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.

@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.

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.

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!

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…

@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.

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.

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

Ais last blog post..

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.