Macross Frontier - Episode 05 Discussion / Poll

[NoOneKnowS]

Originally Posted by kira-sama

just finish watching episode 5

Spoiler for episode 5:

for me i really like to see Alto with Sheryl than Ranka
i think they are good couple not boring
for Ranka i hope she with Michel ^_^

i really enjoy this series songs

Yeah; I'm a SherylXAlto supporter as well. They're cute. Not a relationship that just started cause the guy gives the girl encouragement. I really hope Ranka would stop depending on Alto. I'm not liking it.

As for the EP.

Giant panties. Hippo-cows. And I'm starting to hate shouta boy. Whats w/ his cheeks?

[Tabris]

I swear I'm the only person here who seems to like Luca :3

[orion]

I agree Ranka needs to become more independent. It's probably a key to getting the upper hand with Alto again. That will probably start in the next episode.

But he did see her with Michael so a misunderstanding needs to get cleared up.

Edit: I like Luca too. He's the most honest male character with his feelings in the series. He is a refreshing sight to see.

[SuperKnuckles]

Originally Posted by Cadorna

so in japan 1,0 of rating is 1.000.000 of people watching ???

No, I'm sure it's more like 500,000 per 1.0 rating or something the last time I heard. So if it's 2.0 in rating, that's close to a million or so.


As for the school 'overreacting', I don't think that's the case at all. Think about it objectively: Ranka basically skimped school to go into a pageant meant for adults. I'm sure an school that respects its curricula and student activity would suspend her. It just seems like a logical thing to do.

[kira-sama]

yeah Ranka need to be confident not only depending always to Alto
that's why i like Michell with her because Michell just to the point to her not encourage her like Alto did

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Tabris

I swear I'm the only person here who seems to like Luca :3

I don't mind him. Though kinda I hope he gets a special eye and starts giving orders.

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

No, I'm sure it's more like 500,000 per 1.0 rating or something the last time I heard. So if it's 2.0 in rating, that's close to a million or so.


As for the school 'overreacting', I don't think that's the case at all. Think about it objectively: Ranka basically skimped school to go into a pageant meant for adults. I'm sure an school that respects its curricula and student activity would suspend her. It just seems like a logical thing to do.

I don't think it's meant for "adults". Wasn't the winner an old classmate of Nanase? If not, what's their relationship?

[SuperKnuckles]

I think from the response of Ranka's school uniform, her school is the type that takes such extracurricular activities a bit more seriously. That's probably it. Thinking back, they haven't properly explained all of it yet.

[orion]

Besides, the current mayor's daughter and a top military officer was #8 in the past contest. So something else must be up with the suspension. I bet Leon had something to do with it.

[SuperKnuckles]

I somehow don't think it's just a matter of favoritism even though Leon does seem shady about it all the time. Maybe the incident with the research vessel is an inconvenient truth for the Frontier crew. It's almost like what they did with the original Macross show, keeping people in the dark for as long as they could. I don't see much of a logic in that action, then again, I can totally see real government agencies doing that if they could.

[cerrian]

Originally Posted by orion

Edit: I like Luca too. He's the most honest male character with his feelings in the series. He is a refreshing sight to see.

There really hasn't been much to comment on about Luca up until this episode. Him, Nanase, Grace, Kanaria, and the bridge bunnies are all in need of having their characters fleshed out a bit more.

One thing that was revealed about Luca this episode is that he either has a thing for Nanase or Ranka. I really couldn't tell b/c Michael has been teasing Luca about it for a couple of episodes now but nothing really pointed out who Luca might be eyeing. Take for example the scene where Nanase suggests they go look for Ranka. Now, is Luca's excited reaction b/c they're going to look for Ranka or b/c Nanase pulled a Dragonaut move? Then there's also the scene in ep 4 where Michael teases Luca about having another reason to go to the Miss Macross contest. Was it to go see Ranka or sit with Nanase?

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by cerrian

There really hasn't been much to comment on about Luca up until this episode. Him, Nanase, Grace, Kanaria, and the bridge bunnies are all in need of having their characters fleshed out a bit more.

One thing that was revealed about Luca this episode is that he either has a thing for Nanase or Ranka. I really couldn't tell b/c Michael has been teasing Luca about it for a couple of episodes now but nothing really pointed out who Luca might be eyeing. Take for example the scene where Nanase suggests they go look for Ranka. Now, is Luca's excited reaction b/c they're going to look for Ranka or b/c Nanase pulled a Dragonaut move? Then there's also the scene in ep 4 where Michael teases Luca about having another reason to go to the Miss Macross contest. Was it to go see Ranka or sit with Nanase?

Nanase, it's Mikhail that has a thing for Ranka. (Stupid guy wouldn't admit he's lolicon or else his rep is ruined.)

[NoOneKnowS]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

Nanase, it's Mikhail that has a thing for Ranka. (Stupid guy wouldn't admit he's lolicon or else his rep is ruined.)

Yep; him and Altoh both.

Mikhail has a rep for being w/ older women. And the princess has the rep for rejecting every girl in his school. Stupid junkies. >_>.

[Tabris]

Originally Posted by orion

Besides, the current mayor's daughter and a top military officer was #8 in the past contest. So something else must be up with the suspension. I bet Leon had something to do with it.

I'm sure they said that she was the runner-up in Frontier's 8th Miss Macross contest. And as for the suspension, if Ranka goes to a private all girls school, they have to keep a certain image to keep up and sometimes suspending pupils for inappropriate behaviour, even outside of school is necessary to keep face.

Originally Posted by cerrian

Then there's also the scene in ep 4 where Michael teases Luca about having another reason to go to the Miss Macross contest. Was it to go see Ranka or sit with Nanase?

I thought it was to go and sit with Nanase

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by orion

That school definitely overreacted. It wasn't like their reputation was damaged by having a talented person in their school.

The Miss Macross pageants are considered prestigious affairs, so it probably boils down to a school that runs by strict no-tolerance rules. Since Ranka's school seems to be an exclusive all-girls school, this doesn't seem to be all that unusual. One thing to note is that the schools on Macross Frontier are probably run similarly to Japanese schools, so that students can be punished for extra-curricular activities.

Originally Posted by Tabris

I swear I'm the only person here who seems to like Luca :3

I do too. The way he dodged out of the way to allow Alto and Ranka their private time is alone enough to put him in my good books.

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

No, I'm sure it's more like 500,000 per 1.0 rating or something the last time I heard. So if it's 2.0 in rating, that's close to a million or so.

Each point is a single percent of the total number of television households. In Japan, there are about 48,000,000 households, so each percent is 480,000 of that number. That gets rounded a bit, so 1.0 = 1,000,000 viewers is a rough fudge figure.

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

As for the school 'overreacting', I don't think that's the case at all. Think about it objectively: Ranka basically skimped school to go into a pageant meant for adults. I'm sure an school that respects its curricula and student activity would suspend her. It just seems like a logical thing to do.

The pageant almost certainly took place outside of school hours since Alto's school was off during that time. Moreover, the history of the pageant would suggest that teenagers are perfectly welcome as well.

[Maes Hughes]

After not being able to find the motivation to keep up to date, I forced myself to re-watch 1-3 and then watch 4-5. Only watching Code Geass weekly was getting boring.

Although it's hard to deny the quality of what's been shown so far, Macross Frontier easily being the best out of this seasons big 3 for me, it's been hard to get excited every week when the focus is all over the place and it's not clear where the series wants to go. Code Geass, on the other hand, had the advantage of having me hooked already thanks to the fantastic 25 episode original series, where as MF is my first Macross experience.

Like Code Geass, Macross Frontier wants to do too many things at once - Mecha, singing and dating. It's worked well enough so far, but I fear it won't work so well when the mecha and singing side of things start mixing together later on. Currently it's all a bit messy, the first 2 episodes being all mecha action and the following 3 focusing on the dating and singing side... I'm hoping all 3 paths merge into one over the course of the next few episodes.

Sheryl is easily my favourite character: Bitchy, flirty, playful and hot. I liked how she and Atlo interacted during EP5, the closet 'vibrator' scene being rather amusing (and her moaning being rather arousing :P). I hope she isn't going to take a leave of absence after EP6 - The show wouldn't be the same without her.

By the way, a few questions...

1: The Zentradi can transform into human sized beings...correct? It confused me that there were some in giant form and not human form during EP5.

2: Is 'Fold' just a posh word for warping in the Macross universe?

3: Since the Macross Frontier is searching for the centre of the universe, I'm assuming no-one knows where the end of the universe is. But, if no-one knows where the end is, how the heck will the Macross Frontier know when it reaches the centre? :|

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

2: Is 'Fold' just a posh word for warping in the Macross universe?

Yeah, pretty much. The specifics may be different from other types of hyper-fast space travel(Warping, Hyperspace, Slipspace, etc), but they all accomplish the same thing in the end.

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

3: Since the Macross Frontier is searching for the centre of the universe, I'm assuming no-one knows where the end of the universe is. But, if no-one knows where the end is, how the heck will the Macross Frontier know when it reaches the centre? :|

Its heading for the Galactic Core, not the center of the universe.

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

1: The Zentradi can transform into human sized beings...correct? It confused me that there were some in giant form and not human form during EP5.

Miclonization or micronization has been around ever since Macross. It is a choice of a Zentradi if they want to micronize or macronize.

Spoiler for SDF Macross:

The revelation was in Macross is that Zentradi are humans too.

Micronization was used to infiltrate the SDF-1 Macross. This led to the eventual culturization of the Zentradi.

Both humans and Zentradi share a common ancestor, the Protoculture.

Spoiler for Macross 7:

The Zentradi were created as war proxy soldiers when the Stellar Republic of the Protoculture split into two factions. Thus a civil war that lasted thousands of years.

That civil war escalated till the development of the Evil series of biological super weapons that was taken over by the Protodevlin.

This led to the creation of the Supervision Army. (The source of the alien ship that would be SDF-1 Macross)

A brainwashed force of Protoculture and Zentradi under the control of the Protodevlin.

Most of the Protoculture were wiped out by this war but a group of survivors with the power of Anima Spiritia (song spiritual energy) were able to seal the Protodevlin in the Varuta system.

Spoiler for Macross Zero:

The Protoculture geneticly seeded worlds like Earth to start over. With a doomday device, Birdman of the prequel Macross Zero, just in case they became too aggressive and warlike.

The Zentradi were programmed not to come into contact with Protoculture or miclone worlds as they would become useless as a dedicated weapon if they were cultured.

The crew and citizens of Macross showed the Zentradi another way of life.

Therefore Culture Shock.

[Cadorna]

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

Although it's hard to deny the quality of what's been shown so far, Macross Frontier easily being the best out of this seasons big 3 for me, it's been hard to get excited every week when the focus is all over the place and it's not clear where the series wants to go. Code Geass, on the other hand, had the advantage of having me hooked already thanks to the fantastic 25 episode original series, where as MF is my first Macross experience.

Like Code Geass, Macross Frontier wants to do too many things at once - Mecha, singing and dating. It's worked well enough so far, but I fear it won't work so well when the mecha and singing side of things start mixing together later on. Currently it's all a bit messy, the first 2 episodes being all mecha action and the following 3 focusing on the dating and singing side... I'm hoping all 3 paths merge into one over the course of the next few episodes.

Macross is a space soap opera, is not principally a mecha show, the dating and singing will always take priority, and the mecha and action are secondary. the sings are a important factor, and can resolve war or battles (previos Macross shows)

sorry for my inglish im pretty tired

[Haesslich]

Cadorna: I'd call it more space opera than space SOAP opera, due to the relative lack of twists and turns that they have in those - Code Geass R2, at the moment, is more a soap opera with mecha than Macross is. What Macross has always been is a drama with mecha, sci-fi elements, and the power of love, song, and the human spirit overcoming all obstacles; be they warlike aliens, supernatural aliens, or crazed AI's.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

Although it's hard to deny the quality of what's been shown so far, Macross Frontier easily being the best out of this seasons big 3 for me, it's been hard to get excited every week when the focus is all over the place and it's not clear where the series wants to go. Code Geass, on the other hand, had the advantage of having me hooked already thanks to the fantastic 25 episode original series, where as MF is my first Macross experience.

Like Code Geass, Macross Frontier wants to do too many things at once - Mecha, singing and dating. It's worked well enough so far, but I fear it won't work so well when the mecha and singing side of things start mixing together later on. Currently it's all a bit messy, the first 2 episodes being all mecha action and the following 3 focusing on the dating and singing side... I'm hoping all 3 paths merge into one over the course of the next few episodes.

I think that the problem you've got is that you're expecting Macross Frontier to be about certain conventions, and be more like a typical mecha show. Unfortunately, it's more of a throwback to SDF Macross, and that show predated many of the memes we've come to expect of the genre. And in fact, you've touched on the three elements that are held in common among all Macross shows: transforming fighters, love triangles, and music/singing. Of the three, it's often the mecha that are the least important.

Structurally, the story is told on two more or less unrelated levels - there's the overriding plot which would be the main focus of most shows, and there's the personal story of the characters centered around Alto. The plot of the former hasn't really moved very much at all, since it's five episodes in before the question of what the Vajra are was asked. From a character perspective, every episode is jammed with details and fun tidbits, and I think that that's where Macross Frontier shines. The other major highlight is how well realized Frontier's setting is - in just a few episodes, the show firmly established what the setting is like for the characters, and the amount of work put into how everything fits together has been excellent.

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

Sheryl is easily my favourite character: Bitchy, flirty, playful and hot. I liked how she and Atlo interacted during EP5, the closet 'vibrator' scene being rather amusing (and her moaning being rather arousing :P). I hope she isn't going to take a leave of absence after EP6 - The show wouldn't be the same without her.

Given how character-driven Macross Frontier is, I don't think that there's much danger of that.

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

1: The Zentradi can transform into human sized beings...correct? It confused me that there were some in giant form and not human form during EP5.

Correct. In episode 4, you can see the scene in the hanger after the combat, and the three giant-sized Zentradi there show up latter in micro forms at the Nyan-Nyan restaurant. In SDF Macross, the Zentradi had miclonization technology to change from macro to macro forms, but they reserved it for very special purposes. This process seems to take a couple of hours at most.

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

2: Is 'Fold' just a posh word for warping in the Macross universe?

Yes. By folding, spacecraft shift to an alternate universe and can thereby move faster than light, defolding at the end. The cylindrical object on the top of the fighter at the end of episode 5 is a detachable fold engine, and it can be equipped on all smaller craft.

Originally Posted by Maes Hughes

3: Since the Macross Frontier is searching for the centre of the universe, I'm assuming no-one knows where the end of the universe is. But, if no-one knows where the end is, how the heck will the Macross Frontier know when it reaches the centre? :|

It's journeying towards the center of the galaxy, and it's not the first one to have that goal. A previous one had a semi-specific mission, but it's unknown if Macross Frontier has one as well (although contact with the Vajra seems to have been expected). All the Macross fleets have the mission of setting up permanent colonies if and when they discover an appropriate planet.

Originally Posted by Haesslich

Cadorna: I'd call it more space opera than space SOAP opera, due to the relative lack of twists and turns that they have in those - Code Geass R2, at the moment, is more a soap opera with mecha than Macross is. What Macross has always been is a drama with mecha, sci-fi elements, and the power of love, song, and the human spirit overcoming all obstacles; be they warlike aliens, supernatural aliens, or crazed AI's.

This is especially true of SDF Macross; and I think that Macross Frontier is following along in its footsteps.