Macross returns with its second set of episodes and I’m thrilled to report it’s momentum is still keeping strong. The action sequences keep getting better and better and this weeks first set of stories even works on expanding the newly built world within the Macross itself. Overall, if last Friday was our grand introduction, today we did and even deeper dive into what’s growing out of that intro…besides more kick ass action sequences.
The main crux of todays episodes focused on the newly built city within the Macross, which I guess we’ll just call Macross City for now (I never caught if it has an official name). We’ve done a lot of time jumping since the Macross’ escape into space, so naturally, things are changing pretty rapidly. What’s more, the civilians are working to continue the lives they left behind on Earth the best way they can. If you can ignore the fact that its in the belly of a highly advanced battleship, life seems pretty normal in Macross City. Restaurants and shops are open for business. Parks and streets are thriving and always busy. Heck there’s even time for an epic beauty pageant. The mechanics within the Macross have even found a way to keep the city from crumbling every time the Macross has to go into Giant Robot Mode…mostly. The cityscape can still suffer immense damage from battle, and it does. So it’s a good balance of everyday life combined with the dangers of space combat and a fascinating society to explore. Even more interesting is the effect witnessing a glimpse of this society is having on the Zentradi themselves. They were flummoxed by the Miss Macross Competition, seeing attractive women and their co-existence with men. The fact that the three man Zentradi scout team were torn between whether the competition itself was a new human weapon or not is proof this culture clash in Macross is not only just getting started but could also be one of the best parts of the entire show.
On the Hikaru end of things, at Minmay’s suggestion, he’s joined the military and is proving to be a natural at kicking ass in the pilots seat. Over the course of a few episodes, Hikaru grows from uncertain volunteer to experienced ace…maybe a little too quickly at times. He gets promoted for rescuing Misa on Mars and even gets his own squad as a result. I cant tell if this is all truly earned or if Roy Focker is using his immense military pull to play favorites (it could very well be a mix of both). When Hikaru isn’t in the cockpit of a Valkyrie though, he looks incredibly lost wherever the heck he is. IDK maybe it’s his character design or his facial expressions…maybe it’s the fact that his torch, Minmay seems to be drifting further away from him due to her ever changing priorities and he just cant comprehend that. For all his aloofness, Hikaru is at least looking to become a solid leader with a solid team: the loveable oaf Kakazaki and the bad ass genius, Maximillian “Max” Jenius. Both newcomers have their likeable spots but Max is the clear winner when it comes to who can be the coolest and yet most humble and he’s just as good as Hikaru in a Valkyrie, freaking awesome.
After spending most of the time on the Minmay front, our latest set of episodes gave more spotlight to the beautiful bridge officer Misa Hayase. For all of her constant chewing out of Hikaru (both warranted and unwarranted), it looks like Misa and Hikaru have a little bit in common. For one, both joined the military for love. In Misa’s case, it was following a crush who was sent to Mars to head up a station there and was never heard from again. This was a loss that nearly broke her and if it weren’t for Hikaru ignoring her pleas, Misa might’ve died on Mars in the room that belonged to her love. But Misa is a hard worker, sometimes working too hard that it’s kind of all she knows how to do. Even when she sees Hikaru in their off hours, she still talks as his superior officer, not as two fellow shipmates passing by. Still, Misa and Hikaru have a good back and forth, even when it’s just them bickering over orders and tactics. Also, Misa gets additional points for giving the Macross the ultimate SUPER ROBOT ROCKET PUNCH ATTACK…I mean the Dedalus Maneuver. Such a feat puts her far in the lead for who’s the better love interest for Hikaru…though when it comes to Minmay, it’s pretty easy to leave her in the dust.
Minmay found herself getting the spotlight she always
wanted when she won the Miss Macross Competition. The girl has her fair share of doubts but
while we do see those moments of hesitation and weakness, Minmay overall still
comes off as a girl who enjoys having all the attention, even at the cost of
ignoring everyone around her. Poor
Hikaru gets stood up on a date because of Minmay’s skyrocketing career and even
parts ways with his hard earned (kind of) medal so Minmay can have a birthday gift…and
Minmay doesn’t even really see the significance of Hikaru’s gift. It doesn’t help that when Minmay is asked if
she has a boyfriend during the Miss Macross competition, she says no. Hikaru’s clearly giving all of his attention
to someone who, truthfully, hasn’t been worth it from the get go. Granted, Hikaru himself has some more growing
to do before he might be worthy of Misa…but maybe they’ll be growing together
if this sets cliffhanger is any indication.
Oh and Hikaru, splitting your time between space patrol and trying to
watch the Miss Macross broadcast, WHILE THE ENEMY IS SHOOTING AT YOU is just
stupid…even if you busted into the Zentradi scout ship like a boss while doing
so.
I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know why Bretai hasn’t brought the full might of his armada down on the Macross and just overwhelmed the ship all at once. Yes he wants it intact but sending one or two ships at a time doesn’t seem to be getting the job done. It does provide some stellar action and seeing Hikaru and Max mow their way through squadrons of Zentradi battlepods is one of the coolest pieces of animation in the entire show. The skirmishes in Saturn’s rings and Mars showcased the lightning fast dogfights Macross is best known for as well as the tactical prowness of both Captain Gloval and Bretai and Exedore’s continued long term analysis of their micronian nemesis’. There’s also the added wild card of Kamjin Kravshera, a rogue Zentradi commander who is known as the “Ally Killer”. Again, I don’t wanna judge Bretai but wasn’t there any other guy that could be brought in to bolster his forces? Kamjin does offer some fun upon his arrival and in every battle he happens to lead. He’s hot headed and determined to seize glory, no matter who gets in his way. And his very first scene where he almost rams Bretai’s ship and it’s revealed his troops lost a bet on that is a pretty funny moment too.
We actually ended on a pretty nice cliffhanger, with Hikaru and Vermillion Squadron in a heated battle with Bretai himself while trying to rescue Misa. We’ll see this concluded on Friday but for an opening salvo, getting to see the intimidating Bretai go toe to toe with the Valkyrie’s themselves is too cool and shows he has the might to match his prowness as a military commander. It’s an intense moment to leave things on until we return on Friday to Super Dimension Fortress Macross when Humanity makes first contact with the Zentradi…here’s hoping they survive the experience. See ya then.
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