First Impressions / Macross

Summary:

With footage of the Miss Macross Contest now being broadcast on TV, Ozma is angry that Ranka didn’t tell him and even angrier that she got suspended from school for it. When he says that someone shy like her can’t become a singer, Ranka starts throwing things at him and ends up running out in tears. Alto meanwhile has brought Sheryl to his school so that he can search his locker for her important earring. Today is her only chance to find it because she is returning back to the Macross Galaxy fleet next week. Unfortunately, two other students come by the locker room at the same time, causing Alto to panic. Thinking quickly, he takes Sheryl and hides with her in a locker before the students can see them, but while they’re in there, Alto’s cell phone starts vibrating. This has a stimulating effect on Sheryl, and that in turn causes Alto to get embarrassed and bump his head on the ceiling of the locker. The noise startles the two students, but luckily a teacher then calls them away. Afterwards, Alto still can’t find the earring and claims to have another clue to its whereabouts, but Sheryl doesn’t necessarily believe him and suggests that he could be lying so that he can be with her.

Back at the Lee apartment, Ozma is sitting around worried about Ranka when his doorbell rings. He thinks it could be her, but it turns instead to be Cathy who is here to take Ozma to a Frontier government national security committee meeting. Along the way, Ozma calls up Mikhail and instructs him to find Ranka, causing Cathy to observe that Ozma hasn’t changed. She then starts to express how she wishes he had shown her the same concern, but she quickly realizes what she’s saying and stops herself. Ozma’s response is merely that she’s talking about something that’s already over, and Cathy agrees that it’s a thing of the past. Alto meanwhile tries to call up the S.M.S person in charge of items of the deceased but can’t get in touch. He convinces Sheryl to wait until tomorrow so that he can look for it when he goes to work, but Sheryl then takes the lucky charm that was around his neck and refuses to give it back until he fulfills a certain condition.

A short while later, Alto gets a phone call from Luca who had earlier seen him with Sheryl, though Luca had been too far away to recognize her. Luca had heard about Ranka’s suspension and now passes along the news to Alto, but right as Alto is responding, Sheryl turns off his phone. Sheryl thinks that Alto and Ranka are dating, but Alto denies it and claims that he doesn’t have a girlfriend. She’s happy to hear this and urges them to get going, however Alto then gets a message from Ranka who wants to talk with him since she’s now been suspended for the Miss Macross contest. Alto tries to call her back, but he finds that her cell phone is turned off and gives up for now because Sheryl is being impatient. The two end up heading out into the heart of the city, and Alto is a bit embarrassed to be with the person whose face is on every billboard. Nevertheless, they have a lot of fun together and end up taking the tram to the lookout point high above the city. Sheryl loves how beautiful the city and all of its surroundings are, and she also likes how Alto doesn’t treat her like a star. She then leads him to the train, and – after earlier having spotted Ranka and Mikhail boarding a train together – Alto decides that there’s somewhere he wants to take her.

That place turns out to be a stretch of farmland where Zentradi ranchers are raising huge cow-like creatures, and Sheryl is impressed by the Zentradi size. Her attention then turns to the sound of music coming from a nearby Zentradi mall, so Alto takes her there. As it turns out, Mikhail and Ranka are there too. Mikhail had earlier run into Ranka outside the school and had followed her all the way out to this place. When he notices that Kuran Kuran is also there, he tries to avoid her and offers to buy Ranka some ice cream. The ice cream makes Ranka feel friendly enough to reveal that she was looking for Alto because he actually listens to her, unlike her brother. Mikhail tries to get her to head home since Ozma is worried about her, but Ranka refuses because of how her brother treats her like a kid and kept his piloting a secret from her. Around this same time, Ozma finds himself at an alien creature research laboratory where Leon reveals that they have an intact Vajra corpse suspended in a giant tube. Their analysis has revealed a lot about the creature’s abilities, but what’s really interesting is that the creature’s brain is too small to control it. In other words, the Vajra are lowly creatures that don’t need to think on their own, so someone could be using them as biological weapons.

Back at the mall, Mikhail questions if Ranka can even sing in public and challenges her to do so right there since it’s place where people haven’t specifically come just to see her sing. At the same time, Sheryl is having a blast playing in all of the giant-sized stuff, and it inspires her, so she grabs the nearest thing she can write on – a pair of giant panties – and starts jotting stuff down. By chance, Kuran Kuran notices what Sheryl is doing and runs into Alto in the process. As the two watch Sheryl, Alto makes a paper airplane and wonders aloud why people sing and try to fly. Having just finished writing, Sheryl answers that they can’t help it, and Kuran agrees. Since Alto understands what she means, he lets the paper airplane go and watches as it soars above the mall. Ranka happens to see that very same paper airplane, and after remembering how Alto had previously thrown one too, she gains the courage to sing. Her voice quickly attracts the attention of a large crowd, and even Alto and Sheryl come to see her. This turns into a great success among the mall crowd, but what Ranka doesn’t know is that, over at the alien creature research laboratory, the captive Vajra suddenly comes to life and starts banging its head on the glass tube. Ozma manages to catch Cathy when she faints, and he then has Leon hit the emergency switch that isolates the Vajra within metal shielding and vaporizes it.

In the aftermath of her performance, Ranka explains to Mikhail that it was all thanks to Alto. The two then spot Alto and Sheryl standing by a nearby fountain, and Sheryl is in the process of returning the charm. Glad to see that Ranka will be okay, she thanks Alto for today and promises to send him a ticket for her farewell concert. Alto in turn promises to find and bring her the earring. Sheryl then kisses Alto on the cheek, much to his, Mikhail, and Ranka’s surprise. Meanwhile, out in space, a variable fighter suddenly appears, broadcasting an emergency message about how the Macross Galaxy fleet is under attack by a swarm of Vajra.

Preview

Wow, for a date episode, this was a lot more fun to watch than I thought it’d be. I’m quickly becoming a fan of SherylXAlto because of their chemistry together – I think it comes down the fact that playful Sheryl is much much better than bitchy Sheryl. I definitely laughed when she started writing on that giant pair of Zentradi underwear. The way the episode ended (with Ranka witnessing Sheryl kissing Alto on the cheek) was admittedly predictable, but I don’t count that against the show given how good everything was. The question now is if Ranka is jealous or just surprised – in other words, I wonder if this is going further down the path where the girls to compete for Alto as well as to compete as songstresses. I guess the alternative is that they don’t because the Vajra threat takes precedence or something.

In addition to all that, every time I think that this series couldn’t possibly keep bringing out more songs, they do. This week it was Ranka’s (Nakajima Megumi) version of What ’bout my star, along with Sheryl’s version. Speaking of music, I’ve been listening to the full version of the ED and the Don’t be late Sheryl song nonstop – it’s really good stuff. I can’t wait for all of Ranka’s songs to be released in late June (on the 25th to be exact).

Still, despite this being a fun episode, there were some nagging questions raised about what Ozma’s past relationship with Cathy was, who the shadowy guy Leon was talking to, and why Ranka’s songs have such an effect on the Vajra. I get the feeling we won’t learn the reason for the latter of those until much later. I also assume the appearance of the ship from the Macross Galaxy fleet at the end means that either our heroes are going to be sent into battle soon or that Sheryl is going to be stuck with the Frontier fleet – or both. That being said, the title of next week’s episode “Bye Bye Sheryl” suggests that the latter may not occur.

143 Comments

  6. Wow this co-habitiation thing is more interesting that i suspected I had no idea that macronized Zentran and Meltrans can still walk about freely in the colony. What is so special about Alto-hime’s amulet by chance? I assume that Sheryl had taken hostage to compel his compliance for a date.

    I guess that Alto-hime charm is finally melting Sheryl.

    Though what is up with this guy?

    https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2007.jpg

    Is he a Vajra spy or something?

    Crusader
    Reply

  10. Hmm..it seems that in the end Ranka has a really determined face on her..bad or good?

    Will this lead to sweet,sweet Ranka’s transformation into a bitchy,self obsessed idol..god I hope not..:(

    Ciupy
    Reply

  20. just a question tough.

    there is many macross series, is there a link between them or parallel storys?
    in case there is a link – which order to watch them?
    macross f
    macross 7
    macross plus
    macross zero
    macross frontier

    so which order is it? =D

    howtowatch?
    Reply

  25. For those who want to know the timeline/order for the macross universe, here goes.

    Macross Zero
    Macross
    Macross flashback (AMV but it shows story parts that take place after Macross)
    Macross Plus

    Macross II is an alternate universe sequel while Macross Plus is a cannon sequel.

    Macross 7 and it’s OVA’s etc

    And now Macross Frontier

    That’s the order to watch things if you want, though you don’t have to really. While they’re sequel series in the macross universe they’re not “direct” sequels. I.E. They have their own stories/characters etc. Though Zero and the orginal have Fokker, and Mac7 has Max and Millia from the orginal series also.

    Anyways, back to this episode. It’s a big Sheryl x Altoh episode as I was waiting for. This just shows how good of a pair they are unlike Altoh and Ranka who have more of a friendly brother, sister thing going.

    Love wise it is clearly Sheryl in the lead at this point. And the preview shows more of Sheryl and Altoh together. At this point I don’t see the Ranka x Altoh duo changing unless/until Ozma dies and leaves a big gap for Altoh to fill in her life.

    As far as the last shot of Ranka when she sees Sheryl kiss Altoh, to me it just looks like the normal suprised/shocked look anyone would have if a big shot idol just kissed one of their friends outta nowhere.

    I’ve been behind the Altoh x Sheryl pair from the start cuz of the better chemestry and so on they share unlike between him and Ranka. Either way this is looking good with every episode, and the action level should be close to ramping up soon.

    GP
    Reply

  26. Sheryl’s ignorant side does look amusing lol Ranka’s song is now stuck in my head. I also like how we get to see the bratty side of Ranka. Just goes to show Ranka’s not all sweet and smiles. Good good character development.

    Sabil8
    Reply

  28. Am I the only one to realise that everytime Ranka sings, the Vajra (w/e) come sweeping in? – This is aided by the fact that she’s the sole survivor of the very first known Vajra attack (ep4 info).

    Seriously though, watch the episodes for yourself if you haven’t noticed it yet, she opens her mouth and begins to sing – the Vajra react.

    Ashan
    Reply

  31. Yeah Ashan,almost everybody noticed that..hope they won’t pull a Ranka sacrifice at the end or some shit like that..Alto,Sheryl and Ranka better be alive and happy at the end of this.

    And the chronological order to watch Macross is indeed:

    Macross Zero
    SDF Macross
    Macross Plus
    Macross 7
    Macross Frontier

    And there was definetly a slight tint of jealousy in Ranka’s reaction..things are gonna get interesting fast!xD

    Ciupy
    Reply

  32. @GP- I would’ve agreed with you if the whole date had no RankaxAlto undertones whatsoever. I don’t think Sheryl’s in the lead in LT after this episode. Shallow. Good episode though. It seems like the reason Ranka can sing is because of Alto. Now that she’s about to be discovered (seems like it) the writers shouldn’t distort that like they did with Minmei.

    Camari
    Reply

  33. I’m sure everyone noticed it from the start. It just goes with what I was saying early that she’s more important to the plot/story than Sheryl is, but also that this doesn’t actually give her any sort of lead/advantage in the love triangle/pairing department.

    Going back to early ep2/3 chats, the same thing happened in the original series with Minmei’s voice/singing being key to the plot. Now we have Ranka in this new series. But if it’s one thing about macross that I like it’s that those things have no real effect on who the guy ends up with. In contrast Misa in the original wasn’t anything special or important. She was a good military officer and smart etc, but plot wise compared to how big and important Minmei was she doesn’t compare. Yet Misa got with Hikaru in the end.

    Now it’s true that Sheryl is a big idol and all, but as we’ve seen she’s not key to the plot when it comes to the enemy. But even then this show is good at showing how both girls are good/bad and then showing how they effect the main character throughout the show without having a clear winner early on.

    So yeah, importance wise Ranka is higher, but on the other hand the better pair at lest to me feels like Sheryl.

    GP
    Reply

  34. OMG!! i am really LOVING THIS SHOW!!!! as usual i’ll be watching the RAW’S cuz i can’t wait!! giants SHOPPING!?!? big bikini bottoms falling on people?!?!? and i cant get enough of klan klein and company. soo ENJOYABLE

    BROOKLYN otaku
    Reply

  35. @Camari

    How did they distort Hikaru’s importance to Minmei being/doing what she did? The way I remember it that’s anything but the case in the original. Right smack in the big final space fight with the Zentradi Minmei sings cuz Hikaru asked/pushed her to or else she wouldn’t. And even before that he helped her when needed.

    Now Minemi lost her way with all the glitz and glammor only to finally see how she couldn’t be the big star she wanted to without Hikaru. Which is why later on she does what she does etc.

    Now I haven’t seen this episode yet, but having Ranka x Altoh undertones is natural imo. All the Hikaru x Misa related eps where also full of Minemi x Hikaru undertones and even more than that. Sheryl is in the lead in a clearly “romantic” sense. All the “skinship” and the kiss add to that. The Ranka side is still at the “good friends” stage. I’ve got lots of female friends I talk to and give support to when needed but that doesn’t mean that we have anything “romantic” going on.

    And yeah, sure guys would like to sleep with pretty much every girl they’re friends with, but then guys would like to sleep with supermodels they see on TV. It’s a short dream, so don’t anyone jump in saying i’m just nice to them cuz I wanna sleep with them. :p

    GP
    Reply

  36. thanks for the answers! another question, do i have to watch other macross series to understand everything i macross frontier, or will there be thing i cannot possibly understand from prequels?

    howtowatch?
    Reply

  37. Personally, I think Alto should go with Ranka. Maybe it’s because I’m sympathetic towards her situation (having no family) and because of Sheryl’s high and mighty status. Another reason is that Alto and Sheryl look TOO pretty together. Well that’s what I think anyway

    Ashe
    Reply

  38. //do i have to watch other macross series to understand everything i macross frontier, or will there be thing i cannot possibly understand from prequels?//

    There might be a few nods to previous series that you would not notice if you haven’t watched the previous shows, but otherwise, Frontier seems to do a good job at explaining everything, so long as you watch the prologues.

    mikemil828
    Reply

  39. Hi GP 🙂 If your definition of love is based on “skinship” then that’s your definition. Sure Sheryl finally got on Alto’s good side like we were all expecting to, but that still doesn’t make her ‘in the lead’ regarding the almighty LT. Altoh and Ranka both inspired each other to get where they currently are (w/c is really not that far yet) and it will take a lot more than a skinship date for Sheryl to match what Ranka and Alto started with. I feel like most (I’m not saying All) of the male audience here are Sheryl fans mostly because of how she looks compared to Ranka. However, storywise, Alto’s favor still leans towards Ranka. They just have to show us Ranka’s jealous face to ruin the “kiss” between Alto and Sheryl, huh? =/

    I haven’t watched the complete 1983(?) Macross Frontier but I’m sure HikaruxMinmei grew apart cuz she became a star. (That’s what I meant) And you say you haven’t seen this episode yet? Fair enough.

    Camari
    Reply

  41. This has so much reference to the original macross, they already have introduced a Milla character in the form of klein klan with her Red Queadlunn-Rau (red vf-1j anyone?) and there are elements of the ditzy pink haired female singer from macross 7 in her chibi form. I’m pretty sure mikhail and klein klan will hook some later on the series. At the moment I do not know who lucas is refering to, but if he is the kazusaki of this series then in my opinion he would have a more dramatic effect when he dies. Mainly because his different personality and how innocent he may seem, but thats just a cover in my opinion.

    I do agree that Ozma will probably get a death IMO sometime in the 20 episode mark or 18 depending on the how many episodes the series will go for. Its possible that alto will fill the boots but not as a lover, more like a family figure. I think the designers of the show really wanted to keep us off track as much as possible even though if you strip the show of the cover the story and character development architecture matches that of the original macross.

    I though it would be funny to see lucas with ranka but i think that purple haired girl would probabaly be better with lucas.

    I would like to see the new SDF transform sometime soon, probably when they are in a massive war with the vajra, the ranka relation to them is at first far fetched to me in a way, because why don’t they just stop her singing to prevent further attacks. So i doubt it is just her singing that is doing it.

    I haven’t seen all of macross 7 yet but i heard its only worth watching from 36 onwards as thats when it starts to pick up.

    But klein klan is sooo cute in both forms and I like how they depicted Full size Zent’s with miclones in the city. The giant panties was a nice touch @_@.

    Violett
    Reply

  42. @ “howtowatch?”

    The right chronological order would be like that

    Original Timeline:
    —————–
    Macross Zero
    Macross
    Macross Frontier

    Alternate Timeline:
    ——————-
    Macross Plus
    Macross 7
    Macross 7 Dynamite

    There are many other small OVAs with alternate time lines .. i excluded them cause it get s confusing to arrange them .. but the main series are what’s important ^_^

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

  44. You are right Hunter-Wolf, but honestly I think Macross Plus should be added in the original timeline since “it was used to connect Macross with Macross 7.

    I know that VF-0 is from Zero, VF-9 from Macross 2, and VF-19/21 from Plus.
    Just wondering but in what series was the VF-17 created/first introduced??

    I just remember it made several appereances in Macross 7, but was considered “old” already.

    Veronica
    Reply

  45. The events between Sheryl and Altoh in this episode which I called “skinship”, the kiss being a part of it, do put her ahead in the “romantic” area. There is just no other way to put it for you to understand.

    Don’t put so much weight on the fact that Ranka can sing cuz of Altohs words of support, as I’ve said that’s more “good friends” than “romantic interests” at this point.

    The preview shows Altoh and Sheryl again from the looks of it, so take that as you will. It seems that you’re just not fully getting what I mean when I say Sheryl is in the lead at this point. You bring up the might love triangle, but in every show with a love triangle one girl at some point in time is “ahead”, or better yet “closer” with the main guy romantically. At this point we just don’t have any of that with Ranka. Sending text messages as I’ve said doesn’t count for much, I talk with, and i’m sure many others here also, talk with many other friends be it male or female and support them when we can etc.

    Altoh telling Ranka not to give up on her dream or to follow it and so on doesn’t romantically mean much, specially since we have no signs of him looking at her as anything more than a new friend he’s made at this point in the story. While on the other hand the interactions and chemestry with him and Sheryl are more on the love/romance side with clasic SR situations between the two (together in the locker, seeing her naked before, etc), when we get some of this between him and Ranka then we’ll get a better idea of where the writers are going with it.

    And while I agree that many people are going for a Altoh x Sheryl end cuz she looks better etc, the fact is that Ranka, as i’ve said at this point, comes off as a little sister. If/When Ozma dies etc and Altoh fills the gap in Rankas life that makes him even more of a “big brother” and less of a “love interest” imo.

    They will have to show us some Ranka x Altoh romance development before Ozma exits for Altoh to now automatically shift/fall into that big brother role.

    GP
    Reply

  48. what i can’t tell at the moment is whether or not she’s faking it but by the looks of the sceencaps, it doesn’t seem to be at the end.

    i was kinda of hoping for more of a love-hate relationship rather than transitioning so fast into just love. it doesn’t seem like alto is putting much effort into the whole thing though

    mango
    Reply

  50. Macross Zero
    Macross
    Macross Flashback 2012 (AMV that gives an epilogue to the original Macross series)
    Macross 7 Beginning
    Macross Plus (OVA takes place concurrently with Macross 7)
    Macross 7 End
    Macross Frontier

    Thats how it is in chronological order. . The above all take place in the same universe and thus the same “series” although they each have their own characters and plots, much like the Original UC Gundam series is one series and Gundam SEED is another.

    Macross II is part of an alternate time line and thus not part of the Frontier universe.

    VF-0 – Macross Zero
    VF-1 – Macross
    VF-4 – Macross Flashback 2012
    VF-11 – Macross Plus
    VF-17 – Macross 7
    VF-19 – Macross Plus
    VF-21 – Macross Plus
    VF-22 – Macross 7 (Production version of VF-21 from Macross Plus)
    VF-25 – Macross Frontier

    Kyuusei
    Reply

  51. Klein in Civvies = Love.

    Sheryl trying on Zentradi Underwear = Love.

    Ranka Playing at Stardom = Very Cute.

    As for Mikhail avoiding Klein, he’s smart enough to know that if he teases her in THIS form, she can crush him like a bug. And so, since he knows he can’t help but tease her, or have to suffer taunts in return since she has the advantage, he runs the other way like a trog with his tail between his ears.

    … and excuse me, must go stare at Klein in that civilian outfit again…

    Haesslich
    Reply

  52. @Veronica

    The VF-17 wasn’t introduced in any series, though it’s documented/dated as to when it entered service etc. If anything the macross universe has detailed information about all it’s mecha/ships and so on even if it’s not shown in a series. Lots of info finds it’s way into the Macross games btw, on the dreamcast/playstation and so on.

    Anime/OVA wise you have the…
    VF-0 In Macross Zero
    VF-1 In Macross
    VF-4 In Macross Flashback 2012
    VF-2 In Macross 2 (alternate universe!)
    VA-14 In Macross Plus
    VF-11 In Macross Plus
    YF-19 In Macross Plus
    YF-21 In Macross Plus

    And now that I look again… Macross 7 had…

    VF-17
    VF-19
    VF-22 (Just like the YF-21 in Plus but without the mind control system)

    So far Macross F has the VF-171 and the new VF-25

    That’s it for anime/OVA and manga stuff. They also have games, in which you see the above plus the VF-3, VF-9, VF-14, VF-3000, VF-5000 and VF-X-11. Phew… Tht’s it!

    GP
    Reply

  53. Camari: You’re partly right in the splitting of Minmay from Hikaru starting with Miss Macross… and her growing role as a self-centered, incest-loving idol singer. However, part of the problem was she was flighty and not REALLY interested in a relationship after all. It was only after she found herself effectively isolated from everyone at the end (because she was a bitchy, self-centered, incest-loving idol who ended up getting ditched by Kaifun) that she started up anything with Hikaru. Ranka and Sheryl, in comparison, are heads and shoulders above her in emotional maturity… and Hikaru and Minmay’s relationship wasn’t quite as warm and relaxed and rooted in mutual growth as Alto and Ranka’s is. That element reminds me more of what Misa and Hikaru had later on, when they became closer… but so far without the romantic element.

    GP: Alto doesn’t provide the support that ALLOWS Ranka to sing, but he and Sheryl keep encouraging her to do so, her feelings of inadequacy be damned. They were the two whose appearance raised Ranka’s spirits during the Miss Macross competition, and Sheryl’s been subtly helping her along with a kind word and gentle encouragement – as well as making sure that our green-haired quarter-Zentran actually went and took those opportunities open to her. She’s being the big sister, and has more of a semi-sibling relationship than Alto does; he and Ranka are good friends, and probably they’re the first ‘really good’ friendship the other has had, without being superficial or limited to work or school.

    Alto and Ranka don’t necessarily have to fall into the big brother/little sister role – just because she said ‘onii-san’ a few times during the aftermath of the rescue does not make him a big brother; she does turn to her brother for emotional support, which is why she broke down when she heard he was in that disabled VF-25. Yet at the same time, she doesn’t react with any fear to Alto joining SMS, even though she knows he’s likely to be piloting… because he’s not family-close, but more a friend. A good, supportive friend – but a friend. Whether that’ll persist or if they develop feelings for one another will have to be fleshed out later on in the story; as it is, Sheryl’s openly flirtateous as Minmay was at times… but Ranka and Alto seem to feel more comfortable around one another than romantic. He did find Ranka interesting enough that, before the eyecatch in ep 1, he was willing to go to Nyan Nyan because she recommended it, even after calling her a ‘strange girl’.

    We’ll see how things go – they’ve shown they’re not afraid to NOT pay direct homage to Macross with the way the Miss Macross contest went, so maybe the ‘Misa’ character here may lose out to Minmay. But at this point, Alto’s not interested in EITHER girl, or relationships.

    Besides, I remember how he was staring at Klein last episode and Ozma basically had to prod him to get his attention back… 😉

    Haesslich
    Reply

  55. @GP-Next episode is titled “Bye Bye Sheryl”. Of course, there would be a SherylxAlto scene. From what you’re saying, they need to show a skinship scene between Alto and Ranka in order to indicate romance? Is the accidental chest grope in episode 2 not enough? And I don’t know about Ranka, but she did see Alto half-naked. I wonder if that counts lol This episode simply just pushed Sheryl INSIDE the love triangle, not at the lead. Yes, Alto does claim that Ranka’s pushing him to do stuffs (when he went to see Ms. Macross), but you have to be really dense to not see his genuine interest in her.

    Question. About the Vajra, in episode 1 when it attacked, did Ranka sing?

    Camari
    Reply

  57. @Haesslich- I see, so the difference between Minmei and Ranka’s character is that Minmei had no interest in Hikaru in the beginning? If so, then I really think they wouldn’t go overboard with the homage here. Hope not. That and I don’t want to see Ozma reduced to space dust. x_x

    Camari
    Reply

  58. Camari: Right before the concert, when she was telling Alto to come and visit her there. “Nyan nyan, nyan nyan, ni hao nyan!”

    Kaori: Luca is interested in busty megane girls… or maybe busty girls in general, which is probably why he was laughing so hard watching Mikhail and Klein fight. And why he likes Nanase.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  59. No action? Not a problem when Frontier shines like this.

    Every bit of this episode was FUN to watch. I loved seeing Alto and Sheryl plus Michael and Ranka hanging around various areas of Island One. BEAUTIFUL scenery in this one from the cable car scenes to the Zentradi farms ( LOVE THOSE HIPPO-COWS). The love triangle is working well and it looks like we’re gonna have TWO divas soon.

    pinoy78
    Reply

  61. The SherylXAlto or RankaxAlto stuff is going to get fun. I’m rooting for SherylXAlto now. Their chemistry is great. Ranka seems too much like a child to me. Good episode.

    woo
    Reply

  62. @Haesslich

    I never said Minmei and Ranka are the same, anything but, but then again those who say she’ll end up with the guy because she’s also important to the plot more than the other girl/girls are wrong and jumping ahead.

    And where did I say it’s cuz of Altoh that Ranka can sing period? I don’t remember doing so. I’ve said time and again that he’s “supported” her as a friend does. At this point that’s all there is to it, friendship. Each person will see it different I’m sure but there isn’t really anything there at this point.

    You’re saying the same stuff I’ve said over and over. They’re friends at this point. I’m not saying Altoh will fall into a big brother role once Ozma dies, but the possibility IS there regardless. You might as well be open to the idea of it at this point.

    Them not having Ranka win miss macross also fits, we already have one big idol, you can’t just toss out a 2nd one like that. But that’s not to say Ranka won’t become one later, as this episode shows she’s got the voice, maybe not the body yet but she’s going to get her start it seems.

    Actually at this point there IS NO MISA character when you look at it. There is Kathy but she’s not in the running so no go there. Both Ranka and Sheryl are closer to the same character in this series. Sheryl has her bitchy side but we’ve seen a bit of it in Ranka, and aside from the fact they both love to sing I’m sure there are other similure characteristics between the two.

    Now we could also be wrong in thinking this will go into a full blown love triangle with loads of drama, it might not. The only sure thing is that the three characters interactions are part of the plot and development, but that doesn’t 100% indicate deep SR parts to come.

    GP
    Reply

  63. Camari: Minmay had a fleeting interest in Hikaru… but not all that much from what I saw. They were stuck together for a week, but then afterward she treated him more as a friend or maybe a brother than anything else. Or perhaps an acquaintance… a situation which didn’t improve after she became Miss Macross, or met Kaifun again, had him flown to the Macross with her… even if she was openly flirtateous at times, the way Sheryl is here. Misa and Hikaru fought a lot, but they grew close in their quiet moments of opening up and sharing vulnerabilities. Ranka and Alto get a bit of that, but there’s no romantic ‘vibe’ between them, although the reaction here may suggest SOMETHING like a crush. Maybe. Or just that she finds the idea of friends being involved to be weird. Or maybe it’s “OMG, it’s SHERYL and someone I know!” sorta responses.

    pinoy78: You must worship Klein-sama. It’s nice to get quiet episodes where we see the rest of the ship, and how things are when they’re not being blown up… and this did it. Plus, as GP pointed out, the banter between Sheryl and Alto was good.

    GP: No, you didn’t say it that way – as you said, Ranka and Alto have a good deep friendship developing, and he provides support that her brother doesn’t given his dismissive nature towards idols in general (looking at his comments on the Miss Macross competition). We don’t know if Alto will be able to fill that big brother role – certainly he won’t be able to if he goes into combat, given Ranka’s trauma switch… and we see Mikhail playing some of that role too, this ep.

    As far as Misa-type characters go, her character design is used for Miss Glass (somewhat pretty brown-haired military figure), but her personality characteristics seem to have been given to Sheryl, along with her initial relationship with Hikaru… albeit one without quite as much conflict as those two had in their early days. Some of it seems to have fallen into Ranka as well, however – the quiet closeness that Misa and Hikaru later developed, which Minmay and Hikaru never did. On the one hand, it seems like they split Minmay into two characters: the sweet innocent (Ranka) and the idol (Sheryl); however, they’ve ALSO seemingly given each characters traits from Misa Hayase as well – Sheryl’s a professional and a hard worker that inherited Misa’s early conflict with Hikaru as well as a mature and confident manner while Ranka got some of the quiet time that Misa and Hikaru got to enjoy later, as well as some of the temper (I don’t recall Minmay doing all that much when she got mad at people: here, Ranka’s throwing items and beaning Ozma with a pan).

    Personally, I don’t see the triangle yet, but there’s potential for it. I -want- to see all three characters get closer, because it means that should there be a romantic conflict there’s more real drama involved as they try to balance friendship along with jealousy or affection. Plus there’s the whole possible mentor/protege relationship between Sheryl and Ranka to consider.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  66. You’re right, no triangle yet as we’ve both pointed out. And Glass is the one who fits Misa best, but she’s not part of the group this time, which is a shame imo.

    You basically pointed out in a much better way how Ranka and Sheryl match up yet also have a bit of their own differences. Most of that comes from Sheryl already being an idol and living her dream imo. While Ranka isn’t there yet. It’s be interesting to see how she changes if/when she gets into the same situation that Sheryl is living right now.

    If they decide to build up the Ranka idol growth part, we can start to see her getting closer to a Sheryl personality while Sheryl starts to fall into a quieter/slower life.

    I don’t think they’ll change the characters much though, even if fame and fortune does change people in the end (specially when you get it quick). As you said above this is also what changed Minmei from that original everyday girl that she was at the start.

    While I don’t hate either girl, I just like the whole bitchy uptight famus idol who meets someone and falls in love etc, thus regaining what she lost due to her star status.

    Cliche I suppose, but then again so is the other side with the average quiet yet talented girl who meets the guy and has her dream come true. 😛

    GP
    Reply

  67. GP: Glass only fits due to character design and role. Her personality, what we’ve seen of it, is less Misa than.. well, I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head from the original series who meshes well with her actions so far. Misa was never quite so… irresponsible, at least with regards to business and personal affairs until her attraction to Hikaru became more obvious. Sheryl’s the closest we’ve got to Misa, but she too has more Minmay than Misa… but she’s more Misa than anyone else, while Ranka fits more with the early Minmay, with some Misa traits mixed in.

    Ranka doesn’t have Sheryl’s self-confidence, nor her self-assurance. Ranka HAS some stage presence, which Sheryl’s developed to a far greater extent… but neither does she have Sheryl’s bitchy side. She can get angry, as Ozma found out, but she doesn’t get bitchy, or does she seem to be the type who holds grudges. Sheryl comes across as being able to hold a grudge, but for the most part chooses not to, since ultimately a lot of things aren’t important enough to her to hold a grudge about.

    Minmay wasn’t quite the original everyday girl, although she was one for the most part – she was more childish than Ranka is, which meant she ended up being flighty and self-absorbed. Traits that were, unfortunately, reinforced with her sudden rise to superstardom. Sheryl has YET to fall in love with Alto, but at the same time I get the feeling that she isn’t really that bitchy… but that she was getting over her fold-lag after the jump, and so we got a very negative impression of her to start, which has been shown to be rather much the opposite. She CAN be bitchy, but she tends not to be – a bit divatastic, certainly (that’s why she was throwing around her weight to find her earring), but certainly less so than Minmay was, because she’s more mature emotionally. Hell, Luca and KLEIN are more emotionally mature than Minmay was. Even when the latter’s being teased by Mikhail about her height.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  68. Lol if we go by those panties Zentradi girls need human sized dildos, no wonder Michel was so keen to hide from Kuran Kuran. Still it was a nice date episode, lots of good AltoXShirley vibes.

    I still think that Mana is the hottest in the cast, but I didn’t expect her to be the love interest of that shota-shorts wearing Luca.

    BTW am I the only one who starts to think that Shirley’s breasts are inflatable? Whenever she shows some skin they suddenly look twice as big as compared to when she wears clothing over them.

    bearzerger
    Reply

  72. There’s something both horribly wrong and yet so incredibly appropriate that Sheryl and Alto get a balcony seat to chat with Klein Klan… but instead of setting them at eye level (in a place that sells Zentradi lingerie), it sets them at chest-level. And Alto’s still looking at Klein one episode later.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  73. I’ve fallen for Macross now.. loved it! It’s totally awesome!
    *is addicted to all the songs*

    I’m all for Alto x Sheryl!
    It’s just that they look so cute and happy together in this episode.
    While the Alto and Ranka moments in previous episodes felt normal (and a bit like their meetings were too much of a “set up” by the creators = too often to be natural) to me.

    Also, this image of a big shiny green slug (like her phone) keeps popping up in my head every time I see Ranka’s hair (which can move too -*-), can’t help it. It does not feel nice even though Ranka is a cute character. She’s an honest good girl who tries hard. Why?!? does she have to remind me of slugs?!? =_=”’
    I am trying to like her but it’s like trying to like a cute kind-hearted slimy green slug. GAR!!
    I bet she’ll be singing as a part of the army’s plan to lure Vajra into traps later on. But if she does and becomes the next Minmay (singing to stop war), then it’ll be because her voice/parentage not her ability?

    I wonder whats all with the typical stereotypes like shota and megane girl?
    I’m a girl but I still say I prefer lolis.

    Yukiruchan
    Reply

  76. This is my favorite episode to date. I had a lot of laugh in this one and it further supports my opinion of the chemistry working for Sheryl and Alto. I’m really looking forward to more of this SherylxAlto. I’m also having a feeling that it’s Cathy and Ozma, and somehow that Michel/Michael will enter the triangle by liking Ranka.

    kai_y
    Reply

  77. @kai_y

    At the very least, yeah, I think Mikhail will indeed enter the triangle. In fact, I think it’s a done deal since he does seem to have been paying quite a bit of attention to her throughout the series. I do however wonder about CathyxOzma… I see where you’re coming from but i think i’ll need to see more.

    Res
    Reply

  82. It’s not easy or hard to hate or like either Ranka or Sheryl, it was very esy to hate Minmei in comparison.

    That said, Ranka and Altoh could just stay as good friends. I know Macross has a history of love triangles but they’ve never been full blown drama fests like other series have them. Macross Plus was the show that had the most drama but even in that the girl liked one guy clearly from the start and just thought of the other as a really good friend. But that was made complicated because of what happened in the past between the three etc. Moving on, Macross Zero also had a very light triangle between the guy and the two sisters. The guy liked one from the start, while the other he saw as a friend/little sister.

    Even the original was pretty one sided for most of it, Hikaru liked Minemi, Mnmei as too absorbed in her fame to notice, and Misa liked Hikaru etc. That’s also why it never got resolved up until the final episode of the series as to who Hikaru would pick.

    Right now we’re just going head first into thinking about Macross F as having a full blown love triangle with drama, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. We’re not talking about DCII etc here.

    At this point Altoh is friends with Ranka and vice versa, he’s also gotten to be friends (or just gotten to know better), with Sheryl. Though it seems like Sheryl is the first to start to develope feelings for him at this time. The similarities to the original are almost the same to this. Hikaru liked Minmei, Minmei saw him as a firend, Misa liked Hikaru. Now we get Altoh and Ranka as friends with Sheryl looking like she likes Altoh. It’s almost the same, and it could become even more so if we get any romantic development between Altoh and Ranka. But we haven’t seen it yet.

    GP
    Reply

  83. I love how they’ve portrayed Cali in the Macross series, having lived in Cali and seen the inspirations for a lot of the backdrops, I can appreciate the level of detail in the environments. Also loved the Shibuya drops too as I’ve just recently been to Tokyo. Macross will always be my number 1 favorite anime series.

    Slade
    Reply

  84. somehow i felt like i dont want to think about who will end up with who. i ship for ranka x alto though. but then again, i felt like the creators wont make the story same as the original macross. they keep on throwing in new possibiliies in each episode!but im loving it!^^

    audishah
    Reply

  85. @Slade : I’m from san fran and yeah its a high level of detail…. in one of the scene it show how chinatown real looks in sf chinatown though they removed a couple things

    tsuchiro
    Reply

  86. Another question to long time Macross fans (well, since it hurts eyes looking Wiki too long)

    So how many races in Macross universe, and their roles/conflicts/special abilities/relations:

    I only know that there are humans (microns), zentradi, and protodelvn.

    Anything else?

    okayquestionagain
    Reply

  87. @howtowatch?
    they are all linked together, depands on which way you want to watch… if you want to watch from hmmm time-line point of view… watch
    Macross Zero
    Macross
    Macross plus
    Marocss 7
    and macross F

    if not.. if you want to watch by… which year they came out.. watch…
    Macross
    Macross OVAs/movies (do you remember love, Flash back etc.)
    Macross 2 (note that macross 2 is in a different universe)
    Macross Plus
    Macross 7
    Macross 7 Ova and Movies
    Macross Zero
    and Macross F

    Kinomie
    Reply

  88. @okayquestionagain

    There’s also the Supervision Army

    “The Supervision Army has been the mortal foes of the Zentradi for the past 500,000 years. The two factions were created during the dissolution of the Protoculture’s Stellar Republic.”

    pinoy78
    Reply

  89. I agree with OMNI, this was better than I expected for a date episode without space fights. After last two episodes being kind of lame we actually had a few surprises here. Its the first time I see a Zentradi (real size) city (dont know if they did this on macross 7 cause I never saw it).

    I hate the feeling that Sheryl and Altoh are not going to end up together. I don’t know why I feel like they are giving too much importance to Ranka and I don’t like her character at all. I hope that as Hudson suggested Ranka will be killed at some episode or something and Sheryl will end up with Altoh. It would make sense after all, like the way that the girl in Macross Zero ended up flying to the stars with that strange Alien. Something like that could happen with Ranka and I would like that a lot.

    I hate how the Vajra are some kind of dumb robots or whatever, they don’t seem to comunicate intelligently with each other, I don’t know, I kind of just don’t like that they are just drones driven by Ranka’s voice or whatever.

    Sergio
    Reply

  92. @Sergio

    I totally agree, I really want Altoh and Sheryl to end up together, but it seems to me that Ranka is more important and most likely end up with Altoh. But I really hope that the writer will someone change the pattern with his recent series to this one, because I’m pretty sure that more people would like it better if Sheryl ends up with Altoh and Ranka ends up being a good sacrifice that can somewhat still stay in Altoh’s heart.

    I don’t know, but to me Ranka seem’s a little too young for Altoh, her hair is way short, and it looks like she’s got beagle ears on her head, and her talking voice is a little too deep and screechy.. There are so many reasons why they shouldn’t be together.

    lanabear
    Reply

  93. Personally, I want Alto with Ranka but I won’t argue to my face is blue all about it. Everyone has their own liking for certain pairings, so each to their own. Anyway, who’s to say Alto will end up with the girls? Who knows he might not end up with either one of them at all.

    koyuki
    Reply

  94. Ranka should stay as a good friend to Altoh and Sheryl… it’s like Altoh and Sheryl are guardians over Ranka… how can Altoh get with somebody that is so timid, you know? I’m sure if Ranka was upset that Altoh was spending time with Sheryl, that he would ignore Sheryl in a heart beat… but I will stick with what I originally said… Altoh is like an older brother to Ranka, with Sheryl as the good friend who keeps encouraging her.

    Thus’…. I would love it if Altoh and Sheryl got together. Both of the girls are important to the series, they are there so Altoh has someone to protect… otherwise Sheryl wouldn’t be in the OP like that nor flying in space with Ranka…. I don’t think Ranka is going to die though, her importantance is just too high.

    Kaori
    Reply

  96. Ranka was slightly annoying this episode with her whining though I don’t want to pass judgment on her until I can watch the subs. Playful Sheryl was really nice to watch and the interaction between her and Alto was great as was the growth of their relationship. Loved both versions of What bout my star though I preferred the Ranka version due to the more live feel compared to the studio version by Sheryl.

    Anyway as far as the triangle goes… Ranka is clearly the key person in this series in regards to the Varja, I really don’t see Kawamori making her play that role they as well as making her and Alto the final pair which would only leave Sheryl with what she had at the start and some personal growth. I don’t see that happening tbh especially since Sheryl is more in line with past Kawamori “winners” than Ranka. Not to mention that Sheryl has been second on the cast order behind Alto for every episode except for 4. Cast order does matter, look at the second half of SEED Destiny when Kira Yamato replaced Shinn Asuka at top. Sheryl and Ranka are very even female leads anyway… which is why I don’t think Ranka will win since if she dominated the Varja aspect she probably won’t win the romantic part because they are even leads.

    Anyway Sheryl draws first blood in the romantic stakes, you can see Alto’s attitude to her changing throughout the episode and he seemed quite taking by her after the kiss. Next episode will further the Sheryl and Alto relationship with the possible return of her precious earring. Everything Ranka and Alto had before this was pure friendship. If you consider the past Ranka and Alto stuff as romantic than you might as well class Ranka and Mikhail in this episode as romantic as well.

    @ Dan

    Shelley was the brand of lipstick Sheryl was promoting.

    Westlo
    Reply

  98. if this series follows what i’m thinking, several of the characters we’ve seen and more will kick the bucket before it’s over. and also, we might get a cliffhanger ending and be set up for a season 2, like code geass and gundam 00 did, considering the pacing of the show thus far.

    Tmoo
    Reply

  100. She won’t die.. as posted by Omni “she thanks Alto for today and promises to send him a ticket for her farewell concert.” Of course she won’t be going back to Galaxy which is under attack so Bye Bye Sheryl could be Alto saying goodbye to her as he goes to Galaxy with SMS. Or it could just be the general public of Frontier thinking she has gone back while she stays behind since they don’t want the general public to know that Galaxy is under attack.

    We’ll know in a week but Sheryl pretty much have 99% chance of not dying in this series. Ranka being more connected to the Varja has a higher chance though I really doubt any of those 2 will do a Guld and die.

    Westlo
    Reply

  103. I’m sorry, I’m really not trying being bias in anyway, but didn’t the Vajra attack after Sheryl’s concert? (episode 1) Is it because it reacts to everything that sings? so we can’t just base our main character to be just Ranka because she sings more within the series.

    everyone has their own opinion of who they want Altoh to end up with. Although we’re still in the 5th episode of this at lease 25 episode show, i personally prefer him ending up with Sheryl.

    lanabear
    Reply

  104. There has been 3-4 occasions where the Varja have reacted directly to Ranka…. zero to Sheryl.. yes they attacked during her concert but they also just attacked Macross Galaxy.. and they have attacked previous Zentradi fleets as shown in episode 4 when Alto and Klein Klan train. In other words they are attacking anyone coming in this direction.. but they have only reacted to Ranka at this moment. So like Minmei was the key to the Zentradi, Ranka should be the key for the Varja which should drastically reduce her chances of ending up with Alto if Kawamori wants to keep Ranak and Sheryl as even leads..

    Westlo
    Reply

  105. @westlo-What does Ranka being the key have to do with her chances of ending up with Alto? Is the writer that inflexible to always go with his previous set-ups? 😐

    diva
    Reply

  106. It’s got nothing to do with previous setups, it’s got everything to do with balancing Sheryl and Ranka who are being shown as equal female leads. If Sheryl has nothing to do with the Varja and ends up losing Alto what’s her role in this series than? She’s already famous and successful unlike Ranka who will more than likely end up becoming that.

    Ranka and Sheryl are equal female leads, neither of them are more important than the other in the overall scheme of the show itself so if one is more important in one aspect (Varja) than the other should be more important in the other (Alto) to keep the equality between them.

    This won’t be like the original in how Minmay had way more screentime than Misa, it will be more even.

    Westlo
    Reply

  107. Hudson: Show me the part in the manga where that happens, then we’ll talk. If you don’t like green-haired quarter-Zentran, then just say so and be done with it.

    GP: Alto and anyone could stay good friends – unlike Hikaru or most other male leads, he’s not looking for a girlfriend at the moment, nor does he apparently have any ex-girlfriends to clutter the romantic landscape that we know of. That’s probably part of what’ll fuel any yaoi-fodder that makes it into the doujin marketplace… on top of his girlish good looks. Besides, with what Kawamori said about not letting any Macross completely duplicate another, if we’re looking at Ranka and Sheryl as Minmay and Misa… then Misa’ll lose this time. So let’s not, and see how things go on from here. At least Sheryl doesn’t hate him, and Ranka isn’t completely infatuated with Alto so we’re not looking at a meltdown situation just yet.

    Ozma’s past with Cathy explains her reaction in episode 3… and makes the whole ‘Leon taking her on the desk with Ozma’s file on top’ particularly… galling? I’m not sure how I’d put it. But it may also explain her pissed-off look when Leon was holding Ranka’s file and fixing things with the other judges.

    Westlo: We -hope- it’ll be more even, but we can’t be so sure of it. They may end up sharing screentime, however, should Sheryl get ‘stuck’ on the Frontier due to events elsewhere (and the Galaxy is travelling along the same part of space the Frontier is, unlike the rest of the other fleets). Whether this means Sheryl ‘ends up’ with Alto, or the triangle gets hopelessly confused is another story. At the moment, Alto’s not looking for romance unlike Mikhail or Luca… nor is he boffing anyone like Leon, or even flirting. However, should Sheryl and/or Ranka start flirting with him, then he might be responsive… as he sorta ends up doing here.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  108. It should be more even, Sheryl being listed 2nd on the cast order for 5 episodes out of 6 (she’ll be second next week 100%) as well as being the main focus of the first manga volume cover shows that. While I disagree I can see why some people complained Hayase came from nowhere in the original.

    “At the moment, Alto’s not looking for romance unlike Mikhail or Luca…”

    He looked pretty taken with Sheryl after that kiss on the cheek and he definitely enjoyed himself more as the day went on. Him and Sheryl blushed a lot during this episode as well. Their relationship will progress next episode too more than likely, at this rate Ranka will be the 3rd wheel.

    “Besides, with what Kawamori said about not letting any Macross completely duplicate another”

    Ozma survives and gets with Kathy!

    Westlo
    Reply

  109. I feel like Sheryl will be killed off before Ranka is, and Alto will just be left with her earring. Maybe in the next episode? Hopefully not, but that’s just what it feels like to me. If it happens, remember you heard it here first.

    Depressed Conspiricist
    Reply

  110. ooh~ getting interesting with the ranka x alto x sheryl…
    I personally don’t care which who alto ends up with as long as there seems to be a good process in between of them getting to know each other (meaning I wouldn’t want the alto to suddenly declare he likes one of them out of the blue). I am leaning a little towards alto x ranka, but if the storyline follows the original Macross with Hikaru and Minmei and Kawamori, then I think the chances of Alto ending up with Ranka are low…however, I hope that at least Ranka wouldn’t ever be close to being selfish as Minmei was (when she told Hikaru she didn’t care about others and only wanted to survive with him).

    Crimson_Pirate
    Reply

  111. ‘Should’ and ‘will be’ are two different things. Remembering that another show which got blogged about on this blog (SEED Destiny) ended up being usurped halfway through by the main character of the previous series due to rumored director/writer conflicts with the cast. Kawamori has only stated that he’d be making sure the story didn’t echo exactly any previous Macross one, which means we’re probably safe from insane hologram/AI enemies for now, as well as a step-by-step repeat of the Misa/Hikaru/Minmay triangle.

    The main strike against AltoxRanka aren’t the role of the latter, but their current interactions and the way they seem to think about one another – Alto’s protective of her and supports her in ways that Ozma refuses to, while Ranka feels close to Alto because he’s Alto and has protected her in the past… even if his joining SMS puzzles her somewhat. He doesn’t think of Ranka romantically, which argues against a relationship at this time… but neither does he really see Sheryl that way yet, although the dayto-episode may tilt the equation more towards her if Sheryl keeps hunting him down and making him feel like an idiot (aka: normal state of affairs for a man in love).

    We’ll see if he’s interested next episode – I don’t know many heterosexual males who wouldn’t be staring after Sheryl if they’d been escorted by her a whole day, complete with a trapped-in-a-locker interlude. That’s why I say we need to wait and see to confirm if he’s as taken with her in a romantic way or if it was a ‘heat of the moment’ sort of thing. He wasn’t hunting for this, and if you look at him in Episode 1 he appears rather annoyed by how Mikhail’s chatting up and hitting on every girl in sight using his ‘you look like Sheryl Nome’ line. They’re definitely friends at this point, and Sheryl doesn’t hate him – we saw that way back in Episode 3. But whether HE’S interested is still something to be settled. Or whether Ranka’s seriously interested in him beyond the fact he’s pretty and he’s usually there to help her… unlike the more distant ‘brother’ Ozma. That’s why Ranka was so annoyed when she couldn’t find him this episode – Alto wasn’t there when she was looking for him.

    Personally, I’m hoping Ozma and Catherine Glass do get together – Leon’s using her, and she apparently isn’t quite over him to judge by their fighting, which reminds me MUCH more of the classic Hikaru and Misa sparring of the first series, albeit tempered by the fact that Ozma’s technically a civilian now and she’s not the Executive Officer, which means rank is no longer a big barrier as it would’ve been back when Hikaru was still a junior officer and Misa was second-in-command. Roy Focker and Claudia LaSalle had an easier time of things since they were both relatively senior officers and Claudia wasn’t effectively his immediate superior (as Lisa was, handling squadron control and carrier ops like a CAG) on top of other duties.

    Besides, Ozma needs someone to settle him down a bit… if he survives. The odds agaisnt him doing so will drop significantly if we find out he likes pineapple salad, though…

    Haesslich
    Reply

  113. How are we so sure that Sheryl has no other purpose in the show other than become Alto’s potential love interest? What’s up with her earrings? I remember in the preview episode 1, Sheryl’s earrings were featured in the ED theme. Besides, she’s Ranka’s almighty idol and the Galaxy’s idol. There are so many possibilities to work on her character. I think I wouldn’t be THIS confused with the love triangle if I haven’t read all these Minmay/Misa comparisons here–even the weekly cast order’s being analyzed lmao. If I ignore all that and just LOOK at the storyline, it’s crystal clear Ranka is not the third wheel here.

    @westlo-Since the weekly cast order’s inconsistent, I think it has something to do with Ranka’s VA being a newcomer or something. If you want consistent, the cast order in the official website is. Ranka’s clearly listed second.

    http://www.macrossf.com/character/character.html

    diva
    Reply

  115. O geez, shipper wars lol Soon, I probably will just watch the show without reading other’s opinions and whatnot and just enjoy watching my two fave characters struggle their way to the top.

    diva
    Reply

  116. If we’re talking about cameo Valkyrie appearances, a Civilian Valkyrie from Macross II shows up in Episode 3, at 00:15.

    As to the love triangle, what about that mysterious, yet-unseen woman in the OP? Maybe she’ll end up Alto’s love interest, like Max and Milia. She seems to be the pilot of that enemy fighter in the OP, since it appears right after her.

    VF-Man
    Reply

  117. VF-Man..that “unseen woman” is actually a man and is played by a male VA.

    His name is Brera Sterne (not a spoiler since it was shown in the Director’s cut episode briefly along with a sketch of him).

    Ciupy
    Reply

  118. Diva I and manga readers already know about Sheryl’s earrings as will anime viewers next week. I’ll honestly be surprised if they become a focal point in the actual plot in the show, focal point in the development/relationship of characters yes, but plot no.

    “If I ignore all that and just LOOK at the storyline, it’s crystal clear Ranka is not the third wheel here.”

    Name the romantic development between Ranka and Alto. I hope you can come up with something aside from they inspire each other and support each other, or that Alto fights for Ranka because if so next weeks episode should be interesting… If you think these are romantic developments than I expect you to acknowledge them again next week 😉

    Anyway they have had zero romantic developments so far, just pure friendship, yes we as viewers know they will, it’s obvious even without taking into account the OP song title, first line in the op song and love triangles being part of Macross tradition. But as things actually stand they have had no concrete romantic developments.

    Now Ranka’s actually seen Sheryl kiss Alto on the cheek, Alto’s reaction to that and things should get more interesting next week.

    “@westlo-Since the weekly cast order’s inconsistent, I think it has something to do with Ranka’s VA being a newcomer or something. If you want consistent, the cast order in the official website is. Ranka’s clearly listed second.”

    It really doesn’t matter since they’re pretty much been shown to be equal leads, also Sheryl being listed 2nd for 5 out of 6 episodes (she’ll be 2nd next week, content aside the episode has her name in it..) isn’t exactly what I’ll call inconsistent but whatever the point is moot.

    The VA being new has nothing to do with it or Noe wouldn’t be listed about Hiromi in True Tears, Soul and Maka above Death The Kidd in Soul Eater etc.

    Also I hope retarded shippers don’t ruin the conclusion of this show when reading thoughts on the final. If we get something as amazing as episode 26 of SDF Macross (Love Drifts Away) and the majority of comments is “boo/yay Sheryl/ranka won/lost” than /facepalm.

    Westlo
    Reply

  119. I thought Macross was 36 episodes, not 26… and even though Misa ‘won’, the trio maintained a good friendship (Misa and Minmsy starting theirs then) that led to Minmay joining them on Megaroad-01. As far as anime triangles go, it dudntcend poorly for anyone for a change – you could say that they anticipated the Shuffle anime ending by 22 years or thereabouts. 😉

    I’m not against the shipping so much as the notion that the relationships have progressed beyond friendship yet. Sheryl has cast ehatvmay be the first stone there; but Alto-hime has yet to reciprocate. For those who say blushing=romance, i would point to the end of episode 3 where he blushes after Ranka leans in close to tell him teasingly that he’s being mean after being chided for her defeatism. We shall see how things develop – and as long as nobody asks for pineapple salad, we should be good. Unless Sheryl or Ranka order it sometime.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  120. you guys can read japanese?! that’s awesome (I assume that’s how all of you know about the manga and what’s going to happen next)

    Since I already said my current opinion on the love triangle I just want to say,.. Is anybody else tired of that froggy cellphone? I’m starting to hate it(one more reason of why I don’t like Ranka, along with her strange voice, odd hairstyle, whinnyness, lol).

    Sergio
    Reply

  121. I’m saying Ranka and Alto connected first then here comes Sheryl. Third wheel= Sheryl. Why would they show Ranka’s jealous face if Ranka feels nothing for Alto. Why give Ranka screentime and concern when this episode is all about Sheryl and Alto? It only means Ranka is already involved in the LT. Plain and simple. I’m perfectly aware RankaxAlto’s mutual relationship is still on the friend zone officially, but it has every symptoms of ‘potential love’ in it. Since yea, there is going to be a LOVE triangle. It’s going to spark soon regardless of how Sheryl connects with Alto next episode. In my opinion, it would be interesting to see Alto get wooed by Sheryl. I’d like to see how RankaxAlto turns out.

    diva
    Reply

  122. Plus, it is nice to see it confirmed that Sheryl foes seem to appreciate that Alto’s normal treatment of the Galactic Fairy is why she seems to like his company. It shows that she us emphatically not a Minmay clone, despite her introduction, and that she’s mature enough to be Ranka’s friend and maybe mentor.

    Cathy and Ozma also feel like a Claudia and Riy who lasted through the first war but who grew apart. This makes me think the triangle could be her, Leon-the-bastard, and Ozma… nahhhhh.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  123. sheryl does, even. Dang small keyboard.

    Diva: Ranka called him a pretty girl, and that incident ended with a ‘huh, what a strange girl… but I think I’ll try it’ thought from Alto after her farewell suggestion he visit Nyan Nyan. I can’t quite feel the romance there yet, or the connection outside of him deciding he didn’t want to yell at a young girl (unlike Sheryl, who he felt deserved to be yelled at)

    Haesslich
    Reply

  124. I’m saying Ranka and Alto connected first then here comes Sheryl. Third wheel= Sheryl.”

    They connected as friends.. and both girls met Alto on the same day…

    “Why would they show Ranka’s jealous face if Ranka feels nothing for Alto”

    Sudden realization is a bitch isn’t it? Also going by past episodes she might be jealous of Alto getting a kiss from Sheryl :p

    “Why give Ranka screentime and concern when this episode is all about Sheryl and Alto? It only means Ranka is already involved in the LT. Plain and simple.”

    There is no love triangle atm, let me repeat this there is no love triangle atm. Ranka fans can whine and moan all they want but the fact is the love triangle hasn’t started period. Now if Ranka starts to make a move on Alto it’s in reaction to Sheryl’s kiss which shows that the start of the love triangle is Alto x Sheryl.

    Was Asa from Shuffle involved in the love… uh polygon when she looked at Rin with longing a few times early on even though he had no idea she was interested in him? Was Hiromi in True Tears in a love triangle when she looked at Noe and Shin with jealousy in the 2nd episode?

    As for why Ranka gets screen time.. it’s rather simple… like Alto and Sheryl she’s one of the 3 main characters of this show. Do you assume Michael is going to get involved? Because he was in this episode just as much as Ranka.

    Westlo
    Reply

  125. i dont get why everyone is debating this so much lol..lets just see what happens.

    That being said i’m preferenced for SherylxAlto but we’ll see how the story does it.

    ren
    Reply

  126. ren: Because anime fanboys, myself included, have a need to feel justified by guessing correctly, thus being able to brandish their large wangs of ‘I know more than you do’. Sheryl and Alto may happen, may not. It’s too early to tell. Ranka and Alto don’t seem to be happening anytime soon, but they’ve got the emotional closeness that Misa and Hikaru developed after the Zentradi capture… a closeness which eventually led to the two of them dating. Whether it goes this way or not for Ranka and Alto’s another story.

    Westlo: Indeed. We’re getting some nice, solid foundations for the relationships which may lead to the love triangle… and to be honest, after years of ‘instant love affair’ relationships that come as part of the harem show, or relationship development which happens offscreen so they can all blossom at the same time, this is a nice change.

    And my comment about Shuffle is mostly to indicate that’s one of the few harem/love-shape endings which didn’t end in heartbreak for everyone but the chosen girl; they’re all getting along splendidly at the end (Kaede more so with Sia if the ending credits bit is anything to go by). As far as I could tell, Asa was involved only because she liked him… sorta like how Misa was involved in a triangle with Hikaru and Minmay because she liked Hikaru even if he was too thick to realize it.

    As far as this episode goes, I must say that after watching again I’ll put higher odds on Ozma dying before the last episode, now it’s been revealed he has had a love affair with Cathy… which raises his Focker-analog rating by quite a bit, especially if we see Cathy as a sorta-Claudia.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  127. hmm, i did mention Ranka’s lastname prolly isn’t Lee, considering Ozma is a Lee but isn’t her real brother. seeing the effect Ranka’s singing had on the Vajra just seemed like watching ‘..Zero’ again

    the Vajra seemes contained, not disposed of as yet.

    wonder if we’ll get to see some ‘Rankas’ this AX doing the Pilot song… (heh)

    tonbo
    Reply

  129. @westlo-I think I see where the clash is here. Your definition of love triangle is different from mine. To me, love begins in casual affection, not just physical contact/blushing whatnot. Love triangle is when A & B starts to get closer and C comes in from the left field and everything explodes, turns into a triangle. It all comes down to who’s the first girl who got involved with Alto. It’s Ranka. I thought this issue isn’t even debatable since everyone can see Ranka and Alto, regardless if it’s not romantic, connected first. Platonic or not, it doesn’t change the fact that the writers kept throwing Ranka and Alto together. Why would they do that? To prove a point. The two have a BOND. Sheryl stepping into the picture, getting on Alto’s good side, Awakening Ranka’s jealous side IS the formation of the obligatory love triangle.

    Again, Sheryl=Third Wheel. People can ignore all the previous 4 episodes all they want, but let’s not twist this fact anymore regardless of how the LT gets concluded.

    As for True Tears, yes, plain as day Hiromi is in the love triangle. Hiromi found him first, Noe is the third wheel.

    @Haesslich-“Ranka and Alto don’t seem to be happening anytime soon, but they’ve got the emotional closeness that Misa and Hikaru developed after the Zentradi capture… a closeness which eventually led to the two of them dating.”

    That’s the kind of bond I’m saying. Not saying romantic, but ‘something’ is there. And yes, fangirls do debate because they want to make a point also–that and they love to procrastinate.

    diva
    Reply

  130. diva: I don’t think I’ve ever said that Ranka and Alto don’t have an emotional tie – they always have. Whether it leaves to Romantic Triangles, which is usually how people define Love Triangles, is another story. Eventually it may… but right now, they’re just thinking of one another on a semi-regular basis, if in a ‘gee, I wonder if things are okay’ rather than ‘I think I love her/want to date her/wonder where my love-interest is/want to have sex with them right now’ thing. Sheryl and Alto are developing a bit of a bond as well… but it appears mostly one sided at the moment (Sheryl thinking to herself that ‘she’ll have to see Alto again. Ah, darn… that’s SUCH a shame…’ in the bath in Episode 3). The foundations are there for romance, but only Sheryl’s taken a step towards it so far – Alto’s mostly in a confused state since he can’t figure out women, and Ranka’s in a slightly stunned state after finally finding Alto. And look, there’s Sheryl Nome too…

    tonbo: If Ranka’s last name is ‘Jenius’, I won’t be surprised at all… Show Spoiler ▼

    I still say Ozma’s Deathclock has been raised in profile since he was involved with Cathy… which means that not only the Vajra are against him, but maybe Leon too if the latter’s a petty, possessive type.

    Haesslich
    Reply

  131. WOW This episode was awesome, i have a question what does “Deculture” mean? , because its on the special edition episode, and the guy with the glasses says it when he sees Ranka singing.

    Ruly
    Reply

  132. I didn’t think so much of the love triangle until now 😀

    @Ruly – Just think that “Deculture” means “Surprise”, and when used as an expression is “I’m surprised!!!” or “Holy sh###!!!” or just “!!!”.

    mai
    Reply

  133. Love triangles are interesting, aren’t they?^_^

    Here’s another interesting thing:
    It’s the 3rd time Implants have been mentioned in 5 episodes.
    Facts on Implants
    – They can record vision, that’s how Sheryl knew her missing earring was with Alto (from Grace’s implant)
    – They can process information and connect to networks (Grace used it to find Sheryl)
    – They are illegal in Frontier but normal in Galaxy
    – They are useful in many ways

    Put it with other pieces of the puzzle
    – Ozma, the folks and obviously Ranka were survivors of a Vajra research mission team
    – Ranka’s voice has a strange effect on Vajra
    – The Vajra keep targeting Ranka

    Results of the jigsaw
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Jigsaw puzzle foreshadowing just makes Macross F even more interesting. Gotta love it.

    Yukiruchan
    Reply

  135. Westlo: You know, that artist was evil and inspired.

    Yukiruchan: Interesting premise. It doesn’t explain why her voice would have an effect on the Vajra – Grace’s implant allows her to interface with computers, but doesn’t allow her voice any specific abilities and as far as we can tell only records sense data. Besides which, this is the universe where the power of love and music can tame just about any enemy if you’ve got the right singer…

    Haesslich
    Reply

  140. i’m leaning for sheryl x alto, but that might change with time.

    yeah the music is incredible, and i was already a fan of yoko kanno to begin with 😛 and the pop songs are catchy.

    Tmoo
    Reply

  141. I like the shy and civilized way the mobile phone incident was talked about in the summary, though it is indeed an cliche sex joke in movies (not quite sure whether the French or the Japanese initiated it).

    hoh
    Reply

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