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「永遠のワルキューレ」 (Eien no Warukyure)
“Eternal Walkure”
The curtain falls, and for the most part, it’s a mixture of what we’ve come to expect from Macross finales and the things we expected to happen plot-wise. Primarily,Roid’s attempt to forcefully link all of humanity together is rejected by the Windermeres and Delta Platoon, and—while not in an alliance per se—they team up in an attempt to ensure his plan doesn’t succeed. Keith sacrifices himself to deal the final blow to his old friend, and ultimately at least one prediction came true in regards to two of the big three dying from the Windermere side of things.
Through it all, I think one of the biggest surprises is the fact from both Heinz and Freyja survive, and I suppose it’s only fitting given the circumstances and the fact that it’s cruel enough as is knowing that they don’t have long to live regardless. Thankfully, we do get a confession from all three members of our main triad before it’s all said and done, and while Mirage’s seemed more of an attempt to spur Freyja on more than anything, it was certainly a nice inclusion that brings much needed closure to an episode that otherwise felt a lot more rushed than many of the franchise’s previous finales.
Don’t get me wrong, the other series also ended their respective runs with whirlwind endings—a franchise staple—but there’s an argument to be made that having Mikumo still under Roid’s clutches with a few minutes left really pushed the envelope in this regard, and we don’t really get much of an epilogue aside from a few (albeit beautifully illustrated) shots of our main cast on Ragna and in another Walkure performance. The Windermeres are unceremoniously cut out following their retreat, and however much they were disliked by many viewers, it’s an omission that doesn’t sit well with me given the amount of focus that’s been given to them throughout the series. Adding to the disappointment is the fact that we never did see Lady M despite her many mentions, and it feels like a missed opportunity more than anything, as an appearance by someone from the original Macross would have not only made things better for older fans of the franchise, but also culminate the obvious links they tried to make here between Δ and all the series that have come before it.
Alas, I suppose we’ll have to just be satisfied with what we got, and all that’s left are the final impressions—which you’ll find after the epilogue caps.
ED12 Sequence
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ED12: 「絶対零度θノヴァティック」 (Zettai Reido θ Novatic) by Walkure
Epilogue:
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Final Impressions: When you get down to it, Macross is one of the most popular and well-known franchises out there, and following in the great success that was Frontier, it reasoned that Δ would be as great as its predecessor. Sadly, the series referred to as “a stunning revival of a 25 year old franchise” was followed by one that didn’t come close to hitting the same highs, and Δ‘s struggles ultimately came in forms—ranging from an odd pacing that caused the plot to be filled with sudden lulls and large bits of exposition to an underdevelopment and under-utilization of various members from its main cast.
Mirage ended more of a tool to advance the plot rather than a true third complement to the typical Macross triangle, and when it was all said and done, the supposed love triangles that were supposed to exist outside of the main triad never actually happened. What we got instead were antagonists they tried and rarely succeeded to paint as grey, and in terms of botched execution, it’s not hard to remember Messer’s death—however typical of a franchise that has unceremoniously killed off important characters—and how little we felt about it in the following episodes. Valkyrie combat was also lackluster despite statements that there’d be more emphasis regarding that aspect, and it’s a pity that we pretty much only got to see what, three episodes worth of the series’ famed super packs in action?
Given the many issues with development, it’s hard to say whether or not the series was one that had too much or too little time to work with, and this will go down as a series that makes you wonder what exactly happened here. Still, despite everything I’ve said so far, I do find myself without regrets after watching a series that was still solid even with its many issues, and there’s no denying the uniquity of a series that essentially comes only once a decade. Hearing JUNNA and Suzuki Minori make their respective anime debuts made this series worth watching by themselves, and there’s still a charm that Macross series possess even if its content may not end up what you expected.
The big question is where the franchise will go from here, and given it’s continued popularity, it’s all but guaranteed we’ll get something more in the future. The thing is whether or not it’ll be another decade or so before the next one, and let’s just say I’m not looking forward to the wait if it does end up being the case. I suppose I’ll just have to settle for the imminent arrival of my DX Chogokin and assorted kits…
And so, here’s hoping that you’ve enjoyed coverage of Δ here on Random C, and I guess the next time we’ll meet shall be at the year end’s Best of Anime post. Until then, I bid thee a fond farewell!
So, that’s it? What about the war?
War? It was about singing and dancing motley girls in motley dresses, as I remember.
I’d say it’s a safe assumption that the Windermeres continued along with Heinz’s original intent to pursue peace. Given the Delta Platoon likely would’ve supported that, it probably would’ve gone on pretty smoothly, especially with the more shady portion of NUNS having self-detonated dimensional weapons on themselves.
But yeah, they certainly cut out a lot here, and this was one of those things. Heck, the Windermeres as a whole were entirely omitted from the ending/epilogue.
Better said, it’s a safe assumption that the anime crew didn’t know what to do that wouldn’t end in several pitfalls, so they avoided the issue completely.
When king Gramia mentioned peace talks, it was about ensuring Windermere’s Greater East Asia Co-Propserity Sphere… which for everyone except Japan it would mean “the Bad Guys win”. Is that what Heinz was talking about? What about the invaded planets? And what about everyone in the galaxy knowing now that certain Windermere genetics + Protoculture ruins can cause mass brainwashing? He also mentioned “the UN government must be dealt with eventually” and correcting Bogue that he wasn’t asking to “forgive” Walkure. Which means that they still think themselves the victims and having the moral high ground. Perhaps having to face and kill some of his brainwashed comrades in the final battle will open their yes but I doubt it.
The Imperial Nostalgia has always been a strong (and disturbingly problematic) trope in Delta so, for once, I think not trusting themselves with answering those difficult questions was the best choice they could make.
50% music videos, 30% story, 20% battle scenes.
I don’t know anything about this, anyone want to elaborate?
Macross Delta’s plotline is a mess
Frontier’s plot was better but the love triangle was awful, worse than Delta because we all knew Ranka had a thing for Alto but Sheryl had no reason other than a fling.
Frontier movies plotline was better. TV was a larger mess than Delta. If in this case I believe rumors that they planned 13 eps+movie and had to rewrite half of the scenario in hurry, for Frontier TV it looked like they rewritten all of it in hurry and later returned to original script for movies.
Just to clear things up, my examples in the final impressions are regarding the plot’s development rather than actual issues with production.
The ending as it played it out in front of me:
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Meh?
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…
Meh.
So disappointed, the whole series was plagued by poor pacing, characters that are boring and one dimensional, spotty animation, completely uninteresting dogfights and worse yet, absolutely no Macross Missile Spam™. The plot could of been made so much more interesting, the underlying current was there, just to be completely washed away. The most interesting thing taken away from was Lady M being connected to Megaroad-01. Other than that, my summation stands.
Could “have”.
or *could’ve.
I have been a long time macross fan but this one rank up there as a big all time disappointment.
1. Mikumo and her friends along with her back story. We are suppose to care? The director did not earn that sympathy from the audience yet.
2. Mirage sudden love confession? Simply have not earned that depth of feelings yet. It was more told to us as the audience instead of shown a big no no when doing an anime.
3. There are some comments about breaking tradition with Hayate and Freya confessing, BUT I have to say the original macross flat out show who Hikaru ended up with.
4. The last minute switch and Roid motiviation was not earned at all. Made no sense. The vajara name drop does nothing.
5. If anything I think the whole Mikumo clone star singer thing would have worked better going against Freya instead of Mirage. She wasn’t even there. I saw more Chemistry between Mikumo and Hayate then Mirage all season long during their short interaction in episode 22.
Called it with Mikumo being an original protoculture. Also I feel that UNG is about to get all civil wary. Heinz no doubt will let the galaxy know about the Nuns use of Interdimensional weapons alogn with it coming to light that Nuns dropped the bombs because they want to get to the protocutlre ruins first.
I think the whole hint of dropping the Megaroad 1 name and the fold frequency being the same might hint at the next series return of the origianl crew. Perhaps they noticed something infiltrated NUNS and been setting up a second side to counter it. Lynn Minmey being Lady M and actually creating Mikumo hint at this along with the mysterious disappearance. Lynn Minmey went from being a singer to like super spy knowing all these dark corporate secret and the whole protoculture thing.
Overall, Macross Delta had the animation the fight scenes, the song, but the story did not flow at all, it was jagged leaping from one point to the next with little bridge in between.
6/10 For me.
I liked first 10 episodes very much. There was action in nearly every episode and love triangle was advancing equally in both sides. After that I don’t know what happened. And what about Lady M if she is Minmay she is already quite old and if next series is 10 years in future of this then she’ll be very old by then.
Before I say anything, I would like to quote a post I made all the way back from episode 2.
“Sick of all these macross shipper fans calling the end girl already based on this “formula” from the previous series. More than knowing which girl wins the triangle in the end, I am more interested in seeing them heads getting mindblown if Freyja, the “less mature girl”, nabs the main character. Go Kawamori, show them your trolling powers lol”
So there you go! You got what you deserve. I’m still laughing lol As for me I love the series as a whole. I find that people’s feelings about the show depend on who their favorite characters were and how they were handled. I loved Frejya ever since day 1 and as we know, almost the whole show revolved around her and Hayate 😉 So I have no complaints. At the end of the day, Macross Delta’s worth rely on how satisfied the fans are. I’ve seen Mirage fans complain on how she didn’t have enough ‘characterization.’ If they were going to take this one up to the writers then might as well blame all the writers for producing underdeveloped characters. I didn’t see anyone blame the writers for bad character decision making in Frontier when Everything that happens in the story is ALL because of the writers. So yea, that’s just my gripe about all of this ‘It’s not Mirage’s fault she got slighted, it’s the writers fault’. Hella double standard lol
I’m sorry that is the most condesnceding BS I’ve heard off. Frontier did have issues, but it had a focus to its plot and characters. Even the secondary characters got their own arc, development and conclusion.
Mirage was just a part of Delta issues . Poor pacing, padding, dropped subplots, its all there. The worst part is Windermere. The way the writers treat them as victims is one of the most infuriating cases of double standards. All these bad creative decisions basically make Delta a poor entry to the Macross franchise.
Mirage being the better woman made the resolution even weaker, but Delta was flawed on every possible way.
Anybody who likes the Gundam Age of Macross isn’t really a fan of the series in the first place. Frontier actually had characters and a story that was deeper than a small puddle. They actually knew how how to craft a decent space opera musical at the time. The writers of Macross Age were drinken monkies compared to the old staff.
The series was nothing more than an attempt to to get money from horny Otaku/idol fanboys when the Mecha Otaku bugged out. Sunrise has Satalight beaten on both the Idol and Mecha front and didn’t need to combine them to pull it off.
lol anyone who feels like watching AND liking Macross Delta or any Macross whatsoever IS a fan of the series/franchise. I could care less on the technical flaws of the show if the show entertained me nonetheless. People that are NOT a fan will not even bother to watch this show up to this episode or read whatever people here had to say. Then you can say that those people aren’t really a “fan” of the series haha
And true, Mirage is only part of Delta’s issues, (I was just talking specifically about her) there are many unanswered questions that I believe the show left ON PURPOSE, so as Frontier. This is NOT the last Macross we’ll see and I like to have it that way.
Hmmm… I can’t say I agree with that assessment. Just because someone liked something that others didn’t doesn’t change anything about or necessarily relate to being a fan at all. It’s just personal preference, and it’s the same on the other end. You can be a fan and criticize a series for its faults. They’re separate things that don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Nope, anybody who claims to be a fan of/like Macross Age is really a Robotech fan who wants Macross to die.
Not at all, that was just lazy writing as both the director and head writer are Satalight’s B team. With poor BD sales it will be the last Macross for decades. So they have to relay on Otaku with crappy taste or retcon movies like Frontier to keep the franchise alive.
Talk about assumptions. Pretty sure anyone who commented here doesn’t dislike the franchise or want it to die if they bothered to come here, read, and comment on a daily basis.
Certainly a case of agree to disagree here.
Also the BD sales might not be the same as Frontier by far, but it’s still easily 10K for the first volume as of the data a few months ago. Given that a lot of series get sequels just for going over 2-4K, there isn’t exactly a worry in regards to sales and whether or not Delta got enough for Macross to think about another sequel. There’ll be one no matter what, and given the major wait in between series in the franchise, whatever major wait we get between Delta and the next one won’t be because of sales.
I’m sorry, while I think the Freeman is being overly combative about it, I mostly agree. This was not a good series.
AT BEST, it was a followup in the spirit of macross 7 (ie the one no one ever really talks about) what with the massive over-focus on the music (yes I’m aware music is one of the pillars of the franchise, but in the better iterations of the franchise it’s not the only pillar worth mentioning), a half-baked triangle with next to no memorable characters, and bubblegum pop design as opposed to actual world building.
At worst, it was a sub-par magical girl show weirdly grafted onto a sub-par pilot action show. The decision to focus on two groups of pilots meant that the vast majority of fights were between the same 10 or whatever characters and since they were ALL freaking leads, almost no one ever died, which precluded the truly epic space opera moments of previous macross shows.
I’m sorry, this was a bad show.
P.S., I cannot get behind Freyja ‘winning.’ SHE’S GOING TO DIE BY THE TIME SHE’S THIRTY. And that’s assuming that the random completely pointless hints they dropped that her singing is speeding up the process of her dying don’t come true. Freyja winning is not a victory, it’s a freaking tragedy waiting to happen IMMEDIATELY.
This is not out of support for Mirage. Despite some potential in the beginning, Mirage is a terrible character they never did anything with. Freyja is marginally better though one of the most stereotypical character types in anime/pop culture in general, but that doesn’t make their relationship any less of an utter tragedy.
Mirage has always been this older sister personality to Hayate. She was outside looking in at Freyja x Hayate. I personally don’t like Hayate’s character, he seemed too aloof and suddenly serious. Mirage should be going for someone like Keith that would make it more interesting. Well atleast Hayate and Freyja opened up to each other unlike abundance of animes that leave big question marks. I think there needs to be more directness with Japanese, they are too reserved and too many love triangles seemed boring due to lack of progression. Sheryl and Alto seemed so disconnected and boring in comparison to Freyja and Hayate.
And once more another Macross franchise being a tease for a compilation movie…*sigh*
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible or anything. It’s just that the technical advancements for the laser weaponry and other technical issues that forced some of our classical Macross tropes out of this series for the most part (Missile spam protecting the singers??)
OTOH, I didn’t realize that Freyja was the same age as Minmay back in SDFM…
The last episode has so much WTF compressed into one episode it was pretty hard to swallow and delivered a messy finish. So many questions and openers left out instead of closing them. The big one being Roid, I always thought guys with glasses in Macross are the most dangerous ones. Didn’t disappoint here.
The series is definitely asking for OAV, encores, and movies like Macross F and Macross 7. We will probably see some Walkure specials because the show for them doesn’t end here. It’s just the beginning for Mikumo & Freyja.
Whattttt where’s the medley!!!!! i was expecting like a frontier ending where they all combine the songs into a medley which made frontier very memorable. Only redeeming factor for me is HayeteXFrejya!!!
That won’t happen again. That was a Frontier only thing I think. It worked with the large scale theme of the series. Delta was much smaller. Also, no one else can mix all those songs well that Yoko Kanno can.
The way it was, I’d say they wouldn’t even have had enough time to fit one of those in properly. Songs from like Frontier lasted like 8, 10, 12 minutes apiece, and we barely had that in regards to constant combat/related scenes.
Comapred to how invested I felt into the characters and politics of frontier, delta was seriously lacking. They didn’t bother to tie their plotlines together, while we knew roid was up to something it felt out of left field, characters didn’t feel as developed or fleshed out as they could have been; the overall emotional impact fell flat.
where did they go wrong? If the original macross and frontier hadn’t set such a high bar for what I’d expect, I’d probably have enjoyed this as a romp, but as a series that mostly tried to tackle interesting themes while being about it’s characters and their relationships, I just wasn’t feeling this.
Rushed? yes. Dropped plotlines? yes. what felt like things happening out of left field? yes.
I didn’t feel the motivations or the wills of the characters, what they were fighting for and why. I wasn’t able to get emotionally engaged, and it all left me disappointed at the mess. I felt that no one had much agency, or was much in control of any situation or had any type of connecting or overarching reason for doing things.
The strategic aspect of warfare felt non-existent and handwavy, and the politics instead of being well developed stories about people and their conflicting interests fell flat as a megalomaniac ultimately tried to betray everyone and paid for it.
In retrospect, despite it’s flaws, perhaps frontier simply set the bar too high. Delta’s ideas may have sounded good on paper, but I’m impressed by simply how little impact the execution had. Unfortunate.
Meh. I wasn’t expecting Frontier level (Frontier was a special series in the franchise nothing can beat it for a while) But yeah, pacing was just off. And so little information given. It was like they were trying to mix Macross Zero protoculture backstory in with regular Macross story…which worked in the Macross 30 game, so it could have worked in a series format. More focus on Walkure as a unit should have been done earlier on in the first half. It feels odd that they are now all “we love each other! We’re a team!” when we only got one backstory episode and not much dialogue.
I liked Freyja x Hayate from the beginning. Mirage character got no love. Delta felt very pulled away from the orginal Macross concept of a love triangle in the middle of a war. And more of, there is a war going on, oh-and our main characters like each other.
Also-am I the only one who giggled at how Aquarion-like the final confession seen was? It was a little too much.
Yeah, they tried really hard to mix in links to the past and other franchises, but it just never really got off the ground so to speak.
It’s a pity really, because there’s a lot of interest from the fan base in regards to the Protoculture and the past prior to the original Macross, and the fact that we saw other species descended from them was something people really liked early on.
What a rush! 😛
The ending was kind of rushed it seems but given the series I think we can expect a OVA or two.
That was…meh. The whole series felt meh. Definitely not on the quality level of SDFM, Plus or Frontier. I’d probably rate it above 7 but conversely I also liked the music in 7 way, way more. This one had a couple good tracks but no ear worms like previous series. Needed Yoko Kanno or something. So many character arcs dropped or ignored, yet still so much time wasted. Better luck next time.
I’d say the big thing is that the songs in Delta just didn’t have the same time of day or importance/link to particular events in the show as other themes had in other franchises.
Just going through Frontier alone, the second you name a song — Diamond Crevasse, Northern Cross, Seikan Hikou, Lion etc. — you can automatically name a specific moment in the series each song reminds you of. You just don’t have that in Delta, and it takes away from the soundtrack, which otherwise would likely be on par with the previous series IMO (especially in regards to vocal strength).
Though, don’t get me wrong, I definitely agree that Kanno would’ve been a more fitting composer.
I thought Ikenai Borderline was pretty catchy. Couldn’t get the damn song out of my head for weeks after watching the first episode.
Certainly, Ikenai Borderline was the song that got me excited for the series in the first place (it was also one of only two songs we got between the first preview episode and the actual airing), but aside from that, it never really got that big of a moment in the rest of the first or second halves sadly.
Well, this was a gigantic waste of time.
So much dissapointment…
Now that Delta is finally over, boy do I have quite a few things to say about this show and Macross in general, BUT! I have to go eat first lol. And that I’ll need to watch the episode first lelz, but I’ll be back in a moment though, just hope that you guys don’t suddenly just turn tail from this post and never to come back again…
Alright, now that all’s prepared, I’ll have my analysis review ready in 12 hours. It’s gonna be long which is why it’ll take a while.
I’ll be writing it over at myanimelist.net and so once I’m done, I’ll be linking it here as copy-pasting the whole thing would require moderation due to length.
Kakugo suru yo~n!
The four things that bugged me:
1.) From the start, I liked (and squee’d over) Mikumo because of her mysterious personality and Sheryl Nome vibes I got from her. But then came the reveal that she’s an artificial human spliced with Star Singer DNA, and she’s actually… THREE. YEARS. OLD. That made me sexually confused as f**k, since by the definition of age, she’s a freaking child. If it wasn’t for how adult-like she looks, she’d be considered a LOLI–the kind of character I shouldn’t be squeeing over (much less have a perverse sexual lust on). God f**king damnit, you got me good, Kawamori.
2.) Who exactly is Lady M? The series is over, yet there’s no glimpse of her identity. What.
3.) Bogue’s abrupt heel-face turn (albeit under orders from King Heinz) making him look like a tsundere. I know that he lost his family to the previous war and spent most of the time wanting to take down Walkure, but that development warrants another flat “What.”
4.) The lack of “Ikenai Borderline” in the medley.
With that out of the way, Roid having ulterior motives didn’t come as a surprise, as there were a few hints dropped throughout the series (both subtle and unsubtle). It would probably be more obvious if Roid did the scary shiny glasses thing, which I assume was the reason that trope wasn’t–if not barely–used.
Also, there’s something I noticed (though I’m probably not the only one who did) in relation to a couple of previous Macross entries:
– In Frontier, it’s the younger idol (Ranka) that gets captured by the big bad (Grace) to serve as the cornerstone of her plan, and after fighting to get the younger idol back and foil the evil plot, the lead male pilot (Alto) ends up with the older idol (Sheryl). While in Delta, it’s the older(-looking) idol (Mikumo) that gets captured by the big bad (Roid) to serve as the cornerstone of his plan, and while fighting to get the older(-looking) idol back and foil the evil plot, the lead male pilot (Hayate) ends up with the younger(-looking) idol (Freyja). It’s basically a reversed version of Frontier‘s evil plan/love triangle resolution. (And if it wasn’t obvious enough, Mikumo and Freyja are expies of Sheryl and Ranka.)
– At the same time, it’s also a reversed version of the original Macross love triangle (Misa, Hikaru, Minmay) and its resolution, where it’s the military love interest (Mirage) that gets ditched instead by the lead male pilot (Hayate) in favor of the idol singer (Freyja). It’s still a bit bittersweet as Freyja’s already short lifespan may have been cut a bit shorter.
Despite the shortcomings of a few unresolved subplots, the occasional feeling of deja vu, and the whole thing devolving to the protagonists fighting what amounts to a guerilla war against the Windermerean Empire, Macross Delta still manages to entertain. At the very least, it was leagues more enjoyable to watch than Aquarion Logos.
Well, fellow mecha fans, I’ll be seeing you in Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans season 2.
Freyja was nothing like Ranka. Where did you get this idea? Her only remotely Ranka trait was that she was a newcomer with a senpai/kohai relationship with Mikumo and maybe her music style. But Mikumo ended up being younger and more insecure about what she sang for (like Ranka) while Freyja was the defector of the enemy side whose life is in danger/is dying role (like Sheryl who came from Galaxy, you know).
She shared a connection with Hayate through fold music sync like Alto and Sheryl in the movies, a childhood ‘fate’ connection (again like Alto and Sheryl in the movies), torn feelings between home vs new home (like Sheryl).
Ranka was a brooding introvert while Freyja was a gutsy extrovert. Freyja inspired Hayate to follow his dreams, Sheryl did the same. Freyja reminded Hayate to his dead father (clearer in the novel) while Alto also projected his dead parent angst on Sheryl (with his mom).
I didn’t say Mikumo and Freyja are 100% exactly like Sheryl and Ranka. (If that were the case, I’d be rewatching Macross Frontier instead…) That said, the former two do have some traits/quirks similar to or reminiscent of the latter two–at least when performing on stage–to the point that Mikumo and Freyja would be considered loose expies of Sheryl and Ranka.
Back during Episode 1, the way Mikumo performs while diving into the midst of an active battle prompted instant comparisons to Sheryl Nome. And whenever Freyja sings “Rune ga Pikatto Hikattara“, it’s almost as peppy and upbeat as Ranka’s “Seikan Hikou“. And Freyja did listen to the previous decade’s tunes on that music player Hayate’s father gave her, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it did somewhat inspire Freyja’s own song/s.
I guess that’s how I came up with that idea (that and watching one too many episodes of Honest Trailers pointing out stuff made me a bit more nitpicky than usual). Of course, Macross Delta manages to subvert or put some other twist on the tropes carried over from the previous Macross series anyway, though some parts of the show still feel somewhat familiar.
And yes, I do know Mikumo’s not part of the main love triangle, so that comparison does have some flaws. But I still find making comparisons to the previous installment of a long-running franchise a fun thing to do anyway.
By saying Frejya is NOTHING like Ranka and you quoting all those similarities that she had with her (music style, relationship to Mikumo), you are actually negating yourself. Heck, even Mirage reminded Hayate of his mom just like Sheryl did with Alto. The characters in Frontier and Delta have similarities but yet they are their own person.
Did not bother to watch Frontier movie so Frontier TV is my canon. So I don’t see where this Frejya-Sheryl comparison is going. From how I see it, I also agree that Frejya and Mikumo are loosely like Ranka and Sheryl. And just to satisfy my personal whim, I actually like Ranka and I don’t think she is a “brooding introvert”. The girl is clearly Genki! 😉
Freyja is clearly inspired from Ranka, even if her personality is a bit different. There were even a few little throwbacks in there when she wore the chinese style dress and when she sang Seikan Hikou.
@cari: Music style and superficial initial role in the story (newcomer) singer isn’t the same as a similar character. Her personality is nothing alike. Mirage might remind Hayate to his mother, but Hayate has zero mommy issues, he barely sees her and instead he’s hung up about his dead father (he even flashbacks to him in the most important memory). Dead parent projection went to Freyja (you should read the novel, where Hayate explicitly thinks that Freyja is a lot like his old man). Alto and Hayate had dead parent issues and projected the dead parent into the girl they liked.
“Did not bother to watch Frontier movie so Frontier TV is my canon.”
Lol. Kawamori explicitly wrote the movie version and Delta used the movie version ending here (Vajra left the galaxy, like happened in the movie). They were obviously Sheryl and Alto-lite as KAWAMORI conceived them.
The whole series was not as strong as Frontier. Frontier had better character, plot, romance and waay better songs.
Keith felt like the male lead of this show more than Hayate.
Kinda agree. I felt he got more character development compared to Hayate.
I’ll say, at least in regards to this final episode, Keith shined more than Hayate when it came to crunch time, and it’s one of the reasons why I was so disappointed that they cut out everything Windermere related from the ending/epilogue.
More like the second biggest Gary Stu next to genderswaped Grace. Their all crap tier pilots due to never having to deal with an “Itano Circus”.
Sadly not one of the better Macross series. I kinda liked how they tried to tie together stuff from the other series, though the Minmay bit was a huge stretch… not like she was ever some grand tactician or whatnot.
Otherwise it was really just ok. You can sit through the whole series without being bored but it doesn’t really leave any impression at all.
It’s unfair to compare Delta with Frontier, as the latter was the 25 aniversary series and was designed to be a hughe step forward to the franchise. Delta, I believe, didn’t have the same amount of money to invest, so no wonder that the series felt so rushed.
As for the final, Windermere’s 15-minutes Heel-to-Face moment was expected since they all felt the real meaning of a total war since last episode (feeling the souls of tens of thousands dying in an instant makes you wonder if you’re doing the right thing, isn’t it, Heinz?), Keith just needed an excuse to turn into John Cena (lol) and Bogue complete his Gundam Seed’s Yzak Joule Tour doing exactly the same thing as his pilot peer. The instant Roid felt the power inside him, he just toss away his mask, so no mystery on that.
On the Xaos front, FREYJAWINSLOL was a thing from the start, but here’s the curious fact: she’s the older one of the triangle, as her lifespan makes her more mature than Mirage, so the status quo of the franchise’s triangle (the older always wins) holds. Kudos for Hayate and his superdimentional confession and Mirage to continue playing wingwoman all the series, but that alone don’t save Xaos from being the worst MC group on the Macross Universe. Can’t say anything bad about Walküre. They may not be at the same level as legends like Sheryl, Fire Bomber or Minmay, but they pass.
Keith and Messer needed a better show. They were really cool characters concepts (and their Draken and VF were wonderful). Kaname too. She was a great character: grounded, mature, with an arc on her own and a quiet strength of character.
That was an interesting final episode. But boy did it lack Valkyrie combat. Both mecha and idols. Naked chicks stuck on spider webs will probably work for me in some other series, but not Macross. XD
Delta felt like a 26 episode anime designed as a 52 episode anime. Dropping several plot lines altogether or getting a lot more episodes may have been better. Let’s take the Messer – Kaname – Arad triangle as an example. Killing him of at episode 13 will probably give more of an impact. Plus did a love triangle well with 4 episodes. Since these are secondary characters giving them a lot more episdoes will help. It would also give time to explain why those two aren’t together. There’s this cute lady that has the hots for you, why not take it? At first I thought it was because his buddy has a crush on her. With him gone, that shouldn’t be an obstacle any more. But more than one whole season later and nothing? There’s got to be something else. Really feel like they just didn’t have time to put it in.
I felt the Mirage – Hayate – Freyja triangle didn’t get to start too. In fact it seems to be just like the Bouge – Reina – Makina triangle. XD. At least from a romance point of view. In fact the only triangle that came of rather well was the Roid, Keith and Heinz triumvirate. Sadly it’s not on a side I have much sympathy for.
The teaser episode probably set my expectations too high. I was expecting Hayate dancing to the music and Mirage family name problems. Both requiring a high amount of Valkyrie combat. I could have been fun with one excelling in batteroid, while the other in fighter. Mix it up with a wee bit of romance, regardless of the outcome. Not really what we got is it?
Enjoyed it enough not to drop it. But here’s hoping we get a Macross Delta Zero. Five episode prequel anyone?
What a lame ending. Last episode are completely rushing. They should just extend to 40+ minutes. Frontier is better than Delta.
Overall, I’m happy with Delta – it was the first anime series I’ve actively followed since 2011. The characters were interesting and the musical talent was INCREDIBLE – the sheer voice on JUNNA!!!! The composers were in an unenviable place to be in, coming after the amazingness that was YOKO KANNO’s music for Frontier, but I think they did a good job in creating new memorable songs to add to the Macross franchise.
Did Delta have pacing problems and a rushed ending? Yes, but so have the majority of Macross series. Was it as good as Frontier/Plus? Right now I would say no, but I think Delta is going to age well (and it was definitely better than 7 and Zero). I followed Frontier weekly as it came out in 2008 and it also got a fair of vitriol, ESPECIALLY regarding the open ending of the TV series, but it is now held up as a classic. Time gives us all perspective I think; and there are definitely going to be Delta movies so I am not going to pass my final judgement until I see them.
The only thing I didn’t like was how the Freya/Hayate/Mirage triangle played out. It was too obvious midway the series that Hayate and Freya were going to end up together, sucking out the romantic tension. However, once I sat down the think about it their triangle is probably one of the most complex and tragic in the whole Macross franchise because in there is no real “happy” end. No matter how you put it, someone in the triangle is going to die young and outlive each other. Freya and Hayate will probably only have a ballpark of ten or so years together before Freya dies, especially since Freya is already showing signs of aging, and Mirage is going to outlive Hayate. My personal headcanon is that Mirage will be Hayate’s second love; which makes sense because people can have more than one romantic love in their lifetime, and that way both girls will have had a life with Hayate. Unfortunately Mirage still gets the short end of the stick because she will outlive the two people she cares about the most – poor girl, she can never catch a break 🙁
Definitely agree in regards to the musical talent portion. There were some big footsteps to follow in, and given those expectations, they did quite well for themselves. The vocals were arguably just as strong as parts of previous franchises, but alas, they just weren’t utilized in the same ways that made previous themes memorable and connectable to specific major events, and the soundtrack ends up falling on the more underappreciated side as a result.
As for the rest, yeah, I did enjoy Delta. For all the flaws it had, it’s important to note that I had fun watching it regardless, and it’s still one of the more unique series out there in terms of what it did and the things it had going for it.
This episode annoyed me. Personally they should have done a 2nd season or make a 37 episode series instead, but with this it’s just rushed. There was no real impact to this series. Hell, the last Macross series did it better. I actually hoped that Freyja would have died, but she would do it with the one thing she loved doing and go out the real hero of this series. This is just meh. Despite the connections the series creator did and I applaud him for that I’m very disappointed here by how it ended. I have a feeling this will eventually lead to a movie
Back at the real matter at hand:
https://randomc.net/image/Macross%20Delta/Macross%20Delta%20-%2026%20-%20Large%2012.jpg
Little Mirage is cute! CUTE!!!
And
https://randomc.net/image/Macross%20Delta/Macross%20Delta%20-%2026%20-%20Large%2039.jpg
WHY CAN’T IT BE MIRAGE!!!! WHY!!! I was itching for a HayateXMirage moment. She was the best girl of the series and I really want Mirage to be loved. If Freyja did die in the future since Windermere’s lifespan is 30 then what would make Mirage? A backup? I really don’t like this. I hope Mirage finds happiness
To be honest, i thought this episode would end with a setup for a second season. Considering how the NUNS and the shadowy figure Lady M are considered antagonists in the story and are not dealt with yet.
I thought the ending had a weak ending because of the weak build-up to the final fight. The entire series had a slow and uneven pace of progression, i think the series would’ve benefited by speeding up the pace and leaving out some scenes, it was nice seeing them try to add character development to more the characters but it didnt feel like that since we still know little.
The music in the series had been rather lacklustre to me due to my tastes, i think the only songs i enjoyed were Ikenai Borderline and Rune ga Pikatto Hikarittara.
Oh well, ill look forward to continuation to Delta or a new series.
There certainly could’ve been a case to be made for a second season, but it doesn’t seem like that’ll be the case given the lack of any real news/announcement regarding that. I guess we’ll see though. They could always do the Frontier movie retelling/compilation route, in which case we’ll get something about it in the next year or two probably.
so uhmm yeaaa…that was the finale. This series was stronger in its first 11 eps. I didnt mind the more lighter and subdued nature of this macross back then either. But then it felt the need to raise the stakes and when it tried to do so, it didnt do it so well which lead to the remaining half of this series suffering from the lack of deft writing to pull off what they were trying to do with the antagonists. Then there’s the whole triangle thing which was clear to me after the first 6 eps that there really wasnt a love triangle in play at all. It felt as if the show just wanted to follow tradition and make it appear as if there was a love triangle rather than eliminating it as a whole. Removing the love triangle would have benefited the show so much more because they could have focused more of their efforts on hayate and freyja growing as a couple and learning to help each other face their insecurities. Mirage was not needed; her character arc was uninteresting and inconsistent throughout the series and in the end, she ended up just being a wingwoman. Her lack of personality/screen presence didnt help the situation either and it makes me wonder why some viewers think she’s the better female character.
Macross delta sort of peaked around ep 13 and had its last good ep (in my opinion) with ep 16. Everything after that was dull and lacked any sort of proper direction. It’s a shame because again, i really was enjoying the more lighthearted nature of this show back in its earlier eps, when it was more focused on fleshing out the characters. Had it continued on that course, im sure a lot of our characters would have felt more realized than they ended up being.
In closing, macross delta should have utilized its antagonist much better. For a series that had a much more lighthearted tone, perhaps it should have probably played its villains more straightforward. Delta should have also removed any prospects of a triangle and shifted its focus on its lead couple (it sort of did that, but it also wanted to have its cake and eat it too, which was the wrong move to make in my opinion); Mirage should have just been a character removed from the triangle who could be her own person and the story would have been better for it. Sometimes it’s good to break tradition. This was a series that at times felt like it wanted to pull away from tradition, but then ended up being so tied to it that it lost focus on telling a proper narrative
“Mirage was not needed; her character arc was uninteresting and inconsistent throughout the series and in the end, she ended up just being a wingwoman. Her lack of personality/screen presence didnt help the situation either and it makes me wonder why some viewers think she’s the better female character.”
Probably because she’s the older, more mature, more well-endowed female character in Macross that typically “wins” the love triangle based on Macross traditions. Expectation vs Reality
b!tch slaphaha“Expectation vs Reality”
Idk maybe that’s it; the expectations people had fpr her character blinding them from the reality her character actually was…..who knows
Regarding Mirage, I think a lot of fans, me included, just feel she has a lot of potential. Freyja’s a lot more straight forward. But as always, potential is just that. They hinted a lot, but didn’t follow through on any of those hints.
Oh, and I agree. Cutting her off may have made it better. Out of all the front line members, her significance is only higher than Chuck.
AND WITH THAT MY FELLOW COMPATRIOTS, my review of Macross Delta is finally complete. If any of you would interested in checking it out, please do click on the link that I’ve provided below.
https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=230470
time to go read it
The Catch-22 about Macross having to face its own formula is a good one. I would have discussed more about the plot, though; just following the formula wasn’t Delta’s only problem in that regard. Lack of character depth, character development, moral myopia and the disturbing Imperial Nostalgia have made this iteration of the franchise less enjoyable than others for me.
As for the songs, I agree with the Zephyr in that what they needed was better links to the scenes. The direction seemed to just throw them at the screen time and time again. Like in this final episode. So even if music and voice were good, I’d definitely not be so positive in the Sound Design department (comparing it with other Macross series, of course, since a regular mark for one of them is still a high mark in other animes).
I actually wanted to talk about the music here at RandomC, because I ‘thought’ that writing any longer in my review would’ve made it long-winded and clunky, simply reiterating the same points and perhaps not even particularly relevant to the content that I was discussing, but maybe that’s not really the case at all.
So you see, the thing about Macross Delta’s music is that, it is exactly because of how the songs themselves were composed in accordance to the basic tone and narrative structure that prevented them from achieving the same level of emotionality compared to what we listened to in Frontier, or even with Do You Remember Love?. Not to mention that the scenes in which songs are featured were constructed and ‘filmed’ in such a way that allowed for the individual performances of songs to be highlighted. Macross Plus was a quieter Macross with less songs being used overall, Macross Zero’s music was centered around vocal music but that vocal music was used more as a recurring motif that was central to the plot rather than in being something that highlighted specific moments. The glam rock used in Macross 7 on the other hand is used in such a way wherein songs are constantly played on repeat down to the point of being obnoxious. Even the scenes that were constructed for the show didn’t allow for more truly unique individualized song-tethered moments.
In any case generally speaking, the timbres used and the song structure of electronic dance pop which is the dominant form of music in Macross Delta isn’t well suited for ’emotionality’, but rather in just being more entertainment-oriented. More ‘pure’ (‘pure’ as in your straightforward electronic music like hardstyle for instance) forms of electronic music are a bit more conducive for emotionality, but are still dependent on song structure and the timbres used.
Now what else… As to the plot and characters, based on what I said in my review I consider the plot to be very simplistic owing to the tonal focus of Delta, which lends itself to individual plot points that are easy to comprehend and don’t require too much elaboration. The only thing is that, just like I’ve said in my review there’s other plot points that turned into entire sub-plots of their own which are ultimately left unresolved, possibly due to them being used as homages, references and in keeping to the linear timeline of the Macross setting. In regards to the characters, I think that it isn’t so much that they lacked depth rather than the characters were designed as very simplistic or simple-minded people, or that they are simply portrayed through the narration really. Most of the characters in the Macross franchise are pretty simplistic or simple-minded, it’s just that possibly due to their personalities, ideas or given backstories deal with the world around them using more complex reasoning. In which case, one can consider Roy Focker and Commander Global to be quite complex. Anyways, I don’t really know what else to say though. Hopefully this comment doesn’t end up as being too long.
“We’ve only got one shot at love, so let’s have fun inside of you…”
Seriously Kawamori YOU SUCK!….(sigh) i guess I truly lost my interest on his works anymore now! and it’s kinda sad!
and we still dont know what is Berger’s agenda….
and doubly so for Lady M who doesnt even appear on screen
I guess biggest fun moment was Bogue of all people saving Walkure members from falling, cause even if it was under direct orders from Heinz, it was just so hard for him…
also, I am disturbed by your lack of ikenai borderline?
I think it’s safe to just assume Berger was just a stereotypical businessman playing both sides. At most, he was a red herring to detract attention, but it sadly seems like he wasn’t anything more than that.
It wasn’t just orders. Look at his expression and body language. He wanted to do it. He seemly get over his hatred and acted honest with his feelings.
This reminded me a lot of Macross 7’s ending. The Big Bad that unleases galactic-wide powers to the point he makes his own people turn against him. The songs having superpowers too. The singer that comes back to turn the tide of the battle. And in the end, more questions than answers.
The difference here is that Delta solved the triangle and left open the conflict, while 7 closed the conflict forever and left open the triangle(s).
Interesting observations bruh! XD
It all just repeats in funny ways these types of shows.
So what was everyone’s to 3 songs in Delta. Mine are:
1. Ikenai Borderline – catchy and made a hell of an impression in episode 1
2. Axia – I thought it suited Kaname’s character and personality.
3. Kaze wa Yokoku Naku Fuku – Helped bring out the Macross nostalgia as the ED for episode 19.
Neo Stream’s probably topped my list as the one I’ve listened to the most personally. Great lead in intro that many of the songs don’t have, piano solo, and JUNNA/Mikumo solo portion in English no less.
Kaze wa Yokoku Naku Fuku’s the one that’s had the most impact for me, as it was memorably linked to one of the series’ big turning points.
Other than that it’s a pretty tough choice for third. I’d probably have to settle for Ikenai Borderline for the same reason as yours. It was the one that made me excited for the series as a whole, and for a while it was (along with Love! Halation the War) the only song we got to listen to, so I had it on repeat for a while.
Good choices, I really liked love! thunder grow and Kaze wa Yokoku Naku Fuku. so ep 18 and 19 ed. I agree Ikenai Borderline has to be in top 3, it set the mood for the entire franchise and was hugh impact. A honorable mention to piano/instrumental of do you remember love was a great touch.
I don’t know the names for most of the songs but I really liked Ikenai Borderline, as well as the first OP and both EDs.
Y’know, recently at the big conventions down here in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, everybody starts to lose their mind and just go wild whenever Macross Delta songs start to play through the speakers. Heck, during the recent Animangaki convention, they even had a special group performing on stage -both singing and dancing- to the songs themselves! And entire 40+ minute section of the day’s schedule in fact! And the crazy thing is, the one who performed as Kaname had a voice just like Kaname and sang just as well as her! Unbelievable I know. Another funny thing is that folks here tend to call Ikenai Borderline as that ‘Giri Giri Ai song’ LOL
1. Bokura no Senjou
2. Ikenai Borderline
3. Walkure Attack
4. NEOSTREAM
5. Absolute 5
6. Absolute Zero Novatic
7. Ichido dake no koi nara
8. Rune ga pikatto hikattara
9. Hametsu no Junjou
10. Hear the Universe
11. Giraffe Blues
12. Namidame bakuhatsu-on
13. Onya no ko * girl
Here are my favorite.
1. Ikenai Borderline – Mikumo’s trademark song.
2. Rune ga Pikatto Hikattara – Very memorable, catchy
3. Giraffe Blues – Sort of like this series’ equivalent of Diamond Crevasse
4. God Bless You – This one really seems really touching, a good romantic song
5. Cosmic Movement – Very catchy, peachy song
6. 風は予告なく吹く – Very romantic and memorable
I think overall Delta has a bit more slow romance songs than Frontier. Quality wise it’s hard to compare, I like May’n, to be fair she had a lot of solo songs before F. Walkure comprise of mostly of no name singers that just started out so give them time there will be a lot more songs coming soon.
I feel like keith, mikumo, and mirage should have been the main focus, I thought their plot line seemed the most interesting. Even taking mirage out of triangle route and developed her on her own better. I liked how they focused on kieth and mirage in the first half and mikamo started to get interesting toward the end until she became damsel in distress. I really felt that the mains hayate and freya was probably the weakest part of the show. I feel like from ep 16 on they really dragged the story too much. Frontier did the climax infinitely better in one ep, this ep just felt rushed. I like the original SDF they ended the conflict in mid 20’s and showed the aftermath for 10 eps. Sadly anime just don’t do that anymore. I also, really liked the Kaname and messer angle. Kaname and arad is like the generic younger girl shipping for older man trope in the franchise.
As for the combat as soon as messer died I feel like there was too much wind magic. Really miss the nighty gritty combat. Seems to be far and few mecha action in second half of the series. Macross Frontier ep 1&2, 7, 14, 17&18 and finale was more satisfying.
Overall I really enjoyed the show for first half but the odd pacing 19-26 really put this series down compared to others in franchise. Considering we started off away from the main galaxy and introduced lots of different species, the whole protoculture angle and the whole vajara/var syndrome, lady M and chaos. The whole windarian conflict really fell flat at the end. I see a lot of potential with everything in the series but agree with people that say they played it too safe with macross tropes that prevented the show from really breaking away with that potential. Still I love when a macross project is announced. Maybe I will like it better once I calm down a bit but right now I guess movies could still do something interesting.
I really… REALLY… should have learned my lesson after Aquarion Evol. Never again. Not even dancing robots will pull me back a third time.
I’m saddened Super Siegfried got approx 30 second of action….
By the time Macross Delta reached the halfway mark, the plot got stagnant on the Windermere guys.
Then, by the time we reached the final episode, everything was rushed and the war between NUNS and Windemere became a thing of the past.
There are still many things I don’t understand with the plot. 🙁
It would have also been awesome if Macross frontier tried to butt in. But I guess that won’t happen. hehehe
That would have been difficult. I thought they settled on the Vajra planet? Isn’t the general point of these island ships to find a suitable planet and set up a colony and make it a new home? They’ve done that. I can’t imagine the Frontier cast appearing for a while, they’d probably have to set up infrastructure on the planet.
Frequent reader, never a commentator…BRING BACK FIREBOMBER! EVEN MACROSS 7 HAD A MORE COHESIVE PLOT THAN THIS!
I felt disappointed with the whole Delta series. And I noticed the battles are mostly on Fighter mode, and so much lacking in Battroid battle scenes. I miss the high-adrenaline dogfights like the ones on Macross Plus, especially at the beginning of the first episode (series version). Oh, well, I’ll just wait for a new Macross series and hopefully, it’ll be better.
It’s kinda ironic that Hayate’s primary skill is piloting in Batteroid mode. I think that was one of the reasons Arad decided to recruit him too. Seems like our expectations got fooled by the first episode. Maybe it’s just easier to animate.
Now that I think about it, they’re not giving a good message are they? “Forget your experience in Batteroid control systems and get good in fighter combat with Freyja Doping™!”
Maybe if Mikumo would be the love rival instead of Mirage it would be more interesting. Did the creator lost its touch?
Well at least the songs are good.
When theres only one episode for the final battle I don’t expect much.
The last ep of Frontier had more feel compared to this.
So Lady M could be Lynn Minmay?
Maybe some side story would be nice.
Showing the actions and reasons of Lady M and Wright before the events of the show could clear things.
I wonder what will come out of that short neural link of all humanoids?
Some plot element for the next Macross anime? Like how Vajra got used for Var?
Do the Protoculture have a larger plan in whole?
Or is the Star Singer thing just an experiment of theirs?
I guess the writers have yet to decide as they build on the story as needed 😛
Will there be movie versions like Frontier?
Or was the reception not as good as Frontier for that?
@Like how Vajra got used for Var?
I thought the Var was an unfortunate by-product of the Vajra leaving? They weren’t really ‘used’ by anyone per say. The wrong people just took advantage of it.
@Will there be movie versions like Frontier?
Probably. Saying yes or no would just give false hope. I think they’re probably just taking stock of the situation and seeing how profitable the show is overall before deciding. It’s still fairly early days.
@Or was the reception not as good as Frontier for that?
The BD/DVD sales weren’t bad, but not as good as Frontier. But the music sales were pretty amazing. That’s something.
I mean the people who wrote Delta’s story “used” the Vajra.
Well, unless it was planned during Frontier that this will happen.
(I mean in real life not in the story.)
Yup the music was good as always with Macross 🙂
The idol group thing makes me think of Basquash.
So Hayate ended up with Freyja? lol called it
Called it way back at episode 2, and got ripped for it too.
Can I have my cookie now?
jk btw…sorta…lol
Dropped the series around ep 10 fyi.
Damnit, I don’t care about how good or poor the finale was, I just want a full Mikumo version of the first opening song.
After the first episode, I didn’t even continue. This is an embarrassment to the entire Macross franchise.
The series sucked because the “bad guys” were as boring as hell. The Vajra and Zentradi are damn cool but were given short in this series.