Macross Supports Cultural Imperialism?

I suppose you can't take SJW far enough... though his critique of the second Macross Frontier movie otherwise sounds reasonable. Why couldn't they just write an original story that is set after the series?

May'n Coming to San Francisco

Performing at Slim's on July 20 at 8 pm.
Her website.

Post by May'n Asia.

Macross FB7 Trailer

Macross 30 will be a game, not a series; but the FB7 movie will be released shortly.



Macross 30 Teaser Trailer Shows Promotional Artwork

Macross Frontier, ep 23-25

Macross Frontier - 23 | Random Curiosity
Macross Frontier 23 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 23
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 23
Macross Frontier 23 - True Begin



Macross Frontier - 24 | Random Curiosity
Macross Frontier 24 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 24
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 24
Macross Frontier 24 - Last Frontier « Calamitous Intent
Macross Frontier - Episode 24 « Kitsune’s Thoughts









Macross Frontier - 25 (END) | Random Curiosity
Macross Frontier 25 (Final) | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 25 (END)
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 25
Macross Frontier 25 - Your Sound. « Calamitous Intent
Macross Frontier 25 (END) : Otaku Complex
Macross FRONTIER - 25 Final Battle - [FINAL IMPRESSIONS]
Macross Frontier - Episode 25 (End) « Kitsune’s Thoughts

The series finale of Macross Frontier certainly stayed faithful to the theme of love/music/culture being the source of humanity's strength. Once again, love triumphs over superior technology. This a theme of the other Macross stories to one degree or another, but perhaps the strongest comparison can be made with Macross Plus, with the AI of Sharon Apple representing technology, which is ultimately defeated by the 3 friends forming the love triangle of that OVA series. The cybernetic fleet of Macross Galaxy represents certain 'advances' in technology that have been made by humans since Macross Plus.

The love triangle of Macross Frontier wasn't resolved, but I think that's fine, given that Alto is still a teenager and has some growing up to do still. Why do so many fans expect so much out of what may be nothing more than a high school crush? (What reason do we have to think that there is anything deeper than some sort of superficial attraction? What do the characters really know about each other, and what do we know about the characters? Given the maturity level of anime fans in general, it may not be a surprise that they don't know much about what makes love work. Then again, we can also blame manga authors and anime creators for not knowing about what makes for a "successful match" and peddling instead romantic fantasy.)

Did the finale feel rushed? Not so much. (Though fans may have preferred more action sequences, especially dogfights between the VF-25 and the VF-27.) However, while the length of time allotted for the finale was sufficient, I would have preferred the series as a whole be longer, for the sake of character development and also more story in general--a lot of the relationships between the characters, and the characters themselves, were sketched rather lightly. While at first I dreaded another story about teenagers at a high school who happened to be mech drivers, Macross Frontier did not really use the high school that much. We are given some of the history and back story for the main characters, but very little for most of the minor characters. The Pixie Squadron was woefully neglected in my opinion as a fanboy; while I still don't care much for certain aspects of Klan Klan's character design, it would have been interesting to see more interaction between the Meltran pilots and the development of Meltran culture.

The series does leave more to the imagination, but I do not know if this is good for a story relying upon an audiovisual medium. In comparison to Macross Plus or Macross Zero, or most TV series or Hollywood movies, the amount of character development in Macross Frontier is average. But it doesn't provide much material, from which we can draw some moral. Be a decisive man?

The same complaints that were made about Macross Zero -- the final chapter being rushed, lack of sufficient details or explanations -- are probably applicable to Macross Frontier as well. It definitely could have been much better, but I don't think fans will not give up on Macross because the latest series didn't meet all their expectations.

I found what they did with the Vajra as having a hive mind and the ensuing cultural misunderstanding with the humans to be interesting. Naturally, it turns out that Ranka's song, "Aimo," is the Vajra mating song. I haven't seen the subtitles, so I don't know if they had encountered Protoculture or any of the other older sentient races in the galaxy before.

Pitting Macross Frontier against Macross Galaxy was another otaku fantasy put on the TV screen. While there were two colonization fleets engaging each other, very little of the other ships was actually shown in the episode, given time constraints. No grand fleet battles. And we didn't get a chance to see life aboard Macross Galaxy, though we do know that the Galaxy Fleet makes use of cybernetic implants. What sort of culture exists there? Do they too have a collective mind, once Grace takes over their minds through the implants (like the Borg of Star Trek)? What a contrast it would be with the more 'ecologically sensitive' and 'natural' Frontier fleet, where such implants have been banned.

There is a Macross Frontier movie in the works, but no news if it will be an original story taking place after the events of the series, or a re-telling of the series.

Bilrer turns out to be a Minmei fan and was hoping to meet her on the Vajra homeworld. The mystery of the disappearance of Megaroad 01 remains unsolved. (As many have pointed out in the Macross World Forums, Bilrer represents Macross otakus and their obsessions with Minmei and variable fighters.)

Macross Frontier Movie Announced - Anime News Network
Macross Compendium Memories: Shoji Kawamori, July 6, 2002
AICN review

Megumi Nakajima

Macross F OP ED ~May'n & 中島愛

Macross Frontier May'n／中島愛

Macross Frontier OPライオンPV(May'n／中島愛)


中島愛　星間飛行　高画質版？　再UP!



her official blog

That pretty much sums up the Macross message

From episode 22, Ranka's ex-manager: "Songs are culture, and culture is love." (from a fansub)

I think Macross II and Macross 7 looked at music which did not promote peace and love, but war instead. So perhaps it could be said that the creators of Macross would agree that there are good forms of music and bad forms. (Even if they do approve of Japanese pop and rock.) Or they would at least agree that music can be beneficial or harmful according to its lyrics and melodies? In this respect they would be closer to the ancient Greeks than many Americans.

Macross Frontier, ep 21 and 22

Macross Frontier - 21 | Random Curiosity
Macross Frontier 21 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 21 :: August :: 2008
Macross Frontier 21 Azure Ether « Calamitous Intent
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 21: Elopement with Brera
AstroNerdBoy's Anime and Manga Blog: Macross Frontier 21


Macross Frontier - 22 | Random Curiosity
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 22 :: September :: 2008
Macross Frontier 22 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 22
Anime Blog ga Arimasu » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier 22

Macross Frontier, ep 19 and 20

Macross Frontier - 19 | Random Curiosity
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 19 :: August :: 2008
Macross Frontier 19 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
Macross Frontier Episode 19 | Animation Online | Anime World
Yukan Blog! » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier - 19
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 19


Macross Frontier - 20 | Random Curiosity
Macross Frontier 20 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 20
Macross Frontier - 20 « ARIA Anime アリア アニメ
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 20

Macross Ace Frontier マクロス エース フロンティア

Macross models

Check out this one for the VF-25. Via Macross World Forums.

Macross Frontier, ep 17 and 18

Macross Frontier - 17 | Random Curiosity

Macross Frontier 17 - Goodbye Sister « Calamitous Intent
Yukan Blog! » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier - 17
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 17
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 17
Macross Frontier 17 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

It's not clear to me why the Frontier fleet does not have quantum pulse rifles or w/e the Antares squadron is equipped with (see the picture above). I suppose that sort of information is not being shared; perhaps the fleet doesn't even have the resources to produce such rifles. (Can it make reaction warheads? So many have been expended in the last few episodes. Where does the fleet find the raw material?)

Macross Frontier - 18 | Random Curiosity

A shot of Battle 25 in the new opening sequence. Battle 7 was also a NMC battleship. Battle 25 looks better in the way that everything in Macross Frontier looks better than Macross 7 (though the Macross 7 OAVs did improve in quality), but I don't really care for the NMC design--I prefer the original SDF-1. It's too bad they couldn't design something that would be a cross between human and Supervision Army designs.

Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 18

Some of the reused footage is starting to get annoying--does it really cost that much to create 5 seconds of animation? Some more of Sheryl's story was revealed in episode 18; I am waiting to learn more of what has been going on in the Macross universe since Macross 7. The fact that resource depletion is such a concern for the fleet is a nice touch--but would the original SDF-1 and Macross city have survived if the creators had adhered to that sort of 'realism' back then?

Looks like sooner or later Alto will have a confrontation with his father and maybe his adolescent angst will be resolved. But I doubt he'll get his hair cut before the end of the series. (Though many fans would prefer it.)

If Ozma is aware of Brera's identity, how familiar was he with the family before the destruction of the 117th Research Fleet?

Edit: More links--
Macross Frontier 18 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

Macross 25th Anniversary

All That VF

alt:

Macross Frontier, ep 16

I thought the Ranka Attack was a bit weak, but it was just a test to see if it could be used against the Vajra. Since she seemed to be suffering a bit in the last episode because of the fighting and the destruction on both sides, it might be a surprise to see her cooperate with the government in destroying the Vajra. But then again she is rather immature and so she is compliant to authority.

Macross Frontier - 16 | Random Curiosity

The opening with Mr. Birla (a Zentran) and the trains reminded me of Galaxy Express 999.

Antares squadron.

Brera defending the VB-6 Konig Monster and Ranka.


At the beginning of the series, Sheryl was very confident (too much self-esteem?) but she seems to be losing some of this as Ranka's career progresses and she remains sick and unable to really do much. Is there more to Sheryl than being an idol singer? She is stubborn and tenacious, and apparently wants to hold on to Alto. But what else does she have going for her, character-wise? Curious, strong-willed, proud, and seemingly intelligent... but is she too self-absorbed? (Like Minmei before she grew up a little?)

Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 16 :: July :: 2008
Macross Frontier 16 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog
Yukan Blog! » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier - 16: Sheryl’s Lost ...
THAT Animeblog - Macross Frontier 16:

Macross Frontier, ep 15

An episode with clips from previous episodes with some new revelations, and a singing contest between Ranka and Sheryl--

Macross Frontier - 15 | Random Curiosity


Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 15 :: July :: 2008
Macross Frontier Ep. 15: Lost Peace « Gate 419
Macross Frontier 15 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

Another blog entry for episode 14:
Macross Frontier 14 | Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

A Gabriela Robin Site: Newtype Yoko Kanno and Shoji Kawamori Macross F OST 1 Interview Translation

Macross Frontier, ep 14

Fans of the VF171 enjoyed this episode a lot. There were some complaints about footage being reused, especially when it didn't exactly fit the exposition of the story. Maybe this will be cleaned up for the DVD. Brera Stern revealed himself to the Macross Frontier fleet; the fate of Macross Galaxy remains unknown. The appearance of Rank's mother in a vision reminded me of a Bodhisattva or the Japanese equivalent of Guan Yin (if there is one). It's unfortunate that one of the minor characters was killed off; especially since there was 0 character development for that character.

Macross Frontier - 14 Random Curiosity
Pictures from Random Curiosity:




Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 14 :: July :: 2008
Yukan Blog! » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier - 14: Oh no, not ...
crunchyroll - Macross Frontier - Episode 14

For episode 13--
Macross Frontier 13 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

Macross Chronicles homepage

Culture in Macross Frontier

How will music save the human fleet in Macross Frontier? Music is the embodiment of culture (and also of emotion and love) in the Macross universe. Intelligent (or rational) creatures aren't the only ones who appreciate or are affected by it, as Macross Zero shows--there's a very strong connection between music and the spirit, what animates or gives life in all its forms (spiritia energy!).

The warrior races, the Zentrans and Meltrans, are converted through their exposure to music, having known only war-making prior to their contact with the humans. In a sense the Zentraedi are like the Spartans, priding themselves on their excellence in war (and missing out on everything important), while the humans are the Athenians, in so far as they have an appreciation for the fine arts. It must be remarked, though, that there is not much philosophizing in the Macross universe, and no religion. This is another story in which humans were created not by God, but by an alien intelligence.

One would prefer to think of culture as a tool and transmitter of intelligence, but how rational can culture in the Macross universe be when the warring Zentrans and Meltrans are turned into lovesick idol fans? (To witness Meltrans becoming giddy fans like high school teens, see the "Fleet of the Strongest Women" and the results of Basara Nekki's work.) Hence, their conversion is more an emotional one than a spiritual one; it is the suppression of their appetite for violence through the use of other emotions, rather than through reason and the will. Those who have a strong appetite for violence come to acquire other strong desires, particularly lust. (As we see in the original Macross series, with Quamzin Kravshera [Khyron]). But what sci-fi story these days does not reduce reason to feeling, human nature to a competition between different emotions?

The Vajra are apparently some sort of bio-weapon--whether they were created by the humans or by the Protoculture or developed on their own has not yet been revealed, though there is a hint that the humans had a hand in some sort of experimentation upon them. The drones are said to have no intelligence of their own, being directed by something else. Would this be the queen, or some other entity? Are they sentient? It is difficult to see how they could not be, if they are able to construct ships.

Fans have been pointing out how the scene with the Vajra queen recalls Aliens. The struggle between the humans and the Vajra is similar to the Starship Troopers movie (and cartoon), Starcraft, and a host of other science-fiction stories and games.

Are the Vajra lifeforms native to foldspace? Have they been genetically engineered or manipulated? By whom? Can there be harmony between sentient beings? This seems to be a sci-fi version of the Fall: subrational creatures turning against their creators, usually because they have a legitimate grude--being mistreated by their creators and masters, and so on. Does this part of the plot serve as a warning against genetic manipulation and the abuse of technology through human pride? Are the humans following the footsteps of Protoculture, whose creations also turned against it?

Will music once again transform enemies by re-establishing the harmony that should exist between all living things? Is Macross more consonant with a Buddhist worldview than one proper to Western sci-fi? Perhaps these questions will be answered in time, along with the following:

What is the connection between Ranka, the purple crystals, and the strange aura that glows in her abdominal region?

What did Grace mean in episode 13, "The hate grows." She is fostering hate between whom? All factions involved? The humans and the Zentraedi?

Macross Zero: Arkan


Macross Mecha Manual
Mecha Profiles
Macross 7 | Nekki Basara | Mylene Jenius | Fire Bomber | Spiritia
Macross 7 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macross Frontier, ep 13

I've missed episodes 11 and 12--13 is a bit of a shocker, from what I've gleaned from the forums. Next episode is supposed to feature another big battle. Veoh.

Macross Frontier - 13 | Random Curiosity
Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 13 :: July :: 2008
Celestial Kistune

Macross Frontier - 12 | Random Curiosity

Star Crossed Anime Blog :: Macross Frontier - 12 :: June :: 2008
Macross Frontier Episode 12 | Atarashii Prelude
Macross Frontier Episode 12 | Animation Online | Animation World
Yukan Blog! » Blog Archive » Macross Frontier - 12: Panic at the ...
Sea Slugs Episode 12

May'n (in Japanese TV) -ダイヤモンド クレバス / Diamond Crevasse LIVE

alt

May Nakabayashi