[LoveMeKags]

Originally Posted by Falcor

In that case, I apologize for the unintentional slur. Unfortunately, that was the impression I was left with while watching the series.

Yeah, people insult her that way by calling her childish. Most Macross Frontier fans are fans of Macross itself (1980s), so they're pretty old. They don't seem to realize (or if they do, they don't care) that Ranka represents normal teens in our time period now. What teens did back in the 80s is nothing compared to what they do now in the 21st century.

A lot of cheerleaders in high school nowadays are much like Ranka. Hell, even the popular kids are. I've yet to meet someone that is like Sheryl at all. If I ever find a person quite like her, maybe I'll see her as a more realistic character. And realize I'm only 20, so I've just graduated from high school around 2 or 3 years ago compared to most who are Macross fans (like Yot-chan for example of age).

Which is why it was brought up in the first place. It isn't much fun discussing what we already know, afterall. If it's done tactfully, such speculation can be enjoyable.

Well, they seem to find the need to argue on the matter when it has no explanation.

To be honest: Ranka's amnesia is not the only problem to her possible "stunted growth." Now, we could assume that it is slightly due to Ozma's protectiveness over her and also being in an all girls' school (which I've been to boot camp for a few months and living with 27 girls sure made me crazy too), but we could also assume it is just her personality - a part of her that will never change.
There are lots of possibilities to why her personality comes out like this:
1- Ozma's protectiveness
2- all girls' school
3- just her personality
4- inherited from parents or significant other
5- trauma
6- amnesia
7- has a possible mental illness (ADD, ADHD, autism - just to name a few)
Just because it's an anime doesn't mean we can overlook the possibility that the creator might have wanted to include these types of symptoms to make the character more realistic.

I choose to believe #3 over all the others: that it is just a part of her personality, a piece of her that stays the same over all episodes. And when you watch an anime, especially one with action, you like to be reminded of why you chose to like the character in the first place, which she has this as an example. It is repeated multiple times to remind you that she is a growing character. It does not mean that she takes steps back because she moves forward first and then hits another block in the road (we all do at times). I like to say that E13 is a good show of this: in E12, she was all brave and ready to encounter anything, in E13, she returns to being shy and timid around Alto, but also expresses how she's managed to grow in words, something she couldn't express before. Ranka truly shows how characters (even real people) grow slowly, not quickly, and that is another reason why I see Sheryl as an unrealistic character, for her growth is so quick it is like whip lash.

Granted, not all people like this - that's your own opinion - but having this type of personality is a good quality about her. It allows her to be a flexible character, meaning she could be introduced to many other characters as well. Her open and endearing (possibly childish) personality had Alto hooked right from the moment they met. It also attracted Sheryl to her (after hearing her song). She has a tenancy to attract strong and idol figure people into her life, which give her reasons and desires to become a stronger character, even if only in heart or career.

I also believe that it is the one part of her past that stuck with her besides Aimo, for we see a flashback of Ranka as a child on that field with the same personality. It shows to me that Ranka wanted to forget about the incident but remain herself, and her personality now shows she's forgotten but also kept a piece of herself. And, for her at that age, the logical thing to do was to forget such a horrid incident, otherwise, she would've been scarred for life. So I consider her so-called "fail as a character" a way for her to survive. And I believe that's what Sheryl meant about Ranka at the end of the series.

You're Welcome. (See?, I'm not totally anti-Ranka...)

Yes, I noticed.

My original impression of Ranka was a typical loli trying to act more grown up around her older friends. Probably because of that, I still see her more or less in that light. I don't see that as a bad thing, BTW - if anything, I think that makes her series character more likable. Of course, having a younger sister that reminds me a great deal of Ranka probably doesn't help matters.

Hm, I didn't really see that. The only reason she is a loli is because of her iconic image: younger than she looks. Her personality, when truly serious, is much different than the day-to-day one we usually see. It was clearly shown in E12 and E16-17.

However, her friends aren't really that much different than her.
1- Alto is rebelling against his family to become a pilot, obvious
2- Michael is a playboy who escapes reality
3- Nanase is an obsessed fangirl
4- Luca is a geek
They're all not exactly grownups when you look at the fact they run away from their issues.
Nanase is older than her, yes; but they still act like children with each other. It seemed to me that she was more trying to impress the boys: Alto, Michael, and Ozma (Luca didn't truly count because they barely exchanged lines in the series). But she also wanted to show this to her idol: Sheryl.

Now, my impression is that most haters of Ranka just can't let go of Mao from Macross Zero. They are very similar in body structure and personality (though Mao is more confident). It doesn't help that she plays Mao's role in Birdman. But there's a fine line here: Mao was 12, Ranka is 16. It's a different character and most can't see past that because they look so similar.

The biggest beef (no joke) is that a lot of haters compare her to Minmei. Even though the debate has been on for multiple years and then cleared up by Kawamori who stated that both girls, Ranka and Sheryl, shared personalities with her, people still choose to say "she's more like Minmei."
Just one question: why?
Minmei wasn't a loli. She didn't treat Hikaru romantically until it was too late. She didn't even see reality until it was too late. She had a horrible personality off-stage (one that I compare to Chi-Chi from DBZ at times for the screaming and yammering). And she treated her fans like worshipers, putting them above everyone else.
How does Ranka possibly relate?
Yes, she's an idol. Yes, she's the Songstress of Hope. Yes, some of her outfits are similar. Yes, she got rejected. But personality-wise, Ranka did none of the things above. She noticed Alto as a romantic interest right off the bat and took him serious (hell, even fought for him), and her loss wasn't near as bad as Minmei's. She noticed that the Vajra were after her (therefore saw reality as "I'm the one they want, so I shouldn't evoke them further). She had an endearing personality. And she never put her fans first over those precious to her (one of Minmei's biggest mistakes).
Ranka kept in touch with her precious people: visiting Sheryl in the hospital, texting or calling Alto when she can (like E17), calling Nanase, and even updating her brother.
So how is she like Minmei?
The part people mostly draw on is the fact in E21, she chose to leave Frontier - because her heart was broken, or so they say - but when looking back at previous episodes as to E14, could you not see it coming? We were shown that Ranka was slowly becoming aware of her connection to the Vajra and becoming slowly aware of the threat to Frontier (herself or her singing powers), and in E20, she found proof of it. How can we truly blame her for saying "no, I don't wanna sing" if it would only make matters worse? Her choosing to leave Frontier summed up everything from E13 to E20: learning her past, being a threat to Frontier, and having her heart broken (in that order, even stated by her). The fact of the matter is, she only wanted Alto with her because she loved him and felt safe with him (not that she doesn't feel safe with Brera, but she just met him not that long ago).
But, to haters, they take this one piece and they let it just fester like a wound not realizing that they just make themselves look like horrible shippers. Had someone paid attention to detail, Yoshino and Kawamori both gave clues to why Ranka wanted to leave in E21 by the episodes beforehand.

That being said, I don't consider Ranka as a failed character. She did what she felt was right, and that's all a person (with little knowledge of the situation unlike Mishima or Grace) could really do. She gave it her all. And her final tumble in E23 to be brainwashed by Grace (who took advantage of her trauma) in E24-25 just made me adore her more. We got to see Ranka Lee rise and we got to see her fall. She, to me, was a stronger character than Sheryl (who fell in E18 without even asking "is there a cure"). She lasted up to E25 without giving up hope once, instead, choosing different paths and deciding her destiny for herself like Sheryl told her.


On a slightly off-topic subject, since I mentioned it earlier: I do not have strep throat. I went to the doctor, I just have a flu bug and it should be through by the end of the week. Those who worried about me (as a person), please do not fret. I am fine. Thank you if any of you were concerned, it shows that you are human outside of shipping.