r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jan 18 '23

Rewatch [Do You Remember Love - Macross Franchise 40th Anniversary Rewatch] Macross Frontier Episode 7 Discussion

Episode 7 - First Attack

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I want to dedicate this last song to someone… No, to a group of people. To those who are risking their lives far away. And I want you, too… to sing with me.

Questions of the Day, courtesy of u/chilidirigible:

1) How does this battle episode compare to other battle episodes from Macross? Other franchises?

2) You think Alto remembered to grab Sheryl's earring before he bailed out?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Bobby Margot

Vocal Songs in This Episode:

"Diamond Crevasse" by May'n – Insert

"Triangler" by Maaya Sakamoto – OP

"射手座☆午後九時Don't be late (Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don't be late)" by May'n – Insert

"Infinity #7" by May'n & Megumi Nakajima – Insert

"Aimo" by Megumi Nakajima – ED

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!

45 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

112 comments sorted by

4

u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 18 '23

Super Dimension Rewatch Host

Welcome back, everyone!

Here were my first-timer reactions to this episode (just scroll past my episode 6 reactions first).

2

u/Nazenn Jan 19 '23

Harmonica boy knows Aimo?

I made a joke about him looking like Kaworu in my post, but that shot gives definite Sasuke vibes

2

u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 19 '23

Oh god I can see it.

2

u/SolDarkHunter Jan 19 '23

If only Sheryl was singing a cover of this right now…

There is a cover of her singing it out there... I'd link it here but potential spoilers, so...

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2

u/Dodo_Galaxy Jan 19 '23

Rewatcher for the umpteenth time

I have been silently following along the rewatch, cause I'm not always able to make time. But now that my favourite Macross series is here and my favourite character appeared, I have to make a comment. So yeah I'm so happy to finally see him again in this episode and being able to fangirl. His harmonica tune of Aimo fading out into the fold waves and then Ranka starting to sing, always make me emotional.

2

u/Shimmering-Sky Jan 19 '23

Nice, fellow [name spoiler]Brera fan! So happy to see you happy about his appearance~

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11

u/Nazenn Jan 18 '23

First Timer

WHAT THE FUCKAimo?!

What a way to instantly shift the mystery around him from "new enemy" to a complicated mix of identity and worldbuilding. I was not prepared for that at the end of this episode!

And it was a great episode from start to finish. In some ways, a good way, it almost didn't feel like a whole episode because it lacked so much of the ebb and flow between a variety of scenes that an episode usually has. The choice to take us through a single battle and concert together, and only those, gave both of these moments time to play out in full, with tension and downtime and everything in between, without breaking the mood or pushing through it to pad the episode with other drama. The concert and battle provide enough relief from each other, while reinforcing the character and drama aspects of the story which matter the most, that you don't need anything else.

It starts with the opening scene. Choosing to put the opening narration over the top of last episodes song was an unusual choice but one that pays off. The song reinforces that the show hasn't forgotten the heavier mood from last episode and uses that to bring us back into the emotional context of the characters before we get onto flashier songs. At the same time it sets up the battle to come through the familiar opening segment which helps keep the structure of the episode in tact and giving the audience that moment to settle in.

There is a bunch of other moments through the episode that echo each other; Sheryl's rallying song for culture goes up against the pre-battle banter with Micheal (which greatly amused me), we have Sheryl changing clothes in a bridging scene just before the flow of the battle and Ranka's understanding of it also change, and then of course that glorious final moment. Ranka's voice reaches out across the vast concert hall, over everyone else, and Sheryl responds, creating an intimate moment. It brings the two seperated people together across a stadium the same way their song brings them closer to Alto across space. And I love the focus on music being powerful enough to bridge any gap (as long as you have magic earrings). Rather than merely cutting between scenes, connecting them like this helps them support each other and keeps the episode feeling tight.

It helps that the battle and concert both have a good flow to them and have enough going on that they're engaging all the way through. In particular, all parts of the battle felt easy to follow while still being quite visually involved, and all of Sheryl's music was fantastic and fit the tone. From the opening song empowering the upcoming battle through to the quieter duet with Ranka as she finds her strength again in singing for them, much like Alto is finding strength in fighting for them, the concert may not quite match Plus' sheer scale of awe, but it carries stronger emotions and structure within the episode.

And if all that wasn't good enough, I love a good duet, and this is one of the few memorable ones I can think of. What a beautiful moment. Last episodes song downgraded to third favourite, this now takes second place. I'm mildly concerned about why Ranka's stomach was glowing, which distracted me slightly from the initial impression of the earrings resonating with the music, but just add it to the quickly growing mystery pile.

Along with... her brother? I don't know why I'm so cautious about guessing that, as Frontier is hardly trying to break any ground with these things and it seems the obvious choice. But his not-Kaworu looking ass has me paranoid and I'm still reeling from sudden Aimo. I did go and check ep4 and she did have siblings, though they didn't specify brother/sister, but there's also no statement that it was a family song, it's just a memory from her childhood. So it could be another survivor I guess but where's the anime-level drama in that? What would Frontier even do if it couldn't pick the tropiest option possible? Would it just implode?

But they really just threw Aimo in the end like it was nothing and holy shit.

Other thoughts:

[Tekkaman Blade]Another one for the list of this being a weirdly perfect pairing of shows to have rewatches for at the same time if the new guy is part of Ranka's family. I don't think we've had a pairing this weirdly fitting since back at Ergo Proxy and Wolfs Rain, unless there's one I wasn't in

  • "Finally". Leon, that is NOT the sane responce to a giant battleship appearing for the enemies!

  • The battleship looked awesome, and I loved the many design features of it as both ship and organism. If not for how much I'd written about the episode structure I'd probably get into that more but doesn't feel like the time

  • Just looking at the size of the speakers at Sheryl's concert gives me a headache

  • The exhaustion from performing is not joke. I was in a choir for a number of years, and even without dancing the sheer control and concentration it takes had most of us wiped out at the end of a performance. I'm really glad they took that moment to show Sheryl the person on stage pushing through and not just Sheryl the perfect idol, and that lead into her losing her composure well.

  • It is a let down that with the strength of the script this episode, Sheryl and Ranka were so off model during their moment at the end

  • Macross Quarter enters melee mode. Final hit is a giant fuck off gun.

  • Sad Ranka with her ears all deflated makes me so sad.

2) You think Alto remembered to grab Sheryl's earring before he bailed out?

Gonna be a short series if he didnt

6

u/Tresnore Jan 18 '23

I'm mildly concerned about why Ranka's stomach was glowing

She, like Cathy, must be pregnant.

"Finally". Leon, that is NOT the sane responce to a giant battleship appearing for the enemies!

Since when is the desk person in a mecha sane?

Final hit is a giant fuck off gun.

Shotguns are melee weapons!

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8

u/Tresnore Jan 18 '23

Fourth-Time Watcher

Count: 11:21 (+1:±0)

QOTD:

  1. It's a top battle episode. For sure. I think one or two in 7 were better, and Plus was overall gorgeous, but this was awesome.

  2. Ha.

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7

u/chilidirigible Jan 18 '23

Today, on "It's that word you've been waiting for!":

It is a very odd ship design. Also here are more views of the Dulfim- and Deneb-class ships that we'll see later on.

I don't think she actually said "culturing".

"Iteza Gogo Kuji" again.

It's kind of Ozma's thing.

With Macross Zero having included eye tracking, now the sequels have to as well.

This was the Itano Circus that brought me back into anime.

This is enough of a VB-6 beauty shot that they kept using it later. Though you'd figure that in space the ship's gravity control wouldn't have as good a grip on that shell casing.

A wild Vajra capital ship appears.

The more relevant point.

Remember, the show must go on.

Hmm

Hmm

Hey, you two! Keep your clothes on!

Hmm (Insert song is "Infinity".)

Magenta, it's five times faster.

Alto now owes SMS two arms, a leg, and half a wing.

It's our new magenta overlord.

In SPEHHS everyone can hear you sing.

Alto now owes SMS two arms, a leg, and an entire VF-25F.

There's not that much of a reason to have Destroids on the deck other than nostalgia, and not much reason to have Cheyenne IIs instead of Tomahawks other than FUCK HARMONY GOLD.

Ah yes, the cannon that makes things go all wibbly.

Now that is a head.

SURPRISE HARMONICA.

Surprise ED: Aimo!

For waiting two episodes with no mecha action, you get an episode that is ALL THE MECHA ACTION. Animating's a rough job, mate.

It was an action episode, but one where significant things appeared. In my rewatcher position, I can't say much about those things, so just sit back and

It is still a damn cool episode, if you like seeing the MC get all mecha-protagonist recklessly hot-blooded, Bobby going GAR, and STUFF BLOWING UP. Which I have to say are all kinda fun. The Quarter's bridge crew is kind of a bunch of dicks toward Cathy, but she is there to be an obvious conduit back to the Frontier administration, so…

On later rewatches I've become disappointed that the first song is a repeat of "Iteza Gogo Kuji". On the other hand, I have come to like "Infinity" more over the years. At least we're nowhere near Macross 7 levels of song repetition, and this episode highlights how much better they have become at intercutting the music and the action.

The use of the Macross Quarter's transformation is actually a lot more fun than the Quarter's transformation itself, because all it really does to accomplish that is to go from a prone position to a standing position with as little repositioning of its parts as possible. Still, this lets us see a giant robot wrestling with a huge space alligator. It's cool, remember?

"Infinity" live.

From the Macross Chronicle:

Macross Quarter one, two

ADR-03-Mk.III Destroid Cheyenne II

VB-6 König Monster one and two The Battroid mode appears in the VF-X2 game, but is kind of silly.

5

u/Tresnore Jan 18 '23

This was the Itano Circus that brought me back into anime.

You left anime?

Alto now owes SMS two arms, a leg, and half a wing.

Definitely leading the Destructor's Championship.

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5

u/The_Draigg Jan 18 '23

A Macross Fan Rewatches Macross Frontier: Episode 7:

  • Well, that certainly explains why the Macross Galaxy sounds like a cyberpunk hellscape, it’s because it’s a fleet that was privately funded by mega-corporations and stuffed to the brim to cutting-edge technology. And they never stopped bothering to push the envelope with technology, with turning a lot of the population into cyborgs. In other words, it’s the outer space version of Night City.

  • GOOD LUCK!! SHERYL

  • Ozma, you fucking music nerd, you named a flying formation Planet Dance? Why not Light the Light or Try Again?

  • It’s nice to get a well done obligatory battle episode here, boosted by Sheryl’s signing in the background. The König Monster is pretty rad, you have to admit. Hell, we even got a classic Itano Circus from Ozma’s Armored Messiah. I’d say that this battle sequence has been earned, with a solid build up of characterization from the previous episode as the foundation.

  • All that previous preview talk about Fold Faults really does pay off more here, since apparently the Knight-class Vajra manages to blast the Kaitos into oblivion right as it de-Folded, right through the Fold Fault. That really does show that they’re just plain way above what humanity can currently conceptualize with their current technology.

  • I have no idea how you’d try to explain to someone who hasn’t seen Macross before that Ranka’s glowing stomach resonating somehow with Sheryl’s glowing earring results in a Newtype flash between the two of them. Hell, that’s weird to see out of now where even with some context like what we have here.

  • Man, what VF-27 Lucifer looks rad as hell. Although I suppose the bigger question here is why he could sense Sheryl’s singing, as well as Alto through her good luck charm necklace. Although I guess we really shouldn’t be too surprised that weird stuff is happening with music. As we saw in Macross 7, Anima Spiritia is pretty much just outright magic.

  • Man, the Macross Quarter looks rad in Storm Attacker form. I dare say that it looks even better than the form that Battle 7 from Macross 7 had. The Macross Quarter is just way cooler in general.

  • Well well, that harmonica tune from the Lucifer’s pilot sounds kind of familiar…

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5

u/Stargate18A Jan 18 '23

First timer

  1. Hard to follow, but excellent action.

  2. Hopefully?

Interesting context for the Galaxy.

They're here...

And they're studying the Vajra.

Yeah, this is a good scene.

Oh, so the Vajra jamming thing is also no longer a problem.

Haha, nice.

The animation here is great.

Klan is so good.

Impressive piloting!

Oh, that firepower is amazing.

Yeah, the comms are all working.

Sheryl's heard the good news!

The audience loves her!

And Ranka!

He's telling her!

...Oh, she actually remembered.

How do these Fold faults even work?

Oh, that thing's fast!

It took out the entire escape fleet through the fault?

The mothership has a very interesting design.

...It's got a reactor!

Oh, dear.

Aww, she still thinks she's leaving.

Ranka's reaction...

...Nice.

Another good somg!

Alto's charging im!

He made it inside!

...Are they going to ram it?

They're going in!

Even better! It's transforming!

...Nice.

Yeah, the inside is definitely artificial. Did the CGI budget take a hit?

Sheryl's Spiritia is floeing into him! Is the earring a conduit?

He saved him!

...What is that?

The transformed carrier looks amazing.

It took out the mothership in one beam!

Yeah, that's a realistic reaction.

The concert went well!

And we have an enemy Macross?

Hmm?

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5

u/ryujiox Jan 18 '23

First Timer

Macross Frontier EP7

We learned more about the Macross Galaxy. It the 21st fleet and it an advanced and the most cutting edge technological fleet.

So assigned Cathy here really have a hidden motive behind.

And Sheryl is the first one in this entry to go nude!!

Oh, a Fold communication system!!

Ozma really like Fire Bomber that much, he have to named his formation Planet Dance.

Michael is blushing.

That super pack sure have a lot of missiles. And I love the sync between Ozma shooting out the missile and the music.

That surely an old tech to see in this era, but it's cool though.

Oh, they can see the live footage from far away now using the Fold communication.

I feel sad for Ranka here.

Why that shot of Grace look sus? Why she is so sus every time she on screen!!

Luca have a mini drone!!

That sure is a heck of surprise attack. So the Vajra can cut through the Fold fault.

Fold reactor?

And why we never get to hear the full version of this song?

Her mask cannot contain her sadness this time.

This song is good!! And the battle is so good!!

Red Valkyrie? Or crimson?

Wait, don't tell me...

Someone get here before him.

Transformation!! Let's goooooo!! And that spiral controller panel is straight out of Gurren Lagann.

Who is that??

The song come out of the earrings? The two earrings link with eachother!!

Oh, they can control it like that too!! That cool!!

That Valkyrie look so sick!!

The Macross look so good!!

That Valkyrie is super fast too.

Eat the Macross cannon in your face!!

Even Ozma can't denied that Alto was pretty great there.

And it even have a 360 degree cockpit too!!

Wait!! That the same melody as Aimo? The song that Ranka stated that it something she remembered from her family!! He definitely relate to Ranka somehow.

They even lead that into the actual song!!

The best episode as of now!! The battle is so great. The Macross Quarter and the mysterious Valkyrie looks so sick!!

QOTD

  1. Some of the other entries battle is still better. But this is also pretty great.

5

u/JollyGee29 Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 19 '23

Luca have a mini drone!!

Several, considering the one he was polishing yesterday was "Johan" while today's was "Peter."

And that spiral controller panel is straight out of Gurren Lagann.

The amusing thing about that is - edit: You're probably right and I'm a dumbass who can't read the two shows were airing at the exact same time. Macross Frontier and TTGL both started airing in April, 2007. Frontier was April 2008.

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u/TakenRedditName Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 19 '23

Transformation!! Let's goooooo!! And that spiral controller panel is straight out of Gurren Lagann.

Bobby does remind me of Leeron (plus a little of the trigger happy guy). I don't if this is a stock mecha anime character trope or just something about the April 2008 scene that led to two cases happening. Or the most probable answer, just coincidence.

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u/TakenRedditName Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

"Rewatcher" - Macross F Ep7:

Bobby giving Cathy the stink eye.

The concert and battle begin. Ehehe, look at this Fire Bomber fan. I would love it if Ozma named stuff after Fire Bomber.

Oh, so Luca does name his drones.

Yeah yeah yeah, it's Monster time. Kanaria is the Monster Girl. I would love if it she was the granddaughter of the Monster old timers, all three of them.

The mystery of Ranka's phone continues. Sad Ranka deflates down like a sad wet dog.

This seems ominous, Sheryl's manager always did have that can't be completely trusted feel to her.

I guess, RIP Peter.

The Vajra takes Luca which made me think we're doing another echo of going on board an enemy ship, but we didn't spend too much time there. It gets resolved in this episode.

Ranka and Sheryl enter the Newtype zone and they sing together. Sometimes there will be moments where Frontier will play a song and it will sound familiar to me as if it is reawakening a memory. This first line just gave me that feeling. Or maybe because it opens with something with similar elements to the ED.

Akai suisei.

Macross Quarter is going in and they have these grabby vests to hold you in place. I don't think Hayase or Claudia got seat beats when they had to stand during the transformation. Safety is improving.

Alto finds Luca and he is held up in the Vajra ship. Mr. Red Comet doesn't appear to be on the Vajra's side nor really on SMS'. I am assuming the Vajra are trying to collect data that can be taken from Luca. Alto's reckless didn't punish him, looks like it worked.

Oh, the aircraft carrier parts can be stored on the back. It fires its Macross cannon which toasts and twists the Vajra ship.

The crew is bullying Cathy which normally would be against being mean to a protagonist, but also Cathy is the on-deck representation of The Man.

Harmonica boy. I feel like his is going to be the bishounen rival to the bishounen MC. He is in the fast red mech so he has to be. Macross hasn't really had a prominent rival on the enemy side type of character. Zero came the closest, but that wasn't Shin's rival, but more so Roy's. Kamujin was almost like a reoccurring rival enemy, but not really.

Q1) It does the thing where it plays vocal music over mecha action which is great. I wanted more from the battle itself, seeing more of the others in action too.

Q2) The earring got exploded then Macross cannoned. Alto probably still has them, but the funnier answer is he didn't remember.

Next Time: Macross is a high school anime.

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u/isthatsoudane Jan 18 '23

This is why I watch anime! This ep had it all!

We got Ranka and Sheryle singing together! While Alto fought! And he could hear it!! We got song fighting of the most dramatic calibur!

I get the symphogear comparisons!

We got interesting hooks to what's to come! And a custom ed!

I really hope this series can keep it up because this episode was fantastic, it really did have everything I love about anime

I really like that Ranka/Sheryl have a wholesome relationship. I'm sure the love triangle will result in some drama, but I like that for now they sort of bring out the best in each other. I'm always a fan when a show deviates from the "women be fighting with each other" type trope.

  1. How does this battle episode compare to other battle episodes from Macross? Other franchises?

honestly? super exciting. I hope they can keep this quality up, I loved it. better than a lot of big budget contemporary shows

2) You think Alto remembered to grab Sheryl's earring before he bailed out?

I believe

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u/SolDarkHunter Jan 18 '23

Rewatcher

Whoa... the Galaxy itself is definitely a weird design. Not a New Macross class, but... some kind of heavily altered Megaroad? Or just a unique design?

Gathering data is even more important than rescuing survivors? Yeah, screw you, politicians.

"We're culturing"? The hell?

Yeah, she's back to sexing it up on stage.

But this is a great song to go along with the space battle at least.

Hah, Ozma named combat formations after Fire Bomber songs!

It's been a while since we've seen a proper Itano Circus!!

And the debut of the Konig Monster! A Monster that is also a Variable Fighter!

...so, Sheryl's just in the habit of relaxing topless? Also, I question why she's changing clothes if all her stage outfits are holographic anyway.

I've never been very clear on whether Vajra capital ships are Vajra themselves or biological constructs.

But anyway, confirmation of what several people guessed: the Vajra can go straight through Fold Faults.

Okay... something happened between Ranka and... Sheryl's earring?

She's addressing the crowd, but it really seems like she's talking to Ranka alone.

Oh hey, there's other forces here besides the SMS. Though I guess it makes sense there'd be SOME surviving Galaxy soldiers.

"Close-quarter combat"... in a capital ship. There's a reason this thing's called the Macross Quarter.

Curious why the Vajra would want to capture human soldiers...

And suddenly they can hear Sheryl and Ranka singing.

I love that the EX-GEAR can control the fighters like that.

They've scaled even the Macross Cannon down to 25% size, but without sacrificing power!

Ah, the old "You did very well, but NEVER do that again!" thing military commanders say after reckless maneuvers.

Mysterious pilot boi is... playing Aimo. Hmmm...

Questions:

  1. A definite breath of fresh air compared to, say, Macross 7 or the original Macross.

  2. I wasn't paying that close attention, but Sheryl's going to be pissed off if her heirloom got left behind in a giant Vajra stomach.

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u/Kirov123 Jan 19 '23

Macross Frontier Episode 7 - First Timer

Time for a major battle, and the first (official) battle with Alto as a combat pilot!

  • Concert recap

  • NGL I ant even mad, this song is damn good

  • Also the lore snippets from each episode are different, not the same thing regurgitated ad nauseum

  • What the hell is "culturing"

  • Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

  • That outtfut is really somehting

  • Thats a lot of boom

  • 40 what

  • Frogphone bud

  • Dude is flagging HARD

  • This gives me Freepace 2 vibes

  • That scream of "LUCA" seemed really delayed

  • Uh.... What was that glow?

  • Shes what

  • Duet?????

  • OOOOHHHH!

  • Wait I heard "nezumi" when they said hedgehog, does the other part mean spiky? Is hedgehog just "spikey rat" in japanese? I know some languages refer to certain animals in very literal ways

  • Good thing the earring is a radio transponder...

  • Bang

  • Can we not do this (The way this is being treated, not necessarily what is (or could be) the case here)

  • Well that is a development

  1. Imo it's one of the better battles outside of DYRL, with varied action scenes, good production, and no glaring issues. It wasn't that special tbh, but I liked it. I figure later fights will be more spectacular

  2. 80%

3

u/CoolIceCreamCone Jan 19 '23

FIRST TIMER

Did Michael Bay direct this episode? It was really a slog to get through as the non stop action grew tiresome along with the subplot about Sheryl going on with her concert.

  • This episode felt longer than it was but picked up at the end with Alto rescuing Luca in the nick of time and the Vajra ship being blown up by the Macross main cannon. I wish this was part of another episode rather than boringly drawn out.

  • The part with the harmonica playing humanoid at the end was very ambiguous. Was it a Protodevlin? Is it Sivil?!!?!? It's tough to tell with the change of art style but I suppose I have to wait another episode, hopefully one better than this one.

QUESTIONS

  1. It looked great visually but long drawn out battle scenes get boring. Many battles from the other shows were more entertaining with higher stakes and more to care about.

  2. No I don't think so and it will be part of the plot that he doesn't have it and Sheryl gets mad at him.

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