Macross Frontier 09: Of Giant Lolis, and the Boy Who Loved Them

So that’s why Mikhail has a thing for bigger women…And I thought that Klein could not look any more loli.

Well that was much better than last week and the subs came out sooner than anticipated, but just as well. So this time get a bit of back ground on our resident sniper and Class A asshole, Mikhail Blanc. This episode was definitely a step up from episode 8 and does qualify as a leap and bound. A lot more Klein-sama this time around, with Sheryl and Ranka stepping off to the side, in favor of the renowned Meltrandi Warrior.

Ranka is magnificent, and sweet mother of Minmay one of Mikhail’s fangirls is in the entertainment class…should have pulled a Sheryl and joined the flight team.

Nanase can’t wait to draw Alto-hime in the nude, neither can that Satomi girl on the far right, remember from Ep 5? (A sign that the A-Team is on station, brining back the minors who we have met before…)

Dang Queen has to stand out in everything doesn’t she, well at least she is using the traditional royal color of purple…

So it seems that while Sheryl is reaping the rewards of her new pilot class as Alto-hime bemoans the loss of practice flight time Mikhail seems content on a little break as he tries to work his magic on Grace. I suspect that Grace is being a bit more than nosy and is perhaps the one backing Brera. Not only is grace privy to the court martial of Jessica Blanc she has also been spying on top level meetings of the Frontier big wigs. She also has the perfect cover as Sheryl’s manager as she is now able to be in direct contact with three of SMS’ VF-25 pilots. Grace also seems able to push the correct number of buttons in Mikhail causing him to dwell upon the fate of his sister Jessica. Given how Grace is able to hack with impunity and is curious enough to go snoop on top level meetings I suspect Grace is part of a rival private military contractor to SMS. We know that Leon is in the back of Mr. Briller, owner of SMS, and his top priority seems to be the capture of the Vajra. Brera and perhaps Grace are more intent on destroying the Vajra rather than harnessing them. Though to what ends remains to be seen.

Such was Mikhail’s state that he could not shoot straight and nearly kills Alto-hime in a blue on blue. While accidents in the controlled confusion of battle does occur the fact that Mikhail was such a braggart led his ally Alto-hime to expect too much. Only after hitting the Jessica nerve does Mikhail start abusing his Zentran blood to beat up Alto-hime. Luca is powerless to stop them from going at it and the Pixies decline to interfere with the fight. I have to sympathize with Alto-hime on this one I’d be freaking pissed if some braggart sniper nearly killed me in a blue on blue. Pilot-hime had a right to be angry, and Mikhail should have apologized given how close he came to wasting his battle buddy.

Yes we must know more about Grace, so tell me what is your favorite color? What are your three sizes? What is the capital of Assyria?

Nene has SIS-CON! What say ye tanuki scallywag? Is this sis-con?

Nene is the best…tell me how does Klein-sama’s hair smell like?

I also thought it was so awesome how Nene (the tall pink haired one) was taking cover behind Klein onee-san. As Pilot-hime goes to the clinic to be put back together again, Klein macronizes herself to confront Mikhail as he gets all emo and fails to put a round on target. Mikhail being the ass that he is gets all defensive as Klein tries to reason with him. I suspect that Mikhail’s love of older women is the result of latent sis-con and an instance that he is not a loli-con that would target micronized Klein. You have to feel a bit for Klein-sama. It is all too obvious that she loves that lousy sniper, but being together in micron form just isn’t in the cards as Mikhail would be arrested if he tried anything. Given how Jessica never went into macron form to be a sniper it is reasonable to assume that Mikhail can’t macronize himself to go on a dayto with All-Meltran Klein. Judging by how both Brera and Alto-hime experienced flashes as sniper shots whizzed by their heads we have reason to believe that for the VF-25 in battroid form the cockpit is situated in the head. Hence Klein’s slap of Mikhail’s VF-25 was meant to give the lousy sniper a good rattle. Edit (thanks Haesslich): Cockpits are still in the chest somewhere, though judging my Klein’s prodigious amount of force I say that lout Mikhail did get a good rattle…

This is Bobby. He is a mild mannered make up artist.

This is GARby, Helmsman of Macross Quarter and has the death sentence on twelve systems…

Know the difference, ain’t that right Elmo?

Ranka is trying to make it big despite the efforts of Leon and his gang of hackers. Bobby seems to want to help Ranka as well and goes into GARby mode to hammer home the point to the manager, Elmo. Ranka seems to be having fun at Miboshi with her mini-choir and Nanase seems to be an aspiring artist along with the girls who stole into the aviation club’s locker room to rifle through the personal effects of Alto-hime. Sheryl is starting her pilot training to start some sort of TV show I guess to keep the memory of Macross Galaxy alive. Given that Sheryl has not been given a job at SMS nor has she been commissioned as a pilot for NUNS I think that Shirukii is a bit off in his assessment that Sheryl is faking a war career. Also since Sheryl is wearing the same colors as Alto-hime’s flight suit I do think the Galactic Fairy taking up arms will be as far from the frontlines and the only combat she will be seeing is on TV. Still I have to commend Sheryl for her little scheme no only does she have a legitmate excuse for getting into the pilot course and joining the Miboshi Aviation team she gets to stick around Kabuki-hime and not get shooed away. After all her cause is just, even if her show is going to be campy.

Oh yeah when it comes to you Kabuki-hime everything Queen Sheryl does is on purpose…

She also made off with one of Alto-hime’s pilot suits.

Who said Sheryl was going to war? She just wanted to wear you clothes after the hawt and rough…training. Though worry not you still look better in the suit, Alto-hime. Wait what the…

Ozma is not amused that Alto-hime and Mikhail are having a falling out and summarily declares them worthless as they sortie out to destroy and perhaps capture a few samples from a Vajra nest. Brera is sent out to destroy the nest and prevent the capture of any samples. In his pimped out VF-27 Brera easily defeats Klein in a skillfully executed dogfight and only gets stopped when faced with Alto-hime and her his gutsy moves. As Brera and Alto-hime grapple Mikhail finally takes the shot after much goading from Klein and Alto-hime. Brera narrowly avoids the shot and disengages, but not before destroying the nest. As I said before I think that Brera is working for some one outside of SMS and NUNS thus he fights both sides to further his mysterious agenda. Perhaps we have a corporate war on our hands given that NUNS seems to be playing to Leon’s tune and is in league with SMS.

Alto-hime and Mikhail reconcile their differences and so long as things don’t get too hairy and Luca has no emotional baggage then the three will get along fine as a unit again. I hesitate to call this part as KleinxMikhail with a dash of Mikhail development but it did in the end help smooth things over between Alto-hime and Mikhail who came to blows more often than not and hopefully they will be better friends for it. Klein gets to see her beloved happy again while Mikhail finally comes to terms about Jessica’s death.

When you ask a lady a question…

let her blush…

and then give you her answer. BTW Mikhail that was a lame pick up line…

Loli-Macron Klein with Mikhail on swing was just about the cutest damn thing in this episode by far. I am surprised that Kurogane did not have a field day when he saw that Sheryl was using Hiromi tactics to engender more fan adulation to her worthy cause. In any case it seems that Sheryl is quite serious about playing her part not only is she going to be a real pilot, but she works hard to maintain her shapely form. Ranka finished her single and that little green thing with three eyes is probably a Vajra in a larval stage, I suspect that it will grow into a big red one but we shall see in good time. In the mean time they make adorable pets. Given how the Vajra seem to be able to breed and look upon Ranka for direction I suspect that Vajra are somewhat analogous to ants given they have distinctively different members of the colony and collectively protect their eggs. Perhaps they too were a legacy left over from protoculture, though perhaps as their last resort in their last war. Or they could have been pets that eventually adopted a mean streak to survive in the harshness of the void. In this light they are probably doing this out of a need to protect their nests and territory rather than being overly hostile. Though on the other hand they have shown in the past a low cunning and tactical finesse in their attempted snatch and grab operations to secure Ranka.

Hi I am a Vajra. I don’t have a name yet.

I was born yesterday.

This is my waifu I hope she will give me a name. Oh and that bearded loser? That’s Captain Wilder when I grow up I will kick his ass I will…

The dogfights were again all around good though I think they mixed in a few recycled shots here and there, but it works. I am elated to see that while the small brown bugs are now at a level on par with the VF-25 that the Big Red Ones are still formidable threats and require team work to effectively counter. Thus far the only ones to be shot down easily remain the small brownies with their blue exhaust trails rather than the big red ones that need a couple shots to bring them down. The NUNS and SMS are no slouches either with both trying to coordinate advance recon patrols and fighter sweeps in the regions around the fleet. It is good to see them take a more proactive approach to keep the Vajra away from the big colony ships.

I see that hawtness does not run in the males side of the family…

Wow at her prime she could have given Alto-hime a run for her his money with a helmet.

Magical Girl Klein?

DO WANT!

I love how even Jessica’s court martial made sense to me as in a blue on blue, friendly fire incident it is almost always an automatic court martial though it is not an automatic verdict of guilty. Jessica and her superior were in an inappropriate relationship and it is a testament to how stupid her erstwhile lover was to not only be dating his wing mate but to break up with her before he could transfer out. Jessica was given a grave indicating that she was still considered a soldier so after her suicide the tribunal decided not to pursue the matter and gave her an honorable discharge at most or declared her dead in the line of duty. Given that she was an orphan and in most cases the pay and funeral expenses are forfeit in the event of a suicide the fact that she had a soldier’s grave indicated that she still had friends and perhaps a few who had enough rank to pull to give her a decent funeral. Perhaps the strain, the accusations, and the fact that she killed the man she loved eventually proved too much for her and she took the easy way out.

Even if her boyfriend broke up with her it does not mean that she still didn’t love him nor did she necessarily accept his leaving unilaterally. In any case I don’t think that there is anything sinister about her death. Normally a blue on blue would have resulted in a discharge, honorable if it was the result of an accident or dishonorable if it was through gross negligence. More often or not these things are treated as the tragedies they are and the person responsible at best will be reduced in rank, the worst part is trying to live with yourself after knowing that you killed a comrade. Her relationship with the deceased only served to complicate matters to the point that the tribunal could not ignore it, as it provided reasonable motive, but not proof of guilt.

Hey boys ready for another Planet Dance?

Oh let me play my name is Brera, Brera Stern I play the harmonica.

No Hippies allowed. Also Alto-hime has no qualms about fighting with guys that only got one leg…

Still looks girly even when mad…

Next week will be a trip in nostalgia for those of us who watched Macross Zero, if you haven’t I heartily suggest you do. Especially if you are a die hard Ranka fan like Blissmo, Shin, and Shirukii. That way you can pray in advance that Ranka gets to play Mao Nome while Sheryl can get stuck with playing Sara Nome. Otherwise you will have to wait for you RankaxAlto-hime kissu…

Apparently Sheryl’s efforts to get the Kurogane seal of approval were all for naught…

Congratulations Mr. Alto-hime Saotome. You have been casted as Shin Kudo in the up coming Macross Zero movie.

In regards to your Mao and Sara…

Dedicated to the loving memory of Jessica Blanc who died at age 23 she was mai waifu mein Kamraden and beloved by all who knew her. Except that loser who dumped her, he can rot in HELL!