[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Macross Frontier 17-21: what ’bout my Sheryl?
Macross Frontier seems to have taken a delightfully serious turn in recent weeks, culminating in the Vajra shitstorm that left homes destroyed, families mourning, Michel buying the pineapple salad and Ranka being whisked away by Brera to take her pet Vajra home. Klan has so far been a bit of a minor character but here she absolutely shines - and you can’t help but feel sorry for her when you see the love of her life being taken from her while in the macronisation chamber; that I think is the only situation where a Meltrandi is in a position of vulnerability and helplessness so when she went all berserk and badass afterwards in ep #21 I felt SCARED.
Hell hath no fury like a Meltran scorned, eh?
I’ve been detecting a bit of Ranka-hate in the blogosphere recently though, which I’m guessing is down to the fact that the prediction of her turning out as ‘the next Lyn Minmei’ is irritatingly accurate. In another one of those recurring Macross tropes, she had a diva moment that earned a healthy slap to the face…although in fairness I daresay the majority of us would have reacted in the same way as she did when the chips are down. Interestingly this time, the Macross equivalent of the Brightslap wasn’t dealt by the male lead but by the other female in a bitchslap X sisterly hug combo; this is a prime example of why I think Sheryl is awesome.
The respective careers of Ranka and Sheryl are following fairly similar courses in that both are little more than puppets for Grace and whoever she is working for, and have to come to terms with the fact that they are being used. While Ranka takes the expected tearful “Why me?” route Sheryl’s attitude shows more maturity and tenacity; possibly due to the fact that she’s a year older. I guess that one year makes a lot of difference at that age, especially since the music industry of 2059 chews its stars up, spits them out and brushes them to one side so suddenly.
Nevertheless Sheryl still hits rock bottom at one point in a marvellously painful-looking scene where, distraught and alone, she sees the the now-successful Ranka on a video screen reflected in the rain-soaked pavement with one of her own promotional posters lying torn and trampled on off to one side. The animation in the less action-packed scenes has always been a bit patchy in this show, but the Sheryl CDs in the bargain bin and this pivotal moment were points where Frontier pulls off some heavy emotional imagery and does it well: it’s no accident that, between leaving hospital and being taken to the Saotome residence, she takes on the dishevelled look that she had as a homeless orphan living in the back alleys of Galaxy. This return to worse times heightens how easily everything can fall apart for someone in her position, even when she seems to be living a life most people could only dream of.
The way in which Sheryl bounces back from both Grace’s abandonment of her and the news of her illness is what endears her character to the viewer - having lost her career, being diagnosed with an allegedly incurable disease and watching her protegé fly high and subsequently being subjected to similar trials, a spark of her old self-belief still burns. All those years where her path to success was being cleared by her agent but without her own knowledge, she was acquiring the same hard-nosed drive to succeed that she would have built up had she really struggled for fame. If I’m not mistaken she wrote her own songs too, which leads me to hope she might find her way back into the charts on her own merit by the end of the series.
Looking at how far Ranka has come in terms of importance to the story at large, it wouldn’t be fair of me to downplay her singing talent and desire to Do The Right Thing - I suspect her reasons for leaving Frontier with Brera and Ai-kun are more complicated than many viewers give her credit for. Nevertheless, Sheryl has been the muse for the younger galactic idoru so while Ranka’s singing ability is her own, Sheryl provided the female role model figure that gave her the impetus she needed. That moment where she gives Ranka a much-needed slap to the face is immediately followed by a supportive embrace - providing the sharp wake-up call but reminding the younger girl that she understands the situation all too well. In this case she isn’t motivated solely by annoyance at Ranka’s moment of weakness and lack of responsibility but also shares the pain that Ranka is going through.
This, my friends, is what’s called tough love
The chemistry that results from two characters who wield the power of music in the Macross universe is proving to be Frontier’s trump card in that it’s more complicated than the Lynn Minmei-type figure who has to come to terms with shouldering the fate of her family and friends. The Songstress of Hope has a sister-figure in the Songstress of Despair, as demonstrated in the scene in which Sheryl rescues Nanase then stands tall in the air raid shelter and uses her own voice to comfort those around her.
Now they remember who she is…
This part of the story takes a character reliant on PR, on-stage theatrics and flamboyant outfits and reduces her to just another human being in a war zone; this was Sheryl as a person, rather than Sheryl the manufactured image, acting on her own and trying to make a difference. I don’t think we would have seen that side to her in any other circumstances - she was surrounded by people who organised and supported her so watching her genuinely act on her own intuition, committing a selfless act that offers no personal gain or kudos for herself, showed a facet to her personality that had never been able to come through before. Someone get cracking with the V-type infection antidote already.
Posted on September 1st, 2008 @ 12:13 am
Good to see that you have caught up comrade. I agree that much of the RAGE at Ranka is mostly because many of us saw that Sheryl was initially the haughty Minmei that we all hated with a passion, but now it seems that Ranka has been making more Minmei moves than Sheryl. When Sheryl broke down it was sympathetic because she tired to get back on track some how, but with Ranka the “woe is me” attitude crept in fairly quickly. The elopement with Brera was just a sign that RankaxAlto-hime development is at an end, at least now that it is the home stretch Sheryl will be getting an answer first, I hope its the one she had always wanted.
Given that Ranka was saddled with the Kaifun equivalent any thing Ranka does that even remotely makes Brera happy will be held against her. For me Ranka’s sense of duty and responsibility were lacking and hence because she did not become a woman after 21 episodes holding out hope for a significant shift for Ranka is pretty much in vain supposing that we are in for a 25 episode run. The core of Minmei’s problem was that she was a kid who had fame thrust upon her and acted like a kid with fame thrust upon her. Ranka maybe kinder and gentler than Minmei but right now she is suffering from the same selfish demeanor that made SDF Macross Minmei so hateful.
Still can’t wait to see Northern Cross debut on Frontier.
Posted on September 1st, 2008 @ 4:45 am
Yeah, Sheryl has been absolutely magnificent in the last few episodes, though I for one found her rock-bottom scenes a little cheesy. In terms of who gets Alto I think you’re right that she has the edge. Ranka’s leaving was a surprise to me; you can take the “I have to take my little lost killer alien to his family” as an excuse to escape the situation, tired as she was of being a weapon, or maybe she wants to get to the bottom of this power she wields and doesn’t want.
Posted on September 1st, 2008 @ 6:17 am
Episode 20 was my favorite EVER. After all that, 21 feels almost let-down-y. I absolutely loved how Sheryl sang in the shelter. When you can’t do ANYTHING at all (man talk about helpless)… that’s when you really show what you’re made of. Compared to that, I really can’t love Ranka. That, and I prefer Sheryl’s voice. ^_^; It’s not a matter of anything else–just a reflection of their roles. Like someone else mentioned, the “woe-is-me” gets really tiring.
Ais last blog post..
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 @ 6:16 am
I bet the SMS base planners are feeling stupid for cheaping out on automated defense turrets now. Penny wise, pound foolish…
I’m sure Ranka will return in a blaze of glory so that both she and Sheryl can be seen in a positive light overall.
Kabitzins last blog post..Macross Frontier 21
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 @ 6:41 am
I see my memes have been taking root in all places.
But the last few eps have picked up the pace as far as the story goes, and dragging the war back into focus with more and more detail… especially with Ozma’s near-brush with death which led to Mikhail’s taking the bullet (or Aliens-style tail-stab) instead.
We’ll see how things go at the end, but I don’t see it being a completely happy end for Ranka now; but if she’s lucky, she’ll live and get some valuable life experience in the process (which is quite necessary) - she’s been coddled too long, and she’s yet to pay the bill even as it’s come due.
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 @ 7:27 pm
@Crusader: I was hoping Ranka would grow up emotionally more than she has, but her leaving with Brera might be the turning point - I daresay this is where we (and she) finds out what happened to her parents. She did after all admit her memories were returning, so I’m looking forward to learning about those. As for Minmei, she was never as annoying as that cousin of hers! Man, that guy got on my nerves! That was only in DRL? though, since I’m still getting the cash together for the DVDs of the original series.
@Peter S: I have a gut feeling we’ll see a ‘Sheryl End’ but TBH as long as the three of them are alive by the end I don’t mind being proved wrong! Alto is something of an inspiration to Ranka rather than a potential romantic pairing (much like Noe and Shin in true tears I guess). In terms of the reasons for Ranka’s departure I find your latter option the most convincing. She wants answers and hopes that Brera can help her find them I think.
@Ai: I guess after Sheryl in the shelter and all those deaths (especially Michel’s) there isn’t much that can follow on from that and not feel like a let-down. Klan going nuts and squashing Vajra like flies was quite something to watch but the poor woman was in shock more than anything. Poor Klan.
I think it’s Sheryl’s relative maturity that makes me warm to her more as a character.
@Kabitzin: I’m hoping Sheryl and Ranka team up to wipe out the Vajra together too - hard work, guts and song. A Gunbuster ending almost…
@Haesslich: the trouble with Ranka I think is that Ozma was too protective - when the war started and his romance with Kathy was rekindled, she lost that father/brother figure. I reckon she could come out of this a stronger and more mature person as Sheryl has but it’s going to be a traumatic time for her. She’s not the most engaging of the cast but I still feel sorry for her in that sense.
Posted on September 2nd, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
@Martin
Oh boy if DYRL Minmei is your impression of her prepare to be horrified when you meet the original. Kaifun gets RAGE worthy levels as the series progresses. It maybe the final revelation for Ranka, but I suspect that only Grace knows the full story of the 117th Fleet.
Posted on September 3rd, 2008 @ 3:10 am
Martin: I noted elsewhere that Ranka had been coddled too long by Ozma, to the point where she can’t function as an adult despite being a year away from the age of majority. She has no way of coping when things don’t go her way (especially since Ozma spoiled her and made sure she got everything she wanted, and had her as the center of his world), and thus reacts by going into child-mode… which means she gets selfish and self-centered. On top of that, she’s unwilling to pay the bill that came with her fame (which she’s ‘repaying’ by running away with Brera). She’s probably killed her own career for good by doing this, especially if Grace finds her better as a Vajra Queen than a galactic star. Of course, the career doesn’t matter to her right NOW (because Ai-kun’s more important), but what about the future? She doesn’t think very far ahead, or at least doesn’t act as if she does.
Notice how she went from being shocked by Mikhail’s death to apparently not caring (or forgetting about it) by the next episode which took place fairly shortly after the battle. She didn’t consider it a factor when it came to Alto, despite the latter’s screaming when he saw Mikhail getting sucked into space… or for that matter, the way Alto went and attacked the Vajra in 14. She either had no empathy for him, or didn’t consider that important to her dream-version of Alto. It took… what, 10 eps from Episode 10 (when she first expressed disappointment that she didn’t know he was Sakura-hime) to now to ask him a personal question?
At least she finally acted for herself - that’s something. Now if only she grows up…
Posted on September 3rd, 2008 @ 6:27 am
Say, one thing that I thought of as I reflected on Macross Plus and the Vital Force/Break Out resemblances. Brera and Alto have a piloting rivalry which mirrors (somewhat) Guld Goa Bowman and Isamu Dyson’s from Plus. Both are flying craft which are officially in the prototype stage, the VF-27 is more advanced (gadget-heavy) than the VF-25 and has acceleration which is great enough to kill an unenhanced human pilot, the VF-27 is controlled by the mind of its pilot without any physical controls, and Alto has Isamu’s temper while Brera’s cooler, icier demeanor resembles Guld’s.
Posted on September 3rd, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
@Haesslich: Ranka is definitely an immature character - not a bad person by any means, but immature nonetheless. I guess it is that issue of Ozma overcompensating for her orphaned status (he doesn’t have kids of his own, after all)…I guess she’s kind hearted but a bit of a spoiled ‘only child’. The events of the series will shake her out of that no doubt, but it’s a traumatic and jarring way for that to happen. Will it end her music career? Possibly not. I’ll reserve my judgement for when Sheryl tries to make a comback but TBH Ranka has real talent as far as I can tell so ought to be able to get some gigs without Grace’s help. Maybe Elmo would take her back…
The rivalry between Alto and Brera does have some similarities in terms of the aircraft - when I first saw Brera control it by the power of thought I immediately thought “so they’ve ironed out the problems with Guld’s prototype, huh?” On a character level, it solves a nagging thought I had: the reason why I was suspicious of Brera at first was because I thought he might be another Kaifun, which would be, well, downright awful. Alto on the other hand isn’t the hotheaded loose cannon that previous Macross pilot characters have been - interestingly he’s played by the same VA who played Tomoya in Clannad. From that standpoint, the laconic, reluctant attitude to the female lead(s) is similar in both!
Posted on September 4th, 2008 @ 1:31 am
Martin: The problem is that the way she behaved at the concert the first time, then at the funeral, pretty much blew her career out of the water as far as I can tell; at the very least she’s likely to be seen as disrespectful for her audience, whereas Sheryl went out of her way to make her audience feel welcome and appreciated. Plus with her flightiness, I don’t see many concert organizers wanting to book time in for someone who may just run off with the cash and leave them to eat the losses. Between that and the very real possibility she could be seen as a traitor to the human race should the whole ‘Ranka ran off with a Vajra to return it to the hive’ story leak out…
And Alto IS a loose cannon - in combat. And when dealing with girls - otherwise he’s more Basara than Hikaru or Isamu, outside of those two situations. Brera’s always much more controlled in all situations, and can best Alto in every situation, which is why I called him a Guld-equivalent in this series. Remember how Isamu basically kept getting his block knocked off when he went one-on-one with Guld on the ground or air; it was only the fact that he was a really, really good pilot that let him keep up with Guld at all.
Posted on September 5th, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
Hey congrats on joining the 9rules network!
Posted on September 6th, 2008 @ 8:00 pm
Haesslich: hmm, thinking about it, I guess Ranka really has shot herself in the foot as far as her career’s concerned. I also agree that Alto is a loose cannon in combat but the dynamic between he and Brera has quite a lot of differences from that of Isamu and Guld too. The old friendship/rivalry thing is an obvious one, and secondly Brera lacks that suppressed anger that Guld had. Still, at least Brera isn’t another Kaifun! I’m not sure if it’s Brera’s skill or the fact that he’s an android that allows him to get one over on Alto…or maybe he’s piloting a superior aircraft. Could be a combination of the three perhaps. Damn, I can’t wait for #22!
@Simon: thanks! ^_^ It was a pleasant surprise when I checked my feedreader. I’m now patiently waiting for the follow-up email to find out what I need to do next.
Posted on September 7th, 2008 @ 2:11 am
Brera has suppressed anger - but it’s not directed towards Alto, as far as I can tell. He does get snipy and somewhat visibly perturbed when people don’t listen to his comments about the Vajra, or when Alto gets closer to Ranka; he just doesn’t have that friendship or ‘friendly’ rivalry that Guld and Isamu had prior to the Myung incident.
As for Brera’s skills - improved fighter + mind-controlled unit + cyborg enhancements + natural talent = greater than Alto performance, I suspect. Although… well, Ep 22 makes me wonder if Grace is another Sharon Apple, or if she’s just a very, very sexy Cylon.