The Official Macross Frontier Thread

[Marcis]

Interesting... episode summaries on wikipedia says that in ep 10 Alto will be starring in a movie about events of Macross Zero, playing Shin Kudo.
Huh?
Though i know that you can trust wikipedia no more than things you can read on walls but still...

[yazi88]

Anyone else notice the Ghost X-9 units that Luca commanded? Another homage to PLUS. Very interesting how he also gave them names. Or were they unmanned? Oh well, Also the VF-27 kinda reminds me of the VF-19S type.

[Vent Noir]

Wow.

Episode 7 was utter win from beginning to end. That's really all I can say. If it keeps this up, I may even end up liking it better than the original. The only things it's lacking are Max and Miriya (although Klan Klein can fill in for the latter).

[Destiny_Gundam]

Anyone else notice the Ghost X-9 units that Luca commanded? Another homage to PLUS. Very interesting how he also gave them names. Or were they unmanned? Oh well, Also the VF-27 kinda reminds me of the VF-19S type.

They were indeed unmanned. Luca giving them names is just something he did. He has to hang back to collect and relay data, so having unmanned fighters support him is very benefitial.

I've noticed that anything that shares my name in an anime always gets killed (or destroyed in this case).

Also, from Klan and Mikhael's bit of dialouge, I gathered that when they were younger Mikhael treated Klan like an older sister, following her around everywhere. Certainly gives more fodder for the Klan/Mikhael camp.

[Chris]

Interesting... episode summaries on wikipedia says that in ep 10 Alto will be starring in a movie about events of Macross Zero, playing Shin Kudo.
Huh?
Though i know that you can trust wikipedia no more than things you can read on walls but still...

Wikipedia says no such thing, unless the entry has been changed. I'm a little less wary about Wikipedia when it comes to Macross rather than Gundam, but still, if you're looking for accurate and breaking Macross news, your best bet is the Macross Compendium and the Macross World forums.

[Windknight]

this sounds an awful lot like someone making a joke that references macross 7's Story Of minmei.
Out of interest, is there much knowledge of the events of Zero outside the military?

[azrael]

this sounds an awful lot like someone making a joke that references macross 7's Story Of minmei.
Out of interest, is there much knowledge of the events of Zero outside the military?

The events of M0 were undisclosed only until recently within the Macross Universe.

I'm a little less wary about Wikipedia when it comes to Macross rather than Gundam, but still, if you're looking for accurate and breaking Macross news, your best bet is the Macross Compendium and the Macross World forums.

With the popularity of Macross with the advent of Frontier, I'd be wary of Wikipedia a bit more.

[thehod]

Great episode overall and interesting developments within it. The twist of course is the mysterious pilot whom right now we do not know who he is working for or fighting for.

Its nice to see the Konig-Monster in action along with the continued use of destroids (nicknamed Destroyed). I fear that Alto's fighting style will get someone killed as Mikhail said in episode 3 or 4.

In this episode we see also the power of the macross quarter as its basically a giant valkarie with a macross cannon. I thought the ship was gonna pull a Daedalus maneuver on the Varjia capital ship.

As for the earring, If Sheryl's manager can tap into the battle, I think an earring broadcasting music wouldnt be too far off but on the other hand, The earring was a momento and did not get modified due to personal sentiments.

One last thing is, the Kill ration onscreen for fighters was severely in favor of SMS/UNSPACY but capitalships was 1/1. That capitalship was sent by the Varjia as more of a pursuit ship and the bulk of the fleet is probably either 1) spread out to wipe out fleeing ships 2) consolidated for repairs and regrouping.

[Ascension]

I'm still convinced our mystery man Brera is with the Vajra, even if he did kill those bugs in the tunnel himself and even if his V-27 is of human origin.

One particularly disturbing note about him... didn't Ranka say Aimo was a song her parents taught her? How the heck does Brera know it? [wildspeculation]Maybe he's her biological brother, who was taken by the Vajra as a way to study humans. Ozma did say she lost siblings in the incident.[/wildspeculation]

The fight and concert in ep. 7 were magnificent, but they felt a bit short. I wouldn't have minded this episode being drawn out into two. I especially would've like to have seen more from the Konig Monster and Macross Quarter. They're truly awe inspiring. I don't blame Alto for staring open-mouthed in the middle of battle.

Though still a favorite in the "First character to die" polls, Luca managed to survive his first close brush with death, much to my surprise. I guess Frontier isn't ready to get dark yet.

In other news, while I'm still somewhat anti-Sheryl, I must admit I'm beginning to find the thought of her winning in this little love triangle acceptable, though still suboptimal (for Ranka is made of concentrated cuteness).

[OutLawSuit]

What's interesting is that there are 3 VF-27s flying through the fold at the end of the episode including Brera's. If I were to guess at their origin, I'd say they were constructed at Macross Galaxy which this episode established as an extremely technologically advanced colony fleet. I wouldn't be surprised if that VF-27 squadron belongs to some rival organization to the SMS, possibly based out of Galaxy, to also collect fight and collect data on the Vajra. So rival organizations with rival VF designs competing against each other not unlike what we saw in Plus.

Also has it been mentioned who that Zentradi guy is who is watching the battle? Possible he has something to do with Brera.

[Darth Nader]

...

Also has it been mentioned who that Zentradi guy is who is watching the battle? Possible he has something to do with Brera.

I thought he was wearing an SMS uniform, at least it looked like one for as much as I could get a glimpse.

[MrMarch]

LOOK OUT FOR SPOILERS
Astounding, exciting and crowd-pleasing are all words that describe episode 7 of Macross Frontier, but even these words fail to capture the best parts of the show. The conflict between the New UN Spacy and the Vajra is clearly escalating and the stakes are becoming that much greater. The Macross Quarter arrives to investigate the location of the distress signal from remnants of the Macross Galaxy fleet. The Vajra are already on the scene but now the Macross Quarter and crew are prepared for their enemy. The episode chronicles the battle in full and we see the true power of the Macross Quarter as it engages a Vajra warship.

Macross Frontier once again proves the many virtues of a properly told story in this episode and the drama is both emotional and exciting. In Macross 7, dozens of friendly ships are destroyed and it’s meaningless, especially to the viewer. In Macross Frontier when a single friendly ship is destroyed that loss is felt by all the characters and the audience most of all. This resonance of emotion is at the heart of Macross Frontier and the creators of the story continue to play upon that theme in this episode to great effect. Alto, Luca, Mikhail and Ozuma all fight against the Vajra with bravery and skill. Unfortunately Luca takes a few too many chances to grab some close reconnaissance data of the Vajra ship and is captured. Alto fearlessly chases after him determined to mount a rescue. In the midst of this another new fighter appears on the scene, a VF-27 piloted by the unknown Brera Stern. He appears to aid Alto and Luca but his motives and possible connection to Mr. Bilrer remain unclear. The Macross Quarter makes the much anticipated transformation debut and destroys the Vajra carrier in a spectacular fight. All the while, Sheryl is playing her final concert on the Macross Frontier and Ranka is there for the show. Throughout the episode, there are hints of connections between the Alto, Sheryl and Ranka but the nature of them are unclear. The beginning of episode 7 speaks of cybernetics common among the people of the Macross Galaxy fleet and there are hints that many of the supporting cast such as Grace and Brera may feature such cybernetics.

Without doubt Macross Frontier Episode 7 is pure anime mecha action. For mecha fans, an episode of exciting battles and spectacular visuals is just the reward needed to enhance an already great show. Macross Frontier is so far delivering plenty of eye candy for action fans and it’s not something any fan of mecha anime should miss. At the same time the show never forgets the characters or the story and we’re treated to more revelations in this episode that prompt yet more questions. Where did the VF-27 come from and who is Brera Stern? Where are the Vajra coming from and who is building their ships? What is the connection between Leon and Mr. Bilrer and what are their motives?

The only way to know is to watch more and next up is episode 8. Deculture!

[Sume Gai]

I think what worries me about Frontier is that no one seems to dislike it... (even on /m/)

[Chris]

I think what worries me about Frontier is that no one seems to dislike it... (even on /m/)

This is certainly not true at all. I've seen trolling on /m/ and criticism at other places, with sentiments such as the plot not moving at all, too many homages, uninteresting characters, progressively crappier animation, etc. It's clear that not everyone likes the show.

[MrMarch]

Like Chris has said, there's plenty of criticism, but the reason we're probably seeing more fans posting positive reviews is because the series is enjoyed more than not and because it's somewhat underneath the radar in a way because it's currently a Japanese release only.

You're probably also experiencing a bit of excitement from Macross fans, a large portion of whom haven't enjoyed Macross quite as much since the mid-late 1990's. Macross productions don't come along all that often and if it's been a long while since the last good Macross anime (just an opinion), its understandable that more than a few Macross fans are going crazy over Frontier

[ned_2007]

I hope that Alto didn't forget Sheryl's earring inside his valkyrie.

Macross Quarter is one fast battleship. I have never seen something that big moving at a fast pace.

Its only episode 7 and we are getting an all-battle episode that rocks! Can't wait what the last episodes are gonna show us.

[azrael]

Best thing to do is take a wait-and-see approach and take the hype from Macross fans with a grain of salt. For all we know, this series could turn to crap by the time we reach the end of the series.

[MrMarch]

Best thing to do is take a wait-and-see approach and take the hype from Macross fans with a grain of salt. For all we know, this series could turn to crap by the time we reach the end of the series.

Yep. That's my biggest fear for this series. It's an evil, ever-present possibility. I just hope it doesn't happen.

[Nagato21]

Episode 7 was awesome, the Macross Quarter was really impressive and Alto really proves he's got what it takes to be a pilot. However I am dissapointed that we didn't see the N.U.N fight considering that they dispatched three or two carriers we ought to see them in action even though they suck.
By the way MrMarch I have a question: Is the N.U.N a new government or is it that the UN Spacy we knew in previous series has been renamed?

[MrMarch]

As far as we know, the New UN Spacy is a renaming of the old UN Spacy. There's very little indication of anything different other than the name, with the possible exception that the SMS seems to have assumed a major roll within the United Nations military.