Macross Frontier (Macross 25) general discussion [No Spoilers]

[BetoJR]

Very nice references. I had actually noticed most of the actual episode happenings as homages myself, as well as the quite obvious relation of Alto's last name and Ranma's, but the stuff about the light novels and more obscure traditions is quite interesting. As are Zero's and Mamegu's little references, as well. I pity her for having to dress up as a cat, myself...

PLEASE, keep them coming, Magnus!

[magnuskn]

And we continue with the liner notes. All credit goes to Shaloom from the Macross Generation forum. http://www.http://macrossgeneration....ex.php?act=idx[B]

Episode 12 Link :

- The Zentraedi language was created by Kazutaka Miyatake in 1982 with a grammatic structure and an extense vocabulary. Not to forget its own type of writing. For causes of budget, it was never included in the TV series, as recording its own audio, teaching the actors how to pronounce it and subtitle it would have been too difficult for the TV series.

- When DYRL was produced in 1983, Miyatake and Kawamori decided to include the Zentraedi language in all its glory, giving them a unique individuality and with that a symbol which today is a classic.

- The Zentraedi language caused shock for the fans and immediately doujinshi appeared, which tried to "explain" its form. Miyatake and Kawamori produced a particular tool: An "encryption" system and seals to write in Zentraedi. Also a manual on how to use it and a very basic explication about Zentraedi grammar. ( Take that, Klingons! ).

- In any case, Shaloom later gets to the point that he says that the Zentraedi dialogue between Ogothwai and his advisor does not say what even the Japanese subtitles indicated. Kawamori himself, on the radio program of Bobby and Ranka ( their Japanese VA's, I mean. ^^ ), said that the dialogue was designed in a way so that old fans would notice the difference.

- So, here the real translations of the starting dialogue of episode 12:

Ogotwhai: What has Temjin said?
Counselor: He is not interested in the song of the protoculture.
Counselor: What the Zentran desire is the treasure.
Ogotwhai: A song...
Ogotwhai: It is the real treasure.
Ogotwhai: We must not search for the forbidden thing by the creators.
Counselor: The Zentran desire the treasure.
( The counselors head begins to shine )
Counselor: They believe that with it, the fight will return.
Counselor: They desire it...
Counselor: Although the creators forbid it.
Counselor: You also desire it, Ogothwhai
Ogotwhai: Yakh Deculture...

- They are talking, of course, about the reaction weapons.

- Ogothwais cruiser has the the number 710 painted in Zentraedi.

- The name of the zentraedi Temjin makes reference to Kvamzin Kravsheera, of the TV series. His name is also a reference to the graphic designer Hidetaka Temjin, who produces the style of the valkyries in Frontier. He himself asked Mikimoto that, if there was a homage to Kvamzin, he should have the name of Temjin, since Kvamzin was his favourite character in the TV series.

- The display of the lock of the missile silo says, in Zentraedi:

HA HA HA HA
Important
Yakh Deculture
Important

- When Temjin talks to his platoon, he uses the same dialogue which Kvamzin used in the TV series, to motivate his troops to attack the UN Space, to obtain a maclonization chamber.

- The dialogue "Do you want to sing for us?" is a reference to the same challenge which Kvamzin gave to Minmay.

- The modifications to Michaels valkyrie are a reference to Sound Force of Macross 7.

- The take-off scene of the VF-25 with Alto and Ranka is a reference to the first take-off of the VF-19 by Isamu Dyson in volume two of Macross Plus

- The Macross which appears in the finale of this episode is a part of five replicas produced for the exploration fleets, as mentioned in the first cronology.

Episode 13 Link :

- D-Pulse is the name of an interference and overload wave. It was used in the TV series, when Kvamzin attacks ( again ) the SDF-1 without autorization and Vrlitwhai obligates him to turn back, using this type of interference to destroy his electronic navigation. This happened in episode 8, "Longest Birthday".

- The name of this pulse also corresponds to a joke by Haruhiko Mikimoto, who suggested "Deculture Pulse" as the name of the interference wave. This is according to the book "This is Animation Macross TV".

- The 639 Witch Craft pill is a reference to Miria 639, who is, of course, later to become Miria Jenius. Witch Craft is her nickname in the UN Spacy special forces, when she later joins them.

- The can Ozma has in his hands ( and crushes ) in the SMS cantina, has the Satelight logo on it.

- The Dimension Eater is a reference to the ancient weapon of the Protoculture: Chou Jikuu Bakudan ( Super Dimensional bomb ). Narrated about in different books and the first cronology. Even this Dimension Eater is much less powerful than the one built by the Protoculture, which devoured entire solar systems, not only part of a planet.

- Kazutaka Miyatake designed the Vajra mothership.

- The combat between Alto and Brera makes reference to ( in sequence ) Macross DYRL ( Max vs Myria ), Macross Plus ( Isamu vs Guld ep 4 ), Macross Zero ( Shin vs Nora ep 5 ).

- During this battle you can again see the Cobra maneuver, already used in Macross Zero.

- Junjya Ishigaki commented on the radio program that they calculated the actual weight and acceleration of the VF-25 and VF-27 so that the Cobra maneuver would look different to the one performed in Macross Zero and also would be according the the physics involved.

- Sheryls line "You stop that guy, even if it kills you" is a reference to the Macross TV series novels, written by Hiroshi Ohnogi. It is referent to a dialogue Misa has with Hikaru, while they are escaping Bodolzas fortress.

- Michaels line ( which was translated differently by the guys in the Macross Generation forum than most translations... according to them it says "She is a good woman, and you are important to her" ) is also a line Max Jenius uttered, when Hikaru and him go to the Arcade Center to have some fun. This is, again, the TV series novels, written by Ohnogi.

Episode 14 Link :

- This episode is dedicated to Ohnogi.

- The line of Elmo "It's the day where the history of the whole galaxy will change" is a reference to the novels written by Ohnogi ( I´ll keep the reference this short for the future ), where the manager of Lynn Minmay says the same previous to the first showing of Shao Pai Long.

- The line of Ranka to Ozma "If you are going to regret it, then give it your all and be successful" is a reference to dialogue between Isamu Dyson and Myung Fang Lone in the Macross Plus novel, written by Ohnogi, when he "borrows" the just built plane of Guld Bowman and Myung tells him not to do it.

- The scene of Monica talking about her love for Captain Wilder is a reference to an anecdote which Kawamori included, about Hiroshi Ohnogi and Yuki Kinoshita ( font painter and who worked in the painting of cells for the Macross TV series ). This anecdote was told in the radio program of Ranka and went like this:

"During one of the few recesses that the staff of animators of the Macross TV series had, I ( Kawamori ) just arrived at the studio for the afternoon and saw some of the girls who had just gotten out their obento for dinner and were chatting. They invited me to the conversation, when suddenly Yuki Kinoshita, one of the girls who were painting cells and who was working on the colours of the characters, asked me if Ohnogi-san was married. I told her that he wasn´t and noticed that she suddenly had gotten very happy at hearing this.

Some girls of the staff and I had noted that this girl apparently felt something for Ohnogi. But since we had studied at the university of Keio, he was always too serious, like the captain of the Yamato. It was difficult to have an informal conversation at work and Ohnogi only went to the studio in the afternoon to write the script for the scenes we would make the following day. Locked up in his cubicle and working on his writing machine. I think he only went out to go to the bathroom or to the office of Noburo Ishiguro and revise the papers for the scenes he was doing.

It occured to me then to call him under the pretext that there was a dinner and that he should be present to implement a scene about Misa and the bridge girls. Ohnogi, being in very bad mood, appeared and took part of the dinner of obento, together with his inseparable note booklet. We immediately noticed how Yuki-chan got very happy and she invited him to share her obento. Surprisingly, the unthinkable happened: Ohnogi for some reason broke his iceberg demeanor he had surrounded himself with, and had a nice conversation with the girl. I still can´t forget what Ohnogi said the first time he ate from the obento of that girl: "You will be a good wife".

What happened in the next days was fantastic, because Ohnogi wasn´t closed off in his cubicle with his writing machine anymore, but went to eat with this girl every day. By now they have two children and I think that Yuki-san never knew that due to her "fault" Ohnogi changed a lot of scenes for the final part of the Macross TV series, to give them more... emotion. It seemed to be a good idea to include this in Macross Frontier, and the next day Hiroshi called me that he was very happy to see that I have such a good memory as to include details about our friendship and to see said details in the series."

- During of the combat of Diamond Force, a valkyrie destroys a Vajra in an homage to a scene in Saint Seiya, in reference to the pegasus knight. This is because the director for this episode is Yasuhito Kikuchi, who was also the director for the Saint Seiya TV series ( That scene should be the Machida Punch ).

- For the statistics, Sheryl is the third woman to take control of a valkyrie without having received training to do so. The other ones are Misa and Mylene.

- The damage Island 1 receives from the Vajra and the dead of civilians who are expulsed into space is a reference to the enormous damage the SDF-1 received in the novels by Ohnogi. In said novels, Ohnogi relates that the Zentraedi shots caused much more damage than was shown in the TV series.

- The scene where Sheryl asks Alto to not die is reference to the novels by Ohnogi, where Hikaru is going on the offensive to rescue Minmay from Kvamzin. Misa asks him to rescue Minmay but begs him to promise her that he won´t die.

- Ranshe Meis appearance in this episode also makes reference to the Saint Seiya anime directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi.

Okay, I am burned out a bit, I´ll continue later. ^^

As always, please keep this on this forum. If you can´t be bothered to be responsible about this, then at least link back to the Macross Generation forum and credit Shaloom for all his work.

[Natsuki Hyuga]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Episode 4: Link :

- Rankas valkyrie backpack is based on a design by the Macross Attack Team, and was proposed to be a product to be on sale in 1982, but wasn´t put into production.

- The girl who wins the Miss Macross contest, Miranda Melin, has the same last name as the actress who participated in the first Miss Macross contest, but who lost to Minmay.

- Alto, when taking off with his valkyrie for his qualifying mission, has the same dialogue as Hikaru in DYRL.

- Rankas hand movements during her interpretation of "My boyfriend is a pilot" are the same ones as Minmays, when she debuted the song in the original TV series.

I won't comment much other than how history repeats a lot in this episode and how Ranka is obviously depicted as the Minmay of Macross F

Episode 5 Link :

- Sheryls line "Don´t you like being with me?" to Alto in the locker room is the same as the one Minmay utters in DYRL, when Ikaru comes to meet her in the park in disguise. The intonation was exactly in the same tone as uttered by Mari Iijima.

- The amulet Alto is always wearing is a "o-mamori" amulet, which is supposed to protect the heart from bad ( emotional ) influences. As Alto is an onnagata actor, it is believed that for him to show his best interpretation of innocence and an easy-going personality, which are characteristic of princess, his heart must be well protected against violence and the corruption of his innocence.
In the same scene where Sheryl takes his amulet and hides it in her bust, it is a clear reference to a shinto "emmusubi" ( of lovers ) festival, where a woman takes the amulet of a man who interests her. She guards it in her heart, so the man stays "protected" with the love of the girl who loves him. More information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omamori

- Elmo has the same last name as Vlritwhai, which is Kridanik.

- During the song "What about my star", sung by Ranka, you can see the guitar of Basara, which is a slighty modified Stratocaster from Fender.

- The Zentraedi products in the mall have the word "price" on the price tags, written in Zentraedi.

Oh. My. God. I didn't realize the omamori reference there... How come I forgot completely about it? Either way, I LOVE how the omamori myth were incorporated in AruShery's Star Date episode

Who or what is Vlritwhai anyway? A Buddhist God of some sorts? <= Too much playing Persona 4 here

Episode 8 Link :

- The plot of Sheryl searching for her panties and her subsequent rescue by Alto is a reference to the most difficult to reach ending of the hard to find dating sim "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross Love Stories".

The liner notes were very brief for this episode. ^^

... LOL Whut?! An SDF Macross Dating Sim Game?! How come I never knew it?! And the ending must be really fanservice-cy if you know what I mean

Episode 10 Link :

- The storyboards for this episode were done by Takao Abo, who was assistant to Dai Ota ( who did the storyboards for Macross Zero ).

- Megumi Nakajima was helped out by Yuuka Nanri ( the VA for Mao Nome in Macross Zero ), so that her lines would sound as accurate to Maos pronunciation as possible.

- The booklet "Tori no Hito" ( Bird Man ), which Ranka has when she obtains a role in the movie, is in reality the storyboard of OVA 5 of Macross Zero, of the same name. It even has the same illustration as the DVD.

- On the table at which the director and his two helpers sit, you can see the drink "Apple Genki", which got famous in Macross Zero.

- The actress "Yuu-chan", who originally is slated to play Mao, but gets driven off the road by the Hydra, makes reference to Yuuka Nanri, who originally portrayed Mao Nome in Macross Zero.

- The scene where we can see the marquee of the film on various buildings, is a replica ( with slight differences ) of the "Palazzo del Cinema" of Venice, Italy. Host of the International Movie Festival of Venice, the oldest movie festival in the world.

- When the director of the film take Rankas hand and she steps up the stairs, it is an homenage to a scene in the Super Dimension Fortress Macross novels, written by Sukehiro Tomita.

- In said novels, the director of the film Shao Pai Long also takes the hand of Minmay and says the same lines as the director in Macross Frontier. Tomita makes an analogy to the steps of Minmay "climbing the steps of fame". The cinema audience then gives thunderous applause and Hikaru Ichijo finalizes the chapter by saying "Congratulations, Minmay".

Episode 11 Link :

- When Alto and Yasaburo are in the lift, you can observe the replica of the Financial Centre of Tokyo, specifically the building "Tocho". Also a view of the bay of Yokohama.

- When Alto has his date with Sheryl on the observation deck, Sheryl surprises him from behind and he reacts in a particular manner. This reaction is a homage or gag about a typical scene in Ranma 1/2.

- Risa Ebata ( the designer of Sheryl and Alto ) commented on Megumi Nakajimas radio program that she is a great admirer of that manga and anime. She asked the director for the opportunity to include said gag, as she not only took the last name of Saotome from Ranma, but also made subtle reference to his masculine / feminine duality ( as Alto is an onnagata and is always confused with a woman ).

- In the manga and anime, as well Akane Tendo as numerous other "promised ones" of Ranma always surprise him from behind and he reacts in the way which Alto did. It is curious that Ranma, when he gets surprised this way, is always in the form of a woman.

- The dialogue Yasaburo recites about "the dream and the man", while he is thinking about Altos dreams, is a quote of the philosoph Matsuo Munefusa, better known as Matsuo Basho. The most important poet of the Tokugawa shogunate.

- The scene of Sheryl and Alto flying to Gallia 4 makes reference to the episode "Goodbye Girl" of the Macross TV series, where Misa parts for Earth, escorted by Hikaru.

- The scene with Ranka and her cookies seeing the fold in the distance makes reference to a short story. It is in the collection of shorts "Studio Nue Entertainment Bible", called "Today I wanted to give you...." In it, Minmay wanted to give Hikaru an autographed record of hers, for his birthday, but Hikaru has to escort Misa back to earth and can´t go on the date with Minmay. He sends Max Jenius in his stead.

So much references for previous Macrosses in Ep 10 and 11... And none of us realized them

Funny thing that I should note is how there are certain tidbits of Ranma 1/2 (Although it really not obvious. If it were, this crazy Ranma 1/2 fan has already realized it xD). Macross staffs like Ranma 1/2 much?

Another things to note is how Sheryl seems to be routed to Misa's homage after some tidbits of Minmei's homage in the episode 5. Change of heart much from Kawamori seems visible to me there.

magnuskn, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS LINER NOTES! I'm really grateful for what you have done!

[Tak]

Actually, there were a lot of games released using SDF MACROSS as a backdrop. Most of them are either for the PC Engine or PC98 computers. I've played most of them, but it wasn't until the Playstation II version of SDF MACROSS did they finally had something that deserved the Macross name.

- Tak

[Natsuki Hyuga]

I was far too young if the system were for PC98 :x And I certainly don't play too much mecha games to know about Macross Games

In any case, I certainly like about the Ohnogi and Yuki's story there It somehow is interesting to know some pretty lovely background story~ :3

[raile]

I could not resist...@_@

Anyway, thank you for sharing, magnuskn!

I must say I really like the story of Ohnogi and Yuki. Ohnogi, you tsundere, you! XD

*goes back to serious studying*

[BetoJR]

Yeah, Ohnogi's and Yuki's story was cute.

But, about the dating sim... yeah, now that I realize, I've never heard of it, either...

And keep the liner notes coming, Magnus!

[magnuskn]

More liner notes. All credit goes to Shaloom from the Macross Generation forum. http://www.http://macrossgeneration....ex.php?act=idx[B]

Episode 15 Link :

- The use of the song "Welcome to my fan clubs night S.O.S." has an anecdote:

Yasuhito Kikuchi explained that just when Sheryls concert for this episode begins, they used the original concept design, which Kawamori thought about using for the first concert Sheryl gave on Frontier. After revising the storyboard with the song "Iteza Gogokuji Don´t Be Late", it didn´t have the impact Kawamori was looking for.

So in post-production Kawamori talked to Yoko Kanno to ask her for a new song for Sheryl. This song would be made exclusively to open up the concert. Kawamori asked for a song which would give the opening of the show but which also would serve to present the star to the audience. Kikucho commented that before the last meetings previous to the production of episode one, Kawamori was looking for a sequence which would present a great rock star.

Kikuchi continued that he told Kawamori that they were thinking about presenting Sheryl like when the king of rock, Elvis Presley, began his his presentations with "Elvis is in the building!". Kawamori liked the idea and asked Gabriele Robin to design for a song which would precisely show the presentation of Sheryl ( from there the phrase "Sheryl on stage!" ). The storyboards were done, but the most important thing was missing: the song.

The song wasn´t ready when episode 1 Deculture Edition was sent into production, so the storyboard had to be modified to be compatible with "Iteza Gogokuji Don´t Be Late". The song "Welcome to my fan-club S.O.S.!!!" was finished and recorded at the end of January 2008, while episode one was transmitted in December 2007.

This song has a very curious liner note in the disc "Nyan Pro" del OST 1, where Elmo Kridanik confusedly comments that Sheryl normally opens her concerts with "Welcome to my fan-club", but on Frontier she opened with "Iteza gogokuki Don´t Be Late". Elmo mentions that there was probably some problem with the track with forced Sheryl to open with the song seen in episode one. This is a reference to the fact that the "Welcome to my fan-club" wasn´t ready for the real production.

- Between the presents Sheryl has in her hospital room, the director Kikuchi thought to put floral arrangement cards, to indicate that the staff of the series had sent said presents, but Kawamori decided to not do it, because maybe "the fans would kills us, because we can send Sheryl presents and they don´t". Originally, the presents for Sheryl would have been sent by Kawamori, Kikuchi, Miyatake and Hoshino. Risa Ebata also drew a present: A doll with the head of a dice, which had the kanji "health" on its chest. This doll was given to her ( Risa Ebata ) by her husband when she had to be interned in the hospital for having a severe stomach infection.

- The mirror which Sheryl uses is the same one Risa Ebata uses. She herself did the animation when Sheryl is "coquettish-ing" herself, before Alto enters the room.

- In the sequence of "What about my star", the director Kikuchi mentioned that Risa Ebata herself took charge of the animation of Sheryl and Alto, because the animators didn´t bring the results which Kawamori desired. Yuichi Takahashi took charge of the animation of Ranka in the whole sequence.

Episode 16 Link :

- The scene with the trains in the mansion of Mr. Bilrer is a reference to the Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa. His poem "Legend of the Galactic Railroad" inspired a generation, between them Leiji Matsumoto with his work "Galaxy Express 999".

- The dialogue of Ram Hoa "1,2,3,4... the new lieutenant is amazing, isn´t he?" is a reference to Claudia LaSalle mocking Misa Hayase about the recent promotion of Hikaru to first lieutenant, in the novels by Ohnogi.

- The "Call up Monster Girl" design on the König Monster was designed by Risa Ebata, solicited by Kawamori.

- The Northern Cross ending made Northern Cross the "song most solicited on radio, although the single itself hadn't launched yet" for several weeks. Many radio stations had to make clear that the single wasn´t even in promotion yet.

Episode 17 Link :

- The lines Alto and Michael are uttering during their punishment, about Cathy, are references to Misa Hayase, who had several nicknames, between them "Cold fish" and "Demon".

- In this episode, Kawamori uses lots of scenes from the novels by Ohnogi, specifically some scenes where Roy Focker has discussions with Claudia in quite a different form than seen on TV.

- Kawamori also was playing around, giving lines from Roy Focker to Michael and to Ozma. In this form, he tried to derail a bit the fans who knew said novels.

- The comment "And you ask me about a girl" which Klan tells Michael, is a reference to a sarcastic comment from Claudia to Roy in one of the novels by Ohnogi. In this novel, Claudia complains about the urgency of Rob wanting to meet her, only to ask about Minmay.

- The scene in the room where Cathy and Ozma meet, as much as her remembering her past with Ozma, as him saying "For some reason, I´ve been reminiscising about the old days" are a reference to the same discussion Clauda and Roy had in the novels by Ohnogi. That last line comes when Roy asks Claudia to prepare him a pineapple salad.

- The scene of Alto visiting Ranka in her room are a reference again to Ranma 1/2. This was confirmed by Risa Ebata on the radio program.

- The sketch which Nanase presents to Grace are the pre-production sketches for Ranka, done by Risa Ebata. She commented on the radio program that Kawamori didn´t like them and went with the design by Yuichi Takahasi.

- The internal monologue which Ranka has before the empty Tenkumon Hall, before her concert, are a reference to what Minmay said previous to the first showing of Shao Pai Long, in the novels by Ohnogi.

- Kawamori breaks the fourth wall with Michaels dialogue about how emotional Ozmas death would have been, and with Ozma staring directly in the camera, while saying "I promised you I wouldn´t die".

Okay, I need another break. The following sections are quite big, I´ll be back later with more.

As always, please keep this on this forum. If you can´t be bothered to be responsible about this, then at least link back to the Macross Generation forum and credit Shaloom for all his work.

[Natsuki Hyuga]

Originally Posted by magnuskn

- Between the presents Sheryl has in her hospital room, the director Kikuchi thought to put floral arrangement cards, to indicate that the staff of the series had sent said presents, but Kawamori decided to not do it, because maybe "the fans would kills us, because we can send Sheryl presents and they don´t". Originally, the presents for Sheryl would have been sent by Kawamori, Kikuchi, Miyatake and Hoshino. Risa Ebata also drew a present: A doll with the head of a dice, which had the kanji "health" on its chest. This doll was given to her ( Risa Ebata ) by her husband when she had to be interned in the hospital for having a severe stomach infection.

Am I the only one who finds the Risa Ebata's reference so friggin cute?

Episode 17 Link :

- Kawamori breaks the fourth wall with Michaels dialogue about how emotional Ozmas death would have been, and with Ozma staring directly in the camera, while saying "I promised you I wouldn´t die".

Breaking the fourth wall he did. (LOL magnuskn, you read too much tvtropes XD)

[magnuskn]

Originally Posted by Natsuki Hyuga

Breaking the fourth wall he did. (LOL magnuskn, you read too much tvtropes XD)

This was a direct translation from Shalooms liner notes. Also, breaking the fourth wall is a concept also used in comics, like one run of She-Hulk.

I´m off to get some fresh air and clear my head a bit. The next four episodes still have lots of stuff to translate.

[forgottendiary]

Awesome stuff magnus! Sankyuu!

[magnuskn]

Here are the liner notes for episodes 18 to 21. It´s a lot. No further liner notes are out yet, so the next ones will be slow in coming, but as soon as Shaloom gets them out, I´ll translate them.

As always, all credits go to Shaloom, from the Macross Generation forum. http://www.http://macrossgeneration....ex.php?act=idx

Episode 18 Link :

The interview with Ohnogi has already been posted, so I´ll leave that out. We even got liner notes for Lion, so here goes:

- The opening counts with a storyboard by Kawamori which reflects the concepts and symbology created in subsequent episodes by Ohnogi. As we already have seen the complete series, Ohnogi explained the symbology in the special radio show for the Macross Frontier finale, which follows:

- The desire of Ranka to be a star like Sheryl ( using the make-up stand of Sheryl and submerging herself in the spectacle ).

- The fight for the planet of the Vajra in the eye of Ranka and her indirectly having caused it.

- Ranka and Sheryl convert themselves into a valkyrie. The love of Alto.

- Battle Frontier and Macross Quarter in the finale.

- The hand of Alto searching for Ranka and the “interference” by Brera in the background. A reference to the original love triangle which Kawamori had planned for the series.

- Ranka is next to a Destroid Monster. Ohnogi indicates that this was a concept of Ranka which they had at the beginning, a great personage, but one which only shows its potential on very few occasions.

- Ranka in an empty room, suffering loneliness. Another concept abandoned in pre-production.

- Sheryl next to Battle Frontier. Ohnogi indicates that this is an analogy to show the change of this character. She is of great importance until the end of the series, transforming into something great. In the background the “broken” arm of Brera Sterne, which indicates suffering and that “not all is as it seems”.

- The duel of Alto and Brera.

- Sheryl seeing Ranka ( Destroid Monster ) shooting at the firmament on stage.

- The deadly illness of Sheryl. Destined to die since the beginning of the series, Ohnogi changed her destiny, even though Kawamori still wanted her to die in subsequent episodes ( DAMN YOU, KAWAMORI!!! ). Ohnogi indicates that the red ( colour of passion ) streamers are the fans, which at the end pulled her away from death and convinced Kawamori to not kill her. ( YAY US! )

- The duet of the final episode and the subsequent scene of Alto with Grace.

- The super-dimensional neuronal net ( Objective of Grace O’Conner )

Back to the episode itself:

- Operation “Cinderellas Horn” is a reference to operation “Queen’s Horn”, which is an military emergency operation in Macross City for an Zentraedi Attack. This plan is commented upon by Admiral Global to Misa Hayase, in case that Kvamzin Kravsheera manages to conquer Macross City, to detonate the whole city to overload the pin point barrier of the SDF-1 and therefore evaporate the city. This is from the novels by Ohnogi.

- Leon and President Glass talk about obtaining the votes of the senators to vote upon the autorization for a fold of the whole fleet. The principal point is the waste of energy from the reaction reactors of the colonization fleet. The secondary point is that all communications, commerce and transport with the rest of the fleets is interrupted, causing losses for the economy. It is for that cause that it is so important to not make long-range folds in too little time, unless it is critical to do so. This must have the autorization of the senate to be done.

- Ohnogi indicates that Island 1 is an autonomous biosphere and possesses automatic processes which control humidity and the climate. The rain which is shown on the ship is part of the necessary process to renew the air and for the equilibrium of ambiental factors, like humidity and renovation of minerals in the organic soil. This water is not considered inside the contingency plan which is implemented exclusively for the human population.

- The scene of Sheryl crying in the rain, while Ranka is shown on the screen at her press conference is a reference to a very similar scene of Misa Hayase crying disconsolatedly in the rain, while on holographic screens Minmay is giving a press conference. This is from the novels by Ohnogi.

- The nose art of “Call Up Monster Girl” is a piece of art which Ohnogi asked from Risa Ebata for the König Monster.

- The procedure for the long-range fold indicates that the islands must accommodate themselves behind Island 1, to not leave the effective cone of the fold field and make the jump together with the rest of the fleet. This procedure hadn´t been animated before that episode, but was only described in the novels by Ohnogi.

- The shot by the main cannon of Battle Frontier shows a new access mechanism for the cannon and a larger covering radius for the shot. This mechanism was an innovation which Kazutaka Miyatake did for the design of Battle Frontier and hadn´t been shown before.

- The “fantasms” of each person shown in the fold are “reflections”of their organic structure within the energy of the theoretical “sub-universe” where the fold happens. Brera has no “fantasm”, because he is a cyborg and a great proportion of his body is artificial. Which asks, as as sub-theme, how much is left of the original Brera?

Episode 19 Link:

- Not everything is a party in the Aimo parade. Due to the parade, there is a gigantic traffic jam on all of Island 1.

- The parade is based on the Thanksgiving Parade of the United States.

- Kawamori indicates that Neko Nikki is the number one hit on Frontier at this time, which is why there are a few catgirl cosplayers in the parade.

- The Saotome mansion is a replica of one of the resting houses of the legend of Kabuki theatre. Bando Tamasaburo V.

- The garden of the Saotome mansion was designed according to the traditional lines of the Japanese garden. As are the concepts of “Shibui” ( Interior beaty ), “Wabi” ( Introspection) and “Sabi” ( Aesthetic visuals ). Said garden contains an abundance of “Mizu” ( water ) elements which makes metaphors of human existence and the Chisen Kaiyu tsukiki ( vegetation ) with lots of reflective water surfaces.

- The bamboo tube which sounds at filling itself with water is called “Shishi odoki”. This simple instrument has two functions, the first is to mark the passage of time in Japanese gardens. The concept of time is implicit in the design and spiritual message which manages the significance of the garden. The second function is to make the sound, which causes an spiritual impact. The Japanese gardens are conceived as microcosms, as they are aislated. And in said universe where the order and tranquillity exist, which hint at perfection, there exists a noise which “perturbs” the tranquillity, but reminds us of the mortality which we have even in that aislated microcosm.

- When Sheryl tells Alto that she won´t sing anymore, Ohnogi describes the scene, using diverse elements which mark the time-space of a Japanese garden and their zen significance in human relations. He accentuates the emptiness of the garden in the discussion. This empty space, which in Japanese receives the name “ma”, defines the elements of its surroundings and at the same time is defined by what surrounds it. In the zen of a garden, it is supposed that, since it exists in perfection, all the problems of man can be treated and resolved. The concept of ying and yang is manifested in physical form, as the problems ( black ) appear in the paradise ( white ) and the surroundings are not altered or destroyed. Ohnogi indicated that he tried to manage the enormous tension and pain of Sheryl under an perfect atmosphere, which is immutable and which is not affected by the pain of being human.

- I´d like to translate the next paragraph, but I can´t make heads nor tails of what Shaloom ( or Ohnogi ) wanted to tell us with it. It *sounds* like Ohnogi tried to use the tranquillity of the garden to defuse the confrontation between Sheryl and Alto. Or somesuch. ^^

- The dialogue between Sheryl and Yasaburo, where he reminds her of the pleasures of being on stage, is a reference to an interview Ohnogi did with the Kabuki group Banda Tamasaburo V, in investigation for this episode.

- The questions from Brera to Ranka about the reasons for why she sings and that she doesn´t look happy anymore on the stage are a reference to a conversation which Hikaru had with Minmay, before she abandoned her artistic career. This is from the novels by Ohnogi.

- The public shows its love for Ranka in different ways, there is one banner which says “We love Ranka” in Korean.

- The scene of Sheryl running away from the concert and the shout of “Don´t run!” by Klan, is a reference to when Misa is running from a concert of Minmay in the same way, and is stopped by Claudia. Again, from one of the novels from Ohnogi.

- The dialogue between Alto and Michael, where Michel admits that he is afraid to say what he feels, are a reference to the “confession” which Roy Fokker gives to Claudia LaSalle, when he explains why he never tried to have serious relationship. This is in the novels by Ohnogi and can also be seen in compressed form in the TV series episode 33 “Rainy Night”.

Episode 20 Link :

- Altos dialogue, begging Ranka to protect the city, is a reference to Hikaru asking Minmay to sing and protect by this form the SDF-1 during the battle against Bodolza. This reference can be appreciated in the episode “Ai wa Nagareru” of the TV series, as well as in the novels by Ohnogi.

- The dialogue between Sheryl and Ranka “Your voice has power. Power I could never have even if I wished for it.”, is a reference to a dialogue between Misa and Minmay, when Kvamzin attacks Macross City and Minmay wishes to die and also not to go to the refugee shelters. This is in the novels by Ohnogi.

- The dialogues of Sheryl and Alto, when they are separated by a stray shot of a destroid, leaving Nanase hurt, and also the dialogue of Ranka thinking about Altos warm hand, are a reference to the reinterpretation of the attack by Kvamzin on Macross City, written by Ohnogi in his novels, .

- In the last of those novels, a great part is dedicated to narrating the attack of Kvamzin from the viewpoint of different characters. The classic scene of the confession of Misa to Hikaru occurs, but in difference to the TV version, where Misa and Hikaru part to report to the barracks, leaving a desesperate Minmay behind, in the novels an explosion separates Misa from Hikaru, leaving him with Minmay.

- Misa then asks Hikaru to take Minmay to a refugee shelter, but Minmay, being in shock because of all the death and destruction, refuses to go. Hikaru also doesn´t want to leave Misa. Misa then convinces Minmay to go to the refugee shelter and also convinces Hikaru to bring Minmay there. She ends the discussion with “Don´t you know who I am? I am the captain of the Megaroad!”

- Hikaru then promises her to return and find her on the field of battle, and goes with Minmay. While running with Hikaru, Minmay feels the warmth of his hand and comprehends that Hikaru was the brother she never had.

- The dialogue between Klan and Michael and also the amorous confession of Klan are a reference to a reinterpretation of the memories which Claudia LaSalle narrates to Misa, when Claudia talks about her relationship to Roy Fokker. This is, as usual now, in the novels by Ohnogi. Different to the television series, where in the episode “Rainy Night” only a few dates with Claudia happened, in the novels much more of them took place. Emphasis is put on a date in a bar, where Claudia and Roy had a big talk about their relationship. In said date, Claudia has enough of the gifts, which inevitably are followed by being stood up by Roy, and asks him directly: “Where is your heart?”. Roy immediately responds “Surely lost in action, it´s more… I already forgot what I wanted.”. To which Claudia spills his cup over his head, slaps him and yells “How could I fall in love… with such a cowardly man?”, leaving the bar and a serious and resigned Focker behind.

- The thoughts of Sheryl in the refugee shelter about singing in desesperation are a subtle reference to the reinterpretation of the attack on Macross City by Kvamzin, from the novels by Ohnogi.

- On her way to the command center of the UN Space, Misa finds herself surrounded by wounded people and a number of comrades with grave wounds. All the wounded people are screaming in terror and many are supplicating for Minmay to do something and protect them. Ohnogi then narrates that Misa sees a propaganda poster in one of the UN Space offices, which says “Minmay is our hope!”. It is then that Misa thinks that if Minmay is the hope of mankind, she will fight even in the desesperation.

- The last words of Michael are a reference to the last words of Roy Fokker in the reinterpretation of his death in the novels by Ohnogi. While Roy in the TV series did not say anything when he died, Claudia tells Misa about this moment in the novels. In the novels, Focker stays seated in the sofa of Claudias room, at continuation his last words:

Roy: Claudia….
Claudia <without looking at Roy, as she is already finishing the pineapple salad>: Roy, what’s up?
Roy: Forgive me…. Claudia
Claudia: Huh? Now what did you do? <She still is looking in the opposite direction>.
Roy: For not telling you… that…
Claudia: You sound very tired, Roy….
Roy: I… I also….
<Claudia turns around>
Roy: ...love y…. <he tries to get up and falls down. Ohnogi describes that the sofa is full of blood>
<Claudia screams in horror.>

- Focker and also Michael never finished stating their feelings. Both died before suffering mortal trauma. Focker ( in DYRL ) died before his valkyrie exploded. Michael died before being sucked into space.

- Kawamori, on the radio show, commented how Ohnogi told him, when giving him the script for revision, that the scene he just wrote would bring an enormous reaction from the fans. When Kawamori had revised the script, he called Ohnogi to tell him that what he just had read “was the saddest scene he had read in his career”.

- Kawamori also commented that the whole staff gave him commentaries that “it couldn´t be that they would do that”. Risa Ebata and Yasuhito Kikuchi tried to convince Kawamori to not kill Michael. But Kawamori trusted in Ohnogi and kept the script without changes.

- For the statistic, on 2chan and various other Japanese forums the death of Michael is considered to be one of the saddest moments of 2008.

Episode 21 Link :

- When Leon goes to the bridge of Battle Frontier and declares his civil power as the new president of Frontier, Hirosho Ohnogi says that this is an “emergency” recurse, as under invasion or critical moments in wartime, generally the number two in civil power stays in the main ship of the fleet and can declare his civil authority. If the moment would not have been critical, only the senate would be able to validate the ascent of Leon Mishima as president of Frontier. That is the cause for the haste with which Cathy and Ozma try to reach the bridge of Battle Frontier.

- The Dimension Eater bomb “Little Girl” is a reference to “Little Boy”, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

- The internal dialogue of Ranka “I wanted to tell him. Only him. But my song never reached him.”, is a reference to Lynn Minmay thinking about Hikaru Ichijyo, while being on stage on the first anniversary of the the First Space War. This is in the novels by Ohnogi.

- They eyecatch with the sketch of Ranka is one of the first sketches Risa Ebata did for the character in pre-production for Frontier. It also looks quite similar to designs for DAICON III and IV, those from Studio Gainax.

- The speech by Leon Mishima at the funeral is similar ( with obvious differences ) to a speech held by Bruno J. Global on the first anniversary of the First Space War. Again in the novels by Ohnogi. Ohnogi takes the dialogue by Global and uses the same challenge to the sense of the war. Also present in the scene is Minmay in a black dress, but different to Ranka, who flees from the site, she sings for the assisting people.

- In the scene where we see different takes of Destroids burning Vaija in the drain tunnels of Frontier and takes of the wounded, we have similar descriptions in the novels of Ohnogi. Many wounded and refugee camps, but he also describes the brutality which the UN Space used to impose on the Zentraedi, to make them integrate themselves with the humans. The form in which the destroids treated and punished them in accordance to the new rules and their concentration in special ghettoes. It is very interesting to hear Leons speech, think about it referring to the Zentraedi and not the Vajra, to understand how Ohnogi managed the brutality of the transition to convert the Zentraedi from enemies to part of the new UN.

- The scene of Klan in the cockpit of Michaels VF-25 is a reference to a short story called “Photographs” from Ohnogi, about Max and Miria. It follows here: Link

In one of the novels of Hiroshi Ohnogi, in a short story about Max and Miria, the story is about one of those “various” catalysts for the ire of that Meltran.

One day she asked Max: “What is the most beautiful moment when you are in your plane?”

Miria at the time was pregnant with Komilia and obviously a hormone cocktail, so she had many mood swings.

Max, as a good first time father and being the first person to treat with the psychology of a Meltran, answered what every pilot normally would say: “ Well… when I turn on the motor of my plane! When I fly and come back sound and hale, of course!”

Miria dissolved into a sea of tears. She thought that Max would answer that his most beautiful moment would be when the two of them fought together. And she refused to open the door of their home for her husband for… one week.

Max, being quite bewildered, had no other recourse than to go live in the barracks. For his good luck, he had to do a lot of administrative work ( he already was a first grade commander and leader of the special forces ) and stayed the whole day in his office. Miria, in another display of her characteristic rage ( she expected Max to stay at the door, asking for mercy ), went directly to Max office and put a photograph in his face.

Miria: “Take this, you damned %”§$%”&”, because I´ll never come to see you again! You are an ingrate and let´s see if you remember this way what you had one time and how I hope you can understand what you mean to me in battle!” ( Tears and drama ensue ).

At this moment an alarm sounded and they asked Max to go on a mission. Miria, being pregnant, obviously couldn´t accompany him. But Max took the photo and went on the mission.

When Max came back, he found the door of his apartment still closed, so he went to sleep in the soldiers barracks. Miria spent the night awake, because she missed her husband very much. So she took her coat and went to look for him.

Already near the morning hours, Miria arrived at the hangar and found Max sleeping in the cockpit of his valkyrie. She saw that he had his helm in his arms and that the photo of her and him was stuck to the interior of the helm. She was quite confused, but still didn´t wake him and left.

In the morning, Max came back to the apartment and found the door open. Miria was waiting for him with a breakfast for two. Max was about to say something, when Miria turned and saw him. And with those Meltran eyes full of the seriousness of a Meltran warrior like her, she forcefully asked him: “What is the most beautiful moment when you are in your plane?”

Max looked back at her, just as forcefully and said: “When I climb into my valkyrie, I do it thinking that I don´t want to die, but the most wonderful thing happens when I doff my helmet. Because the last things I see, before turning into a soldier, is its interior and when I manage to survive and take it off, the first thing I see, when turning back into a normal person, is its interior.

And in this interior, there is you.”

Miria only could smile, while she began to cry and they gave each other an affectionate kiss.

- And the refence to Macross Frontier, for the people who are still paying attention, is that Michael had the photo of Klan in his helmet. It was the last thing he saw before turning into a soldier and the first thing he saw at the moment of turning back into a normal person.


This was the last liner note for the moment. We will have to wait until Shaloom releases them for the ( much awaited by me ) episode 22. I hope they can live up to my expectations.


As always, please keep this on this forum. If you can´t be bothered to be responsible about this, then at least link back to the Macross Generation forum and credit Shaloom for all his work.

[kujoe]

I didn't realize that there were so many Misa and Minmay references, a lot of which came from Ohnogi. I noticed a few on my own, but not this extensive.

That Miria and Max short story sounds nice. What I would give to see it animated... Ok, maybe I'm not that desperate, but still... Damn you Macross 7!

Thanks for sharing all of this over here, magnuskn.

[magnuskn]

I take donations in cookies... this stuff took about eight hours after all.

[kujoe]

Another part I like is the one about how Ohnogi thought of the themes and concepts inherent in traditional Japanese gardens when he wrote the scene. I guess he was striving for something more organic, making all the elements of the scene relate to one another rather than just writing a good script.

It's quite interesting actually.

[Tak]

If I combine this list of notes and the recent 'rumor', it would make Kawamori look like a very jealous individual.

Moreover, I noticed that Kawamori's script lacked emotion, at other times, certain situation felt forceful. He also lacked the aptitude to create a convincing 'romance' seeing how he is still well, single. Basically whatever trait that plagued Ohnogi before he was married is now plaguing Kawamori, something I doubt he would be able to shake off anytime soon.

- Tak

[Natsuki Hyuga]

Originally Posted by kujoe

I didn't realize that there were so many Misa and Minmay references, a lot of which came from Ohnogi. I noticed a few on my own, but not this extensive.

Well, the Misa and Minmay references comes mostly from Ohnogi's light novel, which we non-Japanese fan does not have the exclusive access for it. And some of the scenes, as magnuskn has noted, was changed from SDF Macross/DYRL in the light novel. So it's actually comprehendable when lots of homages/references wasn't caught by the anime-only fans.

[zalem]

Man, there are a hell of a lot of Misa and Minmay references. It confirms what we all already knew, Sheryl = Misa of MF and Ranka = Minmay of MF. The more I read from interviews like the radio show and these notes the more I'm convinced if Ohnogi had control of that last episode Sheryl would have won the LT. But Kawamori favoring Ranka took control and gave us the triangle end instead. I'm praying more than ever that Ohnogi has more control in the movie.

[Mei19]

Man those heaps of translations are no joke. I have to give it to magnus. Arigatou, ne. I'm a little lost at the old macross homages but...those trivias were juicy interesting.

I'm praying Shoji Kawamori takes full command of the movie not just because he loves Ranka but because that is his bloody story. He should sell Macross Frontier's title to other writers if he's going to give out the reigns again. I want to see Kawamori's Macross Frontier movie.

[kujoe]

I'm torn with that idea.

Indeed, the main concepts came from Kawamori, but Ohnogi wrote it with him with regard to the drama between the characters. Not to mention, Kawamori himself made Ohnogi write some of the more significant moments of the series, such as Michel's death and the latter parts of the story.

Of course, Kawamori revised a few things, but Ohnogi's contribution is still there. Personally, I give credit to whomever it is due. And in this case, I'm willing to say kudos to Kawamori for all the mecha, and to Ohnogi for the memorable drama in MF.

Kawamori has done good things, but without a doubt the good people around him also contributed to them.