The Official Macross Delta Anime Thread Mk I

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

From over on MacrossWorld:

Official Spelling of Character Names:
WALKURE:
-Freyja Wion
-Mikumo Guynemer
-Kaname Buccaneer
-Makina Nakajima
-Reina Prowler

AERIAL KNIGHTS
-Keith Aero Windermere
-Roid Brehm
-Theo Jussila
-Xao Jussila
-Bogue Con-Vaart

DELTA SQUADRON
Hayate Immelmann
Mirage Farina Jenius
Chuck Mustang
Messer Ihlefeld
Arad Molders

CAPTAIN:
Ernest Johnson

Name: Freyja Wion
(VA: Minori Suzuki)
Age: 14
Gender: Female
D.O.B: November 3.
Height: 154cm (just a hair over 5ft.)
A somewhat naïve girl who is a huge fan of the tactical Sound Unit WALKURE, Freyja comes from a remote area on the frontier of the galaxy.
She loves apples from her home province and singing.
Her favourite phrase is ‘Gori gori’. She dislikes Galactic Mackerel

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Name: Mikumo Guynemer
Age: Unknown
Gender: Female
D.O.B: Unknown
Height: 165cm
The ‘Ace Vocalist’ of Tactical Sound Unit WALKURE. Her past, background and private life are shrouded in mystery. Possessing a voice that has a soothing effect on the Var Syndrome, she is WALKURE’s trump card amongst the chaos.

Name: Kaname Buccaneer
Age: 22
Gender: Female
D.O.B: June 8
Height: 168cm
Leader of the Tactical Sound Unit WALKURE. She deftly handles team management, including scheduling and briefings, and is a kind of big-sister figure to the other members. She originally made her debut as a (regular) idol singer.

Hmm, so Kaname used to be a regular idol huh? And I wonder if there's any significance to them saying that Mikumo has a voice that soothes the Var. She is the only one we see actively curing it...

[Areku]

Mikumo has a mysterious past, huh? That's a big I'm-related-to-the-source-of-the-VAR flag.

And I wonder how many people are sensitive to Fold Waves now. Clearly the general populace is now susceptible to them in some way, or VAR Syndrome wouldn't be a thing, but I'm referring a greater, conscious sensitivity. Hayate inexplicably heard Freyja inside the shipping container, and he also seemed to react to the hypnotic song; if you track character locations, you'll see he "Agh"s away from Freyja, so he wasn't simply reacting to her shock. In fact, Hayate, Freyja and Mikumo are the only people we see reacting to the Fold Waves without some device alerting them (other than the afflicted Zentradi), so I wonder if there's any significance there. Of course, Hayate's Fold Wave awareness could just be caused by his crystal necklace.

[Vent Noir]

After seeing the comparisons between this and AKB0048, and learning that Kawamori directed that, I've decided to check it out while I'm waiting. I've watched the first six episodes on Crunchyroll so far, and I think it's pretty good (although it helps that I don't mind idol music).

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Pictures of the Master File pamphlet that was available at WonderFest.

Also, Milia VA Eri Takeda hints that Mirage is indeed a third-generation Jenius.

Some more updated character profiles:

Name: Makina Nakajima
Age: 18
Gender: Female
D.O.B: April 19
Height: 159cm
Member of Tactical Sound Unit WALKURE and by far the frilliest, she is the team’s mechanic specialist. Has a tendency to name and fawn over mecha that she particularly likes. Is close to fellow WALKURE member Reina in an almost sibling-like manner. The two also live together.

Pixiv is going to explode...

Name: Reina Prowler
Age: 15
Gender: Female
D.O.B: July 23
Height: 147cm
Member of Tactical Sound Unit WALKURE, Reina doesn’t talk much and rarely shows much emotion. Not only is she a talented hacker, she is also in charge of WALKURE’s electronics & computers. She is close friends with fellow team member Makina.

Name: Keith Aero Windermere
Age: 19
Gender: Male
D.O.B: February 25
Height: 179cm
Member of the Valkyrie Unit 'Aerial Knights' from the Kingdom of the Wind. An aloof Ace Pilot with a strong sense of chivalry. The Kings illegitimate son.

[Henyo]

Pictures of the Master File pamphlet that was available at WonderFest.

Also, Milia VA Eri Takeda hints that Mirage is indeed a third-generation Jenius.

I've only been a Seiyuu Otaku for some 2 or so years, how much of the hints from seiyuus can we trust?

going from that, i'm going to rewatch 0.89, i cannot believe that's Koshimizu Ami. she used her tough girl voice the most in recent times.(SM Crystal's Kino Makoto, Railgun's Mugino and Kill la Kill's Ryuuko.)

[Destiny_Gundam]

I recognized Koshimizu right away~

Anyways, seiyuu hints like that are typically reliable. They do get told character information before anyone and Tweets like that usually need to get approval from the staff before it can be posted.

[JDogindy]

Thanks Soma, I'm glad I wasn't the only one surprised. And I may pick things up again, the character interactions were really spot on for me, at least by way of first impressions. Lots of potential, juicy development.

As for the weapons, you know what's so sad? Is that the idea of mind controlled weapons being controlled through singing actually makes a lot of theoretical sense, but is just so far out there that it probably qualifies as one of those trope thingies.

After all, most series I can think of that have "mind control!" as part of their mecha usually end bad. Someone dies, there's a ghost in the machine, or it gives bad headaches, or it's hard to control! But singing is clinically known to affect us humans in interesting ways, and is based on patterns and mathmatics in how it does this, right? After all, classical music helps order people's brains for logical thinking and calculations because it's basically math in soundwave form, right?

So the idea of controlling mind weapons by ordering one's mind with a pattern (like music) that happens to be fun and enjoyable is just so brilliantly logical.

It also happens to sound and execute in an absolutely absurd way. You know, I might buy it if the idols were in combat suits or some other gear, sitting in a cockpit of a mecha or even in some broadcasting station/point focusing on their singing.

Instead they're having a dance concert in Infinite Stratos meets Sailor Moon outfits that even have Vivdred Operation semi-porn transformation sequences! I'm sorry, it just comes across in a way that really just makes me want to distance myself. There's reasons for why most of my real life constituents have a poorer view of anime in general. Can I blame them when a great mecha franchise decides to make idol singers in mechanical Combat Lingerie the focus of the action?

I may be able to enjoy watching the series for its character merits, but only because I have the maturity to enjoy the intellectual and not the concert combat.

To me, I sorta have issues with the concept of the idols being in battle. Not because I like idols... I actually find the profession highly overrated and glamorized, so much that the Kiltgang that was an idol before she "awakened" in Captain Earth was my least-favorite character in that series, but because I think it's pretty strange to emphasize them being in combat. Not to mention the inherent risk of there being idol fatalities, which is more of me having problems with any version of female deaths in fiction than anything else. I also have an issue with "sexy transformation" stuff, as I feel it's too fanservice-y, and while it doesn't reach appalling levels as Cross Ange, it can be unsettling. I do find unorthodox constructs (at least, in terms of stuff you don't normally think about) to be a worthwhile endeavor when exploring a world, but it makes it hard for me to take a show seriously because I actually prefer there to be as little "fanservice" as possible. So, the fact that Delta is trending more and more into a "This is a show about idols... and some other people... and an evil alien, usually a female... and this gigantic mecha that shows up at the end" description that used to have the other people ahead of the idols in terms of importance.

I also do find "mind control" weaponry to be a problem; in addition to your standard "that technology causes more harm than good" problems that have ranged from good mecha (original Gundam) to average (Argovellion) to ludicrously bad (Buddy Complex), I feel like it's used too much in the storytelling where it becomes a crutch for getting pilots out of shaky situations. It also deemphasizes ability in terms of piloting. Realistically, if space battles ever happen in the far future, assuming mankind achieves space travel and colonization, more likely than not it'd be a battle between automations instead of actual humans.

I don't really have any optimism for this project. If anybody's excited for it, then I hope you have fun, but I think I'm gonna pass because I think I'll likely complain about stuff. Plus, I do have severe anxiety problems and have to limit my "new programming" intake as little as possible.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

OK, more from the (slightly) expanded character bios:

Name: Roid Brehm
Age: 20
Gender: Male
D.O.B: December 30
Height: 186cm
Commander of the Valkyrie Unit 'Aerial Knights' from the Kingdom of the Wind.
An intelligent young man with a suave personality who looks good in glasses.
He is quite particular about his glasses and has a collection of them, with a pair for any situation.

Name: Theo Jussila
Age: 16
Gender: Male
D.O.B: November 21
Height: 171cm
Pilot in the Valkyrie Unit 'Aerial Knights' from the Kingdom of the Wind. His twin brother, Xao, is a member of the same unit. Originally from a merchant family.

Name: Xao Jussila
Age: 16
Gender: Male
D.O.B: November 21
Height: 171cm
Pilot in the Valkyrie Unit 'Aerial Knights' from the Kingdom of the Wind. Compared to his twin brother, Theo he has the more aggressive personality of the two.

Name: Bogue Con-Vaart
Age: 15
Gender: Male
D.O.B: April 7
Height: 174cm
Pilot in the Valkyrie Unit 'Aerial Knights' from the Kingdom of the Wind.
The mischievous youngest member of the team. Raised by his five sisters. He originally trained under Hellmann, and is often admonished for still referring to him as “Master” out of habit.

Name: Hayate Immelmann
Age: 17
Gender: Male
D.O.B: September 21
Height: 169cm
A young man who speaks his mind and can be a little blunt at times.
Possesses an amazing sense of rhythm, but does not realize it.
With no specific goal or aspirations, he wanders the galaxy. The pendant he wears is a keepsake from his father.
Is allergic to cats.

Name: Mirage Farina Jenius
Age: 18
Gender: Female
D.O.B: February 11
Height: 164.5cm
The only female in Delta squadron. As a pilot, has a lot of pride for her profession however she is also rather serious and inflexible. Due to her personality she has yet to experience romance. Mirage was a pilot in (New) U.N Spacy before being scouted by Arad for Chaos.

Name: Chuck Mustang
Age: 24
Gender: Male
D.O.B: August 28
Height: 173cm
Originally from the planet Raguna. The ‘mood maker’ of Delta Squadron. A bit of a joker, he always goes for the ladies but they rarely respond in kind. Together with his four siblings, he runs the ‘RaguNyanNyan’ restaurant.

Not really a ton of new stuff here but some of the things worth pointing would be:

-Kaname was originally a "regular" idol.

-Keith is the illegitimate son of the KoW's monarch. We gonna get Game of Thrones up in here?

-Mirage used to be in NUNS, which would likely make this Chaos organization either an irregular unit that isn't officially part of NUNS or is a PMC like SMS.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

Name: Messer Ihlefeld
Age: 21
Gender: Male
D.O.B: December 14
Height: 191cm
Delta Squadron Ace Pilot. An ice-cold professional who rarely shows emotion. His Valkyrie is adorned with a picture of the grim reaper.

Name: Arad Molders
Age: 33
Gender: Male
D.O.B: January 10
Height: 182cm
Delta Squadron Commander. Both patient yet strict, he is the dependable big brother type.
Tasked with selecting members for Delta Squadron, which carries out operations together with Walkure, he has assembled a group of pilots that are highly skilled if somewhat idiosyncratic. He was previously a member of (New?) U.N Spacy.

Name: Earnest Johnson
Age: 40’s
Gender: Male
D.O.B: April 1
Height: 227cm
Half Zentraedi, half human, he is the Captain of the Elysium, the Macross-class ship of the Raguna branch of Chaos. He also teaches hand-to-hand combat.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

At long last, we finally have a release date for Macross Delta!

---Update---

So here's an article that features the members of Walkure in more casual clothes.

And here's the voice cast of the show as well.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

there is going to be the theatrical screening of Macross Delta episodes 1 and 2 today so if any spoilerific stuff comes out, be sure to use the 'ole tags.

[Arbiter GUNDAM]

So yeah... spoilers.

http://www.macrossworld.com/speakerpodc ... oilercast/

[Compass]

Just watched the preview ep 1. Triggered. The first song wasn't that great IMO, but the second one was great

[Destiny_Gundam]

I liked the preview episode, but the full episode 1 is superb! I thought Ikenai Borderline was great before, but adding in Hayate's impressive moves just enhances it.

[Wingnut]

So yeah that

Spoiler

Dancing -171 there. That's some thrust vectoring on the edge for you. Also Chekov's DDR pad in this case from the cargo loader's moves?
Really liked the 2nd/ending song on this one for some reason. As in, OST bleeping where?, liked it. Slightly miffed that Mirage was the one that took some damage in Delta squad. She's a Jenius for crying out loud. That's not supposed to happen unless the other person is your destined love mate, right?

[zetatype]

Woooo Macross is back baby!!!

I’ll admit I cringed a bit when Walklure started singing in the middle of the battlefield, but soon adjusted to it, and I really enjoyed it once “Ikenai Borderline” started playing (can’t get it out of my head).

Best part was definitely the aerial dogfight between the Delta platoon and the Aerial knights,
The overall CG look of the mechs doesn’t seem to have changed much since Frontier, but the animation is noticeably more fluid than before so that’s a plus.

I’m liking Freyja a lot more than I thought I would. I’ve generally always rooting for the older girls in Macross’ love triangles, but I could see myself rooting for her just as much as Mirage. Not much to say about Hayate, but I love how he continues the proud and long time mecha tradition of “It all flies/drives the same”. Loading mech, Valkyrie Fighter, what the hell is the difference?

Overall, a solid start to the newest entry of the Macross franchise, and I eagerly await the next episode.

[Destiny_Gundam]

When you consider that music apparently has a greater impact on the Var when sung at point blank them being on the battlefield is a given.

[Compass]

Found a cover of the second song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3syLmPSy8w

I can listen to this all day.

[Iris Scope]

Splendid debut. On the subject of the love triangle, I was going into this supporting Mirage but they used so little of her to make a better impression than Freyja managed to give me in her interactions with Hayate. I'm switching sides to Freyja/Hayate until I most likely get disappointed by Kawamori choosing the older, robotic like when it comes to emotions option.

Ikenai Borderline is so addictive that I just got to have it on my iPod ASAP. I keep suspecting that Mikumo is somehow in league with the Aerial Knights if we do get the scenario of a Walkure treason within the ranks. Just have to wait patiently and see how it plays out.