First Impressions / Macross

「激情 ダイビング」 (Gekijo Daibingu)
“Passionate Diving”

Following on the heels of arguably the series’ most disappointing episode, Δ returns in style with a climactic finish to what should be the series’ first half. As promised, the arrival of the Windermere Fleet on Ragna signals the start of an epic conflict, and it’s a roller coaster ride in every sense of the word. For all the issues we’ve had with how they handled Messer and the aftermath of his death, it can be said that this made up for a lot of the problems from previous episodes, even if their shoehorning of Hayate into Messer’s role continues to feel more forced than one’d like.

All they needed to do was revert the focus back to the series’ strengths, and this was an episode that saw all three sides of the Macross triangle come together in the way we all expected it to at some point. Non-stop Valkyrie combat combined with singing on both sides to give us constantly turning tides, and the use of a reaction warhead only escalated the odds by revealing the true nature behind the Protoculture’s ruins. The destruction of Hayate’s machine (complete with a slow burn reminiscent of a Phoenix rebirth) completes the ascension of the former into Messer’s role as the new Grim Reaper, and with the help of Freyja—you’ve got to admire her fortitude—he ends up taking some measure of revenge to the White Knight by shooting him out of the sky. That’s not before the Walkure take a direct hit from Bogue (it would be him) though, and this was an adrenaline rush fitting for the stakes at hand.

For all of the Delta Platoon’s accomplishments however, the fact remains that the Windermeres now control Ragna and the entire cluster of planets around it, and it looks like one of the series’ major plot lines in the second half with be the reclamation of a planet they’ve come to love over the past 12 episodes. The fact that Roid’s now in charge following Gramia’s demise likely means that there’ll be a change in dynamics on both sides of the Windermere vs. Humanity conflict, and now that he’s in charge of deploying Heinz and his Song of the Wind, his current position is far from enviable to boot—waiting too long between skirmishes will give Delta Platoon time to recruit, while giving too short of a breather to Heinz will hasten his inevitable demise.

That said, the fact that our cast managed to retrieve most of Ragna’s civilians is one major success they can look to build on in future conflicts, and the fact that Hayate and Mirage both performed better than they ever have before bodes well for our Platoon’s overall combat strength. Being down a pilot remains an obvious weakness however—Bogue wouldn’t have been able to shoot down the protective covering around the Walkure otherwise—and for all of their emphasis on Hayate as the new Messer, I’d like them to add in another pilot before it’s all said and done, if not only to shake up the dynamics a bit more. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that Mirage and Freyja are almost on even footing in regards to their interactions and importance to Hayate, but I would hope that there’s going to be more in regards to the cast aside from our big three taking center stage from this point forward—even if we’ve technically received character-centric episodes already for the other members of Walkure and a bit in regards to Ernest, who rocks this week with his epic cannon fire.

Looking forward, things look bright once more for Δ, and here’s hoping that this week’s momentum carries over to the series’ second half. In the meanwhile, don’t forget that the series’ first soundtrack released just a few days ago, and keep an out for the release of the Walkure Attack! OST (July 6th). The latter will include all of vocals used in the series so far aside from the OP/ED, and it’ll likely be the only soundtrack we’ll get between now and the release of the 2nd OP/ED theme single in August. Until next week!

Epilogue:

 

ED5 Sequence

Preview

49 Comments

    1. To be honest, the Elysion rose from the sea like a titan of depth, I was waiting for her to smash her arms into the Windemere ship and give its crew hell from within.

      So when it turned out to be laser cannon action, I was… rather a little disappointed XD

      RandomComment
      Reply

    2. The way the love triangle has developed so far it´s the best in the franchise in my humble opinion. From now on I expect a lot of dere coming from Mirage and sparks are already flying between her and Freyja as we have witness in the last 3 episodes, my only fear is that the between the trio is going to get in the way of the ability to read the wind that Hayate uses thanks to Freyja, after all what is love without some drama?.

      haseo0408
      Reply

    3. Yeah no kidding with the level of flirting between these two. It’s so natural that I highly doubt those two even realize it. Made me replay that scene over and over a few times due to the level of cuteness in that scene. Same thing for the scene with Hayate hugging Mirage. Once again Hayate is so smooth (without him realizing it) and probably confusing the heck out of Mirage as well as making her blush over and over again.

      Silver
      Reply

  3. I wouldn’t call Hayate as the “new Messer” of Delta Platoon. Far from it as he hasn’t even developed the skills from experience and practice which he’s much lacking. He may have managed to shoot down Keith but only because of Freyja’s intervention and “magically” buffing Hayate by singing for him and “riding the wind” much like what happened in episodes 1, 3, and 8. Due to their fold receptor factors, Hayate’s fold quartz amulet, and their increasing resonance with each other did it give Hayate such a enormous boost that he was able to read Keith’s moves and give him enough of an edge to beat him.

    Bystander
    Reply

    1. A lot people do not realize Macross universe is heavily based on Norse mythos (With a few exceptions such as Macross II which pulled from Mesopotamian mythos).

      With that said Hayate’s amulet is a representation of Brísingamen (The goddess freyja’s Focus) So its entirely possible that amulet is responsible for all his fold abilities, and likely to be a major plot device in the future.

      Anon
      Reply

    2. Yeah, he’s not Messer in regards to actual skills and experience (especially when he doesn’t have Freyja’s help or the amulet). I meant it more in the lines of him taking over the role, responsibilities, and spot vacated by him more than anything eh.

      Zephyr
      Reply

  4. So I’m a little stumped on what NUNS even wanted to do with that warhead. It sounded like they knew that blowing up the ruins would cause that structure to de-fold… which is probably what the Windermereans would’ve done anyway since they needed to dock their ship with it.

    PurpleBomber
    Reply

    1. It looks like NUNS had wanted to see how the ruins would react (heh) to getting bombed for a long time, and simply used the war as an excuse to actually try it. I get the feeling they don’t really see Windermere as a real threat, presumably due to them considering the Brisingr cluster to be a relative backwater.

      Whatusername?
      Reply

  5. Yep, Gramia is such a worthy opponent. Keep trying to convince me writers. He is so worthy, that the racist, mind-slaving jacakss fired at a retreating carrier and a colony of non-combatants. I will grieve his passing with the most appropriate song possible. And no, portyaing the NUNS as evil conspirators does not make him less of an a-hole. Well I guess I shouldn’t be complaining, at least he’s gone, and replaced by Roid. Roid is also an a-hole but at least he’s a diplomatic one so we’ll see how that goes.

    Seriously though, I did like this episode because it felt like Delta is actually starting now. The love triangle is actually taking shape, and Hayate is finally convincing me that he should be the main protagonist. The money shots are awesome to watch especially Macross Elysion looking badass when it emerged from the water. And in addition to the cathartic death of Gramia, I also glad that Keith was finally shot down since I was sick of him stomping everyone.

    As for my complaints, I wish Hayate’s boost felt more natural. Granted, they didn’t pull it out of their ass since it was done before, but I would have liked it if Hayate learned his piloting on his own rather than letting Freya be the one to provide it whenever the plot says so. Also Mirage despite being promoted still sucks as a pilot. Seriously, she is the forefront of all the promotional art, I just wish she would do something worthwhile already!

    fragb85
    Reply

    1. Indeed, it was so satisfying to see the White Knight being taken down and the king’s death.

      Gramia, true to himself, readily criticized the NUNS for using a warhead on the planet (“atomic bombs scarring the planet, so evil!”) despite the fact that he was ordering his forces to shoot down the evacuation ship (and basically murder a lot of unarmed civilians) and his plans consists on brainwashing an entire galactic sector.

      Maybe we understand him at last: he didn’t care that the bomb in Windermere killed his people, only that it destroyed part of the lands he has per royal right. Exaggerated, perhaps, but putting the rights of the lands before the rights of the people was typical of some Ancient Regime nobles. The thing is, I don’t think Delta was going for that approach, instead playing the “love for the planet, distaste of nuclear weapons” straight as a noble thing.

      Mistic
      Reply

    2. Promotional art is mostly Freyja solo, Walkure, Hayate, the Aerial Knights and then Mirage. She’s pretty low key when Aerial Knights get more merch and magazine shots. Plus their own manga.

      Annice
      Reply

  6. sigh… I want to rant about everything that bothers me but I know it would mean nothing, it wouldn’t change how this show is spiralling downward for me, so i’m just gonna stay quiet. Besides I’m sure nobody would like to see paragraphs of ranting in the comment section.

    Dropping this show, just gonna wait for Zephy’s final impression of the show.

    AnimeFan
    Reply

    2. I’m a bit curious as to whether you watched any of Kawamori’s other shows or at least the Macross series in general. Because I might have a feeling I understand what bothered you. On the other hand, the Macross series always took those things not very serious and at the same time, if you were to “ignore” it, it’s quite fun. Similar to the Aquarion series which had things that were just so unrealistic, corny, crazy, stupid, absurd, and SO FUN. Except the 3rd season of Aquarion which was trash (not directed by Kawamori either).

      Silver
      Reply

  7. Kawamori Shoji, Macross’s creator, will be attending this year’s Los Angeles Anime Expo, so for those of you going this’ll be the chance to see the man in person.
    The subbers for Macross Delta will also be going too, so expect delays for this and Kuromukuro next week.
    (The subbers also apologise for Kuromukuro delays due to how busy its translator is with RL stuff.)

    zztop
    Reply

    1. “They have awakened a sleeping giant, I fear…” A fitting description, perhaps in more ways than one.

      –Japan Windermere was in the past visited and bullied by the Western powers the NUNS, who they learned a lot from in technology and weaponry. They believe they’re the superior race of Asia the galaxy and that they need to “liberate” their neighbours.
      -After Pearl Harbor surprise Vars attacks, Japan Windermere declares war officially and launches a full scale invasion.
      -One by one, the Western NUNS outposts in the Pacific Brisingr cluster fall to Japan’s Windermere’s relentless offensive.
      -In conquered territories, the civilians are the victims of biological experiments carried through Unit 731 the Song of Wind.
      -Finally, the last bastion of the Philippines Ragna falls and Admiral Yamamoto Lord Roid proclaims the establishment of the Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere the Starwind Sector. But all isn’t lost, because MacArthur Hayate promises that they will come back.

      Of course, given the treatment they have received so far, instead of being nuked or going Soviet on their Manchuria, all warmongering will be forgotten through the power of song. No mention of setting up a Tokyo Windermere War Crimes Tribunal, I guess.

      Mistic
      Reply

  10. The issue I have is that three Delta pilots went after one jet. Yeah, it’s the ace, but they were already outnumbered, so to put that many people on one enemy meant that there was little to nothing covering everything else. And shockingly, it was an exploited weakness.

    I wish they’d stop being idiots, even if they are at a disadvantage there’s no excuse.

    Tarage
    Reply

    1. It’s a Catch 22; focus on Keith and weaken the rest of your defenses; ignore him and watch him cut through your defenses anyways (things probably would have turned out worse for the good guys had Keith instead of Bogue been the one to attack Walkure).

      Whatusername?
      Reply

  11. Now imagine the Elysion doing Wing Zero’s double buster cannon sweep. That’d be a sight to see. Or a Macross/Daedalus Attack followed up by a Macross Cannon into the Sigur Valens.

    Also, the last bit of Hayate vs Keith was a bit of genius. Hayate maneuvered his VF-31 into the left side where the Keith’s SV-262 didn’t have guns on its arm (it mounted the shield there as per their thinly-veiled aspirations to Knighthood), so when the mutual kill between their beam cannons happened, Hayate still had a weapon and Keith didn’t. Nice.

    Okabe_Rintarou
    Reply

  18. I don’t get it, they directly struck the Protoculture with it’s shield down, the entire fleet was still in Orbit. Why did not go on the offensive when the Winderemere were weak but insted opped to escape? Like WTF?!

    Duzz
    Reply

      3. I mean the entire Elysion Fleet was right in Orbit, that is their main armada, all they needed to do was drop from from Orbit and take care of the Windermereian. Heck, when the White Knight Ace got shot down I thought that was the turning point in THAT battle, but then THEY ended up retreating? Like… seriously. Wut?

        Duzz
        Reply

      4. Come to think of it; we haven’t seen too much of NUNS-based forces themselves doing the fighting. I think this is a case of the non-Chaos units being useless *yet again* and losing the battle in space even without the Protoculture supership’s direct involvement.

        Whatusername?
        Reply

    3. Probably the biggest thing there is prioritizing the civilians’ safety, and they likely figured that attempting to engage further against a ship you don’t know much about while trying to protect them wasn’t that great of an idea. They barely fended them off in the first place, so it makes sense they’d be more conservative in their estimates more than anything, especially since there’s technically nothing left to fight for in regards to the planet now that they’ve abandoned it.

      Aside from that, they don’t know when the next potential Song could be sung, when they’d complete docking with the ruins and/or what would come from it, and if the shielding can be penetrated by anything aside from the cannons wielded by the Elysion or Macross class ships.

      In terms of reinforcements it’s probably safe to assume some/most of the NUNS likely left following the initial reaction warhead detonation with their representative as well, which doesn’t combine well with most of their pilots likely still shrugging off the Var Syndrome side-effects. Chances are most of their actual fighters were low on propellant or weapons as well, so there’s a lotta potential variables to consider ultimately.

      At most the cast knew there was damage done to the Windermere ship, but aside from that there’s no actu

      Zephyr
      Reply

  19. This episode is like the last episode of Game of Thrones S6. Full of drama, climax, and action. It also brings near ending of this season and the beginning of the challenges of the next season for the show.

    Having just sampled the new Walkure full album and didn’t find this song, I would’ve love to have the Freyja’s version of “Ichido dake no Koi nara.”

    Vision33r
    Reply

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