Macross Frontier - Episode 08 Discussion / Poll

[Lugia_Tsuyu]

I saw a lot of Thai names (I think 4 of them)

[lightbringer]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

So this is the equivalent of Code Geass R2 Episode 05 excepting that that one actually had good animation. I'm going to have a blast with this one I bet.

As far as surface deep comparisons go, you probably just won the prize of the week

Still, a nice episode (once I get around to watching it :P). Did they just copy-paste the teacher's frame in both transfer scenes? How cheap

[ani_d]

Originally Posted by SymphonicRain

Some thoughts:

Spoiler:

I had been wondering and suspecting whether Sheryl actually liked to sing at all in the first place. Unlike Ranka, her path to stardom does not come naturally and I had been thinking if she was merely handpicked and trained/raised to become a songstress instead of wanting to become one. Similar to Alto who became a Kabuki and was successful but in truth, loved flying more than acting.

This itself was reflected in episode 5 when she quietly commented on Ranka's success in Fomo and her somber exchange with Alto behind the stage in episode 6 that hinted her youth.

For someone who will grab a Zentradi panty just to be able to write the song phrases in her head, I would say....yes, she loves music. But I wouldn't put it past her to love the skies too. Just that, if she really decided to become a pilot, all her big talk about singing last episode are nothing but lies. But hey, she can do pilot part-time, then be a singer full-time. Though, I dunno how that'll work considering her schedule might be hectic.

Since this isn't reality, it'll probably work out if Kawamori wants it to. lol

*EDIT

Originally Posted by Lugia_Tsuyu

Somehow I feel like I want to go for Brera x Runka =_=, He's such an interesting character (don't forget handsome.)

Oh wow, another Brera fan? Cool. ^.^

[Westlo]

Who says she can't do both? *fires speaker pods* LISTEN TO MY SONG! Still her joining the piloting course is probably more to do with having free time and wanting to be with Alto.

[Swampstorm]

Originally Posted by ani_d

Spoiler:

As for Sheryl and the pilot thing, she probably wanted to be in the pilot course because she's falling for Alto and his EX GEAR. But I doubt she'd drop singing for piloting.

Spoiler:

Part of it might be out of curiosity towards understanding Alto's passion, but I think that there's more to it than that. This episode really focused on how absolutely single-minded Sheryl can be when she sets her sights on a goal, both in her attempts to pick up the eggs and during the chase scene. I somehow get the feeling that she's not quite willing to concede that she's incompetant at piloting without giving it a fight.

I'm really hoping that they go somewhere with this. If Sheryl lives up to the character that they've built up so far, then she's probably not the type who's willing to give up at either.

I was on the fence before, but I'm definitely impressed now.

Originally Posted by SymphonicRain

Some thoughts:

Spoiler:

I had been wondering and suspecting whether Sheryl actually liked to sing at all in the first place. Unlike Ranka, her path to stardom does not come naturally and I had been thinking if she was merely handpicked and trained/raised to become a songstress instead of wanting to become one. Similar to Alto who became a Kabuki and was successful but in truth, loved flying more than acting.

This itself was reflected in episode 5 when she quietly commented on Ranka's success in Fomo and her somber exchange with Alto behind the stage in episode 6 that hinted her youth.

Spoiler:

It's hard to say based only on what we've seen. Up until this episode, Sheryl's held a pretty tight reign over her emotions; while we see hints of her real emotions show through at times, her professionalism ensures that when she does lose control, it's usually only for just a moment before she goes back to being "Sheryl Nome".

Until we get more insight into what motivated Sheryl to become a songstress, we probably can't reach a conclusion either way; it could be just as likely that she started out very similar to Ranka, and that her cynicism (if it can be called that) is just an adaptation to the industry than something she started out with.

Mind you, there's nothing to suggest that Sheryl is any less of a singer than Ranka is, especially if her last name is any indication of her heritage. But it's possible that her interactions with Ranka may help to soften that "cynicism" a bit, in the same way that Sheryl's mentoring could give Ranka some much needed drive to succeed.

[Kaioshin Sama]

Originally Posted by lightbringer

As far as surface deep comparisons go, you probably just won the prize of the week

Still, a nice episode (once I get around to watching it :P). Did they just copy-paste the teacher's frame in both transfer scenes? How cheap

So they aren't making the world's biggest Deculture after all?

[SymphonicRain]

Originally Posted by Westlo

Who says she can't do both? *fires speaker pods* LISTEN TO MY SONG! Still her joining the piloting course is probably more to do with having free time and wanting to be with Alto.

God. The horrors! The only reason why I loved the Fire Bombers was not the TV series, but how awesome they were in Super Robot Wars.

Though I personally hope they won't take such a drastic step as Macross 7 managed pulled off. I don't mean to be mean, but Macross 7 has its own set of viewers and fans which I don't think the old fans of original Macross and the new fans of Macross Frontier will come to love and appreciate.

However I do not mind if Sheryl gets her own morale boosting mecha in the next SRW series

Originally Posted by Swampstorm

Spoiler:

It's hard to say based only on what we've seen. Up until this episode, Sheryl's held a pretty tight reign over her emotions; while we see hints of her real emotions show through at times, her professionalism ensures that when she does lose control, it's usually only for just a moment before she goes back to being "Sheryl Nome".

Until we get more insight into what motivated Sheryl to become a songstress, we probably can't reach a conclusion either way; it's just as likely that she started out very similar to Ranka, and that her cynicism (if it can be called that) is just an adaptation to the industry than something she started out with.

Mind you, there's nothing to suggest that Sheryl is any less of a singer than Ranka is, especially if her last name is any indication of her heritage. But it's possible that her interactions with Ranka may help to soften that cynicism a bit, in the same way that Sheryl's mentoring could give Ranka some much needed drive to succeed.

I guess you raised valid points. Too early to speculate about until later for now.

[Tak]

Finally finished viewing Episode 8. As many of us already pointed out, this is perhaps the worst episode, quality-wise, so far. Although it is understandable, considering Mr. Kawamori have not billions of yens to throw around, that and we got Episode 7, didn't we?

As for an episode itself, I have not so much problem with it. We seldom remember that people like Alto and co. are still in their late teens, and most definitely attended some form of institution in a society where education is compulsory. Unfortunately, this entire episode made Japanese kids all look like sexual predators... *sigh* (Ok ok, so they can go for millions on Ebay, but thats quite another story)

Not to mention, we see references from ZERO !

So at the end, we finally witnessed Kira Yamato in person, and still not much known about him. Although I am certain Mr. Hoshi is duly pissed as he had but one single line after two episodes Clearly, Kawamori had taken the lessons from Destiny quite seriously

- Tak

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by Shinji103

Exactly.

Which is why I am ever-hopeful that the Fire Valkyrie is going to fly out of nowhere sometime and start popping off Speaker Pods.

Which makes me wonder if Sheryl actually met the guy as a child.

Obviously she's not a copy cat like British Bomber or Fire Bomber American.

Like Alto she doesn't like being contained by colony.

Here comes a guy traveling the galaxy in his red valkyrie, singing to move mountains and the universe.

Sheryl likes to have freedom like that.

Imagine little Sheryl like Pedro emulating what she sees in the Galaxy Network namely Nekki Basara.

Hence... LISTEN TO MY SONG!

[Tak]

I really have a very, and I mean, very difficult time imagining Sheryl imitating a certain 'FIRE BOMBER', singing pieces like "PLANET DANCE".

No man, that just... doesn't work.

- Tak

[Lugia_Tsuyu]

When I first saw Sheryl I thought she was gonna be like Lacus from Gundam Seed (Sweet, smart, and and very formal.) But afer I keep watching...Sheryl image is FAR FAR away from what thought she would be.

[Westlo]

Yeah Sheryl's actually interesting!

[jonli]

HAhaha, the Ranka carrot scene is so adorable!

Those Zentradi kids are so cute! I wish I had little singing aliens in carrot suits when I was a kid . (that's a pretty smart advertising tactic).

[Zekori]

Originally Posted by SymphonicRain

Some thoughts:

Spoiler:

I had been wondering and suspecting whether Sheryl actually liked to sing at all in the first place. Unlike Ranka, her path to stardom does not come naturally and I had been thinking if she was merely handpicked and trained/raised to become a songstress instead of wanting to become one. Similar to Alto who became a Kabuki and was successful but in truth, loved flying more than acting.

This itself was reflected in episode 5 when she quietly commented on Ranka's success in Fomo and her somber exchange with Alto behind the stage in episode 6 that hinted her youth.

Spoiler:

Eh I dont see it from that extent, I'm assuming they're going to have a reason for why Sheryl got into singing. Personally I think Sheryl's interest in piloting is an obvious nod at Alto and the sudden fresh experience in this episode, which in turn opens the possibility of Sheryl being the deus ex machina for the subplot for Alto's parents and family trade in Kabuki being resolved.


But otherwise I think thats pretty much on the ball for the direction MF is going.

Side note the animation was downed, but eh the story remained decent and I rather have the money being poured into better battlefield episodes.

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by Zekori

Side note the animation was downed, but eh the story remained decent and I rather have the money being poured into better battlefield episodes.

Budget man budget.

They can't do it every ep.

[wao]

Oh god, Ranka just can't get any more cute than she is this episode. I'm more thrown off by the extreme sense of "did I watch the correct anime this week?" than the animation quality, obviously you guys have not seen Noein or something because Satelight really is one of the most lenient studios when it comes to animation model consistency... Didn't Ranka seem pretty normal through the whole episode though? I might have missed some parts but it seemed as if she alone looked pretty cute no matter what.

Personally I was more put off by the pacing of the episode, it's all silly when you first watch it but somehow when you sit and think about it... it was a very very typical anime school-life episode and we've all seen the exact same antics in countless other shows.

...Then again, I wasn't watching Macross Frontier on the lookout for originality, so I don't know what I should be complaining about Nevertheless this episode really didn't click with me at all, although what really is up with the ending...

Also let me throw in a hope for some more Alto-centric development that isn't just him being manly and yelling while pwning alien ass and angsting about not saving people's lives; sometimes I just don't get what he's thinking...

[jonli]

Wow I just rewatched episode 8.

Seriously this Anime's doing a really good job in advertising their characters and making them likable. When I first saw the designs for both Sheryl and Ranka, I wasn't too particularly attracted to them (not like Kallen, where she simply awoken my primal instincts).

The more I watch Frontier the more I find Sheryl and Ranka attractive (sheryl more though). Even characters like Mikhail and Klan Klan (not a lot of development) catches my attention.

Good job Frontier!

Edit: I'd also like to point out that, rarely can I enjoy a Mecha Anime when the entire episode is just characters talking, and having fun. When it comes to Frontier characters, I actually enjoy watching them interact. Imagine Kira and Lacus just talking for an entire episode in Gundam Seed, and going out on a date...so boring.
"Kira!"
"Lacus, but Cagalli is crying."
"Why are we in this world? Kira? Why do we have to fight?"
"But, Cagalli is crying."

[ReddyRedWolf]

That cinches it that little critter having three eyes is , maybe, Zolan wildlife. (If you can call Protoculture genetic engineered pets as wildlife)

The Zolan snake is three eyed snake like creature that is usually wraped around a Zolan's neck. Most of the time they are asleep.

Zolans are a miclone race who resemble elfin eared Zentradi.

Every year their world Zola is visited by migrating space whales.

Zolan snakes are intelligent. Zolans can communicate with them. Also Zolan snakes can read Protoculture writings.

Now that critter is definitely Brera Stern's pet but the plot thickens as he owns a Protoculture pet.

Brera could either be a Zentradi , a Zolan or another race that has joined the UN.

[deffusse]

realy good and funny ep. but actualy WTF is with

Spoiler for ep9preview:

Cathy covered with blood? That losser Leon must have killed her....

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Lugia_Tsuyu

I saw a lot of Thai names (I think 4 of them)

My mistake. Those were the names I thought might be Filipino. But they are all credited in the backgrounds section, not for animation. All the animation names are Japanese, except for two companies: "Satelite Osaka" and "drop." I guess either of them could be subcontracting foreigners, but there are no non-Japanese names credited for animation. There is a European-sounding name (French/Polish) credited for set decoration.

As for Noein's inconsistency, wao, I had no problem with that at all. I loved the look of that show. But I guess this more conventional style of animation requires more consistency to make me feel comfortable. I do think you're right that Ranka was closer to on-model than some others, Sheryl in particular. I agree about the "anime school-life episode" and odd pacing.