Macross Frontier
After a veritech scene came up in our Lords of Gossamer and Shadow game, I was bitten by a bug to skim through possible mecha anime to watch, centering in on Macross series. I've only seen the origin via Robotech rewrites. I watched Macross Plus. Frontier seemed decently recommended, so I started in on that, a little bit surprised to find the series have actually been created with intentional continuity, referencing earlier series (even making an in-universe movie that seems to be a retelling of Macross Zero).
In a Macross series, you're getting into a few things. At the very least, there's variable-form mecha, pilots, and music that has in-world effects. I haven't seen enough of the series to generalize too much beyond that, but I'm thinking relationships, especially a central love triangle, seem to be a commonality as well.
Overall, I liked Frontier. Sadly, watching without audio, I miss out on the major music aspects, but still. The series manages to include a Valkyrie battle, a song, and other stuff in just about every episode. I'm pretty indifferent to the use of CGI, and I found the non-CGI animation felt a little flat to me, but none of the visuals really bothered me. The plot is kind of back-loaded, with threads spinning out wildly going into the third act, but coming together at least reasonably well by the ending. Up to then, it's perhaps best carried by setting things up and working on character relationships.
Those relationships are a strength and weakness to the series from my perspective. Some things are a bit cliche. And there's a tendency to pair up what feels like 90% of the regular cast, which bugs me a little. The central trio consists of Alto, non-committal bishonen student-turns-pilot, and the girls interested in him: Ranka, naive and shy girl with mysterious past and big crush, and Sheryl, confident superstar singer who comes across initially as the tsundere type. That started to bug me, but the character of Sheryl actually saved my interest.
Sheryl Nome makes a cliche first impression, but the show is actually very good at portraying a depth to her. Long before her origins are spelled out, it's clear she's vulnerable beneath her facade. Alto gets to become a great pilot. Ranka blossoms into a star singer herself. Sheryl's arc, however, was most interesting to me. She starts on a high, falls pretty hard, and finds the resolve to pick herself up. That's not an unusual tale to tell, but I did find myself genuinely rooting for her.
It won't be for everyone, but I'm glad I watched.
In a Macross series, you're getting into a few things. At the very least, there's variable-form mecha, pilots, and music that has in-world effects. I haven't seen enough of the series to generalize too much beyond that, but I'm thinking relationships, especially a central love triangle, seem to be a commonality as well.
Overall, I liked Frontier. Sadly, watching without audio, I miss out on the major music aspects, but still. The series manages to include a Valkyrie battle, a song, and other stuff in just about every episode. I'm pretty indifferent to the use of CGI, and I found the non-CGI animation felt a little flat to me, but none of the visuals really bothered me. The plot is kind of back-loaded, with threads spinning out wildly going into the third act, but coming together at least reasonably well by the ending. Up to then, it's perhaps best carried by setting things up and working on character relationships.
Those relationships are a strength and weakness to the series from my perspective. Some things are a bit cliche. And there's a tendency to pair up what feels like 90% of the regular cast, which bugs me a little. The central trio consists of Alto, non-committal bishonen student-turns-pilot, and the girls interested in him: Ranka, naive and shy girl with mysterious past and big crush, and Sheryl, confident superstar singer who comes across initially as the tsundere type. That started to bug me, but the character of Sheryl actually saved my interest.
Sheryl Nome makes a cliche first impression, but the show is actually very good at portraying a depth to her. Long before her origins are spelled out, it's clear she's vulnerable beneath her facade. Alto gets to become a great pilot. Ranka blossoms into a star singer herself. Sheryl's arc, however, was most interesting to me. She starts on a high, falls pretty hard, and finds the resolve to pick herself up. That's not an unusual tale to tell, but I did find myself genuinely rooting for her.
It won't be for everyone, but I'm glad I watched.
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