Anime Review: Macross Frontier
- Very Average Joe
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
English Title: Macross Frontier
Japanese Title: マクロスF
Director(s): Kikuchi Yasuhito & Kawamori Shoji
Screenwriter(s): Yoshino Hiroyuki & Kawamori Shoji
Studio: Satelight
Released: 2008
Series Runtime: 25 episodes, ~25m each.
Starring: Endo Aya, May’n, Nakajima Megumi, Nakamura Yuuichi
It is almost twenty years since the release of Macross Frontier in 2008. At the time of release, it was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original series and it was about fourteen years after Macross 7.
To those who disliked Macross 7 due to its annoying main character (amongst other problems), Frontier is at the very least a relief as it is much more consistent to the spirit and tone of the original series.
Set in 2059, the plot revolves around the fleet with the titular ship. The main character is high school student Alto Saotome, a pretty boy from a prestigious Kabuki family who aspires to be a pilot despite being a talented actor.
In the opening episode, singer Sheryl Nome—a relative of Mao Nome in Macross Zero—arrives on Frontier as part of her tour. She is a resident of the Galaxy fleet. Ranka Lee, a teenage girl, is a fan and gets into a little trouble on the way to the concert. She bumps into Alto and he helps her out.
Alto and a few of his classmates are part of their school’s flying stunt team that has been recruited to perform at Sheryl’s concert. So, Alto meets Sheryl. During the concert, a powerful insectoid-like race referred to as the Vajra attacks the fleet. True to the franchise, Alto is the “somehow ends up in the nearest mech cockpit” trope in the midst of the mayhem.
After surviving the opening battle, Alto joins the SMS, a private military organization, because that is his way of protecting those he cares about. In his squad are two of his classmates, Mikhail Blanc and Luca Angelloni, and the squad is commanded by Ozma Lee. Ranka is his adopted sister.
The main love triangle is Alto, Sheryl and Ranka, and the plot follows these three characters as the fleet deals with the Vajra threat.
Alto is the stereotypical cool guy, initially presented as mildly aloof. Sheryl, being a celebrity, can be somewhat snobby and assertive as well as stubborn given her self-confidence. As the story progresses, she expresses her feelings for Alto, although sometimes it is (also) to play mind games.
Ranka is the petite “damsel in distress”. Although following a simple and unoriginal template, the pathos is packaged and executed nicely. Ranka aspires to be a singer and gradually takes action to achieve her dream, gaining the confidence she initially lacks.
Whilst the interaction between Alto and Sheryl can be a little forced at times, the plot does well by gradually developing Ranka as an individual and her relationship with Alto. She is shy and she hesitates to take action and express her feelings, but she does so one step at a time. Sometimes these steps are small, sometimes they are more dramatic.
As expected, Alto is the cool male lead who does not respond romantically to either female lead. Alto’s hesitation is understandable but his clueless phase drags a little too long despite being told by Mikhail, who is way more perceptive. It is not jarring but can be handled better.
Adding to the intrigue is Ranka’s amnesia of eleven years ago when she is presumably the only survivor of the fleet that was wiped out by the Vajra, hence her being subsequently adopted by Ozma and being raised on Frontier.
So, there is obviously a connection between Ranka and the Vajra and the story can’t go without some sort of conspiracy. This series wisely avoids humanoid races and the protoculture theme. Instead, by introducing the drastically different Vajra as something previously encountered, humanity is in the awkward position of possessing limited knowledge but not understanding of them. The Vajra is not just another dangerous race; they have abilities which are of interest to some parties, hence the conspiracy.
Other relationships are also covered as the story progresses; for example, Mikhail and his Meltrandi childhood friend Klan Klang who sometimes adopts miclonized form. These help keep the narrative fresh by not always focusing on the main triangle and do make the series feel fuller. Another example is the pilot Brera Sterne from the Galaxy fleet forming a second triangle with Alto and Ranka. There is reason for it and introduces more tension but sometimes feels a little forced.
However, whilst character backgrounds are provided so it is not as if the characters themselves are shallow, their relationship arcs are covered in a somewhat superficial way. More scenes or even key moments are required. Some characters can use a little more background. For example, Sheryl was stuck in the slums of the Galaxy fleet. How does a ship, even if it is a “city”, have slums? There is a backstory but the series does not explain it.
The pacing overall is mostly measured and balanced; events progress quickly enough without dragging or feeling rushed. There is enough mecha action but also enough time to emotionally connect to the setting, characters and their relationships. Although not intended to be slice-of-life, the series does well to draw the audience in as if one is a fellow resident.
In terms of the military conflict and conspiracy regarding the Vajra, 25 episodes is appropriate. In terms of the secondary characters and their relationships, a few more episodes would give them more substance. This, of course, would require the Vajra conflict to be a little more complex.
Visually, the designs are refined as expected for both exteriors and interiors. The CG is rendered mostly traditional style and quite nicely, at least for a series at the time. Thankfully, it recycles merely a few shots of fighters and ships blowing up occasionally. There are, of course, a few shots in which characters look too simple but that is the norm for a series.
The SMS flies the latest variants of the VF-25 Messiah. Whilst it avoids the overused stealthy features, the form too closely resembles the VF-1 Valkyrie of the original series. The homage is obviously deliberate to celebrate the anniversary, and it looks cool enough, but there could be a little more variation.
Unlike Macross 7, the Frontier is actually big, and the sense of scale of the exterior and interior actually matches up. The ship is big enough to feel like one is really living in a city but small enough to know one is on a ship. This helps the viewer to accept and settle into the world.
The character designs are generally good without excessively resorting to clones. For example, Ozma is clearly a Focker clone visually but he is not as laidback as Focker. And since Ozma has quite a bit of screentime, he has a chance to come across as a more complex and real person.
The sound and sound editing are nice with nothing drawing excessive attention to itself. It would be easy to turn up the jet engine and weapons effects, and it could get away with it to an extent, but it doesn’t.
The music composed Kanno Yoko does the franchise justice. There are a few orchestral pieces. As for the anisons, it is in many ways typical with a good mix of elements belonging to the pop-rock, R&B and, of course, pop-ballad sub-genres. Thankfully, it avoids rap and dance-electronic because that is simply not in the spirit of the franchise (even if one wants to assume rap and dance-electronic is real music). Given the story, there could be more orchestral tracks.
The voice acting and singing are solid. The only problem is that May’n’s singing voice and Endo Aya’s speaking voice for Sheryl are too different even if there is nothing wrong with their performances.
Nakajima Megumi, who provides the speaking and singing voice for Ranka, gives a strong and fitting performance to a character who is melancholic but not intensely so as she tries to be positive. Whilst her singing lacks power, she is still a perfect fit for someone like Ranka. May’n, on the other hand, is a better singer technically; whether one likes the timbre of her voice is a matter of personal taste.
Overall, it is an excellent series with a little bit of everything as a space opera should. Consistent to the spirit of the franchise, not everything is resolved in the end because that is just life. However, the tone of Frontier is brighter than the original and not as emotionally charged as Macross Plus but is still mostly serious with enough emotional resonance.
There are two films. Macross Frontier: The False Songstress (劇場版 マクロスF 虚空歌姫 〜イツワリノウタヒメ〜) was released in 2009 and is a retelling of the first half of the series. Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell (劇場版 マクロスF 恋離飛翼 〜サヨナラノツバサ〜) was released in 2011 and is a retelling of the second half of the series.
Although the films use material from the series, there is considerable new material with the even more refined quality of feature-length films. Both are quite different from the series in how the plot arrives at the end.
As expected, the narrative is very compressed and opens with Alto already being friends with Ranka and having already met Sheryl (for concert rehearsals). It is more focused on Alto and Sheryl’s developing relationship. Whilst this is fitting for feature-length narratives, it overlooks Ranka and Alto too much which is one of the components that gives the series its emotional resonance.
As for the Vajra intrigue, the plot moves very quickly—too quickly—with some events being rather convenient. Although it is “bigger” and more dramatic, the story doesn’t necessarily feel more focused. It lacks the weight of the series. The conclusion is in the spirit of the franchise in the sense that it is not entirely unresolved but it is darker and more melancholic than the series.
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