Macross Frontier 11, Advantage: Sheryl
June 20th, 2008 by Shirukii
So ronery ;_;
The titular tennis metaphor of this post admittedly isn’t very appropriate to the circumstance given that Sheryl is wailing on Ranka harder than Nadal on Federer at the 2008 Roland Garros, and that was pretty harsh.
Anyways, I digress, this episode was purely a lead up/expositional dialogue episode, and as such, was pretty boring. We saw a lot of character development, particularly in Ranka and Alto (not RankaXAlto, mind you) and a bunch of ominous foreshadowing for future plot lines, but on the whole, it was a fairly static episode. While Alto’s decision of Sheryl over Ranka is poignant, it’s far too early for people to be crowning her the winner of this little love triangle, we’re not even halfway through yet, folks!
Riding the success of her role in the Macross Zero tribute movie, Ranka’s popularity explodes and her career takes off. Commercial endorsements, magazine interviews, and photo shoot sessions flood her schedule, and most notably, her debut concert will be at the same hall where Sheryl performed. Leon and Cathy chat about her success in the car, Cathy lamenting the fact that she missed her shot at such a life while Leon pokes fun at her.
Back at school, Nanase wonders if Alto has heard anything from Ranka since she’s hit it big, surprisingly, he hasn’t, even more so when she mentions that his birthday is coming up and she told Ranka about it, something which Sheryl conveniently overhears. After ranting off about knowing what it’s like to be a pro, Sheryl tells everyone that she’ll be missing from school from a little while starting the following week as she’ll be performing for a relief concert on the planet of Gallia-4.
At SMS headquarters, Cathy and Ozma talk about Sheryl’s gig there and how the SMS was asked to provide a protective escort, Ozma declined the request though, suspicious about what’s going on in the government and concerned about the presence of the peculiar 33rd Marine Fleet there. The conversation quickly derails and Cathy asks Ozma if he has seen or plans to go see Ranka’s movie, he flat out refuses the idea, shunning it as filth as he slaps down a magazine with its cover plastered with Ranka and Alto’s on screen kiss.
Back at Mihoshi, the gang is discussing the specifics of Gallia-4’s ecological makeup when all of a sudden Alto gets a surprise visit from his “brother” Saotome Yasaburo, not a blood related brother, but a fellow apprentice kabuki actor to the famous Ranzou name. He comes bearing news that he saw Alto’s role in the movie and thought it was wonderful, and delivers the more grim message that Ranzou-sensei has collapsed from illness caused by overworking…
Meanwhile, Ranka’s producer delivers a front row ticket to Ranka’s debut live, just as promised, which Sheryl points out must be for a special blue haired effeminate love interest of hers. The two talk about Alto for a while, Ranka noting how casually Sheryl can talk about her, but just as Ranka is about to confront Sheryl on their relationship, she suddenly becomes feverish and is whisked away by Grace who begins to wonder whether they should cancel the Gallia-4 concert. Sheryl declines the notion and even the medicine Grace demands she take, stubbornly relying on her will power to bring her through something as insignificant like a minor fever.
Elsewhere, Leon’s behind the scenes manipulation continues as cryptic talks with unknown correspondents continue, Leon ogling the fragment of Sheryl’s earring the whole time.
Back at SMS hq, Cathy asks Klein about the 33rd Marine Fleet, a military unit that opposes the coexistence of Zentradi and Humans, remnant rebels from the first Space War, the cancer of NUNS who play by their own rules.
Meanwhile, the pressure of success continues to bear down on Ranka, but she manages to squeeze in some gossip time, talking to Nanase about the triangle between Alto, Sheryl and herself. Nanase tells her that they’re not yet dating, but at this rate he’ll be stolen away from her. Ranka finally decides to call Alto, only to get his voice mail, she leaves him a message about his upcoming birthday and invites him to meet on that hill, Cliff Spark, so she can give him his present.
Alto’s popularity seems to know no bounds, as he receives another birthday invitation, this time from his brother. After berating him about never having lost the love of acting, about it being in his blood, even now as he acts the part of a rebellious teenager running away from his destiny, using piloting as a cover for his true desires, Yasaburo invites him to return to Ranzou on his birthday, who will be willing to retake him as his successor. But we’re not through yet! Sheryl extends another birthday invitation to Alto, offering him the chance to fly in a true sky, one without limits or ceilings.
After mulling over it for a bit, Alto makes his decision. First off we see Ranka eagerly making her way to Cliff Spark, only to find Mikhail waiting there, sent by Alto to apologize on his behalf. Next we see Yasaburo training with the rest of Ranzou’s apprentices, now with no inhibitions about taking on the role of successor. Which means…
Yep, Alto chooses Sheryl, or the prospect of flying in a real sky, depending on which you think was the more tempting perk of the offer. Acting as her escort for the duration of the relief concert on Gallia-4, the two warp out together under the watchful eye of Grace, who seems to be having an interesting conversation with Leon about things going Just As Planned.
Back on Macross, Ranka watches as two blips disappear into a fold warp as she is eats the cookies she baked Alto along with her new found baby vajra friend, wishing Alto a “Happy Birthday”.
Thoughts
Nyan nyan, nyan nyan, ni hao nyan!
What a slap in the face it must be to the winner of the Miss Macross Frontier contest that Ranka, her co-star, ended up getting the most publicity from the movie and rocketing into a stardom which she can never hope to achieve. Of course along with stardom comes with the pressure of dealing with the new schedule and the increased attention that accompanies fame. Ranka is dealing quite well with it, taking everything in stride, but she does seem to long for the days of spending time with her friends, especially Alto.
However, Ranka’s attitude concerning Alto is still a vast improvement upon her earlier approach of angsty lamentation. At least she’s now showing signs of life in the competition, going out of her way to call Alto out and give him his birthday present in person, even if it didn’t work out. Now all that remains is for her to overcome her fear, born out of admiration, of Sheryl. I think that Ranka is still really intimidated by Sheryl, both as a performer and as a love rival, almost to the point where she’s already conceded defeat. It doesn’t help that Ranka probably feels she owes Sheryl a lot, having been the reason for many of the opportunities that led her to her eventual success. Only when Ranka gets over this inhibition and starts thinking of herself (you know, just like Sheryl keeps telling her to) will the fight for Alto’s heart truly begin.
Sheryl still largely confuses me, I’m sure she has feelings for Alto, but I can’t really pinpoint the extent of said feelings. Her playful nature makes me question the seriousness and sincerity of her flirting with Alto and even more confusing is the meddling she does with his relationship with Ranka. Sometimes she’s a great help, boosting Ranka’s confidence by telling her things like how happy she’s sure he’ll be to receive a ticket to her concert, but then she turns around and steals him away on the day that she plans on doing so. I’d like to say that her intentions are malicious in that regard, but I can’t even do that because she’s so damn cheerful as she does it, not expressing the slightest bit of remorse, nor hinting that it was her plan to do so all along. It’s like she lives in the moment and just goes along with however the scenario conveniently plays itself out, whether or not it invalidates previous promises she made or sentiments she expressed.
If someone can simplify her train of thought or path of action so that I might understand it, it would be much appreciated.
Next episode seems to be a PEW PEW LAZOR filled one, undoubtedly featuring the infamous 33rd Marine Fleet as the mid-bosses which Alto will have to take on all by his lonesome or with some shoddy back up. I’m not even going to wager a guess as to where Macross F is going plot wise, on the military side anyways. We haven’t been given much information about the true purpose of the vajra, nor can I extrapolate enough sensible info from Leon’s random conversations to construct much of a theory. I’m guessing this is going to be one of those things that when everything unfolds you can go back and be all “Ohhhh, so that’s what they were going on about back then”, but until then we’ll be kept in the dark. Grace corresponding with Leon is an interesting development though, I wonder how much influence she has in all this.
Loli haet breasts
~ Shirukii ~
Post Script: Another week, another apology about the lack of posting, sorry guys! Kurenai 11 -WILL- be out soon enough, tomorrow at the earliest, if not, deferred until Monday after Code Geass, at which point I may combo it with episode 12, the finale.
17 Responses to “Macross Frontier 11, Advantage: Sheryl”
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That bird or whatever makes for a good phallic with Sheryl.
*Still despises Macross*
*loli has thick eyebrows*
Argh, I wish I could just shoot Sheryl lols. Poor Ranka too, she actually made those airplane biscuits.
I think this is really building up to a Ranka ending. I hate that because I can see it already.
Having Sheryl “win” in the end would be different to me and more interesting. Why can’t all the signs point to only one person for once? I’m not a fan of of the comeback-kid.
I think Alto has a thing for aerial freedom…constantly launching paper planes, despising the ship for its lack of a high altitude, and attempting to steer free of his acting past….
Can’t exactly decipher whether or not he has genuine feelings for Sheryl, though. Alto definitely doesn’t want to necessarily get involved with Ranka as deemed by his reaction to the kiss scene in the previous episode. From what I understand he thought the kiss would mean more to Ranka than it did to him.
But alas, we’re discussing the 11th episode of what, 25?
No predictions from me ;D
I have a few theories regarding Sheryl’s behavior, but suffice to say I think that if Ranka came to the park at the end of the day then we might surmise that Sheryl gave Alto-hime ample time to celebrate with his closest friends and ample time for Ranka to strike. If Sheryl took Alto-hime at the beginning of the day then she was snatching at the last minute. I think Sheryl is confused about her own feelings on the one hand she wants to help out Ranka and for that to happen Ranka has to be positive, telling Ranka that Alto-hime is hers would probably crush Ranka as Sheryl is her hero after all. Sheryl and Alto-hime started out more as kindred spirits and then sort of grew from there their relationship is much more mutually beneficial. Perhaps Sheryl thought at one point all she needed was for Alto-hime to just be a real friend who had similar experiences in peaking early in life. It could only be that now Sheryl has decided that she wants Alto-hime to be more than just a friend. Their first kiss was special to her but her playing it off meant that she was still a bit unsure, now it seems that Sheryl wants to move forward even if Alto-hime is still treating her like a flirtatious friend, a kinder gentler version of Mikhail if you will. That’s just one of many that are running in me head… I love this show. :)
I feel for Ranka, but instead of having him wait for her as she suggested, I would have rather had Ranka say that she will be waiting for him. Thus masterfully putting Alto-hime on the hot seat. I think that Alto-hime sending out Mikhail says a lot about what might be going on in Alto-hime’s mind. It’s a stretch but maybe Alto-hime thinks that Mikhail has a thing for Ranka, he did catch them playing hooky together and Mikhail has been pestering Alto-hime to help out Ranka more overtly…so from his point of view since Mikhail hits on women who he has no long term relations with , Mikhail’s rather different treatment of Ranka might be sending the wrong message to our naive hime into thinking that MikhailxRanka is a possibility. Either that or Alto-hime wanted to throw Mikhail under the bus, but some how I doubt Alto-hime could come up with such a scheme. Alto-hime could have asked Luca or Nanase, but he did not.
I hope Ranka starts asking Alto-hime about himself and share more topics of conversation rather than just keep begging for his attention. Ranka may be swinging for the status of lover, but all she is getting right now is a surrogate imouto who needs to be protected and encouraged, not loved in that kind of way. She has taken a first step forward, but she needs to double time it or make leaps and bounds. Thus far it seems that alto-hime is more confident abut confiding in Sheryl than anyone else. Not that he doesn’t listen to Sheryl’s problems though.
The supposed winner of Miss Macross got her just deserts…mwwhahahhahahha. All according to grace’s plans…
*pats blood-thirsty pitbull on the head*
There there boy, we’ll give him some more time, then you can have him….
xD
I don’t think Alto meant to stand Ranka up perse, nor do he decide to fly because Sheryl was there. His main focus was proving to his “Brother” and his father that he was truly a pilot, by shunning his father’s birthday offer and flying instead. In that case, I don’t think that it’s a given and that we can 100% expect a Sheryl-Alto End (I’m up in the air about which end we’ll get, but I don’t think either is locked in right now).
As for Sheryl, I think she’s struggling between being a mentor to Ranka and pursuing Alto. She wants to push Ranka to go for her dreams and excel in all areas of her life(I think there might even be a feeling of Older Sisterhood there, especially if my hunch that Ranka is also a Nome is right), so she does nudge her towards Alto once in a while. At the same time, she’s dealing with budding feelings towards Alto of her own. Whether it is her need to let Ranka have a fighting chance, or her fear that Alto won’t be able to take being the boyfriend of a star, or not liking the feeling of being dependent on him, she really doesn’t seem to be able to openly acknowledge that she is falling for him. However, especially when he seems to be even slightly edging toward Ranka, she will make a small move, maybe even subconciously, just because she can’t let him go either.
I don’t think she’s actively malicious when she does this in front of Ranka, and I thought she arguably couldn’t have known that Ranka was going to give him a ticket on that day at that time. She knew she planned to give him a brithday present, yes, but not the time and date. It was just an unhappy coincidence and not deliberate sabotage on Sheryl’s part.
Alto went with Sheryl, yes, but that was more to show up his family than because of romantic attractions.
Aren’t Grace and the effeminate guy who exchanged information with Leon in episode ten the same person? The tone of voice she uses to communicate with Leon in this episode matches that guy’s almost exactly. Trap, or reverse trap? lol
Well, for one thing, Sheryl knew nothing about Ranka’s phone call or Alto’s meeting with Yasaburo. Likewise, I don’t think that Ranka knew about Alto’s talk with Yasaburo or Sheryl’s plans. Do you think that either would have invited Alto out at that particular time if they knew that it potentially would cost him both his inheritance and reconciliation with his father?
My thought is that Sheryl only sees the nii-san vibe between Alto and Ranka, which is why she keeps telling Ranka that Alto will support her. She doesn’t talk about “love” or “romance” plans the way Nanase does.
I think that Sheryl is very serious about Alto. For one, you can see how her face absolutely lights up when she realizes that she can fulfill the dream that Alto told her about in episode six. Also, if you listen to her deliver the news to Alto, there’s a suddenly a breathless quality to her voice that shows that she can barely contain her excitement. There’s also the way that Sheryl softly thanks Alto at the very end of the episode, which, as we’re told in episode five, is something that she rarely does.
Another sign is in the fact that Sheryl has been neglecting her career, which is something she would normally never do. Before Galia-4 was mentioned (which Sheryl had only taken up for the sake of the Galaxy survivors), Alto points out that she hasn’t done much work lately. It shows; there’s only one Sheryl ad still showing in the midst of all the Ranka ones. Also, if taking care of your body is the most basic part of being a pro, then the fact that Sheryl suddenly neglected this in order to do well in school suggests a massive shift in priorities on her part.
I loved the French Open reference! Well done!
It does my heart good to see people writing comments that analyzes Sheryl :D
It neutralizes the rabid Ranka fans from other blogs/animesuki.
Well, if Sheryl does win, at least the Ranka fans
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I wonder what connection Sheryl’s earrings will bring, since Leon was holding a similar crystal..
Good episode!
Well, Sheryl “won” because she was the only one to give what Princess-kun really wanted. On his birthday nonetheless. The two others simply offered him impositions.
What kind of present is “Come to my concert, or Ranka will be a saad panda” or “If you come back and inherit the kabuki group you despise, I’ll forget I’ve ever disowned you for being your own man.” Call me an idealist, but you shouldn’t have to do chores on your birthday.
Wait wait, lemme correct myself.
Bird makes good phallic with ranka
>>”Sheryl still largely confuses me, I’m sure she has feelings for Alto, but I can’t really pinpoint the extent of said feelings. Her playful nature makes me question the seriousness and sincerity of her flirting with Alto and even more confusing is the meddling she does with his relationship with Ranka. Sometimes she’s a great help, boosting Ranka’s confidence by telling her things like how happy she’s sure he’ll be to receive a ticket to her concert, but then she turns around and steals him away on the day that she plans on doing so. I’d like to say that her intentions are malicious in that regard, but I can’t even do that because she’s so damn cheerful as she does it, not expressing the slightest bit of remorse, nor hinting that it was her plan to do so all along. It’s like she lives in the moment and just goes along with however the scenario conveniently plays itself out, whether or not it invalidates previous promises she made or sentiments she expressed.”
You know what? I would say that Macross F could be a great Drama series instead of Mecha. But where is my mecha action and the plot of the series?
^Siva:
Come on, writers and animation budgets are expensive these days (^^)
Seems pretty clear to me that Sheryl digs Alto for real — look at how she came up with the ultimate birthday present. He’s always wanted to fly in a real sky, and she picked up on that. And that’s actually getting her somewhere, when wearing inappropriate outfits obviously isn’t doing it for the princess. Her little attempt at having a “moment” talking on the radios between ships says a lot, too.
She’s not willfully trying to sabotage Ranka, in fact she still encourages her; Ranka just doesn’t show up on her radar when it comes to Alto.
Alto, on the other hand, doesn’t have ANY blips on his radar. More than any Macross hero before, he personifies the “Watashi no Kare wa Pilot” lyrics: “He’s head over heels for his plane, instead of me.” He didn’t choose Sheryl over Ranka for his birthday. He chose flying. That serves the dual purpose of satisfying his desire for sky and his desire to stick it to his pops. Disappointing Ranka is an unfortunate side effect, but not much more than that.
Good thing Alto didn’t decide to go with his step-brother, because that would have been tremendously disappointing. Instead of getting:
-Girl
-Plane time
-Cookies
-Concert Ticket
He would have gotten:
-Dad who was not dead
-Dad who still hates him
-Guys dressed up as girls
I can no longer trust anything that Yasaburo says.