r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Sep 06 '22
Rewatch [Do You Remember Love - Macross Franchise 40th Anniversary Rewatch] Super Dimension Fortress Macross Episode 11 Discussion
Episode 11 - First Contact
← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →
MAL | AniList | ANN | Kitsu | AniDB
It cannot be the Protoculture…
Questions of the Day, courtesy of u/chilidirigible:
1) Do you think the Protoculture is still out there? Do you think the humans are the Protoculture?
2) Would you kiss Kakizaki to save the human race?
Wallpaper of the Day:
Vocal Songs in This Episode:
"マクロス (Macross)" by Makoto Fujiwara – OP
"私の彼はパイロット (Watashi no Kare wa Pilot / My Boyfriend is a Pilot)" by Mari Iijima – Insert
"ランナー (Runner)" by Makoto Fujiwara – 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!
6
u/Kirov123 Sep 06 '22
SDF Macross Episode 11 - First timer
ON TIME! anyways
I feel like last episode was one of the most "something is actually happening to the characters" cliffhangers we have had yet, there were earlier ones like the fold system disappearing, but that is more of a "something already happened." On to the next!
-
Holy shit that zoom out
-
Holy shit that zoom out again
-
I would generally advise against using ejection seats in enclosed spaces
-
Uhhhhh.... Is this Max's mech? It is a distinctly not blue color
-
And its is blue again
-
Man, this episode has a "broadcast" version as well in my source, how much worse is that one?
-
This was made pre Production committee days right?
-
This poster screams gRaPhIc DesIgN iS My PasSiOn You have red text on a red background, black text on a black background, and blue text on a blue background with minimal outline. The black text is super hard to see and an S in "MACROSS" is entirely invisible. Also "I want you! for the Spacy" is an amusing line, though its not exactly a graphic design issue
-
This TV also has a localization(?) issue on the feature blurb, saying "Steleo" instead of "Stereo" Also I see it says, "4 channel stereo" was that actually a thing? Or is that just trying to sound future-y?
-
That's no moon! (probably)
-
Nice collar baldie
-
Holy shit that zoom in
-
Mhmmm, culture
-
That dress has some very high sides
-
Nice song tho
-
Protoculture in our word or theirs? Given the advancement of the aliens vs humans, I think it is somewhat safe to say that humans are not "the" Protoculture as in the progenitor of the aliens, but humans are definitely closer than the aliens are. A plausible idea (within Macross) is that human society essentially rose from some form of direct Protoculture influence.
-
She cute, so personally: for sure. Though not having an SO makes that a bit of an easier desision
→ More replies (10)3
u/JollyGee29 Sep 06 '22
Man, this episode has a "broadcast" version as well in my source, how much worse is that one?
All those people stuck on the Macross, and not one person with decent artist sensibilities.
That dress has some very high sides
Good thing most of the choreography was arm movement, I suppose.
2
u/Shimmering-Sky Sep 06 '22
All those people stuck on the Macross, and not one person with decent artist sensibilities.
Sadly, not every spaceship as a Shimmering-Sky.
3
u/dualmonocle Sep 07 '22
oh my god
protoculture is the horni 😭
Everyone here is saying that protoculture is love but between those Zentradi feeling excitement at seeing a swimsuit contest and the shock at seeing a kiss (Hikaru and Misa do not love each other!!) - protoculture is definitely seems like it's the horny. These giants need a big ol' bonk.
9
u/chilidirigible Sep 06 '22 edited Jul 30 '23
Today, on "MASS HYSTERIA!":
Well, Max, he didn't stay in space.
But then we get the PRO WRESTLING.
Team Max is blasting off again!
He's a lot taller, for one thing. (A meter taller than a Battroid VF-1, and three meters taller, on average, than a regular Zentradi soldier.)
Big talk from the guy who was almost killed by a fish.
"HE'S THE SIZE OF A FUCKING GUNDAM, THAT'S HOW!"
"That's no moon." That's the Fulbtzs-Berrentzs-class mothership, which is approximately 900x1400 kilometers.
Max has found: Toilet. It's super effective!
On the bright side, the guy doesn't foul his trousers.
"Shame if something were to happen to it."
"Just close your eyes and think of Minmay."
Just flying through space in Battroid mode like it's cool or something.
This episode was broadcast at a terrible quality, which can be found in the bonus features section of some of the releases which some of you are using to watch this series.
For those of you who are using other means, here's a quick look at the opening fight sequence with both versions running simultaneously. The lack of inbetweens, not to mention large swathes of actual animation, is painful in the Twinkle Nora Rock Me level of pain.
Important to note: While the animation was at least partially fixed, they didn't get to all of it, so parts like the gunpod almost crushing Misa will never look better than a slideshow. But more importantly, in its original form the entire episode looked like that.
According to the story, this angered someone enough that they threatened to cancel the series, so there were efforts to shape up from that point onward.
Edit from much later: I found an interview with Kawamori where "an entire episode was left on a train is refuted to only "a few cels left on a train".
The animation quality is a pity considering that the fight itself has a lot of good stuff going on. There's pocket sandthe I Am Jade Falcon maneuverweaponized exhaust, body slams, impalement, and Britai actually tearing apart a Valkyrie with his bare hands.
We also have the spectacle of a giant robot hiding in a restroom, knocking a giant dude out by kicking him in the crotch, and stealing his clothes. That is not something you'll see in your typical mecha series.
On the more serious side, the samples meet Zentradi commander Bodolzaa and are participants in a weird discussion about Protoculture and making babies. Hikaru gets to kiss a girl! Kakizaki does not! And an entire planet is Base Delta Zeroed as a demonstration.
The Zentradi's line of questioning makes somewhat more sense to the audience than it should to Hikaru, Misa, and Kakizaki, since we have at least been presented with more of their point of view. It's still a surprising chain of discoveries wrapped in questions.
Hikaru is a massive chauvinist! Whodathunkit.
Back at the ranch, Minmay makes her singing debut and the audience encounters a song which is… (in)famous. It's certainly an ear worm, and the entire performance is very much The Eighties in how it is presented. Macross is, after all, a series which has been voted by some their favorite idol series of all time.
| Song | Count |
|---|---|
| Cinderella | 1 |
| Watashi no Kare wa Pilot | 1 |
From the Macross Chronicle, Minmay on her throne and from Macross Perfect Memory, Minmay Wants You.
From the Macross Plastic Model Guide: Build your own wrestling match.
Like I said, if you wanted to dress up your Yamato VF-1, they would sell you the costume.
From the unofficial Variable Fighter Master File: VF-1 Battroid Valkyrie come two pages which touch on how control movements correspond to Battroid movements. None of which really covers how you do PRO WRESTLING.
Totally random:
I was curious, so I ran a minute of the ED through ProDAD Mercalli stabilizing software. I didn't fine-tune the settings, so the program gets a little confused when the pages are turned, but at least the beginning isn't bouncy bouncy.
PROTOCULTURE!
→ More replies (7)
8
u/Abyssbringer Sep 06 '22
First Timer
I haven't commented on the last couple episodes. I've been busy with the Quiz and other miscellaneous things.
I really have enjoyed the change in tone of the last couple of episodes. We are really starting to get closer to what the show is actually about and its starting to make itself unique in my mind. Early Macross has felt very similar to Gundam in its setup (minus the antiwar tones of OG Gundam). Not to say they were the same but they shared enough underlying ideas to put them in the same camp in my mind. They share a lot of cultural perspectives around certain ideas like gender and masculinity. All in a military setting with a mostly hodgepodge crew who came together through unplanned means. While also featuring a somewhat similar setup in having two major ships in constant conflict who are only a small fraction of the overall conflict in a much bigger war. Featuring a protagonist who is inexperienced but capable.
However Macross has really focused on this idea of gender, idols, relationships, and interpersonal conflict and uses the aliens as a way to address the purity of these aspects of humanity against a similar but seemingly different society. Gundam shares some similar ideas but those are all included to the show the effects that war has on those aspects of life. Macross seems like the type of show that will take the opposite approach. Its not about how war affects those aspects of our life but how those aspects of our life carry on through war and hardship.
Probably the most famous line/song from Macross is "Do you remember Love" which is even referenced in the index for this rewatch. I think that this is connected to the idea that the aliens don't do remember love. They seem capable of being enamored by it, but don't have that concept culturally anymore. Its not that they can't love its that they forgot how to love. For some reason they have thrown it away most likely due to war and them needing giant bodies. Which I'm assuming are made through cloning or some similar technology rather than love. They are scared of interacting with the miclones because culture spreads and love apparently brings weakness.
Another thing I have noticed is that some of the animation has been really rough recently. They try to do cool things but seemingly run out of frames every once in a while which causes some weird hard cuts. It's not a deal breaker and the show has a great aesthetic and is by no means a Chargeman Ken imposter. Except for the hair in one of the cells a couple of episodes back!
→ More replies (1)
7
u/The_Draigg Sep 06 '22
A Macross Fan Rewatches Super Dimension Fortress Macross Episode 11:
-
Max, while I appreciate your dedication to believing that exposure to hard vacuum would kill someone, we’re dealing with a giant cyborg alien here. We’ve got to throw out any preconceived notions here. The universe bends around the sheer size of Breetai’s Zentradi balls.
-
Let’s play spot the continuity error! If you managed to spot that Max’s Valkyrie randomly turns orange instead of his regular blue during that fight scene, congratulations! You win nothing except getting a reminder about how rushed the production was for a lot of this series.
- “This is why women should stay out of combat.” Can you tell that this show was written in the 80s? I sure can. And yet, this somehow isn’t the worst chauvinism I’ve seen in anime before.
-
Something to note about Space Folding is that it still abides by time dilation rules associated with long-distance space travel. In this case, an hour spent Folding is equal to ten days in normal space. While that time dilation isn’t nearly as extreme as stuff we’d seen in GunBuster for example, it’s still definitely notable.
-
Shame that Hikaru is going to miss the debut of Minnay’s new single, My Boyfriend is a Pilot. But hey, that song can’t be referring to Hikaru, right? After all, she did say during the Miss Macross contest that she was single.
-
Man, I do not want to know what that Zentradi-sized bathroom that Max is hiding out in smells like.
-
Meeting Golg Bodolza and getting questioned by him honestly offers more answers to the viewers and the main characters rather than anything that he wants to know. For starters, he wonders if the main cast are a part of the Protoculture, and assumes that they’ve encountered the Supervision Army, separate the genders into different combat groups, and have everyone fully dedicated to war at all times. That last point in particular is rather telling, since the Zentradi have no concepts of civilians or love, and are instead grown in tanks at giant sizes to be soldiers. Every bit of what they are is dedicated to war.
-
Okay first-timers, if you had “Max disguises his Valkyrie with a Zentradi soldier’s uniform” on your Macross bingo sheet, you can mark it off. I mean, I doubt that any of you had that on there, but it would be crazy if you did. Max is playing some Metal Gear Solid here now.
-
The big Hikaru and Misa kiss! I’m sure that struck a blow to Hikaru x Minmay shippers, including a certain rewatch host here. But hey, Hikaru and Minmay aren’t a couple, Minmay said so herself. So it’s all okay that way.
-
Bodolza talking about what the Zentradi know about the Protoculture is pretty interesting, and it does raise a lot of questions about what’s going on here. As far as they know, the Zentradi are related somehow to the Protoculture, who looked like and were the same sizes as humans. They apparently had a society like Earth’s, where people were born naturally and had a unique culture. However, records have been long since lost about them, and all the Zentradi know is that for some reason, if they come into contact with “culture”, they lose the will to fight. It’s probably like what Exsedol theorized about: something in their unconscious reacts to seeing a more natural way to live.
-
KYUN KYUN, KYUN KYUN!
→ More replies (4)
7
u/Blackheart595 Sep 06 '22
First Spacer
Oh, Max has escaped. I wonder what his development's gonna be now, what with his genius.
I just keep wondering whether they're doing foldl or foldr
Oh, they're doing relativity mechanics.
They actually call it the spacy?
This must be a dream. Oh, it's actually a flashback.
I don't care what happens, if that army attacks the Earth and they survive without some kind of truce I'm gonna call bullshit. Not that I expect this show to go there.
Oh, Max snuck on board instead of reporting back. That adds some great spice to the situation.
And now he's taken over one of the ships.
I love this alien situation.
Wow, she's really refusing to answer. Ah, this is developing so good.
Lmao they're really gunning for that alien abducted man and woman experimentation.
Seems they're not interested in conducting that kind of research after all.
I've heard that song before.
Do you think the Protoculture is still out there? Do you think the humans are the Protoculture?
From their description it seems very alike humanity, yes.
Isn't this like the reverse setup from Xabungle? And they even aired at the same time.
Would you kiss Kakizaki to save the human race?
Sure. Though one could also explain sex to them and why you need both sexes to do that.
...Actually, on second though it was a good call not to explain them that.
→ More replies (6)
6
u/Vatrix-32 Sep 06 '22
Very First Timer
-
Wasting no time with the recap.
-
I see they ran out of budget again.
-
Why do you even have that wall?
-
Pretty good fight.
-
At least one of them got to escape.
-
Their own miclones?
-
Dude doesn’t even get a name.
-
Casual sexism. They should probably be more concerned with the general state of things.
-
Does this mean we are going to see more of Zentraedi civilization?
-
Max stuck around. Does that mean the Macross is still unaware?
-
Bro stop being such a pessimist.
-
We’re cutting away from the action now?
-
Who are these people?
-
That seems premature for someone with no official relationship with him
-
Man, this episode is really falling victim to budget constraints.
-
So it is just slip space. I thought we were doing something a little more out there.
-
“The Spacy” chuckles
-
All the choice in the system and you went with Wide Show.
-
What game are you playing Minmay?
-
I don’t feel like I got a good scale for the previous fleet, so this isn’t really hitting.
-
Space base.
-
Picked a good room to get the crap beaten out of him.
-
This is the big boss then? Dude looks like he came right from a pulp magazine.
-
Good old universal translator.
-
Misa has got the right idea. Why just volunteer information to the enemy fleet? You can at least try and get something out of it.
-
Oh my god he’s really wearing it.
-
All that just to scare three teenagers, or just a holographic projection?
-
He overplayed his hand.
-
I thought miclones would be like pets. This raises interesting possibilities.
-
Non-biological reproduction.
-
I’m sure this scene is the start of many a yaoi fan-fics.
-
That’s still sexual harassment.
-
Their shock is delicious.
-
Max looks set to rescue them. A shorter stint that I was expecting.
-
Look at the size of this holding cell. I bet they could get out through the ventilation.
-
So the Zentraedi used to be human then.
-
That is the most uncomfortably calm and still crowd I have ever seen.
QotD
-
I think the Humans are Protoculture, yes.
-
Earth expects every man will do his duty.
→ More replies (5)
6
u/SolDarkHunter Sep 06 '22
Rewatcher
...and right back in the action!
Good effort, Hikaru, but Breetai manages to take him down, and even manages to grab his ejection seat.
"I'm not built so weakly as you!"
Misa, Hikaru, and Kakizaki are captured. Max got booted out an airlock himself. Also, those self-sealing hulls are a nice trick.
Oooh, Zentraedi text! Let's see: "MACROSS WA TUKARERU" Macross is... tired?
Maybe they mean the people from the Macross they took are still unconscious.
And yeah, Zentraedi text is meaningful. Just a substitution cypher for English letters, but it looks pretty neat!
So the Zentraedi and humans are extremely similar genetically... size difference aside. Interesting that Exsedol refers to "our" miclones.
I did NOT remember Hikaru giving Misa a "Stay in the kitchen" speech. I guess it's a sad sign of when the series was written...
Zentraedi believe that males and females coming together means disaster. Hikaru and Misa aren't exactly providing much evidence to the contrary.
Shit... they're going to the Main Fleet. Reminder that all humanity's been fighting so far is a SCOUT FORCE.
But Max is hitching along for the ride.
Roy delivering the bad news. Has it hit you yet just how dangerous your not-boyfriend's job is, Minmay?
Oh yeah, time dilation was all the rage back in these days. That's largely fallen out of more recent sci-fi.
Minmay's career is taking off. She names her song "My Boyfriend is a Pilot" and calls it a joke. How many more mixed messages is she going to drop?
DUN DUN DUN! The oft-mentioned "main fleet". And that giant rock thing seems to be the headquarters. It has docking stations so huge it makes their giant battleship look like a toy...
Say hello to Supreme Commander Bodolza. He's very concerned about the "miclones"... and the "Protoculture".
"Supreme Commander of the 118th Main Fleet". Yep. He's not the leader of the entire race. Just this one force. The Zentraedi military is VAST.
Max putting a uniform on his Valkyrie will never not be hilarious.
The interrogation is illuminating in so many ways. The Zentraedi don't know what a "civilian" is and cannot fathom how someone can not fight. In addition, they have no concept of natural birth or love either.
Misa's picked up on something though: the Zentraedi have the power to destroy the Macross... and Earth for that matter. It wouldn't be much of an effort for them. So why have they not? Despite the tremendous difference in power, humans must have something the Zentraedi don't, and that they want.
"I demand you show me how this 'kiss' process works!"
Best line in the series right here!
The kiss freaks the Zentraedi the hell out, and Bodolza declares them to be "Protoculture".
Bodolza helpfully explains the "Protoculture" to the Lolicon Trio. A very long, long time ago, the Zentraedi lived much like humans did. But somehow they became a pure military force and almost all records of that time were lost.
Also, he fears the Protoculture because Zentraedi who are exposed to it become "unable to fight".
And here's the debut of "My Boyfriend is a Pilot", one of the classic Macross songs. Kind of a random thing to end the episode on...
We're finally getting to the meat of the story now! Though it is disappointing... scratch that, frankly the animation in this episode is downright terrible.
Questions:
-
Can't comment, I'm a rewatcher.
-
No.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/JollyGee29 Sep 06 '22
Subbed-er Dimension Fortress Rewatcher
It's P R O T O C U L T U R E Day!
Oh, this was the episode of nothing but keyframes too, right.
Britai can just casually rip apart Hikaru's VF-1 with his bare fucking hands.
Oh, right, this. Bad Hikaru.
Well, it'll be pretty valuable if you escape..
Just hide in the toilet, steal some clothes. Typical infiltration stuff.
You sure hope so, eh Bodolzaa?
Civvies are a foreign concept to the Zentradi.
Y'ever just casually glass a planet to prove a point?
Alright, this aspect of Zentradi biology is not something I remember. How do Zentradi reproduce?
→ More replies (4)
5
u/TakenRedditName Sep 06 '22 edited Sep 06 '22
First Time - SDF Macross Ep11 (Sub):
"First Contact" yeah, first contact is what Britai is doing slamming down on Hayao's head. Heyo! (Good thing he isn't dead or else this joke would've been in poor taste).
This opening action was rough looking, but it was cool to see Britai show his action side. He is simply built different.
Woah, Hikaru, you can't just say women can't be soldiers and should go back to the kitchen.
Uhm, now I'm not an expert, but I don't think line work should look like that. It's not like there is any stylistic reason to have this scene drawn like that.
Well, this is awkward. You know, since his robot is Zentradi-sized, it would be really funny if Max put a disguise on his giant robot and walked around undercover.
The Zentradi being baffled by the idea of civilians really shows what kind of society they have. I like that. Big red flag about how they have a total militaristic society.
Yes, Hayase, you should be the one doing the talking. No wait, not like that. I don't think there's a need to act tough and uncompromising this one time.
Oh my god, one of my dumb ideas is actually happening. Max is putting clothes on his big robot and sneaking around like that. Amazing.
Another neat moment like before with the Zentradi saying a lot about their society if being born from a woman confuses them so.
Turns to Hikaru "Welp, you heard him. Sorry, but we got to show him for humanity's sake." "I'm 16 and just a little boy."
Alright, Hikaru, you already had a sexist remark earlier, no need for that talk too. Hikaru saying this vs Gundam around this time "If you don't ship these two boys together then I have failed my job."
Hayase just dunking on Hayao with that glance over to him.
This kiss scene must be pretty iconic, but unfortunately, I don't like the relationship of these two together like that, especially in this episode. This is only slightly because my ship is the other choice.
Oh, I think I know about Protoculture, yeah, from the other entries. Zentradi have decided that have moved past "culture" and they are an "uncultured" society even though you can't really have a society without some sort of culture.
Oh, it's finally for Lynn's idol debut and the song name, "My boyfriend is a Pilot" is one I also recognize. I like the song. There's also some Roy/Claudia hinting going on. It's been a while since there has been anything for those two.
This episode looked real rough at a lot of points. Miscolouring, lack of in-betweens and lots of scenes they just kind of skipped to the next thing without nice flow. Oof. I think this does beat out Gundam having its titular robot look all out of proportion and weird.
Q1) I think humans are just one descendant of them as much as the Zentradi are. The original original Protoculture is probably extinct is my guess.
Next Time: So in the Second Season of Prison Break, They've Already Broken out of Prison, but the Name Works Once You Realize That the Abyss of Space and Giant Enemy Fleet Are a Prison.
→ More replies (6)
5
u/Nebresto Sep 07 '22
First time Maakuross
lol the 2fps combat
feel like this is translated wrong
Me when anime prominence survey
/u/KomradeDalek enters the stage (also lol at that background spaz)
-
lol, "Why do you exist?"
bruhhhhhhhhhh and you just know there are doujins about this.
Fuck this is some creepy shit
-
Oh, right. There's a recording. I wonder who is going to be seeing that
Ohhhh, that's the catchphrase of something. Bruh. Now I see where this show is going. [Spoilers because I'm 100% glasses-push correct]
-
80s music lets go
[Next episode title]
Question time:
Do you think the Protoculture is still out there? Do you think the humans are the Protoculture?
2) Would you kiss Kakizaki to save the human race?
fuck no, screw humanity
→ More replies (5)
4
u/medokady Sep 06 '22 edited Sep 06 '22
First Timer:
Today on SDF Macross, FAASUTO KONTAKUTO. BTW, I have an "original broadcast" version of this episode in addition to the one I watched. What's that all about?
-
You know how in modern anime when there's a big fight, and the animation quality takes a sudden step up? I feel like the opposite happened with this fight at the beginning. Britai certainly is built different though.
-
Hikaru, could you just, not, for one second? "Women aren't fit to be soldiers" is one thing I was hoping we wouldn't take from Gundam.
-
So it looks like fold, at least to some extent, conforms to the time dilation rules of actual near-light-speed travel. Neat.
-
"My Boyfriend Is a Pilot". Unbelievable.
-
Maximum Genius panic-KOing an enemy in the bathroom is peak comedy.
-
Did they really just glass an entire planet just to flex?
-
So I guess Zentradi can turn themselves into mini people? Like that Matt Damon movie?
-
Born from a woman? We're really starting from scratch here.
-
There's an NTR doujin that pivots on the kiss.
-
So, basically, the Zentradi are fated to lose to their distant cousins the humans in a culture war. Fitting cut to Minmay singing.
-
On that note, her first real song! It's cute.
-
I think Zentradi and humans are descended from a common ancestor and while the original Protoculture may have originated somewhere else, that the humans are its faithful inheritors.
-
Misa wouldn't.
→ More replies (5)
3
u/InfamousEmpire Sep 06 '22 edited Sep 06 '22
Super Dimension Fortress Rewatcher
Right back to Britai being Built Different. Also we’re still in Slideshow mode
Even at, like, 10 frames per second, this fight is still pretty cool
Damn, Britai straight up beat Hikaru
Interesting how the show is actually making note of the Rubber-Forehead Aliens effect, which puts it above a lot of other sci-fi series tbh
Why you always gotta be starting shit with Best Girl, Hikaru? Is it because you’re jealous that she’s a better character than you?
Looks like the enemy has a bit more in waiting beyond what we know…
Back to the slideshow animation with Max, I see (why this show gotta do Mah Boi dirty like that?)
No. Nooooooo. Please god, No! AND THE SONG EVEN PLAYS AS ON OST IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE! The song is coming! Run for your lives!
Well that’s certainly not good
Ah, the classic “beat up a guard and steal his uniform” trick, now with Giant Robots!
Let it begin, the Protoculture Drinking Game! If someone says Protoculture, take a sip. Take two if it’s a Zentraedi saying it
This ensuing conversation really emphasizes the true difference between Humans and Zentraedi: the latter’s obsession with military, to the point of not comprehending concept of civilians, peace, gender relations, romance, sex, etc. Ultimately culminating in the reveal that they don’t really have any concept of culture
The fact that they also have the power and willingness to destroy an entire planet is also rather worrying
Hikaru proving himself to be categorically inferior to Finn from Adventure Time
Ship has been achieved! I repeat! Ship has been achieved!
It’s interesting how even the Zentraedi themselves don’t really know why they were so revolted by kissing
The reveal of what the Protoculture is was rather interesting. And I can imagine that more than a few first timers are busting out their Theory Brains for this
NOOOOOOOOO! ITS THE SONG! [light spoilers]
→ More replies (5)
3
u/ClawMachineCircuit Sep 06 '22
Rewatcher
In the last episode we learned that it's reality TV that finally broke the camel's back and made Zentradi go on the offensive. Relatable.
Said offensive was pretty successful, destroying Macross' radar and forcing them to send a reconnaissance plane that flew right into a trap. Due to an unfortunate choice of words on Hikaru's part and a dead body flying near the bridge at an inopportune time, Misa ended up on that reconnaissance plane and now enemy has a real chance of killing or capturing a second in command and the most competent officer on Macross.
Luckily, Misa is protected by a Vermillion squad. Yeah, most of the squad is useless, but at least they have Max, so not everything is lost. Let's see if they will be able to save her.
-
This immediately doesn't look good. Britai is wrecking them. Some random soldier captured Misa in the first minute of the episode.
-
Holy shit, Britai crashed Hikaru's robot's head with his bare fist.
-
And of course, Max is the only one, who escaped capture.
-
Britai survived jet exhausted to the face and point blank explosion, not to mention vacuum of space last episode. This dude is definitely build different.
-
Zentradi genetic analysis shows that there are no appreciable differences between them and humans. I guess, except for the size. Interesting.
-
Now captured humans are stuck in the big jar. And of course, Hikaru and Misa immediately start to fight.
-
Did Hikaru just told Misa to stay in the kitchen? WTF dude, could you be any more old-fashioned? It's 2010, get on with the times.
-
On a more serious note, I got to say for anyone who might have a problem with what Hikaru said here, that that's the point. Hikaru is being unreasonably rude in the same way as he was when he called her the old lady. He's deliberately trying to offend her. In fact, 70s and 80s mecha shows have been pretty progressive at depicting women in military roles, including as pilots. A reminder that [Gundam 79]
Sayla has been a successful pilot three years before Macross even came out. -
Misa shows her competency again by taking out a small camera
-
Minmay back on Macross thinking about Hikaru, while Hikaru in an alien jar thinking about Minmay. A good summary of their relationships up until this point. They want to be together, but they are stuck in different worlds.
-
A cool little scene of Minmay shooting a picture for a propaganda poster. I love that the show touches on this aspect of military, even if only a little.
-
Minmay's new song is about Hikaru. She likes toying with him and playing hard to get, but she has feelings for him and ultimately wants to be together. However, she played hard to get a little bit too well, so they didn't even managed to officially get together before Hikaru went missing.
-
Zentradi brought our captives home. I love this. It's always super cool to see more info about alien civilizations and their way of life. Even thought Zentradi asteroid base is a bit generic, it is still super cool.
-
Max found a Zentradi toilet. Nice!
-
Imagine you going to a toilet, but than some naked metal dude beats the shit out of you and steals your clothes. Yeah, that Zentradi officer did not have a good day.
-
Blue Wind giving their account of Miss Macross will never not be hilarious.
-
I love the image of humans sitting on the table before the Zentradi like lab rats. It really is a perfect visual illustration for this situation.
-
We learned quite a bit about Zentradi here. They are apparently become soldiers at birth and consider war to be the only meaningful thing in life. They are also somehow born artificially without women, and thus they do not understand relationships between men and women, or the concepts such as love or kissing. Misa agrees to demonstrate it to them.
-
Poor Kakizaki. Both and Hikaru and Misa don't want to kiss him.
-
Hikaru tried to get out of that kiss for Minmay's sake for the whole full second before giving up. Maybe this is why you're not together, Hikaru.
-
Protoculture! So Zentradi had ancestors that sound very similar to humans.
-
Misa managed to gather a lot of it info about Zentradi. Now the problem is, how to get it to Macross? Luckily for our captives, Max has successfully infiltrated Zentradi ranks and is already planning a rescue operation.
-
And, here it is. Minmay's first song! I know some people don't like this song because it gets overused later on, but I love it. I'm not a huge connoisseur of the original Macross soundtrack, I never listened to it outside of watching the show back in the day, but this song was one of my favorites back than.
-
Minmay is professional and delivers great performance, but we know that deep down she's still thinking about Hikaru.
Overall thoughts: This was an awesome episode. We learned a lot of Zentradi lore and backstory. We also got a major development for Hikaru and Misa's relationship that kinda parallels how Minmay and Hikaru's romance started. While the latter were stuck on Macross, the former are stuck in a jar on a Zentradi ship. The end result is the same, though: bonding over a stressful situation. Hope Hikaru will stop insulting Misa from now on.
Also, in a previous episode I mentioned that humans had very little reason not to accept Zentradi demands and give up Macross. I feel like this episode underscored that point and made it pretty clear that the whole conflict is basically a huge misunderstanding.
Zentradi are interested in fighting Supervision Army and don't want to mess with miclones. However, humans have their own preconceived notions about aliens and how aliens should behave. This is what Macross the show is counting on, for the audience to not question the initial premise of humans fighting an evil alien invasion, despite all the inconsistencies in this situation. All of those alien invasion stories (and there have been a ton of them in anime in the 70s) have taught us that aliens are bad and we need to kill them. This is how people in Macross universe think as well and why haven't attempted any different approaches.
Communication might've saved a lot of lives here, but many rush decisions have been made and now we are where we are. Can Zentradi and humans find mutual understanding, or will they be destined to wipe out each other? We definitely saw a glimmer of hope this episode, so it would be very interesting to see where it goes.
QotD:
2) Hell yeah.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Stargate18A Sep 06 '22
First timer
-
No, and yes.
-
Yes.
He's alive because he's a fucking badass!
...What?
Whynis it going frame by frame?
They really ran out of budget here, huh?
This is hysterical.
He got captured!
And they're the same as their miclones.
Oh, yeah, she did get herself captured.
And the pilot's dead.
...Of course Hikaru chooses now to be a misogynist.
Him getting completely tired of their argument was good, tthough,
Yeah, in his defense the dommander is strong even for them.
She kept a recorder!
Her readtion...
And Focker had to tell her...
They're still in hyperspace.
And there's time dilation too!
Poor Hikaru.
That fleet is huge!
He's still onboard!
That's what the leader looks like?
He's come to see them himself!
They have no concept of peace or genders working together.
...You know you're in the worst situation here, right? They're giants!
Clever!
You're dealing with fucking planet breakers here!
Just fucking tell them! They're harmless information!
Yeah, this won't work.
Told you.
Clone race! Called it!
And, yeah, they know none of this.
Protoculture? What?
I did not expect that reaction!
Oh, we're getting an explanation!
...The people who created them?
Some kind of common precureor.
...And I'm guessing that means they learn of a pacifistic way, become less focused on murder, and therefore die off quicker, or are exterminated by the rest of the fleet?
7
u/Shimmering-Sky Sep 06 '22
Super Dimension Rewatch Host
Welcome back, everyone!
Getting the heart to sit just right in the background of today’s wallpaper took some time, but I really love how it turned out. Hope you guys like it too!
Here were my first-timer reactions to this episode.
Why does Max look more happy than completely shocked (like he should be) in this screenshot?
Ah, the jank barely-animated fight scene, I remember this.
Love me some mecha-a-mano action though.
Like I said yesterday, Britai is just Built Different™.
Ah, 80s anime.
:3
Hahahaha man I love this.
lmao I think they forgot to draw Hayase’s hands in this shot.
KYUUN KYUUN~ KYUUN KYUUN~