Yeah Team Seven Color Carrots also know how they are full of fail…
So yeah I just finished my convention and turned in my crap-tastic 5 page paper on a short story scarcely 3 pages long, so I finally have a bit of a lull in the drudgery of school work. I lost big time at WHFB so it was nice to have Macross Frontier subbed when I dragged my defeated self back home. In any case animation takes a hit though unlike Shirukii I don’t think that it was unwatchable but it was gratingly inconsistent with Ranka and Sheryl changing colors every so often. At least most if it looks like C grade work not mind fucking ugly, but more like characters growing and shrinking from time to time and use of still frames for some characters. I hope that the budget animation teams gets better and to their credit it wasn’t as bad in my opinion in episode 6 as Sheryl and Ranka largely escaped the ugly stick with a few minor blows here and there. As things go I expected a lot worse, but got something that didn’t make me want to gouge mein eyes out.
The most dreaded thing in the known universe…
Kids don’t like ‘em.
Alto-hime fears them.
So Ranka gets a small job in trying to use her singing to promote rainbow carrots, sadly despite the catchy tune and people’s passing interest in Ranka’s song the carrots just ruined it. Though I have to say those kawaii zentrandi kids did not pack up and leave until they realized that Ranka was selling carrots, and as much things change many things stay the same. Namely those kids still hate their veggies. Despite working fruitlessly trying to sell those gawd awful carrots, Ranka does get into Miboshi Academy to have a school life with her beloved Alto-hime. Unfortunately fate is not so kind and Sheryl comes a few scant minutes later to see Alto-hime as well.
Yar.
Isn’t she pretty?
Oh Sheryl thinks hime is very pretty…
I can sort of understand why Alto-hime is a bit annoyed with having both Ranka and Sheryl around. In the case of Ranka she is after all the boss’ daughter and only a fool would try and date Ranka while Ozma still lives and can kick arse out of fly him and kill him on a blue on blue scenario. As for Sheryl well we can see how interesting things get when she is around, and undoubtedly her last visit left quite an impression. Alto-hime also lost her precious earring and thus I can understand why pilot-hime is trying desperately to evade. Lastly the thing he dreaded most has occurred both Ranka and Sheryl are now familiar with his title of hime, thus for once Sheryl failed in labeling Alto-hime as a slave, and was forced to acknowledge his hime status. In any case Ranka has still not made clear her feelings to Alto-hime and even goes as far as denying it to her friends. Nevertheless Nanase is happy to have Ranka aboard for school and Luca likes his yuri too. We now have the official blessing for our RankaxNanase yuri doujins!
Must you ask my dear?
Well he did lose her precious earring…
Yes Luca has good taste.
Oh my Sheryl is bi!
Sheryl 1, Nanase 0, Patriots 7
Unlike Kabitzin I think Alto-hime will learn the ways of love soon enough. Besides if you were raised to play women’s roles in theater to absolute perfect you would probably be apprehensive towards women. After all being heir to the School of Mako-cakes Kabuki means that Alto-hime knows almost every trick in the book when it comes to women getting what they want. How else could hime have trashed a VF-25 twice and not get his head taken? I don’t find Alto-hime annoying he’s just an ignorant hime who has never been in love. Declaring Sheryl as his waifu might end in humiliation as Sheryl is notoriously tsun tsun and has legions of male admirers so as a lowly pilot having a pop star girlfriend is probably as fantastic as it gets and even if it did occur it would have to be secret as Sheryl must still appear available to remain a songstress. As for Ranka I am sure the hime fears Ozma and what might happen if he were to break Ranka’s heart. Right now Alto-hime is walking on eggs loaded with dynamite, so I think we should forgive hime for feigning ignorance and going slowly in his budding relationships. Hime is risking his heart as well. Thus far there seems to be no romantic vibe from Alto-hime towards Ranka so for hime to make a move at this point would be rather sleazy. If Nanase is also an aspirant for the hand of Alto-hime Luca will be one sad man. Well at least Luca will always have Samson…
Not everyone is elated at Sheryl’s presence.
I am surprised they did not try an steal a peek.
Then again a pair of pantsu is about as close as these boys will ever get.
Clearly Sheryl’s Pantsu has more fans…
So Macross Galaxy has turned up missing though to what ends we cannot be certain though Leon seems to be worried about infections, so perhaps the Vajra are attacking the colony fleets for biomass? In any case it seems that Cathy is in a love triangle of her own trying to string along Leon and get Ozma back. Hopefully it will prove interesting now that Leon might be getting the first signs that his waifu is getting rabu rabu for her old flame. Not sure why the Dulfim broke formation, but perhaps it was the sole survivor of an early breakout attempt given that the Kaitos was providing escort. Thus I doubt it was the cowardly mutiny of two captains and their crews simultaneously. If Galaxy was destroyed there should at least have been some debris but given that there was nothing they were either annihilated, made one last desperate fold without proper calculations, or they were eaten in detail.
Well at least he ain’t carrying a mirror with him where ever he goes…
Yeah unlike Grace, Cathy is going to grow old an wrinkly.
Though Leon thinks that is fine too.
I have my issues with brining in both Sheryl and Ranka into Miboshi at the same time. However, this does mean that there will be no more school introduction episodes unless Brera also gets into Miboshi. It also hammers home how poor Ranka is always playing second fiddle to Sheryl, though Sheryl seems to be doing this unintentionally. I have to say I doubt that the entertainment class would have been nearly as big without the initial recruitment of Alto-hime also note how that class had only girls… Ranka will be joining them soon enough and if Ranka is smart she will be asking Alto-hime for some kabuki tutoring given how even in pilot class Alto-hime can’t vanquish his old kabuki teachings. So Sheryl decides that the Ex-Gear is about the coolest thing since cheese whiz and takes up a crash course in learning how to use one. Sadly her delicate manners didn’t translate well and she had trouble allaying the brute strength of the Ex-Gear.
So after breaking many eggs Sheryl, Ranka, and Nanase hit the showers where Sheryl offers Ranka a job. However Nanase thinks that Sheryl is belittling Ranka, but I believe that Sheryl is trying to help even if she doesn’t realize that Ranka no longer sees her as her hero. Nonetheless it was quite masterful on Sheryl’s part to turn the tables on Nanase and put her in the hot seat as a potential suitor for Alto-hime. Sheryl was so good not only was Nanase embarrassed before other women, but even Ranka wanted to know too. While Mikhail wants to know all the details from Alto-hime, the hime is tight lipped and for good reason. With Mikhail you had a loose lipped fellow who could easily incite jealousy from the male students for a day or two over the relationship between the Hime and the Queen. Still I doubt those boys would mind heck Luca is so far gone his mind has seriously wandered. As for the girls it seems that they are all for HimexQueen.
Like Alto-hime Sheryl likes to strike poses at random intervals.
She also turns into someone else when serious…
Queen Sheryl like Alto-hime is always late for something…
So Sheryl eventually loses her pantsu and like true Japanese men the male students go racing after it missing out on some Sheryl in towel. Moving quickly Sheryl sends Ranka off to work as she dresses herself in record time and races towards Samson. After getting Luca to stand aside Sheryl takes the Ex-Gear, but forgets to engage the lock. She also forgot that she hasn’t gotten the course on stopping… So after faffing about desperately and busting walls, Alto-hime suits up in an effort to stop her. Sheryl does get her pantsu but bangs up Samson causing Luca to cry true tears. Alto-hime quick as ever saves the Queen and then they go off on a little dayto as Ranka sings her song after her show got cancelled in favor of Sheryl’s. Ominously Ranka also meets Brera who actually has claws. Ranka survives the encounter and the next day Sheryl enrolls in the pilot course. I expect a spike in the numbers of aspiring pilots at Miboshi.
Genki Ranka is much preferred.
Too bad her manager sucks.
At least she has a new friend in a Vajra larva…
I think that this new VF-25 with all the accessories is about best mecha in this season, a fighter and mecha in a single package along with the coolest ejection system in recent memory. So in the end Sheryl again blows Ranka out of the water by being more upfront with Alto-hime, I suspect that Ranka will be in the ascendant once Brera makes his schemes known. So fret not Blissmo! Nevertheless Ranka is still despondent about being in Sheryl’s shadow and suffering from a major inferiority complex. Alto-hime is still not aware of Ranka’s feelings and she has still made little effort in grabbing his attention. Sheryl on the other hand is scoring major points in wooing over Atlo-hime as she not only has hime guilt tripped, but now has adopted kouhai status in the pilot course. Seeing as how she does not like womanizers like Mikhail we all know who she is going to pick for her favorite sempai tutor. Still it is good to see that Ranka is trying despite the fact that Leon is keeping her down for the sake of the Frontier Fleet. Sheryl is making the most of her unplanned vaction on Frontier and at the very least will have some other skills to fall back on once her pop star career fades into memory.
What the-
Sweet Mother of Pearl…
Sheryl is going commando…
Says Alto-hime as he gets a feel for Sheryl’s thighs…
I really want to root for Ranka but she has yet to make clear her feelings and I really want her to make a bold declaration of her love for Alto-hime. Still Ranka is keeping her work secret from Alto-hime, Hime doesn’t even know about her songs for promoting seven colored carrots… Already we see that Ranka is going through tough times because of Sheryl’s star power, and their conflict will be painful. In either case Alto-hime while masterfully evading the initial entanglements will have a hard decision to make and some one is going to get hurt, and right now I don’t want either Sheryl or Ranka to be heart broken.
That’s the second date thus far, third if you count the safety shelter incident…
It’s a free fleet after all.
I am sure the Queen and her Hime will get along just fine…
Well next time it’s going to be about Mikhail hitting Alto-hime in his insolence because of something about his dead sister. Not sure how Klein-sama is going to factor in but Micron-Klein is always good, and perhaps she will tell us the tale of Mikhail’s sis-con. Maybe Stripey will make a new friend in Mikhail…
He is Mikhail.
He hits women men.
This is his weakness.
16 Comments
“She also turns into someone else when serious…”
As in Minami Kana or someone else, because that shot looks like that one face Kana makes in Okawari when she did that thumbs up to Chiaki.
I hope I can believe your words … but still, I wanted NoexShin in true tears but nooooo, so now I think that whatever pair I root for will never work out.
That last image makes Klein look like a kind of informal Abh. (Is this the most tangential comment I’ve ever made? Probably.)
I wonder if i could get a lollipop the same size as those zentrandi children have.
How can Alto remain so apathetic with his hands in such close proximity to the crotch of a galactic idol who isn’t wearing pantsu, it’s madness!
God I can’t wait for loli Klein next episode, she doesn’t get nearly as much screen time as she deserves.
@EX-Keine
Not sure if it was intentional but somehow I doubt it was, now if Sheryl can get Alto-hime to dress like Mako-cakes then we can confirm the similarities…
@Blissmo
You know just because Sheryl is in the lead now deon’t mean that Ranka won’t win out in the end. This is going to be a marathon not a sprint. Besides Minmay lost out to Misa and Misa didn’t triumph until the end…
@IKnight
Well Klein-sama is an excellent pilot, and has blue hair and elf ears…so in a sense she is not that far removed from the Imperial House of the Abh Empire. Though I’d prefer her to have red eyes and normal ears…
@Cherubium
Good question I wonder if Zentradi have to pay more or the same for food stuffs…
@Shirukii
Get you mind out of the gutter, it would not have been Alto-hime’s hand but the gauntleted fist of an Ex-Gear…not exactly the ideal implement to use when trying to get close…
Besides Alto-hime has already seen the goods so why show them off to the public?
Klein-sama will get more time though sadly she has to share with that lout Mikhail. I hope she has some stories to tell about weepy crying Mikhail…
okay… can someone tell me a little about the purpose and creation of the “big people?” I think I skipped that part when it was explained how they came to be.
@sara
The Zentradi (males) and Meltrandi (females) were a race of giants created by Protoculture to serve a soldiers and were only alloted the most basic of skills to function as soldiers that being no culture, scientific innovation, basic maintenance, music, emotions, etc. They served as the first antagonists in the original Macross as their fleets scoured the galaxy to wipe out surviving Supervision Army forces. They eventually ally with the humans (Microns) who awakened their latent capacity for emotions such as love and compassion. Eventually the Zendradi Giants could become small and interact with their mircon cousins who were also created by Protoculture. In the years of peace that followed Zentradi no longer relied on cloning processes to maintain their but rather they could procreate with microns and each other to produce offspring hence why there are Zentradi children running about on Frontier. However not all Zentradi have made peace with the humans and there are still fleets out there still roaming the galaxy.
Zentradi are as a rule more hardy than regular humans and their hair seems to be sympathetic to their emotions hence why Ranka being 1/4 Zentradi has hair movements. Hope this helps.
About Mikhail… I was wondering just how much of a Zentraedi-descendant he is, given the fact that, in some of the earlier episodes anyway, he sported half-elvish type canted ears. Whether this is a production quirk or not has yet to be seen, but still, given his (alluded-to) childhood connection to Klan, it’s something to ponder to say the least.
I suspect that Mikhail is only part Zedntradi as he hasn’t roamed about in giant form other wise he would have no need to avoid All-Meltran Klein-sama outside the work setting. Besides given his womanizing ways I suspect that his Zentran ancestors embraced their new found ability to get along with meltrans a bit too enthusiastically…
I hope Klein has pictures of that lout Mikhail from the ye olde days…I guess we get a more full picture once ep 9 airs.
The boss’ daughter idea never struck me at all. Perhaps if more people saw it like that, they’d be more understanding about Alto’s tsun. Not that Hime needs a reason for it.
I’m worried about how Sheryl’s been setup as a foil for Ranka’s character. Unless they show more of how Sheryl deals with adversity, it’s going to be more difficult to relate to her point of view. It would also help if we knew where she wanted to go with her life from here; everyone knows that Ranka’s dream is to become a star, but we’ve seen much less of what unfinished dreams Sheryl still harbors. I can guess, but nothing’s been really driven home yet. (I love her newfound interest in piloting, though. Closet mecha fan indeed.)
I never would have expected this to become the “romance anime” (if I’m allowed to call it that) of the season. I was almost starting to give up on the genre. Now I’ve gotta track down the earlier series as well.
“Eventually the Zendradi Giants could become small and interact with their mircon cousins who were also created by Protoculture.” – wait… so only the giants could shrink for reproduction purposes? Just the male or both females and males? How do they shrink, anyway? Also, if they do mix breed, would their offsprings be considered giants or Microns?
@Swampstorm
The Romance in Macross has traditionally tended toward the simple and sweet side, not overly dramatic with suicides or anything like that, but it works.
Sheryl seems to focus on moving forward to get beyond her problems, but we shall see how she will handle once she hits a wall.
@sara
As far as I can tell only pure blood Zentrans and Meltrans can become giants, there seems to be no way to up size a human so they shrink in order to interact with society. It also makes things easier resource wise. Macross Frontier seems to have an abundance of resources so they can afford to allow the Zentradi and Meltrandi roam about in their natural state. Those who are only part Zentradi or Meltrandi are unable to become giants (IIRC) or at least they don’t make a habit of it they do however inherit some of the innate toughness that makes them more robust than regular humans. Hope that answered your question.
Actually Crusader, half-Zentraedi CAN be Macronized, though as to HOW they are able to do it is never really explained. Case in point, Emilia (Max’s 5th daughter) in Macross 7 and Komilia (Max’s first daughter) in the VF-X PS games. Also, Max was macronized in the DYRL movie (which we know isn’t really canon by a ‘movie’ within the Macross universe).
Well to be honest I have never played the Macross games nor was I ever able to endure all of Macross 7. So myu knowledge is limited. Thanks for the correction though. However I think of DYRL was a condensed version of the first Macross and while well done is not canon…so the matter is still up for debate in regards to those with less Zentradi blood or mere humans. Good to know that halfies hacn do it though as I said before Macross 7 was just too painful for me…
Myssa Rei: They don’t explain how it works, but I doubt quarter-Zentrans like Ranka could make the transition… and the sorta/kinda canon Macross 7 had Sound Energy as a factor, so I’m not sure how to take it. No signs Mikhail is half-Zentran though… or at least, nothing definitive, although his sister seemed to have the pointed ears too.
DYRL was in-universe propaganda, as it sidelined Misa for the most part… and had the more divatastic Minmay. Sorta like a Macross version of Battleship Potemkin, perhaps?
Crusader: Macronized Chibi Klein is like the cutest thing we’ve seen so far. Sadly, she even outshines Ranka in cuteness… but that didn’t last. She got sexy, though.
And she’s cuter with Nene hiding behind her.