Clearly GARby is ready for a Gundam Battleship Fight.
Well this post is extremely late due to work on a weekend and plum in the middle of the week for Uncle Sam. It also does not help to have fallen off my bicycle and banged up my dominant hand as well. Nevertheless this just about makes up for the poor animation we have been seeing lately and boy was it pretty…
I have a little theory on the origin of the Vajra, there might actually be bio weapons created by another military provider whose experiment had gone awry. Perhaps Ranka was originally meant to be the instrument of control, while Sheryl might have been a copy trained or perhaps manipulated to be a second means of control by a another group intent on bending the Vajra to their will. Given that Macross Galaxy was developing cybernetics not unlike the Vajra in concept perhaps they were meant to be the fleet to bring the Vajra to out and conquer them. Perhaps the companies behind the venture and the powers that be severely underestimated the Vajra and they have since adapted and evolved. While the Vajra are supposedly dumb, they do possess at the very least a low cunning as demonstrated by holding their powerful battleship in reserve rather than committing immediately. If defeating their aspiring masters is indeed their goal then their early recon of Frontier might have revealed to them the presence of Ranka whom they seek to take for their mysterious purposes.
It’s the Combine!
Stalker MkVIII Grace O’Conner
Headcrab Type IV Brera Sterne
So instead of destroying Frontier outright like they could have easily done, taking out the supposedly stronger and more advanced Macross Galaxy would have made the capture of Ranka easier as the not so subtle raiding was not yielding the desired results. At least with Galaxy gone the nearest source of reinforcements is significantly curtailed for the immediate future. It is no secret that Frontier was at least aware of the Vajra threat while Galaxy was in possession of far more advanced weaponry possibly including the VF-27 given that Galaxy was supposed to be the stronger or the two and the seeming impotence of their forces outside of SMS maybe Frontier was meant to be the bait only brought out once Galaxy has more firmly established itself or it was timed to coincide with the Rise of Sheryl. If the capture of Luca was indeed premeditated then it can only be to try and extract information from him because of all the local craft Luca did provide a sizable intelligence cache for minimal effort. Though perhaps I am thinking too much…
One itano circus – 30 million dollars…
Alto-hime fighter show – 1 VF-25 (137.5 million dollars)
Throwing your ex-girlfriend in the path of a lecherous old man – priceless. There are somethings money can’t buy, but for everything else there’s Mercenary Card.
In any case it was quite spectacular with the CG dogfight and music combos making it far superior to some of the previous eps. Given how SMS demonstrated their professionalism by using 4 man flights or “schwarm” and initially relegating Alto-hime to watch Ozma’s six as the latter fought tenaciously was a correct demonstration of proper wingman utilization, as at all times the wingman is to provide situational awareness as a fighter pilot is very vulnerable to unseen enemies as he bores down against a target. I can forgive the reuse of Sheryl’s first concert. It was also good to see that SMS had a specific role for each of its pilots with Ozma, Alto-hime, Klein-sama, the Pixies and the rest of the VF-25/VF-17 complement providing air superiority through an initial fighter sweep, and Combat Air Patrol (CAP) for the capital ships, while Mikhail provided fire support, and Luca frontline information to pass to the more distant bridge crew. By clearing a path for Canaria and her Koning Monster they showed that they were not supermen and were capable of team work and combined arms. By making Canaria’s commitment early there were able to quickly augment the Dulfim’s forward batteries for a later breakout attempt and for fire support to prevent the Vajra from effectively mustering to overwhelm the Dulfim’s already stretched defensive batteries.
Clearly while Ozma’s itano circus was pretty the Koning Monster was the critical factor in upping the awesomeness and spectacle. I do believe that Canaria’s call sign does reveal that she is indeed of the line of usagijen. As to who contributed to the other half of their initial gene pool well, I guess we shall all find out soon enough…
But we love you so much…Oh you meant that maggot, well…
No comeback I see…
Canaria daughter of Usagijen is not amused…All trolls will feel her wrath just like her mother before her.
While Stripey rages at Alto-hime I am much fonder of our aspiring Soldaten-hime for taking the initiative and activating his latent powers to save a comrade in trouble. Mostly because by saving Luca, shouta though he is, a valuable asset to SMS was preserved, and now Nanase is indebted to Alto-hime. I suspect that the crying of that blasted tanuki was a sign of his own insecurity of having Nauzron taking a fancy to Alto-hime and his superior looks as well as prowess in battle. Indeed not even Stipey is his coon skin cap form is nearly as easy on the eyes as Alto-hime getting all hot blooded to save a friend. Oh am I drunk? Well I had a few drinks here and there to dull the pain enough to type…
So when the Princess is in danger the bridge crew swings into action to save their Kabuki-hime with Bobby going into his GARby mode, as the triple combo of Lam, Mina, and Monica provide the needed intel to make the final commitment of Macross Quarter decisive. Poor Cathy has a long way to go before warning the trust and camaraderie of her fellow bridge crew. Still I guess Bobby had fun popping Cathy’s combat cherry…
Oh my gawd, Sheryl is a closet mecha fan!
Among other things…
Especially Alto-hime, I trust that Pilot-hime will be seeing this dress someday under very different circumstances…
Speaking of which I wonder how much dirt Klein nee-sama has on Mikhail? Mikhail crying after some run in with Micron Klein? Oh, most elegant and skill of Meltrandi Klein-sama I do hope you tell that tale and many more…
Sheryl could may as well have earned her moniker as the Galactic Fairy through her numerous magical girl holographic transformations. Once again Alto-hime was not far off in calling Cheryl an exhibitionist. Though I have to say this was to be expected given how racy idols are these days, its only going to get worse as the years go by, let us not forget that this was once considered racy enough to be only shown in the wee hours of the night. Given that this is no different from what we see today I can forgive Sheryl for doing her job to the best of her ability even the less than savory parts. Still Sheryl has taken quite a fancy of her Pilot-hime, and vice versa as the earing did help out in some strange way though if it was the power of Ranka’s voice or that of an rabu rabu Sheryl remains to be seen. While Shirukii blasts Sheryl for crying fake tears, I think that they were True Tears for her Alto-hime who at the time, might never be seen again. Even if you don’t like Sheryl at least she was able to inspire Ranka to get out of her rut and be genki again. The two bonding through music was cheesy and made Calawain gouge his eyes and blast his eardrums, but I liked it.
Poor Ranka is all alone…
At least it’s not as pathetic as a dakimakura of Alto-hime.
I guess Sheryl does come close to to the loveliness of Alto-hime…
So in the end Brera Sterne makes his odd entrance and given his knowledge of Ranka’s song he might well be her long lost onii-chan, whatever his identity it is clear that he and Ranka do share something and Sterne is not yet a full fledged ally or enemy yet. On the one hand he has killed Vajra, but on the other did stop Alto-hime from blasting apart the mouth of the Vajra mothership (though it is possible the Brera intervened to prevent the severing of a vital nerve for the mouth to open). I suspect that his real reason for being there was to collect data and observe the operation for his unseen masters. Kabtizin thinks that it was much more sinister, but I have my doubts as misteh VF-27 didn’t blow Alto-hime slag in his Ex-Gear, though maybe even that emotionless dolt Brera was taken by Alto-hime’s beauty. Given that Brera’s HUD is much more sophisticated than that of the VF-25s I suspect that Brera is working for Macross Galaxy’s backers.
Well your highness we meet again…
Oh Noes Alto-hime dai pinchi!
The Kabuki-hime are belong to us.
Well it looks like the next ep is going to have to suffer for this beautiful technical display. I just hope it’s not eye gougingly awful. Well given how interesting things were when last Sheryl came to Alto-hime at school I hope things will be just as fun now that Ranka has entered the mix. Kabuki-hime though seems slightly less than thrilled about the next ep though…I suspect it has something to do with Sheryl’s earring.
Voted hawtest bestest C++ Programmer, twice.
Okay tell me where to go.
Oh SH-
Well I did say hawtest, not smartest…
18 Comments
I dunno about the financial cost of kicking off an Itano Circus, but I do feel for whoever has to load those missiles in in the first place.
An overall decent episode, though the only thing that got me really interested was Brera’s appearance (well, Ranka glowing after Sheryl started crying was also somewhat bizarre). Was his name mentioned during the episode? I totally missed it. Anyway, it’s time to shift our attention back to Ranka, and this guy obviously has something to do with her, hence my excitement.
Now that there is much higher demand, do you think that missiles are cheaper now? I couldn’t help but wonder, since Ozma was ranting at Alto before about the price of the VF-25. Also, Galaxy having better VF units reminds me of consoles and games coming out in Japan before America =(.
Deflated-hair Ranka was sad, but she hasn’t contributed too much in the last few episodes. My guess is that in 2-3 episodes Ranka will either save everyone or get captured.
Hmm, I hope Ranka doesn’t get captured, I’ve never liked the whole damsel in distress thing and rescue arcs tend to suck pretty hard.
Oh, and as for Sheryl, it’s not her tears that I was accusing of being falsified, I have no doubt those were True Tears. It was her on stage theatrics otherwise, the profuse thanking of fans for their support, the “aishiteru”, those things.
@IKnight
Well if we go by the cost of the current “cheap” AIM-9 then the cost is roughly around the 9 million mark so I guess 30 million is a bit out there, until you account for inflation…
I am sure that in the future they have machines that can refuel and reload a second itano circus in less than 7 minutes and 45 secs allowing for a single VF-25 to sortie more times than the IAF.
@Myu
I just hope Brera isn’t Ranka’s onii-chan…
@Kabitzin
Yeah weapons get cheaper as demand increase hence why the F-22 costs so much per unit is because the Air Force scaled back their orders thus gaining less overall from the investment in the research and development. It seems that Galaxy gets cooler toys, but I am sure SMS is more than ready to meet the potential challenge, as the VF-25 seems to be in quantity, and that a has a quality all its own.
If Ranka does get captured I am sure Alto-hime will come to save her…
@Shirukii
Well Sheryl is a diva afterall…and we know that even the best of them can be insufferable despite their talents. Besides tsun tsun Sheryl is reserved for Alto-hime as is the real dere dere Sheryl.
It figures – Episode 7 is where everyone gets sexy or gets an appearance upgrade… and even Bobby doesn’t look as.. wimpy? Scrawny? And we go back to bad art in episode 8… doh!
As for missiles, I suspect they’re probably a lot cheaper than losing a VF, which may be the overriding concern with any military, much less a contractor like SMS. Which means that, given the choice between a few million used for a missile attack that succeeds in taking out a good chunk of the enemy forces, or losing the VF and pilot… they’d rather shell out for missiles.
And yes, quantity has a quality of its own… which is probably why the Vajra kicked much Galaxy ass. But man, I loved Klan in this episode along with the Konig Monster. She looks really good when she’s not… ahem… suffering from ‘quality’ art, and the Konig Monster brings back fond memories of ass-kickings from the original Macross that accompanied its arrival on deck.
It was awsome seeing the Konig Monster, that girl Canaria is hot!, i wonder if Ozma is with her now or if he still harbors feelings for Kathy Glass. From the look of things, I think Alto is going to be in a world of shit in the next episode
Best part of this episode for me was the Quarter getting into a melee battle with the Vajra Mothership. How often do you get to watch a ship to ship melee anyways?
Bracing for the impact of episode 8. Hopefully it would see our green haired goddess restored to her rightful place.
@Haesslich
I savored the moment when Macross Frontier looks as it should. I sewar this time around Alto-hime in helmet looked very passable as a girl this time, more so than before. Machines and pilots represent a greater investment in terms of money and time. Ammunition is much easier to manufacture and can be produced in quantity while every VF-25 represents a bigger expenditure in man hours.
I think that at least having a more lovely Klein-sama was a good thing even if her on screen time was limited, though that shall change in ep 9…
@Luke
If Ozama is in a triangle of his own then he better move quickly before his time runs out…
@Setsuna-san
Ep eight looks like another budget ep I just hope that it will be good enough despite that.
No doubt Macross Quarter will be having a long vacation between duking it out in space, though it does get the blood pumping.
wow thats awesome the latest episode… we should make wallpapers on Macross Frontier =D check out our wallpapers at http://www.aznwallpaper.com
I have to say, the space battle in this episode was great. Not only did we see just how much of an expert flier Ozma was (as Alto noted, he could execute those acrobatic maneuvers on his valkyrie despite its armored configuration), we also see the Koenig Monster in action, and does it pack a punch. The only (slight) disappointment I had with the sequence was the fact that, well, the Macross Quarter seems comparatively tiny when compared with say, oh, Battle 7 (at 400 meters or so, it’s barely larger than some of the capital ships in the old UC Gundam series, whereas the Battle series neared a kilometer in length). The Macross cannon it used was also a little underwhelming, reminding me more of the Synchro cannons used in the Children of the Shadows movie (which I just recently acquired a copy of).
*facepalms* Well duh, it just occured to me that it’s probably the reason why the SMS flagship is called the Macross Quarter — since it’s around quarter the size of your average Macross/Megaroad-class warship.
Crusader: Generally, as you’ve pointed out, training costs can run into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions (factoring in equipment, the pay of the trainers, etc) and losing a pilot or his/her machine (which itself is worth millions too, probably) is likely to be more of a concern than spending a similar amount on munitions – but getting a good return on the latter in the process. Ozma’s proof of this – look at how he kept the Armored VF-25 moving well enough that Alto, in the supposedly faster and more maneuverable Super configuration was having a hard time keeping up.
Still, we need more Klein-sama in all forms, although I think I like the big, oneesama form more than her chibi-form.
Macross Quarter was cool, but it was the Konig Monster that really caught my attention, as it reminded me of the times when I used to play Mechwarrior.
The only good thing that happened here to me are Brera and his harmonica. Okay, maybe the space opera too…but that’s it. Seriously, when are they going to stop exploiting Sheryl’s skin. I feel like 60% of Sheryl’s purpose in this show is fanservice. Make that 70%.
@Shirukii- I heard in episode 10…SPOILER!!rankawillbeattackedbyvajra!!SPOILER! But I think it’s going to be a good episode. =/ After episode 8, I’m starting to get sick of Sheryl’s uber screentime =_=
I did not really enjoy this episode at all ….
@Myssa Rei
I think that Macross Quarter while tiny is more along the lines of an a assault carrier. Useful in missions that do not warrant the use of a full fleet carrier, but fills a support role just as nicely. While I hesitate to give it the name of battle cruiser it almost fills the role of independent ship that can operate on its own with little or no escort, though for it to use its most destructive weapon it has to lose its launch capabilities. Size does not matter, and it does fit in with the more combined arms ethos that this series is giving. Macross Quarter may be powerful but she still needs supporting elements. Keep in mind that it was not one fleet carrier that brought the Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere crumbling down in a few bloody years but it was the 3rd Fleet under Halsey and Spruance of 8 Fleet Carriers, 8 Light Carriers, 18 Escort Carriers, 12 Battleships, 24 Cruisers, 141 Destroyers and Destroyer Escorts, Loads of PT boats and Subs that provided the cudgel batter the Japanese Combined Fleet to the bottom of the Pacific. Even if Macross Quarter is not destroying entrie fleets by itself it can still be the pride of the fleet.
@Haesslich
Oh we waste plenty of ammo teaching people how to shoot and lob grenades in live shoots. SMS is more along the lines of modern Western Militaries in that capital intensive warfare is acceptable as the labor pool is decidedly small and constitutes a precious resource and unlike beans and bullets quotas for recruitment are quite variable.
If we wanted to do things on the cheap we can have your average Soviet Conscript lob potatoes instead as the Commissar reminds him how those potatoes are worth more than the conscript…
Yeah Loli-Klien is competing with Ranka, but as All-Meltran Klein she is in a league of her own.
@Shin
You know watching this episode made me want to convert my artillery miniatures to resemble the Konig Monster…
Ah mechwarrior tell me did you ever get one of them battlepods?
@Ricaryx
Ranka will come into her own. Sheryl’s star will not last forever, that is why she has opted for pilot training…
Still the adversity will make Ranka all the more stronger and hopefully more humble when she achieves stardom.
@blissmo
Patience, my friend Ranka will have her day. Still just sit back and enjoy the fire works. Besides don’t you wish you had a Konig Monster of your own?
Crusader: It’s more that, after a certain point, throwing large mobs of poorly-armed soldiers at an enemy doesn’t work that well… so you end up spending the money to train and equip them properly, since (in cold, hard economic terms) it’s much cheaper to do it that way than to lose the soldier and the cheap gun they were carrying while probably failing to accomplish the objective. This way, you’ve lost the soldier, his or her equipment, the (minimal) training costs associated with them, the cost of transporting them to the place of battle, as well as any munitions, fuel, and other necessities expended to keep the soldier going up until their time of death.
That’s why China’s been upgrading its weapons tech for the past ten, fifteen years instead of following through with the old Soviet model of ‘build a cheap thousand tanks and throw them all at the enemy’ method. Especially if the other side can throw out WMDs or other weapons which can do massive damage on a wide scale, which negates the whole ‘mass = quality’ argument. Sure, if you’re going up against one guy with a machine-gun with a few hundred thousand people carrying single-action rifles the latter will eventually win out due to their being able to absorb all the damage that the former will do until the survivors can take the guy down… but if the enemy can throw out greater numbers (as the Zentradi could) or else massive, group-clearing damage (that Vajra battleship seems to be able to do the same thing for capital ships, and has enough anti-AAS fire to hold off a mass attack by fighters), then large numbers alone aren’t the solution. One only has to look at World War One to see how mass charges could be negated by area-denial as well as mass artillery tactics (which were in turn area-denial, especially when you can air-deploy mines or bomblets).
Numbers, combined with the ability to replenish them quickly may be A solution (remembering that it takes about 13-16 years to get a decent physical specimen from conception to being able to carry a weapon if you’re not picky about how young they are, combined with enough cognitive ability to carry out a plan)… but if you have technology, proper training, AND numbers, you’re likely to be a lot more successful.
This also doesn’t take into account the fact that those soldiers, after being demobilized and discharged, are useful in terms of generating wealth in various fields, even if they’re only operating machines on an assembly line somewhere… or farming, or whatever. Massive casualties doesn’t just impact military operations, but civilian ones as well – more so in industral or post-industrial societies than agrarian ones (which don’t usually have the means to support an army anyways, lacking the ability to mass-produce in quantity the supplies that soldiers need, as well as the excess resources to support a standing army whose members aren’t actively farming or otherwise harvesting or creating resources to support themselves). Even ‘economic survival by conquest’ has its limits… since eventually, you run out of people ot conquer, or those populations you’ve conquered get ‘tapped out’.