Macross Frontier - Overall Series Impressions & Total Series Rating

[kujoe]

Well, it is one of them. But it also has to do with the each character's intention. Like I said, it's not about having the money or the means, but rather the intention of it all. Both girls wanted to spend time with him, but Ranka goes about it in a more self-centered way instead of trying to think about what the other person actually wants. So no, Ranka isn't able to connect to Alto right away. She's too focused in trying to reach out to him from her end, rather than the other way around.

If Alto wanted something else, I doubt Sheryl would even invite him to see the sky in the first place.

[justavisitor]

I understand what you are trying to say but I still can't agree with that lol

1) So if Sheryl doesn't go for the trip, what can she bring for Alto's birthday? (so roller-coaster and 0 g simulator is the only choice?)

2) Ranka can't cancel the concert for Alto, she has to care about the audience as well...besides she already asks him out in order to have a moment with him before the concert starts

I agree that Sheryl knows what Alto wants and she happens to have the opporunity to do so...but if she doesn't have the trip then I doubt she can have a better present than Ranka

[Tak]

Originally Posted by justavisitor

1) So if Sheryl doesn't go for the trip, what can she bring for Alto's birthday? (so roller-coaster and 0 g simulator is the only choice?)

Look at it this way, as you mentioned, Sheryl has the money. If Sheryl wanted to, she could still go to Galia 4 with or without there being a need for a concert.

Although at that stage, her feelings for him had not reached the level we have witnessed in episode 22. She still considers herself to be on top, but regardless, she knew him better than Ranka did.

Originally Posted by justavisitor

2) Ranka can't cancel the concert for Alto, she has to care about the audience as well...besides she already asks him out in order to have a moment with him before the concert starts

But Ranka did cancel the concert, ditched her audience and went for Alto. Albeit what she done was a heroic thing, she nonetheless done it pretty much only for Alto.

Originally Posted by justavisitor

I agree that Sheryl knows what Alto wants and she happens to have the opporunity to do so...but if she doesn't have the trip then I doubt she can have a better present than Ranka

Read above. If she wanted to, she could.

Fact of the matter is that both girls offered what they believe Alto would like, and it was completely up to Alto to decide. Sure, Ranka had not the resources of Sheryl at the time, but what difference does it make if Ranka never understood Alto in the first place?

- Tak

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by justavisitor

I understand what you are trying to say but I still can't agree with that lol

1) So if Sheryl doesn't go for the trip, what can she bring for Alto's birthday? (so roller-coaster and 0 g simulator is the only choice?)

2) Ranka can't cancel the concert for Alto, she has to care about the audience as well...besides she already asks him out in order to have a moment with him before the concert starts

I agree that Sheryl knows what Alto wants and she happens to have the opporunity to do so...but if she doesn't have the trip then I doubt she can have a better present than Ranka

??

That's not the point. If Alto doesn't want the sky, then there would be no reason for Sheryl to invite him to the sky as his birthday present... at all. She would simply think of something else that he wants. A "better" present isn't determined by which one is more grandiose, but on what is more fitting for the receiver and the intention behind it.

Ranka wanting to give the tickets to her debut has nothing to do with the audience per se. She wants the show, and she wants Alto to see it. It's her intended gift. In fact, she had no plans of canceling whatsoever, and she only changes her mind when the emergency arises.

[justavisitor]

I am just saying that the chance happens (or should I say, story plot) for Sheryl to have the perfect gift for Alto..but if she didn't have this opprunity, then she at best would have normal present for Alto..something similiar with Ranka's one.

I agree present is not judged by which one is more grandiose, but in this special case, one's present is off the scale, and the other one's present is the best she can think of given her status and resources...so if you are Ranka you want to reach out to Alto (I agree this part) and you want him to feel happy about the your present, what kind of present do you think is the best for Alto, given that she has the concert on the same date as Alto's birthday?

lol, I am starting to circle my argument now...I have tried the best to say my opinion and sorry I can't have other way to say it...

[wolfboy]

I wouldn't bother arguing with these guys. Just let it be.

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by justavisitor

I am just saying that the chance happens (or should I say, story plot) for Sheryl to have the perfect gift for Alto..but if she didn't have this opprunity, then she at best would have normal present for Alto..something similiar with Ranka's one.

Again, you misunderstand. Going by how Sheryl goes about making her choice for Alto's present, it's clear that she thought about what he wants first and foremost. If, let's say, Alto has no desire to fly in the sky at all, then she would still consider a gift for him along the same line. It just so happens that she understands his desire to fly, and she has the means to bring it to him... so, bingo. That's what she plans to give to him: the chance to fly.

Originally Posted by justavisitor

I agree present is not judged by which one is more grandiose, but in this special case, one's present is off the scale, and the other one's present is the best she can think of given her status and resources...so if you are Ranka you want to reach out to Alto (I agree this part) and you want him to feel happy about the your present, what kind of present do you think is the best for Alto, given that she has the concert on the same date as Alto's birthday?

To be perfectly clear, I just want to say that Ranka's choice is made under good intentions. But even so, she doesn't think of what Alto really wants. Again, it's not about the scale or the means. Considering that Ranka doesn't understand Alto the way Sheryl does, she only wants for Alto to see her concert, and figures that it's a good gift. There's nothing wrong with that, but given what actually is in the story, I'd have to say that Sheryl actually gives more thought on what to give and to whom she is giving it to. That's all there is to it.

[justavisitor]

@wolfboy

You are replying to my post?? I am ready to let it go lol, as I have stated my point and I really can't say it in other way

@Tak
Sorry didn't see your post...well Ranka cancels the concert because she wants to save Alto and others...I guess it's ok to cancel when you know the one you like is in danger you have the power the save him

@kujoe
I don't think I misunderstand what you said..it's great that we have a discussion but I don't wanna go on more lol, as I have given all my reasoning...my opinion is still the same lol but I understand your points more

[kujoe]

Ok, whatever you say.

To be honest, I can't understand your point at all. It keeps changing on to different topics or different perspectives.

[justavisitor]

I don't think my point is that hard to understand

But like you said, whatever XD...I am letting this one go

[kujoe]

You switch viewpoints, by saying something first and saying something else later, or talk about something else.

But you're right. This isn't going anywhere as usual.

[justavisitor]

Everything I said is in episode 12.....ok, ok, I stop XD

[kujoe]

Well, the discussion was about episode 12. I think we all already know that.

[solomon]

Er ahem. Yea super late.

Anyways ratings;

Direction/Narrative; 7/10

Overall fairly well done. Macross has always done things big, flashy and with style and much like the original and Plus they pulled that off here. The Plot flowed nicely wasn't overwrought but not too lean either. Characters were fairly fun to watch if somewhat uninteresting on their own. I consider Frontier to be stronger in it's plot as opposed to characterization. I find it akin to Star Wars in while the characters are fun to watch, they aren't deep or really all that rounded.

Still the three were handled fairly well. However, I actually kinda liked Alto he wasn't really gunning for anyone girl. The girls were after him sure but there wasn't any needless catfighting, I liked the friendly relationship Ranka had with Sheryl. They were the only characters who were fairly interesting. The rest of the cast really doesn't matter aside to move the plot along.

Sound: 9.5/10

(note: I am a music retard so all this is really subjective)
I don't think this was Kanno's most appealing orchestrational score (I say Plus was more appealing) and it's really just middle of the road hollywood blockbuster stuff, like James Horner or John Williams. Still it kicks the crap out of most other anime OST easily and really adds punch/gravity to scenes. Plus she has enough non-orchestrated music in there to keep from sounding one note, Aimo Aimo tune is really catchy.

On the pop front, the show kicked ass as expected. Megumi Nakajima managed to be a great succesor to Mari Iijima, both in terms of character performance and singing. I actually prefer May'n though. Not much you can really say about the pop except that it's hella fun to listen to.

Seiyuu; All were good, nothing extraordinary though. Favorite was probably Aya Endo's casting and performance of Sheryl, I think her voice and inflection really captured Sheryl's holier than though persona.

Visuals; 8/10

Im grading on a curve with the visuals. Satelight is to be commended for their great use of CGI in the battle scenes especially, but everywhere in general. The scenes had such fury, scope and excitement to them which was also aided by great storyboarding (especially in the last ep by Kawamori). The environments were really interestingly designed both 2d and 3d. The painted backgrounds were sumptouous.

Now the bad; I'm sorry but Ebata's character designs were rather generic at best (Ranka) and gaudy at worst (im looking at Lt. Klan). The color design is also really gaudy for characters at least, that's the wrong way to use digital colors, with all those unnatural unappealing neons, blech. Also the 2d was downright amaturish. With the exception of a few Ranka shots (when she sang Watashi no Kare wa Pilot at the Miss Macross pagent was a big exception) really the 2d was shitty. Characters were boringly and sloppily drawn MOST of the time. Most tv shows have A and B grade animation episodes, Frontier had B most of the time and C sometimes (episode 10 is a big culprit). Sorry but you can't gloss over that.

Overall 7 out of 10

Macross Frontier is like Star Wars to me

TONS OF HYPE, but theres really nothing that well done about the series narratively that's really worth yelping about. What makes it engaging is the larger than life battles and generally good direction that ties all the crazyness together. It's really just OK, space battles aside but much like Star Wars you wanna get it cause if it's huge ass flashiness and generally easy going storytelling. It's really too bad that Macross is in such a legal quagmire cause this would KILL on R1 release and I personally think would be a nice fit for Sci-Fi's ani-monday's block. I know I would buy it on R1 if only to watch the damned thing on a high def tv.

[Noe]

I'd give this a 8/10, awesome show overall. Some episodes were mediocre and over singing..

[Mei19]

Originally Posted by kujoe

Again, you misunderstand. Going by how Sheryl goes about making her choice for Alto's present, it's clear that she thought about what he wants first and foremost. If, let's say, Alto has no desire to fly in the sky at all, then she would still consider a gift for him along the same line. It just so happens that she understands his desire to fly, and she has the means to bring it to him... so, bingo. That's what she plans to give to him: the chance to fly.

But but between "Sheryl understands" and "Sheryl knows" Alto's love for the blue sora, isn't it more like Sheryl "knows" because she asked him if he liked Frontier and he said he didn't because there is no sky. It was a perfect insta-gift that just knocked in her doorstep. She doesn't even know why Alto likes the sky so how can she understand him.

How come Ranka's gift became inferior to Sheryl? She put the more love and effort in her gift. You can't beat pure effort and love with just thoughts and chance. (and the cookies were shaped like an airplane, Ranka does know that Alto likes to fly too) That's why it was Ranka who ended up sharing the real sky with Alto and gave Alto the best present accdg to Alto. Kawamori gets to pick the winner accdg to who's more deserving to him. Whether he was biased or not at that time, you decide. You can say I agreed with him.

I'm beating the dead horse. +_+

[kujoe]

Yes, that's precisely why Sheryl understands... because she asked in the first place. Ranka didn't.

Again, (for the nth time), there's nothing wrong with Ranka's gift. The approach is just different. Don't be so defensive about such differences. Talking about who put more effort is meaningless. One wanted to give her best in her debut concert, the other risked her health (and her life) to bring what the other wanted. I prefer the sentiment of the latter.

Kawamori biased? Ohnogi only took charge of Sheryl up to episode 22. The family life bit and the chemistry between Sheryl and Alto afterwards, I assume Kawamori had a hand in, as what was revealed in that Famitsu interview. He also mentioned that episode 12 was his way of "pissing off" the fans, and also wanted to show a "singing on arrival" scene. I'm not really sure what he was really going for in that episode in particular. Moreover, say hello to triangular episode 25. So yes, Kawamori is one hell of a guy.


So yeah, dead horse indeed. (And I'm just as worse.)

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Mei19

But but between "Sheryl understands" and "Sheryl knows" Alto's love for the blue sora, isn't it more like Sheryl "knows" because she asked him if he liked Frontier and he said he didn't because there is no sky. It was a perfect insta-gift that just knocked in her doorstep. She doesn't even know why Alto likes the sky so how can she understand him.

I need not explain to you that in order to gain an understanding of a person better, perhaps a bit of mutual interaction would be needed?

If Ranka even bothered taking that first step, she would know, and gradually gain an understanding of Alto, wouldn't she? Unfortunately, she wouldn't, she refused, even when the information (such as him being in Kabuki, which everyone, sans Ranka, knew about) was right in front of her. Ranka always did things that only she thought would reach Alto, without ever consulting with Alto in the first place. No wonder she failed, and had to take that long trip to lalaland. With this type of character set up, it is not a wonder that Kawamori lost his way with Ranka while the rest of the crew too, knew not what to do with her, except to send her away.

Originally Posted by Mei19

How come Ranka's gift became inferior to Sheryl? She put the more love and effort in her gift. You can't beat pure effort and love with just thoughts and chance.

Because she missed the mark. Sometimes, simplicity is better than complication.

If for your birthday, I gave you four sticks of TNT, a box of enriched uranium, a remote control to an orbital ion cannon, and a cell phone with the capacity to overwhelm the world with judgment day as we know it, would you still accept them full of glee (but it has my love, effort and affection)? I certainly hope not.

Psst, besides, the cookies were bitter. It might be poisonous.

Originally Posted by Mei19

(and the cookies were shaped like an airplane, Ranka does know that Alto likes to fly too)

More like it was because it was Alto's occupation at the time.

Originally Posted by Mei19

That's why it was Ranka who ended up sharing the real sky with Alto and gave Alto the best present accdg to Alto. Kawamori gets to pick the winner accdg to who's more deserving to him. Whether he was biased or not at that time, you decide. You can say I agreed with him.

While everyone else knew that it was by pure chance Ranka get to have that one, and ONLY ONE episode to share some intimacy with Alto. Sure, you can definitely agree with Kawamori, I do too, especially when he stated that particular episode was meant to piss off everyone. He was right, I was pissed.

- Tak (And by chance it remained, as Ranka reverted back to her clueless self afterward. Her voice never reached Alto, as indicated by the producers. For the rest of the series, she spent most of her time getting in the way)

[Droplet]

Macross Frontier was a wonderful ride. It took me a while to get used to the characters, but when I did, they became memorable.

Overall Impression: 10/10.

I'm somewhat happy that even until the end, the show doesn't show whom Alto finally chooses.

I'm up for a sequel, if that's possible in a few years. But I'm fairly contented for now.

[Von Himmel]

. . .Did Alto ever tried to approach any of the girls by himself ? Or it might because that it was not implied clearly by the director. . ? 0.o;

Anyway ~ That's one thing that made me have this series got a minus from me ^^;