Translation: Now we can finally lay it bare!

One year on from The Wings of Farewell…

An interview with Kawamori Shouji

From Sheryl ~Kiss in the Galaxy~ volume 4 (October 12, 2012)

Disclaimer: Translation completed April 4, 2013. Please do not copy and paste this anywhere else online, though you are quite welcome to refer to it in discussions etc. And whatever your ship, please keep in mind that this was an interview released back in 2012 in the final volume of the Sheryl manga.

Post unlocked: December 25, 2015

What would Sheryl and Alto’s married life be like!? Ranka’s romance, Klan and Michel’s after the end…and more. Undisclosed until now, the director reveals many details about the private and love lives of the Macross Frontier characters!

Looking back now, why do you think Alto chose Sheryl in the end?

Well, his feelings towards Ranka had become something akin to that of an older brother’s. Furthermore, if you think about it, Sheryl is actually the weaker one. Although she appears strong, it’s like she’s just putting up a front.

So although Alto had originally thought that she was strong, when he came to know her weaknesses, I think he just felt something tug at his heart. You could say that he was fascinated by that gap between his first impressions of her and reality* (laughs).

* the term used here is “gap moe” (ギャップ萌え). -karice

Could you tell us about what Sheryl has that Ranka does not, and vice versa, what Ranka has that Sheryl does not?

It’s not that Ranka doesn’t put the depth of feelings into her songs as Sheryl does. However, because Sheryl went through a period where she felt that she’d be unable to live if she could not sing, her songs have more-or-less become the foundation of her life. On the other hand, Ranka is able to sing a bit more naturally. That’s the main difference between the two of them.

See, Sheryl simply doesn’t belong at home! She achieves far more outside of it!!

My mama is a pilot!?

If Sheryl and Alto got married, what kind of household do you think they would build?

Well…Sheryl is terrible at housework, not to mention she doesn’t really have a sense of what “a normal, everyday life” is. You could say that one of the things Ranka possesses that Sheryl does not is the sense of a normal everyday life (laughs). The life of a typical woman is something alien to her. So Alto would probably be caught in the mess of having to completely look after her…

And what kind of mother would Sheryl make?

I think it’s Alto who would be the mother. I can just see him cross-dressing, with an apron on, cosplaying as a housewife whilst holding a baby and giving it its milk. I feel like Sheryl would dump the baby on Alto and head out to work.

It seems like it’d be better to marry into Sheryl’s “family,” after all.

She’d also be likely to say something along the lines of “Just who do you think would marry out!” Though whilst Alto might be trained for it, would he be able to endure?

An eternity of jealous fights

How about Ranka’s married life?

Ranka seems like someone who could continue being an idol even if she got married and had children. She worked at Nyan Nyan before, so she probably can do housework to a certain extent. I’m sure that Sheryl would give it a shot, but the quality of her work would be…

Sheryl would try so hard that she’d put too much effort into it to do it well. Though I have to admit that this aspect of her personality is rather cute.

True that. That’s why she’s not suited to staying at home. In times of peace, it’d probably work out quite well, but if Alto receives orders to fight, it’d be rather difficult. Sheryl also gives off the impression that she’d call for him to come and get her “right now!” out of the blue when she’s on a tour to other islands (laughs). Or she’d say “why aren’t you by my side!?”―I think it’d be quite a challenge.

I get the impression that their relationship would be a continuous cycle of fighting and making up…

That’s how I feel about it. If they get married, and Alto isn’t able to come when she calls because he is in a battle or something like that, Sheryl will snap and tell him “I’m leaving you!”―that kind of thing. But then again, separating for a short time like that could improve their relationship later on.

It feels like neither of them would have their hearts moved by anyone else.

Well…in Sheryl’s case, I do wonder about that (laughs). It’s okay whilst she’s still in her teens, but it might be dangerous once she hits her 20s and joins the acting world as well—having such a high sense of professionalism, she might immerse herself into her roles too fully… On the other hand, once she hits her 30s, she’d calm down. That said, it seems like she’d continue arguing with Alto forever. Even as a grandma, she’d be like “why are you more beautiful than me!?”

Poor Luca… (^^;

The one I’d want as my lover is…

Moving on, how about Klan and Michel?

With regards to these two, I feel like they wouldn’t get married. In Macross 7, Max and Milia—the genius couple from SDFM who had gotten married—had separated even though they’d had seven children together. Genius couples simply don’t work out. Besides, I feel like Klan would be unable to bear Michel’s infidelity.

If they did get married, it’d be a shotgun marriage. But Michel treats Klan like a treasure that he should not tarnish. It’s something of a dangerous road (for the two of them).

What do you think of Ranka and Brera as a couple?

We’d thought about including Brera and making it a love quadrangle right from the start. If the problem of them being blood relatives could be cleared, that is.

But, if they were to get married…Brera really doesn’t have any idea of what a married life would be like. They’d probably sort of work as a couple, but I feel like he’d just continue as if he were a bodyguard or an older brother to Ranka. He’d console her, and coddle her, but I worry if they’d actually be able to have a lively conversation. He might even become something of an “evil father figure,” completely opposed to any guy who tries to court Ranka.

Bobby! I thought you supported their love?!

And what about Ozma and Cathy?

Those two can never get away from one another, so they’d probably work it out. Furthermore, they’ve both matured just that little bit more.

So which Macross F character would you like as your lover?

That’s a difficult question to answer. Sheryl…would be quite a handful, I think.

Previously, when asked about Lynn Minmay, you gave quite a similar response, didn’t you?

Those two are girls that I’d like to gaze at from all angles from a distance. They’re like the sun, if you’re too close to them, you’d be burnt.

Ranka would be like a little sister. Though with her high spirits, it’d be fun to be out-and-about with her.

Take your pick!

A newlywed life with Sheryl

The bridge bunnies all seem like they’d be something of a handful…and Cathy has a little too much pride… As for Nanase, there’s something about her feelings that is a little troubling…

Her love for Ranka seems rather strong, doesn’t it? How about Kanaria?

Kanaria…doesn’t seem like the “lover” type. She’s more like an older sister.

And how about Grace?

It’s difficult to say. Perhaps someone like Ranka’s mum when she was young.

But we sure have a collection of girls with their own challenges, don’t we? (laughs) For an anime, that’s just about right, though.

Then what about characters that you’d like to have as your younger or older sister?

For a younger sister, definitely Ranka. Klan might also be good as a younger sister. I’d like to have Kanaria as an older sister, but Grace would be scary: I think she’d be quite be strict. Cathy as an older sister seems somewhat unreliable, so she’d be more like a younger sister. Klan in her Zentran mode could work as an older sister too, I think.

And which character would you like to take as a wife?

I feel that taking photos as newlyweds with Sheryl or Ranka to show off to other people would be the best scenario (laughs). Living together with either of them seems like it would be really challenging in the long run. The one most likely to work out would probably be Monica.

Captain, you are one lucky bastard!

But if I can set a time limit on it, then I’d like to try going with Sheryl. A time limit of three months would be perfect (laughs). That said, if we were to go on a honeymoon, I feel like we’d get into a lot of troublesome situations, ones involving people around us, too. Sheryl is just naturally quite selfish—I don’t think she realises just how selfish she is (laughs).

But be that as it may, she’s also very warm and dedicated when it comes to concerts for charity and remembrance. That’s something that comes naturally to her.

What vision do you have in your mind about a newlywed life with Sheryl?

I think that every day with her would be very stimulating and interesting, but whilst all those stimuli would be very enjoyable, I wonder how long my body would last… That’s why a limit of three months would be good (laughs). I mean, it’d be like going to a theme park every single day. After it’s over, I’d look back and think that it would have been better if I’d done this or that – I’d like to have earnest regrets like that (laughs).

What is the meaning of “Hard luck glamour”?

Please tell us about any incidents that you were not able to include in the films.

Right after The False Diva, because Sheryl was unable to pay off the extra charges from the SMS bill, she had no choice but to hold performances all around Island 3. One of those was poolside at a casino, where she cosplayed as a pharaoh singing “Gira Gira Summer” at the Gira Summer Event. A rather embarrassing affair where she had gold dust painted on her as part of a show on top of that pool.

Were there any other scenes that you wanted to add?

We’d intended to add scenes about Sheryl’s trial. For the sake of any viewers for whom the second film was their first taste (of Macross Frontier), I wanted to provide a bit of background information on the state of affairs in Macross as well as on Sheryl’s standing, whilst also displaying her resolve. But we cut it out because it was too difficult to fit it all in.

Please tell us about the meaning of the words that Sheryl wrote on the wall of Alcatraz, “Hard luck glamour.”

That was actually a bit of homework I’d given Kanno Youko, under the topic of “Lyrics that Sheryl writes on the walls of the prison.” Right at the very last minute, those were the words that Kanno-san came up with.

Is Sheryl referring to herself there?

That’s right. But I’m not sure whether she’s singing in hope, despair or self-mockery. Even if the lyrics seem dark, if the music is bright then a different message will be conveyed. At this point, it’s an incomplete song.

Watching this scene again, I have to admit it was pretty impressive…

There were many amazing set pieces for the concerts in these films – from the Black and White Rabbit and the Magical Girl stages to the one at the prison. Were there any others that you had wanted to try?

There are many many things that I want to try, but the big challenge is that they change completely the moment you put them to paper. For “Forbidden Elixir,” it took us forever to come up with the test tubes and other experimental apparatus that made up that set piece.

If we’re just talking about ideas, then there are many things that I want to try for street performances. And I’d like to do a few of them from here on, so I can’t say anything for the moment (laughs).

On another note, one thing that we tried to do in the films that didn’t quite work out was a scene at the beach. We tried to have a performance under water, so-to-speak. Part of it appears for a moment in the “Universal Bunny” number, but I really want to do it more completely. What we came up with involved bubbles and other things like that.

I seems like you could really make a film composed entirely of a whole heap of performances.

I’d like to do something in both 2D and 3D. Now, you can make some amazing works with the variety of tools, not to mention the knowhow, at your disposal.

Lynn Minmay in Flashback 2012

A new Macross F work that Kawamori would work on?

Do you have any plans to continue the story of Macross F after the end of these films?

As was the case with SDFM, the “what happens next” of performers is really difficult to deal with. Just take a look at the performing arts world of our own times – very few couples actually live happily ever after. Furthermore, those who do live happily ever after lead lives that are dramatically lacking. The cycle of getting together and separating would be possible in overseas TV shows and films, but if we did that for a Japanese anime, then I feel like a lot of viewers would stop watching after just one round.

Furthermore, as long as we don’t come up with any extraordinary ideas for the climax, it would be difficult to make a 2-hour long piece.

Would it be possible to make a short movie then?

If it were an extra or a short-mid length piece, then of course I’d love to make one. A TV special of around 45 minutes—not one about what happened ‘after the end’, but rather an episode that took place something during the course of events—I’d love to make something like that.

In the manga, the focus hasn’t been on battle scenes, but rather on incidents of a more familiar type. I’ve really enjoyed that. If we could make such incidents the centre of a short extra, then there’s a chance of success. That’s why, rather than TV or film, we might be able to do something new with Macross F in a different medium such as manga. Though even on film, if it’s something like a 30 minute collaborative piece, then I’d like to try it.

From Macross ff (image credits: hoshikira—thank you for passing these to me back in the day!)

And in Alto’s absence…?!

Do you have any plans to make a new Macross series?

If we were to make something on the scale of a new TV series or film, first, we’d come up against the problem of deciding who the adversaries are. That’s because all fans of the series know that the final battle will be won through song. We’ve already used a range of enemies, from alien humanoids and humans all the way to other alien life forms, so it’s going to be tough to figure out what’s next.

Any ideas for the next heroine?

That’s a tough one. Ranka and Sheryl, both singularly and together, brought out the best of the essence of the Macross series. In Western film, they might go with “Alto not coming back, and another guy appearing before Ranka and Sheryl” (laughs). But I feel that that’s not something that anime fans would allow.

Finally, please tell us a little about the new film project, Macross FB7.

This work is something that I’ve left completely to (Macross 7 director) Amino Tetsuro. Stylistically, it’s about what happens when Ozma and the other members of the cast find and watch a recording of Fire Bomber. A performance with Sheryl and Ranka is included, of course.

It’s something that I’d really like fans who’ve joined us with Macross F to watch. Through the fence, they’d be able to get a glimpse of the passion that inspired Sheryl’s “Listen to my song!”