Some final comments on Macross Frontier part 2: As Good As It Gets

Aka, my review of the Frontier films. Theoretically, the few thousand words that I put out over the last two weeks should help me keep this entry short and sweet, right?

Absolutely beautiful…

The Macross Frontier films, The False Diva (Itsuwari no Utahime) and The Wings of Farewell (Sayonara no Tsubasa), represent the greatest enjoyment that I’ve ever gotten out of anything in this franchise – of which I’ve now seen every animated production except for Macross 7 and Macross II. I wouldn’t claim that these films present the most fascinating story, the most rousing music, the best dogfights, much less the most intriguing conflict. However, and this is but my humble opinion, I contend that it is through them that Kawamori Shouji has truly realised the potential of his approach to the franchise that he has nurtured over the past 30 years.

“Open Ranka!”

To begin by looking at the films themselves, I enjoyed them immensely. Starting with the music, Sheryl’s extravagant concerts weirded me out at times, though I applaud their creativity, but it was Ranka’s major concert in Wings that completely blew me away. The lyrics and choreography to “Rainbow-coloured Bear Bear” (Niji-iro Kuma Kuma) reflected her growth from a shy, uncertain girl to the confident idol she was at the end, and it still brings a smile to my face. And that final medley and the title song sequence, right from the slow A Capella rendition of Northern Cross, is something I have returned to far more times than I can remember.

Determination

Moving on to the story and the way it was told, the plot was condensed and simplified well enough to fit within the confines of two films, but still managed admirably to cover the major arcs for each of the three main characters. Ranka’s growth I’ve already mentioned, but the films were also able to clearly depict Alto’s search for himself and what he believed in and Sheryl’s journey towards leaning on others. A change I found particularly important was how Alto became a lot more central to the resolution of the conflict, with his climatic dance in the YF-29 being the key to reaching understanding with the Vajra – supported magnificently by the song of the two divas as the wind beneath his wings. Though still a little indecisive earlier in the films, he really really manned up, so-to-speak, once he realised that there were things that he could and had to do.

A heart-to-heart between rivals…and friends.

I will have to mention, I guess, the elephant in the room: the (love) triangle that shippers have, to my increasing despair, obsessed over for the last five years. As a Sheryl fan, I will admit that I loved the revamped date in the first film, as well as the outcome of the triangle. But I also adored the ways in which the films augmented the third link in the triangle – the relationship between Sheryl and Ranka. Unlike the series, which seemed to emphasise their growing interest in Alto, the fact that they invited each other to their concerts, and risked themselves to save the other, really demonstrated just how much each girl cared for her rival and friend.

It’s not just about what was similar; what’s different also carries an important message for us…

However, the one thing that I appreciated above all was how Kawamori Shouji truly explored the potential of his postmodernist approach to Macross. First, he used the two films to great effect in demonstrating what can be achieved with certain story-telling techniques. I was quite surprised by just how many times Sheryl and Ranka’s places were reversed between series and films, but whilst the parallels of the scenes in questions tell us something about the two girls, some really important differences tell us more about Alto. To be really specific, it’s the differences in Alto’s actions and reactions that tell you a certain point that Kawamori wanted viewers to understand from both iterations of the story, thus finalising the one missing piece from the TV series. This then helps validate the significance of Kawamori’s postmodernist approach, particularly after the VF-25 Masterfile was released a few months later. As I have often suggested over the past year, everything that we need to know about Alto, Sheryl and Ranka has now been revealed to us, and everything else has been left to our imaginations.

The wider implications of this are that each different version of the story informs us of the characters we have come to love – their origins, their struggles, their journeys over the course of the war. Importantly, it’s not just the trio who are rounded out, but also some of the side characters. Grace is a particularly fascinating example – was she just the cold-hearted manipulator of the series, or had she actually come to love Sheryl as her own child, before her task got in the way? The latter makes her a far more complex and interesting character than she would otherwise have been. That’s not to say that it’s completely perfect. Some of the versions may indeed have been unnecessary – I know that many Western fans in particular balked at how crazy the Sheryl ~kiss in the galaxy~ manga got at times. However, I contend that every single work has something to contribute to the overall story of the 25th Macross fleet, be it the broad brushstrokes that primed the canvas or the final touches of light and reflections. Kawamori will never tell us what happened – he trusts that we have the patience and dedication to uncover all those layers by ourselves. Personally, I have really enjoyed the expedition that eventuated from this trust, the exploration of the many paths through the jungle; I can only hope that others have as well.

The essence of Macross: cool dogfights, rousing music, and an intergalactic love story…

In conclusion, the Macross Frontier films, along with all the other works related to the one event in the history of the Macross universe known as the Vajra War, gave me everything I could possibly want. I really could not have asked for more: how about you?