Macross Frontier - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[Aqua Knight]

Very enjoyable, but the ending was so off. I thought Alto would kill Ranka and confess to Sheryl at last.
I don't understand why were all those Sheryl moments in episode from 22-25 shown then to be discarded by some random sky flying...

And Alto's promise to tell smthing to Sheryl when everything ends. Now going to watch the movie.

Does the movie have any differences in romance? Can you just say, yes or no, please?

[BetoJR]

The consensus seems to be "not really" at this point. Still waiting on movie two.

[magnuskn]

Yep, movie one is only half the story.

And as far as the whole ending of the series goes, I agree that things were left unfinished. But the eventual outcome should be clear as day to anyone putting two and two together. ;)

[grylsyjaeger]

It gets better, though I did have a similar reaction. People told me it would pick up, you just need to get through the first few episodes, it just takes them a while to set things up, largely because they keep devoting half the early episodes to recycled battle footage. Once they finish up creating the setting and building the characters it gets better.

Alright I have to take my comment back. A little bit.

Up to episode twelve and things are getting a bit better but the idea of singing in the midst battle and shooting speaker pods at enemy craft is still retarded in my books.

[moncikoma]

If I have to say...

The best episode of macross f is ep 1, 12, and 22...

U know why....hhehe

[Lancel]

If I have to say...

The best episode of macross f is ep 1, 12, and 22...

U know why....hhehe

We do? That seems almost random.

[moncikoma]

ep 1 .... : best introduction....great action ! still HOT
ep 12 : sheryl and ranka 1st DUET...
ep 22 : errr...kimono.....

[Tiresias]

Alright I have to take my comment back. A little bit.

Up to episode twelve and things are getting a bit better but the idea of singing in the midst battle and shooting speaker pods at enemy craft is still retarded in my books.

And here I thought I was alone in that opinion...:eyespin:

[Yot-chan]

And here I thought I was alone in that opinion...:eyespin:

You clearly haven't listened to Basara's song.

[BetoJR]

Darn it, you beat me to it.

[Lancel]

It is stupid, but I came to enjoy how everyone calls him out on how stupid it is, and how it totally doesn't work.

Though what Yot-Chan says is a valid point. It IS Nekki Basara, and he can throw a concert in any venue he wants and have it be awesome.

[Shiroth]

You clearly haven't listened to Basara's song.
I have, and it forever changed my life.

[grylsyjaeger]

I have, and it forever changed my life.

Some of their songs are pretty catchy. I'm struggling to think of the name but the song with the chorus "holy lonely night!" is very good.

Up to episode thirty-three currently and yes the singing finally starts to have an effect on the battlefield but I think the concept could have been expanded on earlier in the series.

Or again there's probably another revelation in episodes to come that Basara knew his music would have an effect or something.


I've mainly enjoyed watching Gamlin grow as a character and how I look at him as myself in slowly understanding why Basara does the things he does.

EDIT:

It's actually called 'Holy Lonely Night'. Huh. Good times.

[moncikoma]

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i aggree with 149 guys above!

thx for vote 9 - 10

[Sanger Zonvolt]

So finished Frontier, was a okay show, not close to as good as SDF or Plus, but it had some good moments.

Too much focus on the love triangle, and not enough on the other characters who barely got any screen time or fleshing out*cough*Michael & Klan*cough*, and Ranka felt much more like the main character then Alto did, as she got much more backstory and development then he did. The lack of combat was disappointing, and recycled some which felt unneeded, seeing as there wasn't alot of fighting.

Katsuyuki Konishi as Ozma was great, this was his best role by far, Ozma brought some much needed manliness to the series while being a fairly developed character. http://s236.photobucket.com/albums/ff286/nfforums/NF%20smilies/210c0g7.png

The last episode was awesome though, was just blown away making it a great finale, the scale of the battle was amazing and using every song in the series throughout it was a nice touch, gonna have to watch it again later.

Alto getting both girls in the end is pretty slick of him though. http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff286/nfforums/NF%20smilies/ofc5ra1.png

Even if he loves the sky more then either of them.

Now to finish it off with the Frontier movie.

7/10

[Shiroth]

Now to finish it off with the Frontier movie.
There's two of them actually. Second film is released in cinemas this February.

[grylsyjaeger]

Nearly finished Macross 7.

Up to episode forty-five.

Gamlin-san!

[Shiroth]

^You know this isn't the correct thread for discussion on Macross 7. :heh:

[grylsyjaeger]

^You know this isn't the correct thread for discussion on Macross 7. :heh:

True that. :heh:

[Sanger Zonvolt]

Frontier movie was pretty awesome.

Reminded me of DYRL in that they made Sheryl not bitchy and jealous at all, much like they changed Minmay to being more likable.

Movie Ranka is more likable as well when she ran out to lure the Vajra, it was respectable.

When I thought they killed Michael again and in a lame way this time I was like "Fuck you!" but he lived so it's okay, at least till the next movie.

The new fight scenes were very well done, the CGI always impressed me in this series.

I wasn't expecting the movie to so much different from the show, I wonder what direction they will take it in the next one.

[Rag]

Animation Quality: 8
Voice Actors: 9
Script: 9
Soundtrack: 9.5
Editing: 7
Enjoyment: 9.5
Emotional Involvement: 9.0

Average = 9.0

One thing I can say for certain, the Macross staff does melodrama pretty darn well (something the Gundam 00 staff should learn more...)

[moncikoma]

One thing I can say for certain, the Macross staff does melodrama pretty darn well (something the Gundam 00 staff should learn more...)

so true....gundam ending on the movie is such a waste..:(
i hope alto doesnt end up like setsuna...:rolleyes:

[Tak]

so true....gundam ending on the movie is such a waste..:(
i hope alto doesnt end up like setsuna...:rolleyes:

Personally, I can care less about Setsuna. He and Marina were just so... boring... with the latter bordering worthless.

- Tak

[moncikoma]

in tv series...he is GUNDAM...
on movie..he is...what is that??? FLOWERDAM?

[Tak]

in tv series...he is GUNDAM...
on movie..he is...what is that??? FLOWERDAM?

Whatever DAM he is, his ending with Marina was significatly better than the fate suffered by Alto & Sheryl.

- Tak

[Se7en Sabers]

Whatever DAM he is, his ending with Marina was significatly better than the fate suffered by Alto & Sheryl.

- Tak

Don't forget the spoiler tag ;)

[Thess]

Frontier movie was pretty awesome.

Reminded me of DYRL in that they made Sheryl not bitchy and jealous at all, much like they changed Minmay to being more likable.

They didn't make Sheryl different. Sheryl became like that by the series progression. They just glossed over the development that led the audience discover the "first impression isn't always right". Since she's already an established character. ;)

Alto's gender issues and love/hate with Kabuki were also hidden layers present in his character TV series wise that decided to make more palpable in the movie.

Some other characters, though (Ranka, for one. Grace and Leon, too) got a complete make over.

[magnuskn]

Alto's gender issues and love/hate with Kabuki were also hidden layers present in his character TV series wise that decided to make more palpable in the movie.

The TV version is better. :p

[Thess]

The TV version is better. :p

I don't think he changed? They chopped the arc-of-coming-back-home, but it's time constrain one. They left his basic characterization intact. Gotta say...

I'm glad that he, LIKE HIKARU IN DYRL WITH MISA, spelled it aloud to Sheryl, instead of being ambiguous.

Besides, he dresses like a gothic lolita with lipstick for Sheryl's sake. :heh: Now that's love.

[Yot-chan]

I don't think he changed? They chopped the arc-of-coming-back-home, but it's time constrain one. They left his basic characterization intact. Gotta say...

I'm glad that he, LIKE HIKARU IN DYRL WITH MISA, spelled it aloud to Sheryl, instead of being ambiguous.

Besides, he dresses like a gothic lolita with lipstick for Sheryl's sake. :heh: Now that's love.

You mean he ALMOST spelled it out to Sheryl...

[Thess]

You mean he ALMOST spelled it out to Sheryl...

WELL he tried and was stopped by cannons and folded vajyra, but at least he tried.

[SamuraiX]

So I've just finished watching the last episode of Macross Frontier and I don't know where to start. The fighting was excellent, I really liked the Vajra as enemies though I could have done with some more main character deaths looking at you Osma but all in all it was a good show.

Though I kind of hated whats his face guy with Pink hair who I still believe served no purpose in a Air Craft at all and ran on about Nanase for like 5 episodes. I thought he was going to pull a Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion in the Hospital though.

The confusing part was apparently
When Sheryll died and then was brought back to life by the power of Song. Grace as a tentacle Cyborg who had about 10 spare bodies just lying around. And a Giant camouflaged Ranka battleship.

[magnuskn]

I don't think he changed? They chopped the arc-of-coming-back-home, but it's time constrain one. They left his basic characterization intact.

His "getting lost in acting" issues were not present in the TV series. I liked it better that the characters problem with acting was related to his family and his gender issue, instead of him feeling that he was losing her own personality.

It also felt to me that he was getting dragged into SMS, rather than going for it as his own motivation. That made his motivations feel a little less noble.

And all in all he got much more characterization in the series, and I loved most of what they did with him there, because he was one of most noble and dutiful anime protagonists I had seen in a long while, very different from all the man-childs running around in other shows.

[sa547]

10/10. Why is it so?

It took a magazine cover (Cut Magazine, June 2011 issue) and Megumi Nakajima's Filipino roots to convince me, along with periodic visits to Ghostlightning's blog, to go see this show (and the last time I ever saw an episode of SDF Macross was back in 1986-87, but my memory of the storyline is murky at this point).

After watching all 25 episodes, suffice to say that, despite some issues with cases of scene recycling, character design, loose ends (and other itty-bitty issues that would otherwise turn off a perfectionist), I ended up enjoying the experience of watching what is my definition of a proper anime epic, with all the necessary elements balanced and mixed in.

The visuals? My mileage might vary on this, but I like how they kept some things up to date (fashion, gadgets, communications, food, etc.) and then boosted with some CG, things absent in the older series, but doesn't try to go overboard.

Although there's the requisite love triangle and some science involved, the story doesn't become cloying, or delve into head-hurting mindscrewing, or go to the point of excess melodrama with floods of tears and Kleenex (there's this other series that overdoes this years ago, which forced me to drop it completely), but instead it coherently goes straight to the point and does what it should be doing: entertaining its audience and at the same time help introduce new fans to the older classics that defined the franchise, notably SDF, DYRL and Zero.

Frontier does not fail to provide variety, though: it has fanservice, moe, comedy, drama, action, suspense, mystery, ecchi, and a triangular romance (the last time there was a show that has some of these elements, it's Code Geass).

I love watching the characters (in my view they feel like real people) develop over time as they slowly discover their self-worth, and what their true purpose and destinies, and what it takes to survive the brutal realities of war, showbiz, love and betrayal. This is helped with seiyuus that have been matched all right to the characters, a few of them even playing against type, and they did well in bringing the characters alive.

The story is given a boost with the soundtrack that helps accentuate and even enhance the watching experience; it ain't Macross if it doesn't have the musical score and the songs, and in this case the music pack emotional wallop unlike anything else I heard in years (and I collect movie soundtracks since 1998); they can either set your heart beating faster like strapped down in the seat of a Messiah, or make you dance and sing like a Zentraedi Marine turned into an love-enraptured little boy, or feel teary-eyed.

Overall, Frontier deserves being placed on the top shelf, and for anyone who enjoyed watching it the first time, it's worth replaying again to experience the ride.

My life's never the same again. Yakh Deculture.

[Paperplane]

Having watched Macross Frontier quite a while back, I can probably say I enjoyed this series, even if it isn't my favourite in the Macross Saga. (Macross Zero is my favourite)

To start off, the story was overall pretty good in direction, leaving a good impression even if it was quite ridiculous and inconsistent at certain points. It is ridiculous in story considering the war between the Vajra/aliens and Humans/Macross Team with singing as a supportive plot device. Not to mention, I felt the direction or flow of the story was inconsistent sometimes considering it mostly kept good progression of the show but left plot holes one after another and answered them far too late in the series. While it was good to see that the story did pace well enough to retain interest in story unfolding events, I sort of feel that such late answers on plot holes really made for a lack of understanding and followthrough with the story, which hurts it quite a bit. The ending was pretty satisfactory in that it ties everything together but for those hoping for a good romance in this series, it comes off being a bit far fetched in certain points of development and lack of closure for such a theme. Overall, the story still leaves a good impression in whats to come in conflict and supportive development moments to keep on progressing the story.

To add to that, what really carried this series was the awesome visuals, animation and overall presentation that really carried the show's story from the whole technological look of the world, planet visits and environments, the space colony to the fast action dog fights with the macross valkyries (Mechas in the series in general). If I were to nitpick, I would say that I didn't like so much the colorful and neon CG look of the jet valkyries in action as they look too plastic and toy-like. As much as I prefer the 3D CG looks of Macross Zero's valkyrie jets, I did enjoy all the pew pew lasers and missiles of frontier in which the valkyries came into action with the Vajra or aliens or whatever xD.

The sound or score itself is indeed great in bring immersion and really lightens up to suit each particular scene of the story, not much to say there. The songs in particular of which Ranka and Sheryl or the singing voice actresses themselves sang did a great job in putting up catchy and soothing pop songs for certain scenes, especially the valkyries in action, characterization and plot development. Although there are certainly flaws. Despite the songs being excellent, I did feel that certain songs got repetitive especially "Aimo" as that was very much overused towards the end for plot as well as tedium sort of set in for it as well. Overall, the soundtrack and songs are good and well fitting for the story.

Characters themselves are quite memorable in the way they're well presented, making them interesting cosmetically and in personality. They are all pretty much 2-faced in the way they are excused in background and change dramatically over the course of unfolding events in the story. The villains in particular were nicely portrayed considering the themes of deception, ideals and motivations to be had within the story. There are certainly some ridiculous and cringe worthy moments to be had with some in dramatic development to roles in the story. Otherwise, characters are all interesting none the less and carry the story pretty well.

Overall, Macross Frontier is a great show in it's top notch visuals and presentation of it's technological world and atmosphere along with a good, if quite ridiculous story to boot to excuse all the eye candy of it's space jet war action around. Lots of nicely choreographed pew pew lasers and flying missiles between jets and vajra/aliens or whatever to keep you on the edge of your seat xD. Despite being a bit repetitive, the show offers an excellent soundtrack and songs to suit the mood of each moment of the story and flying action along with decent characterization to help promote and carry the story through nicely. I must say it's well worth watching for the top end visuals and in flight/space mecha action scenes alone and even if you're not a fan of the macross series or space action in concept, chances are likely that you'll have a good time with this one. Romance wise, it isn't perfect considering certain points of development feel a bit far-fetched at times. However, there is enough emphasis on the theme to arouse more interest and development to the story and characters. As such, the romance comes off more as added spice and part interest to the storytelling given that the theme expressed isn't really a whole major focus across the series. In the end, for a mix of good sci-fi space action with certain hints of romance, Macross Frontier is good enough to fill the role here. [8]

SUGGESTIONS

Macross Zero - Great 3D presentation of in flight mecha action with jets and a more surreal story presentation than Frontier.

Eureka Seven - Unique mecha action on boards and a good war and romantic story to boot.

Gundam 00 or Seed - More emphasis on humanoid mechas and also entertaining in it's sci-fi action. Story is a hit or miss though.

[magnuskn]

Romance wise, you may want to look somewhere else since there really isn't much emphasis on the theme but for a mix of good sci-fi space action with certain hints of romance, Macross Frontier is good enough to fill the role here.

What. :eyebrow:

[Tak]

What. :eyebrow:

My reaction exactly. If he was here a couple years ago...

Oh boy...

- Tak

[Paperplane]

Edited. Thanks for the feedback and I'm not one to argue much anyway. Just my opinion after all. :)

[karice67]

Edited. Thanks for the feedback and I'm not one to argue much anyway. Just my opinion after all. :)You know...I kind of agreed with your original statement. When I think 'romance', I think Romeo x Juliet or Kimi ni Todoke where it is the most important feature of the relationships in question. In Frontier, it comes across more as one part of the relationships, an important part, certainly, but not the be-all and end-all.

After all, we're all entitled to our own opinions. ;)

[Paperplane]

You know...I kind of agreed with your original statement. When I think 'romance', I think Romeo x Juliet or Kimi ni Todoke where it is the most important feature of the relationships in question. In Frontier, it comes across more as one part of the relationships, an important part, certainly, but not the be-all and end-all.

After all, we're all entitled to our own opinions. ;)

Edited it again and indeed that was my point originally above. I tried to make it more understandable this time around but sometimes, I do sort of get criticised on for having a different viewpoint of certain things than others. Thanks again :)