Macross Frontier - 21 August 28
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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
 |
 |
 |
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
 |
 |
 |
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.
nycs at 6:37 pm on August 28th, 2008
RANKAA!!!!! Good episode. I guess next episode has to do with the song Northern Cross.
SeedStriker at 6:39 pm on August 28th, 2008
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
Slade at 6:47 pm on August 28th, 2008
Alto needs a good shot to the head.. Sheryl is the better match…
Dokushaku at 6:47 pm on August 28th, 2008
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 . . .
Atashi at 6:48 pm on August 28th, 2008
There needs to be an Sheryl X Ranka ending.
Landor at 6:49 pm on August 28th, 2008
That’s the standard hero/leading man look for Luca….Instant maturity!
mutio at 6:49 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
dangan at 6:51 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
smurf at 6:51 pm on August 28th, 2008
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!!!
Marvin at 6:55 pm on August 28th, 2008
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!
GP at 6:58 pm on August 28th, 2008
Ranka running away again, some things never change.
Jusuchin at 7:00 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
Lurker at 7:05 pm on August 28th, 2008
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
AGear2Ax at 7:06 pm on August 28th, 2008
Sasuke is that you?
diva at 7:17 pm on August 28th, 2008
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?
lux at 7:18 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
Lurker at 7:19 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
Ru at 7:33 pm on August 28th, 2008
@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
Haesslich at 7:35 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.
nycs at 7:42 pm on August 28th, 2008
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.