I've seen a number of excellent points made regarding this episode in the earlier discussion, but many of these were buried under a pile of angry accusations regarding shipping and bias. The main problem, I think, was in how these ideas were expressed.
I'm not really interested in delving into Ranka's character too much here, but seeing the latest batch of replies, I think that these issues need to be seen for what they really are. You might not agree with any of them, but hopefully you'll at least see the reasoning on which these arguments were based.
Ranka's Goals:
In episode three, Ranka tells Alto that she wants to sing professionally because she wants people to hear her. It's essentially a desire to prove her existance: being trapped in the emergency shelter made her realize that she didn't want to die unrecognized by the people around her. Her dream of becoming a professional singer was her path to self-actualization: to leave her footprints on the sands of time.
Ranka's decision to become Frontier's weapon in the battle against the Vajra was an extension of that. The government placed her in a situation in which her singing could make a difference to save lives. In so doing, Ranka was placed in a position to achieve her dream. With the people of Frontier hanging on to her every word, she finally had a chance to leave her mark on society.
This episode, and to a lesser extent, episode seventeen, subverts this character build-up.
In episode seventeen, Ranka resolves her doubts about becoming Frontier's weapon by asking Alto for his opinion. The problem, however, is that Ranka's decision to throw her support behind the military is based solely on gaining Alto's approval, rather than by discussing how this new role fit in with her original dreams.
In episode nineteen, by claiming that Alto is her sole reason for singing, Ranka sets aside her original aspirations to sing and share her music for the sake of everyone. The earlier discussion about feminism ties in here, since by casting aside those dreams, Ranka denies herself her own individuality in the process of trying to enter into a relationship with Alto.
But this situation can be considered outside of a gender specific context, as well. In any relationship, there needs to be a balance between your own needs as an individual and the needs of your partnership. Neglecting one for the sake of the other leads to a very one-sided relationship.
Ranka's role on Frontier:
Now if these concerns don't trouble you so much, an obvious counter-argument that you might make is "Why can't she change her goals?" To be sure, there's something that
sounds very romantic about discarding your dreams for the sake of love.
But the problem here is that it's no longer just Ranka's sacrifice to make: it's the sacrifice of all of the people on Frontier. On the path to fame, Ranka agreed to portray herself as a symbol of hope for Frontier. The immense success and fame that Ranka was granted by elevating herself above the status of a mere idol, however, comes at the cost of responsibility.
Again, this ties back to the process by which Ranka made her decision. Had she decided to become Frontier's weapon in order to achieve her original dream of leaving a mark on society, then she would have relished the chance to take up this responsibility. Had she decided that she just wanted to sing for Alto, then she could have returned to those simpler days of singing Aimo to him on the hill.
But because Ranka took action based on a desire to gain Alto's approval, she has placed herself in a position where she does no justice to either her own needs or the needs of the people of Frontier. But part of growing up is in learning to live with the consequences of your decisions.
Ranka's actions during the parade result from and reflect her inability to do this.
Final Scene:
The reason that the last scene provokes a response from the viewers is due to dramatic irony. Ranka doesn't understand the reason why Alto and Sheryl are together on the roof, but the audience does. Ranka's situation is sharply contrasted with Sheryl's throughout the episode. So when you finally see them meet on the roof, and
Ranka gets upset over the scene that she sees, the viewers tend to react strongly to the sheer incongruity of the situation. It's very overwhelming to watch.
While we can't blame any of the characters on this last point, it's the actions that they make leading up to this point that provide the tinder for this scene. The final moment is nothing more than the dropping of a lit match.
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Hopefully that helps clarify these points, since I'd much rather discuss something else.
(NO talent Huge success)
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