[Anime Reviews]

Macross Frontier 17-21: what ’bout my Sheryl?

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross Frontier, Unashamed fanboying]

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.

[14 Comments]

[Specials]

The BFI presents…5cm Per Second plus its director

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Live events, Makoto Shinkai, Unashamed fanboying]

In case you’re wondering why things have been quiet in recent days, I’ve been out of town. Given the time and expense involved I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing in getting the train all the way to London just to see a movie (admittedly I also met up with one of my closest friends who lives in London now, but still…I actually booked an afternoon off work for this) but as it turns out the hassle was worth it: 5cm Per Second looks great on the big screen. Fantastic actually. Shinkai is also really modest and down-to-earth when talking about his own work, which is evident in recorded interviews but all the more noticeable when you meet him in person - I made handwritten notes of the hour-long interview that followed too, which I’ve posted on the Nakama Britannica blog for those interested.

[2 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Macross Frontier as of ep #10: throw out your cares and fly

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Macross, Macross Frontier, Unashamed fanboying]

After languishing in the seventh level of Backlog Hell I realised that I hadn’t blogged Macross Frontier since the First Impressions posts. My bad. Despite the strong start to the series, things took a bit of a dip after a while, culminating in a thoroughly disappointing episode eight that featured lazy animation, fillerish content and had a chase through the school after a pair of undies as its centerpiece. Since Most People™ are following this show too, it’s safe to say you know I’m not making that up; for all my Macross fanboying, I struggled to find anything to say about it.

Enter episode ten which, among other things, borrows a lot from the Macross Zero OAV. I haven’t had chance to re-watch and blog that yet but for all its pretty-shinyness that was an underwhelming offering in terms of characterisation and, well, everything apart from the pretty-shinyness. Frontier delivers on at least some of the visuals; in terms of content though it wins hands-down over its high-budget predecessor. My expectations were high given its Anniversary status but now I can look enthusiastically upon Frontier as a worthy addition to the franchise I know and love.

[9 Comments]