Miss Macross Frontier Contest III

[Gubaba]

Yeah that's really been bothering her. Considering Brera has attached himself to her hip since episode what, 15, she's really spent much time pondering it. I said five scenes, you've given me one. Keep going.

You're not making sense. You want things that she dwells on, yet she has AMNESIA. How can she dwell on things she can't remember...?

[JustinStrife]

You're not making sense. You want things that she dwells on, yet she has AMNESIA. How can she dwell on things she can't remember...?

I'm making perfect sense. We've been given 20 episodes for those memories to hit Ranka and do something with her character. So far we've gotten little snips of memories, with no realizations from her at all. The closest to a realization of anything that we've gotten, was that Brera sure seems like a brother to her. Even the 'revelation' inside the Vajra ship where she communicates with the Vajra Queen and sees her mother singing Aimo, has been all but forgotten by her since then.

It's like trying to stick flies to regular paper, when there's no glue. Nothing sticks with her.

The writers either intentionally have stunk up her character growth, or they have screwed up that growth by mistake. The only way she is going to change and grow up now, is to give up on chasing her dream of Alto and learn to live for others. All the other good guys have been doing things for everyone else. She's the only one that does things 'for Alto', but it's really for herself and not even for him. Michael's been looking after Luca, Alto, Sheryl, Ranka, and Klan Klan. Alto's been looking after Sheryl and Ranka. Sheryl's been looking after Alto, Ranka, her fans, Galaxy, Nanase, everyone. Ozma's been looking after Ranka, Cathy, Alto, SMS, Frontier, etc. Ranka is the only one who doesn't see the existence of other peoples' feelings, thoughts, goals, etc. /facepalm

As I've said before, where has Ranka tried to make any effort to have a meaningful conversation with Alto? Where does she try to get to know him?

Why are none of you Ranka supporters answering these simple questions? Why are you so easily accepting, of a girl who's got the emotional level of an 8 year old, getting into a relationship with a guy who acts like he's twice her age? When is Ranka going to grow up? When? Episode 21 is 2 days away, and much of that focus is going to be on Klan Klan massacring bugs like no other, and the only preview picture of Ranka and Alto, once again has her fawning over him like some high school crush over the All-Star Quarterback.

The majority of Macross romance, has always been on a more adult theme. The kiddy High School romance shows you see on TV every season, pale in comparison to the depth that you see in SDFM, Macross: DYRL, Macross Plus, Macross Zero, Macross II, and Macross: Frontier. It's not about the 'first girl' winning, or about the cutest girl winning, or the childhood friend winning, or any of that. It's about the one who connects with the main character the best.

Edited August 26, 2008 by JustinStrife

[Gubaba]

I'm making perfect sense. We've been given 20 episodes for those memories to hit Ranka and do something with her character. So far we've gotten little snips of memories, with no realizations from her at all. The closest to a realization of anything that we've gotten, was that Brera sure seems like a brother to her. Even the 'revelation' inside the Vajra ship where she communicates with the Vajra Queen and sees her mother singing Aimo, has been all but forgotten by her since then.

It's like trying to stick flies to regular paper, when there's no glue. Nothing sticks with her.

The writers either intentionally have stunk up her character growth, or they have screwed up that growth by mistake. The only way she is going to change and grow up now, is to give up on chasing her dream of Alto and learn to live for others.

As I've said before, where has Ranka tried to make any effort to have a meaningful conversation with Alto? Where does she try to get to know him?

Why are none of you Ranka supporters answering these simple questions? Why are you so easily accepting, of a girl who's got the emotional level of an 8 year old, getting into a relationship with a guy who acts like he's twice her age? When is Ranka going to grow up? When? Episode 21 is 2 days away, and much of that focus is going to be on Klan Klan massacring bugs like no other, and the only preview picture of Ranka and Alto, once again has her fawning over him like some high school crush over the All-Star Quarterback.

And why am I trying to have a discussion with people who have no concept about how adult relationships work?

Excuse me? "You Ranka supporters"...? Since when have I ever said I thought Alto would end up with Ranka, or that I wanted that to happen?

And why are you "trying to have a discussion with people who have no concept about how adult relationships work"...? Then please enlighten me, because you clearly know everything about my personal life.

Stop making assumptions, and stop being insulting.

[JustinStrife]

I edited my post. I didn't mean for that to be put out there but I was getting frustrated. -sigh- You'll notice that my last edit was 5 minutes before your reply, and doesn't have that line in there. So as insulting as I seem to you, you could have at least noticed my edit instead of quoting me after I'd already fixed it, for whatever reason you had.

I know you're a big Nanase supporter, but your arguments have been putting you in the Ranka camp so it's easy to lump you in there with people like shanz. You haven't answered any of my questions, as has no one else, so we'll see if anyone can sometime before the next episode airs. Though I'm not holding my breath.

Edited August 26, 2008 by JustinStrife

[Gubaba]

I edited my post. I didn't mean for that to be put out there but I was getting frustrated. -sigh- You'll notice that my last edit was 5 minutes before your reply, and doesn't have that line in there.

I know you're a big Nanase supporter, but your arguments have been putting you in the Ranka camp so it's easy to lump you in there with people like shanz. You haven't answered any of my questions, as has no one else, so we'll see if anyone can sometime before the next episode airs. Though I'm not holding my breath.

I'm not sure what you're getting at about how you "didn't mean" to post the insult, but whatever.

Look. You said Ranka's had it too easy. I say she's been messed up pretty hard (I will concede that she doesn't let it show very often...but stuff like being unable to let go of Alto's shirt when they were trapped in the shelter hints at the trauma). How on earth does that translate into me wanting Alto and Ranka to end up together?

And I didn't answer your question because it's unanswerable. None of this stuff consciously bothers her because she forgets it immediately after it happens. Now, if it STILL hasn't come out by the final episode, then I would call that bad writing. But we haven't reached the end yet. If you want to know when she talked to Alto and found out more about him, well...we haven't seen that. One could make an argument that the frenetic amount of texting they were doing with each other in the early episodes probably had some probing questions, but we'll most likely never know.

For the record, I like Ranka, but I do think she's childish. Still, to say she's had it too easy is just plain wrong.

[magnuskn]

Alto has shown zero romantic interest in Ranka aside from the kiss. As opposed to the constant flirting that goes on with Sheryl. ending up with Ranka just doesn't make sense.

And the kiss was acted. Because he is, in case anybody forgot it, a professional actor. Since childhood.

[herbert]

I'm not sure what you're getting at about how you "didn't mean" to post the insult, but whatever.

Look. You said Ranka's had it too easy. I say she's been messed up pretty hard (I will concede that she doesn't let it show very often...but stuff like being unable to let go of Alto's shirt when they were trapped in the shelter hints at the trauma). How on earth does that translate into me wanting Alto and Ranka to end up together?

And I didn't answer your question because it's unanswerable. None of this stuff consciously bothers her because she forgets it immediately after it happens. Now, if it STILL hasn't come out by the final episode, then I would call that bad writing. But we haven't reached the end yet. If you want to know when she talked to Alto and found out more about him, well...we haven't seen that. One could make an argument that the frenetic amount of texting they were doing with each other in the early episodes probably had some probing questions, but we'll most likely never know.

For the record, I like Ranka, but I do think she's childish. Still, to say she's had it too easy is just plain wrong.

I guess you just refuse to see things from others' point of view. What they are trying to suggest you is that if Ranka's tragical past seldom haunts her and play nearly zero effect on her current characteristics, then why can't we just ignore them in a discussiong mainly on her characteristics? She does have things too easy TO HER KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORY. Edited August 26, 2008 by herbert

[Westlo]

Hey rubi in livejournal they now like Sheryl better and think she will win the triangle, so much for your guys are the only ones voted for sheryl theory :lol:

And yes the memory excuse is utter weak sauce because those memories are repressed and so to be blunt, have no farting effect on her actions.

Edited August 26, 2008 by Westlo

[TCracker]

er....coming back to the fun stuff.

I voted for Sheryl all the way!

[Gubaba]

I guess you just refuse to see things from others' point of view.

You guess wrong.

What they are trying to suggest you is that if Ranka's tragical past seldom haunts her and play nearly zero effect on her current characteristics, then why can't we just ignore them in a discussiong mainly on her characteristics? She does have things too easy TO HER KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORY.

Huh? JustinStrife said she's had it too easy. I mentioned that her family was killed. He challenged me to mention five times when she was bothered by that, and assumed I was a Ranka supporter.

Now you're saying I should've talked about her characteristics? Cripes, man, all I wanted to do at the beginning was to mention that her family got killed, not get pulled into a discussion which doesn't interest me very much.

[Xeros]

The real contest begins when the Little Queen recovers her memory

Anyway, my vote remains in Sheryl

[rubi]

I voted Ranka... but know she will not make it in this poll either .

I'm leaning on a bittersweet ending at this point. Alto finds out about Sheryl dying after they become a couple, and there is no cure for her, so they spend what time they have left together, while Ranka runs off into the sunset with the Vajra and Brera in tow. Or something of a similar variation to that.

You wrote it as if you were a part of the staff . I know, this is a pure, speculation from your side, but too "shoujo-ized..."

They will become a couple ? They will spend what time they have left together ? Ranka runs off into the sunset ?

I'm not a staff member but I know this isn't going to happen.

To pull a Ranka ending now, is to make some of the most unbelievable story writing(read bullshit writing), you'll ever see in anime. Worse than Canvas 2 in many regards. Ranka's stayed stagnent for 20 episodes, yet all of a sudden, she's going to age 5-10 years mentally, and be the person she should have been by now? It's a little late, and a dollar short.

Check the spoilers for the next 3 episodes and see if you're still confident...

I don't see why it could be an unbelievable story. They didn't dropped the scene with alto and ranka in episode 13 for nothing.

They didn't left things from this episode as they are now for making it look like the most useless scene of MFrontier.

They choose instead to focus on Sheryl and Alto. And we ended up seeing what happenned in episode 20 between those two.

The most unbelievable for me is your assumption with they spend what time they have left together, while Ranka runs off into the sunset with the Vajra and Brera in tow.

Hey rubi in livejournal they now like Sheryl better and think she will win the triangle, so much for your guys are the only ones voted for sheryl theory :lol:

I didn't understand the second part of the sentence, Sheryl theory ?

Or, maybe all Ranka's fan left and the Sheryl ones are at the controls now

Seriously, this is happenning everywhere on the blogs, websites etc... Everyone thinks Sheryl now is the only option left for Alto with a Ranka who taked a KO in the triangle , it seems since episode 18, with the GAME OVER at episode 20.

This is really difficult to defend her after episode 20 next to an amazing Sheryl but too soon to declare the party OVER

Edited August 26, 2008 by rubi

[stray]

I've watched many anime in my 28 years. When I say many, I say well over a thousand. I'm also a HUGE sucker for romance anime. My top 10 lists 8 of them with romance as a major piece. Macross does things a little bit different from your usual series, where the childhood friend wins most times.

Hey, Yasaburo still has a chance. I think, anyway... 

I guess you just refuse to see things from others' point of view. What they are trying to suggest you is that if Ranka's tragical past seldom haunts her and play nearly zero effect on her current characteristics, then why can't we just ignore them in a discussiong mainly on her characteristics? She does have things too easy TO HER KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORY.

...Ok, this is just silly. We should throw out a major personality defining factor because we haven't been beaten over the head with it? Or is it just that it's convenient to disregard to make Ranka look worse? Like Gubaba was saying, she's pretty f'ed up and it's apparent in scenes like when she couldn't let go of Alto's shirt (or Sheryl's dress in the manga... but regardless.) No, it's not an excuse outright, nor does it mean she should "win" in the romance department, but look up clinical symptoms of dissociative amnesia. Here's a start. Might help you comprehend her character beyond just throwing her under the bus for the sake of your ship. And yes, I am pulling for SkullFairy myself.

This is MW, people, bring the A game.

[magnuskn]

I'm leaning on a bittersweet ending at this point. Alto finds out about Sheryl dying after they become a couple, and there is no cure for her, so they spend what time they have left together.

That ending would completely and utterly suck and sour me on the series and franchise forever.

[RF-26AAC]

That ending would completely and utterly suck and sour me on the series and franchise forever.

That's a bit of an overstatement;

I don't think I could ever close my heart to the love I feel for transforming airplanes <3 <3 <3

Don't lie, you'd still watch

A bittersweet ending would suck and would not keep with the macross theme of achieving peace-- Sheryl dying wouldn't really promote that end.

[s-girl]

livejournal generally shows a preference for Sheryl for the first 72 hours. Then I suspect the sockpuppets join in and start changing the stats.

(Seriously, go revisit that thread in a week or so and see if everything is blown away. I personally think the polls need IP tracking.)

On another note, to the original poster... I wasn't trying to diss the timing. I just thought it was so funny. Episode 20 was possibly the most extreme portrayal of Ranka seen so far . Her character went from brave to well.. not having an adult moment, whereas Sheryl changed from depression to determination. The timing of the poll absolutely is going to affect its outcome.

[herbert]

You guess wrong.

My apology for that misplaced critics.

Huh? JustinStrife said she's had it too easy. I mentioned that her family was killed. He challenged me to mention five times when she was bothered by that, and assumed I was a Ranka supporter.

Now you're saying I should've talked about her characteristics? Cripes, man, all I wanted to do at the beginning was to mention that her family got killed, not get pulled into a discussion which doesn't interest me very much.

I beg you to acknowledge for what purpose the arguments were made. So please read blog entry and comments under on THAT Animeblog, which site JustinStrife has linked to and where hist "too easy" and "no major disappointment" statements originally came from. Read them all and you know they are all about characteristics and current personality of Ranka. If you are not interested as you just mentioned, then please leave us.

...Ok, this is just silly. We should throw out a major personality defining factor because we haven't been beaten over the head with it? Or is it just that it's convenient to disregard to make Ranka look worse? Like Gubaba was saying, she's pretty f'ed up and it's apparent in scenes like when she couldn't let go of Alto's shirt (or Sheryl's dress in the manga... but regardless.) No, it's not an excuse outright, nor does it mean she should "win" in the romance department, but look up clinical symptoms of dissociative amnesia. Here's a start. Might help you comprehend her character beyond just throwing her under the bus for the sake of your ship. And yes, I am pulling for SkullFairy myself.

This is MW, people, bring the A game.

She was just a pathetic little thing in that scene. It really tells very little. Why it must have anything to do with her past? Ranka is always timid and in lack of self-control so it's not a surprise at all that she couldn't let go of it (her fear).

"the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person's surroundings." I guess you want me to read this line, right? I think it's bit tricky because the memories dosen't resurface at this like it does a little after when she sees Ozma injured. Besides, we are still in middle of air to know if this amnesia has anything to do with her personality and normal life. I am leaned to a "no." Moreover, you must misunderstand why it was brought up. People talked that Ranka need to handle a major disappointment to make and to show her growth. She needs to handle it not just to experience (plus she dosen't seems to remember). Either the past or a loss in romance, she needs to handle something big and bad.

[Gubaba]

My apology for that misplaced critics.

Thank you.

I beg you to acknowledge for what purpose the arguments were made. So please read blog entry and comments under on THAT Animeblog, which site JustinStrife has linked to and where hist "too easy" and "no major disappointment" statements originally came from. Read them all and you know they are all about characteristics and current personality of Ranka. If you are not interested as you just mentioned, then please leave us.

I apologize. I didn't realize that you are the arbiter of who can and cannot post in this thread.

Of course I'm interested in who Alto ends up with, but I'm not really attached to any outcome. If he ends up with Sheryl, I won't be disappointed. Ditto Ranka. Ditto neither.

What I'm not interested in is "Why Ranka Sucks," and that's not the point of this thread anyway. And I'm not sure why you want me to read some blog about why she sucks...I have perfectly fine evaluative thinking skills, thanks very much.

It doesn't matter to me whether Ranka deserves Alto. It doesn't matter if she's a nice and good person. She's a fictional character, not someone I've met in real life. So what matters to me is whether or not she's interesting enough for me to watch week after week, and so far, the answer is yes.

If you want to jump all over me for supplying the (factual, not opinion-based) information that her family was killed, and that yes, she's pretty messed up, go ahead. But don't dump everything you hate about Ranka supporters on my head, and don't tell me where I can and can't post.

[shan]

I guess you just refuse to see things from others' point of view. What they are trying to suggest you is that if Ranka's tragical past seldom haunts her and play nearly zero effect on her current characteristics, then why can't we just ignore them in a discussiong mainly on her characteristics? She does have things too easy TO HER KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORY.

It is very evident that you, much like justinstrife, just hates Ranka. Period. There is no point trying to inform you that what you just said here is devoid of reason because it will not reach you.

Edited August 27, 2008 by shan

[herbert]

I apologize. I didn't realize that you are the arbiter of who can and cannot post in this thread.

Of course I'm interested in who Alto ends up with, but I'm not really attached to any outcome. If he ends up with Sheryl, I won't be disappointed. Ditto Ranka. Ditto neither.

What I'm not interested in is "Why Ranka Sucks," and that's not the point of this thread anyway. And I'm not sure why you want me to read some blog about why she sucks...I have perfectly fine evaluative thinking skills, thanks very much.

It doesn't matter to me whether Ranka deserves Alto. It doesn't matter if she's a nice and good person. She's a fictional character, not someone I've met in real life. So what matters to me is whether or not she's interesting enough for me to watch week after week, and so far, the answer is yes.

If you want to jump all over me for supplying the (factual, not opinion-based) information that her family was killed, and that yes, she's pretty messed up, go ahead. But don't dump everything you hate about Ranka supporters on my head, and don't tell me where I can and can't post.

I didn't tell you not to post. I just saw you entered a discussion and not knowing the topic. You are free to provide your opinions but I see your opinions were irrelevant to the topic people are discussing, which you said not interested. If you want to change the topic, go ahead but please make others known. I'll leave it to you, I bet JustinStrife will do the same.

[herbert]

It is very evident that you, much like justinstrife, just hates Ranka. Period. There is no point trying to inform you that what you just said here is devoid of reason because it will not reach you.

I am not if you are right to say I hate Ranka. But I can tell you I'm very tired of her and find her extremely annoying. I have tried my best to be neutral, but I know my preference affect my standpoint and ways of thinking. To put it short, I'm biased and I know. If you don't want to talk to a biased person please ignore me. Thank you very much.

[dreamweaver13]

dear god, does this have to happen EVERYTIME this thread is reopened for the latest installment?

Will our lives really be that much more meaningful if we can convince the others to see a character the way we see them? sigh.

oh well, but if that's your thing.

ok just to join in on the actual topic:

I have always been for sheryl. day one to end, and even if it doesn't happen. and i do think ranka is childish (even making jokes about Alto Minmay-Slapping her off a roof), but i wouldn't go so far as to say that she had it so good. there's a reason memories are repressed. and i'm pretty sure it will come out sooner or later, and if the writers know what they're doing (as past episodes strongly indicate), then that influx of memories will be nothing less than tragic.

and here's another hint i noticed that would point out that Ranka most probably won't be the one: the brother flashback. wow, isn't it romantic that she feels the warmth of his hands? but then her subconscious kicks in and gives her a flashback of her brother. her BROTHER! ha! even her subconscious is telling Ranka that nothing "romantic" will happen between her and alto. poor girl.

[MisaForever]

Good lord, does every thread have to turn into a debate?

[Gubaba]

Good lord, does every thread have to turn into a debate?

I say yes.

Prepare a three-point counterargument and meet me back here in fifteen minutes.

[s-girl]

Good lord, does every thread have to turn into a debate?

It's a secret tactic by the board to recruit more members? XD

Um seriously? These kinds of threads seem to just attract girls. Because we like to argue our pairings to the degree that we will sign up for other places JUST to argue them XD

The trick is to keep them interested enough in the show and the forums to stay once the show resolves.

[Gubaba]

I didn't tell you not to post. I just saw you entered a discussion and not knowing the topic. You are free to provide your opinions but I see your opinions were irrelevant to the topic people are discussing, which you said not interested. If you want to change the topic, go ahead but please make others known. I'll leave it to you, I bet JustinStrife will do the same.

Good lord, man...

[stray]

It's a secret tactic by the board to recruit more members? XD

If we could get everyone from omni blog, THAT blog, suki, el jay, animearimasu blog, yukan blog, and wherever else the fandom has spread... it would be... it would be... like whoa.

[magnuskn]

If we could get everyone from omni blog, THAT blog, suki, el jay, animearimasu blog, yukan blog, and wherever else the fandom has spread... it would be... it would be... like whoa.

It´d probably enough pandemonium to open the Eye of Terror. <rimshot Warhammer 40k reference>

[Morpheus]

Sheryl is leading the pool again, she deserve her own VF-25 and we can vote for her again for the best pilot in frontier.

[Keith]

Hmm, a Sheryl themed VF-25, maybe something like the Minmay Guard VF-1, but sexier!

(why do I get the feeling someone is giong to post of the "sexy" VF-1 now...)

Edited August 27, 2008 by Keith

[Keith]

You are in a minority. Take a look at this poll for a clear example. Take a look at the earlier polls done as the series started, and progressed. Sheryl had 50% of the votes, then 58%, now almost 80%. Notice a pattern? People are becoming more and more confident in predicting the romantic path this series is taking. Some of us saw it from Episode 1 on.

Alto has saved both Ranka and Sheryl many times. Both girls fell in love with Alto. Alto has supported both girls. Alto's also gone on a date with Sheryl in episode 5, or did you forget?

I've watched many anime in my 28 years. When I say many, I say well over a thousand. I'm also a HUGE sucker for romance anime. My top 10 lists 8 of them with romance as a major piece. Macross does things a little bit different from your usual series, where the childhood friend wins most times.

In Macross SDFM, the more mature female was the one who worked herself into the male lead's heart. In Macross Plus, the hot head, who wore his thoughts and emotions on his sleeve for the entire world to see, was the winner past and present. In Macross II, the mature female gets the male lead again. In Macross Zero, the mature sister wins out. Macross 7 had no resolution as the male lead never did want a relationship to begin with so it's kind of an anomaly.

What most of these had in common, was the winner was very much a tsundere, who was also career driven, and had a wall of ice that needed to be melted by the main character. Ranka has no such shell. She's very much like Minmei in her immature, naive view of the world. Sheryl is by far the deeper character emotionally, and like Hikaru with Misa, Shin with Mao, Hibiki with Silvi, the interactions between Alto and Sheryl are very, very telling.

You can bring up Romance anime all you want, but Macross does things a bit differently, and is not as shallow.

Correction, Basara did have a romantic interest, but she took off into another dimension assumedly never to be seen again. Say what you will about Basara, but he came as close to showing interest in Sivil as was possable for him to show. Of course that was more of a love mishmash with Gigil unrequitedly chasing after Sivil, Mylene unrequitedly showing interest in Basara, Gamlin unrequitedly chasing after Mylene, etc. And super hot hyper destructive few hundred thousand year old space pixy technically counts as the mature female in that relationship

Also, had Pedro not been there, I'm pretty sure Basara would have tapped Emilia. Hell, I would have tossed that kid in a giant bra & locked him in a closet for a few hours.

Edited August 27, 2008 by Keith

[magnuskn]

Also, had Pedro not been there, I'm pretty sure Basara would have tapped Emilia. Hell, I would have tossed that kid in a giant bra & locked him in a closet for a few hours.

Without a handy micronization chamber, Basara would only have counted as a very animated vibrator during the time they had. ^^

[DeeBot]

Gah, this is why I hate message boards 99% of the time.

Look, there's clearly a whole bunch of bias on both sides here from the Sheryl fans and the Ranka fans. I think both characters have their good points and their bad points, and you're not being intellectually honest if you try to cast their differences in black and white terms.

I like Sheryl, and I never bought into the "ice queen" image so many people seemed to seize on when she was sitting in her car in episode 1 while Frontier was under attack. She did the right thing by doing what she was told by security; her fans were being evacuated, would staying behind really have helped anything? If anything, it seemed the one who needed to learn a lesson was Alto: his pointless heroics got Gilliam killed. Yet many of the same people who sing Sheryl's graces now pointed at the incident as if it made her the devil incarnate.

I also like Ranka, and don't buy into the "she's a selfish immature child" argument, either. Well yes, she's a bit immature, but so is everyone else in the love triangle. Sheesh, Frontier was billed as Macross-in-high-school, for goodness sakes. We aren't dealing with fully-grown personalities here. Alto's a moping, inarticulate jerk with a heart of gold, and Sheryl's a sheltered diva who hasn't had much time to be a real person instead of just a celebrity.

In terms of character development, both Alto and Ranka share a similar flaw: they're not the most expressive people. Alto's brooding and taciturn by nature, and Ranka's painfully shy. Oh, sure, she babbles, but you can tell it's an obvious cover because she never talks about anything meaningful, or what's really on her mind, because she's afraid of getting hurt. Similarly, Alto routinely spouts off like the biggest jerk in the whole fleet, but his actions generally bear out a kinder personality. If you try to read their characters at the most superficial level, you're going to get a completely distorted idea about who they really are. It's an exercise always fraught with the possibility of being really, really wrong, but you really do have to read between the lines with these two.

For Sheryl's part, she's pretty much an open book. It's her nature to be outgoing and upfront, although she, too, can be quite vulnerable at times. Still, it's a lot easier to get a read on her than the others. Her way of covering up is to loudly and extravagantly protest the exact opposite of whatever she really feels. She'll probe, then retreat.

In the final analysis, I don't much care who Alto ends up with. I like all three of the characters involved. I don't think of any of them as a villain who is somehow less deserving of being happy than the others. On the balance, I do think a Sheryl-Alto pairing is somewhat more likely than Ranka-Alto, but I think the actual most likely outcome will be an unconventional and complete surprise. The resolution of Macross love triangles have always been a bit complicated, have always left things a bit shaded in gray.

[Keith]

Without a handy micronization chamber, Basara would only have counted as a very animated vibrator during the time they had. ^^

Ain't nuthin' wrong with that.

[Morpheus]

Without a handy micronization chamber, Basara would only have counted as a very animated vibrator during the time they had. ^^

Can we stop discussing about that thingy.