedestal and stop criticizing everyone who has a different opinion, specially when your arguments are pure garbage and complete nonsense …

    And what to say about all this Ranka hating from Sheryl fans, you people give the most weird excuses to hate her. Like ..

    “BigTime at 12:39 pm on August 23rd, 2008

    Ignorance is a sin people, not knowing is NOT an excuse under any law EXCEPT for an anime so Ranka should be exempted? ”

    This was the most pathetic thing i’ve read today … It’s not excuse when its ACTUALLY YOU WHO COMMIT THE CRIME OR ORDERED IT, i don’t think any freaking court would convict someone from “Unknown Psychic Connection to a Murder” …

    Like some guru said here …

    “Westlo at 3:40 pm on August 23rd, 2008

    Are you ten or something?”

    WestloxMagnus_FTW
    Reply

  197. @westlo
    I can’t believe you’re trying to cheapen Ranka’s heroic antics in episode 12 lol Yes she tamed those Zentradi but not all of them. One of the Zentradis was about to shoot Ranka. If Alto wasn’t there ogling at her, Ranka would’ve been dead by now. Stop cheapening Ranka’s stunt. It’s a feat worthy of a gold medal. I’m going to say this again, risking your life for the one you love beats wanting to know more about his past by a MILE.

    You know the strongest SherylxAlto episodes will always be 5, 6 and 18. That’s it. I’ll understand where you’re coming from if episodes 15,16,17,19,20 point heavily towards Sheryl’s favor. Fact is, they don’t so I don’t understand where you’re coming from. The last 6 episodes do not prove that Sheryl is now more important to Alto than Ranka. Believe it or not, there are 14 more episodes too before ep 15 so don’t pretend they don’t exist.

    If Ranka regains her memories, I really think she’ll choose to leave Frontier–especially if she finds out her emotion really controls the Vajra. She’s a ticking timebomb. I can’t see her wanting to still stay in Frontier knowing about this, and this is one of the endings I’m fearing…So…I’m betting all or nothing on Alto to bring her back. And yes, her memory coming back has everything to do with Alto as well, add to this the fact that Ozma entrusted Ranka to Alto thinking of the day her memory comes back. Alto will take care of her. That’s for sure. ^__^

    ani
    Reply

  198. Oh please ani_d you didn’t even want to talk about RankaxAlto after episode 7 and was all but aboard the SS Branka. Funny how later on episode 7 became a non stop Ranka character development episode in your opinion lmao…

    And one zentradri wasn’t effected by Ranka’s performance, what was the odds on a Quamzin clone being there lol… and lmao @ ogling Ranka, the delusions keep coming.

    As for risking your life for the one you love, what do you call what Sheryl did in episode 13. Brera and his vf-27 is a “tad” more dangerous than idol loving zentradia’s lol…

    “And yes, her memory coming back has everything to do with Alto as well”

    You can think that if it helps your delusions but those memories itself contain nothing about Alto so they won’t do anything for their relationship. The triangle will be resolved by this point anyway.

    “add to this the fact that Ozma entrusted Ranka to Alto thinking of the day her memory comes back. Alto will take care of her. That’s for sure. ^__^”

    You conveniently forget that Ozma was in denial about Brera being her brother, you know Brera yeah? The person Ranka just had a flashback of while holding Alto’s hand, the person Ranka will remember the most once her memories regain. Ozma’s entrust of Ranka to Alto also completely goes against him wanting to find his own path in life, but you never got Alto’s character previously so it’s not like you were going to now anyway.

    But hey man if a character says something it must be true! I mean Cathy is pregnant because Bobby said so right!!??

    Westlo
    Reply

  199. This series has become somewhat empty idid like how they did the end! a tad reminiscent of Cowboy Bebob (seeyou space cowboy/playboy) seriously man!!! On the romance side ive ultimately never cared about Sheryl/Ranka x Alto theres was the only one i was remotely interested in. due to the genetic complications with Klan and Michael being human i was wondering how theyd play it! but it turns out that they is too lazy and they just gonna kill him off!
    Also is it me or are Girls in anime a TAD stupid!!!! we have Ranka jumping to conclusions like a MORON (which unfortunately unbeknowest to he means her eggs start hatching and her children start swarming the ship!!!)
    and we have Klan asking emotional questions when they are getting SHOT AT? i HATE THAT SO MUCH!!! if shed just hurry up and be come ~Giant then ichael wouldnt of died in the way that she did! Why do the girlsin this show have thier emotional breakdowns almost ALWAYS coincide with major attacks!! Its the equavalent of my mum walking into my room whilst im playing X3:reunion (space trader/Fighterpilot game) in the middle of a battle and saying,
    “its not important but do you have a minute… Hey im talking to you”,
    Me: You sed it werent important… im busy
    Mum: Well look at me when im talking to you
    Me: i cant.. oh wait MY SHIP WAS DESTOYED MUM due to distraction i have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD NOW!!!
    Mum: i was just gonna say im going out now bye
    Me: [WT.. that was worth a restart from a previous save???????] K BYE

    BAH HUMBUG RANKA AND HER EMOTIONAL TEEN PROBLEMS!!!! BAH HUMBUG THEM ALL
    at this rate the only romantic couple left will be ozma and erm the guy who flies the Quarter

    WingZero zxt
    Reply

  200. going from a point made on first page hows ranka gonna react when she finds out that she by proxy is responsible for everoynes death and nanase having one eye ( possibly)

    WingZero zxt
    Reply

  201. Fucking blizzard just majorly buffed fury warriors, wtf is up with that shit I can’t fucking believe they just about gave them a perma mortal strike fucking hell lololol

    ranka sucks.

    NotWestloNoReally
    Reply

  202. ani d @ “You know the strongest SherylxAlto episodes will always be 5, 6 and 18. That’s it. I’ll understand where you’re coming from if episodes 15,16,17,19,20 point heavily towards Sheryl’s favor.”

    This is why I don’t understand some of the illogical arguments who said,”If it’s SherylxAlto in Ep 18-22, then it’s AltoxRanka in 23-28″. It’s not about which episodes are strongest for each pairing. It’s about how every episode connects together with one another and see where all the build-up lies. It’s about watching the characters and understanding the little messages the episodes are telling us. Some people are likely to find recent developments unsettling because of er, shipping glasses or the refusal to acknowledge subtle but important tidbits that ties into the bigger picture.

    cheese
    Reply

  204. Just wandered back, but a note.

    @ani_d:
    Even if that kid accidentally shot someone with a gun because he doesn’t know how it works, he sure did it, but that doesn’t mean he gets to have a lethal injection and be damned for the rest of his life.

    If he got a lethal injection, he wouldn’t have much of a long life left to be damned in. Which, given the way characters can die in a Macross (particularly as the end draws near) might relate well to the fates of any of the cast currently.

    But alas, no. I don’t want Ranka to get a lethal injection. Be nice if she survives, be better if she atones. What I want is for her to wake up, remember, and grow up. I don’t even need them in those order. I want her to show maturity, or at least a backbone. I want her to show evidence of enough intelligence to manage the mental math that she’s got power here, and she’s been abusing it by letting it be run by her lack of control. I want her to be more than she was, rather than less – which is what she was this episode.

    I want Ranka to be worth rooting for. I want her to be worth the redemption that we all highly suspect the writers are gonna unload on us. Is that too much to ask?

    Firseal
    Reply

  205. What Redemption? She doesn’t know about why the Vajra are affected by her songs. How can she be held responsible for that? If anyone is, that’s clearly Leon and his schemings. Leave Ranka alone. Honestly.

    Cain
    Reply

  206. Ignorance is a sin people, not knowing is NOT an excuse under any law EXCEPT for an anime.

    I don’t think you understood this, this rule doesn’t apply to an anime because you can make shit up and give reasons beyond God himself. I was being sarcastic, too much AltoXSherlXRanka can eat your minds.

    Btw i’m 9 not 10 year’s old

    BigTime
    Reply

  207. @ justinstife I already dropped by … Some people there are just ridiculous with their “Sheryl our queen “, some are doing their propaganda like someone already said it here, some think they’re psychoanalyst 🙂 No thanks.
    I’m here to watch anime not to analyze each character in some biased ways in a essay form to show people a theory, which is full of ” So sheryl is awesome “.

    @WingZero LOL Ozma is already taken!

    ichiYo
    Reply

  209. Well, i have to say this anime is awesom, Deculte, sugoi. don’t have words to express it.

    I am always those kind of ppl that can (or may said could) read underline and have a good guess on what will going on in the next Ep. This time i was in shock, what they did with Michel was flawless, i never see that coming. I am sad also, he didn’t deserv it. I can only think that they did this for Alto, hope he will realize the how important is to make choices, in the RIGHT TIME and MOMENT. Alto has lost his closer friend, someone who alway was there giving him advices. In some way or another, this will make Alto grown up or, how to say it, make him less dense.

    About Ranka vs Alto vs Sheryl, I do believe Ranka will get to the spot light with her memory regain. This could have 2 ways: get ranka closer to his brother and somehow she will grown up and undertand what is going on around… or Ranka will colapse knowing it was all her fault (but it wasn’t)and making a run away from MF and of corse Alto won’t let this happens, at least he will try to get her back at any cost. This 2 scenarios i think i will define what choise will Alto makes, since Sheryl, as it was the songstress from the begining will gain her title back (good for her) and sheryl knows that was all thank to Alto’s support BUT sadly she has a expirate date with her sickness… i really don’t know how could Sheryl cheat death from that. Here is were it come to my mind Luca. That small boy could have an answer somewhere in his laptop, he could try to analyse the stone and try to make antidote or something to delay the sickness. Maybe he could have one of those stone (just look at all the Varja Corpse inside the main ship) so he could makes an earring and you know the rest. But Luca is the only one i think that could solve that. So, Luca… don’t die. If Sheryl can’t cheat death, i am pretty sure Ranka will leave MF. In this scenario, Alto leave with nothing. If the 2 girls survive, I believe Ranka will stay with her brother and Sheryl will have the way open for Alto. I don’t see how Ranka could stay alive in MF with Alto at the end (unless Sheryl die). I can’t imagine Alto getting killed at the end, could be a chance, but i don’t think the writters will do it.

    Nothing else to say. Really good EP, made me cry.

    Also, about Grace and Leon plot, this could take any turn. May Ozma with Kathy be the next on the list? OR will Klan get a chance to burn all those Varja with a kamikaze attack (using those MDE bombs). I do believe Klan will survive. Why do you ask? simple because she is the only one that can tell Alto that Sheryl got a sickness (because Sheryl won’t do it, she will die before telling him). About Nanase, i am sure she will survive.

    And Michel, Rest in Peace. We will miss you.

    Noracalo
    Reply

  210. Ichiyo: Those essay forms, are people who excelled at writing essays and doing analysis in college. Or are people who’ve experienced real life for many years(as well as relationships).

    But alas, you can think what you want, as do the rest of us. I have to wonder though how many relationships some of you have been in…

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  212. “Ignorance is a sin people”, wait, what? Keep your religious BS to you, just an advice for the future.

    “not knowing is NOT an excuse under any law”
    There is NO law that dictates to the poor girl that she should always be in a cheerful mood so that the Vajra doesn’t turn into a swarm of mindless bugs.

    Ranka is obviously not at fault for being a lab specimen; and always looking for someone to blame, instead of looking at the bigger picture, is the greatest sign of ignorance as well.

    Cain
    Reply

  213. @BigTime

    Yeah, that what i was thinking. And if that happen in the next Ep (21), then Alto will do somthing about Sheryl on the Ep.22 and the cheat death plan could start.

    Also, we can all see comming that Brera, when he get some of his memory back, will take Grace down. In this case, i do believe both will die. Leon will be killed by Kathy, but Ozma will die before that, i can bet on it. I can feel it on the air.

    Well, all depend on the wirters, but since is has taken many turns and unexpected thing had happened (Sheryl sickess, Ozma alive, Michel dead, President killed by Leon, Grace resolving the mystery behind all (something even WE don’t know what the mystery is) we can start making a bingo list. The next one on hiting the floor will be:

    Klun -> Ozma -> Leon -> Grace -> Brera -> all Vajra -> Alto

    I don’t know why, but i feel Alto will get owned at the end in a heroic way or will be really close.

    maybe i am geting crazy and sad a the same time. I hope i am getting it wrong..

    Noracalo
    Reply

  215. Yeah sure, blame Ranka for killing off Michel. Reaally, she purposely did it. And no, it wasn’t Grace, the Vajra or Leon’s fault. Ranka brought about the death of Macross F people all on her own.
    Jeez. I don’t see why everyone (that turns out to be a Sheryl hardcore fan) is jumping at every possible chance to criticize Ranka’s actions. And if Ranka did a good deed, they don’t see it and just see the bad side of it. Just like the Gallia IV incident. Passing it off as a not-that-heroic stunt just because Zentradis love singing? Oh sure… Everybody loved her singing that’s why she almost got shot. Yeah, she didn’t risk her life. AT ALL.

    Quoting Westlo:
    “Have you bothered to watch the last 6 episodes?”

    And have YOU watched all the episodes clearly?
    1-14: had Ranka tidbits in them all the WHILE! Her ups and downs were developed and shown fully so don’t disregard them. Alto x Ranka moments are present too.

    15 pretty much set the two girls on an even pedestal with Alto.
    Agreed. So at least we know Ranka and Sheryl are fighting on same grounds here.

    16 Sheryl and Alto were nearly there until Michael interrupted.
    Yeah right. In episode 13, Ranka and Alto were on the confession mode as well if it weren’t for the little Vajra thing that interrupted them.

    17 had no romantic interest from Alto in Ranka period, even after Ranka gave the cliche “Don’t think of anything weird line” (Such pure love!).
    Oh yeah. And guess what? Alto didn’t even think of Sheryl even once in that episode. And not to mention Sheryl’s name went down on the credits list too.

    18… “SHIT!!!!” says it all, not to mention Alto was so worried his piloting skills were well below normal.
    Yeah. He said, “SHIT.” Well, Alto said, “Get the hell out of there, Ranka’s inside!” And all that desperate stuff just to save her in Episode 13 and 14. And because Alto was THAT worried about Ranka, his piloting skills became well above normal. At least thinking about Ranka, improves Alto’s skills..

    19 He went back to the place he sweared to never go again for Sheryl. We see that Sheryl’s words in the bunker in episode 3 had a profound effect on him (told you so! so many weeks ago…)
    Yeah. Still they fought and didn’t get the chance to have nice interaction.

    20 Alto once again uses an emotional vocal range for Sheryl but hey that might just be because Alto’s VA is a Sheryl fanboy though right? Than there’s the I WILL COME BACK FOR YOU scene… also lol @ ALto going “Ranka!” and yet he doesn’t even take a step forward, to quote you guys “THAT’S LOVE!” But you guys want to ignore that and focus on Alto holding Ranka’s hand which gave her a flashback of Brera. We all know Ranka will regain her memories and hey that has nothing to do with Alto period… but Brera otoh…
    I will come back for you but he didn’t, did he? If he comes back for Sheryl next episode, maybe I’ll be thinking more that he DOES feel something for Sheryl… But for now (and looking at the preview), seems like he didn’t come back for Sheryl.. Oh, and I don’t know about other Ranka fans but the holding hands that I was so excited about was the one way after Alto pulled Ranka to run. It was when they were trying to go to the SMS base, with Luca opening the door. Alto and Ranka were holding hands EVEN until then. It’s kinda sweet and makes you want to say, “That’s love!”. And about Ranka regaining her memories, what of it? It’s not like her feelings towards Alto will change because of it. I think it will even bring them somehow closer.

    yuKime
    Reply

  216. @ yuKime
    “I will come back for you but he didn’t, did he? If he comes back for Sheryl next episode, maybe I’ll be thinking more that he DOES feel something for Sheryl… But for now (and looking at the preview), seems like he didn’t come back for Sheryl.. Oh, and I don’t know about other Ranka fans but the holding hands that I was so excited about was the one way after Alto pulled Ranka to run. It was when they were trying to go to the SMS base, with Luca opening the door. Alto and Ranka were holding hands EVEN until then. It’s kinda sweet and makes you want to say, “That’s love!”. And about Ranka regaining her memories, what of it? It’s not like her feelings towards Alto will change because of it. I think it will even bring them somehow closer.”

    I have a problem with interpreting the hand holding scenes like that. There was nothing romantic about it and it was definitely not Alto’s intention to signal any romantic interests he may have had. Instead, I viewed that scene as a soldier protecting the single most important asset in Frontier’s fight against the Vajra. Alto’s top priority was to ensure that Ranka made it safely to SMS’ facilities and to the fold wave-amp thingy. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let go of her hand until she is safely delivered to SMS or risk being separated from her during the fighting and running. You’re injecting your own feelings into those scenes if you’re picking up romantic vibes from it.

    Also, it’s probably a bad idea to use the Galia IV arc to argue that Ranka risked more and therefore “earned” Alto. The truth of it all is that while Ranka faced a rebelling Zentradi division, Sheryl and Mikhail risked a whole lot more when then chose to chase after the entire Vajra fleet by themselves, all to save 1 person.

    Cerrian
    Reply

  218. @Cerrian
    “You’re injecting your own feelings into those scenes if you’re picking up romantic vibes from it.”

    Quote for the win

    Really now, too much over analyzing “what” a character feels isn’t doing any good.

    Both of the girls, what ever they do (Right or Wrong) will always be on equal grounds until Alto picks one.

    BigTime
    Reply

  219. “I have a problem with interpreting the hand holding scenes like that. There was nothing romantic about it and it was definitely not Alto’s intention to signal any romantic interests he may have had. Instead, I viewed that scene as a soldier protecting the single most important asset in Frontier’s fight against the Vajra. Alto’s top priority was to ensure that Ranka made it safely to SMS’ facilities and to the fold wave-amp thingy. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let go of her hand until she is safely delivered to SMS or risk being separated from her during the fighting and running. You’re injecting your own feelings into those scenes if you’re picking up romantic vibes from it.”

    I guess the romantic feeling that will make you say, “That’s love!” came from me that was a Ranka x Alto shipper. But still I can’t agree that it was all only duty as a soldier to Alto holding Ranka’s hand. More than anything, he is concerned for her even if she is not a trump card against Vajra. Holding her hand was to comfort her in a means to say, “I’m here.” I don’t think Alto was that into his job that he’d hold Ranka’s hand just to protect a trump card.

    “Also, it’s probably a bad idea to use the Galia IV arc to argue that Ranka risked more and therefore “earned” Alto. The truth of it all is that while Ranka faced a rebelling Zentradi division, Sheryl and Mikhail risked a whole lot more when then chose to chase after the entire Vajra fleet by themselves, all to save 1 person.”

    I never even pointed out that Ranka deserved/earned Alto because she saved/risked her life for him. The point I was making is that Ranka’s heroic act is still being belittled by Sheryl fans. Sure Sheryl and Mikhail risked something else but Ranka singing in the open like that was very dangerous too. Unlike Sheryl and Mikhail who were in a VF somehow protected, Ranka stood in the open field with armed Zentradis that can shoot her any minute. I think Ranka being totally unprotected at that moment makes her situation more risky.

    yuKime
    Reply

  221. @yuKime
    I guess the romantic feeling that will make you say, “That’s love!” came from me that was a Ranka x Alto shipper. But still I can’t agree that it was all only duty as a soldier to Alto holding Ranka’s hand. More than anything, he is concerned for her even if she is not a trump card against Vajra. Holding her hand was to comfort her in a means to say, “I’m here.” I don’t think Alto was that into his job that he’d hold Ranka’s hand just to protect a trump card.

    It might be slightly both, but mostly he wants to get her to help them. He held her hand because she wouldn’t move her dumb ass without him pulling her away. He’s protecting her to protect Frontier. If he thought “It’s love!” he would have bothered to talk to her after she ran away crying instead of just asking her to sing for them. They had nearly no connection the whole episode, despite her clinging to him.

    nelly
    Reply

  223. @nelly
    “He held her hand because she wouldn’t move her dumb ass without him pulling her away.”
    If you didn’t notice they were very VEEEERY done running so Alto didn’t have to pull Ranka anymore. They were just standing there waiting for Luca to open the door, it’s not like he needed to drape his arms around Ranka to make sure she’s safe. It was mostly concern that made him do it. And sure, he didn’t thought “It’s love!”, who said that anyway? (I am the one thinking that it’s love seeing as I’m the Ranka x Alto shipper here.) Alto is dense in romantic stuff so he wouldn’t know that Ranka was upset because she saw him and Sheryl. But there is definitely concern hence I love the scene that Alto’s holding Ranka’s hand.

    Nearly no connection despite her clinging to him? What do you expect when there are vajras on the wild? You can’t expect them to talk while their lives are in danger now, would you? Their connection was evident enough in that little scene where they were holding hands. And again, not the holding hands when Alto was running with Ranka.

    yuKime
    Reply

  224. @Westlo
    Argue.Objectively.For.Once.

    I’m not interested in your automatic twisted memory response because you lost me the moment you said that I was aboard SS Branka in episode 7. You are so off with your analyses that I don’t even want to bother quoting you word for word. I’m sorry.

    Seriously. What is so hard about arguing objectively, people?

    @Firseal
    “I want Ranka to be worth rooting for. I want her to be worth the redemption that we all highly suspect the writers are gonna unload on us. Is that too much to ask?”

    Nope it’s not. But I’m sure you do realize that Ranka WILL redeem herself in the future episodes. This is my point over and over about this whole “Ranka’s-to-blame” fiasco. There is no need to be this harsh on her with her in the dark like this because I’m pretty sure Ranka will reflect on this once she finds out. Any decent human being would. Maturation is a process, one episode alone does not cut it so it is very pointless to complain so much at this point.

    @Yukime
    Don’t even bother explaining it to westlo since he’s just going to find another genius way to twist what you said. That’s his bitter talent. 😉

    @Cerrian
    I’m sure we know the difference between a soldier/bodyguard protecting someone out of duty and a close friend protecting you because he wants to. Which one do you think is in Alto’s character? The former? Your bodyguard does not put his arm around you and hold your hands when you feel afraid unless he’s your classmate that you feel really close to and cares for you. While it’s true, Alto’s duty is to ensure Ranka’s safety, there is no need for Alto to hold Ranka that close to the point that he basically looks like her boyfriend. This of course doesn’t automatically state that Alto is in love with Ranka because it’s vague, but clearly, this is a sign of affection.

    And I’m curious…how did it become a bad idea to use Galia IV arc to prove how much Ranka risked to earn Alto? Everything changed for her because she just had to follow Alto to Galia 4. If she didn’t go to Galia 4, Galaxy wouldn’t have confirmed her existence. She wouldn’t be caught in her own past and relive her twisted connection with the Vajra. She wouldn’t be picked on by Grace only to be used as a tool. She could’ve just stayed on Frontier and kept a low profile, but she just had to tell the world she exists. She unknowingly brought this all upon herself all because she wanted to tell Alto “Happy Birthday”. It’s a no-brainer that what she did was downright reckless, and Ozma(the story’s spokesperson at that moment) even emphasized this.

    How did this effort pales in comparison to Sheryl’s own battle with Michael when during that time, Ranka is ALSO on the battlefield and is even on the enemy’s lair? =/ If anything I have yet to see Sheryl pull something more extreme.

    The point here is that Ranka took a big risk and did something reckless for Alto. That’s not something people should forget when they wish to accuse her of being self-centered and thinks only about herself when it comes to doing things for Alto’s sake. She’s not just some damsel in distress who can’t seem to return the favor to her knight. And she proved this.

    Knowing that a person cares enough to do something crazy on your account (even without knowing anything about you) bears more weight than just simply trying to know you. For sure. 🙂

    ani
    Reply

  226. NotWestloNoReally: Oh, now I am imagining a Britney-style “Leave Ranka alone!” video. Damn you! 😛

    And I can´t believe how heated this stuff has become here. Although it is amusing to read, I prefer to post on Animesuki, because I can at least revise my post to be grammatically correct, if I notice something was wrong. I really hate messageboards with no editing function.

    Not to mention that I think all you AltoXRanka shippers are nuts, but that´s a topic for another day. 😀 We´ll see in a month or two anyway… I promise I won´t gloat *too* badly. ^^

    BTW, Westlo, you really think it´ll be only 25 episodes? While the romance aspect gets a bit more difficult to exactly pin down for 28 episodes, the rest of the story seems to be a bit rushed if only we have 5 more episodes. Maybe they´ll resolve the romance aspect a few episodes before the end, so that they can focus on resolving the restant plot satisfactorily?

    Magnus
    Reply

  227. @ani
    Is this ani_d as well…? Just curious. And don’t worry, even if Westlo twists anything I say, I’ll still continue answering him, just for the heck of seeing how far he can twist stuff for his beloved Sheryl-sama. XD

    @Magnus
    If you think AltoxRanka shippers are nuts and can’t tolerate us anymore you can always go back to your haven Animesuki where you can go worship Sheryl all you want. ^^

    yuKime
    Reply

  228. @Ani

    “And I’m curious…how did it become a bad idea to use Galia IV arc to prove how much Ranka risked to earn Alto? Everything changed for her because she just had to follow Alto to Galia 4. If she didn’t go to Galia 4, Galaxy wouldn’t have confirmed her existence. She wouldn’t be caught in her own past and relive her twisted connection with the Vajra. She wouldn’t be picked on by Grace only to be used as a tool. She could’ve just stayed on Frontier and kept a low profile, but she just had to tell the world she exists. She unknowingly brought this all upon herself all because she wanted to tell Alto “Happy Birthday”. It’s a no-brainer that what she did was downright reckless, and Ozma(the story’s spokesperson at that moment) even emphasized this.”

    Sorry, I need to clarify my position. The Galia IV arc is filled with one heroic action after another. A lot of people would take the position that Ranka’s actions to fly to Galia IV and calm the Zentradi rebellion was extremely risky, reckless, and heroic. But people tend to forget that there were 2 other heroic events in that arc, specifically Sheryl & Mikhail’s attempt to save Ranka and Alto’s attempt to save Rank during the fleet fight (note that neither one were successful).

    If we compare Ranka’s heroic actions against Sheryl & Mikhail’s or against Alto’s, then the significance of her actions starts to diminish. To make this short, Sheryl & Mikhail’s actions were on an order-of-magnitude more risker, reckless, and ultimately more stupid. They flew by themselves into the mist of a complete Vajra fleet filled with a mothership, carriers, battleships, cruisers, and tons of fighters with the intent to save a single person. They had no time to make a plan and almost certainly on a suicide mission. Nonetheless they agreed to risk everything to save Ranka.

    Compare that to Ranka’s pacification mission where she knew exactly what she would be flying into, had a plan to reduce her risks, and had a good chance of coming out of there safely. Ranka & Mikhail may have put their lives on the line, but they were able to mitigate much of their risks. It’s a no brainer that what Sheryl & Mikhail attempted was above and beyond what Ranka did.

    The final point is that Ranka’s action should be viewed in the context of the other extraordinary feats that occurred in that same arc.

    Cerrian
    Reply

  230. @Cerrian
    I still don’t agree to your claim that Ranka’s actions were below what Sheryl and Mikhail did. If anything, I will agree more if you said both were equal of value. The fact that Ranka had the choice not to do it makes her decision to come to Gallia IV already heroic. She didn’t even have to do that at all. Nobody told her to save Alto’s gang there she decided on her own, making her sacrifice noteworthy. Ranka never knew how to fight but she managed to gather enough courage to save everyone.

    Sure Sheryl and Mikhail too were facing danger but I don’t think it was a suicide mission at all. Mikhail is a soldier and soldiers have the duty to save civilians from hostage crisis like what happened to Ranka. Saying it is suicide for Mikhail/Sheryl, don’t you think you’re undermining Mikhail’s ability and training as a soldier to fight? He is designed for jobs like this so saying it’s a suicide mission… I don’t think so. They are geared for battle anytime, being in a VF.

    She had plans to reduce her risks? If she did plan well ahead, she would have worn a battle suit at least. But she didn’t, showing us her reckless side that is very determined to save her friends. Had a good chance coming out alive? If it weren’t for Alto interrupting that Zentradi that was about to shoot her, do you think she had good chances coming out safely?

    Final point I want to say, Ranka’s act is NOT below Sheryl and Mikhail’s attempt to save her. Sure Vajras are scaaaary and far more in number compared to the Zentradi folks but both situations were dangerous. One shot could have caused both situations dead bodies.

    yuKime
    Reply

  231. “Sure Sheryl and Mikhail too were facing danger but I don’t think it was a suicide mission at all. Mikhail is a soldier and soldiers have the duty to save civilians from hostage crisis like what happened to Ranka. Saying it is suicide for Mikhail/Sheryl, don’t you think you’re undermining Mikhail’s ability and training as a soldier to fight? He is designed for jobs like this so saying it’s a suicide mission… I don’t think so. They are geared for battle anytime, being in a VF.”

    One VF vs an entire alien enemy fleet wasn’t a suicide mission? What the hell Yukime! Listen to yourself talk! If it was Max Sterling piloting, I might be able to see your point, but Michael and the rest of Macross: Frontier, has been shown to be no Max Sterling. Michael is a sniper, not a close quarters ace. When you’re going into the heart of an enemy fleet to rescue one person, and your main attributes is sniping from a safe distance, AND you’re carrying a long with you the Galaxy Fairy, you most definitely are on a suicide mission!

    I can’t believe how willing you Ranka shippers are, to twist things around. You have absolutely no logical thinking in those heads of yours. I hate to be harsh, but if I have to argue about one sniper equipped valkyrie going up against an entire armada being a suicide mission, you really are a joke. A complete and utter joke.

    Seek help. Your Ranka goggles is showing you a completely different sense of reality from the rest of us.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  233. Has Cathy shown any ability towards being a pilot? The most likely candidate currently alive, would be Sheryl, and well, she’ll be too busy singing for the people of Frontier and SMS, to be piloting(unless they pull a female version of Basara). I think we won’t be seeing the blue VF25 again in this series.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  234. @yukime
    Yes, same person lol I feel like we’re both just saying the same thing in just two different versions.

    @Cerrian
    Sheryl and Michael have to hitch a ride with the Vajra or else they’ll die with Planet Galia. Everywhere is a battlefield. It’s not a matter of jumping on the battlefield for the sake of the one you love anymore. More than to go after Ranka, they have to do it to save also themselves. You can’t say Sheryl and Michael’s act was more notable than whatever Ranka did because everyone who chooses to be on the battlefield lays down their lives and deserves to be credited just as much.

    As for Ranka, she chose to join the battlefield in Galia 4 to go to her Alto. The story highlighted this in ep 14 and 12. It’s what the writers want us to look at, not the fact that Sheryl and Michael did a more heroic thing than her (something that is very subjective) thus her sacrifice is not all that great. The story made a big deal out of it. I’m not following how you are able to just belittle Ranka’s feat.

    I’m willing to reinstate this over and over, but the point I’m trying to get at with all this is NOT that Ranka pwned everybody’s heroic stunts when she went to Galia 4, my point is: “Ranka took a big risk and did something reckless for Alto. That’s not something people should forget when they wish to accuse her of being self-centered and thinks only about herself when it comes to doing things for Alto’s sake. She’s not just some damsel in distress who can’t seem to return the favor to her knight. And she proved this.”

    ani
    Reply

  235. @Justinstrife

    Then you take off your Sheryl worshiping bandana and tell me what does carrying a Galactic Fairy have to with it being a suicide mission. I would have completely considered commending your argument but then you went off adding Sheryl in it. Hah. Don’t tell me having Sheryl on the backseat of a VF means going on a suicide mission nowadays?

    So yeah sure, let’s say they were on a suicide mission but I still don’t feel the danger much since it was never shown in the episode. They never entered any of the Vajra ship nor did they shot at it nor did the Vajra ships shot at them. All Sheryl and Mikhail did was fly and get a piggyback ride on one of the Vajra ships folding away. So yeah, sorry for not seeing that they were on a suicide mission.

    And I don’t think Mikhail was trained just for sniping. Yeah his special ability is excellent sniping but I think he is still trained in close combat situations so he still has merits for that. Compare that to Ranka who has zero combat skills who went out on open field, not in a VF nor a battle suit, yeah, Mikhail and Sheryl’s suicide mission sure was a HELL lot dangerous.

    yuKime
    Reply

  236. I’ll tell you what it has to do with it being a suicidal mission. Michael now has to worry about both protecting Sheryl Nome, rescuing Ranka, and keeping himself alive. This isn’t just about him getting to Ranka and rescuing her, but also protecting his passenger, who is not a soldier, and can’t fight or defend herself either. For the most part, Sheryl was useless baggage during the attempted rescue mission. Baggage that would weigh on his mind while he’s attempting to do the impossible.

    ani_d: Ranka IS self-centered though. She didn’t go to Galia IV to stop the fighting, she went to Galia IV to save Alto. She didn’t give one rat’s ass about the soldiers, about the civilians on the shuttle who flew Sheryl and Grace there, or Sheryl’s condition when she collapsed on the TV screen. All Ranka cared about, was saving Alto. That is extremely selfish, because she disregards many innocent lives over her blind crush on someone. Considering that someone is also a soldier, she’s not doing him any favors with that line of thinking. Ranka proves time and time again, that she only sees Alto. She only cares about Alto. Her whole fanclub is dying off, and she doesn’t give it a second thought. She needs to wake up and take note what’s going on around her. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose everything. A person’s world should NOT revolve around one other person. It is extremely unhealthy. If Ranka ever hopes of having a relationship with Alto, she needs to broaden her vision and start caring about everyone in her life, not just him.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  237. Okay, I’ve noticed that people seem to have set different standards for Sheryl & Ranka & I really dont see hw this is fair to either girls. People automatically expect more from Sheryl because she is supposed to be strong While expecting less from ranka beause she is supposedly weaker than Sheryl.

    This is wrong, why, because I dont see sm people as being stronger than others, I just see that sm people choose to be stronger than others. It is this choice & response that makes all the difference not strength of character which everyone possesses but some choose not to use.
    This is the difference b/w Sheryl & Ranka.

    It isnt that ranka isnt as strong as Sheryl, she just chooses not use her existing strength. She chooses to wallow in self-pity. Ranka fans trying to defend her actions with She’s young & inexperienced, troubled past, heartbroken just feels like bullshit to me.

    I like Ranka , Sheryl being my fav character, has no bearing on my liking for ranka. I started out liking both girls & Sheryl morphed into my fav ,primarily, because of the reason(among other reasons) I stated above. Because I like ranka, I dont like hw ranka fans, while professing to like her still expect so little from her. Setting such low standards for Ranka isnt being fair to your fav character at all, IMO.

    I dont buy ranka being young, why, because Sheryl is also young, klan is also young, nanase is also young & so are alto, michael, & luca. Ignoring the others, Sheryl & Ranka are only a year apart.

    Both have tragic pasts, which ranka doesnt remember but probably worries abt in her dreams and Sheryl has a few vague memories of.
    Both are dealing with Heart break ( dont giv me shit & tell me Sheryl isnt cause as far as I can see they are both dealing with the prospect of losing alto. Ranka to another woman, While Sheryl against death, she is dying & therefore also losing alto. Compare their situations & u will see that sheryl’s situation is far more severe cos ranka still has a fighting chance to win alto from sheryl whether she believes it or not while Sheryl cannot fight against death even if she wanted to.)

    Yet despite all these similarities, they respond in completely different ways. Sheryl & Ranka are foils to each other in hw differently they choose to respond to very similar situations.

    Experience, I believe doesnt always bring with it maturity. Again, it all depends on the individual & his choices, u either learn or u dont. For example, Two sons growing up with an abusive, drunk father(unfortunate circumstance) may choose to deal with it in two different ways. While one chooses to become succesful in his respective career choice( positive response), the other chooses to become a drunk like his father abusing his wife & children in return (negative response). Just an example. While the situations are completely different, the concept behind it is the same.

    Some mature with a tough experience while others regress, some do not require a tough experience to become emotionally mature, while others do. So all the sheryl being more experienced talk is also quite vague & doesnt justify rankas actions. Age is just a state of mind, sometimes a 12 year old can be more mature than an 18 or 22 yr old or even older pple. Its hw u choose to define urself that matters.

    I think I’ve covered all the most common excuses ranka fans use to explain her behaviour in ep 20.

    Nw, Why I am disappointed with Ranka’s behaviour in ep 20 is because she refused to sing for everyones sake when alto asks her to. This gives us a glimpse of her self-absorbed behaviour. Her crying was understandable but her wanting to die because sm guy she liked probably liked smone else was sad really, this shows us hw her whole life is centered around alto & herself.

    As a woman, I really dont like the fact that she believes that her life should revolve solely around alto and if theres any guy that shares this chauvinistic, egoistic, pig-ass attitude of hers or even believes its the sign of true love, I am personally going to kick his sorry ass, & for good measure make sure he stays single forever so some poor girl doesnt hav to suffer his pompous attitude.

    I also dont blame Ranka for not being able to sing well, it is fairly, no, mildly ( mildly because, she doesnt decide this on her own, Sheryl had to literally slap some sense into her) ,commendable that she tries to sing despite her emotional unstability. While the vajra became more violent in response to her emotional state, Blaming her for it is still not fair because she didnt know, she wasnt aware, it wasnt intended on her part.
    This is why, while she is absolved from blame or guilt, She is not absolved from responsibility. She is still indirectly responsible for the vajra situation & conseuently Michaels death & Klan’s pain.

    She is not to blame but she needs to take responsibility by learning from this situation & growing from it. That is what I expect from her. Another thing I didnt like was hw she didnt seem to care as much abt Nanase, her best friend. It just reflects badly on her, moreso when U contrast it to the scenes where nanase shows concern for ranka or even where sheryl covers nanase’s body with her own during the shake. Everything else seems alright, in all the other scenes she’s back to her scared normal self.

    I dont really have to touch on hw awesome Sheryl was in this ep. So there, this is my take on the Ranka-Sheryl-comparison issue. I feel that they are both very similar & their different responses to their very similar situations is being purposely contrasted for us viewers. As someone said, Sheryl dealt with a similar situation in ep 7, & despite her breakdown on stage, She managed to pull herself together with ranka’s help & Showed us Why She is on a whole different level of awesome from Ranka.

    aneeshadc
    Reply

  238. lol I don’t see how you can be so self-centered when you clearly are thinking of another person’s welfare. If you’re going to argue that Ranka doesn’t care about her friends, Ozma, Sheryl and the others then you know very well that’s not true. She’s not that type of person. I won’t waste my breath on this because if you can’t acknowledge this about Ranka, then you’re just in denial or hating her for some stupid reason.

    “A person’s world should NOT revolve around one other person. It is extremely unhealthy. If Ranka ever hopes of having a relationship with Alto, she needs to broaden her vision and start caring about everyone in her life, not just him.”

    Very ideal even if it’s a little exaggerated when you apply it on Ranka’s character. However, this better be not your ultimate argument as to why Ranka will not end up with Alto. Because this is nothing but another ideal opinion of how Alto’s chosen girl should be. 😉 I’m still waiting for your big reason as to why you think I’m going to be disappointed in the end.

    ani
    Reply

  240. yuKime: Nah, it´s far too entertaining to see you people pretzeling everything to fit your worldview of “Ranka über alles!”. On Suki we have some rational discussion, between the squeeing over Sheryl, of course.

    aneeshadc: Yeah, for a “best friend”, Ranka surely did not care at all about Nanase. She didn´t even call her name or anything. Of course Ranka shippers ignore that aspect of her personality completely.

    Magnus
    Reply

  241. @ani
    Well, Ranka fans here are numbered but it’s great to have some company! I’m glad we share common thoughts. ^^

    @Justinstrife
    I’m sorry the way you worded it was just funny to me. It sounded like, “Because Sheryl is sitting on the passenger seat, that’s a proof that it is a suicide mission! Hah!”

    “When you’re going into the heart of an enemy fleet to rescue one person, and your main attributes is sniping from a safe distance, AND you’re carrying a long with you the Galaxy Fairy, you most definitely are on a suicide mission!”

    If you had worded it the way you did now, it would have saved me the trouble of criticizing your words. Sorry. ^^ Sheryl being there does not make it a suicide mission but only makes the situation more troublesome for Mikhail is what you should have pointed out from the very start. Wait, wow… so there are situations where Sheryl IS useless. At least we know she’s not always great now! =D

    @aneeshadc

    Seems like I’ve read this post in AS just recently… Anyway, some comments..

    “I dont buy ranka being young, why, because Sheryl is also young, klan is also young, nanase is also young & so are alto, michael, & luca. Ignoring the others, Sheryl & Ranka are only a year apart.”

    True, one year apart but mentally, Sheryl is far mature than Ranka. Why? Because of the different situations and environment they grew up in. Ranka was always sheltered so she grew up meek and not so confident about herself. Sheryl on the other hand was forced to grow up sooner because she had to live her life alone. No one is to blame for that though but I think Ranka being young mentally can be a reason why she is shown a weak character at times.

    Experience doesn’t always come to equate with maturity but in Sheryl’s case it is what made her that way. Her hardships and loneliness made her to think mature and fend off by herself in every situation that comes her way. Ranka having experienced not so much difficulty is having trouble adjusting to them since she’s new at it. Your analogy of two siblings is not applicable to Ranka and Sheryl because like I said, the two had grown up separately thus having experienced different hardships or different environment. If Ranka didn’t have Ozma to shelter her or her friends to support her, I think Ranka would have a tendency to become more like Sheryl but since she grew up being sheltered, she ended up weak and had to meet Alto and Sheryl and encounter these hardships to finally grow up and get out of her weak demeanor.

    “Nw, Why I am disappointed with Ranka’s behaviour in ep 20 is because she refused to sing for everyones sake when alto asks her to. This gives us a glimpse of her self-absorbed behaviour. Her crying was understandable but her wanting to die because sm guy she liked probably liked smone else was sad really, this shows us hw her whole life is centered around alto & herself.”

    Like I said before, Ranka is knew at feeling all this. She’s never fallen in love and never gotten her heart broken like this. Her wanting to die was extreme but still I think it was only her speaking at that moment. She really didn’t plan to act on that wish to die so it’s not really that big deal. It’s like an initial reaction that you blurt out from being hurt or scared, common to teenagers. This doesn’t mean her whole life is centered on Alto and herself. If it were, even if Sheryl slapped her several times, she wouldn’t snap out of it and sing.

    “I also dont blame Ranka for not being able to sing well, it is fairly, no, mildly ( mildly because, she doesnt decide this on her own, Sheryl had to literally slap some sense into her) ,commendable that she tries to sing despite her emotional unstability. While the vajra became more violent in response to her emotional state, Blaming her for it is still not fair because she didnt know, she wasnt aware, it wasnt intended on her part.
    This is why, while she is absolved from blame or guilt, She is not absolved from responsibility. She is still indirectly responsible for the vajra situation & conseuently Michaels death & Klan’s pain.”

    I’m glad that as a Sheryl fan you commend Ranka at times like this unlike some who insist on claiming that Ranka killed Mikhail… Sure she should take responsibility but at least I think the girl should know she did something first before people get their pitchforks and run after her. Indirectly responsible is the key word here.

    “Another thing I didnt like was hw she didnt seem to care as much abt Nanase, her best friend. It just reflects badly on her, moreso when U contrast it to the scenes where nanase shows concern for ranka or even where sheryl covers nanase’s body with her own during the shake.”

    I think Ranka was concerned about Nanase too. Sure she didn’t shout, “Nana-chan!” like Luca shouted her name but the fact that Alto had to pull Ranka away from the scene because she was spacing out means she was shocked and worried about Nanase as well. Why else would she have spaced out?

    And about Sheryl’s glorious comeback this episode, I also loved it! Her resolution to sing again was really great and I loved the scene where she sang in that shelter for those people to calm them. But I have to say that we should also give Ranka a chance to wallow on her break-down stage here (she had just fallen) and give her some time to stand up again before judging her as complete failure. Sheryl also fell for two episodes but she managed to stand up again and I’m sure Ranka will be the same.

    @Magnus:
    Oh you are welcome to stay here! =D We Ranka fans also love to see how good you and Westlo are at twisting facts just to fit your motto: “Sheryl-sama is our almighty queen that will always be above everything in these whole wide universe!” Wait… rational? I guess aside from the squeeing “Sheryl-sama!!!” and posting Ranka ridiculing pictures and criticizing Ranka’s every action, you do have rational discussions at least once every week.

    yuKime
    Reply

  244. YuKime: My take was, that she was spacing out because of the violence happening *because of her* and because her precious Alto-kun had made the boo-boo of doing something she didn´t like. 😀

    And even if you are in shock, seeing your supposedly best friend getting hurt *right in front of you* should snap you out of it.

    And, honestly… I am not taking Random Curiousity chat very seriously. It´s gone in three days, with nobody caring anymore. And the average fan here can´t spell very well, which I always take as a sign of someone who doesn´t care very much about his own opinion. We get a lot less of that on Suki, where it´s ( at least recently ) mostly the newly arrived Ranka fans who can´t spell and properly format their replies.

    Magnus
    Reply

  245. See, that´s why this chats editing functions suck. Three times “because” in one sentence, I wouldn´t let this stand in a normal thread. 🙁

    Aneeshadc: It´s the Ranka fans feeling that their ships end has come, so they stage a last uprising. ^^

    Magnus
    Reply

  246. @Magnus
    No no… She was far over the fact that there was violence/Vajra all around her and the Alto-made-me-heartbroken feeling is forgotten AT THE MOMENT (though definitely present). If you seen the anime, after Sheryl said they should leave and end the chaos and Alto said “I’ll come back to save you.”, Ranka was hesitant to leave, wanting to stay by Nanase’s side. She looked at Alto’s way then at Nanase’s THEN Alto pulled her saying, “What are you spacing out for?”

    She was worried.

    And if you are that concerned about the editing functions of these chat board yet want to argue with Ranka fans, why complain? Isn’t that a bit pointless?

    “And the average fan here can´t spell very well, which I always take as a sign of someone who doesn´t care very much about his own opinion. We get a lot less of that on Suki, where it´s ( at least recently ) mostly the newly arrived Ranka fans who can´t spell and properly format their replies”

    Are you implying that AS people are more literate or something? (I think I had this convo before on the previous episode..) Because, I bet it’s just all thanks to the editing button/functions of AS forum that you can fix your posts. In fact, posting in boards like this is more challenging since without the edit button, you see who is careful in typing THE FIRST TIME AROUND without relying on edit functions to correct mistakes. Besides, who cares if you misspell a word or two? Nobody is perfect.

    yuKime
    Reply

  247. yuKime: No, nobody is perfect. But if some people don´t know how to write words in uppercase, don´t have any punctuation and “lol” four times in one sentence, then I take that as someone who doesn´t care much about how he comes off to others.

    And, yeah, from what I´ve observed over the months, AS people are more literate. The editing button helps with getting some errors right, but nothing will help you, if you cannot construct an argument in a cohesive and logical manner.

    Back to the show: If Nanase getting hurt would have meant anything to Ranka, her next thought shouldn´t have been “Alto-kuns hand is so warm”. We saw even inside her thoughts, but no thought at all about Nanase. I do think that the writers wanted to tell us something about Ranka as character with that.

    Magnus
    Reply

  248. @yukime:
    lol! ya, thats cos I just copied & pasted it here, too lazy.

    you’re right, Sheryl is more mentally mature than ranka due to them having been brought up under different circumstances. Sry, kinda forgot to mention that. This does have a bearing on why ranka appears to be weaker than Sheryl.

    Hmmm…yup when u consider that, most of her behaviour does seem understandable, but I still do think her refusal to sing for everyones sake when alto asked her to was still selfish & cannot be justified by her sheltered existence. She was being self-absorbed in that scene, u cannot deny that. It really doesnt matter hw sheltered ur life was or hw horrid ur childhood was, but when faced with a difficult situation, If u can rise above that, observe ur surroundings, learn from the situation around u & take action, then u’ve won. But ranka slipped & failed to do that. But u can understand y I felt disappointed in her. Of course, I do believe that this means her growth is assured.

    I still think her I wanna die statement was sad, I’ve blurted it out too when I was 12 or smthing but even then it was never for a guy. Also, what u said abt her reaction to nanase being hurt is plausible but it would have been nice if they had made ranka say or do a little more than that espescially when they didnt have any qualms abt putting nanase’s concern for her or Sheryl protecting nanase in the ep.

    I’m willing to give ranka all the time she needs, cos that would make things flow even more smoothly for Sheryl/Alto than it already is. 😉 jus kidding, looking forward to see her grow, I do believe her losing alto to sheryl would make her grow the fastest though.

    aneeshadc
    Reply

  250. I’m glad Sheryl got her mojo back… Beyond that it was a very sad episode. I really hope Klan doesn’t go the suicide by Vajra route in the next few episodes! She’s just been starting to develop as a character and I think think Michel’s death with just add more depth to her. Angry Meltran Goddess of War indeed! ;P

    teh d00d
    Reply

  251. “And don’t worry, even if Westlo twists anything I say, I’ll still continue answering him, just for the heck of seeing how far he can twist stuff for his beloved Sheryl-sama. XD”

    yuKime I’m hurt! As if I would do something like say Alto doesn’t even think about Sheryl once in episode 17 even though he talks to Michael about her condition in the showers after they received their punishment for sneaking her on board in 16….

    Oh wait that was you!

    “Oh yeah. And guess what? Alto didn’t even think of Sheryl even once in that episode. And not to mention Sheryl’s name went down on the credits list too.”

    She said one line in the entire episode and was in it for 20 seconds, why wouldn’t her name go down? I don’t even know why you want to talk about the credits when they have no bearing on the result of a love triangle… and if you want to play that game for some reason Sheryl has been listed #2 more times than Ranka anyway…

    Also if people think Sheryl has no bearing left on the main plot I suggest you go look for the modified scene from Macross Zero in the Blueray version.

    NotWestloNoReally
    Reply

  252. Oh btw Ranka shippers, please tell me Klan’s role in the rest of the series, she knows about Sheryl’s condition, she just confessed her love too late, hmmm where could they be going here….

    Also what did you think of the parallel between Michaels words to Alto and the words Sheryl overhears Eddie’s father say to Eddie.

    Oh than again why answer this when you can just go zomg ozma entrusted ranka to alto, no way alto doesn’t protect her even though there’s clearly someone else waiting in the wings who will protect Ranka, a certain someone who Ranka will remember when she regains her memories. It’s funny how early on when Brera saved Ranka she mistook it for Alto, I expect Brera to be rewarded at the end of the series.

    NotWestloNoReally
    Reply

  253. Amidst all the commotion about usefulness of Ranka, aren’t people overlooking something rather interesting: Sheryl’s effect on Vajra? There isn’t one you say? Then please read on.

    As a recap, Grace has declared Sheryl to be a failed project, but why did she? Well, clearly we never saw her singing have any effect of the bugs, right? Almost, we did see it once, but it was obscured by Ranka signing at the same time: ep 7 inside Vajra ship. Alto says it himself, he heard both of them sing. I agree this is tenuous evidence. So let’s continue. When did Sheryl sing within the range of Vajra? The correct answer is: plenty of times in first few episodes, but it never worked on the bugs. However, this answer requires a qualifier: she only ever sang (ep. 7 excepted) in front of Vajra before she fell in love with Alto. Sheryl’s singing was professional, not emotional, and ep 20 showed that emotions do matter. It was also in ep. 20 that Sheryl sang for the first time solo and emotionally close to Vajra, the effects we’ll see next week.

    Two asides: 1) What about Ranka’s voice having effect on Vajra in ep. 1 and 2, surely she wasn’t channeling her budding love for Alto is her terrified screams. ‘Terrified’ is the key word, her screams were very emotional.

    2) There were several red flags going for Sheryl not being a failure. First is her saying she can’t even dream of having Ranka’s ability. Second, she took out her earring before singing. Third, she was on anti-V infection medication until a few episodes ago.

    Deckard
    Reply

  254. Well, this episode forced the entire series to take an unexpectedly dark turn. From what From I’ve been hearing elsewhere, there won’t be any characters left to justify a second season – most of them will probably be dead. Sheryl is dying of a Type V Heart Infection – something I’m REALLY not happy about as Sheryl is a character I really like. Nanase has been badly injured and will probably be dead by the end of the series. Luca and Klan will probably be next to be killed off. And one of my favourite characters, Mikhail, has been killed off.

    I think Macross Frontier is going to have the bleakest ending to a series since Neon Genesis Evangelion. EVERYONE DIES AND THE BAD GUYS WIN is not the kind of ending I was hoping for. If that’s the direction that Kawamori is going in, then I’ll spend my time watching other anime series instead.

    Spacehamster
    Reply

  255. http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b139/justinstrife/anime/snapshot20080823155102.jpg

    To all the Ranka shippers, this is why your Queen is not going to win the shipping war. For all your comments about how content Alto is around Ranka, he doesn’t look at her like this. Even the preview picture of Alto playing with his 10000th paper airplane while Ranka is next to him, notice he’s looking off in the distance, and not at her. While she’s blushing and all school girl crush looking at him, he’s not looking at her. I bet one of my paychecks, that he’s thinking of Sheryl at some point during that scene.

    We’ve got 5 episodes left in this show, the triangle will be resolved before the last episode, and Ranka has ZERO relationship development with Alto since episode 13. She still knows nothing about him, and she will continue to know nothing about him. She’s in love with the idea of Alto loving her. Not in love with Alto and being a part of his life.

    To quote you kids, Brera x Ranka ending confirmed.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  256. I love this series!

    Naze, we had Michael = Lockon in Macross F? Wrong!!!!!
    So Ranka can control Vajra by her emotion. She has power like Sarah Nome does. Maybe, Ranka is Sarah’s reincarnation, who knows!!!! I doubt that Ranshe will put her own daughter to be an experiment against Vajra. The only way Ranka can use her power is when she regains her childhood memories 10/11 year ago.

    About AltoXRanka, I will say that they………..from the beginning of this series??? Well…nevermind!
    Did we have a whole conversation AltoXSheryl on the rooftop…or not? I am so curious, this end of this episode, Sheryl cried for herself or for whom?…..Bingo, she is a professional singer, so she put her emotion in her song.
    For me, Sheryl, Alto, and Ranka characters were strong in this episode.

    llie
    Reply

  257. LOCK ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wait sorry I mean Michelllllllllllllllllllllll nah too late gundam 00 already did this to me. If anyone dies it will be Ranka at the end like Nia did in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as long as Klan doesn’t die this show can go on forever. has anyone else seen the amount of C74 Dojins that she is in she is in more than either of the two other girls.

    sibnova
    Reply

  260. @justinstrife
    Well your bringing up the kind shot of Alto to Sheryl is definitely more objective than stating an ideal opinion. However…nope justinstrife. This isn’t enough to beat the sparkly sparkle formed in Alto’s eyes when Ranka told him she appreciates him. ^__~

    https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2009.jpg

    The fact that Ranka and Alto never went anywhere even if they were all lovey dovey in ep 12-14 was because none of them was aware that the reason that they were blushing around each other, smiling around each other, flying happily, sneaking glances at each other, laughing while blushing, screaming each other’s names, having flashbacks of each other, sparkly eyes (lol) “might” be because they have feelings for each other. Was the reason why they acted like this ever concluded? Nope, it wasn’t. That’s why it’s more suspicious. As far as I can tell, after 14, the two acted like friends again now that they’re out of crisis. They never went anywhere. This Galia arc which lasted from 12-14 episodes wasn’t put in the story just to be called “out of place”. I’m pretty sure once a ‘similar crisis’ occur again, it’ll resurface again.

    I think Michael’s last words to Alto which is “if you really love someone, would you risk your life for her?” might just cure Alto’s density.

    Anyway, I’m ready to let this episode discussion rest. ^^ See you next deculture.

    ani_d
    Reply

  261. ~SIGH~ that’s the LAST STRAW!
    Evey episode all I hear is Ranka whining, whimpering and dear GOD why oh WHY doesn’t she toughen up a bit!? I mean look, the Frontier is constantly under attack, people are “dieing” everywhere and the survivors are facing “their” issues, why cant she? Anyway I Just LOVED the stupid look on her face when she said ‘no way!’ priceless. always jump to conclusions and cause indirect chaos! the whole “concept” of “love” goes WAY over that little girl’s head, I’m sure a lot of people will try to justify that the damage was not Rank’s fault BUT LOOK! even when her best friend and supporter was injured and was left with Sheryl all she did was ‘space out’ as Alto pointed out NOT because of the death and carnage around OR that fact that her close friend may be dead but because her crush (for I can not believe her misguided feelings after the whole hold hand and think of her “brother” scene as anything near actual LOVE) may hug someone, sure its Sheryl that’s understandable at least confront them to be sure what their relationship really is, not run away squealing like a pig that got thrown onto a electric fence.

    FantomOmega
    Reply

  262. Hey ani_d, how long ago was this? You’re grasping at something that was 6-8 episodes ago. We’re now in episode 20, which is where I got the picture I showed you. Things change. Ranka hasn’t. Everyone else.

    Doesn’t look good for your side.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  263. @fd “best eipsode ever!!”

    what do you mean best episode?! Mikhail just DIED!

    next episose……ranka will go bye bye alto next episode. klan will follow Mikhail. elmo will be sheryl’s manager. i can see this happening already.

    AXC
    Reply

  264. Yeah Michael’s dead. What can we do? Kawamori was prolly going like this to Yoshino,

    Kawamori: Yoshino my man, I want you to make Ranka an immature wench in 20 to piss off everyone
    Yoshino: Yes sir army!
    Kawamori: Then Yoshino my man, I want you to make Ranka into an epic GAR in 21-25 to piss off everyone for eating their pissed off words from episode 20
    Yoshino: Yes sir army!
    Kawamori: Oh & don’t forget to make the situation harsh on ranka so that people will sympathize. And make sure the legend of zero director gets another cameo. Don’t let the Vajra kill him.
    Yoshino: Yes sir army!
    Kawamori: kk. I’m off to read blogs now.

    Epic!

    Blimey
    Reply

  265. Ranka could never be GAR. In order to go the path you put up Blimey, would be the most OOC you could possibly imagine for her. There would be no believability AT ALL to go that route. I’d like to think that Kawamori is a better director than that.

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  266. “The fact that Ranka and Alto never went anywhere even if they were all lovey dovey in ep 12-14 was because none of them was aware that the reason that they were….. screaming each other’s names ……..“might” be because they have feelings for each other.”

    They screamed each others names because Ranka was getting kidnapped you dumb shuck, it’s not like Alto hasn’t screamed out for Luca, Sheryl and Michael throughout this series. Oh wait, wow it just hit me! This isn’t a triangle…. it’s a harem show! Alto with Sheryl, Ranka & Luca + Michael’s ghost ending confirmed. I can’t wait for the wacky hijinks of Alto and his harem in season 2 XD

    NotWestloNoReally
    Reply

  267. Here’s my POV:

    If Ranka knew that her emotions would summon the Vajra instead of pacify them, I suppose she wouldn’t have sang at all. But, on that same account, her inability to get over her apparently broken heart in lieu of her love for everyone on Frontier, knowing that her song has the capacity to save everyone, gains her the demerits. Big ones.

    I’ll also defend Ranka for the part where she remembered Brera while holding Alto’s hand – she wasn’t being naive of the situation. She had amnesia, and there are just some events that remind her of her past, and that was one of it.

    Sheryl, on the other hand, gains again and again, once by asking Alto to leave her and try to stop the Vajra to save everyone. She was not just selfless for her own safety, she not just helped a girl who supports her career rival, she most of all, got the big picture. “Save a few people, or save a lot?”

    Second, acknowledging the fact that Ranka has the power to stop the Vajra and she doesn’t, no matter how much she disliked the idea. Accepting a fact when it hurts is hard.

    Third, when she sang. There was nothing more she could do, and instead of letting people diss Ranka and the military, she distracted them by entertaining them with her voice.

    I’ll give Sheryl a minus point for slapping Ranka. I dunno I just don’t like it 😛

    On the next episode, I guess using the amp, Ranka sings and pacifies the Vajra. The previews look peaceful, so I guess at one point, the hostilities have ended.

    Do you guys think that Ranka will confess to Alto? I wonder how he’ll react to that. In the preview with Alto and the paper plane, it looks like Alto cleared up with Ranka why he was hugging Sheryl, so Ranka is happy again 😛

    mike_s_6
    Reply

  269. Forget about Magnus and Westlo, those guys are small fry, us Ranka fans have 2 far worse fans to deal with!!! Those 2 being Nakamura Yuichi and Yoko Kanno!!! Nakamura Yuichi wouldn’t shut up about Sheryl in his interview and Yoko Kanno is chanting Sheryl sama during the making of the music!!!

    Now these are fanboys!!!!

    DownWithSherylFans
    Reply

  272. @DownWithSherylFans- Lykeee omggg! I luuuurve MagnusxWestlo haters, so you’re my bestfriend! Haven’t you heard? Ranka is the director’s girl. Yuuichi and Yoko Kanno fail in front of their god, KAWAMORI! Us Ranka fanz pwned Sheryl fanz on day one, oh wait, even BEFORE that, ne? lmao!!!

    Psst Sheryl fanz. Check out Anata no Oto’s lyrics fufufufu….RankaXAlto end confirmed.

    I_laugh_at_joo
    Reply

  273. Who stole Alto’s first kiss, and did it outside of a movie scene? That’s right. The Queen Sheryl. Who got Alto to return home when he vowed never to do so again? That’s right. The Queen Sheryl. Who has Alto opened up his past to, and deepest thoughts(well as deep as Alto gets)? That’s right. The Queen Sheryl.

    Still waiting for little sister Ranka to actually do something with Alto…

    JustinStrife
    Reply

  276. @ Westlo

    *looks at episode 23 spoiler*

    *Puffs cigar*

    Well, why don’t you talk about the picture where you can see a painful face of Sheryl ? This is a part of the spoilers too … 🙂 All people here, be careful with what Westlo is saying, he’s just telling things but not all. He already know this picture is not a good sign for an AltoxSheryl end so he doesn’t want to talk about it.

    It can’t be about her disease because she already know she’s dying and is living with that since episode 18.
    The only reason I see is that she knows Alto doesn’t love her but he loves Ranka …
    Alto will confesses to Ranka at the end it seems!
    ” puffs cigar ” 🙂

    Kei
    Reply

  278. @shadowblack

    This is that, but sheryl’s fan will come and say ” now you saw it ? Ranka loves him but he doesn’t like her. You better wait for the 23 when Alto will cook for her, just like a couple”.
    Even if something happen in this episode they are just waiting the 23 to say Sheryl and alto spended time together, just like a newly couple .
    All will happen at the end. Alto confessing to Ranka, Ranka leaving, all..
    So let’s give them the little ” hopes and dream” staying at least 🙂

    Kei
    Reply

  279. @Kei, No really. All ya have to do is look up Anata no Oto’s lyrics and you’ll know Ranka will be smiling from ear to ear at the end. They’ll use that song the way they did Neko nikki. Watch.

    “Love goes dokun dokun dokun!” XDXDDD

    ep 23.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    RIP Sheryl. Advanced.

    hohohoh
    Reply

  280. ALL IS OVER NOW. CONTRATULATIONS FOR ALL SHERYL AND RANKA FANS.

    Latest entry of Sheryl’s Blog:

    I came with the intention of experiencing interesting things, but it seems I still have much to learn.

    The new me within, who is willing to create something with another person. This sensation is miraculous. It’s enlightening.

    Greetings myself.
    and thank you to you

    so then,

    listen to our song~

    truly, this kind of service doesn’t happen very often

    darkplataform
    Reply

  282. @Kei
    Would you mind NOT putting words in my mouth? All I said was:
    “Even without reading any spoilers and seeing any pictures I get the feeling that in the next ep we’ll get some pretty big clues about who Alto will end up with (IF he ends up with anyone, that is).”

    I never said we’ll be getting clues for a RankaxAlto ending. Yes, that might be what happens (especially since Alto and Ranka will be spending some time together in the ep), but it might just as easily be clues for AltoxSheryl ending – if the entire time he’s with Ranka Alto acts as if she is his little sister/precious friend…

    Also let’s not forget that previews are highly unreliable – the preview for ep 19 made ti look like Alto and Sheryl would finally get to spend some time together and talk, but in reality they barely talked (or rather, all they did was argue for a bit before Alto left).

    I understand that you’re a Ranka fan, but let’s not jump to conclusions, shall we?

    shadowblack
    Reply

  283. @ Kei

    “Well, why don’t you talk about the picture where you can see a painful face of Sheryl ? This is a part of the spoilers too …”

    No that are not a part of the spoilers, that is a RUMOR, nothing else nothing more. Even if they come from someone who has a good track record that doesn’t make them infallible. Case in point Kresphy’s spoilers from a few weeks ago have already proven wrong with the airing of episode 20 and his track record before that was perfect.

    “All people here, be careful with what Westlo is saying, he’s just telling things but not all”

    I like how you twist me mentioning something that is proven and not mentioning a rumor of a pic noone has even seen or can prove exists as something bad from me.

    “He already know this picture is not a good sign for an AltoxSheryl end so he doesn’t want to talk about it.”

    Believe it or not if this picture was true it might not have anything to do with the triangle *gasp* Yes it’s true there’s more to this show than the triangle! She could be telling Alto she’s dying, Galaxy could reveal their hand etc.

    Westlo
    Reply

  284. Lol @ Anata no Oto being a factor, lmao. You might want to pin your hopes on Azure Ether instead guys *whistles* Also the second half of Innocent Green from the OST hasn’t been used yet… the first half was played at the end of the date between Sheryl and Alto in episode 5, I expect the episode where the second half is played will cause many tears from Ranka fans XD

    “Also let’s not forget that previews are highly unreliable – the preview for ep 19 made ti look like Alto and Sheryl would finally get to spend some time together and talk, but in reality they barely talked (or rather, all they did was argue for a bit before Alto left).”

    That conversation while short and full of anger was actually rather telling, I lol’d at Ranka fans dismissing it.

    Westlo
    Reply

  286. @Westlo …

    Well,this episode 21 was WOW !! Alto when he sreams RANKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA looked so desperate…. Now he will rushing to look for her in episode 23.
    Next to that, a Alto cooking for Sheryl is really …funny 🙂

    Kei
    Reply

  288. I think Alto and Sheryl will pair up.
    While on the rooftop, I interpreted Michael’s and Kuran’s efforts as an attempt to pair them up. What does this mean? Even the character’s themselves see Alto & Sheryl a more likely pairing and not a Ranka – Alto combo.

    Besides, Sheryl and Alto have more in common. They are both professional entertainers and they are more mature and a bit more sophisticated than like young Ranka-chan.

    I don’t think Ranka loves Alto. I think she’s trying to fill an emotional void (lack of memories of family). Once she gets her memories back, she’ll realize that she does not love Alto and let him go. She will then be so bug alien she’ll have healing powers and save her favorite singer: Sheryl. Granting them a happy ending.

    Archangel
    Reply

  289. I LOVE SHERLY shes the best, why did michael die wth, hais ive actually finished everything, just wanna see how people comment on michael’s death.
    Any animes like macross to intro?

    Travis
    Reply

  290. Well, FUCK. Haven’t yelled at my TV for a while. I just think the neighbors heard something along the lines of: “NOOOOO, MICHEL, FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!”. Followed by some manly tears and cup of RAAAAGE.

    poor Klan ;_;
    If this doesn’t end in AltoXSheryl, so help me god.

    illusion
    Reply

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