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Summary:
Pretending that Howard Glass was killed in the Vajra attack, Leon takes control of the military and orders the launch of the Battle Frontier. Alto, Ranka, and Luca meanwhile make their way to Island 3 with the help of some cover fire from Kuran, and Luca takes them to the research lab where a weapon called the Little Girl is being stored. Luca explains that this is an LAI-developed Fold bomb that’ll wipe out everything in a 50 kilometer radius, but in order for it to work, they need to gather all the Vajra inside the colony ship in one place. When Alto realizes that this plan will require Ranka, he gets angry, however Luca remains calm and declares that he’s decided to protect. Luca frames this all as a struggle for survival between them and the Vajra, but what ultimately settles this is Ranka’s own decision to sing. With this plan now in place, Alto can only reassure Ranka that they’ll be able to escape afterward and that she’ll be able to sing without worries. After Alto takes off in his Valkyrie, Brera shows up and suggests that Ranka doesn’t have to sing if she doesn’t want to. Letting her cry into his arms for a moment, he then tells her that her song is her heart, and that’s something that is hers alone.
Despite this, Ranka remains resolved to sing. She knows that her song won’t reach the one person she wants it to reach, but she’s still doing it because this is the hope for him. Aimo succeeds in attracting all of the Vajra to Island 3, so the fleet jettisons that particular section and detonates the Fold bomb once Ranka gets off safely. All of the Vajra are thus killed, and Ranka once again feels a pain in her stomach. In the aftermath, cleanup begins, and Leon gives a speech and leads a prayer for all the people who died. He tells Ranka that Ozma is missing, but despite her sad feelings, he still asks her to sing. Ranka surprises everyone by refusing to do so, and she then runs off into the nearby woods where she’s met by a familiar creature. Later that night, Alto gets a phone call from Ranka and rushes out to meet her on the hill overlooking the city. He tries to find out why she stopped singing, but Ranka instead asks him to teach her how to fold paper airplanes. While they’re doing this, she asks him about the desire to fly in the sky, so Alto starts by telling her about how his mother had a weak body. His mother could only look up at the sky and had wanted to see a real one. Alto describes the real sky as blue, never-ending, and free, and although he thinks of it as a fairy tale since he was born on this ship, Ranka calls it wonderful.
After Alto helps her finish her paper airplane, Ranka lets it fly and thinks about how everyone wants to live freely. She decides to make a request to Alto about doing something with her, however at this moment, Ai-kun appears and brings the paper airplane back to Ranka. Alto sees Ai-kun as a grown Vajra now – the same type that killed Mikhail – so he pulls out his gun, but Ranka tries to stop him because Ai-kun hasn’t done anything wrong. Alto is unconvinced because he believes that the sky will be a battlefield as long as there are Vajra, and they must kill the Vajra in order to survive. He fires the gun, but Brera rushes onto the scene right as he’s doing so and knocks the gun out of his hand. Brera proceeds to hold Alto at bay while he asks Ranka to tell him her wish because he intends to fulfill it instead of Alto. This is enough for Ranka to admit that she’s recently remembering her past little by little, and she’s decided to return Ai-kun to where his friends are. Brera grants this request by summoning his Valkyrie, and he and Ranka board it. Before she leaves, Ranka tells Alto that she had wanted to go with him so that they could be together, but she now can only say goodbye and confess that she loved him. Alto is left behind watching Brera’s Valkyrie fly off into space, and he yells Ranka’s name out in frustration.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「蒼のエーテル」 (Ao no Ether) by 中島愛 (Nakajima Megumi)
Watch the ED!: Mirror, Streaming
A pretty good ballad song for the ED this week to go along with the goodbye, especially since they played it all the way through.
Preview
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Well despite the fact that she got right into the thick of things, Kuran didn’t die after all this episode. That’s mostly a good thing if you like her character, but I worry that she’ll be neglected as the story now enters the final arc. At best, I could imagine her using her experience to help Alto make up his mind about Ranka; at worst, we don’t see her again until the next battle or the end of the series. There’s just not much they can do with her character without Mikhail around.
Speaking of Ranka, clues from past episodes had pointed to how she would eventually go to the Vajra, and Ai-kun’s return finally triggered her to do so. The suddenness of the decision makes it feels like she’s running away from things more than anything else, though I’m sure the end result – she’ll probably meet the Vajra and we’ll find out more about why Grace refers to her as the Little Queen – will be the same regardless of what her current motivations are. Since she managed to confess to Alto before she left – in what was incidentally a very nice goodbye sequence with a good song – I want to say this makes AltoXRanka more likely, but I can still see AltoXSheryl happening or even AltoXNobody (I would go as far as to say that Alto doesn’t deserve either of the girls unless he matures further). It wouldn’t surprise me if Alto swings back towards Sheryl next week since the next episode is titled Northern Cross and looks to focus a least partially on her.
RANKAA!!!!! Good episode. I guess next episode has to do with the song Northern Cross.
Ok, so Ranka has officially become Kerrigan after her human brain melted faster than Chernobyl and/or a Minmei tantrum.
If Alto has any self-respect, he’ll go the Sheryl path, even if he needs to rescue the ever-annoying and stupid Vajra Queen later
Alto needs a good shot to the head.. Sheryl is the better match…
I don’t think it is running away.
She feels pain when Vajra are killed … Wouldn’t you wonder why your singing can influence the Vajra so much?
She has a connection with the Vajra . . . a connection that is related to the past the she’s forgotten but is slowly remembering.
I had anticipated her leaving. Reminds me of Macross II The Movie. She will go to the other side, and on that end, try to stop the fighting.
I don’t think Ranka-san is annoying at all. She’s a child in love for the very first time. If anything . . . Ranka saw Alto first . . . I was a big supporter of the AltoxRanka combo, but now I just don’t care anymore. I was annoyed when Sheryl chased after him despite knowing the connection that Ranka and Alto had. UGH . . . Nonetheless, love the current turn of events.
She may leave Macross altogether, and find another place for her and the Vajra with Brera-san by her side (oh so loyal Brera-san). Regarding Brera-san . . . I don’t think they’re related by blood . . . I think she was adopted and taken into his family . . .
There needs to be an Sheryl X Ranka ending.
That’s the standard hero/leading man look for Luca….Instant maturity!
This episode wasn’t really good. Much felt out of place and Rankas acting, especialy in the end, felt a bit rushed..
Hope next week we’ll see a better episode.
As for the shipping, everything is open, though I see it shifting a bit more to Sheryl.
ok, What in the world is Ranka thinking? This makes no sense at all. She really need to grow up. I hope we will see Sheryl more.
Not a bad ep. the battle scenes were kinda rushed imo. – though her going I feel is a good thing rather than the opposite. I’m starting to get bored hearing her sing AIMo!!!
Not surprised Ranka did that. Oh well. As for pairings, I’m still rooting for AltoXSheryl but as for now, anything is open. GO Kuran!
Ranka running away again, some things never change.
Hmm, mignt need to download the RAW when I get home. But it seems that we’re at the home stretch.
Battle section needs to detatch from Frontier Island section and transform. ><
But I agree with SeedStriker. Sheryl path. A more detailed response when I actually see it.
There are only 4 episodes left in this series…if all loose ends are to be tied up by the final episode then things are going to have to start moving at MACROSSPEED
Sasuke is that you?
RankaxAlto end hella CONFIRMED.
I know Ranka will be back because the others on Frontier is still in the dark on the RIGHT thing to do, but the ending is really dramatic. 11/10. Don’t you just love it when a new song just comes out of nowhere and blows you away? 😀
While I feel that Alto and Sheryl have good chemistry, the Ranka and Alto path seems to have the better plot even though most of the credit would have to go to Ranka’s connection with the Vajra. Unless Sheryl starts flying around in a VF and shooting down Vajra, I’m more interested in what’s going to happen to Ranka.
We know that Sheryl is ultimately going to pick up singing again and as interesting as she is, her relationship with Alto works better if this were an anime that revolves completely around romance, like True Tears or Kiminozo.
Great episode, loved the ending theme.
Quoted by me at 12:31 am on August 22nd, 2008
“I was waiting for the MDE bomb to make an appearance in this episode…we’ll definitely see it in action soon with all the Vajra on the loose.”
I so called that haha! Sux that they had to scuttle Island 3 though…I have a feeling times are gonna get rough for the Frontier fleet as they keep receiving heavy losses of resources. I mean this is like the 3nd time Island 1 has been horribly damaged in a Vajra attack, luckily they still have Sheryl there to keep everyone’s spirits up.
@AGear2Ax
P@wned! jaja they just had to chose that famous-lame-duck-ass hairdo for young Brera… now we know why he’s so traumatized XD
So, she got Brera to hold a knife on Alto as she made her confession, then fled with Brera to Vajra space. I can’t wait for Leon to find out… just so he can declare her a traitor to humanity, or something, and thus have a reason to put all her friends (Alto and company) under arrest for suspicion of collaboration, or execute them all. So Ranka can find out and go emo. 😉
I agree with lux. If this was an anime like True Tears and Kiminozo, Sheryl would easily be ahead. Since this is Macross, love triangles are not easy to figure out and Kawamori will keep fans guessing until the bitter end. There is a precedent; main character usually picks the older girl (Misa Hayase and Sara Nome).
At this point, I do not really mind if Alto does not end up with anybody. Ultimately, the fault lies in Alto’s indecisiveness. (Even Hikaru Ichijo favored Lynn Minmei before jumping ship and choosing Misa Hayase.) If this keeps up, he would go down the same path as other famous idiots such as Takayuki Narumi and Makoto Ito.
Though, I still hope Alto picks Sheryl because the chemistry between them is always fun to watch.
Trump card! ^.^ LOL That was such a beautiful song in the end. Seriously, I’m betting all or nothing on Alto to drag Ranka back to Frontier. If not…hello cheapshot Sheryl ending. (even if I think this is really unlikely haha) I’m not sure if anyone noticed but remember when Alto left Ranka to go to Galia 4 WITH Sheryl? ^_^ She was at Griffith’s park. Now, it’s Ranka’s turn to leave WITH Brera and Alto is left alone right at that same place. What should happen next? Alto better step up and realize his feelings soon. Drag poor Ranka back princess charming! <3 Griffith’s park holds a lot of meaning to this two.
Other stuffs I liked.
-KLAN ROCKS. ‘Rocks’ is even an understatement.
-Brera is love. He was so sweet, acting like a chevalier from Blood+. XD
-Why did Ai-kun has to evolve? 🙁
-Alto telling Ranka more about his mom, and the change in Ranka’s attitude in this episode. Let me requote my earlier statements:
“Ranka was set to be a weaker character than Sheryl so she can progress all throughout the show.
Ranka was set to know less about Alto so that she can get to know him better together with us audience.”
I’m glad my hunch was right. Now, the big question is, will Ranka have any screentime next episode atleast? =_=
“(Even Hikaru Ichijo favored Lynn Minmei before jumping ship and choosing Misa Hayase.)”
Not really, in Hikaru case it was always “Minmei” until the final episodes … Misa was just there for most part.
Also Hikaru confessed to Minmei before the final battle with the Zentradi, he still ends up with Misa in the end.
I’d advise people to wait until next week before you assume anything in “confirmed”. We just got Ranka’s confession. Next is Sheryl’s have no doubt.
Nothing’s confirmed until the last episode. All of these “macross” homage/references makes Kawamori enjoy the series even better.
Recall Macross 7 ended with a Mylene x Nobody (unresolved) ending, nothing saying Macross F couldn’t end in a similar way, with Sheryl and Ranka getting along with each other and Alto, all three of them going their own way.
You know, I wouldn’t mind that.
God I hate this series. Why can’t ANY character make a decision on his/her own? Everybody seems insecure, indecisive, jealous, stupid and superhuman through out the series. They can’t even decide on who they love. isn’t it time after 21 episode to finally go with one person instead of this cheesy-retarded drama?
AWESOME Kuram lol ill take that bet (betting nothing but my pride in a baseless hunch) omni (i think they lulled u into a false sense of security!)
Its getting to the point of being annoying now, hurry the F#$#@ up and make his decision already Ranka or Sheryl (Personally I prefer Sheryl Ranka look just too much like a little kid but thats my opinion), getting sick of how they keep swing us left and right. I want more story and action with less love drama. Was fun in the beginning but now is getting f@#@ing annoying, just pick your freaking girl get it over with and get back into the fight.
LOL at Luka. ^O^
So they pulled a Nia (from Gurren Lagann) with Ranka? What a tweest!
Poor Kuran. And they should have made Luca the leading man; I mean, in that one shot, he’s so much more manly than Alto ever was throughout the series.
Macross Frontier contributed nothing to the science fiction genre. Dimension eater? Fold quartz? The series is about to conclude and the writers have not bothered to explain these ridiculous technologies. They’re still stuck with the series’ mediocre love story. And also, if I want a romantic sci-fi story, I’ll just watch Wall-E again.
You can be pretty sure that the alto/sheryl/ranka story wont be resolved until either the 25th or 26th episode. So just try and endure it for 4 more weeks or so.
The ED theme is beautiful and heartfelt. I hope it will be included in the next soundtrack or release as Megumi’s next single.
I hope Ai-Kun kills Berea and rapes Ranka up in space and then the alien burtsts out of her belly and kills her instantly. THAT is how tired I am of Ranka. If she was going to leave anyways why the fuck does she need to call Alto out there? People said Sheryl telling Alto about her sickness would gain pity points in her favor of the triangle, well Ranka did just that by running off with Berea right infront of Alto after confessing to him. If those two end up together because of that.
FUCK Alto and FUCK Ranka and FUCK Macross Frontier.
@Kaori
Show Spoiler ▼
Wait for the subs before you start flaming, please.
lux: Isn’t it kind of silly to NOT expect him to shoot Vajra after seeing hundreds or thousands die in Island 1, after he’s lost a comrade to them, and after he’s admitted hatred of them in the most explicit way possible (by zooming past her and nuking the Vajra mothership with reaction weapons)? She could’ve just called him and done the confession that way, but she had to make sure that Alto showed his hate-on for Vajra. It shows how very LITTLE she knows him… and how much time she’s wasted in fantasizing about him when she could’ve used it to chase him or find out about him if she’d wanted to.
A heartfelt episode! I just loved the new ED to bits. Not as powerful as DC but it still has its own sad heart-wrenching effect. And I also loved how both Ranka and Alto’s VAs delivered their lines at Griffith’s Park. >_< Sooooooo good!!
Moving on, I still think Sheryl is not out of the picture. If Sheryl plays her cards right, she can get Alto to notice her while Alto’s wallowing on Ranka’s absence.
I felt really sad for Ranka when she asked Alto to go with her but then Brera was the one who said, “I understand.” I bet Ranka was hoping to hear those words more from Alto. She became teary-eyed at that part, it was so heartbreaking. The way Alto shouts Ranka’s name was sweet too. ^^
I think Ranka will get some screentime but they will probably focus more on Frontier’s move against the Vajra, Alto’s thoughts and Sheryl’s new found determination to sing again.
Another one week to wait. Sigh~ I have Ao no Ether on repeat now. Haha Can’t wait for Macross OST Nyan Tora!
@Kaori and sf_fan:
Then don’t watch the show or read the article. Don’t bother with the show. Go and watch somethign else. I happen to like this thing, and I’d rather employ my creative mind to wondering how it’ll work. Or enjoy the show.
Anyways
I always wondered, with SMS being the one taking a good chunk of the enemy with them, I’d think the operators at Battle Frontier would at least give them a heads up…or I probably didn’t hear/catch it (9 credit hours and 1 year of agonizing Advanced Study Japanese in University and I still can’t understand a thing). Hmm…guess PMCs are still not well liked. Blackwater that big of a deal down the road eh? lol
Anyways…I believe the true demons in this series is not the Vajra, although they would count as one, but Leon and Grace. Things are going to get interesting for sure.
The last episode of Macross F will be “Lion”
@Haesslich
Hey, I never said that her decision to call him out was a smart act. I think Ranka knew very well that Alto have seen dozens of people getting killed by the Vajra, but since she has a different understanding of them, she wanted Alto to see things from a different perspective.
Besides, when I said she knew it was a “futile” attempt, that means she knew that it was zero to none. It’s very immature of her, but at least she tried.
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2021%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
SASUKE-KUNNNN!!!! XDXD
@lux
“Besides, when I said she knew it was a “futile” attempt, that means she knew that it was zero to none. It’s very immature of her, but at least she tried.”
In what way was Ranka’s action immature? O__o
@Jusuchin
Yes, that is the type of comment I’m expecting from someone who is not thinking. If you disagree with my arguments then present to me your case-tell me the fine points of this series and not with the usual “go watch something else.”
@Haesslich
“She could’ve just called him and done the confession that way, but she had to make sure that Alto showed his hate-on for Vajra. It shows how very LITTLE she knows him… and how much time she’s wasted in fantasizing about him when she could’ve used it to chase him or find out about him if she’d wanted to.”
Instead of taking it out on Ranka, why don’t you hate Kawamori/Yoshino for dragging everything out for this long? It’s all plot related so that they can impact everything with good drama. Just look at how they dramatically ended episode 21. Absolutely splendid. I’m kind of happy Ranka had no progress after Galia 4, they really saved the progress for the finale. 😉
@kaori & sf_fan
Haters~ ^_^
@yuKime
Well, maybe I worded it in the wrong way. It’s just that she did something she knew wasn’t going to work out. Maybe I should say that she’s more optimistically determined?
Ranka ftw! lol 😛
I think that we re forgetting something, as far as Ranka knows or wondered Sheryl and Alto were already together, so she asking him to come with her is even more selfish especially when she thought that.
also, she forgiving the vajra just because her pet resulting be one of them is weird (at least if it was because of her discovering somehow her conection to them), especially since them were the cause for her friends were injuried/dead, the normal reacton would be her being scared of ai-kun now that she knows what it really is.
well, maybe is just me being intolerant to ranka since she doesn’t grow up at all.
Brera, I don’t know why but i just keep loving him more and more.
and Klan ROCKS nothing below that could be said about her.
@lux
Maybe Ranka did that hoping Alto will understand if she talked to him and explained properly. After all, Alto always heard her out. Too bad she was wrong though.. It was heartbreaking for Ranka, I’m sure.
But I still think Ranka will be back in Frontier in no time. =P
I’m starting to support an Alto x Nobody ending.
How bout Alto dies in combat somehow saving both?
However, I guess Alto x Sheryl and Brera x Ranka is the fairest ending for both heroines.
Who said incest is illegal on Frontier?
I’ve yet to watch this ep, but from the screenshots I’ve noticed Ranka’s hair finally looks right for once.
@yukime
Y’know, I’ve always wanted to see this scene ever since ep 14. Alto vs Ranka with Ranka standing in front of a Vajra and being misunderstood by everyone including him. lol What good drama. The more messed up things get, the better it is imo.
The legendary paper airplane scene didn’t fail us though haha It was absolutely adorable.
Sigh -__- the flame wars have started.
Geez so much crap happens when you have two leading women.
@ani_d
I know what you mean. I was a bit frustrated at the little Vajra for disrupting Alto x Ranka moment back in ep14. Then we have all this episodes downgrading Ranka, hesitating, getting heartbroken and getting confused. But episode 21 brought a great great way to see that Ranka has stood up again and decided something that even though Alto won’t approve, she’ll still see through her decision because that’s what she wanted.
The farewell was so heartbreaking. The way Alto kept saying desperately, “Don’t go Ranka!” and how Ranka said painfully but still with a smile, “Goodbye. I loved you.” I wish they will somehow give us a good follow through in ep 22. The drama was too good that I want a bit more for ep 22. X3
The airplane scene was a nice touch. Not only did Alto manage to open up to Ranka, it was also a scene that brought forth such warm expressions on Alto’s face. During the preview in ep 20, the scene where Alto was running full speed, I actually thought it was Alto running towards Sheryl (learning she was dying or sick) but it turns out to be Ranka. It pays not to expect too much. I get blown away with the episode’s greatness when I don’t expect too much. XD
(Sorry for double posting)
Show Spoiler ▼
Whee! Can’t wait!!! Finally some explanation~
@yukime
Oh great, now you made me rewatch the scene again. 😛 It was more heartwrenching the second time around with Blue Ether playing. You get to notice more stuffs. They really focused on Alto and Ranka’s facial expressions. The flashback, the lips saying goodbye, tears forming. They did it again: “Ranka….” “Alto-kun….” “RANKAAAAAAAAA” LOL!
I know Alto was in the dark about the Vajra and all, and he did what he had to do, but I think the fact that Ranka thinks that Alto doesn’t see her as anything more than a tool and acting like everyone else just pushed her to take a stand and not depend on him. I think it’s just a case of miscommunication here starting from the last episode up to here. But it really pushed the plot to where it should be so I think that was good. I really really can’t picture Alto letting things end like this (especially with the amount of drama the staff put in) and running to Sheryl as default. It’s possible, but I don’t think the story will go this way. =/
As for Brera, maybe this is really the part Brera was supposed to play. Take Ranka away from Frontier and take her to Galaxy. Grace called him “Prince” and I notice Brera wasn’t reprimanded for acting alone. This is more likely orchestrated. Just a hunch. Also, I’m getting more and more concerned about the glowing abdomen. I hope Ranka’s lifespan doesn’t shorten or something everytime it glows.
And thank goodness for the extended summary for next episode. I’m sick of coming up with crazy vajra theories lol
@yuKime
Weird.. that’s the summary for 23…
@ani_d
Seems like the discussion here is suddenly… less heated. Haha XD
Anyway, I kept watching it the whole afternoon after I got home. I was just so blown away with the whole episode. The art during Alto and Ranka’s talk was also a plus since I really loved every expression they made. Even the line delivery was so good. Haha. I also noticed they did the name-calling thing they loved to do (recall ep. 14 X3 Oops, in my post above, ep 14 is actually ep13 ^^;). “RANKAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” Alto’s throat must be painful after shouting like that! XD
I guess Ranka wanted to end the bloodbath and in her own way. She was hoping Alto would support her like always but when it was Brera who understood her, she must be heartbroken the second time around. I also loved the part where Ranka sang Aimo, thinking, “Because this is that special person’s wish…” She really loves Alto so much. I’m sure she’ll be rewarded in the end!
The plot did move but the possibility of Alto running to Sheryl is still.. well, possible. Seeing as how Alto seems to forget the other girl whenever he’s with the other, Alto might be led away from Ranka. Seeing also that next episode would cover Sheryl’s sickness, Alto’s concern for her might turn into something… But in the preview, Alto was in his father’s house, sitting and thinking. Hope it’s Ranka… Alto should examine his own feelings next episode or I’m really going to think he’s insensitive as hell.
Regarding Brera’s role, I loved how he stood by Ranka before she sang Aimo. Just like a brother! And how he told Ranka that he’ll be the one to grant her wish. So sweet~ But yeah, I bet Grace is still pulling the strings on Brera somewhere. Definitely, Alto has to come and save Ranka some time!! Btw, Ranka and Brera are going to M Galaxy?!
@tsuchiro
*checks Macross F site again*
だがその直後、アルトはビルラーと三島からバジュラの生態とランカの歌の秘密を聞き・・・
No, it was written in the summary for Episode 22. It’s the official site so I’m hoping it is correct. ^^ I don’t want to wait two weeks for the explanation. One week is pain enough. ^^;
@yuKime
It is the synopsis for Episode 23. Although there is one more added line there… (だがその直後、アルトはビルラーと三島からバジュラの生態とランカの歌の秘密を聞き・・・) You see that it is “True Begin(ing)” for the title? I watched MBS and swear to any God up there that next episode is “NORTHERN CROSS” without any doubt. And see the preview:
https://randomc.net/image/Macross/Macross%20Frontier%20-%2021%20-%20Preview%2003.jpg
Technical problem on the official site?
Just wondering if Ozma & Cathy are now wanted fugitives on Leon’s list. After last week’s downfall, Ranka sort of pick herself up this week. At least, there’s some growth in her character instead of stagnant development. Ending song’s nice though.
ANN has Macross Frontier listed as 25 episodes.
@Kagami
After checking again, you are right. The title was True Beginning for that episode summary but it was stated as Ep22 summary as well. The site only posts the next episode summary so there’s no 23 summary written. But the title does confuse me too. Maybe it’s the same as what happened in episode 13’s title? You know, how it was Twilight Planet on the summary spoilers then on the official it became Memory of Global? Or yeah, a technical problem I think. ^^;
Bawww, oh hey, where’re the sheryl fan-he/she/it? all fiery and hating on Ranka for not giving a crap about nanase, acting like a toddler, and not asking Alto anything? hahaha Cat got your fingers? Anyone who thinks Sheryl still has a chance on Alto is brainwashing himself with lies as a comfort. I laugh at j00!
@yuKime
The summary are from Episode 23 with one added line, as I told you. For episode 22, “Northern Cross” is going to air, possibly a Sheryl-centric episode after the lack of her appearance in this episode judging from the comment on preview.(Sorry yuKime, but I am AruShery Fan ^^; Though I don’t wanna participate in pairings war. It’s enough if we both enjoy the moments our supported pairings give from Macross, right? 🙂 )
Episode 13 Title is proven wrong after the Preview of Episode 12. But the summary are still the same or quite close though. This one has different summary than the Newtype (Was it? I forgot) synopsis, so case of Episode 13 is not possible. Preview is much more reliable at this point.
It definitely some kind of technical problems on the site. Episode 23 is confirmed to be “True Begin(ing)” from TV Life booklet. So, one more painful week to know the truth now… ^^;
@ I laugh at joo
Please don’t start. There isn’t a need for such remarks. It makes a lot of Ranka fans seem like immature brats when I know that there are decent and mature Ranka fans out there. Same goes for Sheryl fans. I believe we can all discuss the episode and characters without resorting to heated words and character bashing. ^_^
I don’t believe that Ranka is running away. She is probably thinking that if she leaves Frontier, then everyone on board Frontier will be safe since the Vajra are drawn to her and once she leaves, they’ll leave Frontier alone. Her decision to leave was probably not easy as she’s leaving behind everyone she loves. As for the ED theme, as I’ve said earlier, it’s beautiful and heartfelt and it’s currently on repeat on my player.
Just WTF is wrong with the art in this episode? Everyone looks hideous! Have you guys seen Klan’s face when she charges towards the Vajra? She looks like a freaking man! Sheryl and Ranka looks equally hideous!
*PUKES*
This show just never fails to disappoint.
My player is on repeat mode from 22:10 🙂
The ED Ao no Ether is very beautiful.I prefer it over Northern Cross.
Yukihime, ani_d you should let Sheryl’s fan speak … but they are nowhere to be found. They missed the episode ? Next week, it will be Sheryl’s episode. Maybe she will confesses but will he return her feeling? I sincelery don’t think so, after seeing how he shoot RANKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA .
He will soon run after her, with his valkyrie 🙂
LOL omg please no ‘since Ranka Vajira-bait has flown the coop, let’s make Alto-kun get the consolation prize of Sheryl ‘teh hotness’ Galactic Fairy’ nvm the yelling Alto seems to do when Ranka gets taken away. Or wait, maybe it’s just his being naturally dramatic when it looks good. That’s a completely sorry way to finish the triangle, and to give Sheryl the short end of the stick. Give us a better plot than just simply Alto saying, oh well Sheryl’s hot and fun so I’ll take her.
Anyway who cares about the triangle anymore. I just want to know what the whole story was with the Vajira, Macross Global, Brera, Ranka, Ranshe Mei, Mao Nome and Grace. Also what Ozma and Cathy are going to do since they’re now pretty much officially on the run because they know way too much about Leon’s agenda.
At least the main plot is picking up pace now, and tightens up the screws on the drama that comes with weighing decisions between prejudice and a desire for greater understanding for the sake of peace.
Any chance that ep 22 is really “True Begin(ing)” and ep 22 is “Northern Cross”? Maybe they decided to not torture us any more and finally give us some answers… Nah, who am I kidding…
The ED is amazing. Love Megumi’s voice.
Between two races with such great differences and the capacity to adapt and engage in an arms race, without a means of communication, war only escalates without an end in sight until one or both sides is eliminated. Unless a third option is explored, there will no end in sight.
Macross Frontier rehashes this theme, the struggle to overcome prejudice and hatred to attain peace. Fittingly so as it played a central part in the first Macross series, even more than love triangles, but it really amps up the drama by magnifying this struggle in two people who are emotionally tied to each other (I’m not saying they love each other – but you can’t deny they are important to each other apart from the currently one-sided romance).
Ranka said it herself in this episode that everyone wants to live「みんあ。。。生きたいんだよね」. That’s true for any both sides of a war. It raises the question of who has the right to decide who has more right to live. It’s always easy to say whoever suffered more has the greater right. But who has the right to judge that between two races who really know very little about each other?
There needs to be someone with the courage and ability to choose the option that can broker an understanding that offers a future of some kind for both. However anger on both sides fuels an escalation of violence, and unless a majority on both sides want something greater than ambition or revenge, all that’s left is for two sides to destroy each other. Which is pretty much what’s going on between Frontier and the Vajira.
After all the third option is never an easy choice. Even if a rational part of you understands something, history and emotional attachments to those who were sacrificed in the war affects judgement. Plus it’s easier to feel better by beating the bejeezus out of your enemy.
That said, the choice Ranka made, was the bravest yet I’ve seen her make, and I think has mostly made up for her annoying lack of will in the previous episodes.
After all there is no guarantee of her returning, or even of Alto or any of her friends and loved ones ever understanding or accepting her decision to defend a Vajira let alone return Ai-kun to his kind.
After meeting Ai-kun in the woods, I think Ranka understands finally that all the suffering is not going to end unless she finds out for herself the reasons for the power of her song. She already knows she doesn’t want to be a tool that is content to let others tell her where to go, and this step is something only she can do herself. Similar to Sheryl’s rise from the ashes last episode, this is the kind of shining hope I wanted to see in Ranka when she has finally given up that which meant the most to her in favor of something greater.
So bravo, little girl. There’s hope yet for you, and for an interesting ending to this series.
And yeah, the ED was lovely. =)
Im getting the feeling that the political/resource infighting in Frontier will tear the colony fleet apart. With Leon getting the upper hand over the factions of Ozma and Cathy, Ranka comes back with the Vajra fleet to help Ozma’s faction out…. hahaha
GO RANKA GO!!!
I love ranka’s confession at the end. Ehehe maybe she’s mimic Michael, but still coooool!! 😀
Is there any chance that Ai-kun will be a stepping stone to a “friendly” Vajra and the Vajra will be defeated not by force, but by… love? This show may probably become one of those things, hehe.
Muy bien Ranka comrades! Spoiler titles for the last 4 episodes are out from MW. Guess what’s the title of the last episode? Guess, guess, guess?
Show Spoiler ▼
AHAHHAHA I KNEW IT! Save the lynching for later.
I don’t think I need to clarify this anymore, but episode 22 is a definite “Northern Cross”. To those who are hoping next episode would be “True Begin(ing)” because they want to know about the connection between Ranka and vajra, you would have to wait two long weeks… I don’t know why next episode was listed as True Begin(ing), my friend said that it’s a technical difficulty. This episode preview does not have any indication of episode 23 synopsis. Currently I can only trust the current preview for next episode, which clearly state northern cross. Also there is some lingering doubt that this would end in 25, as there is a confirmation that the last episode would air in October 16, then replaced with Tales of the Abyss. It was given on the MBS episode 20 when Sheryl sang,I think.
@Kagami
It’s 25 episodes. It’s official. 😀
Oh, the spoilers are out already, and it really does state September would be the end of it. Sigh, so much for wanting extended episode… By the way, I really don’t trust that last episode would be having AltoxTanka despite its name… Kawamori’s legendary trolling dear. Before end of the series or 23, don’t have your hopes up, because there is one more spoilers which I can’t post, but it’ on animesuki I think. Go figure Kawamori. I have to blame him for me taking up excessive anvil. 🙁 one thing for sure, Lion is not going to be used for confrontation? Waste of good music…
You ever stop to think that maybe the title for the final ep has nothing to do with the triangle?
Yeah, I guess Kawamori would telegraph a AltoXRanka ending with the title of the episode. Just like he telegraphed Ozmas death with “Goodbye, Sister”. Ahem.
Not much worth fighting over this week, they seemingly felt the need to cut out Sheryl altogether, instead of running the danger that she’d overshadow Ranka.
And at last Ranka revealed who she really wants to be with! ^^
http://i35.tinypic.com/a2tehi.jpg
Of course Ranka is running away. Perfectly natural, since she thinks Alto has chosen Sheryl. But she is also running toward her little, I mean big, pet and his/her people. She will make up for having helped to kill so many of them. She remains by far my favorite character in this show. Her doubts and errors are so much more intense than anyone else’s, partly thanks to Nakajima Megumi’s out-of-control acting. Not that Endou Aya isn’t doing an outstanding job, too.
This episode definitely scores points for RankaxAlto, but considering this is Kawamori it would be a bit early to declare anything as confirmed. Still it’s really strongly in RankaxAlto’s favor I think. Now, with such a cliche ending to the episode I would think Alto would go chasing after Ranka. That was my impression. But the interesting thing is from the future episode summaries it seems he does NOT chase after Ranka, but stays on Frontier. I guess he needs to ponder what he really feels. That and we still need Sheryl’s confession. After that, then he will really decide (or at least one hopes he will).
Dokun dokun dokun! XD
Does anyone else hope that Alto ends up with either Ranka or NO ONE? I don’t say this because I favor AltoXRanka, but because I think Alto just doesn’t deserve anyone like Sheryl at this point. Even Sheryl should have figured out by now that Alto is an indecisive pile of angst. The only thing that can make the terrible romance in this show work at this point is for Alto to catch Sheryl and his brother kissing, making him go emo. I really prefer Sherylxsomeone else at this point, the poor girl deserves better, much better.
Thus far, Alto has contributed virtually nothing to what could have been a beautiful relationship.
@Kagami
Well, we’ll just figure it out next week. ^^ Even if it’s Sheryl-centric I’m fine with it since I want to see Alto’s follow through to Ranka’s departure. And no need to apologize for your shipping/pairing preference, not everyone has the same likes anyway. ^^
@Kei
I cut the farewell scene up till ED with Windows Movie Maker then converted it to mp3 format so I have it on repeat on my iTunes and iPod. XD Can’t wait for MF OST 2! Sheryl fans are silent because there is nothing much to comment on, seeing as Sheryl appeared for only a few times. But I’m sure they’ll be back for episode 22. *winks* Let’s just enjoy the peace for now. =D
I still don’t see a sure A x R ending but I am still rooting and hoping steadfastly for it. 4 more eps to go!
@diva
Thanks for the spoiler. I’m looking forward to the last episode even more now. But yeah, the possibility of it being a huge Kawamori trick is still looming around. But I want to bet that Anata no Oto will be played somewhere in the episode. <3
@hashihime
Ranka is not running away. Clearly she did think Alto didn’t return her feelings but that wasn’t the reason why she is leaving. She is leaving because she realized Ai-kun is a Vajra and she wanted to help end the war in her own way. She even wanted Alto to join/help her but he didn’t so she’s not running away from Alto at all. But yeah, even though she quit singing to help Frontier, she still wanted to help Frontier in her own way, by leaving and hoping to pacify the Vajras.
I prefer that alto goes with sheryl… even if it ends with sheryl dying…. i find ranka irritating at best and simply apalling at the worst of times…. she’s easily the worst character in the series…. alto’s not better either…. i really cant see the comparison between him and hikaru in the original other than that 2 girls like him… hikaru was a guy. alto’s practically a girl, indecisive and does not have ichijo’s leadership skill, fighting skill and has already lost his only comparison to max (michel)… not to mention the fact that misa in the original was one of the best cartoon characters ever… if it does end with alto x ranka… this is the worst macross ever.
though sheryl is cool…. attitude personified 🙂 in a good way. alto x sheryl sounds much better … but really… the original is the original for a reason….it was good.. this is just … average at best compared to the original macross. lol and if you push it… i’ll suggest alto x kuran 😀
@magnus ahem, Kawamori wanted Ranka to be the main character since the beginning. Now that she leaved and confessed her love, do you think this is over for her ?
She is growing now, and I bet she will come back prettier and will have a face of a woman. Not the figure of a 13 years old girl anymore.
Alto shoot RANKAAAAAAA like crazy at the end, this is a hint. But did you see how shocked he was when she said sayonara daisuke deshita ? Even if sheryl confesses he will think of Ranka and realize with who he really wants to be. That’s why you will see him take his VF to pursue her.
“they seemingly felt the need to cut out Sheryl altogether, instead of running the danger that she’d overshadow Ranka.”
This is the contrary. By fear that Ranka overshadowed Sheryl if she stayed in Frontier, they made her leave to let Sheryl with Alto… Alto’s glance at Sheryl in episode 20 is nothing compare to his reaction with Rnka in 21. Now they will show us Sheryl and Alto always together until she confesses her feeling in front of Alto who will stays with her out of pity because he actually doesn’t love her. Sheryl will realizes this and let him go to chase Ranka. After that, surprise for the time… :)( Don’t dream once Alto realize his feeling he will not change his mind, he will saty with Ranka):)
@zalem I think this is just a wish to deny the reality from Sheryl fan.
This will be an AltoxRanka end. This is not based only in the episode 21 but also from episode 1,3,5,8,10,12,13,15,19..
After that, saying if Ranka ends up with Alto is a cliche ending is nothing more than a irrelevant opinion of a disappointed fan who didn’t see his Sheryl wins Alto’s heart.
I can also say a dying Sheryl who end up with Alto is the most cliche knowing he ends up with her, not because he loves her but because she is ill. I am absolutely assured it will not happen.
You shouldn’t believe everything which is said in some spoilers. You didn’t know Ranka will leave this early in the serie …
And about Alto’s answer for sheryl’s confession : the answer is in her song Northern Cross. He will not give her the answer she was waiting. This confirms she is just a friend. This being so, I already said it in previous episode but people(Sheryl’s fan) wouldn’t listen to me… A big disillusion will occur soon.
Heads up to the people I confused and Kagami. ^^ I checked Macross F site and the summary is now correct and titled Northern Cross. The summary given yesterday was indeed for ep23. Technical issues indeed. ^^;
@par
And I predict that you’re a Ranka hater bashing Ranka’s character to the point that you don’t see her good points in this episode and would not accept anyone paired with Alto except for Sheryl. Like you said, the original is an ORIGINAL. Why compare it with Frontier then?
@yukime
To see is to believe, hm? Even if Alto sleeps with Sheryl before 25, the last episode will surely be about Ranka going dokun dokun dokun to Alto hahah Can you imagine Ranka going somewhere faraway and having a bitter ending without hooking up with Alto while HER rabu-rabu song to Alto wrap up the whole series? It’s a done deal. Alto will slack, shout at a wall, kick a cat, sleep with Sheryl, procrastinate till the last moment before he goes screaming his favorite line, “RANKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
All we need now is to have Sheryl tell Alto to forget about the MIA Ranka and be with her so that she’ll get shot down….politely and gently.
I like the Alto next to Ranka. I mean he’s so gentle when he’s with ranka.
@diva, where do you find that spoiler? which section of MF website?
@par “if it does end with alto x ranka… this is the worst macross ever.” I said big disillusion… 🙂
@yukihime I’m waiting for the OST too! I found anata no not so appealing but Ao no ether really raise my hopes to find good song of Nakajima as good as aimo!
“I’m sure they’ll be back for episode 22. *winks* Let’s just enjoy the peace for now. =D”
🙂
Kei:
I find you are letting your Ranka bias get to you and not paying attention to my post at all. I didn’t say that RankaxAlto would be a cliche ending. That depends totally on HOW it happens. I said, if he goes chasing after her then THAT would be a cliche moment. But according to the summaries he will not be chasing after her like that, which I find interesting. Like I said, it probably means he will sit and ponder things and sort his feelings out. I even said that this episode definitely gives points in RankaXAlto’s favor and if you know me from AS, you know that even though I am a Sheryl fan I have always thought that the series would probably go RankaXAlto. So please, stop making generalizations of people when you don’t know them.
“All we need now is to have Sheryl tell Alto to forget about the MIA Ranka and be with her so that she’ll get shot down….politely and gently.”
Now that, I don’t see happening at all. If anything I actually think she would tell him to go after her.
@diva
Yup, to see is to believe in Macross F’s case. Just look at how Kawamori trolled with Ozma’s impending death. I was so sure he was gonna die! XD But yeah, even if I say to see is to believe, I still am definitely anticipating the ending because I can feel Ranka getting Alto in the end~ X3 That heart-wrenching goodbye from Ranka would make Alto realize something for sure! Like they say, “Absence makes the heart fonder.” In Alto’s case, “Absence makes the insensitive heart finally realize.” XD After all, Alto would not break his vocal cords shouting Ranka’s name over and over again for nothing. Sure he can go take care of Sheryl in the meantime but when Sheryl confesses, I hope Alto won’t falter and stick with his choice. That is, Ranka. ^^
@Kei
Anata no Oto is okay but not as compelling as Ao no Ether. I have always liked Megumi’s voice over May’n. Sure May’n has stronger vocal cords and it shows in DC but I still like Megumi’s voice texture more. She will be more fantastic as time goes by!
Ranka leaving is a dirty move. Imagine if it was Sheryl suddenly having to disappear. The only thing that will change is “RANKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” going to “SHERYLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.” It’s whoever does the most dramatic thing that wins.
I’m not looking for a fight, so please don’t assume because I said what a lot of people here think,that I’m the bad guy who just want to diss some of you 🙂
I heard about AS and the bad reputation of the Macross thread full of ” Go die Ranka” or ” Alto can’t end up with this puppy”, ” Sheryl sama our queen ” …
It’s a bad example, I went to see out of curiosity and it confirms what everyone is saying. Animesuki forum of Macross is not worth reading. Sorry, I may seem really rude here but most of the post there are made by Sheryl fan who just twist the truth at their advantage or make Ranka’s fan look like silly people :
“Knowing Kawamoris troll-fu ( See: “Goodbye, sister” ), I rather think it will be another such audience troll by him, in this case trying to make us followers of the real queen question his intentions. ” Such audience ? what does it mean? Troll, us ? Pretty pathetic.
I don’t know what you said in AS but even if you can tell about a RankaxAlto end more likely than the other, it doesn’t justify sentence like ” THAT would be a cliche moment”.
Now, you’re saying me you didn’t say that : ” Now, with such a cliche ending to the episode I would think Alto would go chasing after Ranka” and now you adjust with that : “I said, if he goes chasing after her then THAT would be a cliche moment” Those are completely diferent sentence…
And saying Alto will chase after her, knowing this will not be the episode 22, either the 23 I call it saying AT THE END he will go chasing after her. It’s not a cliche moment anymore but a cliche ending…
“So please, stop making generalizations of people when you don’t know them.”
We aren’t in AS here, you shouldn’t assume this is personal, I don’t even know you. there is no need to make a big deal of that seriously. AS is the perfect place if you want it. Thanks
Kei: Hey, that was my line about the troll-fu, not Zalems. ^^
Anyway, I really did a facepalm at what you wrote in direct response to me, so I´ll leave it up until next episode. There´s tons of possible things to say about what Ranka did in this episode and how Alto reacted, but in the end it seems that discussion with some sort of median point where we all can agree is not possible with you and especially diva. Mostly because we seemingly perceive the story from two different universes, which do not overlap at all.
I´ll return to Suki, where we may get overenthusiastic sometimes ( Sheryl ganbatte, hell yeah! ), but at least I can understand for most people from where their viewpoint does come from. See ya next week, when it´ll be our turn to cheer. 😉
@Yukime I love What about my star @formo too but I think pop songs fit better to May’n like
Welcome to my fanclub’s night, don’t be late …
I don’t know for you but it seems sweet songs like aimo, or Ao no ether suit her better than for example seikan hikou, I just remembered she singed Neko nikki too.. 🙂
She’s 17 or something, I don’t remember well but she is pretty talented and her voice maybe will be able to fit a larger musical area 🙂 !
*sighs* I said if you saw MY posts on AS. Those things you posted are certainly not my posts. You dismissed my comment as irrelevant because I was a “disappointed Sheryl fan”, I am just pointing out that I have always given credit to RankaXAlto when the show clearly points to that pairing. I am not just some fan that lets my bias blind me like some people here. You were picking at my post and totally misreading it.
I said:
“Now, with such a cliche ending to the episode I would think Alto would go chasing after Ranka”
You said:
“After that, saying if Ranka ends up with Alto is a cliche ending is nothing more than a irrelevant opinion of a disappointed fan who didn’t see his Sheryl wins Alto’s heart.”
Read mine again. I said cliche ending TO THE EPISODE. I did not say a RankaxAlto would have a cliche ending as a pairing. Just that the episode is very cliche to me. I also happen to think him running off chasing her is cliche as well. But that is something that hasn’t happened and we’re not sure it will happen. Of course, even if he doesn’t chase her that doesn’t mean no RankaxAlto. They are still highly likely to end up together.
We don’t know if/how Ranka and Alto will resolve their issues or whether it will be cliche or not. The end is totally unknown and we can only speculate at this point. Maybe he will chase her, or maybe Ranka will come back on her own to save Frontier and confront Alto again. We don’t know.
Watching this episode has got me confused.
I understand that Ranka is running away again but why?
It was sad to see her go but, to be honest, I like Sheryl and Alto more… they have always had funny times together. Episode 05, 08 and 16 are the three that I like the most…
Oh I don’t think he will have to go chasing after her at the very end of the series. No way is Ranka going to be out of commission for so long, she’ll be making her come back before the end. But if he does go after her at the end like that, do I think that is cliche? Well, yes. Yes I do. But that has nothing to do with me being a Sheryl fan. That has to do with my opinion on the story telling. They might very well do cliche things with Sheryl too. Hell, what they did with Michel and Klan was extremely cliche. *shrugs*
I will not search your post on a forum which doesn’t even interest me. I picked a random post in AS to show how biased sheryl fan are there,you are the one who talked about it, not me. If you want people to take you seriously, the first thing to do is stoping with ” if you have read my post on AS “. AS ? People don’t care, sorry.
“Read mine again” ?
Pfff I will not bother to continue. You want to know why people don’t want to engage a conversation in saying Sheryl’s fan from AS are biased so It’s not worth it ? Because you are always right, if not we misleaded, misreaded something .
I already said what I thought, if you want to have the last word so be it.
Fine, but at least I don’t paint a wide brush on all Ranka fans. I do believe in judging people by the words they actually say. There are plenty of decent Ranka fans. But there are ones who are biased and blind too. Ones who don’t want to think outside of their narrow point of view and read people’s actual words. I suppose that comes with any fandom though. Still I’m not going to let the few bad ones ruin my point of view of those that are decent.
What is really disturbing to me, is why the last entry of the official blogs has been leaked so early, maybe tecchnical problem, just like the sumary in the official page????
The last entries really destroy ALL THE TRIANLE issue.
In your face, RxA fans. At least, the series wil finish with some sense common = SherylxAlto ^^
zikaruben, what are you talking about? What was said on the official blogs? But I doubt they would say anything that would spoil the triangle. They want to torture fans until the very end. It wouldn’t be a proper Macross series without the triangle being resolved at the last moment (or not at all).
Exactly, and that why i’am so upset. u just need translate the entry with the picture of Lion of both blogs.
Its totally an after-series entry. Not even has a entry date. Now u understand me? And please dont use google
shit Shit SHIT!!!! for f**k sake, what th hell are thinking damn japos.
Now, thinking twice, am pretty sure the entry was a finger’slip and will be removed in next few hours.
It’s improblabble but maybe some bastard hack the blogs,pages.
Eh? Is it the entry from 8/28 with the title “Minna Dakishimete! Message no hate made~”. Or am I on the wrong blog or something…
Oh you mean the character blogs? But that doesn’t reveal anything. I see nothing unusual unless I’m missing something.
Here is the translation for the Sheryl one (courtesy of Key Board on AS):
I came with the intention of experiencing interesting things, but it seems I still have much to learn.
The new me within, who is willing to create something with another person. This sensation is miraculous. It’s enlightening.
Greetings myself.
and thank you to you
so then,
listen to our song~
truly, this kind of service doesn’t happen very often
The only thing that they use the lion picture in the official website is for the information about the Final Tour, other than that, I have no idea where else this blog may be.
@zikaruben
I read the blog myself and if you’re referring to both Ranka and Sheryl’s blog entry with the Lion pic, I don’t see any spoiler in it. Sheryl is referring to Ranka when she said, “The new me within, who is willing to create something with another person. This sensation is miraculous. It’s enlightening.” Because Lion is a duet that’s why she is mentioning Ranka. Since she never did duets before but only with Ranka, she even added, “truly, this kind of service doesn’t happen very often”
So what’s with the “In your face, RxA fans. At least, the series wil finish with some sense common = SherylxAlto ^^” you are saying?
It’s funny you know. And if you read Ranka’s blog right now, it’s topic is actually Alto, referred to as “ohime-sama”. lol
And Sheryl’s is some weird food item… Sheryl’s comments are funny. XD She really has diverse topics for her blog. Well, Ranka too since she even covered dead nails before. XD
Yeah, the blog entries are just about the Lion duet with Sheryl and Ranka. Nothing unusual.
Well, now after read your comments i can see it more clearly. The thing is, spoiler was my first thought, of course, this could be for the hospital part, or maybe (and more propably)just promotion of Lion single
BTW i amnot really sheryl fan, the comment was just to make u ppl go see the entry. XD
http://i35.tinypic.com/a2tehi.jpg
I don’t know why but that image is not really funny, since I think it’s being use to degrade the character of Ranka and the person who keeps showing it thinks it’s hilariuos but the way he is showing it, I find it really offensive. Talk about immature.
I say, Ao no Ether is the Diamond Crevasse equivalent of Ranka songs. I totally loved it. DC and Ao no Ether are both beautiful in their own way, and I like them both a lot. It’s just the way they used it in this episode that tipped my favor towards the latter. The words, the voice, the melody just totally fit the parting scene. It’s like how I didn’t care much about Neko Nikki until after they used it in 12. :p
@diva
Oh? Last episode’s title is that? ^__^ I always thought that would be too good to be true it was ridiculous (since they always use english titles, and I kind of thought the title will be more GAR not lovey-dovey haha), but…That makes me one happy fangirl. I just wished they hadn’t revealed this yet so I’ll have 4 more weeks stressing over if Ranka leaves or dies at the end lol Thanks diva!!
@yukime
This episode really blew me away too, almost like episode 12 but in a more bittersweet way. There seems to be a moral story here that will have to be resolve between Ranka, her Vajra friends, and Alto no matter what.
“Vajra taints the sky. Survival of fittest ftw!” <— This is a pretty twisted view, and I can see Ranka curing Alto from this either directly or indirectly, especially now that Ranka’s starting to remember her past. Coexistence, much? This is also why I can’t see Alto dropping everything about Ranka. He’s probably going to act like he did in episode 14, only more toned down this time. He seriously looked so detached to everyone back there. Since it’s a Sheryl episode next time, I ‘think’ it’ll focus more on her resolve to continue singing more than anything. This may also be the time where Alto will find out she’s dying. Nothing but a good distraction to function as necessary.
And ah…AS forum. Are the SherylxAlto foreseers self-destructing yet? lol j/k 😉
“And ah…AS forum. Are the SherylxAlto foreseers self-destructing yet? lol j/k”
Hardly, we aren’t deluding ourselves that Alto will chase after Ranka when Alto let alone Ranka herself has any idea where Ranka is going. What… you think he can find out the location of Ai-kuns Varja nest on google maps or something? XD
“Let me requote my earlier statements:
Ranka was set to know less about Alto so that she can get to know him better together with us audience.” I’m glad my hunch was right. ”
You equate one question (props to Ranka finally asking a question after 21 episodes and 5 months of Frontier time) about Alto’s mother to us getting to know him? You also ignore that we found out about Alto’s mother in the first place thanks to Sheryl?
“Absolutely splendid. I’m kind of happy Ranka had no progress after Galia 4, they really saved the progress for the finale.”
You realize that Alto and Ranka probably won’t meet again until the final episode, so that’s one episode (21) of development between them in the last 11. You think this is a good thing… lol…
Is it really gonna end at 25 episodes? If so, that makes me scared. I don’t see the story coming towards any type of conclusion. I really hope the ending won’t be lame. I seriously don’t want a repeat of Macross Zero. There are still way too many loose ends to tie up, and this will only rush it.
i hope by no means that this episode gives Ranka an edge on the pairing war. She is totally a spoiled brat if she thinks that someone can easily forgive the Varja just after having their best friend killed in action cuz of them. That’s asking way to much of someone. Alto needs to change too, he needs to stop acting like a girl and start more acting like a man. He needs more hand to hand training, he is way too weak without a mecha.
As far as Leon and Grace go I hope they have a horrific death. They fully deserve it, hope it’s like Phil Leotardo’s death from the Sopranos.
Also Ranka shippers, what do you make of Alto’s VA comment about a surprise ending in regards to the triangle? You do realize this comment would be directed at Japanese boards not English forums like AnimeSuki or Chinese forums like ED which are positive of a Sheryl win.
Now 2ch which has more Sheryl fans than Ranka fans yet 90% of them think Ranka will win (of course the same happened with True Tears…) so uh how’s the comment even bode well for the pairing?
@ani_d
The way Ao no Ether made its existence was so unexpected! I never expected Blue Ether being the title of the episode would mean it was also a song (and even sung by Megumi for a plus!) since I didn’t have a clue of it. The surprise really got me to like the song even more. At first I thought it was a new bg music but then Megumi’s nice soft voice suddenly played… I just loved it!
I think Alto’s mentality of survival came from his encounter with the Zentradi guy who tried to shoot Ranka and Bilra. Their words seem to be branded on his mind so it influenced his way of thinking about the Vajra, not seeing the possibility of coexistence with them. “The universe is too small for two beings.” But didn’t it work out for the Zentradi and the human race all in all? I guess too much hatred grew in him too that makes it hard for him to consider living with them peacefully. But yes, I’m sure Ranka will change his mind somehow, add the fact that Ozma is doing investigations to know who’s their real enemy.
You know what scene also got my attention pretty much that made me think that Alto is starting to lean towards Ranka’s favor? The scene where Ranka cried in Brera’s arms, it seems like Alto saw this from his VF and he gnashed his teeth in pain. It’s like helplessness of not being able to protect Ranka himself or not doing anything to stop her tears. >_< He must be frustrated because he wanted so much to protect Ranka yet he has no choice but to make her sing (even against her will) since it is the only way to save Frontier from the Vajras. It’s just so heartfelt even though it’s just a few seconds. Or is it me thinking too much of Alto’s actions? ^^;
And yeah, Alto in ep14 was pretty much focused in getting Ranka back no matter what. Again, he get pretty loud, shouting everytime he’s so into something. XD I hope ep 22 also shows us something like this to show how Alto’s affected by Ranka’s absence. Sure they will focus on Sheryl somehow but I want to see Alto’s side too, thinking of Ranka’s words and Ranka’s reason for leaving. I think too that Alto will learn about Sheryl’s sickness on the second part of ep22, leading towards the cooking scene for Sheryl in ep 23.
Diva pretty much gave us a nice little treat when she told us ep 25’s title. Sounds promising, huh? (sheryl fans think it’s like Goodbye Sister playing tricks on the audience but I believe it will be in Ranka’s favor.)
The ultimate Sheryl fans are camping in AS, plotting their revenge on Kawamori if ever Ranka wins Alto I think. XD But like Magnus said, they’ll be back here next episode to party (think that it will be Sheryl’s victory episode next week.) Well, the Ranka camp has an easy week for now, let’s just enjoy the peace and bask on the aftereffect of Ao no Ether. (still have it on repeat in my player X3)
@Westlo
Well, let’s just say you have Alto’s VA’s comment as your reassurance on the AltoxSheryl ending and we have the title of the last episode as our reassurance plus the dramatic separation of Ranka and Alto. But it still won’t solve anything until we see the final episode for ourselves. Just one month of waiting and we’ll see.
by the way, comment above (by ranSHE) is me using my sis’ laptop since my internet’s screwed up. I’m off to bed now.
well what i think that it is still hard to predict which will get alto , the decision still lacks a deciding factor even if the series is ending.
Kawamori, i must say he is really goood >.> he is able to stir things up 😛 which is fun yet real annoying for the Ranka and Sheryl fans.
Actually , i wouldnt mind if alto ends up with no one , like the part where both sheryl and ranka started to sing to Alto , i found that pretty sweet (: both singing for the people they love.
but of course it would be prefered to have a decision from alto , after all these months of waiting xD
oh well , great series so far (:
You realize how silly it is to base a episode title on the final pairing? Especially something called Your Sound when Sound and Music is a key to every Macross incarnation? Do you really think they would be silly enough to release a title like that if it means that Your Sound was going to play at the end of the episode as Ranka and Alto go off happily forever.
Do I have to point out all the Ranka fans on this very blog thinking/hoping that Sheryl would die in episode 6 (lolol) because the title was called Bye Bye Sheryl. Even people who thought she was leaving Frontier were silly since the ending of ep 5 made (help galaxy is under attack lol) it obvious something would happen to keep her there. But this is what happens when you take titles too literally, Goodbye Sister being another example.
Than of course you have the entire episode 13 thing which was called Twilight Planet in every single magazine and even the website. Than when episode 12 aired the next episode preview called it Memories of Global.
And than of course even if Anata No Oto is played (yeah right lol…) the two times it’s been played it’s been Sheryl focused in regards to Alto’s character. The firs time drawing the arrow for Sheryl, the second time talking and comforting Sheryl.
But I wouldn’t expect Ranka fans to bring that up…. also this episode was a perfect example of how Alto and Ranka are not suited to each other, compare Brera and Alto’s actions this episode, compare who understands Ranka the best between them. I really doubt that Brera is Ranka’s real brother, childhood friend more likely.. and oni-chan can be used outside of brothers before someone brings that up.
And you also do realize that the comment Alto’s VA said isn’t necessarily a sure ball in favor of Sheryl, don’t you think? Just so you know, Alto’s VA may just be saying that as a vague answer to the question. He can’t point out the exact ending that’s why he’s going to say it will surprise the audience. Of course, what kind of actor would describe the ending of his movie/series he’s in as, “The ending will definitely be what you all expected.” *insert laugh here* To keep audience curious and attentive to the series without giving away anything, he is expected to say something like “It will surprise everyone.”
And of course, you also do realize that Alto does not choose a partner by looking who’s fit for him but who he LOVES. Bringing Brera to the equation doesn’t do anything too since we all know that no matter how concerned Brera is about Ranka, Ranka’s heart already belongs to Alto. Sure she appreciates Brera’s help but she sees him as a brother (as stated in 19) and not as a guy to be in love with. Alto’s action in this episode is understandable (read my post above) since his mentality of the Vajras is that they are THE enemy. But the way Alto shouted for Ranka not to go, do you think he really wanted her to leave? Alto just didn’t want Ranka helping the Vajra but it didn’t mean that he is not suited for Ranka at all because of this. Brera on the other hand wants to help Ranka so him understanding her is also expected since he promised to help her and said he’d grant her wish.
And about Anata no Oto as the final episode title, Ranka fans are hoping the best out of it, looking at it as it is. Sheryl fans are twisting it so that it will still turn out to be a Sheryl victory. Let’s leave it at that and just wait for 9.25, shall we?
People are under the impression that Alto must end up with someone. I’m not sure he will. If he will, it will probably be with Sheryl. How could he end up with Ranka – the queen of the Vajra? They’re responsible for killing thousands of people, including Michael. Can’t just forget about that and decide to hit it. Right?
If he ends up with Sheryl, how long could it last since she’s dying?
If he doesn’t end up wih anyone then it will be because he dies/sacrafices himself in this series followed by Sheryl death (from her v-infection) as well. Ranka will leave with her bug buddies along with Brera.
I don’t think Luca will become any more important than he is now. I think it may be too late to create more importance/relationship with his character.
I think Kuran will survive, just because. If they kill her off, then what point does Michael’s sacrifice serve?
The only couple that will probably make it will be Ozama and Cathy.
@westlo
The surprise conclusion of LT will be Alto popping out of a VF and pulling an episode 12 on all of us–ala princess charming 😉
Yukime is a little nice, but you can think whatever you’d like to think about Anata no Oto being the last episode’s title, you have 4 weeks to delude yourself.
@yukime
I loved this scene too. 😛 When Alto gnashed his teeth in frustration, I think it has more to do with his own powerlessness and has nothing to do with Brera (since I don’t think he saw them together). Kind of like a way for the audience to know that this is really painful for Alto, despite the facade he showed Ranka. The look on Ranka’s face seemed like she was expecting Alto to say something more, but ended up acting like everyone else. But now that you mentioned it, I tried rewatching that scene with that mindset and it does make sense as well lol Ranka looked cool though singing as some bug in front of her exploded like it was nothing. She really looked like the Vajra Queen while she was singing. I’ve always wanted to see her grow a backbone one way or another.
Actually, every scene with Ranka and Alto in this episode pretty much made me think that he was leaning towards Ranka haha That scene that took the cake for me though was when Alto suddenly looked at Ranka when she said, “suteki da ne”. I think that hit home. The way he looked at her made Ranka so awkward and fiddled with the paper airplane. It was so adorable. Ranka caught his weakpoint. That was probably the most affectionate expression Alto showed her next to the unbeatable sparkly eyes from 13 ^.^ Tsunderes…tsk tsk.
It’s kind of silly that Sheryl fans are stating that they’re going to be back next episode because Alto is going to swing towards Sheryl and go, “Ranka who??” It’s not like Alto’s some machine who falls in love with whoever is beside him. He might be woodblock dense, but I think he’s better than that. =_=
And just think of what would Ozma do if he finds Alto fooling around with another girl while the sister that he entrusted to him went to outerspace with some Vajra. Ozma will kill him, revive him, and kill him again once he finds out he let her go and isn’t doing anything about it lol
Oh dear, the shipping wars have began again… And in the whole new level ^^; I think both Ranka and Sheryl fans need to calm down before the end arrive. It’s just not good to be a little… Delusional for both sides before the end arrive.
Calm down, ani_d, yuKime, and Westlo. It’s fun to see you arguing, but forcing an evidence which does not seem plausible for a side is just no use and just give the impression of immaturity on both sides. I know that Both Ranka and Sheryl sides can argue normally, not like the LT arguments on some animes I know… Oh and the epic 1997 arguments (FF VII anyone?)
@ani_d
Yeah, Ranka really looked determined and strong when she sang (with all the explosions around her). I also loved the effect they added when she cried even as she sang on, unfaltering. Another scene I want to point out was when Ranka apologized (seated behind Alto’s VF) to Alto and Alto replied that she had done well then thanked her. Why did Ranka apologize? Because she could only do that much? Why did Ranka seem upset when she heard Alto’s reply?
Alto’s soft smile when he thanked Ranka after she said, “Suteki da ne.” was so cute! I would have been flustered too if I were in Ranka’s shoes. X3 Definitely affectionate!
Then I also loved how Ranka’s lips quivered and she hesitated during the goodbye scene. I think she didn’t want to say goodbye at all but she had to say it. Alto’s reaction was nice. I think he was expecting something else but not to be bid farewell. And then Ranka added another one-liner bomb, “I loved you.” I bet Alto had Michel’s words ringing somewhere at the back of his mind back then. “Ranka’s singing only for you.” I can just go on and on how I loved every bit of Ranka x Alto interaction in this episode!
About ep 13, Alto’s eyes back then lit up little by little like turning light bulbs one by one. XD I kept watching that scene counting three bulbs light up one by one. XD
About Alto going, “Ranka who?” I doubt it. In the preview we see Alto wallowing in his house, most probably thinking about Ranka. I’m sure he won’t forget Ranka any time soon. And about Ozma, I don’t think he’ll find out even if Alto decides to flirt with Sheryl. Ozma-niisan is too busy running away from Leon’s evil gang and finding proof to bring down Leon.
@Kagami
I’m calm, don’t worry. I’m just replying to Westlo’s post as logically as I can. But somehow, Westlo and I don’t see each other on the same page. As a Ranka fan, I’m just stating my side and what I believe in. It’s nothing personal.
Somethings I’ve noticed:
Michael & Kuran – very similar. Both soldiers. They grew up together. They tease and taunt/mock each other playfully. Kuran full Zentradi, Michael part Zentradi. They both have bad tempers 🙂 . They have chemistry – eventhough the were not officially a couple.
Alto & Sheryl – very similar as well. Both are professional entertainers. She is a singer, he is an actor (according to his ‘brother’ he is still acting). As much as Sheryl claims to no longer be singer, she can’t help but sing. As much as Alto claims to no longer be acting, he can’t but help act (as the rebelious son who wants to be a pilot).
Both Sheryl and Alto inspire and encourage people. They tease and taunt each other playfully – Sheryl teases him by being sexy and overly confident and Alto pretends to not notice her advances. Both are confident people – stepping up when the call is needed.
Alto & Ranka. Are they similar? I don’t see anything or much similarity. Ranka wants to be like Sheryl, but she isn’t. She is not confident and hesitant “why still so hesitant?” She refuse to sing when the call is made – when hope is needed. While she knows her song has power, she doesn’t want to sing to give hope to people when she doesn’t feel like singing because she is sad – she runs away from her duty as a professional – she is not a tool to be used against the Vajra. Sheryl will sing even in the depths of despair.
On the top of Miboshi Academy Michael and Klan arrange a meething between Alto and Sheryl – I interpret this as their attempt to get Alto and Sheryl together as a couple. Michael is one of the most observant characters “Michael’s intuition is very sharp” -Alto
So even Michael and Klan believe that Alto and Sheryl belong together. Besides, Alto got to see Sheryl’s boobies. Does Ranka even have boobies? 🙂
“I said it before, you’re not suited for that girl.” Brera-San
A quick question:
Has it been confirmed from an official source that Brera is Ranka’s BROTHER? Or is it just an assumption based solely on the fact that the two knew each other when they were children? Kind of like people just assumed Ozma was going to die a few eps ago…
Also, has anyone considered the possibility of AltoXSheryl and RankaXBrera ending?
@ Archangel
What does Ranka not having boobies have to do with it? I don’t see the reason for both persons have to be similar in personalities to be together. Sometimes, just because the personalities and background are the same doesn’t mean that they’ll be suited to each other.
@ yuKime & ani_d
I really enjoy reading both of your discussions. ^_^
The scene where Ranka said goodbye to Alto with the song accompanying it was heart-breaking for me. I’ll admit that I cried when she told him she wanted to be together with him but she had to say goodbye to him instead. The scene was beautifully animated, from the way she hesitated, the quiver in her lips, the tears in her eyes and the confession.
Apparently, in the near future, the concept of vice-president and cabinet secretaries are no more. So, a presidential aide can easily become the commander-and-chief in case something bad happens to the president.
Anyway it’s the love triangle that people wants and not the politics. Right Kawamori?
I love watching the brotherly and sisterly moments with Brera and Ranka, it’s nice.
As for SherylxAlto and RankaxAlto, Sheryl seems more possible at the moment. Mainly because Sheryl has more confidence than Ranka will ever have (although Ranka managed to confess, she only kissed him as part of the movie, Sheryl was confident enough to just….do it. Not only that, but now Ranka is in Vajra space) And Ranka being gone gives Sheryl and Alto more time together (maybe not? It’s a war, Alto might spend most of his time fighting, iuuno)
So sad it’s only 4 eps left :/ We still don’t know much about Grace or just how cyborg Brera is.
@yuKime
I know and I understand 🙂 Just don’t be too emotional and start giving the most illogical thing like “who is in the 2nd row in credits” or etc. I am going to be a bystander since I just enjoy what Kawamori gives. At this time, both Sheryl and Ranka is important for Alto, so don’t count out any girl before Alto confess. Remember the very reason we continue to watch Macross F Triangle: it’s because there is no true indication of who is truly going to win in the zero-sum condition. Before the triangle resolved, I don’t think I can follow the main plot (Vajra, Galaxy involvement etc.) peacefully ^^;
By the way, Anata No Oto for last episode? … It does bode well for Alto/Ranka (Gah, I’m becoming pessimist!), since Ranka end now can be counted as surprise ending too with Alto staying in Frontier with Sheryl. My problem for this is How will they use the song in the battle? ^^; See, let’s say, in the middle of dramatic last fight…
Anata no Oto, Dokun, Dokun, Dokun~
… I can’t visualize it ^_^; It’s too happy for battle usage! It may be used for ending though… Also Anata no Oto may refer to something else… It would not be surprising if the end is named Anata No Oto with AltoxRanka end, no? As much as AltoxRanka could be a surprise, the episode name is waaaaaaaay too give-away. Kawamori is not your average director who gives romance end that easily, even though this is mecha anime. You know he always give headache in romance department.
And if, supposedly, he is going to give Alto/Ranka, I guess he is going to repeat the Minmay popularity outbreak anger yet again in Japan. I can only tell you that in Japan, people are more pro Alto/Sheryl for now.
But then, I believe Kawamori is going to give both girls happiness, regardless of whatever ending it is. In Kawamori I trust 🙂 (But if Sheryl dies… I can’t imagine how forums & BBS in the world react ^^; And how my pen-friend in Japan going to… Curse him in the softest way of phrasing ^^; )
Also…
@zikaruben
The blog entry only promotes Lion Single. It is evident in how there is no Frontier date on both the girls’ official Blogs. I don’t know how you interpret that entry in Sheryl’s blog as Sheryl’s end. There is already a pic of Lion cover in both entries.
Who will Alto choose?
If history is going to repeat itself, then Alto will likely side with Sheryl.
When looking at the personality traits and character positioning, Ranka resembles Lin Min-mei and Mao Nome, while Sheryl’s portrayal is positioned similar to Misa Hayase (a.k.a. Lisa Hayes in ‘Robotech: Macross Saga’) and Sara Nome. Perhaps Shoji Kawamori, wants to tip the triangular relationship in favor of Ranka, before letting Alto definitely choose Sheryl. Until now, although Alto says he cares for and worries about sheryl, we are almost only shown Alto’s thoughts visually about his caring for Ranka whenever she’s in danger. Just remember that in the original Macross serie, Hikaru first chose Lynn Minmay (even living together!), and only later chooses Misa Hayase – all is fair in love and war – nevertheless, the circumstances were different from Macross Frontier.
It’s also absolutely possible that Alto will choose Ranka or that one of the main character’s will die in the end (Sheryl has an incurable disease, doesn’t she? Otherwise maybe one of the other two will sacrifice their life for a higher cause). Maybe Alto will choose one (e.g. Sheryl), but a tad later sacrifice his life to save the other (e.g. Ranka) in the last episode.
In the end, although it’s not the best anime in quality terms – just think of NGE, GIS SAC, FMA and Mushi-shi – it definitely is one of my favorites, as Macross was the first anime I’ve ever seen. Fighter jets, mechs, and two girls ‘fighting’ over one boy, what more do you want!
@Westlo
“Do you really think they would be silly enough to release a title like that if it means that Your Sound was going to play at the end of the episode as Ranka and Alto go off happily forever.”
AI GAAAA DOKUN DOKUN DOKUN XD
Brera may not be Ranka’s brother but this isn’t a good thing for the AltoxSheyl pair.
Kawamori said in a interview that once Alto will realize his feeling, things will change in a radical way.
But he also added that once Alto will find out about Brera’s true identity, he will have to react and fastly…
For people who still doubt Alto will chase after Ranka, this is a solid proof which shows it will be the case.
Some people jump to the conclusion Alto will confesses his feeling to Sheryl but she will push him away… just LOL. Who said he loves her ? I didn’t see any scene which can proove it unlike those for Ranka and Alto.
this is the first time i say anything about the SherylxAltoxRanka love triangle and what i’m about to say will probably have the most radical supporters of either faction cursing my name from here to eternity. Be as it may, what i think about it is this:
Alto and Ranka – Alto likes Ranka as a very good friend, his wish to protect her spawns from friendship, not love.
Alto and Sheryl – In the first episode Sheryl was a spoiled and catered little bitch. This is what i thought about her when i finished episode one. But she has shanged through the series and the love-hate relationship between her and Alto may have become a love-love relationship.
Watching the series without actually rooting for any of the girs, my opinion is this:
Alto either ends up with Sheryl or alone.
Sheryl either ends up with Alto or goes away in her comeback tour, with Elmo (?) as her new agent.
Ranka might stay with Brera (unless he’s really her brother- has anyone claimed this as a fact? if they have i missed it) and they will shepperd the Vajra to an age of peace with the human race.
And has anyone considered the following? Alto, if alone, begins being stalked by Bobby, whho wants to get over his unrequited love for Ozma who ends up with Kathy. LOL. Run, Alto, run.
@Archangel
Michel and Klan are childhood friends before they became soldiers that’s why they have the teasing relationship because they are friends. Chemistry of course is there since they both loved each other secretly. Both being soldiers didn’t indicate that they are fitted for each other. What now? You expect Ozma to get one of the pixie squads instead of getting Cathy since you have to pair up with a soldier instead of the one you love?
On your Alto x Sheryl analysis, why did you forget that Alto already changed his current profession? He is NOT an entertainer anymore but a pilot fighter. Forget the fact that Alto’s brother said he’s acting. If that ‘acting’ was considered acting as in profession, all the people in the world are actors for ‘acting’ once in a while. And sure Sheryl and Alto inspire people but don’t you think Ranka also had her own share of inspiring people when she first became the Songstress of Hope? When she sang in Gallia IV? Ranka and Alto don’t tease each other as openly as Sheryl does with ALto but the teasing on AltoxSheryl is mostly on Sheryl’s part. OTOH, in AltoxRanka, it is often Alto who teases Ranka by being mean to her. See Alto x Ranka scene in Griffith Park when Ranka first sang Aimo for Alto. And you claim that Alto pretends not to notice Sheryl’s advances? Who do you kid? Alto DOES NOT NOTICE AT ALL. Let’s all embrace the reality that he is dense. Just look at his reaction when Michel told him that Ranka and Sheryl likes him (ep 19). Lastly, having confidence for both parties doesn’t ensure they are meant to be. Like they say, opposite attracts. In some relationship, not both parties are confident or have same characteristics. Both have weaknesses that are supported by one another. That is what being human is all about. Alto and Ranka don’t need to tease/flirt with each other to make a relationship seem plausible. The fact that they support each other, listening to each other’s thoughts and save each other in times of needs proves a lot more.
On your Ranka analysis…
“She is not confident and hesitant “why still so hesitant?” She refuse to sing when the call is made – when hope is needed.”
She refused to sing THEN realized her mistake AND sang. Don’t just take out the fact that she still sang.
“While she knows her song has power, she doesn’t want to sing to give hope to people when she doesn’t feel like singing because she is sad – she runs away from her duty as a professional – she is not a tool to be used against the Vajra. Sheryl will sing even in the depths of despair.”
Sheryl also refused to sing remember? If it weren’t for Alto’s words, do you think she would have sung again? I don’t think so.
And just to point out, Michel didn’t plan on Alto choosing Sheryl AT ALL. What he told ALto was to give BOTH girls an answer. Did you forget that Michel also mentions Ranka at the rooftop? And Klan is pushing Sheryl because she didn’t know about Ranka’s feelings for Alto. So it is only Klan who wants Sheryl to win, adding to the fact that she also knows she’s dying.
And for the boobies part, I won’t comment on it because it’s too illogical.
“I said it before, you’re not suited for that girl.” Brera-San
This is Brera talking not Alto. Did you even see Alto’s reaction to this? It’s not like he said, “Yeah… I know.” or “I don’t even like her!” Even if the whole world says Ranka and Alto doesn’t fit together, do you think ALto would care if he really loves Ranka. Like Kawamori said, “Once Alto realizes his feelings, he’ll go all the way!” (not the exact words but yeah..)
@koyuki
This was a nice and heartfelt episode for Ranka shippers. I definitely loved it to pieces. ^^
@Kagami
The 2nd row in the credits was just me being immature. Don’t worry, at least I won’t draw pictures and call Sheryl a sadistic prostitute queen. And I also won’t say, “DIE SHERYL DIE.” or “If Sheryl doesn’t die in this anime soon, I’m killing Kawamori.” Sorry for being a tad bit immature to mention the credits back then. ^^;
And don’t be that pessimistic about the last episode title. Although Ranka shippers are hoping the best out of it, there’s still possibility that it is not pertaining to the love triangle. Let’s just wait for 9.25 patiently and keep our own hopes up till then.
I also believe but girls will get some happiness somehow but only one girl ends up getting Alto. But if Kawamori had already done it once to create a Minmei popularity outbreak anger, what’s stopping him from doing it a second time? (But I still don’t see Ranka as a perfect Minmei copy. She’s different so I rather not compare them.)
EWWWW, the pic where Ai kun is over ranka looks like he’s humping her lols. wonder what ranka’s gonna do in the vajra planet (or where ever) sleep with ai kun. lols jk jk jk! wonder when alto’s going to find out that sheryl’s sick.
Zerg-Kerrigan ending confirmed for Ranka. She’ll definitely be coming back with her Horde to protect the Colony Frontier in 24/25.
I really don’t want to enter in a shipping war with anyone, but after watching this episode I feel the need to express my opinion about it:
The AltoxRanka interactions in this ep were definitely heartwarming, and while we don’t know who Alto loves(or if he even loves someone at all…), he definitely likes her.
Btu next to this love love feeling in the air, there are some points I couldn’t ignore:
-Alto: he definitely suffers seeing Ranka saddened and putting her life in danger, and I would say he is most of the time overwelmed by a powerless feeling which frustrate him…BUT, in the side of this,
1-he doesn’t realize Ranka’s feelings toward him at all (confirmed by his reaction to Michael’s words when he told him both girls likes him) which heavily hints that he never looked at her ‘that way’ and didn’t even consider as a possibility having a relationship with her, either that ot he is the densest guy on the universe, which is actually very possible…
2-he wants her to sing and think she is useful to fight against the Vajra, he said so when asked by Ranka few eps back but was also shocked in this ep21 when he heard her announce she wouldn’t sing anymore (unlike her brother and Brera who both understood her better, about the singing deal)
3-he is blinded by his hate for the Vajra and even when supplicated by Ranka, refused to let go of his weapon
-about Ranka: when she confessed she said “I loved you” (past stance) meaning that when she left she considered the possibility of never seeing him again and dying on her way to the Vajra; my point: she is ready to sacrifice her life for the Vajra and notice that while she would have liked to go with Alto, her resolution was still strong enough to keep on going, with or without him. Will her giving priority to the Vajra be a key element in the next few episodes…?
Now, no, I am NOT trowing Alto in Sheryl’s arms just yet.
First, Sheryl is deathly sick, even if she gives out the appearance of normality most of the time, her life is in serious danger. She is also a very proud person so I don’t really imagine her confessing her sickness to Alto anytime soon, apart maybe if she is in her death bed or worst.
Furthermore, even though Alto obviously likes her too, I still don’t see deep love, just like Ranka’s case.
At this point, almost all the possible plots are more or less cliche in a way or another, so how I see it is that the main point is: both girls are in death danger, one is dying from a virus and the other consciously went to the Vajra, yes, but is still in a grave situation. Considering that + the fact Sheryl will confess at some point, he will have to think about it (finally! use your brain Alto, dammit!) and the extreme situation of possibly loosing both of them should forcefully (since softly, you won’t ever get anything out of Alto…) awake him and show him who is most important to him.
I personally fink Michael is alive but paralyzed. I dont know why but he cant die he like the life of the group. And Kuran just confessed to him aswell. I hope his is alive somewhere in the galaxy lol.
@Westfall If Alto only loves Ranka as a friend then, how do you explain the scene of episode 13 when they are gazing so intensely at each other? when Alto gone berserk in episode 14 and saved her life shooting RANKAAAAAAAA ? In this same epsisode, Sheryl was in danger but did he shoot her name once ? He didn’t, he just looked at her saying he was glad she was safe and right after saying that, he asked about Ranka. If he loved Sheryl like you’re saying he wouldn’t have visit her with Ranka but would have find some time to be alone with her in episode 15. He wouldn’t have lied in episode 6 about him and Sheryl being together at the zentradi mall. If he really loved her, he wouldn’t have take Ranka with him in the episode 13 knowing Sheryl was in the bed hoping to give him his birthday.He could had just take Ranka to her concert but instead of that he took off with Ranka to enjoy the sky 🙂
The real problem in alto and Sheryl relationship is indeed what you call this hate-love relationship. Sheryl wasn’t serious with him at the beginning and now expect him to realize her feeling ? Each time she kissed him on the lips or on the cheek, she denied to be serious, now Alto will be even more surprise than he was with Ranka, finding sheryl loves him.
It seems like a one sided love. sheryl is always the one who tease him, this is not the contrary. She has a tendency to mislead Alto’s action.
When she fainted on the bridge and Alto taked her to his quarter. He said he was worried and she asked him ” why ” ? She just fainted it’s a normal answer but she imagined things and was waiting something like ” you ‘re important for me ” ? ahem. The same when Alto grabed her head, she was ” No, Alto “. It was obvious he just wanted to take a look at her earring, but she jumped at the conclusion he wanted to be more intimate with her..
The love hate relationship didn’t become like you said a love love relationship but more a solid friendship between those two. His glance at episode 20 when he talked with her was one of a friend who cared for her. Nothing like people said with ” he loves her to look at her like that”… She cried, he conforted her nothing more.
If he loved her, in episode 21 we would have see him going back to pick her like he said when she was mobbed by the flames with Nanase.But we didn’t see it. He didn’t even thought about her, because he was already busy worrying about Ranka 🙂
We will see what happenned in episode 23 though, but they showed him running like crazy when Ranka called him( some people thought he will do so, because he found about sheryl being sick)…
Sorry to tell you that, but from my point of view, this is just a one sided love from Sheryl. For Ranka this is different because Alto is dense and never thought about his feeling. Now that she is gone, we will see if it will be ” out of sight, out of mind ” but I ‘m pretty sure it will not happen 🙂
@ YuKime Alto is so dense, you’re right.
Did you see how he looked when she said “daisuke deshita”. He was so shocked !! But this was so obvious she loved him.. He was really dense but now it will change !
@Kei
Yes, very shocked indeed. Haha. It was like a hard blow on the face that he never saw coming. The goodbye shocked him already and then shortly after to hear Ranka say she loved him, double shock. XD The way he desperately called Ranka’s name, shouting for her not to go, it’s such a heartwarming yet bittersweet scene. I hope he gets over his obliviousness and finally choose someone!
I hope we see Ranka next episode, even though she’s traveling somewhere in space right now.
Awesome battle scenes this time… I was expecting a bit more drama after Kuran lost the man she loved but hey, you can’t have everything. No point in discussing Alto/Sheryl/Ranka as Kei seems to think she knows more than Kawamori and is convinced that Alto will pick Ranka in the end LMAO 😛 I still think Ranka (aka MF Minmei) will end up fulfilling her role to pacify the Vajra (which are the victims to Leon/Grace’s plans really) whether Alto or Brera are by her side or not.
@yuKime Do you think she will come back in the last episode like may people seem to think ?
I don’t think so, but when she will come back it coud be good to see her constantly drawn like when she was in Brera’s VF. Ranka the hottie will do competition to sheryl 🙂
@DYRL fan LOL I don’t know more than Kawamori but I’m convinced that Alto will pick Ranka at the end, why ? That has nothing to do with being biased or more.
Because he made the show that way and gave some hints 🙂 But I hope to see you here at the end when we will see who was wrong or right ! I’m ready for the killing!!!!!! 😛
@yukime
I think Ranka made very good progress in this episode & her decision to leave frontier despite alto’s disapproval was the most positive development for her in the series yet.
But I have to say that the ranka in episode 21 is in clear contrast to the sheryl in ep 19 who wanted to cut alto out of her life without burdening him with her feelings, not wanting to involve alto in her problems whereas ranka did pretty much the opposite.
She could have handled the farewell better, specifically by not bringing Ai-kun into the equation. She could have had her bittersweet moment/goodbye with alto without mentioning Ai-kun.
If she really understood him, she would have realized that it was too soon for him to see Ai-kun as anything other than a dangerous enemy that looks exactly like the thing that killed Michael. As of now, with Michael’s death still being a painful raw wound for him, it was asking for the impossible.
If her love was purely selfless, she would’nt have asked alto to go with her just as sheryl didnt want to be part of alto’s life anymore if it meant causing him pain.
However,I do commend her for sticking with her decision to leave though.
I agree with archangel that Michael/klan share a lot of similarities with Alto/sheryl. There’s lots of playful banter & teasing on either side. Both alto & sheryl have teased each other on occasion throughout the entire series. I’ve always felt that the Michael/klan relationship was a mini rip off of the alto/sheryl realtionship.( I’m really hoping they both end differently though, do not want sheryl to die like Michael did, I miss u Michael ). If Alto/Sheryl wins, I’m going to feel like it’s a tribute to Michael/Klan, silly, I know, but hey I can feel however I want.
Another thing is that most of you seem to think that alto still wasnt aware of Ranka’s feelings up until she confessed to him. I, however, think differently, Michael practically spelled it out to him, not to mention Ranka’s reaction to him & sheryl in ep 20 made it clear to him that she is in love with him.
He knows, He is not dense about her feelings anymore & yet he makes no move to clear the misunderstanding. He has had opporunity to do so, but he doesnt grab at it like a man secretly in love with her would do.
Him being upset & protective of her earlier in the episode at the idea of using her as bait is a very natural reaction. He obviously cares about her a lot, not ignoring the romantic undertones, his painful reaction is fitting when u take in the fact that he is being forced to use a dear friend as bait so that everyone can survive. even u would fell disgusted with urself in such a situation. He wasnt wrong, but it was still sad to see that he couldnt say the right things to her, giving the impression that his duty to frontier came first before her.
If he was really in love with her, he would have made her his top priority like Luca did for Nanase, like Brera did with Ranka. I’m really not sure Why u would want for Ranka to end up with a guy who wont make her a top priority in his life?
And the scene, where she leaves, he says Ranka, baka, dont leave not Dont leave me! There’s a vast difference. A desperate situation like that, where There’s a possibility of her leaving forever & never returning, should have been his moment of realization, but he couldnt even tell her he loved her too as a lie just to get her to stay with him.
Again, him feeling shaken & calling out her name, telling her to stay is because he thinks she is running headlong right into danger/the enemy camp like an idiot. He’s definitely going to feel guilty & responsible for this act of hers, because he is going to wonder if him not returning her feelings or not being clear abt his own feelings, however u want to se it,was also one of her reasons for leaving.
RANKA!! First, I have to say something about Brera: the VF-27 is cheating. Stop using it. Also, it’s incest, even if you don’t know you’re related.
That said, the VF-25 cockpit we see in the spoiler tells me that Alto will go on some crazy, hare-brained mission to find Ranka, using some new LAI fold device. However, I know that won’t happen. As much as I want to see Alto and Ranka together, I think even Sheryl will shun him, and he’ll go down faster than Luca in a barfight. (Emotionally so, anyway.) It’s at this point, he’ll become either: A) The only non-emotional protagonist, B) The only protagonist who got really, really drunk, or C) The only protagonist who committed suicide. I can’t tell at this stage. Anyway, I feel they can’t end the series in 4 more episodes. It’s too far into the middle to be near the end. I don’t know. All I can say is that I watch Macross because of the transforming F-14s, the music, and watching Global hit his head on the door. So far, I’ve only seen 2 of the 3 (Though that scar on Wilder’s face tells me something about his history with doors.), and the love triangle is even more confusing than before.
Another thing about Brera: The cyborg thing is cheating. When you get your arm ripped off (Episode 10), you should promptly bleed to death. It’s a sin against God, not to. So, stop putting knives to my favorite characters’ throats, then running away! I DON’T LIKE YOU B’! YOU ARE NOT MY BISHIE! GO AWAY!
Sorry for the D-P…
AND NOT WITH RANKA! SHE STAYS HERE!
@aneeshadc
As a Sheryl fan, I commend you for recognizing Ranka’s growth this episode. I’m glad we agree at some point. ^^ But then again we disagree in some points. Ranka and Sheryl are different in showing their love for Alto. Sheryl chooses to sacrifice herself and keep Alto in the dark almost immediately, not wanting to bother him with her sickness. Ranka, otoh, chooses to tell Alto what she wants because she wants to include Alto in her actions. As we’ve seen Ranka throughout the series, she always conveyed her actions to Alto, wanting him to know what she’s doing or asking him for advice. In this case, she wanted him to know because she wanted him to be a part of her action, in hopes that it will end the bloodbath in Frontier. Also, how do you expect Ranka to fly towards the galaxy without a VF? She doesn’t know how to pilot that’s why she’s asking a favor from Alto. And she did consider that Alto was in pain, that’s why she approached the subject carefully, hence the airplane scene first then she slowly opened her real topic which was to help Ai-kun return to his friends. She needed Alto’s help in this that’s why she said, “Onegai, isshouni…” Then in comes Brera and fulfills/helps Ranka instead of Alto. I don’t see anything with Ranka’s action here. She knew Alto was in pain but she needed his help and also thought he would understand her. Too bad he didn’t. (But I’m sure it will change..)
Like I said before, the teasing part on Alto and Sheryl is different because the teasing for A x R is mostly on Sheryl’s part. Alto doesn’t reciprocate it the same way Michel and Klan does with each other.
And about Alto’s shock, I don’t see how you don’t see it as surprise at all. He was obviously taken aback by the confession Ranka made. Michel only stated that Ranka’s reason for singing was him or Ranka sang for him, implying that Ranka did like him. Not outright did Michel say that, “Dude, Ranka loves you!” Even then, Alto still denied it to Michel saying, “That’s impossible.” So do you think Alto actually believed Michel’s words and seriously thought that Ranka liked him? No. I don’t think so, that’s why hearing Ranka say it outright was complete shock to him.
And the reason why he didn’t clear the misunderstanding was because it’s never been brought up again also, a lot of things have happened after that. He can’t just go, “Oh by the way, the time you saw me and Sheryl on the rooftop, that was clearly a misunderstanding. Just so you know, I like you… not Sheryl.” Alto doesn’t even know his own feelings that’s why he never brought it up, seeing as that would make him examine his own feelings as well. That also explains why he didn’t make Ranka the top priority in his life, because he never noticed that he loved her already. He always thought Ranka would be there so there was plenty of time for them but seeing that Ranka left, I think that’s a wake-up for him to finally analyze his feelings and weigh how much Ranka means to him. (I think we need ep22 to see how this effect is shown) But I’m pretty sure Alto will realize his feelings and say them out loud.
For the scene where he says “Iku na, Ranka!” That’s where the Japanese language comes in. They usually don’t include subjects or objects, seeing as it is implied already. I study Nihonggo as a hobby. ^^ Being desperate, Alto conveys his thoughts in the least number of words possible to convey his intent. He doesn’t want Ranka to leave. And Alto is not a sleazy guy who’d just yell “I love you!” out of nowhere. Like I said, he didn’t have time to go over his own feelings. Some people don’t realize stuff until later on. I don’t say out right that him shouting Ranka on top of his lungs is him declaring his love for her, but I would safely assume that he wanted her to stay because he is important to him. How much is a question that may possibly answered next episode when he mulls over things.
@yukime
Thnx, I havnt interacted with many ranka fans, just one or two, but I think your pretty open-minded & the most reasonable ranka fan I’ve come across so far. I love discussing things with the opposition as long as they dont take things personally & dont go fanatic beyond reason.
Actually I also agree in that they show their love for alto in different ways. I also agree when you say that ranka wants to involve alto in her actions but the real Question is, does she try just as hard to involve herself in his life? The only times I’ve seen her do that are at very crucial moments like at galia IV on alto’s birthday & in ep 21 when she’s leaving for good.
While Sheryl OTOH, even if she doesnt expect alto to involve himself in her life, he just does it without her having to ask for it & in most of the situations there was no real danger to her life that he knew of – like in ep 6 when he returns her earing, ep 19 wanting to inspire her to sing again despite her rude, fickle & abrasive behaviour towards him, ep 20 his tender, encouraging words to her.
There are other little things he does for her but I’m not going to go into that here, bottom line is that not only does alto actively seek her out, but sheryl also actively involves herself in his life up until she realizes that she no longer has a future to look forward to. Which is why I find Sheryl’s love to be more purely selfless than Ranka’s even if she doesnt mean for it to be so.
And playful banter & light bickering is pretty synonymous with teasing each other & alto & sheryl engage in it pretty much everytime they share screentime. What i was trying to point out was that even if most of the teasing is on Sheryl’s part, alto also teases her just like he teases ranka.
Also I’m not too sure whether she decided to go with Brera beforehand or it was a last minute decision to go with him? Even with the subs, I’m still confused about this. Did Brera leave the letters for Ozma & Nanase for Ranka or did she leave them herself? Do they mention anything abt this? do u think u could clarify this for me? The whole thing was a bit rushed, if u ask me.So I’m not gonna say anything on this.
I think Ranka’s reaction to Sheryl being in his arms definitely made it clear to him that she had feelings for him. Knowing this, even if he was unsure of his feelings for her, he should have attempted to atleast clear the air between them by mentioning that he was only helping a sheryl who had collapsed. Especially in the wake of Michael’s death, the mood between them when she called him out was quite appropriate I would think for such a discussion, since even Michael wanted him to give both girls his answer.
Also, wouldnt you think that, even if u werent aware that u were in love with this person, even if u are the most dense idiot born, you would atleast unconsciously be sensitive to said loved person’s needs & moods & try to say the right things to her when she most needs to hear them?
And I cant help but compare his reactions to hearing ranka say she doesnt want to sing to when he heard the same thing from sheryl. Also, its strange that he didnt go look for her immediately when he sees that she is upset on TV, quite unlike the time when he went to see Sheryl after her interview in ep 6.
That said, I can still see alto/ranka happening, I’d say that there’s a 50% chance for it to go either way. I just dont feel that there is a strong enough basis for their relationship & I can already see you disagreeing with my last statement.lol.
Not to mention most of the rest of my post as well. lol
@yukime
Oh and I forgot to mention, Why I think he wasnt shocked to hear her confession. I think that he was more surprised as opposed to shocked, really. I’m sure he wasnt expecting her to directly confess to him because of her misunderstanding, even if deep down he knew she had feelings for him. I think that explains Why he seemed surprised but not outright shocked.
@archagel
I dont’ thienk the rooftop scene with Alto and Sheryle was fix up by Michael and Klan. I can see how it might be interprest in that way. but nothing came of it becaus eof ranka interupting them.
Many peopel think that many of the characters in the past share similar things which is why the bcome couples, this I think is true with what you say to. Mickhel and Klan very close in personality and Alto and Sheryl very close to.
F^rontier is probably my favorite Macross saga so far. Wonderful artwork, great story line, and a great soundtrack.
U^nfortunately there are some people on this blog that cannot tolerate other people’s opinions, so it creates hate and snuffs out the deculture of the blogs.
C^hoosing Sheryl or Ranka? Alto must eventually choose and either way, fans will be grateful and some fans will just be pissed. But if history plays it out, the outcome is already known. Some people just can’t face the music.
K^nowing Michael sacrificed his life for Klan – there is no doubt in her that he truly loved her, it’s bitter sweet for her. That was probably one of the saddest things in anime I’ve seen.
Y^oko Kanno composed much of the music for Frontier. This is the first time I’ve collected songs from anime.
O^utside of the love triangle. I’m not certain who else will die? Ozama? Cathy? Luca? Nanase? Bridge crew? Definitely Leon and Grace are gonna die. I hope they die soon.
U^canny twist to episode 20. Just when you thought that things were looking up, bam! People start getting whacked left and right. The question is, will it get better or will things get much worse?
y^ou might think that Alto is so dense but what if he’s just not looking for love right now? What if just wants to focus on his career?
u^nfortunately the writers had to change the story to allow conventional weapons to affect the Vajra when it was stated they were no longer effective against them.
K^lan will survive. How could they possible kill her after what she has been through?
i^’m so impatient! I can’t wait to find out how this story turns out! Kawamori has rekindled the Macross story line!
m^ay nakabayashi is probably my favorite songstress. Diamond Crevasse is my favorite song in Macross Frontier
e^nuff said
@yuKime
Pairing wars is very intense, I know. Especially now that it we are nearing the end of the series ^^;
I know 🙂 I’ll try to hope for the best for my camp. Sheryl GANBATTE! ^v^
About the Minmei popularity outbreak, I guess you read my post wrongly. It’s just the situation that is the same with Minmei i.e. The girl is very popular in Japan.
At this time, Ranka has lost a lot of fans in Japan since people view her actions in two episodes very immature (ep. 20) and very not humane (ep. 21 : Joining with Vajra and refusal to sing in funeral). At this point, the ‘popularity’ situation which is similar with Minmei is held by Sheryl, who had the most impact with Mikhail death in the last episode. So if Kawamori decided to off Sheryl… Whatever the result, I perceive it won’t be very… good. -_-; Let’s just say… Angry fans are crazy, never ever underestimate Anime Otaku in Japan.
I agree that Kawamori will throw a curve ball at the last episode. He did it in Bye Bye Sheryl, Bye Bye Ozma, now naming the last episode after Ranka’s song? Everyone will think Alto will end up with Ranka and he’ll pull out the rags on us. He’s playing with us. It’s a curve ball. I’m a ranka fan just so you know. A pessimist.
@aneeshadc
Thanks for saying I’m reasonable but believe me I get illogical in my arguments at times as
well, especially when the person I’m talking to is also saying some illogical stuff. ^^; But
seeing as you’re a reasonable person, I’m making my arguments reasonable as well.
I’ve said this before but I think the reason Ranka doesn’t try to pry into Alto’s life is because
she’s waiting for him to open up to her on his own. Ranka being the meek character never
had confidence so she just asked for Alto’s advice in her own problems, hoping in return that
Alto will do the same. Alto I guess just didn’t want to open up to Ranka because he thinks
Ranka is too busy with her own problems to burden her with his own problems.
Sheryl on the other hand, takes the assertive stance and asks Alto himself. Just like in ep6,
Sheryl was the one who asked Alto if he liked this ship hence, Alto opened up to her. It’s the
same in ep21 where Ranka took an assertive stance and asked Alto why he liked to fly. Alto
opened up to her because she asked. In episode 19, Alto wanted Sheryl to sing again
because Alto thinks Sheryl is tricking herself into doing something she doesn’t like. Alto
knows how much Sheryl wanted to sing and for him to hear from her that she’s quitting, he
knew he had to do something about it. Same goes for ep20. But isn’t it the same thing Alto
does for Ranka? That’s why I think Sheryl’s love is not more pure than Ranka’s nor is it less
pure. I just think they show it in different ways but definitely, both girls love Alto.
The teasing relationship Alto and Sheryl share reminds me of an older sister trying to play
tricks on her little brother. Or a friend messing up her guy friend to somehow notice her.
Let’s face it, Sheryl does the initial teasing and Alto just gets pissed off or sulk. He never
took the initiative for teasing her. (Or at least, as far as I can remember, he doesn’t.) So if
your point is that Alto teases Sheryl just like how Alto teases Ranka, then how does this
make Sheryl ahead with his relationship status with Alto?
“Also I’m not too sure whether she decided to go with Brera beforehand or it was a last
minute decision to go with him? Even with the subs, I’m still confused about this. Did Brera
leave the letters for Ozma & Nanase for Ranka or did she leave them herself? Do they
mention anything abt this? do u think u could clarify this for me? The whole thing was a bit
rushed, if u ask me.So I’m not gonna say anything on this.”
My pleasure to clear this stuff for you. Ranka never expected Brera to be there in the first
place. Ranka sought Alto’s help and if he refused she had no other back up plan. It was just
a good thing Brera came and volunteered to fulfill her wish in Alto’s stead. And Brera was not
the one who left the letters for Nanase and Ozma. In the second letter (for Ozma), it was
written there, “To Onii-chan” so it’s safe to assume that it was Ranka herself who wrote
those letters. Ranka only decided this after meeting Ai-kun so yeah, it was rushed on her
part. If that’s what you mean…
Alto did SOMEHOW try to explain to Ranka but he held back. When he saw Ranka running
after she saw him and Sheryl, Alto called her name and looked like he would go after her but
he hesitated. I’m assuming that’s because he doesn’t know what to tell her, not knowing
how to analyze his own feelings at that time. Alto IS unconsciously sensitive to Ranka’s
moods. It was shown in episode 20. When Ranka refused to sing, Alto’s face turned into that
of helplessness. He didn’t know what to do to stop Ranka’s tears but he also didn’t want to
force her to sing anymore. Good thing Sheryl stepped in and handled things herself. In
episode 21 as well, he is frustrated not to be able to protect Ranka, knowing she is in pain
by forcing her to sing like that.
“And I cant help but compare his reactions to hearing ranka say she doesnt want to sing to
when he heard the same thing from sheryl. Also, its strange that he didnt go look for her
immediately when he sees that she is upset on TV, quite unlike the time when he went to
see Sheryl after her interview in ep 6.”
Alto run to Sheryl in ep6 not because Sheryl was upset but because he wanted to return her
earring. After all, he promised to return in during her concert so he’s just keeping his word.
Alto indeed didn’t seek out Ranka when she decided not to sing but that doesn’t mean he
didn’t care. See, when they did meet, that’s what he immediately asked her. And the way he
run there full speed, I think that’s a plus that means Alto cares for Ranka a lot. If Alto not
seeking out Ranka during episode 21 mean he cared less for her, wouldn’t that mean the
same for Sheryl since he never even came back for her when he even PROMISED to go back
for her? My opinion is, the reason why Alto didn’t seek out Ranka that time nor did he go
back to Sheryl is that there was not enough screen time to spare. They had to show things
that only mattered and would contribute to the characters and story’s progress.
Haha, I’m sorry I don’t seem to agree to you all the time. But it’s fun and enlightening to read your side. I also agree that even now the Alto x Ranka ending is not sure. Sheryl is yet to make her super move in Northern Cross, so I’m not closing the doors completely to a possible AxS ending, though I’m really hoping for an AxR one.
@kagami
Pairing debates are fun though. Intense at times but fun. ^^ You get to see how people think about stuff and find how different you can see stuff from them. It proves that not all people agree on things but it’s still good from time to time.
I’ll also support Ranka till the end~! ^O^
And about Minmei outbreak, no I perfectly got you. See, I know that Sheryl is the most popular in Japan right now, I kind of noticed that. ^^; And my comment is based on that. See, Minmei’s popularity is the same as Sheryl’s right now, but Kawamori still decided to end it choosing Misa and not the popular girl, not minding the angry mob that will hunt him down back then. If he didn’t mind it before and did it once already (choosing the less popular one), what do you think is stopping him from doing another one like that (i.e. choosing Ranka=less popular)? Him being afraid to get mobbed by his fans? I don’t think so. ^^; That’s what I meant. ^^
Vajra – Zerg
Ranka – Kerrigan?
Will she destroy/kill whatever-is-controlling-vajra and become Queen of Blades? xD
@aneeshadc
I forgot to add too, I don’t see the difference between shock and surprise. Mind elaborating for me? ^^;
@23 and others applied…
Why are lots of people paranoid of Kawamori? ^^;; We’re making him look like some evil director who’s purpose is to mess with people’s heads lol Sure, he may like to surprise viewers, but if there’s one thing he has in common with other good directors, it’s consistency. A director does not flush consistency for the sake of messing with people’s heads. A decent director creates good drama but stays consistent with WHAT he is building.
And going by consistency, and the storyline, the one girl that makes the most sense of ending up with Alto is none other than Ranka. No no, I’m not saying Sheryl doesn’t make sense at all. Her relationship with Alto is just less emphasized BY the story. 🙂 The way the story expresses each scene, you can clearly see it. It’s favoring Ranka over Sheryl, making the audience empathize with Ranka, revealing Ranka’s inner thoughts and feelings to the audience, often showing the love triangle through Ranka’s POV, the story is connecting the audience to Ranka regardless of whether the audience connect or not.
In fact, the feelings that were shown in this episode were too strongly expressed (the facial expressions, cut to close up of lips, the eyes, Alto’s face, Ranka’s face…you get the picture?) that it would not make sense if Alto ended up dismissing the whole thing and started going for Sheryl just because she said something like “don’t be sad, I’m here” or “I’m dying, stay with me”. I can see Alto getting confused, hating the Vajra, wallowing around, getting info, supporting dying friends and all that, but I can’t see Alto letting Ranka hang out in Vajra planet forever after saying those kinds of words to him. Things will not end like this between the two of them. Everyone should know that. There’re only two ways to resolve this, a positive or a negative one. Frankly, with the last episode’s title? It’s a positive. 😉
Except if for some odd reason that the last episode turns out to be really about Sheryl Nome going dokun dokun to Alto, a love song to Ai-kun, and Anata no Oto’s lyrics are just randomly written there with nothing to do with Ranka’s current situation despite it supposedly written for her…then, so sue me. ^__^
@koyuki
“I’ll admit that I cried when she told him she wanted to be together with him but she had to say goodbye to him instead.”
Seriously, with Blue Ether playing like that. I think it’s the melody that got me especially when they showed the flashbacks of the two together 🙁 (I swear the first and third flashbacks are so overplayed, special much? ^^) It’s because of scenarios like this that makes RankaxAlto more epic.
@yukime
Lightbulbs lol!
I notice at the ED theme, the last shot was Alto and Ranka’s spacehelmets leaning on each other. Cute. ^_^ So the five second focus of those helmets in ep 13 wasn’t really just a random thing.
@yuKime
Oh okay, then I’m sorry for misreading your post. 🙂 Owww, I guess I need to practice my English better ^^;
@ani_d
Never ever trust Kawamori trolling attempt. No, I’m serious, even with last episode being titled “Anata No Oto”, it is still possible for him to create an Altoxnobody. Don’t forget that we are dealing with the master of trolling here. Heh, pineapple episode already negate all possibility of Kawamori being an obvious director.
And for the “build-up with story” theory, don’t you think it’s kinda odd, when history proves that even with Minmei build-up development in original Macross it ends up with Hayase? All in all, don’t decide before the end comes. Also, The girls relationship are developed uniquely : Ranka’s relationship with Alto affects the story, whilst Sheryl’s relationship with Alto affects his personality and decision. So, both the girls are in the same ground, or in one way, Ranka is leading with the “Resignation” story cliche. In the end, it’s up to Kawamori which one is better for the characters.
@ani_d
Forgot to add, isn’t Anata No Oto used as Alto/Sheryl interaction in episode 19&20? ^^;
It’s kind of interesting how this episode emphasized Ranka’s resignation because Alto can’t hear her song. Tie this with the last episode which is Your Sound (I can hear it now, dokunx3) with Ranka’s voice singing it to boot. 🙂 Very interesting.
@kagami
If you think about it Sheryl staying on Frontier is a must, and now that Ozma lived, we get to realize why Kawamori didn’t kill him off. So whatever Kawamori has been doing to us, it’s all part of his ebil but consistent plot book. ^_^ I’ve seen SDF Macross too, and I can tell this to you, it was consistent. 🙂 I’m not really trying to convince others about SherylxAlto, I’m just stating my observations and how I think the story will go based on what we’ve shown.
On another note, I don’t think Sheryl’s relationship with Alto affects his personality and decision more than Ranka does. However, this is more like a matter of interpretation between fans more than anything.;)
@Kagami
Yup, they used it. ^_^ That’s why I don’t think they’re going to use it on SherylxAlto at the last episode. The real “Make-Anata-no-Oto-Shine!!” insert will be on episode 25.
This was the original last episode
@ani_d
Okay, if that’s what you see. Fans perspective matters anyway *shrugs*.
The relationship in SDF Macross is in a way consistent. But if you truly see it, Hikaru was smitten with Minmei in SDF, even until near the end. There is only little indication of him liking Hayase until the end confirms it. I won’t relate it to Macross F, because we know it’s no good to make pararel assumption 🙂
But at least, it is shown in episode 19 that Sheryl’s determination and words (something about fighting destiny, not surrender to them?) actually makes Alto join SMS. It is an evidence of my opinion before 🙂 So if you said that Sheryl doesn’t affect Alto’s personality, isn’t it going against what has been shown in MF?
P.S : Why don’t you go back to AS? Seems like they missed Ranka fans there ^^ And it’s no fun not seeing argumentation between the opposing sides ^^
there is one way everyone will be happy:
THREESOME!!! The three(Alto, Ranka and Sheryl) engage in a poli-amorous relationship. Everybody wins. LOL.
I’m with you on this, westfall. This way everyone’s happy (and surprised, too, since no one is expecting this sort of ending). LOL
Wow, it’s really compelling how Macross fans (including moi) are going all out to defend their theories on who Alto is going to choose as definite love interest.
Funny thing is that it only proofs one’s own reflections on who they like most themselves, Ranka or Sheryl. Although both the women are great in their own ways, I do have to confess that, based on all the episodes until now, I like Sheryl a bit more – but like I said: Ranka is awesome too!
However the reason why I think Shoji Kawamori will let Alto choose Sheryl in the end, is objectively based on the extrapolating from Macross canon as mentioned in my previous reply (on page 7).
Ai-kun got bigger (stage II to III). I wonder Sheryl, what stage is she now?
I guess this series without Sheryl is ok *sorry Sheryl fans*
@ani_d
Well, we can also call them Christmas lights! XD But yeah, those sparkly eyes definitely made me love Alto x Ranka shipping even more!
And yup, actually the whole credit is sort of some tribute to A x R, seeing as most scenes are about the two of them. And yes, the helmets leaning on each other is so symbolic. ^^ It’s like a what could have been if Alto and Ranka didn’t blush too much because of their proximity. lol
And nice analysis on the lyrics of Anata no Oto. “I can hear it coming now Dokun Dokun Dokun” I didn’t see that one coming!
And about Alto x Sheryl, I think that’s why I never got so attached with this pairing. Their interactions lack follow-through. Sure they have their moments but it lacks follow-through, that their progress seems forgotten the next episode and becomes treated as a mere audience tease to keep the triangle alive. Or maybe it’s just me interpreting it that way. But if they (Kawamori-tachi) really want to pull off an A x S ending, they better start developing more A x S moments to make up for lots of A x R moments they did. In the SDF Macross, I accepted Misa as the one rightful for Hikaru because in the few last episodes, we really see him warming up to Misa. But this isn’t shown yet in Sheryl’s case so unless they show something like that, I’m not going to be convinced and will see it as rushed ending without concrete basis.
@Kagami
No problem! I guess I worded it weird the first time that’s why you didn’t get me. ^^
i don’t know why so many people don’t like Ranka…this was a great episode..can’t wait for the others.
@Yukime , ani_d Isn’it a bit too obvious for a final episode to call it anata no oto knowing it’s Ranka song about her love for Alto ?
Kawamori tricked us so many times that this one is as obvious as Goodbye sister.
But I didn’t see it coming too. And didn’t make the link with Ranka who could not reach Alto ‘s heart even with the help of her songs. The : “I can hear it coming NOW, Dokun Dokun Dokun” with an important NOW in the sentence is really a good sign.
By the way of what helmets are you talking about ? The OP or the ED of episode 21 ?
@kagami
Well, I didn’t say that Sheryl does not affect Alto’s personality.:) What I meant is, it’s not just Sheryl who affects Alto’s personality and decision. Ranka does too, and it’s pretty notable. Sheryl affects Alto with her words in ep 3, Alto referenced this in 19. Ranka affects Alto through her own circumstance, and this one has been emphasized in the story more than once through Alto’s flashbacks. Nonchalant Alto first encountered Ranka, suddenly he wanted to do the corkscrew even if noone wanted him to. Alto heard about Ranka’s past, he got emotionally caught up and told Ozma he wanted to join the Vajra crusade (not necessarily for her). Confused Alto heard Ranka sing in ep 3, suddenly he could think clearly. The way Alto softens up to Ranka everytime she seeks his advice–> For someone who loves to frown at people 24/7, this is a biiig change in his personality. Things like this.
The reason I said that whether Sheryl or Ranka affects Alto’s personality/decisions more is subjective because in real life, both can be seen as being in the same ground. However. Looking at the focus of this story, specifically ep 3, Sheryl’s words that Alto repeated in front of Ozma weren’t as emphasized as the scene Alto shared with Ranka at Griffith’s park. The story placed more emphasis on Alto hearing Ranka’s Aimo and feeling the resolve to join SMS (regardless of whatever he was fighting for since it was never stated) afterwards. Atleast around this time, Ranka’s song reached Alto lol Good times.
Sheryl having the ability to make Alto open up (episode 10) is definitely something, but it became sidelined in the same episode because the focus of the whole scene had more to do with Ranka.
More than our own moral opinions, we should look at how the story delivers each scene and which scene has the more significance in terms of plot and character developments. It’s all about looking at what the story itself wants you to look at. That’s how I go by atleast;)
Between Misa and Minmei, I believed Misa was more dimensional. Minmei’s character was just flat. Immature all throughout, compared to Misa who slowly by slowly tore down her wall in front of Hikaru. (Also, she was portrayed as the underdog next to Minmei and had the whole crew in the bridge supporting her, and a Claudia lol) The story was neither looking at either girl. It was looking at Hikaru, but consistency wise, there was no way the story could’ve forsaken Misa despite all of the effort she did (all those episodes) to get Hikaru to look her way. They weren’t flushed in the drain. It was like a reward for being true.
Do you also have an AS account, perhaps? 😛 Yes, it’s fun debating with other sheryl fans, but only if they’re not borderline ridiculous. Thank goodness for sheryl fans like you.
@yukime
And about Alto x Sheryl, I think that’s why I never got so attached with this pairing. Their interactions lack follow-through.
Exactly. Compared to AltoxRanka’s consistency, it falls short atleast. I mean, even the scene with Alto in Ranka’s bedroom talking to her about the Vajra was referenced and people think that scene in ep 17 was nothing but a filler.
The biggest reason why I thought in 18, the possibility of Sheryl ending might be possible was because I thought Alto will tell her the reason why he wanted to fly (w/c is connected to his mother). And since Sheryl was in the Saotome mansion, this makes more sense and not to mention confuse people on who Alto will choose. Sky, flying, pilot, mother = Alto’s heart. But surprises…It was still Ranka afterall. Excluding Sheryl’s death card, what is there left for Sheryl to get Alto’s heart? In a believable way in 4 episodes? It would’ve been more possible for SherylxAlto if they started developing them MAJORLY in 15 and onwards, but alas.
As things stand, Sheryl’s biggest advantage right now is that, Ranka ‘gave up’ on Alto. But winning a love triangle like this just sounds so anti-climactic, and I don’t think the story will go this way. Plus, next episode sounds more like Sheryl getting inspired BY Alto and singing a very painful song about rejection.
I wish they would release the full lyrics of Anata no Oto, but the words are just so happily in love, I keep getting all this dokun dokun vibes in the end.
“Our desires were just fine.
And now we don’t have to hold suspicions on each other anymore.
It’s all right we were hurt from time to time
We won’t ever leave each other again”
It just fits the perfect the resolution for Ranka and Alto after this episode 21. Like a lot haha
@ yukime
Dont we all get illogical at times?just some more than others though;)
Exactly, thats what I’m talking abt, waiting for alto to open up to her on his own shows us that she is reading his personality wrong. As we have been shown, all sheryl & ranka had to do to get him to open up was to ask him a few questions.
Alto isnt psychic, he’s not gonna know she wants to know more abt him unless she lets him know it. Alto clearly isnt the type to voluntarily open up to anyone. The other party has to definitively take the initiative in alto’s case.
About her being meek, I think that is only in alto’s presence, not otherwise. I can understand that, but she has had time to get over that. She’s more conscious of him because she likes him, but if she couldnt get comfortable enough with him to ask him questions abt himself when she’s had the chance to, then I dont see their relationship as developed, except for maybe on her side.
She grows as a character from her interactions with him but he, more or less remains the same after his interactions with her.He helps her grow, but remains static himself.
I also think that she isnt very perceptive to his moods & feelings, mostly because during their conversations & when there’s a change in his tone or mood, she is more concentrated on her own feelings than his. Not to say that she is doing this intentionally, she just doesnt realize it is all. Episode 21 was the only ep, where she finally asked him one very important Question focusing solely on alto.
Actually, I was talking abt ep 21, when ranka said she wont sing anymore during the funeral, but thnx for reminding me abt ep 20 too, I’ll mention that too, later on in my post.
From what I can see, his reactions to Sheryl & ranka declaring they dont want to sing was very different. When sheryl says this, he senses that she is lying to herself, gets angry & does a bunch of things to try & convince her to sing again.
He takes a more personal approach to Sheryl’s declaration going so far as to telling her that her take on destiny had an impact on him, calling her out to watch him do his much improved flying stunts at Ranka’s concert because he wanted her to see for herself how much of a difference she had made in his life.
Yes, he runs with all his might when ranka calls him out, I dont see why he wouldnt, she calls him out at 3.00 am at night u know, He must have been worried sick wondering what in the world had happened to her, 1st saying she didnt want to sing on TV, then calling him out at 3.00 am in the night. I think we agree tht he obviously cares about both girls, the Question is, which one is he more romantically inclined towards?
Yes, he’s a little worried abt her reason for not wanting to sing but he doesnt press her on the topic, nor does he bring it up again, It doesnt seem to have affected him personally. He seemed worried abt it initially for her sake but he lets it go, probably thinking she’ll get over it or something, atleast thats the impression I got. He doesnt seem to sense her pain this time around unlike during the battle, when he atleast felt that he was hurting her by lettin her be used as bait to lure the vajra.
And abt ep 20, I honestly think that if he had hidden feelings for ranka, even if he wasnt aware of it, his feet would have instinctively taken him to her, whether he meant to or not- not so that he could tell her his feelings but to atleast clear the air between them because we know that nothing significantly romantic passed b/w sheryl & alto rite? Unless he felt that something passed b/w them & to tell ranka that it was nothin but a misunderstanding would feel wrong to him? I’m crossing my fingers & hoping that this is the case:)
When he calls out her name & reaches out his hand but stays put, his face to me looked like he felt bad & guilty that he had hurt her & that she had to find out abt Sheryl in this way. It kind of feels like how I felt when I couldnt return the feelings of a good friend of mine & when he found out that I already liked another guy who’s a good friend of his. Screwed up situation huh?
Anyway, u might intrepret it differently but its how I feel he felt. And then he sees her miserable & crying her heart out, That scene really begs for a hug from him I tell you but what does he do- 1st he asks her to sing for everyones sake, the when she refuses to do this & cries harder, he just stands there at a loss as to what to do. Its anoher reason why I think they dont go well together, He cant stop her tears, He cant seem to say the right things to her in a critical situation, but he manages to do alright when it involves sheryl.
I have to disagree that Ranka’s love for alto is as selfless as sheryl’s is. While I agree that both love him, up until ep 21, until just before she left alto behind & let her love for him go, it wasnt of the selfless kind. It was a little selfish & unfair to expect him to neglect his duty to frontier, ignore his pain & hatred for the Vajra that killed Michael this soon & to leave with her on a journey of self-discovery that would benefit her alone, well & probably Ai-kun:p.
There’s nothing wrong with being selfish, everyone is entitled to be a little selfish in love & life at times, but I just think that ranka has a rotten sense of timing, poor girl, I really do feel for her, I’m just as bad with managing my time, but hopefully, I’m much better during a crisis situation.:D
Sry, but I’m also going to have to say that Klan in ep 21 handled her ten times more severe heartbreak much better than ranka did in ep 20. She did her crying after all of the chaos died down, unlike ranka. I’m glad she learnt from her mistake though & was able to sing this time in ep 21 despite her pain.
I admit most of the teasing is on sheryl’s side, but he does reciprocate as well as initiate(albeit rarely) the banter resulting in back & forth bickering & insults which neither take seriously, was all I wanted to point out & that it isnt exclusive for either pairing & nor does it make one pairing superior/inferior to the other. Though I have to admit, its one of the things I love best abt the sheryl/alto pairing.:D
I have to disagree with you abt alto’s reason for running to sheryl in ep 6. While he also wanted to keep his promise to her, If this was the only reason, then the interview was unnessecary, he could have just returned it to her before he saw her on TV. But the fact that he goes to her after he notices that she is upset & pretending to be brave on camera is what cinches it for me. Even his expression after seeing her on TV, where he contemplates for a few secs, then grabs his coat & runs to her even though he knew he had to sortie soon confirms it for me that he went there for her, not just to return the earing he remembers is important to her but also to see if she’s alright.
Actually, However you want to look at it, he still goes there specifically for her, whether it was to keep his promise to her or if it was to check on her.
Dont be sorry, I love that we’re on opposing sides, its more fun this way, & it really helps to know what the other side is thinking, makes u kinda rethink a few things as well as reinforces some things that u’ve already decided upon. 🙂
difference b/w shocked & surprised, well… i guess I feel shocked is just a more severe form of surprised, when u have no bloody idea that something like that is gonna happen to u, like when Sheryl is shocked as Grace reveals to her that she is dying, Shocked when Michael dies to protect klan, Shocked when ranka sees sheryl & alto on the rooftop, shocked when alto realizes that ranka is leaving frontier, Shocked as he will be when he finds out that sheryl is going to die, Shocked as in when/ if ranka finds out that she is the reason the vajra attacked frontier or the 117th fleet died… u know, u get the picture.
@ anid
I have to disagree that the story emphasizes alto/ranka moments more than alto/sheryl moments. I think both pairing moments feel emphasized depending on which pairing u prefer. I’m an alto/sheryl shipper & feel their moments are also emphasized ,what with the beautiful sunsets, pink tones & great background music.
Then again so are the alto/ranka moments, sry I cant remember hw though,cos i dont really pay as much attention, but I’m sure u can fill me in:). But if ur saying that ranka’s reactions to them are emphasized then I’ll have to agree with u , though I think this is more due to the fact that she requires it to further her character development.
I also have to disagree with you in that ranka affects alto’s character growth. Her main hold on him has always been that she brings out protective feelings in him. period. Whether those protective feelings mean he also has romantic feelings for her or not is the question.
Alto says in ep 19 that it was Sheryl’s take on destiny that inspired him to join SMS, while this is true, I also think that aimo hill scene with ranka let him think calmly & gave him resolve. So, I will concede that she, along with sheryl, helped his growth here.
But I have to say this is the only instance I can think of, while Sheryl continuosly affects his growth as an individual throughout the series. So, I really dont see them as being on the same ground in terms of affecting his personal growth.
Havent seen SDF, since I’m mostly clueless here, I’m not gonna comment on it.
@yukime,anid
I dont feel that sheryl/alto interactions lack follow-through. Instead, I see them gradually developing together in a very realistic way.
They alternate b/w being natural & comfortable around each other to being awkward when they tend to unintentionally get too close & immediately switch back to being argumentative & tsundere with each other.
Their behaviour depends on the situation they find themselves in. Their relationship has grown from being opinionated about the other, to mutual understanding & respect, to friends with limited benefits, to not quite just friends but not yet lovers phase.
They can be completely themselves with each other, something I dont feel is present in the R/A realtionship. In fact I feel that the R/A relationship has remained stagnant after ep 15. Up until ep 12, there was only friendship & a brother-sister dynamic b/w them. That changes from 12-13, when he 1st becomes romantically aware of her, & then ep 15 shows that Sheryl still has an effect on him despite his new found awareness of Ranka & so pretty much puts them on an even footing. Then comes ep 16 where he actually blushes for sheryl, but doesnt do the same courtesy for ranka in ep 17 when she says their all alone, the perfect moment for a real blush if u ask me. After that he runs around in the rain looking for Sheryl.
@ anid
Also, I dont see why u were expecting sheryl & alto to talk abt his mum, when she’d just found out that she was dying & didnt have a future to look forward to. Not only was it too soon, but the atmosphere & moment wasnt appropriate in the least for a talk abt his mum especially when she had made up her mind to push him away. She’s being rude & abrasive with him so that he would leave her alone, he’s hardly going to talk abt his mother when she’s being so horrid to him.
People expecting a sweet reunion were bound to be disappointed (or overjoyed, if ur not a S/A fan, as ur not). As for me, I loved their interaction, it was every bit as intense & painful as i expected it to be, for both of them. He seemed hurt & angry at her declaration not to sing, didnt buy all of her act & refused to let her wallow in self-pity as he saw it. I think that they were both perfectly in character, IMO.
@anid
That song’s lyrics is very interesting. It both, scares me as well as thrills me. It does seem to fit R/A situation well, but when think abt it, it also fits well for S/A situation as well. So, I’m crossing my fingers & fervently hoping for my end, while ur doing the same for urs. May the best pair win!:D
@ani_d
I think Macross F is too serious a show and too short to put in fillers. Everything and every scene they put there is necessary for the plot and the characters’ development.
Btw, is that lyrics of Anata no Oto you put there? X3 You are infecting me with this dokun dokun vibes, ani_d! I suddenly felt like playing episode 19 again just to hear that song! XD
@aneeshadc
Long post as usual. 😉 I just love reading your comments more and more. Now on with the discussion!
The consciousness on Ranka’s part is naturally her being around someone she likes. Her not being confident enough is not always a bad thing that drags her relationship with Alto down. If it were that case, Alto would have never liked her as a person and would never care for her. Alto accepts Ranka with all her weaknesses and even supports her every time she needed it. Even climbing buildings and giving Ranka advices. Alto enjoys his times with Ranka and I don’t think he has to consider what he will gain if he were to choose a partner. In a relationship, just what feels right and what you want to do is what matters. It’s not important if you have same background, same dreams or same problems. And I really disagree that Alto has remained static around Ranka (read ani_d’s post for kagami, I couldn’t have put it into better words). Both Sheryl and Ranka had influenced Alto’s course of actions. Even Alto acknowledged Ranka in episode 13 seeing as she got heart. Ranka’s actions move Alto too, that’s for sure. Especially when she did that concert in Gallia IV. So I don’t believe Alto is static around Ranka.
What do you mean by Ranka not being perceptive of Alto? Ranka asks Alto for advices because she finds him as the one that closely understands her the most. She knows that Alto would listen to her and would definitely not treat her as a kid. Alto never showed any sign that he hated listening to Ranka. He enjoys helping her so I don’t see what’s wrong with it. Alto is also not the type to just open up his own problems just because Ranka did. Like you said, Alto opens up when he is asked. Ranka though chooses to wait for Alto to open to her without her prying into his business seeing as she didn’t want to be taken in as someone nosy. It is within her character you see. Being the girl who lacks confidence at times, Ranka doubts if Alto would even open up to her if she asked. That’s why in episode 21, she didn’t ask directly, “Hey alto-kun, why do you like to fly?” She asked first, “Is it all for me to ask you something?” It’s not that Ranka is so full of herself that she doesn’t bother to ask Alto but rather she lacks the confidence to ask him. See how she got upset in episode 10 when both Sheryl and Luca knew about Alto being a kabuki actor? She is disappointed with herself, seeing as how little she knew about Alto. Ranka wasn’t initially as confident as Sheryl who says what she wants and does what she want pronto but that didn’t mean she never considered Alto’s feelings at all. See, even in episode 6, Ranka notices Alto’s face expression and becomes uneasy herself. In fact she is quite perceptive of Alto that at times, she misunderstands him already. But that’s only natural seeing as she’s not a mind-reader. My point is, Ranka is not full of herself that she only thinks of her own little problems.
“From what I can see, his reactions to Sheryl & ranka declaring they dont want to sing was very different. When sheryl says this, he senses that she is lying to herself, gets angry & does a bunch of things to try & convince her to sing again.”
Yes he senses she is lying because he has seen how passionate Sheryl is about singing. Even in ep1, Alto acknowledges Sheryl and says, “You’re amazing.” (as a singer) Yes he gets angry indeed and then flips back the words Sheryl told him and Ranka way back in Ep3 and then left, saying “Watch me perform blah blah.” To me, if Alto really cared a lot more, he would have asked what reason Sheryl had for stopping her career.
And when Ranka said she’d quit, yes Alto didn’t seek her immediately but the moment they did see each other, he asked her immediately what’s the reason for her to quit. See the difference? Alto wanted to understand Ranka’s point first before getting angry. But yeah, he didn’t push the subject on because he saw that Ranka wanted to avoid the subject (seeing as she quickly cut him and even changed the subject). Alto considered Ranka’s feelings and wanted to give her some space, seeing that she is hurt enough with being forced to sing like that. Ranka had said it before that she didn’t want to sing as a tool for fighting. Not wanting to cause Ranka more pain, he went along with her and just waited for her to tell him herself what was bothering her. It didn’t mean that he wasn’t bothered at all by Ranka’s quitting but that he only wanted to approach the subject in a way that would hurt her less. That’s the impression I got, seeing as he KNEW that Ranka was in pain due to her singing as a tool.
Like I said, ep 20 to me felt like Alto hesitating, not wanting to take a good look at his own feelings. If he really didn’t want to clear the things up with Ranka, he wouldn’t have called her name then hesitated. But he did hesitate thinking that, “What will I tell her? That it’s a misunderstanding? Then what?” His face indeed looks sorry but definitely not guilty because he did nothing to be guilty about. OR it could also be Kawamori’s team’s tactic to lengthen the torture of the love triangle phenomena, seeing as if Alto ran after Ranka, it’s sure thing that it would be Ranka winning. XD
Indeed, it can be interpreted differently depending on which camp we are in but maybe once we get a peek into Alto’s thoughts, this will be cleared up. So I rest my case on this one.
When Alto sees Ranka, Alto just sees her shaking not crying her heart out. Of course, having the dire situation of Vajra infestation outside, he asks her to sing. He hasn’t seen her cry yet. You know what bothered me more here? Was the fact that Alto suddenly came running inside to call Ranka to sing without even ensuring that Sheryl was safe! Vajras flying around and he just ran to Ranka. He must be really anxious to get Ranka singing to stop the Vajra or he didn’t care about Sheryl at all. Sheryl asked, “Are those… vajras?” And Alto ignored her and just went running inside. (Actually I just noticed this now and is amazed myself.) Now back to Ranka, she refuses to sing AND THEN cries. Then Alto says, “Ranka?” I think that’s the only time he REALIZED something was up with Ranka. Then Ranka cried some more and said, “Me no Vajra fighting tool!” That’s the part where Alto began to feel helpless. There are times like this you know, when you see a girl you love breaking down in tears, you feel at a loss, feeling like you feel crying yourself. (Haha, found this on one Taiwanese soap I watched) It’s not right to say that Alto isn’t right for Ranka just because he can’t stop her tears. I think it’s kind of sweet though. If Alto didn’t care for Ranka at all, he would have forced her to sing but he just stopped talking all together, feeling like ‘I can’t force her seeing she’s like this. I don’t want to hurt her more.’ And how does he manage to do it right for Sheryl when he haven’t seen Sheryl break down into tears in front of him yet? The comparison is not present so I don’t see it.
“I have to disagree that Ranka’s love for alto is as selfless as sheryl’s is. While I agree that both love him, up until ep 21, until just before she left alto behind & let her love for him go, it wasnt of the selfless kind. It was a little selfish & unfair to expect him to neglect his duty to frontier, ignore his pain & hatred for the Vajra that killed Michael this soon & to leave with her on a journey of self-discovery that would benefit her alone, well & probably Ai-kun:p.”
She wasn’t ignoring Alto’s pain because if she were, she wouldn’t go to all that careful talking before bringing up the favor she wanted from Alto. And Alto was given a choice, so I think it’s not being selfish at all. It was a request so how is it being selfish, if you are all right with the other party not accepting it? And also, it’s not a journey of self-discovery but more of a journey to find a better way to get rid of the Vajra without having to result to a bloodshed. Ranka wanted to return Ai-kun to his friends to get him out of Frontier, to save Frontier from further Vajra attacks and possibly to find a way to live in peace with them. How is it selfish? If it was selfish I don’t think Alto would have broken his vocal cords shouting Ranka’s name to stop her from going. Alto knew it was dangerous for Ranka to go that’s why he tried to stop her. If it were just a journey of self-discovery, I bet Alto would have wished her good luck into finding those lost memories not trying to stop her. To put it literally, it’s like Ranka is feeding herself to a whole army of Vajra. There we go. So where’s the selfish part there?
About the teasing, okay, I have to give it, Sheryl teasing Alto is cute, gives laughter and fan service as well but yeah, it’s not something really necessary to make a pairing work. Alto seems more pissed/worn out than happy most of the time to have Sheryl teasing him though.
And yes, Alto did go specifically for Sheryl during ep6. But only to return the earring. Quoting Alto from ep6, “What the heck was that for? (meaning the bodyguards who stopped him) Even though I came all the way here to bring this… (gives the earring)” If Alto was so concerned about Sheryl being upset, wouldn’t he have given the earring some other time and asked her first how she was feeling or something like that? And okay, let’s pretend Alto’s shy so he first gave the earring as a warm up. But then he really didn’t ask her anything did she? He just answered Sheryl’s question and didn’t even speak. If Sheryl didn’t start up a conversation, I bet he would have said, “Okay! Got to go and fly now! See ya!”
Quoting from Sheryl, “It’s a keepsake from my mother. But other than that, I don’t even know my mother’s face.”
Alto didn’t say anything here but kept silent. Well, understandable, he didn’t know what to say of course! So Sheryl had to go on and strike another conversation, “Hey Alto, do you like this ship?” And finally, a conversation with two people talking! <3
Oh and another from Alto, “Take this. (earring) That’s WHY I CAME HERE.”
Well, I guess, if Alto’s silence also meant that he was already checking if Sheryl is okay then I give. But his words definitely told me he only came to give back her earring.
Actually, you are the first Sheryl fan I enjoy having this long discussion with. It helps me see a lot too. Seeing as I’m also seeing new things as we discuss and yeah, rethink on certain aspects as well. =)
Haha. I always thought shocked and surprised were the same, always see them together in a thesaurus. But okay, I get the picture you want me to see. Then let’s just agree that Alto was surprised that Ranka said, “I loved you.” ^^
@ani_d
Ouch, aneeshadc has the same opinion as me. So there you have my opinion ^^;
I agree that Alto have the soft expression when he talks to Ranka, but I have to say, Sheryl has been given the same treatment in these last episodes. Remember the smile in episode 20? 😉 And I don’t know why, but I interpret the scenes between Alto and Ranka as brotherly affection counting out 13&14 (I’m sorry but I feel that these episodes were anomalies as I don’t see the “sparkly eyes” on following episodes).
Alto and Sheryl interactions is more subtle and not very obvious like Ranka’s but notice that Sheryl and Alto relationship grows from enemies (?) (bitching with each other with malice… Episode 1 Sheryl is mean ^^;) to friends then to something special (not lovers… yet 😉 )that he is actually angry when Sheryl decided not to sing. I just want to point out that Alto does not try to stop Ranka when she said she does not want to sing again in this episode. This is strange when he was actually giving encouragement to Ranka to sing in the previous episode (refresh me… 16?).
Northern Cross sounds like a ‘rejected love’ song… But I get the vibe of despair more than that. If we count that Sheryl is dying right now, Northern Cross would make a lot more sense if we categorize it in despair. I don’t know, but I guess I view it as Sheryl herself has been backed to the corner…
In SDF Macross, I still remember that it was actually Minmei that has been given the storyline progression support, whilst Hayase was given the interaction support. So if it actually follow the trend of romance “storyline plot”, it should have been Minmei who got Hikaru rather than Hayase. (Even though I speak like this, I am Hayase fan okay? I just find it strange how you said it was consistent, whilst it was shown, like you said, the interaction was very obvious in the last episodes only and how Hikaru is smitten with Minmei until near the end… Thank goodness he realizes it was a mistake and make a sharp 180 degree turn to Hayase 🙂 )
Nah, I’m too lazy (and busy) to make account on AnimeSuki. I usually uses blog or LJ to chat anyway 🙂 I think the ridiculous/delusional part comes from the fact that this series is ending, but no indication of the triangle being solved… AT ALL. So both sides are intense at these time ^^; But not as intense as futaba channel argument now… Scaaaary ^^; I am not an obsessed shipper of AxS… Rabid, yes, but they are not my all time favourite pairing, though it is rare for me to like normal pairing *coughyaoicough* My all time loved/favourite normal pairing is from an underdog game *^v^*
@yuKime, ani_d
Well, the two next episodes will determine whether Kawamori would like to give AxS or AxR ending. If by any chance the spoiler about Alto hearing Sheryl’s wish of always staying beside him is on the next episode… Then we can say Sheryl and Ranka is on the same ground again. *bangs head* When will our despair end???
And again, I must say, with the last episode being titled “Anata No Oto”, it would not be a surprise if Kawamori end it with AxR. Even the Japanese have picked up the intention with Anata No Oto ( I guess I have to say… A Japanese AxS fanartist-blogger nearly becomes crazy in denial of accepting AxR^^; *shudder at the paranoid laugh^^;*) entitled the last episode. This would contradict Kawamori’s statement of the end of Triangle would be a surprise if Anata No Oto has AxR end… It was obvious to both sides fans!
@aneeshadc
“They alternate b/w being natural & comfortable around each other to being awkward when they tend to unintentionally get too close & immediately switch back to being argumentative & tsundere with each other.”
Isn’t this the same for Ranka and Alto? Natural and comfortable, see their moments at Griffith’s park. Then awkward, see Gallia IV flying in the sky when Ranka catches Alto sneaking a glance at Ranka~. Oh blush blush blush then burst of laughter and they’re back and comfy again~! Then unintentionally getting close, see them stuck by the waterfall side, Ranka combing Alto-hime’s long hair and then Alto pulls Ranka towards him protectively and they stare and freeze and then blush like mad. The only thing lacking is them being tsundere with each other, but what can we do? Ranka is too meek and honest to be tsundere.
I agree with you. Their behavior does depend on the situation they find themselves in, seeing as how I’ve even written it myself in the previous paragraph. But I disagree with you in that Ranka and Alto can’t be themselves in each other’s company? Have you seen how many times Alto softens up his expressions whenever he’s with Ranka. The only thing Sheryl got that’s close to that were episode 5 ending (when she kissed him playfully) and in episode 20 rooftop scene. If Sheryl can be completely herself in front of Alto, then why does she pretend to always be the high and proud girl when she is actually suffering and in pain. Unlike Sheryl though, Ranka bears her every feelings to Alto, being honest with herself. If she feels pain, she will show it and would even cry. This is what I like about Ranka’s character because she doesn’t pretend something that she’s not. Well, I can say Sheryl does that to protect Alto but I just wish she’d be more honest with herself and stop putting an act, because Alto definitely isn’t appreciating it. Alto wouldn’t want himself kept in the dark if Sheryl is suffering, he’d obviously want to help her. So who’s being more completely themselves? Isn’t it Ranka and Alto?
“In fact I feel that the R/A relationship has remained stagnant after ep 15. Up until ep 12, there was only friendship & a brother-sister dynamic b/w them. That changes from 12-13, when he 1st becomes romantically aware of her, & then ep 15 shows that Sheryl still has an effect on him despite his new found awareness of Ranka & so pretty much puts them on an even footing.”
Stagnant in episode 15? Have you seen episode 16? He was frustrated when Brera said, “I would be the one to protect Ranka.” and before that, he immediately turned his VF seeing that Ranka was in danger. He obviously cares deeply for her. And not in a brotherly way because in episode 17, they had this awkward moment seeing as Ranka made an implication that she never meant as a naughty way. But yeah, Alto’s reaction there pretty much says “No, I’m no big brother but you better to trust me!” Even without the blush (you can’t hardly tell if he was blushing or not since the camera was sooooo far), the VA’s intonation and way of speaking delivers that Alto was flustered. He said, “Gyaah. (Yeah, the gyaah there means he considered Ranka’s naughty implication and is bothered by it.) Of course you better trust me!” Comparing it with ep16, Alto DIDN’T blush when his face was that close to Sheryl but he only blushed when Michel caught him in such a compromising easily misunderstood position. If you ask me, it looked like Alto was embarrassed because Michel would misunderstand not because Sheryl was that close to him. Episode 15 to me is indeed showing them on equal footing. But what can I say, it’s normal for Alto to blush when Sheryl is all over him, wearing skimpy shorts and top like that. He’s a normal pheromone-driven male!
@Kagami
I posted already then I just noticed you posted something so sorry for double posting. >_<
Yes, I think that spoiler of Sheryl wishing Alto to be beside her is going to be a deciding factor as well. Makes Alto pressured some more to choose. haha. I bet he’s going to feel the pressure once he finds out Sheryl also likes him. XD Our despair will end in less than a month, I’m about to start my countdown actually.
And about Anata no Oto as the ending episode, I thought it was Alto’s VA who commented that the triangle ending will be a surprise, no? But whatever, I think it is still going to be a surprise if it will be a Ranka ending seeing as we can never be too sure that the title actually refers to Ranka winning. I mean, who had expected that Ao no Ether was Ranka episode? And there’s a rumour that the love triangle will end earlier so maybe Anata no Oto doesn’t actually refer to the pairing ending? Besides, that interview where Kawamori (or Alto’s VA) said that it will be a surprise was ages ago when Sheryl was still being voted as the one Alto will be ending up with. So maybe, that’s why they’re saying it will be a surprise because it’s just now that it’s gradually turning out to be Ranka winning? But actually, there’s also this possibility that Ranka may not return anymore so maybe the surprise is that she’ll return in 23 or 24 to sing Anata no Oto and end up with Alto! Or maybe let’s just wait for episode 25 and see it for ourselves. ^^; I really have no clue about this surprise thingy but I’ll just cross my fingers and hope it will surprise me because all along my chosen pairing won. XD
Ranka Lee FTW <3
@yuKime
Hehe, I pity Alto. Really. Even though people said he is indecisive (and eventually disappointed in him), I don’t think so. They have never known how hard it is to choose between two who are dear to themselves when they don’t want one person to be sad… Anyway, let’s just wait for the next episode. If my guess is right, then Sheryl would push Alto away again after he heard the wish, eventually placing Alto in the middle of dilemma further. I would suppose the next episode would have Alto’s contemplation about Ranka and Sheryl 😉
Aaagh! I forgot yet again (T_T) Yes it was Alto’s VA who stated that. Forgive my memory! As for Ao no Ether, I actually know it was going to be Ranka-centric, episode 20 preview just give that indication. And the synopsis in Animage (or Newtype) give that indication already, with Ranka’s “major decision”. I just don’t expect it would be Ranka-full rather than Ranka centric ^^; A little disappointment as Sheryl fan, but I’m happy as Ranka can make a decision without Alto, even if her timing… Sucks -_~;
Eh? I don’t think that Sheryl was voted to be the one who is going to end up with Alto when Alto’s VA give the indication. At that time, it was still episode 13-16, where Ranka’s popularity is raising and Sheryl was not the focal points of the episodes (Except 15, but that is half recap episode and the 2nd half was actually Sheryl and Ranka on the same ground). I was completely sure that only the hardcore AruShery fans (of both sides of Pacific Ocean) is sure that Sheryl is going to win the triangle. Other than that, Ranka was speculated to be the one winning the triangle…
I’m speculating episode 23 will not have Ranka coming back yet. But I’m sure the mystery of Vajra would be revealed at that episode. Of why I think Ranka is not coming back yet, I assume that she would have some events concerning and affecting our opinions of the vajras, just not in Frontier. And she has not regain her memory back, so my bet is the trigger would be on vajras.
But, yeah. I don’t know how to interpret the surprise thingy… It’s just because it was so subjective that it can take in form in any possibility, in which mine is the “Last Episode Title” reversal surprise, and yours is Ranka’s comeback surprise 🙂 Let’s just wait the next episode first, shall we? And when we get more insight, we can discuss again ^v^
Sry, m too sleepy to reply tonight, expect another reaaaaaaally long post from me tom:D
Wow essays lol I’m glad we’re able to debate peacefully. ^_^ Really glad.
@aneeshadc
Somehow I see character growth and personality/decision on a slightly different level, that’s why I didn’t word it as such. And yes, Ranka and Sheryl did contribute to Alto for joining the SMS. I’m just talking about the way they arranged the episode. The Aimo hill scene of Ranka and Alto just had more impact and was made to look more personal than Sheryl in the shelter pwning Ranka and Alto with her determination and Alto saying the same thing later on (Ranka took heed of her words as well).
After Sheryl’s display of determination in episodes 3 & 6, what other instances did Sheryl do to contribute to Alto’s character growth? I’m not sure if I remember a very notable scene where Sheryl made Alto’s character grow. The story doesn’t seem to focus much on Alto getting more confidence from Sheryl (w/c is ep 3,6) from time to time, it focuses more on Alto getting caught up with Ranka’s circumstance from time to time(ep 1,3,4,10,galia arc–esp ep 14) making a huge contribution to his perspective of the battlefield. And majority of the story focuses on Alto’s battles. Ranka contributes to Alto’s “personality and decision” any more than Sheryl does. Besides, I have a feeling Alto’s character growth will probably be at the very end once he goes dokun dokun with someone and starts acting on it lol
Atleast you agree that Ranka’s reactions are more emphasized than Sheryl’s. Other than ‘reactions’, I’m going to go with “Ranka’s feelings are more emphasized”. I think the major ingredient that made Ranka’s character to grow was her feelings for Alto. 90% of the time, Ranka is always thinking about Alto and I consider this AltoxRanka hints. As long as there’s an Alto involve, it’s RankaxAlto. 😉 If the reason for the emphasis is for Ranka’s character to grow, then why not place as much emphasis on Sheryl? This is why going by consistency, I think the girl that makes the most sense of getting paired with Alto is Ranka. Ranka is just made to be more transparent and her character growth (w/c has a lot to do with Alto) is tied in with the story. It builds on as the story progresses. A story just can’t build on one thing all throughout, only to reveal that the real VIP is the one behind it. It won’t be consistent. For this to be consistent, the story has to get rid of (or bastardize) Ranka first for Sheryl to shine. Episode 21 seems to do that, but I wonder…
@Kagami
True, Alto has been giving the same treatment to Sheryl as of late. He was very kind to her when he told her to continue singing 🙂 But I dunno, I compare it to how he supports/treats Ranka, and his protectiveness over her still takes the cake (ep 20, 21) add the earlier episodes to this as well. We can label this as nothing but brotherly feelings, but since episode 13 and 14 exist, I don’t think it can be labeled as that anymore. We say “Alto treats her like a kid, except for 13 & 14.” Why are we excluding ep 13 & 14 and calling them an anomaly? There are no anomalies in a plot. They wouldn’t emphasize Alto’s emotions in 13 & 14 just for kicks and giggles. There are no indications that Alto was turned off at Ranka in any episode following 14. If anything, this tendency of Alto can only mean that he has strong feelings for Ranka yet unaware of it. Since he is woodblock dense afterall. I’m hoping now that Ranka finally let him go, he gets a clue. x___x
I think even if Alto looked burdened by being bossed around by Sheryl in the earlier episodes, Alto never really hated her. Which is why it’s not a surprise that Alto would run in the rain for her during an emergency, gets concerned on her account, and give her encouragement as needed. Alto doesn’t look out for her the way he does with Ranka, but when Sheryl needs help Alto comes running to her as well. 🙂 Will Alto really hear Sheryl wanting him to stay beside her always? I don’t want to jump to conclusions about this, but I guess we’ll see next episode or the next. ^.~
Y’know at first I thought Nakamura Yuuichi’s line about the conclusion of LT being a surprise will mean that there’s going to be no chosen girl or both or the two girls will merge into one (so silly lol), but now that I think about it, maybe the surprise conclusion of LT will be Alto doing something unthinkable. He did say Alto and him were mobbed at the recording studio. XD
@yukime
Anata no Oto’s lyrics can might as well be a walking spoiler of the last episode lol
Hehe, you know you suck when the girl chose the pet over you.
@ani_d
To have a peaceful discussion, we have to be open-minded first 😉 It helps when the participants is not overwhelmingly biased to one side in the opinion and can give reasonable judgement with some evidences. I’m still not good at debating though, so I just express my opinions now^^ Anyway, the point of the discussion is not to convince a side to accept our own opinions, but to at least make the opposing side understand why do we support something. Whether they accept or not depends on how the other side feel^^
I call them anomaly, since after episode 13 and 14, we don’t see anymore indication of “sparkling eyes” from Alto anymore. Anyone can disagree with me though, but I myself think it is anomaly, since the following episodes have the siblings moment between Alto and Ranka in my personal view. But Alto being a woodblock cannot be counted out either, so I’ll wait for the resolution to completely decide episode 14 being a true anomaly to push the triangle or not^^
Also, for Ranka affecting Alto’s “personality and decison”… Sorry, but Crosses fingers on the “personality” one. ^^ Ranka can be said to affect his decision, as you has stated above (though I have to disagree a little on 3 and 10 -> I found that both girls affect his decision at those episodes, episode 3 with Sheryl’s insistence added with Ranka’s plea and episode 10 with the kiss) however, she hardly affects his personality. I cannot say him being caring at Ranka as personality development, it can be interpreted as brotherly affection to a sister as well. In the term of personality development, I would have to word it to “character development” first to make sense of it. With Sheryl, we know a lot of Alto’s past and feelings (love for sky), while we only see Ranka’s knowing why he love sky in this episode and only that. I’ll leave it to aneeshadc for the ’emphasizing’ matter since I’m too sleepy now^^
I have to add that they have their relationship grows over the episodes ^^ It’s just, if Alto remains static in his relationship with Sheryl, then I would guess he would act “tsun-tsun” with Sheryl when he heard her decision to stop singing. As AxS fans, I am really happy when Alto is mad at her when she lied at him to push him away and comforts Sheryl in Episode 20. Those episodes can be shown as the result of their growing relationship coming to blossom ^^
I guess this is why I love AxS (other than my blatant love for Sheryl^^), because they have their relationship growth shown even if it is not obvious for some viewers as it has no greater impact and focus for the story 🙂 For me, Alto has been shown to care for Ranka since the early episodes, but no more notable growth in the episodes hence the comments of AxR being more sibling-like lol.
Ahhh… The wait! It completely rips me out and in-side!!! XD *Stares at clock* 3 days and 1 hour more! Oh, how long are they going to make us wait for the triangle?! I need to focus back on Fold Quartz and Leon and Grace! XD
Heh, poor Yuichi Nakamura and Alto… X) The staffs are very interested in LT (like us) it seems 😀 Kawamori, Kawamori… Keeping the resolution very private, huh?
i’m sorry but no matter how much i try i can’t seem to bring myself to like ranka. she just seems to lack that certain oomph that sheryl has had the whole time. even though i’m not a big fan of alto either (he’s just getting more and more frustrating every episode to me) i do hope he picks sheryl over ranka
@Kagami
If Alto doesn’t do some thinking in Northern Cross, I don’t know what else would push him to think about his own feelings. Michel dropped some clues, Ranka confessed and it looks like Sheryl will some time too. If he still wouldn’t decide, I bet he just wants to continue playing dense to keep his harem. XD But I really hope Sheryl would stop pushing Alto away and be honest with herself some more, after all, she is entitled some happiness after all she’s been through. >.<
I always hear/read this surprise thingy anywhere that’s why I remember. ^^; I did see a Ranka x Alto moment but I really didn’t expect it to be ALL Ranka and without Sheryl moments.
Huh? From what I’ve been visiting, all blogs (especially Jap ones) seem to say that it is still Sheryl to win even in those episodes 13-16. THey said, knowing Kawamori’s history and preference for women to pair with the lead, surely Sheryl will be the winner in the end. So I don’t see that many were actually believing that Ranka had a chance, even with those episodes. And oh add that to the reason why I think Ranka winning is a surprise. Kawamori’s choice of women previously were always the one who is older and acted more mature and confident. Maybe this time around, he decided to choice the other side, i.e. Ranka.
Ranka returning to Frontier is what I’m sure of though. Maybe not on 23 but she will eventually, if we get lucky, she might even sing Anata no Oto for us and Alto. ^o^ But yeah, she needs to figure out those memories first and hope the Vajras listen to her. I wish Alto would go searching for her but seeing the summary it doesn’t seem so. But I hope we see him trying though. ^_~
And yeah, the LT will eventually end whether we like it or not. Let’s just wait and be contented to have this discussions while waiting. X3
@ani_d
Isn’t it amazing that we are debating peacefully in this episode? I guess it depends on what is happening and who we are talking to.
Anata no Oto will be smiling at us in episode 25 and say, “I’ve been trying to tell you since ep19 but you’re not paying attention!” But I won’t rest assured unless I see Alto’s choice for myself. So let’s cross our fingers and hope Anata no Oto will shed its light on us. XD
@ yukime, anid, kagami
Oh my gosh, there’s like so many walls of text to reply to, I just might run, then again, I am a Sheryl fan, so I am going to do it the Sheryl Nome way & bull doze my way through. lol. I really have my work cut for me dont I? I’m glad I have another comrade atleast. Thank you, Kagami, for contributing to this heavenly discussion. I’m loving every minute of it.
@ yukime ( Oh & I’d like to know what u think abt this too, kagami, since ur a S/A fan too)
Before I tackle ur post, I’ve come up with something else I’d like to share abt alto & his paper air planes. I’ve noticed that alto makes his paper airplanes when he is preoccupied with his worries or has other things on his mind, frustated, contemplating stuff, having a revelation, its a painful connection to his past, which he always carries around with him.
So considering all this, I dont think its a good sign that he makes more paper planes when he’s with ranka. That tells me that even when he’s with ranka, he cant seperate himself from his worries for a few precious minutes. It tells me that all of his attention isnt solely on ranka during those moments.
OTOH, the only time we’ve seen him making his paper airplane when he’s with sheryl is once during his date & that too was when she was furiously writing lyrics on the giant panty which triggers him to have one of his revelations & prompts him to try & figure out what makes people like her tick.
This tells me that when he’s with her, she has his sole attention, he is able to forget abt his precious paper planes when he is with her & is concentrating on her & the world around him during those moments.
Tell me what u guys think.
@Yukime, ani_d Isn’it a bit too obvious for a final episode….
Kawamori tricked us so many times that this one is as obvious as Goodbye sister.
But I didn’t see it coming too. And didn’t make the link with Ranka who could not reach Alto ‘s heart even with the help of her songs. The : “I can hear it coming NOW, Dokun Dokun Dokun” with an important NOW in the sentence is really a good sign.
By the way of what helmets are you talking about ?
Thanks OMNI 🙂
@aneeshadc
I am eagerly waiting for what your opinion is about my previous post/s. =] I’m pretty much saying this discussion is equal in terms that we have two Ranka fans and two Sheryl fans who are all open-minded and willing to discuss peacefully. It makes time waiting for the next episode seem shorter.
And about your recent post, I knew one Sheryl fan would bring this up someday and I’m glad you did. ^^ I actually have my opinion about this prepared. X3 Alto does make airplanes more often with Ranka beside him but this does not mean that it is a bad sign at all. Alto loves folding paper airplanes. If I were to interpret it, it’s just Alto being comfortable enough around Ranka to do what he likes, making it a good thing that he folds his paper airplanes around Ranka. Seeing that Alto does fold an airplane, wherever he is and any time too and any situation whether he’s happy, thinking, he’s bored, he’s passing time, he’s trying to decide on something, it shows that Alto’s mood isn’t connected to him making the airplane. He does it whenever he likes, whenever he feels like it, wherever he is, whoever he is with, and of course as long as he’s got paper in hand (I bet he never leaves his room without 2 or 3 sheets on his pocket XD). Alto is just shown folding papers with Ranka more because his interactions with Ranka are more focused/emphasized and long lasting. Also, the paper airplanes seems to describe the scene too as something light and relaxed, see all the situations Alto is folding his paper airplane with Ranka. It’s not that Alto is worried or preoccupied that he is folding paper airplanes when around Ranka, it’s because he just felt like it. See how his expressions are when he is around Ranka making paper airplanes? It’s not the expression of someone thinking deeply about something. It’s somewhat light, comfortable, contented with a slight smile even (especially episode 21). Now, of course there are paper airplane making scenes that Alto does look bothered or thinking deeply, but those ones didn’t have Ranka in it. Rather it was Alto alone or with someone else. (Enlighten me if I have scenes I forgot to mention) So in my opinion, Alto’s paper airplane folding around Ranka is not a bad thing, but only shows us Alto’s character and that it is his hobby, emphasizing even more how much he likes to fly.
And about paper planes and having Alto’s attention divided, it’s just simply Alto being good at multi-tasking. It’s not that his attention for Ranka is divided when he folds paper planes with her around. Like I said, his expressions doesn’t show that but rather it’s like he enjoys Ranka’s company that’s why he feels like he can do anything around her because he is comfortable around her. I don’t know to you but Alto never showed any sign that his thoughts were somewhere else when he’s with Ranka even though he is folding paper planes. Sure, he gets flashbacks but it still concerns Ranka.
@Kei
The title seems like obvious but it’s like so-good-to-be-true so we’re still having doubts but we are feeling Dokun Dokun vibes nonetheless. XD Let’s just hope it fares well for our shipping. ^^
And the helmets we are talking about are the ones in episode 13 Gallia IV arc, Ranka and ALto’s helmets. They were the last pic shown in the credits for ep21 and it just makes me smile. That’s all. ^^
@YuKime When I think about it, and how people deny this chemistry between alto and Ranka in episode 13, this prove us right.Anyway,thanks. Episode 22 is waiting …
@aneeshadc
No problem 🙂 But I don’t think I can help you much since I’m not good at this kind thing… But Queen Sheryl needs the support now, especially since we are nearing the end of the series! GO SHERYL~!
Hmm… Good analysis! When I think all the events that has been presented, I think your opinion might be true, especially since Alto is the type who have his mind wander. A lot ^^;. But then again, I always interpret the airplane scenes as Alto’s contemplation :
Alto has a love for the sky, and I think the paper plane symbolizes his love for the sky. I still remember the scene where Ai-kun rips the paper plane and Alto seems frustrated and continuously making paper planes. (It was way too funny and making me wonder where the heck he stash the papers lol!) It was like, say, he subconsciously does not want to give up even though there are a lot of obstacles in front of him to fly in the sky. But maybe it’s just me who is over-analysing in this part…
Besides, for Alto, paper planes might be considered precious for him, or the skill to make them to be sure ^^ It is the last and the only thing (besides the love) that Miyo okaa-sama gives. I don’t know how to relate these to your opinions but hope it helps 🙂
@yuKime
He would, and I’m sure about that. With Ranka’s departure and (probably) Sheryl’s wish, he would be faced with some thinking about how these two girls truly mean for him. And hopefully some resolution too, especially since both sides of fans were in “crazy mode” now^^. And I hope for Sheryl not pushing away him again, just like episode 19 🙁 Especially seeing her time is running out (with the V-Type virus being included in the preview-I mean the vajra thingy like…) fast. And I reeeeally hope for Sheryl supporting Alto to get Ranka back, it will bode well for my pairing, as well 😉
Huh? Strange… I was visiting some Japanese blogs too, but they did state Ranka is winning… Maybe the one I’m visiting actually is Ranka fans disguising themselves as Sheryl fans?! j/k! I’m not too sure about this prediction, but I did encounter polls from Japanese blogs, and I still remember that Ranka was leading with 60% against 40%, and that have some Sheryl-centric blogs too… Too bad I lost the polls link…
I am sure Ranka will make a surprising come-back, and sing Anata no Oto (… Can I hope for Lion with Sheryl instead? *.*) at some point in the episode. But for what she sings this, remains to be unseen. The LT is rumored to be finished earlier, no? So it might has no correlation to LT anymore (I predict Ranka will come back at 24 : “Last Frontier”. And with her memory back too of course.)
@Kagami
Hmm… I think Sheryl will only support Alto if she sees that Alto wants Ranka. About her wanting Alto to stay beside her, I really wonder if she’ll say it in words… I want to see how she’ll do it. Kind of makes you see a different Sheryl, which never asked for anyone’s help before. Ah! But if Alto stays with Sheryl, that won’t be good for Ranka x Alto ending. >__<
Wow, I hope you find those links so you can share them with me. The blogs I come across are almost all Sheryl-based! No wonder we have a different view of it. XD If the Japanese likes Ranka, I hope Kawamori likes Ranka too so she gets to end up with Alto-hime. XD
But yea, I am also hoping that the LT will end not on the 25th but maybe 22 (too early but I’m dying with anticipation) or 23 at the most. 24 can focus more on the battle and 25 of course will be the glorious win and the epilogue perhaps of how everything goes after the battle. I am also hoping for some duet by Ranka and Sheryl somewhere, most probably Lion will be the song they’ll use. If not, I still hope for a duet. And the Anata no Oto can be sung for Ranka’s sweet reunion with Alto-kun (sorry, this is me being an AltoxRanka shipper daydreaming XD).
@Yukime
“Ah! But if Alto stays with Sheryl, that won’t be good for Ranka x Alto ending. >__<”
I think Alto will stay with Sheryl once he finds out Sheryl is dying. However, even if he does stay with her, we have faith in Ranka’s princess charming. 🙂 lol I’m not really sure if the rumor of LT getting resolved earlier was true since none of that were mentioned in any of the interviews. It would be nice, but don’t you think it’ll be funner if it gets resolved at the very end like always.
Interesting bit on Japanese blogs btw guys. 😉
@yuKime
Yeah, the Sheryl that has been shown to us is the Sheryl who have been working hard and very selfless in my opinion. I just can’t see her begging (if that is how the producer shows in the next episode). It would be extremely OOC of her! If the writers want to be consistent, I would have to bet a 3rd party interference (Klan-chan… *sniff* I love her much more in this episode…), or Alto overhears her wishing to herself or when Klan talks to her :/ Sorry to say, but Alto has been confirmed to stay with Sheryl until 23 ^^ (Ah, I can hear my AxS bell ringing in my head! XD) However, we don’t have any clue whether Alto has given resolution until that episode or not, so Ranka should still have a chance :3 Support your side fully for the next episode and the followings, okay? 😉
Yeah, I’m trying to backtrack some of the blogs now. I think, the blogs in Japan have both girls as their favourites though. But then again, Sheryl’s popularity is kinda surprising for me when I observe it : She was not even mentioned at some blogs in the first episodes! After episode 5, hers has been increasing tremendously and still increasing as of now, even turning some of neutral fans! However, sadly, Ranka’s popularity is decreasing… I must say, I understand why… Especially since the 2 latest episode highlight her weakness which has been growing obvious in each episodes…
Kawamori is in love with Ranka! I know it, it is obvious for him! :/ He just love Ranka too much that Ranka is given a lot more screentime than Sheryl and was given more emotional scenes (which sadly, does not have the expected results. Somehow, older fans think more than younger fans lol^^;). I would bet my wallet that he is a closet Ranka fan :3 But glad to see that he is being cornered by Yoko Kanno (Quote: Sheryl-sama~!^v^ How cute!) and Nakamura Yuuichi (Alto’s VA, talks a lot about Sheryl lol!) and one more person… (HELP ME, I FORGOT HIS NAME!) The staffs must be battling LT a lot too 😀
I love any duet between both girls! 🙂 It just would be very interesting if in episode 24 or 25, both girls would sing duet for the battle! I guess, I love Lion lyrics as it has the “survival” feelings. It just fit for for the war-time! In Sheryl fans perspective, I am hoping that Ranka will sing Anata No Oto for AxS~ XD Let’s keep our hope up for the best!
@ani_d
Yeah, me too actually. Alto-hime is also concerned about Sheryl after all so I’m sure when he hears about her sickness, he’ll definitely want to be there for her. But like what Kawamori had said, “Once Alto knows his feelings, he’ll go all the way!” (Forgive me, I forgot the exact words ^^;) I think Alto will definitely keep Ranka as his most cherished person even while taking care of Sheryl. <3 I don’t actually want the LT to end in the last episode. I would have wanted Alto to choose by 23 so he can fight in peace in 24 then in 25 after the battle, maybe some sort of epilogue for the couple and all the characters of Macross. ^_~ That’s my ideal ending. X3
@kagami
Yeah, definitely OOC if Sheryl begged but I would have wanted it more if Sheryl will say it herself to Alto that she want Alto to stay with her. Makes it more heartfelt and touching as an AxS scene. (wow, I’m now considering an AxS scene! O_o) But yeah, not begging but I want it to be Sheryl herself, maybe as a character development where she learns to tear down the walls around her and admit that she needs someone to be with her? Something like that. About Alto not leaving to go look for Ranka, yeah, summary kind of makes it seem like he didn’t go to look for her but I still hope he does think of her (and maybe pushing it but think of her romantically as well ^_~). Let’s just wait two more days!
And about Ranka’s popularity, I’m just too loyal a Ranka fan that’s why I never dropped her. I mean, I even love it when they show her weakness since we are shown everything about her! I love these kinds of character who is shown to have development from time to time with their weaknesses. Some stubborn Sheryl fans may disagree that Ranka never grew but I think she did grow and change all through out the whole series. Sure there were moments when she became weak but she stood up and got her act once again so I’m definitely supporting her till the end.
And with Kawamori being a closet Ranka fan. lol I will hold on to that as a reassurance that he’d be too sad to make Ranka all alone in the ending of Macross F. XD The staff of MF must have this kind of debate too on who must win Alto-hime’s heart. lol
Lion’s lyrics definitely fit that of the battle situation of Frontier. I really hope they use it in battle, with Ranka and Sheryl singing it as a duet. And as a Ranka fan, that’s what I’m actually fearing. Ranka singing Dokun Dokun Dokun for Alto AND Sheryl. Ouch, that would be like stabbing her own heart repeatedly if she ever sang that for them. *crosses finger that this won’t happen in reality*
But really, what I’m curious now is when will they play Northern Cross in the next episode. Will Sheryl be singing it for Alto? The lyrics truly is sad you know…
@ yukime
I understand that she is conscious of alto because she likes him, but even if she had the most meek & shyest personality on earth( which she doesnt), dont you find it even a little bit strange that she hasnt asked her crush one question in all the months of knowing him & texting him up until ep 21.
Honestly, its all right for the first few weeeks, but to blame all of the consequent months in which she is content to not know anything more abt him than she already does on her shy personality is just sad. Her shy personality isnt a good enuf excuse.
She isnt perceptve of alto’s feelings. Ep 3, in Griffith’s Park, she doesnt realize that he is troubled & just proceeds to tell him she doesnt remember her own childhood…. In Ep 4, ranka tells alto that she was surprised to hear that he had joined SMS, which makes it clear to us that she didnt hear this from him, but from somewhere else, ozma or nanase maybe, despite the fact that they had exchanged cell no.s. Also in ep 4, she asks him to be there at Miss Macross contest cos she needs his support without 1st making sure that he was free. He sees her text msg at night after a hard day of training, falls asleep & replies to her much later when she is already participating in the event. Luckily it reaches her on time. It really is funny that during all this, while he knew she was doin his best at the Miss Macross Contest, She had no idea he was also doin his best at his job until much later. Ep 5, she calls him during class hours for some advice, what was she expecting from him? She even goes to his school to wait outside for him at the gate, this isnt the behaviour of a shy meek girl at all. There isnt anything wrong with her behaviour at all, heck I’ve skipped school & msged my friends during class as well but what I’m trying to say is that she isnt shy with alto when she wants something from him. She isnt shy abt asking alto at all, She just honestly has never thought abt asking him anything abt himself. In ep 6, she asks him if he was alone at the Zentraedi mall because she wanted to know, beause his answer would affect her. She wasnt shy here so I dont see y she would feel shy abt asking him sm more questions. I do believe that by ep 4, she had already gotten over most of her shyness & was quite comfortable around him after that. In Ep 8, she didnt even know alto had already discharged from the hospital & that luca got transferred to another hospital & would be out the day after tom until he mentions it when they were talking on the phone. I’ll accept that she didnt visit them cos she was busy with work, but she could have called & found out, rite? I dont get it, She calls him & talks to him but y is every one of their phone conversation always abt her? Contrast this to the phone convesation b/w Sheryl & alto in ep 9, they are both asking each other Questions here, notice the difference? Also in ep 10, she doesnt notice the change in his tone or mood when he is advicing her on the phone, she just seems happy & impressed that he knows so much & goes on to say that she’s still worried she’ll make a mess of it. Then she hears sheryl’s voice & becomes upset abt that, again smthing which affects her directly. And then in the same ep, when she finds out that she’s the only one who doesnt know abt his past, she’s disappointed & upset. Then in ep 11, she wasnt able to send her initial msg, understandable, I like that she makes an effort in this episode, but it wasnt gud enuf, y? because when she calls him to come to griffith park, she doesnt specify a time, was she expecting him to wait there for her indefinitely on his bday no less? She doesnt think things through, I’m not saying she is doing these things intentionally, she isnt, but it reinforces the fact for me that she is kinda self-absorbed & she doesnt even realize it. In ep 12, she does something awesome, I was amazed but I do smtimes wonder y she didnt express concern for sheryl when she sees her collapsing on luca’s laptop. I’m sure she was concerned, they showed us she was concerned in ep 15 but for sm reason they forgot to show this in ep 12, having her focus solely on alto. I can understand that ep 13-14 dont provide her with an opportunity to get chummy with alto, but their ittle talk in 13 disappointed me. We find out that she gives alto a lot more credit than he deserves, she shouldnt be inflating his ego,really, he didnt do all that much, just offered a few words of encouragement here & there, she did do most of the real work herself, also she forgets to give a little credit to Sheryl, though I can understand y she doesnt mention sheryl, it might have ruined the moment, smart girl,lol. But it is nice that she amazed alto enuf that he doesnt know whether to call her tmid or brave anymore. He is impressed & flattered by the new ranka, there is no denying that but it also reinforces the fact for me that up until ep 12, he has thought of her as a timid girl who needs his protection. And after ep 12, while he probably acknowledges that she can be brave at times, she still does need protection & that hasnt changed even after 21 episodes. I think that this was the real beginning to their journey while Sheryl/alto began their journey in ep 1 when he tells her tht she’s pretty incredible & grow together their changing opinions of the other. I also feel that just for protecting her, he doesnt necessarily have to be in love with her. He can protect her without being in love with her, like hw Ozma does.:D
Yes, but I still see the same difference in alto’s reaction to their declation not to sing. The fact that he doesnt ask her Y she doesnt want to sing reinforces for me hw well he knows her. He understands that she doesnt want to be pressed on the topic just as he didnt want to be pressed abt his kabuki past. But that doesnt mean that he is going to leave her alone to wallow in self-pity, Instead, he, knowing that there’s no way to make her rely on him then, does the next best thing. He gives her space where she needs it, While at the same time he tries to change her mind abt singing by trying to inspire her in return. He is doing the only thing that he can do for her since she tends to refuse his help otherwise. Its amazing hw in tune he is with her feelings. He is angry & hurt because he took her take on destiny to heart & when she says its all a lie, he’s pissed at her for disregarding something thats actually made a huge difference in his outlook on life. He’s also hurt at hw rude & abrasive she was with him, he wasnt expecting that when he went to visit her. He, probably like the rest of the fandom, at first, was expecting her to tell him her problems, rely on him a bit, maybe even cry on hs shoulders, I’m thinking this because he tells Michael later that she was disappointingly in tip-top shape & alto seems angry at her for making him worried sick abt her needlessly. But when she asked what the hell did he come there for, it dawned on him that this woman wasnt going to share or rely on him that easily. So, despite his hurt & anger,he does whatever he can to make her sing again, to prove to her that she is lying to herself, that singing is her life. I’m sure he planned to eventually ask her y she’d decided to quit but not until she was ready for it. This is y I think he took a more personal approach with Sheryl, it felt like he was feeling her hurt & pain. He didnt understand y she’d decided to quit but he did understand her pain & tried to make it better for her in the best way he could.
As for Ranka, it is still noticeable that he doesnt seek her out on his own ( just like every other time) until she calls him out at night. Other than that, I agree that it might be exactly as u explained above.
On ep 20, ya I think its best to wait until the end of the series to know for sure what was running through alto’s mind there, who knows, mayb we’ll get to know in ep 22 itself.
I didnt see anything wrong with alto leaving sheryl there, he knows she isnt a dimwit , I’m sure he was expecting her to follow him, which is exactly what she did. I didnt think anything of it just as I didnt think anything of alto forgetting abt ranka as soon as the vajra came & then suddenly remembers that her singing can pacify the vajra when sheryl says ‘these.. are the Vajra’ & runs up to her to ask her to sing. It just goes to show that he has his priorities set straight & at that moment he was concentrated on the vajra more than anything. it doesnt mean that he doesnt care abt either girls, they both mean something to him, we just need to figure out what they mean to him!
Well, I dont know, I expect the love of my life to be able to say something to me if I was crying like that even if he’s going to say something stupid or the wrong thing since that would at least get a reaction other than tears out of me. If u cant even do that for ur girl, then he’s a poor excuse for a boy friend IMO. Even if ur feeling helpless, u’d try to do or say something to him/her.
Okay, we disagree here, too. You’re saying that since ranka was very careful in bringing up the topic of Ai-kun, she wasnt ignoring his pain but being considerate of his pain. I dont see it that way. I say that if she was being considerate of alto’s pain she wouldnt have brought up Ai-kun at all, it was too soon, too raw a pain to be reopened by bringing Ai-kun in front of alto like that, not to mention she asks him to leave frontier with him. I can understand her asking him to go with him if he was her boyfriend, if she knew for sure that he loved her, but her asking him like that felt more like a desperate plea for herself than anything else. If she had left quietly after spending her last peaceful moments with him without telling him abt Ai-kun, just leaving him a letter or something, then I would call her love selfless. As of now, I dont see her love as selfless, sry.
Another thing, before seeing the subs, even I thought that there was more to her reasons for leaving frontier, but with the subs it was made clear that ranka doesnt know she is the reason frontier got attacked by the vajra, so she isnt leaving to save frontier, nor does she mention anything abt trying to negotiate abt peace with the vajra. So as far as I know She isnt thinking abt frontier or peace. She tells alto that that she is remembering bits of her past & she wants to find out more, also, she wants to return Ai-kun to his friends. Can u really picture alto wanting to leave frontier for her after hearing this? It doesnt seem even a little bit insensitive to u?
Alto was breaking his vocal chords screaming for her not to go because he’s already lost one of his closest friend to the vajra, & now another one of his close friends insists on leaving with a vajra-look alike to vajraland so that she can unite him with other vajra friends after just confessing her feelings for him. If that doesnt just pile a big heap of guilt on him, I dont know what does !
About the teasing, I dont think alto minds at all, him being pissed is just his tsundere behaviour acting up again. If he really was all that bothered abt it, he wouldnt come back for more, similar to hw he doesnt mind helping ranka from time to time.
Again, knowing alto & him being a tsundere & all, there’s no way he would come right out & ask her if she was alright, not to mention this was only their second meeting. Asking her that directly would mean admitting that he was worried abt her & he’d be too conscious to admit something like when he’s only like spent a day with her before this. I just feel his actions speak louder than words in this ep.
We’ll never know if he would have just left if sheryl hadnt said anything, cos she did say smthing & he didnt leave, so I’ll thank god for that while u can feel free to curse him.lol.:D
I think we can both agree that alto likes & obviously cares about both girls. I have never implied that he doesnt like ranka or doesnt care abt her. She is a very good friend of his whom he has attempted to save a couple of times & who has saved his ass, on his birthday no less.
I just see that all of his attempts to give her advice, help/save her spring up because of the strong friendship that they share. He enjoys both girls companies. Alto is dotig, affectionate & protective of ranka but you cannot deny that he adopted this behaviour towards her after he learnt abt her past in ep 3. There are 1 or 2 times that he gets pissed at her before ep 3.
I agree with u that in a relationship, u dont only look for what u can get out of it. But I have to add, that in a real mature relationship, u atleast look for equality in a relationship, where there is mutual understanding & both parties learn from each other & grow together, reaching out to the emotional needs of the other which I dont see or feel is present in the R/A relationship at this point of time in the ep(or even in the earlier episodes for that matter).
I’m not saying that alto isnt moved by ranka’s actions in Galia IV, quite the contrary, I’m just saying that she only brings out protective feelings in him, her actions dont affect his maturity level & his outlook on life. He isnt growing as a person when he’s with her. While Sheryl OTHOH challenges him to rethink his take on life & people, she breaks his composure, her no-nonsense professional attitude, her stubborn idiotic levels of dedication to her work & her destiny speech all have made a strong impact on his life & made him take his work more seriously. He has noticed these things himself & we know this because he mentions these traits himself smwhere in the span of 2 episodes. Her high-handed attitude is good for dealing with his inflated pride/ego & vice versa. He has become less hotheaded & reckless & I have to credit Michael & sheryl for this because they are the only ones who call him out when he’s being stupid.
@ yukime, anid ( u wanted to know hw Sheryl continues to affect his growth throughout the series- hopefully I’ve done a good job outlining most of the instances, sry I might have gone a little overboard, feel free to nitpick it.)
When I say that he has remained static around ranka, I meant in terms of his own personal growth as an individual. She hasnt changed him in any way other than bring out protective feelings in him, which sheryl does too, btw. So u see, it isnt exclusive to ranka whereas through Sheryl’s interactions with alto, we learn a little more abt him, we see hw he’s slowly changing from reckless hotheaded guy into a more mature persona.
Starting with ep 1, first he is impressed by her professionalism, at hw she was able to change the crowd’s reaction from panic to awe & tells her she’s pretty incredible. Next, he is disgusted with her for leaving her fans behind, a very hotheaded & immature reaction which he later realizes after gilliam’s death. Even though he gets in the way, he manages to save Ranka, so at least he does something right.
Next, in ep 3, he gets his first look at Sheryl’s boobs ( no bearing at all but it was real funny, also ranka’s cute attempt to diffuse the tension.lol.) Sheryl reprimands him when he gets pissed at a scared ranka, which gets him more mad at his own shortcomings but atleast her scolding gets him to say that if he could he would say that he would protect them as many times as they want, but as he is …. way to go, real reassuring alto.
Then comes the destiny speech, which from ep 19, is obvious had a huge impact on him. Also, I found it funny that he parrots her destiny speech to Ozma in the same ep 3 as his reason for wanting to join.
Their next interaction in ep 5, yes,she dragged him out, manipulated him into it, but its obvious he enjoyed himself tremendously once he got into it. This is where he gets his next insight from Sheryl not only into her character but also into his own as well as Klan & later on into ranka too. She gives him another reason to want to fly/pilot. At the end of the day, it surprises him when she thanks him, It clearly touches him since he’s noticed that she doesnt thank people often. He looks sad when she says that she’s leaving for galxy nxt week & promptly promises to bring her earing back. Love the awed look when she kisses him & love the odd, tender, sad look as he stares after her even more.
Ep 6- He is in class lost in thought, looking at the earing when he supposedly has no reason to stare so intently at it & he acts like he is caught with his hand in the cookie jar when Michael interrupts his thought process at that moment. Sry, m digressing.
Back to their interaction, we see him lying on his bunk but on hearing sheryl’s name, he immediately gets up, watches her give her interview, notices her pretended bravado & decides to return her earing that she claimed was important to her at that very moment despite knowing that he had to be on standby to sortie.
Then we see them lowering their voices & sharing a bit of information abt each other cos she asks & he answers. I love that when he sees her vulnerable, he tells her that it troubles him to see her so meek, that he doesnt like seeing her that way.
I felt that he took an instinctive & more personal approch there because he basically tells her he doesnt like seeing her vulnerable. Its not something u’d tell just anyone. Anyway he left to fight, hung her earing in his cockpit, & smiled sappily at it, loved that too.
ep 8- He doesnt seem too pleased abt the both of them transferring to his school but I think that has more to do with Michaels teasing. He saves sheryl later on when she jumps of a building to catch her panties & reprimands her, telling her that she’s too reckless ( look who’s talking) He’s obviously feeling bad abt losing her earing, she understands this & gives him a way out, share ur passion for flying with me & i’ll forgive u. He gets this & is grateful for the way out without having to give anembarrassing apology.
Ep 9-Mostly a Michael centric episode but his phone conversation with Sheryl makes him rethink a few things again.
Ep 10- Do I even have to mention hw she affects him in ep 10? Sheryl says she knew abt his kabuki past,but didnt press him abt it so that makes me think alto has told her abt it, but since he wasnt comfortable talking abt it she decided not to press him for details. She notices he feels uncomfortable abt kissing on screen despite his pretense & kisses him just to prove him wrong. Now that hes had practice, I’m sure alto felt better abt onscreen kissing after his little talk with her.
Ep 11- she offers him the chance to fly in an endless sky, an opportunity to fulfill his lifelong dream after which we get our first flashback of his mom.
Ep 12- He is once again motivated by her to try & do something abt the hostage situation. He does protest when Michael tells him to take ranka home & thats enuf for me because frankly he actually has no reason to want to stay with Sheryl since he has no claim over her, she’s not his girlfriend, so what reason could he give for wanting to stay, not to mention ranka just saved his life delivering the best B’day present ever, What sane, normal guy wouldnt be flattered & impressed by this feat.
Ep 13- when he asks Michael & Sheryl to save ranka, hes all panicky & desperate, but her words- u kill that guy even if it kills u, we’ll save ranka chan – gives him strength & he seems much calmer after that.
Ep 14- When he finds her again, I like that he makes the effort to smile at her & tell her he’s glad shes okay, even if his top prioity then was getting ranka back
Ep 15- put the girls on an even footing. Sheryl didnt have any effect on his personal growth in this ep but she did make equal headway in the romance department as did ranka.
Ep 16- Alto forgets his original goal of wanting a closer look at the earing, they stare into each other’s eyes until Michael interupts them, & then we get a mutual blush at the same time & they hastily back away from each other & cue- tsundere behaviour. He isnt able to give her a straight answer as to Why hes worried abt her before he gets distracted by her earing.
Ep 17- Ozma centric. so no sheryl effect, but we know that alto’s been keeping tabs on her health.
Ep 18- He gets mad at the bimbos for dissing Sheryl.( its kay if he does it, but no one else can, no one else can mess with her but me, shes mine to mess with, jus kidding but u gotta luv the guy) I also think its no coincidence that he’s rethinking his reasons for joining SMS just after Ozma’s plea to protect Ranka & just before he hears the bimbos dissing sheryl. It feels perfectly timed. He desperately runs around in the rain looking for Sheryl on a vague statement from Michael. His pained & frustrated swear when his brother left with Sheryl & he had to sortie at that very moment really got to me. He looked like he would have run after that car if hadnt gotten an SMS alert call. He looked like he wanted to take care of her himself instead of letting his brother see to her.
Ep 19- I’ve explained this interaction in detail smwhere in my post above. too lazy to do it again.
Ep 20- Lots of Sheryl effect. I’m sure u understand what I mean, I dont feel the need to ouline it, too lazy nw but if u want me too, just ask.
Sry, I might have strayed from my original goal as well but I’m hoping u can make sense of most of my post.
Phew, that was really long, I didnt realize I’d written so much.
@ yukime
Sry, abt that surprise/shock thing, I can be really subborn at times, ur sweet to agree with me. And I will return the compliment, ur the 1st ranka fan I enjoy discussing the finer points of my shipping with.
Oh btw, did I tell u that I started out liking both girls? I loved both ranka & sheryl in the first few episodes, but Sheryl jut won me over completely & became my fav female character in the whole of anime industry, really dont know when it happened exactly. I like ranka too, but I am disappointed in her atm.
@ kagami, yukime
I just cannot see sheryl begging alto to stay with her just because she is dying, It is not in her character to do such a thing. I would hate for him to bastardize Sheryl’s character this way, just to make ranka/alto look good in the end. I’d hate for such a wonderful chaacter to be destroyed so that ranka wins in the LT. I’d rather have sheryl lose the LT( who am I kidding) than to have her not stay true to her character. I will accept an R/A ending if Sheryl rejects alto, tells him that she doesnt want his pity just because she’s dying, when it ranka that he act loves. Sry, but this is the only way I will accept an R/A ending, because I really want Sheryl to survive this with her character & dignity intact, thats hw much I love her as a character!
@aneeshadc – I believe Omni mentioned before in another blog post, that this love triangle in Macross seems to be a zero-sum game, wherein if one gains, the other loses, which does seem to be the case in the episodes we see. I have to agree with you that if they intend to destroy Sheryl’s character in the end just to balance out the equation of Ranka becoming more professional and strong, then I’d honestly feel disappointed. Why so? Because in the past episodes, she’s been losing and losing, her health, her popularity, her career, and now it sounds like she’ll be seen begging for love? I don’t want to see that really, because I see the scenarios as, assuming that Sheryl does beg:
1. Alto says that he doesn’t love her back, Sheryl goes berserk, and as she’s already lost everything, why not go evil? Destroy everything, and now Alto’s dislike for her will be justified. => Negative for Sheryl
2. Alto pretends to like Sheryl out of pity because she’s dying. => Negative for Sheryl
3. Alto confesses that he also loves Sheryl => Positive for Sheryl, one win after what she’s lost so far
I honestly don’t care if she gets Alto’s love, as long as they don’t destroy her that filthy way just to elevate Ranka further. I think Ranka’s character is starting to get stronger and stronger by each episode, but if it requires the scriptwriters to step on more of Sheryl’s toes, Ranka’s success wouldn’t be as prominent. Why so? Because if Ranka wins against a someone who’s way up there, then it’s such a great success, as compared to winning against a person who’s lost everything. I’d like to see a scenario where both girls are “up there” when Alto decides to reveal who he likes more.
That given, well let’s see how the story goes on 🙂
@yuKime
Hehe, I love all your opinions and comments, even though you’re Ranka’s fan^^! It’s a shame that we have different shipping right now ~v~; Hope we can be on the same side of other triangle anime next time!
Well, that can be considered as one of the scenario, but there must be a very, VERY huge trigger first. Even with her death flag, we know how she acted in episode 19-pushing him away so that he would not be sad when she died. Which failed horribly, since we know that Alto ohime-sama is a better actor than her ^^; Anyway, I am waiting how will Kawamori pull all these stuffs together so that any side can accept any of the endings without regret~
At the very least, I love Ranka too, even though I quite dislike the previous episode Ranka. She is cute and can have more development than any other character, since she has a good base in episode 1. It is very disheartening to see the current her for me, which I considered selfish… 🙁 But then again, I hope she would mature more when she get her memory back! Good Luck, Ranka!
But then again, you would have to wonder how Nakamura-san (epitome of fanboi~) and Kanno-sensei (epitome of fangirl~) is going to haunt him if Kawamori dare to make Sheryl all alone~ Duo voice attack combo! LOL!
It’s kinda sad to see her singing Anata no Oto for Alto and Sheryl, but that can make us appreciate her character more, and you can say that her character matured in the cost of her relationship. I would like to see her maturing at this time first 🙂
Rather than sad, I would say, the lyrics is heartrending. As I said, Sheryl, is dying right now, and I have a feeling that this is related to her condition right now rather than Alto’s rejection. I don’t know why, but… Oh well, let’s just see how they will play this one now.
@aneeshadc
Oh my God! Wall of Text lol! ^^; I’ll read your previous comment later~
(Also for Mike_s_6) As for begging Sheryl=bastardizing Sheryl, I think all the viewers think the same as us. I just can’t picture and stand that Sheryl. She is a strong character, and I admire that personality of her. But I do have to wonder how will Alto know, since he has got some hints about Sheryl being sick right now.
@mike_s_6
According to your possible scenarios (if begging happen, of course), doesn’t it mean Sheryl has to be with Alto for her positive development? ^^; (I feel the same though)
However there is one more possibility which is Alto rejects Sheryl and Sheryl let go of Alto (AxS shipper and Sheryl fan part of me : NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! D:). In this case, she continue to support Alto despite her pain and situation. I know Sheryl is stronger than having to go berserk, and I do admit a strong Sheryl is the best after all. (… Though this scenario is very hard to happen in case of “begging”)
But… I guess this one can be considered too: After Alto knowing that, the drama cuts off (maybe by vajras or Leon interference), leaving the viewer crazy yet again ^^;
I don’t think Ranka is not concern about Sheryl because as you said in episode 15 it was shown that Ranka is also concern about Sheryl, maybe the reason why it was not shown in episode 12 is there’s not enough time for showing it. If Ranka was really only aware of herself then the writer would not bother to let her come with Alto to visit Sheryl in the hospital but we also don’t know if it is Ranka who asked Alto to come or Alto who wants to visit and Ranka just tagged along (I guess there’s really a lot we don’t see).
I’m not a sheryl fan but I have nothing against her either. It’s just that if Sheryl does something selfish people will say she’s really cool but if Ranka’s the one who did something selfish people will say I wish you’re dead. Sheryl’s strong because she’s facing a life and death situation, Ranka’s situation is nothing really compared to her. Sheryl’s dying and Ranka is in the middle of a battlefield where she could die immediately.
I like Ranka because maybe she’s childish but she’s shown her strength as well. She’s risking her life and she’s not afraid of dying because she knows that what she is doing is for the people she loves. Then why didn’t she sing when the Vajras are attacking and Alto asks her to sing? Well, all I could say is she’s in pain. She sang eventhough she’s in pain (for me that’s strength, not a lot of real people could do that). But still it’s her fault that the vajras become more vicious. Why would it be her fault when she doesn’t know that her emotions are linked to them.
@aneeshadc
WOW. O_O That is a LONG post. Very long indeed. I had to read it twice to make sure I got everything in check before watching Macross F for the nth time then write my reply to your post. ^^; Anyway, just wanted to say that I’ll be replying later on as I want to confirm some of the facts I wanted to add in my reply. And also, think you should read druid’s post because that is somehow part of my opinion too. I actually agree with him! ^^
@druid
AMEN! I couldn’t have put it in better words there!
Everyone has been rooting for either AltoxRanka ou AltoxSheryl. There is one other way the triangle can end:
Alto dies in the final battle to defend the Frontier Fleet from whatever power is behind Grace, wich i believe are the true vilains of this series, not the Vajra, who are also being manipulated by them.
Sheryl and Ranka seak confort in each other’s arms and suddenly… they look into each others eyes and see the true love that has been hidding in their hearts all along.
So in the end and for the first time in Macross history the guy is out of the triangle and the two girls end up together. A sign of the times. At least in my dreams that’s how it will end. LOL
I know, i’m really, really sick. Hopefully when the final episode comes, i will have filled my prescription medication and be my sedated, semi-normal self.
I like the way you think, westfall. Though it would be even better if Alto does NOT die and the girls STILL choose each other over him. 😛 Ranka x Sheryl FTW!
Sheryl is the only person who fulfilled his lifelong dream to fly in a real sky that’s why her feelings for Alto runs deeper than that of Rankas’. In my opinion, that’s weird. Because for one thing Ranka doesn’t have the money or connection to do that. She’s still striving to becoming a singer and she’s still a teenager who depends on the money her brother gives her and her salary in her parttime job. Sheryl’s a famous singer who I think has a lot of money (even if it’s not shown). The only thing Ranka can give him is her own baked cookies because she wants to give him something special (a lot of people think it’s lame) maybe Ranka’s gift is not as grand as Sheryl’s gift for Alto but on a scale it weighs basically the same. But in the end Ranka’s gift is the best that Alto received, that’s what he said I think.
It has been mentioned over and over that Ranka only think about herself and about Alto, she wasn’t even concern about Sheryl fainting. I think in one of the episodes wherein the frontier would make an experiment on Rankas’ song and Sheryl came to see it for herself. Sheryl saw what’s happening and Ranka is in the middle of that. Well I guess I didn’t see Sheryl showing her concern for Ranka she only mentions Alto’s name. I guess some people only see what they want to see.
Sure, he doesn’t HAVE to die. How about this:
Ranka stays with Sheryl.
Alto, having been dumped, goes to the Quarter’s mess hall to drown his sorrows with some vodka shots. Klan is there, having already dispatched half a bottle of Zentradi hale (it’s like Romulan hale but Macross style). They end up drunk and thats all they remember. The next morning a macronised Klan wakes up ,naked, to find Alto sleeping on her “shoulder” and she thinks “not bat, for a human”. I won’t go into details because I can only imagine the weird stuff you can do with a giant woman… SICK, SICK, SICK…
And so i become the recepient of this forum’s “oh, my God, this guy is beyond
nuts” award.
I don’t know but I don’t think he’s mad specifically because it’s sheryl, I think he would get mad even if it’s Nanase because I think he’s like a person who gets mad if he hears anything bad about his friends. And he runs to find Sheryl because I think Michael said that he would regret it if he didn’t look for her, I don’t really understand Japanese (wish I could) but that’s what the subtitle said, I think (not really sure). I think Alto is always frustrated because he wants to protect a lot of people. He also wants to save Luca and I think in that episode he also shows frustration but I don’t think he loves him 😀
maybe he does
@ aneeshadc WOW this is too big ! : P
@ druif I ‘m with you here. When sheryl gave the endless sky to alto no one said this was lame or she stabbed ranka on the back. Instead of that people said she was the only one who understood Alto wanted to fly, Ranka doesn’t know anything about him, …
I think this was pretty lame and disloyal. I’m sorry for sheryl fan but I can’t change my mind here.
She talked with Ranka who said she wanted to give her concert’s ticket to Alto for his birthday and she said to Ranka this is a good idea he will like it .
After that we saw her with her hopes and dreams moving in front of Alto and proposed him to go with her in Galia IV even thought she give encouragement to Ranka about her birthday present for him ?
This has nothing to do with offering him a present she knows he will loves but more how she was acting in front of Ranka the friend role and in front of Alto she acted the Ranka’s rival role ?” Ranka wants to give him a birthday ? sorry, but he will not refuse a sky over some concert ” This looked like that and honestly since this episode I really don’t like her character at all.
People can’t say she did that because she wanted to give him the best present as a friend. On the plane she said ” thanks for coming, Alto”. She wanted more to be with him than him to enjoy the sky.She said that as if he choose her over Ranka but in fact he choose the sky.
It’s from that time for me, that I see a one sided love from Sheryl. She thinks too much each things Alto is doing, is for her, that Alto may have feelings for her…
The total contrary of Ranka who thinks Alto is sharing more things in common with sheryl than her so he doesn’t feel anything for her over than a friendhip.
I feel a big surprise when Alto will say who he really love 🙂 sorry sheryl’s fan but I have this good vibes….
First of all, I’m just going to make one little prediction for the next episode Northern Cross. I got it from my sister but I think it is possible (more possible if you are a Ranka fan and you squint really hard XD).
I can just see Northern Cross lyrics as a song dedicated to Alto AFTER he had lost Ranka (or after Ranka has gone away). Especially these lines:
“Because there will be no meaning if you are gone
So all people should disappear
Because I don’t even need my heart when there is no love
So this world, too- Go away”
And these:
“Won’t someone please embrace me tightly with the sentiments of daybreak?
Splattered by the orbit of dreams, the tears of love merely scatter
Even if it’s a bare pain, I’m fine with it
Called back by fate, the Northern Star is crying
If I somehow survive through the labyrinth
Then I want to love and die for you until you perish:
And these:
“Won’t someone please softly stroke the outline of the void?
The words of love that couldn’t be saved
Were erased by the waves of time
So I want the answer once more
Crucified by fate, the Northern Star is burning
I scratched you out and made you a cloudy blur
But still, I once loved how you laughed sweetly”
Or maybe it’s just me as a Ranka hallucinating fan. ^^; But yeah, just wanted to get it out of my system… But if Northern Cross was really for Alto (in memory of Ranka), that would be great! ^^
Now on with me discussing things once again… ~
@aneeshadc
I don’t know how to start replying to such a long post (was a bit overwhelmed XD) so I guess I’ll just reply to your post by paragraph… Or something like that. XD
Concerning about Ranka not asking Alto anything, aside from Ranka’s shyness I also attribute Ranka’s lack of memory about her past that somehow makes her avoid discussing the past, whether it is her past or someone else’s. She knows it’s a delicate subject so rather than asking it from a person, it is better to wait for a person to say it himself as a sign of respect. (This is also part of Japanese culture showing their respect, as we know Japanese are one of the most courteous people out there). But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t ask anything about him because Ranka does too, from time to time. (will mention some later)
About Ranka’s perceptiveness of ALto’s feelings, I still stick to my opinion that she is perceptive seeing as she is always looking at him. In ep3 Griffith’s Park, Ranka will not realize Alto is troubled because he DID NOT show it. If you watch the scene closely, Alto notices Ranka’s singing and goes to her, saying, “Ranka?” Then we are shown in the next scene that Alto is making one of those legendary ‘kami hikouki’ and smiling even, saying, “It was a nice song.” So how will Ranka know Alto was bothered if Alto commented on her song and didn’t say NOR show he was bothered by anything? And obviously, hearing Alto say that her song was nice, Ranka would obviously say in return that it is the only thing she remembers about her past. It wasn’t Ranka who opened up this topic, but actually Alto. And you also see here the difference of Ranka interaction with Sheryl interaction. When Ranka said something about her past, Alto responds, even smiles and said, “I see.” but when Sheryl said something about her earring, Alto just remained silent. Just from this episode, we see that Alto warmed up faster to Ranka than to Sheryl (in ep6) and thus built a closer relationship to Ranka faster. In ep4, yes, Ranka is not informed about Alto joining SMS but isn’t this the same as Sheryl? Ranka and Alto had just met a few weeks ago, of course Ranka will keep being courteous to him, seeing as they haven’t become close friends that you can just ask him what he’s been up to lately. She has the freedom though to tell something about herself, hoping that the other party would return the gesture but if he doesn’t, she has no right to complain seeing as they just met few weeks ago. See how Ranka also addresses Alto as ‘Alto-kun’, means that she is maintaining distance that shows respect for the other person. For us it may be different but for Japanese people, they do make sure they know their limits and keep their distances. It is Alto’s decision not to say anything so I don’t think Ranka should take the blame for this. She’d done her part in sharing stuff about her, if Alto doesn’t reciprocate she just have to try again. For Ranka to request Alto to come, I think she wasn’t in any way forcing him to go but requesting him, hence the ‘onegai’. And about Alto’s reply, well, better late than never. It’s kind of sweet actually. Him saying, “I’m here.” And the way he smiled and made an effort to read her text even though he’s dead tired. Oh and see here, Ranka did ask Alto something! Why did he join SMS! See? Ranka cares~! Sure not about his background but her asking something means she does ask from time to time! And Alto answers her and encourages her at the same time (along with another kami hikouki!). In ep5, it wasn’t shown directly that it was Ranka who called Alto at that time when it went ringing in the locker room. And she wasn’t expecting Alto to come running out when she called him. She just said, “I’ll be waiting for you call.” which also means, “Call me when you got free time.” not “Call me NOW.” And about Ranka’s shyness, she IS shy. Have you seen her stance when she was waiting? She was looking down, with hands at her back. A posture of a shy girl who just took courage to go there to ask Alto something. And like I said, she is shy but from time to time she does ask Alto about stuff–not only stuff that will help her out. And I disagree about Ranka getting over her shyness because up till 21 she still shows this shy side of hers from time to time. And I see nothing wrong with it since it’s within her character and I love it when times come that she does overcome that shyness to do things. In ep6, again she was shy. Have you seen her looking at Alto when she did ask? She was looking down, a sign of meekness. And like I said, her question was vague, making it not invasive type. She could have asked, “You were with Sheryl-san, weren’t you?” but she decided to do the vague one, hoping to keep the courtesy in her wording. Ranka is like an open book that her expressions show in her face, actions and right down to her hair’s movement lol. So if you gather people and make them watch Ranka in those episodes we cited above and ask them, was that green-haired girl shy at all? They would definitely say, “yes”. Body language wise. So it’s just her being consistent with her character~
In ep8, Ranka was surprised because Alto is getting discharged ALREADY (meaning, too soon). It means she had thought Alto would have stayed there longer but he didn’t (since he only got admitted for tests so maybe overnight OR two days if pushing it). So I think the call Ranka (if she was the one who did that in ep8) is only natural. She can’t be calling EVERY DAY just to check on Alto or that would have been stalker-ish behavior. So she did call and found out. No qualms there. And see how sorry she was that she haven’t visited him in those two or one day of being hospitalized, even after Alto reassured her that it’s okay, she still looked sorry. So this is definitely not just all about Ranka. And so next we analyze the phone call convo in ep9. It starts with Sheryl talking… about herself. The same as how Ranka starts the convo, about herself. And then the difference. Sheryl asks about Alto. But like I said, this is how we show again the difference between Sheryl and Ranka’s character. Ranka is the typical (conventional) conservative and shy Japanese girl while Sheryl is the confident, modernized girl who takes the initiative and drags everyone to her pace if she wants (just like in Star Date). See how the difference is both consistent with their characters? In ep10, Alto’s voice didn’t change that much if you listen, if it did, it just changed from jesting to that of a serious one, imo. Unless Ranka was someone who could see Alto’s face through a telephone convo, I don’t see her being impressed and blushing about Alto’s sweetness to give her a serious advice after just saying it’s impossible for her to be quite odd. She doesn’t see this one. But being open book, of course Ranka will be upset to hear that Sheryl and Alto are together AGAIN. Taking a look at ep6, have you seen Ranka blushing foolishly at the way her friends planned about Ranka Lee fansclub and then glances at Alto? When she noticed that Alto was not feeling the happy-yay-for-Ranka atmosphere, she saddened up, knowing something was up! She is perceptive of Alto AND even tried to cheer him up/strike a conversation. (The one where she was supposed to let him know first) It’s not Ranka’s fault that Alto keeps stirring the convo into the things that revolve around her and not him, is it?
Back to ep10, she is disappointed and hurt because she WANTED to know about Alto too! This want to know means that it is not true that she does not care for Alto at all. It’s just that her waiting for Alto to say it himself is not effective but that’s her character. A person who doesn’t want to know and doesn’t care at all about Alto would not show what Ranka had shown in this ep. Now, ep11, I wouldn’t have take the message literally seeing as they were all flashbacks when Alto thought about them, so who knows? Maybe Ranka did say the time just that it wasn’t shown. After all, screentime is valuable so every word counts. If it can be taken out, they will cut it. It’s not her being self-absorbed but rather it was actually sweet of her to even spare some time off her busy sched to see Alto and give him a present. Instead of seeing Ranka as selfish, I actually felt pretty sorry for her efforts that had gone to waste (the cookies were bitter but she still took an effort in making them). If I can say so, the one full of herself in this episode was Sheryl. (even Alto-hime says so himself, and definitely not him being tsuntsun since he had no reason to be at that time. Alto is known to give blunt comments so I think this one was definitely a blunt comment to be taken literally) She didn’t even consider that Ranka is giving Alto a ticket to her concert and she just had to get Alto to tag along with him. She did know that Ranka was giving the ticket and still she wanted Alto to come with her, even though she said to Ranka that Alto will definitely be happy. Isn’t that um… sorry for the term, backstabbing? But yeah sure, it is still Alto to blame being dazzled by the words “REAL SKY” and going with Sheryl. But still… I really didn’t like Sheryl in this episode.
In ep12, they didn’t forget to show Ranka’s concern for Sheryl and the rest of the crew. They just lacked screentime. That’s all I can say here. Scenes which are not much needed but can be implied are not shown anymore to save screentime. Maybe that’s also the reason why even though Alto-kun did promise he will definitely come back for Sheryl, he wasn’t shown doing that in ep21 but instead running to Ranka? And I think Alto deserved the credit Ranka had given him. It was all thanks to Alto that she had persevered (just see Ranka’s words in ep13, too lazy). Of course Sheryl also has some credit too but mentioning her is just too ambiguous, because she’s not there and the goal there doesn’t involve Sheryl but to return the compliment to Alto, after being complimented by Alto himself. Or yeah, it can possibly be that Ranka is playing her cards right so no Sheryl mentioning until they get to kiss. XD Too bad, Ranka didn’t see that little vajra coming in the script. lol
Ranka is a teenage school girl turned idol in a ship that is experiencing war. She is not a soldier so of course she needs protecting. Doesn’t Sheryl also need protecting. Sure she is confident but when time does come, she is still being saved isn’t she? Sure Alto doesn’t need to be in love to protect Ranka but if he is in love with her, all the more reason he would want to protect her. (I’m going to wait for ep22 to see if we can learn something new from Alto’s thoughts) And about Sheryl, Alto can worry about Sheryl without being in love with her. That’s what you call friendship. ^^ The love-hate relationship Alto and Sheryl has is cute but it is also common in friends so not necessarily for lovers only.
Okay, I agree with your Sheryl-Alto not singing interaction. Alto’s approach with Sheryl differed from Ranka BECAUSE the two are different. Knowing Sheryl won’t talk, he did the next best thing. Knowing Ranka LOVES to talk, he asked but gets shot down. So he also gave Ranka time to open up to him on her own. But still, I also think Alto didn’t seek out Sheryl on his own not until that time in ep19/20. But that too is debatable, seeing as Alto was made to look for Sheryl with these words: “If you do not look for Sheryl now, you will regret it for the rest of your life.-END CALL-” Without any explanation whatsoever, of course Alto would look for Sheryl in the rain. And for him coming back to the mansion, seeing Sheryl vulnerable like that, any good friend of hers would definitely come.
About Alto doing nothing, feeling helpless. He has a background or a tendency for doing that. Recap in ep3, when the three got stuck in the emergency shelter, Alto didn’t do anything. No comforting because he couldn’t do that, seeing what he was at that moment, he couldn’t protect them (he says so himself). I’m assuming he felt the same helplessness here when he saw Ranka’s tears but didn’t know if he could help. Alto never gave empty words because he’s not that type of person. If he says “I’ll protect you” that means he CAN and he WILL. Atm, what could he have said that would sound convincing enough for Ranka? “I’ll protect you or I’m here.” wouldn’t have done it because Ranka’s worry won’t be solved by that. He could have said, “You don’t have to sing then.” but that’s of course nonsense seeing as their only chance was Ranka atm. So he didn’t say anything and continued to look at a loss.
About Ranka bringing up Ai-kun, it was too soon yes, but to save an innocent Vajra (innocent since he just molted Ranka says) they had to move quick. If the army finds Ai-kun, he’d be fried with a flamethrower. See what happened to the remaining vajras found on the ship? And it was not love that made Ranka want to ask Alto (that was just a bonus). It was because Alto is the only person she could have asked this favor of, knowing he has a VF, he knows how to fly, AND he was one of the most trusted person that Ranka knew would understand her. If she knew how to contact Brera, maybe she would have asked him but I doubt they exchanged numbers so…
“If she had left quietly after spending her last peaceful moments with him without telling him abt Ai-kun, just leaving him a letter or something, then I would call her love selfless.”
Like I said, she can’t leave without flying. And that means having an aircraft AND a pilot to help you. And see, she did get a willing pilot (in the form of Brera-san) and so, heartbroken as she is, she still left and said goodbye to Alto and confessed to him as it may be the last time they see each other. Therefore, she was selfless, seeing as he didn’t push Alto to go with him but gave him a choice. And accepted his choice as well. Letting the one you love go, respecting his decision, isn’t that considered selfless?
Alto breaking his vocal cords calling RANKAAAAAA is not guilt. It’s what we call pure concern/worry because your precious friend is going to be vajra bait. I think ep22 is needed to make us see better if it was really guilt and not concern in the tone of his RANKAAAAA calling.
Alto being teased looks like he minds in my opinion. I mean, why would he drag Sheryl in a corner and even say, “Stop that, will you?!” if he did secretly enjoy the teasing. (ep8) But okay, some moments may be him being tsun tsun all right.
I don’t curse Alto for being tsun tsun at all. I’m just thankful he doesn’t do it a lot around Ranka therefore we get more RankaxAlto tender moments. ^^ Alto wasn’t that tsun tsun around Ranka even at the start but I guess Alto is also starting to take off his tsun tsun mask around Sheryl, so they’re on equal grounds now.
“Alto is doting, affectionate & protective of ranka but you cannot deny that he adopted this behaviour towards her after he learnt abt her past in ep 3. There are 1 or 2 times that he gets pissed at her before ep 3.”
Are you suggesting that Alto’s attitude to Ranka all the while was due to pity? O_O Sure Alto did get pissed off at Ranka but only due to the heat of the moment (if you’re referring to that of ep3 in the emergency shelter) but I think he was genuinely concerned for her even before ep3. I mean, at ep1, Ranka already piqued his attention, seeing as how he zoomed in on Ranka when in the concert, watching the crowd nonchalantly.
“But I have to add, that in a real mature relationship, u atleast look for equality in a relationship, where there is mutual understanding & both parties learn from each other & grow together, reaching out to the emotional needs of the other which I dont see or feel is present in the R/A relationship at this point of time in the ep(or even in the earlier episodes for that matter).”
I still remain firm that both Alto and Ranka have mutual understanding and reaches out to the emotional needs of each other. If I may add, Sheryl otoh, is keeping this barrier around her that wouldn’t allow Alto to come close. If she really trusted Alto and KNEW and UNDERSTOOD Alto, she would have known that Alto not knowing her sickness would only trouble him more. Sheryl deciding what’s good for Alto without Alto’s consent is somehow not considered MUTUAL understanding and definitely she’s not allowing Alto to reach out to HER emotional or physical (in her case) needs.
And on to your outlining, just a few comments here and there.
Ep3 – I don’t see what Sheryl reprimanding Alto has contributed to Alto’s growth. Sheryl just commented on Alto’s behavior but didn’t change anything about Alto’s feeling. Alto was ALREADY feeling useless and the only thing here is he said it OUT LOUD but this isn’t a credit for Sheryl. Alto already knows his useless so even without Sheryl… he was already thinking he wanted to protect them BUT can’t at that moment.
And no, he didn’t exactly say that the destiny speechy was the one that made him join SMS. If anything, it’s even more noticeable that he was interested with what happened to Ranka AND even got angry with the way Ozma chose to protect Ranka. Pretty concerned for someone who just knew her a while ago, ne? Then he goes saying that if he were Ranka, he’d want to know everything. Then the destiny crap, so Ranka is intertwined in the talk too. And not to mention, the scne that made Alto so sure of joining is the Griffith Park scene with Ranka singing. Oh… If only we had a peek of what was going on on Alto’s mind when he looked at Ranka, smiling then closed his eyes and said, “That’s right…”
Ep5 – One of the episodes that showed Sheryl’s domineering attitude that drags people into her pace, with or without their consent. But yeah, I give, Alto enjoyed it once he forgot that he was being forced into doing it. I don’t see Alto really affected by Sheryl leaving for Galaxy, even Sheryl notices this and is somehow saddened by it. See, how she frowned when Alto brushed aside the news and said, “No choice then, I’ll have to find the earring and bring it to you.” Her eyes read, “Only the earring… ='(” But yeah, Alto also smiled tenderly when he looked at the waving Sheryl, while holding his cheek. But for now, I really don’t see Alto interested in Sheryl romantically yet…
Ep8 – I just had to note the forced look on Alto’s face here where he said, “You’re satisfied now, aren’t you?” (referring to the flight in the sky in his arms). To me, he looked like he wanted to be doing something else and not enjoying the flight as much as Sheryl was. And before that, I found it downright mean that Alto just shot down Sheryl’s attempt in reminiscing their first meeting. Sheryl: “Our first meeting was kind of like this too.” And Alto’s like, “I’m going to take us back soon. You’re satisfied now right?” Wow… Not even a bit of consideration to say, “Yeah. Something like this. ^^” Compare it with how Ranka’s reminiscing went… (ep13) Ranka: “I was just thinking this is like the first time we met.” And Alto just freely burst laughing and says, “The one drenched that time was you though. XD” Oh~ The first time we hear Alto laugh so heartily~! (correct me if I’m wrong) If Alto would quit his tsun tsun mode around Sheryl and be this sweet with her like he is with Ranka, maybe I could see them more as a possible couple. The tsun tsun facade is cute but at times it gets too much that I interpret it as disinterest. He looked completely unwilling most of the time he’s with Sheryl. Like in ep10 too, when he explained to Ranka why he and Sheryl were together. He didn’t need to look THAT tired because of the job.
Ep10 – I think Sheryl didn’t know about Alto’s kabuki history first hand from Alto. See, Sheryl cited that Ranzo Saotome is famous and it isn’t that hard to make a connection between Alto and Ranzo as father and son. And since Alto is sensitive about it, she didn’t dare confirm nor press on with the matter. And about the kiss, I think it was more of Sheryl’s playful attitude and to prove Alto wrong that made her kiss him. It’s not her being charitable that she’d kiss Alto to help him practice. Besides, practicing a kiss won’t help you get better at it if it’s NOT with the partner you are supposed to be kissing. Every kissing partner is different so that kiss practice (if ever she intended it to be one) was useless.
Ep12 – The “but…” in there can be interpreted many ways. Not just Alto wanting to stay with Sheryl. If he really wanted to have stayed, he would have insisted. It could be, “But… what if I can’t bring her back on time?” “But… what will Ranka think if I were the one to escort her home…?” “But… what will I tell Ranka?” So many interpretations but the fact that he blushed so many times when thinking about Ranka and while on that VF proves that he definitely didn’t think about Sheryl being stuck in bed and that she is supposed to be the one with Alto right now. That guy has short attention span I tell you. Once he sees one girl, he forgets the other. XD
Ep13 – Sure Sheryl’s words touched him, seeing that Sheryl volunteered to save Ranka too. But he didn’t seem that calm after that. See, if he were, he would have avoided Brera even more easily and improve his piloting. But he was easily caught by Brera and would have been shot down if not for Grace calling brera back. Or it might just be that Alto sucks in piloting. <___<
(cont’d post got cut- >.__<
(technical problem? it got cut again <___<
@aneeshadc
Ep14 – Yes, he did smile at her. Alto’s not mean not to smile once he sees one of his friends made it safely, now is he? But I also wanted to point out here that Sheryl was disheartened when she saw that Alto’s mind is full of getting Ranka back, makes me want to say, “Aw… She does like him so much!” And another I want to point out is how Alto’s piloting skills had improved (a hell lot) in this episode. Seems like, Ranka in trouble motivates him so much that it helps him, doesn’t it? So Ranka contributes even though she’s on the enemy side right now, waiting to be rescued. ^^;
Ep17 – It’s not like he’s calling in on her to check her status. When Michel asked about Sheryl’s condition, Alto only stated an opinion. He didn’t say, “She’s not fine or she’s fine.” but “Well, I’m pretty sure there are no such words as ‘calm’ or ‘rest’ in her dictionary.” so he’s only ASSUMING and not certain of her condition. So you can’t say he’s keeping tabs because his answer is too vague.
Ep18 – Well, Alto cares for Sheryl as well so it’s only natural that he’d be gnashing his teeth and cursing like hell in frustration that he can’t be there for Sheryl. Same as Alto shouting Ranka’s name whenever he’s saving her or when he tried to stop her from going in ep21. Frustration at not being able to do something that he wanted to do.
And yup, I know you started out as someone who liked both girls. I don’t hate Sheryl even until now but it’s just that I support Ranka more and imo deserves Alto more. But that’s just my opinion. ^^
“I just cannot see sheryl begging alto to stay with her just because she is dying, It is not in her character to do such a thing. I would hate for him to bastardize Sheryl’s character this way, just to make ranka/alto look good in the end. I’d hate for such a wonderful chaacter to be destroyed so that ranka wins in the LT. I’d rather have sheryl lose the LT( who am I kidding) than to have her not stay true to her character. I will accept an R/A ending if Sheryl rejects alto, tells him that she doesnt want his pity just because she’s dying, when it ranka that he act loves. Sry, but this is the only way I will accept an R/A ending, because I really want Sheryl to survive this with her character & dignity intact, thats hw much I love her as a character!”
AMEN! I also don’t want Sheryl’s character begging or bastardized but I do want her to be honest just for once and drop her tsun tsun mask this time around. If she want to be with Alto, she must say it. Not beg of course but by being honest, I think that would make her character develop more in the eyes of the audience since she’ll learn that she does need somebody after all. And about RankaxAlto ending, I want it to happen in a way that Alto would first hear Sheryl confession to make the decision fair for both parties. And of course, if ever Alto does choose Sheryl, I hope they show it in a way that won’t look like Sheryl being pitied because she’s dying. But yes, I also want something happy for Sheryl and hope she gets cured and continue singing~ ^o^ Ganbare Sheryl-san!!!
Your nice and detailed outlining kind of wants me to make a Ranka x Alto manifesto too but being too lazy maybe some other time. ^^;
@Kei
Haha. To think that that whole post was addressed to me. I feel honored that my post can evoke aneeshadc to write this long. ^_~ And read my post, my comment on druid’s post is somehow in there and I’m just too tired to write a separate one after the long post I had typed. Phew~
@druid
No!! Be optimistic! That goodbye scene will not be wasted! I’m sure Kawamori have something big in store for Ranka fans! Don’t lose hope! Ranka’s confession would definitely some sleeping emotions in Alto’s dense heart. >__<
i´m starting to see here the same things that make me hate soccer.
there people can no longer enjoy the game because they’re too busy in hating the other team and wanting their team to win.
i love this series because it’s a great story with beautiful animation. the only con till now is that it will be too short. why did the (IMO) inferior Macross 7 have 49 episodes plus movies and OVA’s and this awesome, state-of-the-art series only gets to have 25?
bottom line, don’t love Ranka OR Sheryl, love them BOTH for what they have brought to this story, no matter who ends up with who.
On a final note, KUDOS for that awesome artist that is Shoji Kawamori and that godess of music Yoko Kanno. I mean no disrespect for all other professionals that contributed for this series but these two are truly part of what makes anime so special. Thank you for your work.
For those who found this post more sobber than my previous posts, that’s just because my medication just kicked in.
@YuKime You’re doing our job so much better that sheryl’s fan are missing! 🙂
They are waiting for the episode 22 though…
Well I have to point out what aneeshdsc said about Ranka calling alto kun instead of alto like sheryl.
It’s a pure japanese tradition and i don’t blame her for that, this is the respect due to older people or the minimal distance needed between a guy and a girl in japan.
But why alto didn’t say her ” You can stop calling me like that”. ? He just doesn’t care.
He is soooo dense that when Sheryl will confesses him I will not miss it. He will be shocked.
About northern Cross and the connexion with Ranka, I find it interesting but there is something wrong about it.
when Sheryl said;
“I wanted to land on your planet I wanted to fly through your space” i think this is about her and Alto. She could not go with him to galia IV and remember like druid said how she was on SMS quarter seeing alto protecting Ranka when she singed Aimo version battlefield;
I hope that alto in front of his house in the preview of episode 22 is thinking of Ranka and at last realize how dumb he is to have been this dense for 22 episode because he will not see her again.
If he is just preoccuped that the Frontier weapon is gone and the vajra can come back and wiped out Frontier, then I will start shipping for Brera x Ranka lol.
I have this feeling he will be desperate because of Ranka’s goodbye and will after that realize he can’t let her beeing with Brera because he loves her.But before that Sheryl will tell him the thruth about her illness and her love for him , he will stay with her out of pity and she will tell him to go ” where his heart belongs to”.He goes chasing after Ranka..End of the love triangle and return to the plot with Leon and Grace….
By thw way guys, where do u get ur smileys from? I tried copy/pasting from AS but it doesnt work.
@ mike_s_6
I agree with you. I’m behind sheryl all the way with or without alto.
Also, ur rite, Ranka winning the LT that way wouldnt feel like a real victory for her & the ranka fans either, it would be a win by default. Making both girls appear strong & formidable at the end is the best thing Kawamori can do, so as not to disappoint either party (never mind that one party would still be disappointed anyway, sigh)
@ yukime
sry abt the long post, I warned u, but even I was surprised at the amount of stuff I came up with. It was exhausting actually cos I was watching the episodes too, to be sure.
Lets just agree fr nw that alto cares about both girls & that its going to be a hell of a hard choice for him to choose. we’ll know a bit of what he’s thinking in ep 22.
@ druid, kei
I dont recall any selfishness from Sheryl that has a huge impact on people other than herself or alto.
If your talking abt her B’day present to alto, I never saw that as backstabbing at all. Yes, she encouraged ranka to give alto her B’day present but you have to remember she fainted before they finished their conversation. Sheryl doesnt even know when her own timeslots for shows are as she mentions in ep 8, y do u think she would know when ranka’s concert is? Besides she called alto to the observatory at night giving plenty of time for him to spend time with his friends if he wanted to. So I really dont see how it was selfish of her. I also never thought it was selfish or wrong for ranka to give alto airplane cookies either, actually I thought it was sweet, It was just a case of which was the better present for alto, neither girl was at fault here.
If you recall any other instances of selfish acts from her, please enlighten me.
@ yukime
That song speaks of despair to me. It feels like she is talking about her dying more than rejection. But I agree that if kawamori decides to make sheryl beg & alto reject her , then what u are saying would make sense.
Until then, that song feels like she’s pouring all of her despair into it. What I’m predicting is that she will push alto away one more time before singing this song, that way the words make sense to me. She is expressing her feelings & emotions through this song, is what it feels like to me.
@yukime, mike_s_6
And I dont want to see her confessing to alto, that would contradict her resolution to push him away. What I want to see is alto confessing his feelings to her, that would feel so much more satisfying to me.
Since this is going too long in the same direction, let me give an alternative:
One of the weirdest things I can think up right now is that Alto will lose Sheryl [from V-Type], and that Ranka will mutate into something very large and emotionally self-sufficient 🙂 And Alto suffering from the loss of so many loved people, will turn to the other one that was hurt in the similar manner. Maybe EP22 will say goodbye to Sheryl since Ranka already departed… Who knows… But it would definitely be a refresh and a punch that will tear up everyone’s expectations. MF alternate universe rocks, just many options to daydream about 🙂 And the final battle between Frontier forces and awakened Ranka [who could even kill off Brera] would be a whoop-ass event too 😀 So, Alto and Kuran, get ready to rock! Bytheway, Kawamori needs a friendly slap 🙂
@ yukime
I’m going to reply to ur post bit by bit this time, kay? so as not to overwhelm u( & myself)
Abt ranka not asking alto questions because she feels someones past is a delicate topic, I disagree. Bcos if this were the case then ranka would have given us viewers some indication that this was the case Not to mention ep 10, when she was upset/disappointed/surprised she didnt know anythin abt alto, made it clear to us that she had never thought abt asking him anything at all.
Oh, and perceptive is sensing things abt a person when he/she is trying not to show it. Which is y I feel ranka isnt perceptive to alto’s feelings.
So, I also disagree that his silence to sheryl talking abt her mother meant he didnt care as much. I felt the silence was appropriate, silent empathy in such a situation is much better than any empty words, espescially since he has known the same pain of losing his own mother. Its a silent support, an acknowledgement of her pain, while knowing that saying anything isnt going to make the pain go away. Its a painful topic for her & he understands that, hes hardly going to say anything on it, knowing that he himself wouldnt like it. I thought he was being sensitive to her feelings here.
Based on this interaction & the griffith park one , I dont think alto warmed up faster to ranka than he did with sheryl, despite ranka having the added advantage of alto having already heard abt her past from Ozma. That had to have had some bearing on his interaction with her whereas sheryl didnt have the same advantage.
But if ur saying on the whole beginning with ep 1, then I’d have to agree with you because there were a few issues b/w Sheryl & alto before they both began to warm up to each other & understand the other. It was easier to warm up to ranka when she’s as cute, sweet & charming as she was in the earlier episodes than to an arrogant demanding reckless shrew like sheryl.
@yukime
Ep 4, sheryl not knowing abt alto joining SMS isnt the same as ranka not knowing for two reasons- ranka & alto’s friendship began in ep 3, Griffith park, where they exchanged cell no.s,- while sheryl & alto’s friendship began in ep 5.
Sure, she’s always staring at him, but theres a difference b/w staring dreamily at smone & staring intently at smone. What ranka does is the former while what sheryl does is the latter, IMO.
Okay, I will concede that she asks him y he joins SMS in ep 4, fine, thats once before ep 21. But she doesnt notice his change of mood when she asks him this question, she would have if she was perceptive to alto’s feelings.
I find that I cannot accept her shy personality as an excuse because when she’s had the opportunity to notice his change of tone, she hasnt done so. that is enuf for me to conclude that she isnt perceptive to him. As for whether she would have asked him/ or not if she had noticed, we’ll never know.
@ yukimw
Also I’m not suggesting alto’s nice to her out of pity, not at all, just that he is more careful around her because he is aware abt her past trauma. Its a natural response, I’d automatically be nicer/ behave with more delicacy to someone I know has been through smthing like that, not because I pity the person, but because I sympathize with them.
I’m sry, but I intrepret ep 6 table scene differently from you. Her striking a conversation with alto didnt feel to me like she was trying to cheer him up, it felt like she wanted him to pay some attention to her instead of sitting with a bored, disinterested preoccupied look on his face. I dont see anything wrong with that, it was a good move. I think she was feeling awkward because she knows he was with sheryl & felt bad when he says he was alone when she knew this wasnt the case. She asked him a vague question, she got a vague answer.
I’ve explained sheryl’s behaviour in ep 11 in my post above @ druid, kei.
1st. I wouldn’t wanna fall in love with a 14 year old Varja Queen, who sends out fold waves 🙂 I might wake up in a Colorado Canyon or worse, behind the Pluto 😀
2nd. Such a powerful one has a different destiny than of a teenage singing star on a colony vessel. She had fun in her childhood and now holds a third of a galaxy under her wing.
Wow! Bye bye, Alto, I have to run my empire! Brera darling, please take off immediately.
Opening fold now, my Queen… to Varja White House.
@ I agree with ur ep 2 comments & most of some of the stuff that comes after it, but the rest I still have a few issues with but am too lazy to try & explain more.
Lets just agree to disagree since we’re bound to be interpreting scenes differently because of our different shipping preferences. I’d love to continue our discussion once ep 22 airs & we have a little more insight into alto. It was fun while it lasted though. thnx.
Oh & I also think that the more tsun-tsun u are , the more ur hiding what ur actually feeling, so I think its a good sign that alto’s more tsun-tsun with sheryl than ranka.
@ yukime
Sry, I meant to say agree with ur ep 12 comments not 2.
@aneeshadc
It has surely been a long discussion by I really think we must rest and recharge for ep22 which is less than two days from now. ^^ Let’s just say we had stated our opinions and interpretations, agreed and disagreed at some points but definitely came out of discussion enlightened if not more determined to support our shippings. Thank you very much for the good discussion, I had fun and definitely got a look into a Sheryl fan’s way of thinking without popping a nerve. ^_~
Last qualm though..
“Okay, I will concede that she asks him y he joins SMS in ep 4, fine, thats once before ep 21. But she doesnt notice his change of mood when she asks him this question, she would have if she was perceptive to alto’s feelings.”
Alto just avoided the question and gave Ranka a vague answer then added a kami hikouki tap on Ranka’s forehead to make her forget he was being vague. Alto just wanted to keep his past a mystery from Ranka. >__<
Wha? My post was cut… again?!
Anyway, here’s the second part:
Alto: I thought it was my chance *grabs table napkin and starts folding you-know-what*
Ranka: *is curious and WANTS to know more, in short follows through* Chance…?
Alto: That’s why you better not give up too. *taps you-know-what on Ranka’s forehead and smiles* You want to tell everybody, right?
See? Ranka did not lack effort but it’s just Alto trying to avoid the question. And knowing Ranka, she’s not one who presses on a topic that obviously the other person didn’t want to talk about. Sigh~ Alto!!! How can you be this secretive with Ranka?!
Well then everybody, see you next deculture~ I rest my case. ^_~
Things are getting interesting now. I super duper love it! A part of moi is feeling bad for the less extreme and rational sheryl fans, and part of moi wants to mock the rabid, irrational and extreme sheryl fans because I’m sure NOW that sheryl’s chances with Alto is nil. My reasons:
-Alto has MORE bone to pick with Ranka than Sheryl now post ep 21.
-Sheryl wasn’t given a revelation scene that she loves Alto the way Ranka did in 19.
-Sheryl was painted ‘as the other girl’ in Triangular.
-They are always showing 95% of Ranka’s scenes with Alto in flashbacks, while Sheryl scenes barely.
-Ranka AND Alto were given an arc so that they can get closer. The Galia arc. Alto and Sheryl DO NOT have an arc like that.
-Ranka was painted as the underdog to gain love from audience.
-The story revolves around Ranka.
-Ranka has her supporters–Bobby, Luca, Nanase, Michael, OZMA. Sheryl only has Klan. It was probably overkill if she didn’t have atleast one full supporter.
-This one is a biggie: Ranka turned out to be the girl whom Alto opened up to on why he loves to fly, his mother. They talked about freedom. That’s the deepest conversation Alto shared with a girl so far. That was also the most tranquil scene in Macross Frontier yet.
-The parting scene in this ep was done very meticulously with all the close-ups, drama and a surprise song that would catch everyone’s hearts off guard. Sheryl and Alto do not have a special scene like this. I bet you Northern Cross will not have the same impact as this. For one, Northern Cross has been overplayed.
-Alto and Brera’s rivalry stems from Ranka, some other things, and Ranka.
-I lost count of all the Ranka-centric episodes with Legend of Zero being the most prominent.
-And Ranka is the girl who proved that she loves Alto the most.
-Sheryl is more likely to live without Alto as long as she has her songs. Granted if she doesn’t die.
*Technical stuffs*
-Ranka and Alto have official promo arts of JUST the two of them. One was even featured in Triangular ED theme. Sheryl and Alto do not have such a thing. Ranka’s always in the background. What does this usually mean? They’re the main couple of Macross Frontier.
-RankaxAlto has an official promo video of Seikan Hikou in the main website. Didn’t know this? Check it out.
-Sheryl wasn’t supposed to be in the love triangle in the early notes. It was supposed to be Brera/Ranka/Alto.
-Kawamori is in love with Ranka!
-Most importantly. THE LAST EPISODE: ANATA NO OTO [a dokun dokun song made for Ranka, look at the lyrics] WILL BE A RANKA EPISODE. Sheryl’s chances with Alto is nil. Anyone who is still faithfully waiting for a SherylxAlto conclusion will get disappointed. This episode’s turn of events might get some hopes up, but ultimately, you’ll get disappointed in the end.
I’m just saying. Peace out.
What if “Northern Cross” is not really about Sheryl (wishful thinking only on my part :-D). Just would really love to see the reaction on all the Sheryl fans in one particular forum if the next episode turns out to be not what they expected :-D.
@druid
I might have an idea of that forum your talking about.. =P
But we’ll see in less than 8 hours. My bet is the song is for Alto but not the way Sheryl fans expected. See one of my posts above for my prediction~
Tough decisions for Alto…sux to be him >.< (Even I’m having difficulties who’d be better for him LOL)
@ yukime
Thanx, I feel the same. Sry for not replying sooner, my internet busted for a bit, am so glad its working nw, I was almost ready to throw a tantrum of my own, cant wait to see ep 22, I’m so psyched despite clamce’s rather depressing post above.
@Clamce
After watching episode 22, I am definitly not disappointed for supporting SherylXAlto. I am sorry for how much time you took to write that post to analyze the possible end pairing based on scenes from the anime and based on titles of future episodes. I do not have the time to read the entire post (but I promise I will) but what happens (or what is implied to have happened) in this episode is similar to what happened in episode 15 of Gundam SEED and fleshed out (pun!) in the 2nd Special Edition. After realizing what this is, please do not smite Sheryl for it was Alto (channeling some of Makoto Ito and Mitsuki Hayase’s special abilities) who initiated this first contact.
Ok maybe I’m streching the truth a bit too far after watching the scene again. Using another Gundam SEED analogy, Ranka and Sheryl are experiencing something somewhat similar to what Flay and Lacus experienced. The farthest Lacus got to with Kira was a very deep hug while Flay got his first. Ranka got one kiss while Sheryl got one and received one in return.
If the main theme of these posts is speculation, I believe I am also open to mine. Please do not flame me for interpreting that scene in that way. In anime, that kind of thing usually happens afterwards (albeit offscreen).
If the next episode confirms Alto and sheryl ending up together, and all I can say is at least the triangle ended. But I doubt the triangle is at its end, I think the real drama starts when Alto and Ranka meets again (and it’s really getting frustrating to wait for them to end it). I get to like Ranka’s character even more than before at episode 22. I think I’m going to be branded a Ranka bias because of that last comment 😀 (I have to explain later when my head stops throbbing from lack of sleep :D)
@yuKime
It turns out to be a Sheryl episode 😀 I guess my wishful thinking didn’t work :))
Show Spoiler ▼
……..Holy, heck she’s being really stupid and annoying.
FIRST! She tells the guy she loves “I LOVE YOU AND I WANT TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER!!!! But, I’m going to leave you right now…”
What a hyprocrite! She leaves the whole place, leaving them to riot! I’m saying she’s running away or that she’s self pitying herself. I think leaving the whole world on one girl’s shoulder is really hard and all, and I can understand the sorrow and pain that she is going through…but that I can’t forgive. SURE! LEAVE but tell the guy you like that you love him, making him follow you because you cornered him. AND you take Brera-chan with you!! Golly, you really suck in this episode RANKA-B!TCH!