Macross Frontier Character Discussion - Ranka Lee

[kilroy0097]

I don't know how a normal person changes their emotion from sad to happy in a split second regardless of the reason. Are you bipolar or something? Is this some kind of special human ability that I'm not aware of? Ranka's song would never have worked regardless of how hard she tried unless she has this mysterious power of changing emotions immediately upon command. If you have this power then please demonstrate it to the millions of people suffering from depression in the world and the thousands of others that want to commit suicide. I'm sure they would all love to know how to be happy immediately.

[MaiHikari]

Originally Posted by kilroy0097

I don't know how a normal person changes their emotion from sad to happy in a split second regardless of the reason. Are you bipolar or something? Is this some kind of special human ability that I'm not aware of? Ranka's song would never have worked regardless of how hard she tried unless she has this mysterious power of changing emotions immediately upon command. If you have this power then please demonstrate it to the millions of people suffering from depression in the world and the thousands of others that want to commit suicide. I'm sure they would all love to know how to be happy immediately.

Her singing sucked only partially because she was heartbroken. But the key lies in her reason to sing. I'm sure if Alto had asked her to sing for him with a wink, she would have sang with all her heart. But he asked her to sing for everyone's sake. It doesn't coincide with Ranka's motivation to sing--which was only for Alto. Therein lies Ranka's problem.

[kilroy0097]

Ok so if Alto first assured her that he loved her and then asked her to sing for him to save Frontier then maybe all of that wouldn't have happened. But since Alto didn't do any of that and instead asked her as a tool to sing to save Frontier, she wigged out. Alto needs to work on his delivery. I wish Michael had given him some lessons on being suave before he died. Alto has about as much grace as a sledgehammer most of the time. Where was his acting background half of the series?

Damn it! I said I wasn't going to harp on Alto anymore but seriously that guy pisses me off to no end.

I love this series.

[ickem]

Originally Posted by kilroy0097

Ok so if Alto first assured her that he loved her and then asked her to sing for him to save Frontier then maybe all of that wouldn't have happened. But since Alto didn't do any of that and instead asked her as a tool to sing to save Frontier, she wigged out. Alto needs to work on his delivery. I wish Michael had given him some lessons on being suave before he died. Alto has about as much grace as a sledgehammer most of the time. Where was his acting background half of the series?

Damn it! I said I wasn't going to harp on Alto anymore but seriously that guy pisses me off to no end.

I love this series.

He didn't ask her as tool, he asked her as a fellow inhabitant of Frontier. Her songs have an effect on the Vajra and people were dying. Alto's bluntness can be forgiven considering that this was what was happening at the time.

[Teletha]

Why the hell does Alto have to tell her he loves her? That's just silly to blame him for not lying to her about what he felt and assuring her even if he didn't mean it. I much prefer someone be honest then play with me just to get me to do something. Being suave isn't going to work with someone like Ranka without really hurting her in the end. We already know how seriously she takes signs from Alto. That is, if he even realized what was going on.

[aneeshadc]

Originally Posted by Teletha

Why the hell does Alto have to tell her he loves her? That's just silly to blame him for not lying to her about what he felt and assuring her even if he didn't mean it. I much prefer someone be honest then play with me just to get me to do something. Being suave isn't going to work with someone like Ranka without really hurting her in the end. We already know how seriously she takes signs from Alto. That is, if he even realized what was going on.

Exactly, u beat me to it ,QFT!

[aneeshadc]

To be fair though, on the nanase front, I have to rethink my initial doubts about whether or not she cared enuf abt nanase.

She does care abt nanase, she seemed apathetic in that scene because she was shocked & we know that when faced with stressful situations & when she sees pple close to her getting hurt, she doesnt behave normally.

Also its silly to get mad at her for having a brera flashback then, cause that is hardly her fault, Brera is a fragment of her past , its natural that her memories would resurface during stressful moments like that.

That said, Her biggest demerit in the whole ep, was her initial selfish refusal to sing when alto asked her to, when she knew very well that people's lives were in danger & that they were depending on her to bail them out. The fact that she refused knowing all this is a definite black mark on her character & why we say that she is self-absorbed.

In all honesty, if u notice ,she reached out her hand to alto when he asks her to sing but she says no & begins to cry when he tells her to sing for everyone's sake. This & the flashback of her realization of her love for alto clearly shows us that it is the shattering of her childish realisation of her singing for alto's sake alone, not that she felt like he was using her was what made continue her tantrum until sheryl came to the rescue.

Her blurting out that she wasnt a tool to be used against the vajra was just the suspicions she's had at the back of her mind for a long time now. She just used it as an excuse & a cover for her hurt feelings & chose the wrong time to express her doubts.

[Wildstar]

Originally Posted by aneeshadc

Her blurting out that she wasnt a tool to be used against the vajra was just the suspicions she's had at the back of her mind for a long time now. She just used it as an excuse & a cover for her hurt feelings & chose the wrong time to express her doubts.

And yet, if anyone had listened to her, the power of her song would not have caused the Varja to go berzerk, but instead they slapped her.

If she's the one with this power, why would you assume that SHE is the least ignorant about it? She knew it wasn't right. She said she couldn't do it. She was right.

[aneeshadc]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

And yet, if anyone had listened to her, the power of her song would not have caused the Varja to go berzerk, but instead they slapped her.

If she's the one with this power, why would you assume that SHE is the least ignorant about it? She knew it wasn't right. She said she couldn't do it. She was right.

No, she was wrong because she chose the wrong time to express her doubts, there was no time to listen to her doubts because people at that very moment were dying!

She had ample opportunity to mention she didnt want to sing as a tool before the vajra attacked, The fact that her major revelation came when pple out side were getting massacred by the vajra was soooooo wrong. Instead she should have have been trying to do evrything that was in her power to do!

She was slapped because she was panicking & not thinking clearly. When ur panicking & showing irrational behaviour, there isnt much u can do but to slap them so that they can come to their senses & start thinking calmly again, Its happened in countless movies & even in real life!

She is right in that her singing should not be used as a tool but her timing sucked. In any case, the next time she brings up that topic again, u can be rest assured that it wont be duing war & when pple arnt dying in close vicinity. When she next refuses to sing as a tool, it will be at the right moment & not during a war situation! Then she wll have learnt something from the situation & abt being a true pro.

[Wildstar]

Originally Posted by aneeshadc

No, she was wrong because she chose the wrong time to express her doubts, there was no time to listen to her doubts because people at that very moment were dying!

...and they died much, much more because she sang!


(...so her resistance to singing right then and there was right on target as far as I'm concerned)

[Tak]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

(...so her resistance to singing right then and there was right on target as far as I'm concerned)

As far as YOU the audience is concerned but unknown to any of the characters in the show!

She showed doubt and went "I don't wanna be no singing tool!" Thats great, but if thats the case, why did she volunteer prior to this!? Her reaction in 20 was obviously that her little fantasy with her man was completely annihilated in front of her very eyes.

- Tak

[indr0008]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

...and they died much, much more because she sang!


(...so her resistance to singing right then and there was right on target as far as I'm concerned)

"I'm not a tool to fight the vajra!!"

she said it herself, meaning she thinks that atm, her songs can only 'tame' the vajra, she dun know that it has the other possibility of making them go rampage...

but she refused to sing!!!

[Wildstar]

...and at the end of the day Ranka was right, and Alto and Sheryl, not to mention fans saying she was selfish for not singing, were all wrong.

Had Alto and Sheryl not pressured her into singing when she felt it was wrong, Michael would not have died.


And I think the interpretation being used is a little off. The "I'm not a tool to kill the Varja" type sentence is being interpreted as possibly a sudden change of heart as in a sudden pacifist "Ah ain't no Varjah-killah!"

It is perfectly accurate to stress the TOOL portion of the sentence instead and Ranka was completely correct. They want to use her as a tool to fight the Varja... and that would be great if her power was just a tool she could use to fight them, but she/her power isn't a tool.

That's borne out in what happened... it turned out to be impossible to simply use her song as a tool to fight the Varja.

[herbert]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

...and they died much, much more because she sang!


(...so her resistance to singing right then and there was right on target as far as I'm concerned)

Again, Ranka is not the one in fault but others should be blamed? If she really has an idea or two, explainning to them.

Come on now. Ranka fails to be a songstress after she agrees to sing against Vajra. And worse, she fails even to be a tool.

[Wildstar]

Ranka wanted to not sing. Turns out, the right thing to do was not sing.

Ranka would understandably have a hard time putting into words something she doesn't completely understand, and even if she did it would be like explaining pineapple to an eskimo, so it is understandable if Ranka can't articulate EXACTLY why she feels she shouldn't sing.

On the Alto/Sheryl side, they didn't seem to give her any credence, there was no, "wait, maybe there's something to this." ...also understandable because as far as they can see, Ranka has a tool that can be used to defeat the Varja.

...so I don't blame others per se, just pointing out to all those saying Michael is dead because of Ranka, well, it isn't that simple.

[herbert]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

Ranka wanted to not sing. Turns out, the right thing to do was not sing.

Ranka would understandably have a hard time putting into words something she doesn't completely understand, and even if she did it would be like explaining pineapple to an eskimo, so it is understandable if Ranka can't articulate EXACTLY why she feels she shouldn't sing.

On the Alto/Sheryl side, they didn't seem to give her any credence, there was no, "wait, maybe there's something to this." ...also understandable because as far as they can see, Ranka has a tool that can be used to defeat the Varja.

...so I don't blame others per se, just pointing out to all those saying Michael is dead because of Ranka, well, it isn't that simple.

Her beloved pet?

What I wanted to say was Ranka should not agree to sing against Vajra from very beginning. She makes a tool out of herself. It's too late to refuse her responsibility in the nick of time.

[Deryns]

I don't see Michel dying as Ranka's fault. She had tried once and had no effect but worsening the situation outside.The fight in the base was moving a little to fast for the singing to make a decisive difference.

[cerrian]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

If she's the one with this power, why would you assume that SHE is the least ignorant about it? She knew it wasn't right. She said she couldn't do it. She was right.

If she wasn't ignorant about her abilties, she wouldn't be running to SMS HQ to use the wave-fold amp now would she? The truth is that Ranka has no idea how her abilities work, much less the consequences of using them. Right now she believes that that her voice alone isn't enough and that she needs the amplifier. It's right on the mark to call Ranka ignorant of her abilities and that her refusal to sing was the most selfish action she could have taken with what she knows.

[aneeshadc]

Originally Posted by Wildstar

...and at the end of the day Ranka was right, and Alto and Sheryl, not to mention fans saying she was selfish for not singing, were all wrong.

Had Alto and Sheryl not pressured her into singing when she felt it was wrong, Michael would not have died.


And I think the interpretation being used is a little off. The "I'm not a tool to kill the Varja" type sentence is being interpreted as possibly a sudden change of heart as in a sudden pacifist "Ah ain't no Varjah-killah!"

It is perfectly accurate to stress the TOOL portion of the sentence instead and Ranka was completely correct. They want to use her as a tool to fight the Varja... and that would be great if her power was just a tool she could use to fight them, but she/her power isn't a tool.

That's borne out in what happened... it turned out to be impossible to simply use her song as a tool to fight the Varja.

Yes, her refusing to sing knowing her voice tames the vajra & not knowing that that she can also enrage them makes her decision to not sing morally wrong.
For u, who is aware that her emotions can enrage the vajra, her refusing to sing might be considered as a good thing in general.nw do u get it?

Also, Grace & the Govt are using her as a tool. While alto, Sheryl, & the SMS only want her to help pple in need by doing all that is within her power to do by pacifying the vajra for them so that they can all survive. They have made her safety a priority not just because she is a weapon against the vajra, but also because they care abt her excluding Grace, Leon & the Govt.

[aneeshadc]

Most of us are not blaming her for Michaels death, I never did. Her initial selfish refusal is what cinched the disappointment in ranka as an empathetic character for me.