Macross Frontier Character Discussion - Ranka Lee

[Father Hentai]

Well, from viewing it from the staff it is really much easier to create a love story from persons who keep fighting or teasing. Best example here is the love between Klan and Michel or even Kathy and Ozma. On the other side you also got Nanase and Luca. You can' t really say at the end that they will start a relationship.

Ranka herself needs a kick in her butt to get moving on sometimes but then you can see that she's giving her full heart into it. That Alto could not hear her voide is another story.

[vision33r]

They rushed char development in MF in general. I actually believe Ranka's char is better than the other two because she changed the most in the series.

Altoh can be so annoying how stubborn he is and he gets away with it for being a good-looking snob and like Tom Cruise he never loses in battle while Hikaru was much more interesting to watch because he's really not that great, Max was better but Hikaru tries his best to be better while they just made Altoh seem too invincible.

Sheryl's char is too shallow, she was established as a b*tch then turned into a wuss when she meets Altoh. Things that she says around Altoh sometimes make no sense and as a guy I would get frustrated knowing that there's no chemistry between us why keep up the phoney act?

As for Ranka, she's the more down to earth char for the 3. She wanted to do good and she never wanted to be a big star just like MinMei. They rushed her romance with Altoh, since they never really spent much time together, how could she suddenly fell in love with him, for what reason?

MF is just rushed overall, I must say, I enjoy it but at the end big let down when it was over so quickly.

[BetoJR]

Ranka never wanted to be a star? She grows the most out of the three main characters? Sheryl is a shallow character who has no chemistry with Alto? And he's invincible? Erm... Did we watch the same show?

[raile]

...

What anime was this dude watching? They have the same character names in Macross Frontier.

[BetoJR]

Yeah, it's kinda eerie, isn't it?

[forgottendiary]

Originally Posted by BetoJR

Yeah, it's kinda eerie, isn't it?

I know! I know! It's called Neon Genesis Macross Frontier!!!!

[Tak]

Originally Posted by forgottendiary

I know! I know! It's called Neon Genesis Macross Frontier!!!!

Slaps forgotten. Err, sorry Beto...

Back on topic:

Ranka wanted to be a star. She craved being a star, and she had always looked up to Sheryl. The series itself gave us plenty of evidence supporting that. I need not remind you that she competed in Miss Macross, went onto the movie to become a supporting character, selling her own materials on the street... etc. Except when she got it, she failed utterly to show any responsibility for her role.

Why keep up the phony act, you say? Shoot, that was her last fragment as Sheryl. The Sheryl that used to be the Galactic Fairy. She was losing it to Alto. Naturally, she'd get defensive in order to muster whatever left remains of her dignity before her barrier gets completely shattered (all hail episode 22!!).

Alto on the other hand, was hardly invincible. Shoot, this guy lost more fighters to enemy and friendly fire than Hikaru in Macross!

- Tak

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by vision33r

They rushed char development in MF in general. I actually believe Ranka's char is better than the other two because she changed the most in the series.

Altoh can be so annoying how stubborn he is and he gets away with it for being a good-looking snob and like Tom Cruise he never loses in battle while Hikaru was much more interesting to watch because he's really not that great, Max was better but Hikaru tries his best to be better while they just made Altoh seem too invincible.

Sheryl's char is too shallow, she was established as a b*tch then turned into a wuss when she meets Altoh. Things that she says around Altoh sometimes make no sense and as a guy I would get frustrated knowing that there's no chemistry between us why keep up the phoney act?

As for Ranka, she's the more down to earth char for the 3. She wanted to do good and she never wanted to be a big star just like MinMei. They rushed her romance with Altoh, since they never really spent much time together, how could she suddenly fell in love with him, for what reason?

MF is just rushed overall, I must say, I enjoy it but at the end big let down when it was over so quickly.

I'm sorry but did you watch Frontier like at all?

Ranka's character was the only one that did not change. She started out the series as a naiive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions, and ended the series as a naive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions. There was no character development to be had. And also Ranka did want to become a star like Minmei that's why she entered herself into the Ms. Macross beauty pageant, or accepted that role in the Bird human movie, or gotten kicked out of school for it. She also worked way too hard with Elmo to be someone who didn't want to become a star. Bottom line is that you're comments are like those made by someone whose never seen past the first episode of MF.

Also you calling Sheryl selfish, and shallow also makes it even more obvious that you've never actually watched the series.

Your comment on Alto was also so incorrect I don't even know where to begin.

A word of advice actually watch the series, and get your facts straight before you decide to comment on a series. Or else you just end up embarrassing yourself.

[DeX-kun]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

I'm sorry but did you watch Frontier like at all?

Ranka's character was the only one that did not change. She started out the series as a naiive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions, and ended the series as a naive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions. There was no character development to be had. And also Ranka did want to become a star like Minmei that's why she entered herself into the Ms. Macross beauty pageant, or accepted that role in the Bird human movie, or gotten kicked out of school for it. She also worked way too hard with Elmo to be someone who didn't want to become a star. Bottom line is that you're comments are like those made by someone whose never seen past the first episode of MF.

Also you calling Sheryl selfish, and shallow also makes it even more obvious that you've never actually watched the series.

Your comment on Alto was also so incorrect I don't even know where to begin.

A word of advice actually watch the series, and get your facts straight before you decide to comment on a series. Or else you just end up embarrassing yourself.

Well I would have to disagree with you on the statement where Ranka didn't change. She did change, to what extent I'm not quite sure myself because from what I see she went from a naive 16 year old girl to a more self confident and decisive character. While I still think she has her flaws, I wouldn't say that she didn't develop at all because that's not true. As for her decision, she did make decisions on her own because although other people might support you and say things to help you, they can't actually force you to do it. Ranka made all the decisions herself, nobody forced her to join the Miss Macross pageant and nobody forced her to go to outer space to look for the Vajra home planet to leave Ai-kun and stop the fighting between the Vajra and humanity.

I do agree that she did want to become a star from the beginning and she still does but I don't think it is her priority like it was before, imo. As for Sherly being selfish, I agree that she was selfish to some extent but to call her shallow is taking it too far.

[kujoe]

Originally Posted by DeX-kun

I do agree that she did want to become a star from the beginning and she still does but I don't think it is her priority like it was before, imo.

It still is. Or at least, I sure hope so.

Sheryl is both her inspiration and her rival. She simply sees herself on equal footing with Sheryl at the end. Sheryl got her to where she is due to luck (i.e., Grace) and hard work, and I imagine that Ranka will be working for her own goals as well. After all she went through (small bit roles and auditions) I doubt she would suddenly stop when her career has begun an upswing.

One can give her credit to her for that. But that's not the full story. She does develop as a character, but the direction of it beyond her idol aspirations isn't really good, nor does it reach full circle. The plot is to blame for "protecting" her from the weight of the story.

[DeX-kun]

Originally Posted by kujoe

It still is. Or at least, I sure hope so.

Sheryl is both her inspiration and her rival. She simply sees herself on equal footing with Sheryl at the end. Sheryl got her to where she is due to luck (i.e., Grace) and hard work, and I imagine that Ranka will be working for her own goals as well. After all she went through (small bit roles and auditions) I doubt she would suddenly stop when her career has begun an upswing.

One can give her credit to her for that. But that's not the full story. She does develop as a character, but the direction of it beyond her idol aspirations isn't really good, nor does it reach full circle. The plot is to blame for "protecting" her from the weight of the story.

Oh well I guess one could say that it is one of her priorities but the way the series ended, it looks like the love triangle is still going to be involved in the movie like it was in the series. The biggest problem I had with the ending is that it felt like everything went in a complete circle, i.e when it comes to the romance. The only thing that changed was that Ranka is seen as a star now just like Sheryl, and that they are living on a planet now. Ranka wasn't really in "love" with Alto until episode 15 I would say because in the beginning it was just a "I like you" thing, where Sheryl was pretty much in love with him by episode 6. Still of course that's all arguable because different people have different takes on things but this is my opinion.

Well Kawamori kind needs to start over again and just help her character out in the movie because there should be this many people hating her lol, it's just unhealthy. I just hope that some people can have an open mind because I do very much enjoy Ranka's character, I hope others will be able to as well once summer rolls in. Actually we might not see it until winter since the subs are gonna take a while.

[Westlo]

Even if the movie version of Ranka does a movie Minmei and improves drastically people's perceptions about Ranka TV will stay the same just as they do for Minmei.

[DeX-kun]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Even if the movie version of Ranka does a movie Minmei and improves drastically people's perceptions about Ranka TV will stay the same just as they do for Minmei.

Well now that would just be plain arrogant because I honestly don't see why there would be any reason to "hate" her. She's not Minmei and she never will even if they do have similar traits, and besides what I read in some articles I saw that both Ranka and Sheryl are compared to Minmei but with separate characteristics.

[kujoe]

Ranka will never be Minmay, but like you said so yourself, there is a comparison. No one is saying that she is.

Sheryl is compared to DYRL Minmay, the established star who grows beyond the walls of her idol world. In other words, the "good" version of Minmay, at least for a number of fans out there.

Unfortunately, Ranka is the TV series Minmay, the young idol just starting out. And well, the perception of both characters is almost similar.

And Westlo is right in saying that perceptions will not change based on the context and series. Fans tend to view TV and movie versions as two separate things most of the time.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by DeX-kun

Well now that would just be plain arrogant because I honestly don't see why there would be any reason to "hate" her.

Keep in mind you're the one using the word hate here, I view Ranka as wasted potential. Now if the movie actually makes a good version of her that doesn't magically sweep aside 25 episodes of wasted potential now does it?

She's not Minmei and she never will

That's right. Minmei has more charisma in her pinky finger than Ranka has in her entire body.

[DeX-kun]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Keep in mind you're the one using the word hate here, I view Ranka as wasted potential. Now if the movie actually makes a good version of her that doesn't magically sweep aside 25 episodes of wasted potential now does it?

Well I use the word hate because that's the majority of the people that really do hate her, as her being wasted potential is subjective. Our opinions differ because I don't think her character was as bad as everyone seems to put it. If they do make her better than I will be happy but I agree that it doesn't magically take away the flaws in the TV series.

Originally Posted by Westlo

That's right. Minmei has more charisma in her pinky finger than Ranka has in her entire body.

This is also just a matter of opinion, I think her development has in the series made her a charismatic character to some extent, maybe not as much as Minmei but enough to say that she has charisma now.

[vision33r]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

I'm sorry but did you watch Frontier like at all?

Ranka's character was the only one that did not change. She started out the series as a naiive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions, and ended the series as a naive immature 16 year old girl who looked way too young for her age and let people make all the decisions. There was no character development to be had. And also Ranka did want to become a star like Minmei that's why she entered herself into the Ms. Macross beauty pageant, or accepted that role in the Bird human movie, or gotten kicked out of school for it. She also worked way too hard with Elmo to be someone who didn't want to become a star. Bottom line is that you're comments are like those made by someone whose never seen past the first episode of MF.

Also you calling Sheryl selfish, and shallow also makes it even more obvious that you've never actually watched the series.

Your comment on Alto was also so incorrect I don't even know where to begin.

A word of advice actually watch the series, and get your facts straight before you decide to comment on a series. Or else you just end up embarrassing yourself.

Maybe I'm at a different analytical level than most Macross fans. I write employee reviews at work, since I am a manager. From my personal analysis of the show..

It's quite simple, the person who had the biggest transition is Ranka Lee.

She went from a waitress, big Sheryl fan, school girl into this heroine that Frontier City regarded her as, over-taken Sheryl in popularity, and even did the unthinkable such as going with her brother to try to understand the enemy.

She even confessed her love to Altoh and Sheryl couldn't even look at Altoh in the eyes and say the words Ranka could...

What did Altoh do? He wanted to be a pilot and that was it. Not much more. Oh yea, and also putting away his acting background into the past.

Sheryl? She lost her self-esteem, her popularity, and nearly quit music.

Altoh's romance with Sheryl is at best, platonic, hardly even close to Basara + Mylene which is a one sided relationship but atleast there are some moments..

Is it that hard to make a fair comparison, which character changed the most?

[vision33r]

Originally Posted by raile

...

What anime was this dude watching? They have the same character names in Macross Frontier.

I don't think you actually watched Macross Frontier, you're just an anime "viewer."

There's a big difference between watching and viewing..

[Westlo]

Vision your comparisons here are the equivalent to a Kobe fan listing 20 things Kobe Byrant can do and than saying Lebron can only drive to the basket, it's biased. Please don't play the I'm making a fair comparison card because nothing could be further from the truth. I find it funny you decide to ignore Sheryl sacrificing herself from Frontier considering she was a selfish bitch at the start, you do know that's character development right?

[vision33r]

Originally Posted by DeX-kun

Oh well I guess one could say that it is one of her priorities but the way the series ended, it looks like the love triangle is still going to be involved in the movie like it was in the series. The biggest problem I had with the ending is that it felt like everything went in a complete circle, i.e when it comes to the romance. The only thing that changed was that Ranka is seen as a star now just like Sheryl, and that they are living on a planet now. Ranka wasn't really in "love" with Alto until episode 15 I would say because in the beginning it was just a "I like you" thing, where Sheryl was pretty much in love with him by episode 6. Still of course that's all arguable because different people have different takes on things but this is my opinion.

Well Kawamori kind needs to start over again and just help her character out in the movie because there should be this many people hating her lol, it's just unhealthy. I just hope that some people can have an open mind because I do very much enjoy Ranka's character, I hope others will be able to as well once summer rolls in. Actually we might not see it until winter since the subs are gonna take a while.

The love triangle at best is a big "snooze" in my book. I've been in love triangles myself and I would easily brush away Sheryl. She bored the crap out of me, but I still love May'n's singing over Nakajima.

The episode where Ranka was leaving off with her brother, she confessed her love to Altoh and he never really understood it or took it in. It sort of backfired at the end when Altoh thought she's working with the enemy. It shows he didn't really have feelings that strong for her.

Altoh + Sheryl is a big snoozefest, the two never seem like lovebirds. Altoh always seems like he's uninterested while Sheryl wants to be loved and Altoh's not very understanding of that.

This is why girls like older guys because young dudes like Altoh just don't understand how to treat a girl.