Macross Frontier Character Discussion - Ranka Lee

[Tak]

Originally Posted by MaiHikari

Nanase's got hopes and dreams.

Except on top of that is a psycho of a trap. I really wouldn't touch that particular set of hopes n' dreams with a 1241512214124 feet pole.

- Tak

[indr0008]

Originally Posted by Tak

set of hopes n' dreams
- Tak

will this be entered in urban dictionary?

[MFSxA]

Whether Ranka is a saving angel, an ignorant teen or a selfish whoe remains to be seen. Its quite interesting to note that Canaria comments "She's going to see the truth of what happened eleven years ago."

The only question in my mind regarding Ranka is what reason were behind her actions in 21. So when Ranka remembered her past, did she try to return to the vajra planet to better protect frontier, something in her mind pushed her for the greater good of everyone? Or was it an unimportant reason to weigh against a life? Perhaps she will accidentally find the solution, even when she did not aim to help Frontier.

I prefer that she chose the decision to help Frontier. For once I find Ozma's character interesting even for a second, "I'll choose my own path, as well." Whether it be for the right reasons or not.

To my mind, intention coupled with action defines characters whether in fiction or in reality.

[nanatsusaya]

lol just found something very funny and true about Ranka at another forum and I couldn't resist to post it here

"Ranka is totally the Wesley of Macross."

As You Know, The Scrappy is any character hated by the majority of the fandom. Sometimes, the writers become aware of such hate and start sadistically fooling around with the character, to the delight of the fandom; sometimes, they just pull him out of the scene.

But what happens when everybody hates The Scrappy, while the writers absolutely love him? He becomes a creature that we tropers like to refer to as "The Wesley"...the polar opposite of the Ensemble Darkhorse, and the only thing worse than The Scrappy.

A Wesley is created when the writers (or sometimes only one of them) have become attached to a specific character, so they begin writing him/her into more and more of the scripts, giving them more to do, and sometimes making them the proxy voice of the author, all while blithely ignoring the simple truth that they're the only ones that love their character, because the fans absolutely goddamned hate this character.

The main characteristic of The Wesley that distinguishes him from, say, The Kimberly is that the writers' focus on him is actually acting to the detriment of the rest of the show. It's not that the parts of the show featuring this particular annoying character suck more than the rest, it's that so much effort is being refocused on him that the episodes that don't prominently feature him are also beginning to suck.

When a character starts turning into The Wesley, the show usually begins hemorrhaging fans - it's a clear sign that it's about to (or just did) Jump The Shark. The only certain way to dodge this particular bullet is to write the character out, either by having them Put On A Bus or outright killing them (the latter choice has been known to actually win back some of the fans). He can be outright redeemed though if he's Rescued From The Scrappy Heap, but that's rare and takes considerable writing talent.

The writers will more likely take to Shilling The Wesley.

Compare Spotlight Stealing Squad, which happens when Character Focus pushes a lot of the other characters out of the limelight for an extended period of time. Contrast The Artifact, which the writers try to ignore because they no longer find the character interesting, but can't write out of the series without royally screwing things up and a fair solution to a character who is only a Wesley because of overuse. Not to be confused with The Westley.

More there: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWesley

[Wesley84]

You better not have posted that because I'm here.

Besides, the comparison is completely off. Ranka is the main character. Not just a character.

[nanatsusaya]

Originally Posted by Wesley84

You better not have posted that because I'm here.

Besides, the comparison is completely off. Ranka is the main character. Not just a character.

No I posted it here because Ranka is the newest member of The Wesley club

No offense to you

[Wesley84]

Originally Posted by nanatsusaya

No I posted it here because Ranka is the newest member of The Wesley club

No offense to you

If you have to compare her to a character, compare her to Whinakin Skywalker at least. You'd get the genre and the character/story relevancy then at least.

[Westlo]

So Star Trek is not scifi now is it? You know considering who the Wesley is named after and all...

[Wesley84]

Originally Posted by Westlo

So Star Trek is not scifi now is it? You know considering who the Wesley is named after and all...

Star Trek is usually episodic. Star Wars is epic/space opera. Macross is...closer to the latter than the former. If not genre, then what word should I have used?

[magnuskn]

Well, if you got any pull at all on the TV Tropes forums, I suggest you put Sheryl down for a mention in the The Westley entry... the complete counter to the Wesley.

[Deryns]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Well, if you got any pull at all on the TV Tropes forums, I suggest you put Sheryl down for a mention in the The Westley entry... the complete counter to the Wesley.

If not for a couple of moments in the series I would put her more as a Tsundere Sue. But at least she pulls it off well.

[golthin]

Originally Posted by nanatsusaya

No I posted it here because Ranka is the newest member of The Wesley club

No offense to you

that opinion is a little wrong, Ranka was never a minor character and later on was upgraded to be used by the way that post said. She was always one of the protagonist! that is where this wesley=Ranka thing fails. It is pretty obvious that the person that posted that is a sheryl shipper. you could say the same from sheryl being a wesley too if we apply that way of thinking, more now that Ranka is not having any intereaction with Alto or sheryl. Actually, currently, klan is being used as a wesley even though she is very popular!
(Ranka, sheryl and klan are very popular and not hated by the majority of the fandom, just by the opposite shiipers)

[Katocchi]

Hmm... I hate Ranka very much ....

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Katocchi

Hmm... I hate Ranka very much ....

Count me in. I was in that club since mid-series.

[Paul Hausser]

After Episode 24... how sweet are fruits of naivete at first, and how bitter they turn as time goes by. What will the little girl do, once she realizes a vessel of whose plans she's become?

[BetoJR]

What I really can't fathom is how they are gonna redeem her character, if not via selfless sacrifice... I mean, the girl was (in)directly responsible for a very sizable amount of deaths (both human and Vajra, if we care to count). So, if she's still alive at the end, how's the rest of the people (outside of her immediate circle) gonna welcome her back?

[golthin]

Originally Posted by BetoJR

What I really can't fathom is how they are gonna redeem her character, if not via selfless sacrifice... I mean, the girl was (in)directly responsible for a very sizable amount of deaths (both human and Vajra, if we care to count). So, if she's still alive at the end, how's the rest of the people (outside of her immediate circle) gonna welcome her back?

I don't think she will be coming back!

[Tak]

*Taking a breather from the shipping wars*

You know, when a snafu of epic proportions (such as this one) is committed, one needs to think of the responsibilities as a result of one's poor judgment. Thus, while Ranka's goals may be noble, her execution was by far the most awful and definitely one without careful planning.

In the real world, something like this is usually deemed for capital punishment, and although I do not believe Ranka deserve such outcome, to suggest that she should somehow be happy in the aftermath is not exactly, in my opinion, justified.

At the end, will she be able to redeem her mistakes? That remains to be seen.

- Tak

[forgottendiary]

Originally Posted by nanatsusaya

lol just found something very funny and true about Ranka at another forum and I couldn't resist to post it here

I swear it felt like watching a Nat Geo documentary.

[stormy001_M1A2]

Ranka is a mixed bag for me. She has her good qualities but she is naive beyond belief, jeopardizing everyone.

If she sings Aimo to make aliens and humans do kumbaya around campfire in reconciliation understanding of coexistence/peace in ep 25, I gonna puke big time.