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Summary:
Alto manages to escape from the expanding Fold dislocation bubble, and when he looks back again at Gallia 4, he sees that there’s now a huge chunk missing. Over on the Macross Frontier, Ranka’s manager has to reassure people that Ranka will be there for the concert today. Nanase is worried for her friend and becomes even more so when Luca fills her in on what happened. Ozma meanwhile remembers how he had tried to stop Ranka from going to Gallia 4, but at the time, she had pointed out how he had often said that it’s better to take a chance than regret it. Her determination causes Ozma to realize that Ranka had grown into a woman while he wasn’t paying attention. On the bridge of the Macross Quarter, the girls are chatting about love and relationships when suddenly the Vajra fleet de-folds nearby. The Macross Frontier fleet immediately begins locking down the habitat ships and evacuating everyone into shelters, and since Luca has to join his squad, he leaves Nanase with the promise that he has something to tell her when he returns.
In advance of the battle, the Macross Quarter transforms and takes its position as part of a defensive front protecting the Frontier fleet. They get to fire the first salvo and soon engage the enemy. Unbeknownst to their friends, Sheryl and Mikhail’s Valkyrie is holding on to one of the Vajra capital ships, and when Sheryl wakes up, she finds the battle already started and Mikhail still unconscious. Confident that she can pilot the craft based on what she remembers from her lessons, Sheryl takes control of the Valkyrie, but she immediately nicks the side of the Vajra ship and then lets the Valkyrie get shot by Vajra fighters. The emergency eject activates right before the Valkyrie blows up, and Luca tries to come to their rescue after having seen them. Unfortunately, the Vajra shoot and destroy Luca’s Valkyrie’s rifle, leaving him and Sheryl defenseless. Their savior ends up being none other than Alto who had just arrived on the scene after using the special Fold pack that Mikhail had left in orbit around Gallia 4. Alto quickly takes care of the smaller Vajra and brings Sheryl back to the Macross Quarter.
Around this same time, a second Vajra fleet – this one including the mother ship that is holding Ranka – suddenly de-folds behind the Frontier fleet. This fleet’s first volley blows a hole into the main habitat ship, and inside the Frontier’s command room, Leon convinces Howard Glass to authorize the use of reaction weapons against the Vajra. The Macross Quarter turns to face the new threat, but Alto stops them from attacking immediately because Ranka is inside the enemy mother ship. Alto wants permission to go rescue her, so Jeffrey grants him use of an armor pack and some reactive warheads. While Alto’s Valkyrie is being outfitted, Sheryl approaches him and tries to make him promise to come back unharmed. Alto instead promises to bring Ranka back and launches in his Valkyrie before Sheryl can say anything else. The four reactive warheads Alto shoots take care of much of the initial wave of Vajra coming at him, and when Ranka sees what’s going on from inside the Vajra mother ship, she wants all the fighting to stop. Suddenly, she sees a vision of a long-haired woman saying that her kind want to tell Ranka’s kind something, and the woman then starts to sing Aimo.
Recognizing the song, Ranka sings it as well, and many of the Vajra stop their attacks because of it. The Vajra still manage to kill Raramia though, and the loss of a comrade just makes Alto more determined to blow a path through to Ranka. Alto manages to open up a hole on the side of the mother ship, but Brera’s Valkyrie flies in first and grabs Ranka. Alto follows in behind Brera and uses the rest of his missiles against the egg-laying Vajra that was guarding Ranka, despite her cries for him to stop. Brera escapes with Ranka from the ensuing explosion, and afterwards, he introduces himself to the Frontier fleet as a lieutenant commander of the Macross Galaxy’s Antares Squadron and reports of Ranka’s rescue. With Ranka safe, Jeffrey orders the firing of the Macross Cannon, and it successfully destroys the enemy mother ship. The rest of the Frontier forces then finish off the other Vajra capital ships with reactive warheads, and Ranka can only cry as she watches from a distance. At an undisclosed location, Grace wakes up and realizes that Ranka is the Little Queen.
Preview
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Well that was a fun battle episode. As suspected, Grace (or at least the entity that makes up Grace) really isn’t dead and can inhabit new bodies. The preview seems to hint that she might stay Sheryl’s manager, though I wonder how Grace is going to explain how she got off Gallia 4. Then again, Grace probably still thinks Sheryl is dead, so there’s gonna be a lotta explaining to do on both sides. Speaking of Sheryl, she got her first taste of combat flight and failed rather miserably. I don’t think that kills her chances of becoming a pilot if that is indeed the path she’s going down, but for the time being, it looks like she’s returning to singing. With Ranka’s concert so soon, maybe Sheryl will fill in for her or join her? A joint concert might be a good way to introduce the new OP and/or ED too, assuming that’s coming soon.
As for Ranka, the pieces are starting to come together about her connection with the Vajra: she appears to have some sort of Vajra virus inside of her, and the Vajra showed her a vision of someone who looked to be her mother (Ranshe Mei was once again listed in the credits and the episode is titled “Mother’s Lullaby”). Since Grace also refers to Ranka as the Little Queen, does that make her mother the big queen? Either way, it seems to me that they’re setting up the Vajra to be more than just the bad guys since Ranka clearly sympathizes with them and wants to stop the killing on both sides. It was also a little weird to see the Frontier/human side be the aggressors for once with their reactive/nuclear weapons, and it makes me think that we’re moving towards a point where neither side will be all good or all evil. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ranka joins the Vajra on her own volition at some point in the future. If we need a real villain, then I bet it’ll end up being Grace or whatever organization she’s working for.
good ep!!! just finished watching the raw
Looks like Sheryl has to pilot
Can’t wait for this episode
poor sheryl, again T_T
o.O great episode!
So there’s going to be another version of Aimo? Maaya Sakamoto version.. good things to come at OST 2
Sheryl doesn’t look ‘right’ in the preview, must be those upturned angry eyebrows lol.
http://img.muri.se:8080/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2014%20-%20Large%20Preview%2002.jpg
i think grace has something to do with the “Sheryl” in the preview……sheryl doesn’t have that creepy smile when she faces with her audience.looks like someone wants to sabotage her career
Sheryl has two earrings in that preview shot. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grace has an imposter set up.
Wow, what an awesome episode! I hope Sheryl has the chance to become better at combat flight. She might kick-ass.
Genial, otro capítulo muy esperado.
Was I the only one thinking
“Wow, random expendable pilot #68357 is really kicking ass!”
also it’s a shame Michael was knocked out, he would have been the perfect person to make fun of Sheryl’s flying.
I listened to it many times and I still keep hearing “beetle queen” instead of ‘little’. I thought she spoke japanese the first time I heard it, but I guess that was English.
I’m just starting to get some bad vibes about that since I have a strong feeling Ranka might end up taking the title and separating herself from Frontier once the time comes. Alto better anchor her to him REAL good. Ranka belongs to Frontier. I love seeing Alto go all out for her sake. Ranka’s princess in shining armor, indeed. ^__^
joder tio
could ranshe mei have a connection with lynn min mei. (is it correct) as well as sheryl with the nome sisters in macross zero? or just plain conincidence.
http://img.muri.se:8080/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2014%20-%20Large%20Preview%2002.jpg
this preview shot of sheryl makes her look like a drag queen.
Noooooo!!! Shorthaired scowling Meltlandi we never heard talking!
Ah well – at least ONE NUNS pilot’s worth the air he consumes… compared to Sheryl, who should apparently stick with her day job. And Grace looks damned good with her hair down.
…looks like we’re finally going to learn what the deal is with the Vajra. Took long enough.
I wonder what happened to Michel after Sheryl got the ship blasted to pieces
This episode just proves Sheryl will be the winner.
Well Ever since the first episode it was clear Sheryl was gonna end up with Alto (what is it really, all Macross guys choose the older girl). Poor Ranka might have a lot of cute moments but it’s just gonna end up at that -_- (besides relating her in one way or another to Mao and Minmei; this love triangle is not so fun when we can already assume -_-U)
I so want to listen to the complete version of Maaya’s Aimo version, There might be lots of Sheryl and Ranka songs but THE Macross F songstress is Maaya.
It’s a shame Brera is Ranka’s brother, he would’ve been great to pair up with her.
There’s so much action going on in this episode that I’m feeling a little lost trying to figure out what’s happening. I need to watch it again. The ending made me feel a tad sad though. And Grace…she looks positively evil in the preview.
Bobby, Ozma, Michael, Luca, and Nanase already entrusted Ranka to Alto. The two are already into each other, they just have to come out and say it. Sucks to be Sheryl.:p Her only way of winning Alto is if Ranka gets taken away wahahaha
Sheryl was sick and was just unconscious 5 seconds before she tried to fight. It’s not like she should be able to take out everyone. I don’t think her flying days are over. I freaking love that she tried anyway.
Gypsy they can entrust all they want, but it’s still Alto’s choice. Actually they can come out and say it and it won’t mean much. Getting so confident during episode 14 of a series that does legendary love triangles is only going to leave you crying in the end. That goes for both sides.
Wouldn’t it be hilarious if both girls ended up dying later on in the series. Just joking with ya. I actually thought Sheryl did quite well, it was her first time after all. She has a lot of guts at least. And they’re finally expanding the Vajra story. Thank goodness. Hopefully, Ranka’s mother doesn’t end up being the queen of the Vajra or something.
Yay more Sheryl screen time, preview looks suck imo though. It looks more RankaxAlto, which I’m not too excited about.
I want to see more of anonymous NUNs pilot #68357! Shows that at least it’s not ALL up to SMS :p
anyway, wonder what excuse Sheryl’s manager will pull in the next episode for being alive.
Random thoughts:
– Where’s the new OP ED?
– Why isn’t there any lava gushing out of that destroyed planet?
– Luca is going to confess to Nanase?
– Frontier closing it’s lid = cool!
– One of the BGMs was really beautiful!! (The one starting at Macross Quarter starting to transform)
Can’t wait for the next OST!
– Poor Sheryl. It’s expected that she wouldn’t be able to pilot a valkyrie. But she did try, and it was cute.
– Were those nuclear warheads?
– Vajra sure got weaker. Just a few normal shots and boom… in earlier episode the shots would’ve bounced off.
– Do want more Sakamoto Maaya version of Aimo! If Ranka grows up to be as beautiful as her mom, I’d be thrilled.
– And yeah, it’s all Alto x Ranka now. Plus everyone else is also in their league. Only way Sheryl will get Alto now is if Ranka dies.
– Finally, Ranka is totally going to end up in a lot of very ecchi doujinshi after this… *fufu*
Random thought regarding Ranka relating to vajira. Ranka better not be taken away from Alto or the group for any reason. In fact, I want Alto to tell Ranka that he likes Sheryl better because I don’t want any situational thing that push Alto to Sheryl or vice versa.
By the way, did we get a new OP?
How doew this episode prove that sheryl will be the winner?
@Moomoo
I’d prefer that too, though chances of that are slim now.
No, we didn’t. If we did obviously Omni would’ve made screenshots and posted a video.
And I really thought we were going to get one, since there was nice new BGM before OP time.
Btw, the new OP is called Lion sung by both Sheryl and Ranka, the new ED is Sheryl’s Northern Cross, this was announced ages ago and I was really expecting it this episode.
@Nickymanga
Not in any way I can see.
How doew this episode prove that sheryl will be the winner?
Just watch. 😀 Don’t look at what’s in front of you, look what’s beyond you.
I don’t know if it proves anything, but people who say it’s all Ranka x Alto now and there is no turning back need to remember 3 episodes ago Ranka was down and out of everything and crying over her bitter cookies. I’m not sure if this is people’s first time with Macross, but this triangle is not over. This is not your typical romance were couples are decided from the beginning. In SDF Macross in the first 10 episodes Misa and Hikaru barely even talked and when they did, it was usually insults while Hikaru was totally in love with Minmay.
@Moomoo
I’m done with damsel in distress Ranka, so hopefully that doesn’t happen. Pushing Sheryl and Alto should not be just because Ranka isn’t there. It won’t happened like that.
so is Mikhail dead?
Damn I’m good, I told you guys last episode Grace isn’t dead!
As for the triangle stuff, It’s still too soon to say anything for sure. I’ll keep saying this until we have more but for now we don’t. In that situation anyone who’s friends with Ranka would want to save her, that it just so happens to be Alto in this case. He also feels the need to save her since he lost her in the first place. She was entrusted to him to bring back home and she got kidnapped. Even if I didn’t love the chick I’d sure as hell fight like crazy to get her back, it is all my responsibility anyways.
Anyways, like many have been thinking it looks like Ranka has some virus or w/e inside of her letting her react with the Vajra. Probably from whatever funky tests they did to her when she was little and so on.
My personal opinion (and you don’t have to agree) – not as emotionally cathartic as episode 7. I actually think this episode poses even more questions than answers.
ANSWERS:
– Plenty of people guessed last week that Alto would use the LAI Fold pack. I didn’t expect that he’d manage to escape the rift generator under his own steam.
– Was very touched by Sheryl’s attempt to pilot the Valkyrie – a moment of much-needed comedy amidst some very serious events.
– We can assume that the Vajra queen from Galia 4 must’ve been the controlling entity behind all the attacks we’ve seen thus far – including the one on the ill-fated Macross Galaxy.
– Brera Sterne’s revelation really surprised me – but probably shouldn’t have considering Grace’s Macross Galaxy origins.
– Again, regarding Grace plenty of people guessed she’d get a new body.
– The origins of Ranka’s lullaby was interesting – especially how it affected the Vajra. Echoes of Minmei and the Zentraedi there?
QUESTIONS:
– I totally agree with others here – just how exactly is Grace going to explain her past actions on Galia 4? The only solution would be for Grace to kill Michael before he can tell anyone about the witchcraft pills. And I’d hate for that to happen.
– What’s going to happen to Brera Sterne now that he’s revealed himself? And how are Ranka and the others going to respond to his presence? Particularly Alto and Michael?
– I’m more convinced than ever that Grace (and her mysterious financial backers) are the REAL threat to Macross Frontier. The Vajra are just the pawns, and Macross Frontier would’ve just been collateral damage. In other words: Grace is the Big Bad.
– By the end of the episode, I was actually feeling genuinely sorry for the Vajra. The Vajra Queen’s gentle treatment of Ranka really surprised me a great deal. So instead of a cathartic triumphant victory by Macross Frontier against an unbeatable foe, it actually felt like a senseless slaughter in the end. Very odd.
– Where did Ranka Lee come from? Grace called her the Little Queen. What does that really mean?
A friend of mine who’s far more of an expert on Macross lore explained to me how this series might work: Eps 1-7 and 8-14 are mini-arcs within the larger arc of the series itself. I thought ep 7 ended the first arc on a very satisfying note. Ep 14 (the 2nd arc) I wasn’t quite so happy with. We’re getting towards the end now (probably 15-21) so hopefully we’ll get some real closure on who Ranka really is. And hopefully some payback against the real villains behind this conspiracy.
“How doew this episode prove that sheryl will be the winner?”
Romance 101 is that the winner gets absolutely pummeled around the 50-75% point of the show, gets in front and than in the 2nd last episode there’s a mini fake out that makes it seem like the other will get chosen but than it goes back to the one who went through crap in that 50-75% range.
Ranka’s obviously going to go through a lot of crap too but when it comes to Romance hardship Sheryl’s going to get it for the foreseeable future.
Oh! Maybe this series will end with the Vajra living in harmony with Humans and Zentradi! That’d be awesome!
Finally! Another series (Heroic Age’s the only other I know off) where the alien race becomes friendly.
-Izaak, Lord of the Lotus Clan.
Nice episode!!!
maybe the best battle episode in macros F, at least until this episode…
@Izaak: so, if that really happen, it would be fun if I see vajra crawling around in the Macross Ship ^^ (becoming Pet maybe?), but their Size……
the next episode could be “slow pace” episode…, I think…..
lovely action-packed episode. Now we know where the song Aimo came from at least, and lots of more sinister plotting to come since Grace is confirmed to be there and watching everyone’s every move.
Brera is an interesting character and I’m hoping he’s going to be developed a lot more in the following episodes. I’m still wondering who the woman in Ranka’s vision was. Perhaps she was a projection of the Vajira queen, and Aimo is really their song. If they realized they could communicate with Ranka, that could explain why they kidnapped her in the first place.
This is so building up to an interesting ending with plenty of interspecies heartache. I hope.
“Oh! Maybe this series will end with the Vajra living in harmony with Humans and Zentradi! That’d be awesome!”
In Macross 30 which will be set in 2080 there will be a Varja Mall called Ranka!
@Westlo
Hahahaha! Good stuff. Anyways, I’m pretty sure now that the women ranka sees in the first flashback in ep 13 with the wight lab coat isn’t her mom at all. I actually doubt she’s got a mom or dad. I think she’s genetically made in some test tube like experiment to make a humanoid like person who can control/talk to the Vajra. It’s all a top secret military project to use them as a weapon.
Just think about it, it’s like Zentradi 2.0 really. But more like Starship trooper’ish. With big bugs and not cloned giants that can actually think on their own.
In that sense controlling the Vajra would allow you to control the galaxy really. This is just my early guess but from the hints here and there it’s looking more and more to be the case.
now we know Grace is fully synthetic and her telepathic intelligence are digitally transferable.
If Ranka is a Queen Vajra and Sheryl is an android, what happens to Alto? Speculations can be interesting 😀
could it be possible that Ranka’s mother is Mao Nome?
“If Ranka is a Queen Vajra and Sheryl is an android, what happens to Alto?”
Bobby!
@Westlo
LOL. There was an online poll to see who people thought Alto would end up with, there was no option for Bobby =/
@Cain
Mao would be 55 or 56 years old at the time Ranka was born (if Ranka really is 16)
The only good bug….is a DEAD bug?
NUNS KILLS EM ALL!
that preview pic doesn’t look like sheryl at all >_>
@Nickymanga
What I don’t get is how people can ignore episodes 1-13 and make Ranka look like the bad guy standing in Sheryl’s way. They’ve been making Ranka look like the bad guy ever since episode 5. Seeing all those times Sheryl took all chances of Ranka to get closer to Alto, the scene where she sent Alto off was like karma in all its glory. ^__^ haha
“Romance 101 is that the winner gets absolutely pummeled around the 50-75% point of the show”
Pfft, if you believe this don’t ignore all those episodes of Ranka getting pummeled by Sheryl when it comes to basically everything. Unless the writer never thought ANYTHING of Ranka from the start—which official interviews obviously stated otherwise–then maybe you have a point. The writer did not–again, did not–put Ranka in those hardships so that Sheryl can come back and pummel her back again. Watch episode 1-13 and don’t ignore all the drama the story put in to bring Alto and Ranka together. Did Sheryl’s jealousy got enough attention? Watch how they portrayed Ranka’s jealousy each time in episode 5-11, that’s enough highlight to hint the show’s intention. Don’t worry though. Sheryl’s character development in the future will spicen up the love triangle, but don’t expect Ranka to be portrayed as the bad guy here since Ranka’s future doesn’t even compare to Sheryl’s after all these revelations.
Let’s stop comparing this to SDF etc etc since I saw the same thing and till now I think the same. Really now, each time the story does something to the LT, Macross Fans will shout Sheryl ending.
Sheryl steals Alto from Ranka= Sheryl ending based on Kawamori history
Ranka steals Alto from Sheryl= Sheryl ending based on Kawamori history
Soooo ridiculous lol
Tmoo: I kinda think that´s the point.
ani_d: I don´t feel like rehashing that very interesting discussion TwilightHack and Westlo had vs. Slick_Rick on animesuki today in the Romance in Macross thread, but to summarize for the rest of the audience:
Ranka felt pain over Sheryl and Alto having a non-existant romantic relationship, where all “moves” by Sheryl were delivered without wanting to block Ranka( sans episode 11, where it reasonably can be said that Sheryl actively outmaneuvered Ranka… but there are enough other interpretations of that, including the fact that in the end it was Alto who chose with whom to pass his birthday. ).
Sheryl, however, got her lumps delivered by Alto in person ( metaphorically, of course ), having to see his concern over Ranka override everything else and having her birthday present to Alto usurped by Ranka ( without bad intentions, however ).
At the moment it looks very good for Ranka, but if you directly compare how both of them got developed, it is pretty clear that while Ranka imagined a lot of things without verifying them until lately, Sheryl got every punch directly from those around her.
@magnus- So that explains the overnight postage in that thread lol I already said this in one of my post too. You’re right, magnus. The difference between Ranka and Sheryl is that: Ranka “thinks” Alto fancies Sheryl while Sheryl “sees” Alto fancies Ranka. Bottomline is, both girls think Alto likes the other and that’s how it stands atm.
On another note, Sheryl completely forgot about this but they just found another Galaxy survivor lol Isn’t that one of the reasons she went to Galaxy? Good for her. Now that the main plot has finally reared its ugly head, I have a feeling the second half will be nothing like the light LT drama of the first 13 episodes. Next episode seems like a conspiracy transpiring episode more than anything. I think there’s also a CathyxOzma moment.
*Isn’t that one of the reasons she went Galia 4, I mean…sorry:p
Wait, what? Who came up with this “Sheryl is an android/clone” idea? Are we just pulling things outta thin air now?
Yeah ani_d you gotta stop with the passive aggressive Sheryl is nobody and Ranka is the star of the show and Alto loves her comments on every forum I visit.
Did Sheryl’s jealousy got enough attention? Watch how they portrayed Ranka’s jealousy each time in episode 5-11, that’s enough highlight to hint the show’s intention
Ranka was jealous when Alto and Sheryls FRIENDSHIP grow closer.
They have enough to go on… all thats left is for Alto to wake up and smell the coffee.
Don’t be so childish if the higher ranka’s jealousy is the more chance she gets alto, that’s just fucking retarded… go back to your animesuki war and fucking win that point 1st before using it. 🙂
ani_d: With the amount of plot development we got already in the first 14 episodes, I seriously doubt that they will drop the love triangle in the rest of the episodes.
We´ll get enough of both, plot and romance. I think I made clear with whom of the girls I stand. 🙂
The triangle isn’t near over yet guys, I’ve been saying this for so long, Alto has yet to show a actual “love” interest in anyone. Wanting to help Sheryl and wanting to help Ranka fall together. If you flip it around and Sheryl got snatched by Vajra instead of Ranka, Alto would still be acting the same to try and save her as well.
You need to remember how ones responsibility for losing another comes into play here. Alto was charged with returning Ranka home safely only to have her snatched, guilt also comes into play which pushes him to rush and save her. They’re still good friends at this point from his side. Well, I actually figure he knows she’s got a crush on him but he hasn’t acted on it yet.
It’s nice to see though that Ranka is turning into something more than just Moe. Ozma saying to Bobby in a kind of wistful way how he didn’t know when Ranka started behaving like a determined mature woman is a really sweet moment. Bobby is one of my favorite characters as well – despite his appearance, he’s quite the solid guy/girl.
In a way if you think of the first time Ranka and Sheryl met, the latter said she would like to be Sheryl, even if just for a day. Now I kind of think that the roles are somehow reversed, though I give full credit to Sheryl for being the kind of woman who knows who she is and never gives up.
I like both girls, in the way they move the story along so I’m a bit neutral on my views on who Alto should end up, but whoever he does end up with has to mesh tightly in with the overall plot.
My feeling from this episode though is this is gearing up to be a ‘how can 2 vastly different species exist in the same place?’ kind of story. Alto seems to have taken the fallen Zentradi leader’s last words to heart and If Ranka is indeed deeply linked to the Vajira as a genetically engineered ‘queen’ who develops an empathy with the enemy, he’s going to have a lot to sort out in his head on this matter. Given all the trauma he’s also experienced in the hands of the Vajira, in a way it may doom any relationship he has with Ranka unless he’s able to find a way to embrace that part of her.
@GP – The “android Sheryl” was being speculated by some people based on Grace having the means to twist everything to fit her plan. For this she might have created Sheryl and tried to turn her into the Galactic Fairy for the mere purpose of destroying her later on. Sheryl herself has a weak memory of her past, which may have been just programmed there. And finally, there was a focus on Sheryl being “all natural” in one episode, which might have been just how Sheryl was programmed to think (“she can’t be that perfect, she’s got to be an android!” mentality).
But lolz, all speculations. It’s just funny to think of what would happen to Alto if these were true. The girls around him are not just crazy, they’re also… special. Hahaha 😀
By the way, that ugly Sheryl image in the next episode preview looks like it is distorted by a convex screen/projection, making the gap between her eyes large and stretching out her lips. Let me try to “unstretch” it…
Alto will change his mind.
If you cant see it, too bad. All the moeblob fans will cry later.
Just fucking watch. 😀
Warped midsection vertically downward, compressed horizontally:
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/5240/macrossfrontier14largepmy7.jpg
@nelly- I take it the only forum you visit is animesuki? Cuz that’s about the only forum I visit in regards to MF. 🙂 Besides, it’s true that Ranka has the more focus in the show compared to Sheryl. I don’t see anything wrong in pointing that out. But I never said that Sheryl is irrelevant as a character. Just want to get your facts straighten out here. It’s not like you read all the posts I made afterall.
@nezumibento- I’ve been thinking about that too. Alto seems to have connected with his brutal side after this incident with the Vajra. He’s hating the idea of coexistence more and more. It would definitely be an ironic twist if Ranka tries to wave the coexistence flag later contrary to what he expects lol It’s going to be a rough experience deculturing them about the Vajra.
ok now… where is michel… no one even mention after his vf got blown apart
@uh – Because he’s alive, he was ejected with Sheryl and we see him being taken out on a stretcher.
Like someone said on the first page (Well spotted), the Sherly seen in the second preview shot is wearing two earrings, not one. You obviously can’t see it in the screenshot but watch the video, she’s clearly wearing two.
Don’t know the meaning of it really but it’s not poor animation making her look bad, it’s intended.
P.S. This episode was amazing. I just love it when the Quarter transforms.
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/5240/macrossfrontier14largepmy7.jpg
Mai’s unwarped Sheryl still looks like an evil twin lol.
More speculation here. So far we got some references to the original Macross, Macross 7, and Zero. Any references to Plus yet? What are the odds that Grace is a copy of the Sharon Apple AI?
Connections with past series aside. I think the speculation about Sheryl being cybernetic/android holds pretty good merit plotwise considering that Ranka’s status as human is being questioned already and Alto seems to have more of a focus on anti-multi-racial views. Making both of the main female leads non-human would definitely make things more amusing.
Incidently, besides the stuff about Sheryl saying “all natural” and whatnot. The pill that Grace gave her in Ep 13 had “639 Witch Craft” (https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2007.jpg) in nice techy font, maybe that adds to the non-human hypothesis somehow.
Not gonna happen, ren. There has been zero build-up for such a revelation so far. Ranka had her special status established since long ago ( amnesia, her belly glowing already in episode 7 ).
I think people have read into the “all natural” comment too much. It’s ok to speculate I do it also, but in this regard we need more proof than just one comment made by Sheryl. Also, Grace doing what she’s doing doesn’t actually mean she’s using Sheryl like some android puppet.
The idea was to start up a riot on the planet, to do that she made Sheryl sick before hand. That’s about it. The fact Ranka got there was like a bonus for her, not planned that way but a nice coincidence. She was going to blow up that planet anyways, even if Ranka went there or not. It was to get the Vajra made so they would move and attack the frontier. At this point it looks like whoever is working with Grace wants a war with the Vajra.
And as for Ranka, she’s still “part” human and part meltradi like the show says at the start BUT, what I’ve said is that it’s looking more and more like she’s also a genetically modified test tube project with some Vajra virus/genes or whatever we see in this episode that lets her talk to or maybe control the Vajra. A big military test to use them as a weapon it seems. So far that’s what all the info points to.
@GP
I agree about the need for more proof. I think that the android speculation is still a bit far-fetched myself, though I would not rule out possible implants or genetic augmentation if Grace has been ‘managing’ Sheryl in more aspects than just her career on the sly.
@uuh
Mai’s right. The VF did an emergency eject so i suppose Mihail got out same way Sheryl did. Alto took care of grabbing Sheryl, and I suspect Luca was the one who took Mihail back to the Quarter. Besides, I doubt they’d kill him off with so little ceremony, given how visible he was in previous episodes.
I’ve been thinking a great deal about Brera. It’s given that he’s a survivor as well from the destruction of Global, but was picked up by Galaxy+Grace instead of Frontier. My guess is he was in much worse shape than Ranka as a survivor, and the only way he could survive was by making him a cyborg, which could explain his memory loss.
I suspect we’ll be seeing Brera on a more regular basis now that he’s announced himself officially to all and sundry as a pilot from Galaxy’s Antares squadron. Things are going to be very interesting if he and Alto is going to be forced into more frequent contact. Mihail aside, Two hotshot pilots with a history of antagonistic interaction can’t possibly breathe the same air and not feel the urge to diss the other somehow ;).
God Ani_d maybe they didn’t focus as much on Sheryl’s jealously compared to Ranka’s because the writer discovered a thing called subtlety? I mean we all know that the writer of the show likes Sheryl, he elevated her from a minor character not in the triangle to being one of the main characters in the triangle. That’s one of my main problems with Ranka in that they continue to hit the viewers over the head with it when we already know, take 5 minutes out from episodes 6-11 and spend that shit on NUNS pilots instead or even Kathy/Ozma/leon or Michael and Klan.
“Let’s stop comparing this to SDF etc etc since I saw the same thing and till now I think the same. Really now, each time the story does something to the LT, Macross Fans will shout Sheryl ending.”
Yes I saw the same thing in this episode as I saw in SDF when Hikaru went all out to rescue [b]Minmei[/b] who you know lost. And ffs when I saw romance 101 I’m talking about Romance shows in general.
True Tears 6-9
Ef 5-8
KGNE 5-13
Kimikiss 14-23
Which girl gets put through the most hardship at those points? The winner! Nothing to do with SDF or Kawamori but hey you can keep saying that.
“Pfft, if you believe this don’t ignore all those episodes of Ranka getting pummeled by Sheryl when it comes to basically everything.”
Since when did all those episodes for Ranka fall in the 50-75% range?
“but don’t expect Ranka to be portrayed as the bad guy here ”
Believe it or not but Ranka doesn’t have to be portrayed as the bad guy to lose! *gasp*
“Ranka “thinks” Alto fancies Sheryl while Sheryl “sees” Alto fancies Ranka.”
So you agree with me that Sheryl has gone through more “real” pain as opposed to Ranka’s imagined pain? And you know that Sheryl’s romantic pain will continue while Ranka will suffer zero romantic pain in the near future.
There’s a reason why people who don’t ship and give a fuck about the love triangle think the outcome is obvious.
Now as for Sheryl I highly doubt she’s an android… but the chances of her being a clone with implanted memories is very high. Recent speculation on a couple of forums has it that Ranka’s mother Ranshe could be connected to Sheryl in some manner.
Ranshe… Ranka… Sheryl.. First 3 letters of both Ranka and Sheryl’s name makes up Ranshe.. saw this pointed out on Macross World’s forums. Now Sheryl might be a clone of Ranshe which would explain her clearly fake childhood memories. I just don’t see someone like Grace who is shaping up to one of if not the villain of the series being her manager without a good reason. Sure it allowed Grace easy access to anywhere Sheryl could tour but I would think that would be a side benefit to being her manager and not her real mission.
Accdg to translators, the scriptwriter is the one who told Kawamori to give Sheryl a better role. That explains why Kawamori in disguise basically snubbed Sheryl for Ranka in 10 lol In all seriousness, I think it’s a good move to attract more fans since Sheryl’s like the female eye candy of the show. Though Macross Vampire Knight would’ve been nice…
@westlo- Know what? Just because there’s more Sheryl fans in your online environment that ‘want’ a Sheryl ending doesn’t mean that all of them ‘think’ that the outcome will be absolutely a no-brainer Sheryl. That’s just so subjective. Look. At. What’s going on. In. The. Story. Look at the characters and see what the STORYWRITERS are wanting us to see. There’s a reason why Alto’s and Ranka’s flashbacks and feelings are given more focus than Sheryl’s ‘jealousy’ in this episode. There’s also a reason why the characters around Ranka and Alto become more perceptive of them. Lastly, there’s also a reason why Ranka was shown to be the underdog in 6-11 and that’s not so Sheryl can slam her down to the dumps again. Sheryl will have her rightful focus later, but don’t get defensive whenever someone says that this story isn’t going to bend itself to her.
You shouldn’t bring up any other Kawamori/anime/romance history or whatever since we’ve all been anime fans here and I know how it goes as well. If we’re standing on a court here, your subjective history wouldn’t even hold a candle in front of what we’ve been shown so far. Didn’t you say you’re a cloti fan? Why aren’t you relying on facts? lol
I won’t even touch how those two episodes of Alto considering Sheryl as a trusted friend equates to a more powerful emotional blows to her HEART because it’s going to be pointless. ^_^ I’m just going to say that between Sheryl and Ranka–it’s RANKA who risked her life for Alto’s sake (wouldn’t even be entangled in this mess) and has been loving Alto more so than Sheryl with all her heart. Alto returning the same dedication to Ranka is well-deserved. That’s love in the making imo.:D Seriously, just a little upside from Ranka’s side and Sheryl people want to bring her down once again. Ranka deserves some love for a change.
Btw, You guys can go ahead with the shipping war after this. I doubt we’ll change each other’s minds anyway. -_-
P.S.
Sheryl android theory: It’s not going to happen. The girl blushes, gets sick etc. There’s blood running through her veins.
ani_d it was Hiroyuki Yoshino who got Sheryl elevated to main character status and had Kawamori “rework” everything from his initial notes. He’s not just the script writer he’s the person doing “series composition” for the series. You might want to look up what the person who do “series composition” does, maybe than you might understand why a lot of fans were initially pissed off that the person who brought us Mai Hime and Mai Otome wsa writing the new Macross.
“Look. At. What’s going on. In. The. Story. Look at the characters and see what the STORYWRITERS are wanting us to see.”
*Sighs* I am looking and if you can’t see where this is heading please don’t cry out Canvas 2 at the end of the show like every other idiot who gets blindsided. Believe it or not some people didn’t even see the ending for Kimikiss Pure Rogue happening and it was so obvious it wasn’t even funny. You clearly missed it with True Tears yourself so please don’t act like you’re above that.
“There’s also a reason why the characters around Ranka and Alto become more perceptive of them.”
Woah woah woah hold up, they were more perceptive of Ranka’s feelings, Alto’s feelings for Ranka were non-existent to Michael, Luca and Nanase. If anything else Nanase was worried that Alto was about to enter a relationship with Sheryl, refer to her conversation with Ranka in episode 11.. off the top… Ranka “Are they going out?” Nanase “Not yet….”
Please don’t rewrite history and Michael’s seen Sheryl’s devotion to Alto in 13 so you might as well take him out the equation now which leaves Nanase and Luca who are two of the most useless characters in the show in Ranka’s corner.
I expected more plot revelation from this episode but it left me hanging in the end. Perhaps all can not be revealed in one episode. I am most definitely intrigued about Ranka and where this show is steering to. While the love triangle may be another aspect of this show, I would rather want to see more plot progression in the future episodes compared to the first half of the story.
@Westlo
I do not wish to be part of the shippers but I would like to correct something. The person doing the series composition, screenwriters, scriptwriters all have but one meaning. These are authors who write the script for movies, TV series based on the original creator’s drafts. It’s good to hear that Hiroyuki Yoshino is doing Macross Frontier as I’ve been a fan of his earlier works.
Westlo touches on some good points, but I personally have decided not to waste my time and fingers typing away trying to get some people to understand. Opinions are opinions and they won’t change.
But come on, anyone who still yells “Canvas 2” at the end of a show IS, sorry to say, an idiot. The show from the start hints at and gives clues and even reasons as to how it’s going to end the way it did. If people didn’t pick up on them and even now after all this time still haven’t picked up on them, then I don’t know what to say.
The same goes for True Tears, the show flat out, right from the first episode, bangs home the idea that Shin is doing everything to make Hiromi happy. Now all the Noe fans could be blind to these simple story points and disregard them but I’m sorry to say, you can’t turn a blind eye and then cry foul when it doesn’t end the way you thought/wanted it to. This also applies to Kimikiss as well, It was always going to be a Mao end, all the hints/clues where there as well.
A good writer will give you hints/clues and or signs here and there as to how it will probably end. The same can be said for macross frontier as well, but I personally don’t want to yell Sheryl end or Ranka end yet. Some others see this different though.
it turns out sheryl was a man and ranka was a monster go figure
LOL So the two female leads have been turned by the fans here into Sheryl the Mandroid, and Monster Queen Ranka. 😀
I pity Alto, his options have gotten so strange. 😛
Did anyone else notice how awesome the friggin stealth fighters were in this episode? if i were alto i’d take all the bridge bunnies and nanase 🙂 haha
oh and is it me or is luca the worst pilot ever? gets shot down every fight.
Hmm, yes the battle is fantastic, music is great, Alto is cool, Sheryl is hot and Ranka is cute.
BUT…. Whatever happened to Mikhail?! That poor guy was passed out in the VF and there’s no news that he survived!
jimber: i love the new NUNS pilot finishing move…ultra-super-lightning punch. guaranteed to stop dead in its tracks the white vajra. LOL! 🙂
mikhail’s probably hitting on his nurses after luca landed on the macross quarter, one of the scenes there show a stretcher being moved off the deck.
hmm in the upcoming preview what do you think alto is pointing at? 🙂
It was a pretty good episode.
Although, honestly, I wished that they took a little more time with this battle. I mean, it’s like the battle actually lasts for quite a while and all we see are bits and pieces of it that are considered important. We see very little combat outside of that 20 seconds that those NUNS pilots got, and Alto.
If they had broken this battle up into 2 episodes it would have been perfect. We could get to see other people taking part of the action like Kanaria and Klan Klan, both of which sadly got side-lined. Although Klan Klan’s squad mate played a somewhat bigger role, that is appearing for a total of one second so that she could die so that Alto could get serious.
This episode ROCKS!!! I am rooting for the Vajra… Turn all humans into singing batteries.
Cinderalla did become the next queen, remember…?
Ranka being the ‘Super Dimension Cinderella’, having survived Vajra capture and all despite Grace’s efforts means she will be the next Big Thing… not just Frontier and Galaxy-wise but across the entire Galactic Network charts… so Grace(real?) calling her queen can mean both ways, and the vajra did stop in response to her singing, plus her (memory?) of those floating protozoa-like things… the zentran girl dying was sad… some more tsun-tsun one.
or maybe this is just Macross surpassing Gundam mythological heights in terms of NewType(UC) and SEED(CE) all at once.
there’s only 9 volumes of DVD / Blu-Ray for Macross F, so this makes me wonder if Kawamori has something else instore for us in the near future… oh, Ranka’s debut single arrived last Wednesday. ordered thru CDjapan… heh.
Luca sent his 3 wingmen into battle, called one of them Peter or Pietro ?
In the 7th episode one of his pilot with the same name crashed into the vajra battleship. So what happened ?
Marco? Johane? Petro?… plus Luca himself, the names do sound like the disciples of Jesus… but those are his personalized GHOST fighters, Unmanned Fighter craft capable of achieving air and space superiority (see Macross Plus final volume) in a couple of minutes.
All out battles like this do not last for ‘quite a while’, it all happens real fast, like how Miss Maria cut down the orphans in the last episode of Mai Otome series… to good effect. long drawn battles with the vajra would prove fatal as the NUNS and SMS units cannot out fly or out gun them b’cos humans get exhausted real fast, no matter what training one has gone thru…
its refreshing to see Frontier’s own Diamond Force in action, all these years after watching Gamlin chasing after Milene across the galaxy…
I can certainly see how some of these theories were formed now that I’ve seen the subtitled ep. Next episode is bound to be plot-heavy since we’ll hopefully be getting an explanation about the weird-Sheryl and how/what Grace is doing all that she is. Mandroid-Sheryl? Well, hey, crazier things have happened, but this WOULD put QUITE a twist on Alto’s love interests. He’d certainly go down in Macross history as having the MOST UNIQUE of romantic dilemmas. ^_^
The more we learn about Galaxy, the more that fleet starts coming across as something resembling the world of Ghost in the Shell; cyborg humans capable of downloading their mind into different bodies, producing high-tech weapons that only cyborgs are capable of using to their full potential, etc. It’s one of the reasons why I would personally not want mankind to ever advance that far technologically, because at that point, you’ve gotta ask the question, “Do they even have a soul anymore?”, not to mention you’ve got people essentialy buying into a type of immortaility, given they’re not damaged beyond repair or have another body standing by incase they happen to blow up a planet they’re still on.
It’s kind of interesting to see Alto move in the direction of anti-peace like Hikaru did for a brief while over 40 years ago, and hopefully, it’ll serve as a means to provide some character development for him. I’m still waiting for his father to make another appearance and get some more backstory into what Alto’s family is up to while he’s playing the whole teenage-rebellion card. (Though god knows I agree with him walking out on his dad, guy’s gotta make his own decisions, and Alto’s heart is set firmly in the sky.)
Some development in the relationship arena of characters outside the trio too, which was surprising and nice. Monica/Jeffery? (Bout DAMN time the Captain of a ship got shown some interest from a girl.) Bobby’s gonna obviously continue his one-sided affection for Ozma come hell or high water, and hopefully Luca hasn’t just damned himself to die by saying he wanted to tell Nanase ‘something’. (Though why SHE doesn’t have guys falling over themselves to date her is beyond me since she’s the very image of about 80% of all male fantasies.)
And finally, we find out exactly how Brera has a VF-27 (or at least, his cover story) which makes me wonder how many different Valkyrie designs there are in active service that individual Fleets have designed and built, since a Macross Fleet is essentially it’s own self-sustaining civilization.
And is it JUST me or is ANYONE else bothered about how instead of the UN Spacy, we have the NEW UN Spacey?! What the HELL happened to the OLD one?! It was workin’ just FINE last we saw of it in Macross 7! It’s like The Powers That Be have gone and fallen into total corruption with guys like Leon calling the shots across the Galaxy!
And please, would somebody tell me why the HOT short-haired chicks are always getting the shaft nowadays?! (Points to the red-head from Pixy Squad) They either die or they’re so far into the background that they might as well be white noise! That and it was NENE who got tagged by Alto on his graduation exercise.
@tonbo
It’s not that NUNS and SMS can’t outgun the Vajra (As evidenced by Reaction Warheads), it’s just that prolonged fighting is extraordinarily expensive (Look at the BILLIONS the US has spent in Iraq) and Frontier’s economy (not to mention their citzens) simply couldn’t support a long, drawn-out fight.
Speaking of which, I’m gettin’ a strange spidey-sense feeling about the intent behind all this fighting. Someone else mentioned that the Vajra were likely a weapons-experiment-gone-bad and I’m beginning to wonder if Studio Nue is sending the story in a direction similar to Metal Gear Solid 4, where The Powers That Be wage war simply because they make money from it.(As Ozma so eloquently put it, SMS’s gear is NOT cheap, and SOMEONE makes money building and selling those VF-25s.) It would make some sense in the regard that the Vajra are perfect for this and are not so tough as to be invulnerable.
Here’s hoping that Luca grows a BACKbone to replace that WISHbone he’s got and that Monica keeps the faith long enough to win Jeffery over to a more reciprocal state of mind. (Cuz it would just SUCK if Monica turned into the next Sally Ford -_-)
This is my first time that I’ve gotten to watch a Macross series, and I’ve really had a great time so far. This ranks among my top 3 ongoing anime along with Geass & 00. Just a couple of thoughts:
Like someone mentioned before, I think there is a kinder and gentler side to the Vajra. I think that somehow humans will get to live alongside them. But there are some big roadblocks – especially with all the crazy killing. It’s very hard to be forgiving of war enemies.
In terms of Sheryl & Ranka, they are both wonderful girls. But there’s something about Sheryl that I like more. I’m not sure what it is exactly, I think it’s some combination of her determination, her strength, and her kindness. As for Ranka she is very kind and sweet; and she is very determined as well.
What’s wrong with Alto getting both girls, eh? : ]
@dez – hmm…. interesting thot, but its all not so complicated really, as Kabuki actors are big in Japan… with throngs of ladies after them to boot. the thing is no women are allowed to perform, so men act the part of women as well. all Edo period stuff. the use of Reaction Weaponry is an absolute last resort… since you can’t produce them as fast as you exhaust them… you see, the President has to give the go-ahead first. so until that time, conventional weaponry wise, the mindless Vajra will outlast anyone. that was my point exactly, that without the nukes, the humans are dead. and no Iraq or world economy talk applies here, as this is fiction, generally about the survival of humans spread out in deep space, so money is no object (zentraidi never did use money). on VF designs, the VF-25 is essentially an off-shoot of the VF-24 design now in limited/common production thru out all fleets, while the VF-27 bears a greater semblance to the VF-22 design … (more detail available from Japanese sources) …
On NUNS and UNSpacy, – it was already the New United Nations Spacy after the Zentradi took out Alaska Base and the Grand Cannon… and the entire human population on Earth, back in episode 27 of the original series… or more precisely, after Breetai joined up with Global’s remnant on the SDF-1 Macross and the builders of the Megaroad-01 on Apollo Base. i guess they finally got around to the Embelm and Insignia change. see japanese wiki on the 1st Space war for details…
i do realise i got Luca’s Ghost fighters names wrong, but well, getting the series in DVD anyway… one thing going for me after years of following shojo, shonen manga is recognising some of the ways characters interact and express their feelings toward one another…. Jeffrey’s comment on Monica making a good wife-to-be says it all >_< . . . but i enjoyed it all so far, and hope everyone did too.
Anyone wonder if some of cameo will appear in Macross Frontier? Mao Nome has high chance to appear, but i also feeling if Hikaru Ichijou, Sara, and Shin will also appear. I mean, the Macross Quarters captain is just look like the old version of Hikaru. Why? if you recap in episode 4 when the captain commenting about Alto and Klan’s mock battle, it always bugging me you know…
Anyway, it’s a good episode even the Vajra in the mother ship remind me of Alien Queen in Alien 2 and 4.
@tonbo
Actually, reaction weapons are easier to make than you think in Macross continuity, they essentially use the same fuel/reaction mass as their VFs do, except its a different formula. (Ah the wonders of a Macross chemistry set. ^_^)
However, I will agree that they are a last-ditch weapon that is generally frowned upon for the shear fact that most of their use was banned since nobody wanted to start another Space War-I.
You are also correct in stating that the Zentradi don’t use money, but unfortunately, humans DO and likely always will. It’s a simple matter to teach the Zentradi to work for money, which can then be exchanged for goods in places like the mall. (Points to the zentran-micron mall we saw Klan at not long ago.) Mikhail ALSO mentioned that it was expensive and difficult to get NUNS to do anything on Alto’s graduation flight, so we know that the concept of money and an economy ARE still around.
I’ll look up the stuff on NUNS and the UNSpacy, but I’m still thinkin’ that it shouldn’t take some nation-state *40* stinkin’ years to change their insignia. (Lazy bastards…)
As for Jeffery’s comment to Monica, I hope you’re right as well. It did seem overly forward of him to simply say “you’d make a good wife” right after we see him walk into a conversation concerning someone she desperately hopes will return her affection. (We never did get to see how long he was there, but seriously, I’d be surprised if Wilder WASN’T tossing her a hint. “Be careful what you wish for young lady, you JUST MIGHT Get it!” ^_^) I’m personally waiting for the official subtitling from a major studio to translate that one for me.
@pus2meong
I agree with the potential for Mao Nome to put in an appearance; Sheryl wasn’t named Nome for any old reason, but with the advent of evil-sheryl, and the possibility of doubles existing, it’s equally likely someone could have just named an android that for kicks. Hopefully Ep15 will clear this up for us.
Jeffery Wilder = Hikaru Ichijo?! A nice flight of fancy, I must admit. (Hey, I mistook Brera for a GIRL at first glance. V_V) But I’m about 99.9% certain this isn’t the case. Canon Age for Hikaru was around 21 when Megaroad-01 left Earth in 2012. If he’s still alive in 2059, then Hikaru is now 68, going on 70. Wilder looks like he’s in his mid-40’s to early 50’s, if that. (Remember that Max and Milia looked to be 30-ish in Macross 7 despite each of them being over 50.) Good doctors and good hairdressers I guess…. -_-
Relax, Wilder was referring to Ozma and Cathy most likely in Ep4 … at least that’s what MY money’s on.
After studying the Macross timeline and reading all the comments, and checking out Macross Zero as well…and rewatching the frontier episodes, I can’t help but feel the comment by Ozma (about how Ranka shares Dr. Mao’s destiny) in ep10 is not a HUGE foreshadowing of what will happen in the future.
I feel this comment by Westlo really nails it:
Westlo at 12:54 am on June 6th, 2008
“Ranka has a higher chance of dying than ending up with Alto, more than likely she’ll be a massive star by seasons end while Sheryl semi retires to be with Alto. Stardom 50%, Dying 30%, Alto 20%.
Also all you people thinking Ranka is going to win, realize who’s in charge of Frontier, Shouji Kawamori not some otaku hack with a fixation on moeblobs. Look at his work over the last 25 years over every Macross and everything else like Escaflowne, Arjuna and Aquarion. It would be out of character for him to make Ranka win Alto since it’s obvious by his history he prefers strong woman like Sheryl Nome.
Also it’s much more easier for him to give Ranka Lee a good losers ending than it is for Sheryl Nome. What’s a good losers ending for Sheryl? She continues to be the Galactic Fairy like she was before the series started? Amazing character progression that would be… Ranka otoh going from someone who worked at Nyan Nynas and went to school to someone who played a key role against the Varja threat as well as becoming a galaxy wide superstar is a pretty good losers ending isn’t it? And if he wants the 3 to be friends at the end like the original trio from the original once again Sheryl winning fits that better.”
@jho=It looks like Kawamori will pull something like an Escaflowne here since Ranka and Alto has been obvious from day one. Most especially now that Ranka turns out to be a Vajra queen. That’s quite a big twist already. This is prolly what the others meant when they said there’s something off about Ranka and Alto even if they do love each other. Just great.
Oh before I forgot…Lt. Commander Brera Sterne from the Antares Squadron is H-O-T! 😀 I hope he and Sheryl meet. I’m giggling already.
You know, Escaflowne is really not a good argument for the Sheryl camp.
You have to change the genders but it’s much easier to paint Alto as Hitomi, Ranka as Van and Sheryl as Allen than other ways around. Although, that changes on depending on if you go by character type or when they get their airplay in the series.
I don’t disagree with a lot of the romance triangle arguments that have been posted, but Escaflowne just isn’t a good supporting one.
Was I the only one thinking
“Wow, random expendable pilot #68357 is really kicking ass!”
You’re not alone.