My first Macross odyssey has come to an end! I’m glad I decided to make that trip, and I’m sure the show will garner a majority of positive reviews, though I wouldn’t go so far as to consider it the year’s best. Maybe this year’s best Macross show? Ha.
Spoiler: happy ending.
Do mind the spoilers if you’ve yet to finish the show. Click below if ye fear naught!
Although the temptation to whip out the Cocktease Bat right away is tickling the back of my mind, I’ll save it for the end and start off on a more positive note, because in the end Macross Frontier is not a bad show at all. It’s not as adult as my memories of Macross Plus led me to believe the franchise was, and its middle part was horribly meandering in its quest for purpose, but it was entertaining while never vulgar and stylish both visually and musically. And the finale showcased this.
So Ranka is in the hands of the Vajra and Grace. Leon is sending Frontier to do direct battle with the bugs, banking his colony’s survival on the fledgling voice of Sheryl, who’s slowly dying from the Vajra virus. Quarter is gone. And our hero, Alto the VF Princess, is alone and decides that to solve the crisis Ranka must die to forever smash the unity of the Vajra… right before Brera blows him out of the sky. Welcome to the pit of despair! Enjoy your stay.
But wait! What trickery is this? Quarter returning in the nick of time to save the day? Why I never!
Honestly, I would have been disappointed if the finale hadn’t consisted of one ginormous space battle with drooling aliens, enormous cruisers needlessly transforming into their humanoid form, and plenty of singing. Oh yes. Enough singing to burn our two heroines’s clothes off.
Inter-dimensional bitch slap!
Right when Sheryl reaches her limit and faints, Ranka and Alto reach her via fold waves, and Ranka administrates both the above-pictured tough love and a cure for her Vajra infection… Which consists of forcing the Vajra worms to migrate from Sheryl’s brain to her bowels. Is this the writers’s not-too-subtle way of telling us they too thought Sheryl had shit for brains? You decide.
With two songstresses in unison, Galaxy’s nefarious plot goes awry faster than a date between Asuka and Shinji, and the CG battle reaches its visual and musical peak as Alto makes a mad dash towards the Vajra queen’s head (excellent design by the way) encouraged by… naked Ranka and Sheryl?
The hell?
But I cannot hold the Cocktease Bat away no more! It must unleash its fury!
Why, O why, did the show avoid Alto making his decision between Ranka and Sheryl? I understand that you don’t want to piss off either side of the fanboy fence, but come on, the Alto X ZOMGWHO question has been the major plotline in development since the start of the show! Not giving us an answer is nothing short of a cop-out. I know, I know, I’m suppose to fantasize and imagine that whichever girl I preferred did finally steal his heart at some point in time after the credits rolled, but I don’t care what I think. I want to know what the show’s decision was. (It seemed like Alto was more comfortable with Sheryl near the end and that he always considered Ranka more as a younger sister. That’s my take on it.)
Another intriguing little detail I’m not sure most people picked up on: if you remember the description of the Vajra virus, it was mentioned that the virus was transmitted through fluids. Both Ranka and Sheryl are technically infected. Both have kissed Alto. Wasted potential for a tragic triangle not only of love but of death too? The mind wonders.
As for the series’s review potential, without prior familiarity with the Macross universe I’ll have to pass on it, but if you absolutely cannot watch an anime show without some poor Internet schmuck’s recommendation then consider this an endorsement of the entertainment potential in Frontier. In hindsight some of the plot threads may turn out out flimsy, and the lack of closure concerning the show’s central question boggles the mind, yet is there anyone out there who remains unmoved by fast-flying CG Valkyries and cute girls singing their hearts out? Not this humble blogger.
-Mr. K
See, Kawamori is just a subtle person. If you look at the ending sequence carefully, you’ll see that Alto actually chose Burera :P
I would not have minded the unresolved triangle if they managed the pacing of the last episode properly. However, it was not possible given the time constraints. I would have preferred the second season. Well, I guess it is a reminder for me that Macross is, first and foremost, mecha and then romance.