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Originally Posted by Slick_rick
Yes it was a shock to her that he didn't want to share information with her. But motives behind this are a mystery. She took it in a negative way but he might not have meant it as such. He might have just wanted to not make her jealous not hide facts about himself from her. Her inability to question him about his past is definitely a flaw for her but its something he has to overcome. This is very likely do to her shyness or naivety in matters of love but this shouldn't cheapen her feelings for him.
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I think that the confusion that some people had with that scene from the start is that they automatically associate it with the standard "infidelity" scene. Suddenly, Ranka appears to become the suspicious girlfriend, and Alto appears to become the unfaithful boyfriend who was hiding the fact that he was with another girl.
But the problem is that they aren't dating in the first place, and Alto doesn't normally sugarcoat his words to begin with. So even were he to think that Ranka had a crush on him, I don't think he would tiptoe around it just to avoid offending Ranka. (Setting aside the fact that were to have Alto believed that Ranka had a crush on him, it would raise all sorts of questions about the possibility of Alto leading Ranka on...)
I'm not saying that Ranka's lack of knowledge about Alto is a flaw in itself. Rather, I'm pointing out that she is possessive about Alto without really knowing anything about him to begin with. That's what makes it a crush.
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Originally Posted by Slick_rick
The fact is he never had the goal to pilot an SMS until he met and saved Ranka. He might have been interested in them but he was more focused on his current job. While I have clearly said the she's not the only reason she specifically pilots. She became a reason. He shown when the Vajra attacked when he was out practicing in his VF he had a flashback of Ranka and he went in to attack it. This doesn't necessary mean romance as I never implied but its a good basis for possible feelings. Normally you want to protect and fight for the people you care the most about.
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Someone much more observant than myself managed to catch something that should resolve this debate once and for all.
If you look at episode two, Alto tells Ozma that he wants to sortie with the rest of SMS after he is brought over to describe how Guilliam died. This is after meeting both Sheryl and Ranka
once. He had no knowledge of the Vajra, or Ranka's past at the time. Alto's decision to pilot is his own.
One thing worth noting is that when Alto sees the destruction that has resulted from the attack after returning alone to the scene of the incident, he vomited. So I suspect that the aspect of the incident that moved him the most was the life that he didn't save, rather than the one that he did.
And no, wanting to protect someone from harm isn't a basis for a romantic relationship. Those sorts of feelings develop from actually getting to know the person in question.
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Originally Posted by Slick_rick
While I agree pairing Alto with Sheryl would be the far easier opinion for the writers I don't see this is a foregone conclusion. Have you thought that Sheryl might be the one mistaking friendship for love? She's never had real friends so Alto is a breath of fresh air. Someone who is not overcome by her fame. Someone who she can talk too without holding back.
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I don't think that Sheryl mistakes their friendship for love. They've dated, and discussed their interests, hopes, and fears. Sheryl enjoys bantering with him and playing around with him, and Alto, for all his sternness, can't help but let slip the occasional smile at her antics or show admiration for her determination. In each other, they've found kindred spirts, and that common ground forms the basis of their friendship.
From that, though, Sheryl's feelings have slowly begun to intensify. She feels more and more drawn to spend time with him, and she goes out of her way to learn more about him and look out for him. With these growing feelings, she's started to try to figure out the nature of their relationship, as can be seen in Sheryl and Alto's kiss in episode ten. Once Alto and Sheryl both know where the other stands, their relationship will either change or remain the same based on that.
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Originally Posted by stray
Anyway, so far Ranka is both the most "mature" of the 3 (although emotionally healthy might be a better way to put it), and probably the most "immature" (inexperienced?).
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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?
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Originally Posted by stray
Plus, she's the only one we have a real narrative insight to (aside from Sheryl's blog). She was there for both the kiss on the cheek, as well as Sheryl stealing a kiss on the movie set; and for all intents and purposes both scenes really took place from her point of view. A few other key scenes did also; Sheryl's breakdown on stage... I can't think of any more offhand. She seems to get hurt, or discouraged rather than jealous, but whether it's "love" or not she looks up to both Alto, and Sheryl. I guess Ranka could still turn into a yanderekko... but as of episode 10 she seems to be the only one who's acknowledged how she feels about the other 2, and in a way... where she fits in. Realistically, though, I can't see her backing down.
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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.
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Originally Posted by lone_wolf
Despite the fact that she mentions her dieting quite often, her entry about her nightmare was sad actually...the more I read her blog, I can't help but wonder if her vulnerability will be her impending doom or something and she'll end up on the dark side or something. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into that particular entry...*shrugs*
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That nightmare could be flashbacks from her childhood trauma. Is that Ozma?
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Originally Posted by herbert
I can agree Sheryl is confident and arrogant but these are not baseless confidence or arrogance. She has built confidence through hardworking and arrogance on perfectionism. The fact is that she is the best and she knows it so she behaves in a way that she believes necessary to maintain her status. She does treat Alto and gang like trash but Alto also proves her insight.
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These are good points.
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.
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Originally Posted by ani_d
About Alto, he also has a sense of justice and gets really carried away for someone else's sake. When he called Sheryl unprofessional for leaving her fans to fend for themselves, I just realized that he was criticizing her from a professional's standpoint since he was one. Lastly, when inspired or driven, Alto tends to push himself to the limit regardless of the consequences.
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Alto wasn't a professional at the time. He was just a brash student without any actual combat experience. To the best of everyone's knowledge, he was also a guy who couldn't complete a corkscrew without endangering the people around him. So it's natural that his competence would be called into question.
Alto's heart is in the right place, but strictly speaking, his behavior was foolhardy. While that impulsiveness has lead Alto to perform a number of heroic acts, many of them have been extremely dangerous. As Michael himself points out when Alto is thinking about joining SMS, there may very well come a time when Alto's actions could either lead to the death of a fellow pilot, if not himself. But he's still in the process of maturing, just like everyone else. Give him some time.
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Originally Posted by ani_d
For Sheryl, I think she needs to fix her relationship with her fans more. In episode 7, she cried in front of them and was moved by the amount of support, but it's not easy to forget that these are also the same fans whom she left nonchalantly to look after themselves during the Vajra attack in episode 1.  |
As Sheryl points out in episode six, it's Alto's job to pilot, and it's her job to sing. Sheryl didn't want to leave that stage; it was Cathy who dragged her off. But while Sheryl doesn't like it, she understands why it's necessary. It isn't within her ability to protect the people at that time - that's a job for the professionals. The best that a civilian without speaker pods can do is to evacuate.
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Originally Posted by ani_d
Okay, so she's Sheryl Nome. She has more privilege to live than the others?
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Apparently, Sheryl Nome, who evacuated the building at 19:58 in episode one, has less of a privilege to live than these people, who evacuated at 17:35 in episode one:
Or this girl, who also evacuated at 17:35:
Of course, we're not here to pass moral judgements on the characters, but rather to discuss why they have such great chemistry with each other.
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Originally Posted by ani_d
She doesn't need to learn love from just Alto. What about her billions of fans who truly love her to pieces? All those emotions matter and should have enough meaning for her as much as the person who doesn't treat her as Sheryl Nome.
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What Sheryl's fans love is the image that she's created. None of them see the lonely girl who stands behind that image and gives it a voice. And it's that poor girl who needs love the most of all.
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Originally Posted by ani_d
I read the translation in her blog saying she gave an autograph to a ten year old but said that she wouldn't do it again. What about those other Sherrified lil kiddos? She'll break their lil hearts? =/ Seriously, she needs to get down her almighty horse and acknowledge her fans more--more than she's doing right now. She needs to realize in the future--if ever that kind of depression hits her--that she's not alone with or without Alto.
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Don't get so upset. It's not like lil Ranka won't get an autograph.
The thing that I love about that entry is that it shows the depth of her character. Being asked for your autograph is a mark of fame, and it's very easy for someone to give it out for the benefit of their own ego, rather than for the person whom they are signing it for. Sheryl instead approaches it from the viewpoint of her fans: what can
that specific fan benefit out of it? As a result, she doesn't give out autographs simply for the sake of giving them out.
Also, note the seriousness with which she approaches a seemingly mundane request by a fan. Not only did take the time to find out the entire story from the boy, but she poured her heart into it, treating it as a protective charm for the boy's sister.
The fact that Sheryl gives so much individual attention to the fans that she meets shows how deep her need for interpersonal bonds is. The 'fans' are not an abstract concept so much as they are a collection of individuals with specific needs that Sheryl tries reach out to. Unfortunately, with stardom being the tenuous thing that it is, this sort of bond depends on her ability to entertain people on a moment by moment basis. So while such a relationship allows her an outlet to express her kindness for others, it is very limited in the sort of emotional nourishment that it affords her return.
The statements regarding other young Sheryl-s out there further reinforce the fact that her childhood was not a pleasant one, and demonstrates a genuine concern to protect others from a similar fate.
Fansubber
