[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Wait, what? Who is this nebulous "we" who knows that he wasn't honest about his desire to defend his home? Sorry, but I don't know where this comes from, because to me that was a crucial scene of Alto admitting to himself (and Klan) that he wanted to defend his home all along, but since he was so hung up about hating it (due to the limited sky, feeling stuck, etc), he couldn't admit this to himself and subliminated his desire to protect Frontier onto Ranka.

Alto wanted to defend Frontier but didn't want to admit it to himself, so he ran to find an excuse to join SMS to protect his home. That excuse ended up being Ranka, who he barely took seriously. Isn't finding excuses and not wanting to admit the truth to yourself the same as running away?

Michael's and Yasaburo's remarks get under his skin because he is angry that they are reading him so wrong. An important scene which proves this is when he and Temzin (that Kwamzin clone from Gallia IV) fight each other and Temzin taunts him about war being in the blood of the Zentradi. This induces flashbacks from Alto to his prior conversation with Yasaburo, with Alto finally declaring "An actor's blood, my ass. I don't give a shit about that." This is not the reaction of someone who is running away from his past, but from someone who is defying the expectations of others to comform to what they perceive him to be.

Yasaburo was wrong in saying that Alto ran away from Kabuki and wanted to return, but he wasn't wrong in saying that it was ingrained in him. He is right about Alto wearing a Hero's mask, because of the roles that he mentally assigned to Ranka and himself. Alto wanted to run away from that fact. He didn't want to confront his past. With Michael, he was calling Alto out on a lot of things, not just leaving acting. Michael essentially was pissed off that Alto ignored the world around him, which Alto admits to.

Alto is angry about other people stuffing him into a box, a box he doesn't want to be in. Yes, him admitting to himself that his past as a Kabuki actor also has value is part of his character arc, but that is not a particular "running away" motivation, it is a motivation to be his own man, to be free of the constraints of expectation from his family and friends. And this combines with the other great motivation of the character, to be a protector.

Yasarubo calls this Alto wearing a "hero's mask", but it is a misconception from Yasaburo, coming from his own limited viewpoint as an actor. We never see Alto pretending to be a hero (well, there's that one scene where he lies to Ranka about whom defeated that diseased Hydra, but I think that is not a scene of Alto claiming credit for his own glory, but rather about him trying to protect Ranka from that weirdo with the armblades), we never see him being arrogant about his own heroics. Alto simply nuts up as soon as he hears that he can contribute to protecting Frontier, only that he disguises that desire to himself under the cover of protecting Ranka.

Which is funny because by not confronting the truth about himself (essentially running away from it) Alto is the one who ends up putting himself in a box. His role of Ranka's Hero was a fake role that he is unsuited for but nevertheless is one that he used as an excuse to protect his homeland, in other words a hero's mask. Again isn't not wanting to admit the truth to yourself the same thing as running away?

Alto's "Hero mask" is really is desire to protect Ranka. In reality while Alto does care about her, she's merely an excuse for him. In his mind he's assigned her of the role as the perpetual damsel in distress (a role that she plays excellently) but the whole thing falls apart the moment he tries to become her hero. Alto is actually never able to save Ranka, when Ranka is saved its always someone else's doing, which he takes the credit for. Which isn't something that he isn't too proud of, because its just like saying that he's failing to properly play the role of Ranka's hero. A fake role which acts as a place holder for what Alto really wants to do. Another way of looking at it, is that Yasaburo wasn't calling Alto's desire to protect Frontier fake (since at the time Alto did not consider himself Frontier's protector) Yasaburo was calling Alto's role as Ranka's protector a fake. In fact the story acknowledges that Alto is no longer wearing that mask, when Alto is able to admit to himself that he is really fighting to protect Frontier.

If there is any "running away" going on with Alto, it is from his own real desires, because of his inner hang-up about Frontier. But that is not what Yasaburo or Michael are talking about. And many people who think about Alto's character only see his pretty-boy features, his Kabuki past and his behaviour with the girls and then take Yasaburo and Michael at their words and dismiss Alto as another wishy-washy harem lead. Nothing could be farther from the truth and it is a shame that a subtle and intelligent character arc like his just passes under the radar for so many people. He is my favorite male Macross character (even edging out Max, which is a feat) and I wish more people had actually understood him.

Alto was also running away from dealing with his own feelings towards the girls, as well as their feelings towards him. With Ranka he had pigeonholed her into the role of the perpetual damsel in distress, who couldn't do anything for herself. As a result he never takes her seriously, and even ends up lying to her making her believe that Alto really is her protector, when he isn't. With Sheryl she never fit into a clean role for him, and in a way I think that she may have confused and even at times scared him, she's important to him but he doesn't know why, and certainly isn't about to ponder about his own feelings to come up with an answer.