Romance in Macross

[ani_d]

Originally Posted by ickem

OK I just rewatched the part you keep bring up several times just to see if I remembered it wrong and I didn't remember it wrong. I see nothing to do with guilt in that scene. The only thing of note is Alto quickly moving the conversation away from the topic of the mall. He just has no desire to talk about the rest of his escapades in the mall. He goes from telling her that he was at the mall to saying she was pretty impressive. To me the awkward greeting in 10 was because he just didn't feel like he had to say anything to Ranka and was caught off guard by Sheryl's command.

Somehow, I feel like we're just debating about something that means exactly the same thing. =| What is the big difference between Alto not wanting Ranka to know and Alto not wanting Ranka to know? Alto doesn't feel the need to tell Ranka about Sheryl---that means he doesn't want Ranka to know he was with Sheryl. If we both saw the change in Alto's expression, then we both should agree that Alto did not lie to Ranka with a straight face. If Alto was able to look at Ranka straight in the eye and still managed to tell her he wasn't with Sheryl to stop further interrogation, then that's what you call absence of guilty expression. That would also shut me up and let you win your case lol

Originally Posted by herbert

Correction: he is looking away from Ranka the whole time they are talking about yesterday at Folmo Mall.

Yes, I've been talking about the whole time Ranka asked Alto if he was alone or shopping at the Folmo.

Originally Posted by herbert

He is not a liar, but a prophet.

A lying prophet, yeah

[herbert]

Originally Posted by ani_d

Yes, I've been talking about the whole time Ranka asked Alto if he was alone or shopping at the Folmo.

A lying prophet, yeah

Yes. But I just beg you to extend your observative range a little bit. We don't see his face when he is lying but I can accept your assumption that he looks away. However, he doesn't look at Ranka's eyes even before he lies. That is why I say he must be a prophet to look away from Ranka because of guilt: he knows he would lie before he is put a situation he needs lie.

[Swampstorm]

Originally Posted by ani_d

Check out 7:41 episode 6--Guilty. Lying. Face. lol Alto can act, if he feels that Ranka really doesn't matter enough to know, he can lie as casually as everyone does. It will come naturally. Seeing his emotions resurfacing so clearly, he certainly is a bad liar for an actor. ^__^

Besides, the root of the matter of all this is about Ranka seeing Alto and Sheryl together, and here we have Alto showing a dishonest expression when she asked him about it. If you consider what's going on in the scene and not ignore the first 5 episodes, I think it was so obvious that Alto looked uncomfortable enough about telling Ranka he was at the Zentran mall too. We all know we are watching anime and not real people with emotions more complex than Alto. His awkward greeting towards Ranka in episode 10 also supports this

Alto was looking away from Ranka the whole time she was asking him about it. I rewatched the scene around 7:59. From a dishonest look back to a smiling face, he went ahead and changed the topic. I honestly can't see that as anything as not guilty. Even Mikhail thinks so. On another note, Alto had two tickets with him for a Sheryl concert. How he did that, I don't know, but I say he really was trying to compensate beforehand.

So what's your conclusion, then?

Originally Posted by ani_d

I think you're trying to romanticize Sheryl's loneliness too much This 'loneliness' wasn't even given focus in the show and 98% of the time, she's oozing with victoriousness over everyone.

That's what makes her epic. It's about all that Honda Tohru style optimism in the face of adversity. You don't have to make a character constantly wallow in pity in front of the audience for people to recognize that they have a tragic past.

Originally Posted by ani_d

She was alone when she was a kid. She loves the memory of her mom. She wants to see what school life is--though all she's been doing is promoting. =/ She's been with Grace all this time. However, where did it say that she's actually feeling lonely about what she has right now? People just assumed that she wasn't enjoying her golden life based on those things, but storywise, she loves where she's at right now. There are no hints of a depressed Sheryl being alienated by stardom.

Oh, it's true that Sheryl loves her job. But she's slowly discovering the importance of forming close relationships. The blog entry dated May 15, 2059 covers this quite nicely. While Sheryl has managed to scrape by without experiencing the warmth that such relationships have to give, nobody should have to go without that in the first place. Only now is Sheryl discovering what she has been missing all along.

Originally Posted by ani_d

If fans love the image that she created and not the "real" her, then that would mean that the feelings she put in her songs are fake too and also not the "real" her. Just as Ranka keeps getting labeled as a spoiled brat for not treasuring what she has, the same can also be said for Sheryl for not treasuring what she has IF we say only Alto can fill the void in her superstar life.

Not at all. The only way that you can truly get to know someone is by spending time with them and trying to discover what they think and feel about everything around them. Even then, you can spend your entire life learning about them and still not know everything there is to know.

What people connect to in a song is not the singer themselves, but the elements in the song that relate to their own lives. Nor is that connection unconditional; Sheryl's fans love her because she entertains them, not simply because she is who she is. No amount of popularity can ever be a substitute for close interpersonal relationships.

I never said that Ranka is a spoiled brat. Is this the reason why you're suddenly going out of your way to slander Sheryl?

Originally Posted by ani_d

I never criticized Sheryl about her treatment of this very very lucky ten year old boy. What I'm criticizing is the fact that she's only willing to do it to only one. Why can't she give special treatment to everyone as much as possible? That's not really a hard thing to do. It makes it look like her generosity comes at a price and people should be grateful if they come upon it. Hmm, actually, it is like that. As I said, she should treat her fans equally.

I guess that you have to be a silly romantic understand this one. What's an autograph? It's nothing more than your signature. While it requires no effort on your part to give, it also requires no thought. It becomes a symbol devoid of meaning unless you take the time to invest meaning into it.

Sheryl doesn't say anything about doing only that one autograph. Her point is that she takes these requests very seriously, and pours her emotions into each one. That's what makes it personal. By not frivolously giving out autographs, she ensures that she does each individual fan justice.

Originally Posted by herbert

What is the new tags? Shipping wars is OK but what is up with the Queen Sheryl? We need Loli Ranka and Princess Alto to balance it out, or a new kind of war is coming.

Just the Alto tag will suffice. After all, this thread is about the Princess and his Queen.

[herbert]

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Just the Alto tag will suffice. After all, this thread is about the Princess and his Queen.

I'm seriously beaten. I thought I was super-Sheryl-biased but you are more. Mods may very well add a subtitle to this thread, read "Romance in Macross - an long-hidden history of prohibited love between a slave and his mistress."

Kidding aside. I always like how you reason things. You know how to think what I can feel but don't know how to think, and you know how to word what I can think but don't know how to word. This time, I especially like how you take the autograph entry. Back to the time I read this entry, I was touched but didn't know why. You pointed out a way so now I can get a better understanding of the event and Sheryl as a person.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Just the Alto tag will suffice. After all, this thread is about the Princess and his Queen.

[Tak]

I just don't think Alto deserves the kind of descriptions ani_d has been providing as of late. C'mon mate, you are willing give him so much credit for his caring, for his meticulous management of people's emotions and other 'sophisticated' characteristics, when in reality, these characteristics are pretty much non-existent. Not that Alto being excessively easy to read helps any. You kept on citing examples from the 'ticket' incident to the 'greeting' gesture respectively from episode 6 and 10 as somewhat of a testament to Alto's awareness of Ranka's jealousy. Yet, the way I see it, he treats his friends pretty much the same way. Thats just who Alto is, he is not overly sophisticated, period.

And at the same time, it would seem Sheryl somewhat 'lacks' your careful analysis even though she has proven to sport a deeper personality that you are willing to acknowledge.

Then again, you are Ranka-biased, what can I say

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Just the Alto tag will suffice. After all, this thread is about the Princess and his Queen.

HA! Is that the truth or what!?

- Tak

[ani_d]

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

So what's your conclusion, then?

That Alto lied to Ranka because he didn't want her to know he was with Sheryl at the Folmo? When in actuality, he really didn't have to do that because it's supposed to be no big deal.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Oh, it's true that Sheryl loves her job. But she's slowly discovering the importance of forming close relationships. The blog entry dated May 15, 2059 covers this quite nicely. While Sheryl has managed to scrape by without experiencing the warmth that such relationships have to give, nobody should have to go without that in the first place. Only now is Sheryl discovering what she has been missing all along.

She may be slowly discovering new type of camaraderie, but this is in no way telling us she is going to be a sad and lonely person for lacking such a thing.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

I guess that you have to be a silly romantic understand this one. What's an autograph? It's nothing more than your signature. While it requires no effort on your part to give, it also requires no thought. It becomes a symbol devoid of meaning unless you take the time to invest meaning into it.

The value of something is different to each individual. To Sheryl, an autograph may be nothing, but to another Sheryl fan, even a sloppy autograph may mean a million. She should know that and should give to her fans as much as possible. (I feel like a broken record) Giving autograph isn't really THAT hard. It's no use trying to defend Sheryl here. She is clearly picking favorites here among her fans by saying she won't do it again when asked the second time. I can just imagine the ten year old boy gloating to a more hardcore 10 yr old Sheryl fangirl and getting her jealous, the disappointment, crying, leads to bickering etc etc.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Sheryl doesn't say anything about doing only that one autograph. Her point is that she takes these requests very seriously, and pours her emotions into each one. That's what makes it personal. By not frivolously giving out autographs, she ensures that she does each individual fan justice.

Pours her emotion? To that one autograph lol And each one? She only gave one special filled with 'love' autograph to the boy. That's it. There are no "each one".

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Not at all. The only way that you can truly get to know someone is by spending time with them and trying to discover what they think and feel about everything around them. Even then, you can spend your entire life learning about them and still not know everything there is to know.

You underestimate music. ^__^

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

What people connect to in a song is not the singer themselves, but the elements in the song that relate to their own lives. Nor is that connection unconditional; Sheryl's fans love her because she entertains them, not simply because she is who she is. No amount of popularity can ever be a substitute for close interpersonal relationships.

To write a good song is to put a piece of yourself out there to let it reach people. It's a two-way thing. It's how Sheryl as a composer and a singer expresses herself. She doesn't just sing because she's required to entertain. True artists don't think like that. Real fans don't just become fans because of the song, they also get an idea of what kind of person the singer is and can love her from there. I mean, I hear songs from Alicia Keys, and I get a sense of what she's all about. I'm sure there are better examples out there. It's amazing how people connect through music. It's almost unnatural.

Having a friend is nice and all, but love from your true fans, all those real feelings, does Not fall short to it. This is something Sheryl should realize if ever she starts going 'woe is me I don't have friends'. Doubt she'll end up like this.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

I never said that Ranka is a spoiled brat. Is this the reason why you're suddenly going out of your way to slander Sheryl?

I'm not slandering Sheryl lol I support my points, didn't I? It's not like I'm basing all of this on thin air. This is just what I nitpicked since almost everyone here seems to portray Sheryl as a sad idol who needs noone but Alto and with an almost perfect mentality and body to boot.

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Just the Alto tag will suffice. After all, this thread is about the Princess and his Queen.

Princess and Queen and the fanboys, you mean lol

[CrowKenobi]

Originally Posted by ani_d

Having a friend is nice and all, but love from your true fans, all those real feelings, does Not fall short to it. This is something Sheryl should realize if ever she starts going 'woe is me I don't have friends'. Doubt she'll end up like this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a big, HONKING difference between close personal friends and the fans?



And what happens when the "next big thing" comes along...

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by CrowKenobi

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a big, HONKING difference between close personal friends and the fans?



And what happens when the "next big thing" comes along...

ani_d is just letting his Ranka bias cloud him a little bit. That has to be it if he actually believes that fans at a concert can equate to friendship and romance.

I have to ask you ani_d, have you tried to think things through from Alto's point of view? We know you like Ranka. I'm fairly certain if you were the main character, you would go for her. But consider Alto's past, his personality, the reactions he gives off to everyone and everything, and try to see how he himself might go.

There is NO romantic undertones in his scenes with Ranka 1v1. There are NO flirting, from either of them towards each other. There is no instances where he takes Ranka somewhere out of a whim.

Look at the earring scene with Sheryl the middle of Episode 6. He's leaving for battle, with the possibility of never returning(his first true battle). Does he go visit Ranka? Does he even tell her he's leaving? Does he do ANYTHING for her?

Even Ranka admits to herself, that she had no idea her brother and Alto were leaving somewhere. She also realized that Sheryl knew. Even with the realization that she knows NOTHING about Alto, she hasn't done one thing to change that so far. She's really going to have to change if she's going to have ANY chance at grabbing Alto before Sheryl gets him.

Unless Nanase comes up from behind and takes him away.

[CrowKenobi]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

Unless Nanase comes up from behind and takes him away.

I'd rather see Nanase come up from behind and take her away!

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by CrowKenobi

I'd rather see Nanase come up from behind and take her away!

Tou'che.

[Westlo]

Ani_d's a chick guys, it must be hard for her to relate to Alto j/k

Originally Posted by herbert

You must be kidding. When does Alto admit such a thing?

When they start flying around for Sheryl's performance Michael says don't fall in love with her while she singing. Alto immediately goes only you would do that.. 2 panels later.. "But... he isn't actually wrong... well me to". Combine that with him thinking "She handles the unexpected well" and than telling her "you're pretty incredible". ("Of course just who do you think I am" she replies) and his first impressions of Sheryl are great compared to the anime.

I prefer anime to manga. Manga is too plain that kill speculations.

I prefer the anime too but the I do like how the manga has done a few scenes compared to the anime. The emergency shelter scene was done much better imo, Sheryl fell on top of Alto, Sheryl losing her top worked better and her singing a line from Don't Be Late when she punishes Alto was lolz.

Originally Posted by herbert

Sheryl is always very serious to her decisions. If you haven't read those spoiler, you may read it now.

Spoiler:

Sheryl will be sick because she pushes herself too hard to get straight A+ at school courses.

"The word Failure is not apart in my lexicon" XD (Sheryl Manga Chapter 1 after Alto flies into her)

Originally Posted by ani_d

What? Yeah right

Reread what you didn't quote from me and realize the difference, I mean you gotta love what happens when he gets the alert message from SMS straight after they announce Galaxy is under attack.



A few of us were talking about this in #Gattai after episode 5... even us Sheryl fans thought that was harsh on Ranka.. Not even a bye and off he runs to Sheryl, no press conference he just runs straight to her. 2 pages later he's "stunned" when Sheryl is "glowing" when talking about how the earring was from her mother. 2 pages after that he has the most content look I've seen on his face in the entire series after Sheryl lends it to him. And than after he leaves as Grace asks if they should cancel the concert Sheryl does the "I can't give into my depression while a certain idiot is risking his life. If a pilot's job is to fight than my job is to sing!!" line.

[justinstrife]

^ I did not realize that ani_d was a chick. That makes complete sense then why she can't understand Alto(or us guys in general) then.

My apologies for sounding harsh if I ever did ani_d. I didn't mean it. Please understand though, that men think vastly different than women do. Hormones, thought processes, physical traits, everything is different with us. Some men might have feminine features or emotions, but as a general rule, we are very different.

VERY different.

On a different note, I most definitely have to get the manga now. I'm really liking some of the changes vs the anime.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

ani_d is just letting his Ranka bias cloud him a little bit. That has to be it if he actually believes that fans at a concert can equate to friendship and romance.

Yep, and as I said earlier, I just don't see anything romantic happening anytime soon between Alto and Ranka (maybe by episode 12 ~ 14, I dunno). Alto is a simple man-creature, he may not be the worst of his kind, but surely not as sophisticated as what ani_d is willing to give him credit for. His mind is not so intertwined as to realize the emotions of others. What ani_d is craving for is a sensitive man, which at this time, Alto is anything but.

Of course, being a Ranka fan, this means ani_d is willing to forcefully make connections between Ranka and nearly everything that Alto does, while the rest of us simply see basic hormone at the works.

- Tak

[cheesie]

I'm a woman and my opinion for Alto pairings = Sheryl > Ranka.

Some of you interpret Alto as changing/being different whenever he's with Ranka, I see him holding a big part of himself back whenever he's with her. If Ranka stuffs up something along the way, the tsundere side of Alto will always flare up but he'll quickly back down and apologize. Someone as sensitive as Ranka deserves someone who can take care of her, and Alto has about as much sensitivity as a block of wood.

It's different for Sheryl if Alto and Sheryl were together (if she wins his heart). If Sheryl stuffs up something along the way, Alto won't back down from his insults and bitch at her. Fortunately for Sheryl, there's 99.9999% chance she'll bitch right back at him and slap him around like how you would a spoiled Hime and together, they'd bitch at each other to hell and back, which is good you see, because it just means great, steamy make-up sex. There, another reason why I like Alto x Sheryl = coz it's damn hot.

Those are my reasons for shipping Alto x Sheryl. Carry on.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by crisis

It's different for Sheryl if Alto and Sheryl were together (if she wins his heart). If Sheryl stuffs up something along the way, Alto won't back down from his insults and bitch at her. Fortunately for Sheryl, there's 99.9999% chance she'll bitch right back at him and slap him around like how you would a spoiled Hime and together, they'd bitch at each other to hell and back, which is good you see, because it just means great, steamy make-up sex. There, another reason why I like Alto x Sheryl = coz it's damn hot.

Those are my reasons for shipping Alto x Sheryl. Carry on.

I like the way you think.

To touch further on this, in order to have a romantic relationship, you have to have some sexual tension(not necessarily have sex itself, but sexual attraction). Especially if you are a male. Any Ranka fan think that Alto right now can see Ranka in that way?

[stray]

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

That post-traumatic stress and repression surrounding Ranka's past doesn't really strike me as emotionally healthy, actually. But I suspect that the issue with your statement is just a matter of finding the right words. Were you trying to get at a different point?

I did say "of the 3." But otherwise, yes, Ranka has PTSD, but she's so far the one with the most healthy family relationship (Ozma) and overall healthy friendships...

I do like Lone Wolf's hetare description for her.

The narrator of a scene is not necessarily its focal point. The Macross Zero movie in episode ten is a case in point; the movie is told from Mao's perspective (given a limited availability of information, no doubt). The difference between this version and the original is simply a shift in narration; in a sense, we move from the "first person" to the "third person". That doesn't change Shin and Sara's roles in the story, however.

Now to make matters even more confusing, sometimes the 'narrator' is chosen to act as a foil to the protagonist and to portray them as a legend. A classic example is Dr. Watson for the Sherlock Holmes stories (sadly, while there are plenty of other examples out there, the alternatives that immediately spring to mind are MGS 2 and FF 12 ). This setup runs completely opposite to the usual one in which the foil's strengths allow for the exploration of the protagonist's weaknesses. As such, it can be tough to figure out who is acting as a foil for whom.

Valid. We can't really remove Ranka from those scenes, though, and the only insight we really get is of her feelings. Where that takes us in the grand scheme of things... we'll find out.

But while she may come across as arrogant, she pulls it off in a slightly self-depreciating way. If you take Sheryl's remarks to the director about using her song for the movie, she initially pretends as if she's indignant, and then switches gears and tells him that she knows that the song is unsuitable for the movie. There's a fair bit of this in the blog entries as well; she opens with an outrageous statement, and then retracts it and says how she really feels. It seems like she's concious of her tendancy to come across as arrogant, and actively tries to deflate herself. She's surprisingly grounded, for one who exudes an air of such confidence.

As adorable as that behavior is... it's a defense mechanism through and through. She goes the other way too, saying how she really feels and then covering it up...

Originally Posted by justinstrife

Please understand though, that men think vastly different than women do. Hormones, thought processes, physical traits, everything is different with us. Some men might have feminine features or emotions, but as a general rule, we are very different.

There was an article that I saw yesterday on Google News that said gay men and straight women had similar brains, while straight men and lesbians had similar brains... I dunno, I don't really think that men and women really think that differently at all; but other intangibles cloud the issues just the same.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by stray

There was an article that I saw yesterday on Google News that said gay men and straight women had similar brains, while straight men and lesbians had similar brains... I dunno, I don't really think that men and women really think that differently at all; but other intangibles cloud the issues just the same.

My guess then, is you haven't lived long enough. Or haven't been exposed to enough different cultures, cities, and people. Hard to say though since you haven't filled out your profile.

If you truly believe that men and women don't think that differently, you haven't looked into very many marriages and relationships. Not only are the hobbies different, but the personalities, even the roles are generally different. Yet they are consistent with the way men and women think. There are always exceptions, but this is a topic where the liberal way of thinking that men and women are the same, is a complete lie. We're equal, but very, very different.

[Slick_rick]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

There is NO romantic undertones in his scenes with Ranka 1v1. There are NO flirting, from either of them towards each other. There is no instances where he takes Ranka somewhere out of a whim.

There are actually quite a few romantic undertones in their scenes. The end of ep3 her private song he sung to him after they both inspired each other to keep moving forward towards their dreams. Him looking for her in the crowd in EP1 and smiling to himself. Him even though he absolutely didn't want to do it volunteering to take a part in the movie to get Ranka more screen time. Him carrying her down the mountain after they were attacked. These all carry romantic undertones. He invited Ranka to the concert with him at least he wasn't being forcibly dragged around when he did these.

Look at the earring scene with Sheryl the middle of Episode 6. He's leaving for battle, with the possibility of never returning(his first true battle). Does he go visit Ranka? Does he even tell her he's leaving? Does he do ANYTHING for her?

No, but he didn't plan on visiting Sheryl nor telling or do anything for her either. That until he saw her on the news and felt pity towards her.

Even Ranka admits to herself, that she had no idea her brother and Alto were leaving somewhere. She also realized that Sheryl knew. Even with the realization that she knows NOTHING about Alto, she hasn't done one thing to change that so far. She's really going to have to change if she's going to have ANY chance at grabbing Alto before Sheryl gets him.

Unless Nanase comes up from behind and takes him away.

Well to be honest she knew that he was a pilot in SMS and would be going eventually into battle. That why she was worrying in the beginning of this episode. Her brother purposely kept the fact that he was going out only giving her a phone call in the end. This could be why Alto didn't call so that she wouldn't worry. He didn't even tell Sheryl that he was in SMS she just saw his jacket under his coat. Both know about the same of Alto and both need to change. Sheryl can't pretend that all her advances to him are teasing eventually she have to make it clear to him since now he probably dismisses most of her advances of teases.

Originally Posted by crisis

I'm a woman and my opinion for Alto pairings = Sheryl > Ranka.

Some of you interpret Alto as changing/being different whenever he's with Ranka, I see him holding a big part of himself back whenever he's with her. If Ranka stuffs up something along the way, the tsundere side of Alto will always flare up but he'll quickly back down and apologize. Someone as sensitive as Ranka deserves someone who can take care of her, and Alto has about as much sensitivity as a block of wood.

Alto definitely shown that he has a sensitive side. In EP1 after Ranka was scared in the VF he embraced her and understood that she was afraid. He show his sensitive side to both but generally he does show it more to Ranka. While Ranka isn't yet as mentally tough as Sheryl she has shown that she can deflect someone of Alto's negative personality. When Alto tells her she probably can't do the acting in Ep10 she calls him mean and tells him that he should encourage her even if its a lie. This causes him to open up and use his father's words to encourage her. This even shocks him that he does it. That she and him don't argue shouldn't be counted against them this is usually a good sign. (I admit not always so in animes.)

It's different for Sheryl if Alto and Sheryl were together (if she wins his heart). If Sheryl stuffs up something along the way, Alto won't back down from his insults and bitch at her. Fortunately for Sheryl, there's 99.9999% chance she'll bitch right back at him and slap him around like how you would a spoiled Hime and together, they'd bitch at each other to hell and back, which is good you see, because it just means great, steamy make-up sex. There, another reason why I like Alto x Sheryl = coz it's damn hot.

Those are my reasons for shipping Alto x Sheryl. Carry on.

These kinds of relationship almost never work in RL but in Anime they have a decent chance usually. I think the problem is usually when these two are best together are when they both let down their guards but that rarely happens with them unless fleets disappear. He already lets some of his guard down around Ranka only thing is she needs to get more assertive.

Originally Posted by justinstrife

I like the way you think.

To touch further on this, in order to have a romantic relationship, you have to have some sexual tension(not necessarily have sex itself, but sexual attraction). Especially if you are a male. Any Ranka fan think that Alto right now can see Ranka in that way?

Yes certainly in EP1 he's showed definite interest in her. His smile and searching her out and his blush in EP3 when she stands close to him and taunts him about teasing her. Now this isn't the same as being flashed by her, her getting off on your phone in a locker, or using sexual innuendo's every other sentence. Any guy would feel some sexual tension if it was thrust on to him this way.

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Slick_rick

There are actually quite a few romantic undertones in their scenes. The end of ep3 her private song he sung to him after they both inspired each other to keep moving forward towards their dreams. Him looking for her in the crowd in EP1 and smiling to himself. Him even though he absolutely didn't want to do it volunteering to take a part in the movie to get Ranka more screen time. Him carrying her down the mountain after they were attacked. These all carry romantic undertones. He invited Ranka to the concert with him at least he wasn't being forcibly dragged around when he did these.

Funny, I see it as an encouragement a big brother would provide to a little sister. Singing a song doesn't mean jack. That is hardly romantic. It is a nice moment where two persons can share what they have in their minds, but to become romantically involved is a totally different story.

"Him looking for her in the crowd in episode 1"

Give me a break, its only normal to wish someone well even if you met that person for the first time. Certainly Alto did not dwell on that feeling very long. How romantic is that?!

"Volunteering to take part in the movie to get Ranka more screen time"

He initially refused because the director also wanted him to dress up like a woman!

Seeing how the production was halted because a certain actor did not want to go underwater, getting Alto to substitute was the fastest and most efficient choice. Unless you have a better idea to get the production going without using Alto, the only male on the set to resemble the actor playing Shinn.

"Carrying her down the mountain"

What was he supposed to do? Leave her up there?

Originally Posted by Slick_rick

No, but he didn't plan on visiting Sheryl nor telling or do anything for her either. That until he saw her on the news and felt pity towards her.

And what evidence do you have to support this conclusion? He already promised her that he will 'definitely' bring it back to her. Thus he did plan on visiting Sheryl, its just how and when.

Originally Posted by Slick_rick

Alto definitely shown that he has a sensitive side. In EP1 after Ranka was scared in the VF he embraced her and understood that she was afraid. He show his sensitive side to both but generally he does show it more to Ranka.

Yeah, and he didn't want to. Ranka was the one who threw her arms around him. What was he supposed to do? Push her aside. This 'sensitivity' was not him taking the initiative, it was only a natural response.

Originally Posted by Slick_rick

When Alto tells her she probably can't do the acting in Ep10 she calls him mean and tells him that he should encourage her even if its a lie. This causes him to open up and use his father's words to encourage her.

Its not her causing Alto to open up, this is just the way Alto is. The same way he interacts with Mikhail, from a negative starting point to finally encouraging him to take a shot at the end of Episode 9.

- Tak