Macross Frontier Character Discussion - Sheryl Nome

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

It's not the fact that she's irritable that bothers me. It's the fact that she comes across as if she's really full of herself in that scene (at least in certain fansubs). Sheryl may have a high opinion of herself, but she normally doesn't seem full of it like that (in fact she often comes across as being remarkably down to earth for someone in her position).

Considering what was at stake I think she was justified in saying what she did to Cathy.

[Darthtabby]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

Considering what was at stake I think she was justified in saying what she did to Cathy.

If you're talking about the safety issue again, it didn't seem to me like she actually mentioned that issue during her conversation with Cathy. The versions I have basically have her telling Cathy to tell the team not to wreck her stage with a flashy performance (Central Anime) or to back off on the flying so that they don't get in her way (Thora). Although with the Central Anime version it at least seems like she might be concerned about them ruining her show, I guess. I'm not really sure how accurate either translation is.

I suppose she could just be failing to communicate properly because she's irritated.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

If you're talking about the safety issue again, it didn't seem to me like she actually mentioned that issue during her conversation with Cathy. The versions I have basically have her telling Cathy to tell the team not to wreck her stage with a flashy performance (Central Anime) or to back off on the flying so that they don't get in her way (Thora). Although with the Central Anime version it at least seems like she might be concerned about them ruining her show, I guess. I'm not really sure how accurate either translation is.

I suppose she could just be failing to communicate properly because she's irritated.

Its not just the safety concern issue, no matter which way you try to cut it Cathy was in the wrong for using amateurs in the show without consulting Sheryl. She asked for professionals and instead was given amateurs who surprise, surprise did exactly what Sheryl said they were going to do, if she wasn't a fast thinker. There is also the fact that people paid good money to see the concert, and it was up to Sheryl to make sure that they got their money's worth, something which wasn't that much of a guarantee with amateurs involved.

Plus as said several times before Sheryl was in a bad mood due to suffering from jet lag which could have had added effects due to the medicine her medicine, the constant interviews, paparazzi, all while being exhausted, and probably already stressed out from her plane being late. Considering that yes Sheryl was being a perfect angel. This is coming from someone who dealt with jet lag before, and trust me when I say that it can make you irritable, especially when you're already stressed out.

[Thess]

Originally Posted by wisteria233

Plus as said several times before Sheryl was in a bad mood due to suffering from jet lag which could have had added effects due to the medicine her medicine, the constant interviews, paparazzi, all while being exhausted, and probably already stressed out from her plane being late. Considering that yes Sheryl was being a perfect angel. This is coming from someone who dealt with jet lag before, and trust me when I say that it can make you irritable, especially when you're already stressed out.

Making you irritable is the least of your concerns when you can technically experience nausea, splitting headaches, crushing fatigue, disorientation or depression. Small wonder she wasn't in a good mood and able to stomach people's nonsense. I'm really surprised she went ahead and kept with the program even if she felt so bad. It's also part of her growth. She learned to be less snappish regardless how sick she was in the course of the series which is even more commendable.

[Darthtabby]

Bit of a question that the Romance in Macross thread brought up -does anyone here have a good understanding of the material in the Drama Cds relating to Grace and Sheryl's history? I've heard some interesting things that supposedly come from those CDs, but it's just snippets and I'm not sure how accurate the information is.

[inyang86]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Bit of a question that the Romance in Macross thread brought up -does anyone here have a good understanding of the material in the Drama Cds relating to Grace and Sheryl's history? I've heard some interesting things that supposedly come from those CDs, but it's just snippets and I'm not sure how accurate the information is.

It's basically about Grace finding Sheryl on street, getting attached to her, and then eliminating her feelings in order to keep on with the experiment concerning Sheryl.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Bit of a question that the Romance in Macross thread brought up -does anyone here have a good understanding of the material in the Drama Cds relating to Grace and Sheryl's history? I've heard some interesting things that supposedly come from those CDs, but it's just snippets and I'm not sure how accurate the information is.

page 123 of this thread.

[Darthtabby]

Ouch, almost the last thing before the last issue I brought up. Apparently my memory isn't the greatest.

So you've actually listened to the drama CD stuff yourself then? Is there any chance you might be able to do some sort of short summary of the details of what took place at some point? I'm wondering if there's anything that got missed in the conversation a couple pages ago since the CD stuff was brought up in relation to what was already being discussed rather than being the main focus of the discussion. I'm guessing there's probably some details that weren't covered at that point because of that.

[Darthtabby]

Got another little issue to give some thought to. It's one of those ones that you tend to just accept when watching a show but when you stop to think about it things don't seem quite right. Basically... why did Sheryl decide to hide her sickness from Alto? I imagine that finding out that she was sick and hadn't told him after she passed on would make him very upset. I guess the most obvious explanation would be that she didn't want to be pitied, but since some of the people on this board are so good at character analysis I wanted to see if they could come up with something better.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Got another little issue to give some thought to. It's one of those ones that you tend to just accept when watching a show but when you stop to think about it things don't seem quite right. Basically... why did Sheryl decide to hide her sickness from Alto? I imagine that finding out that she was sick and hadn't told him after she passed on would make him very upset. I guess the most obvious explanation would be that she didn't want to be pitied, but since some of the people on this board are so good at character analysis I wanted to see if they could come up with something better.

she didn't want his pity, she didn't want him to only look at her and see her as a sick woman. She didn't want him to treat her any differently than he had before.

Its a common thing for people who are sick, to not want to be coddled or treated as though they are sick.

[Falcor]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Got another little issue to give some thought to. It's one of those ones that you tend to just accept when watching a show but when you stop to think about it things don't seem quite right. Basically... why did Sheryl decide to hide her sickness from Alto? I imagine that finding out that she was sick and hadn't told him after she passed on would make him very upset. I guess the most obvious explanation would be that she didn't want to be pitied, but since some of the people on this board are so good at character analysis I wanted to see if they could come up with something better.

Besides being too obvious, pity doesn't come close to describing Sheryl's motives for keeping her illness a secret. Her primary goal was wanting quality time with Alto while she was still able. This may seem selfish on her part, but in reality, what good could have possibly come from revealing the extent of her illness? The only thing that would accomplish is making Alto feel helpless and heartbroken, which would be counter-productive. Basically, it is a choice between joy and despair; Sheryl chooses to live out her last moments in joy.

[Swampstorm]

It can be hard enough to admit to ourselves when we're dying, let alone having to tell a loved one. Nobody enjoys feeling vulnerable in front of others.

Sheryl spends a good part of episode 18 and 19 in distancing herself from Alto. She's fairly aloof when Alto comes to visit her, and acts nonchalant when she tells him that she's retiring from her music career. She wants him to keep moving on with his life. It's more convenient for the both of them that way.

It also sets up a wonderful little moment during episode 22 where Alto knows about her condition, whilst Sheryl continues to pretend as if nothing's wrong. That's a pivotal moment in their relationship, because he finally sees that Sheryl shows strength in spite of weakness, not in merely its absence.

Alto's expression at that moment was priceless. If that emotion was pity, then one could only hope to be pitied so passionately at least once in one's life.

[wisteria233]

Originally Posted by Falcor

Besides being too obvious, pity doesn't come close to describing Sheryl's motives for keeping her illness a secret. Her primary goal was wanting quality time with Alto while she was still able. This may seem selfish on her part, but in reality, what good could have possibly come from revealing the extent of her illness? The only thing that would accomplish is making Alto feel helpless and heartbroken, which would be counter-productive. Basically, it is a choice between joy and despair; Sheryl chooses to live out her last moments in joy.

I hate to point out the obvious but telling Alto that she was dying ran the risk of him going out of his way to make sure that her last days would be joyous because she was dying and not because he meant it sincerely.

Also even if Alto would have felt helpless he wouldn't let Sheryl know how he felt, since she already had enough on her plate, and she was making him feel helpless and frustrated by not telling him, because he knew that something was wrong so the results were the same either way.

[magnuskn]

Besides the issues mentioned above, I think I can add that I think Sheryl did not want to burden Alto with the knowledge of her sickness. She was showing compassion towards him.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

It can be hard enough to admit to ourselves when we're dying, let alone having to tell a loved one. Nobody enjoys feeling vulnerable in front of others.

Interestingly enough, the main (only?) reason stated in the novel is this one, i.e. 'Sheryl really didn't want to show weakness to the person she has fallen for'. [NB: it is possible that this was what Klan/Michel thought rather than what an omniscient narrator might tell you, but given the grammar, I'm somewhat certain it's the latter.]

Personally, I think there were several reasons, and I thought the 'don't want to hurt Alto' one was the strongest (counter-intuitive as that may appear to anyone other than Sheryl herself). But this one, I feel, has a lot of weight too.

Though whether there's one that's more salient than the others - the question of why Sheryl's first thought upon finding out was "I don't want Alto to know" - I wonder if even Sheryl herself understands/knows...

[Lancel]

I always felt Sheryl had a hard time either understanding or simply voicing how she really felt about things. If she has to say something about them, most of the time she slips into Fairy mode and treats it as little consequence. She only ever opened up with Alto, and even then only rarely.

So why not tell Alto? Could have been a lot of reasons, probably was a lot of reasons, but I think in particular one on her mind was that she didn't want him to make foolish promises to a dying girl when he has plenty of life ahead of him. It's not uncommon for a romance to be rushed because one ends up on a death bed and to make promises to make the dying one feel better about their life. I swear that was really what Sheryl was going for, keeping Alto from making a promise she'd think was crazy and stupid so he wouldn't tie himself to a dead girl and he could go live on with his life without feeling guilty over it, because she never let him. And Ranka was a good way for him to go on with his life. Go save her, and the two of them could live a long and happy life together.

Might have also been because she thought Alto might be foolish enough to make good on any crazy promises. And, of course, with her dying, Alto may have been professing feelings he hadn't even thought through himself, but it didn't really matter where Alto's feelings lie, one girl he could save, the other he could not, and he deserves a happy life in her mind.

Of course, she did say she'd hear it after the battle, but her monologue at the start of the final battle to me said that she didn't expect to be alive after the battle. She planned to burn what was left of her life in one blazing concert and I suspect she would have been happy to die on stage.

[raile]

Guess who's the spokesmodel for Pia's (a Japanese company) "Uruoi Bihada Keitai Mist" (Handheld Mist for Moist, Beautiful Skin) product?

...

Well, it's not much to guess since I posted it here.

[Shiroth]

I can't wait to see which Sheryl design they'll use for the bottle . It should be kinky!

[Tak]

Originally Posted by raile

Guess who's the spokesmodel for Pia's (a Japanese company) "Uruoi Bihada Keitai Mist" (Handheld Mist for Moist, Beautiful Skin) product?

Next, Alto Saotome to promote recruitment into the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force!!

...


...


.....

Oh wait. They've already got Prince Pickles...

- Tak

[Lancel]

Excellent, now all we need is about 50 more marketing contracts for her and a thousand holographic billboards put up in San Francisco and BAM, instant Frontier.

I find this really amusing. I mean sure using a character to market something is nothing new, I just... find it funny that Sheryl did exactly this in the show, too.