Mr March

In addition to the three vertical fins, it's interesting to note that City 1 has a symmetrical dome "web", unlike City 5 and City 7.

Doubtful. It's just another SDFM/DYRL continuity clash.

Whoops, that's what I get for staying online too late Let's see, in Frontier...hmmm, maybe Leon. My hairline ensures I always have a bad hair cut and I actually did have a job one time where I was screwing the boss's daughter

Kakizaki. Although I don't look much like him, I'm lovable, annoying and though I'm willing to scrap, I can't fight worth a damn

I'm thinking you're right on that one, papabear. I'm not sure if it'll lead to anything overt or dramatic, but there is definitely a subtle environmental vibe running through some of the episodes. The equilibrium the humans have with their colony ship environments, the Ecological Protection Act that Nanase mentions, and so on.

MasterDex Or, perhaps it's so very right Strumvogel Not really. Kawamori built the statistics for the YF-19 and YF-21 so they could achieve orbit with the right amount of thrust and weight to achieve orbital velocity. You'd be surprised how much real world physics goes into some of the Valkyries. Either last page or the page before that dealt with this. It's core could have been drained by the effect or it could have a small core that wasn't reached.

Some great screen shots for the conversation, courtesy of DarkReaper (big thanks!) One for RedWolf And a composite picture for ChronoReverse

Master Dex I know drama and exposition DURING the explosion sequence probably made the Dimension Eater effect appear slower than intended. But keep in mind the show is first and foremost dramatic entertainment so time can be stretched in any number of ways; particularly during very dramatic moments. Dramatic editing can even make a VF-25S Full Armor Valkyrie transform in slow motion and do so twice for dramatic effect (episode 1) Back to the physics, the Dimension Eater effect was gaining on Alto, Mikhail and the Vajra fleet, the ships themselves had to be moving at over 8 kilometers per second to reach escape velocity for attaining orbit. Well, perhaps not the Vajra, since they have Gravity Generators, but the Valkyries don't and had to do it the old fashioned way. So that's a lot of kinetic energy when the edge of that Dimension Eater wave hits. Still, I understand your point; the Dimension Eater is more "suck" than "blow" (braces for the inevitable innuendo from the crowd ). Or to put it more aptly, it's more like a rolling sheer effect; like a shredding vortex.

I don't think the "halo" around the damaged portion of the planet is the atmosphere; I think it's orbiting debris. The atmosphere can only extend off the surface so far before it thins into nothing. If there was any atmosphere in the damaged zone of Gallia 4, it would be close to the surface like the rest of the atmosphere. Which brings me to another thought I just had; I don't think Gallia 4 survived as a habitable planet. Along with 1/4 of the planet disintegrated would also come a major loss of atmosphere. Not only that, but an explosion that large and destructive would likely throw the planet off axis and out of orbit. The entire ecosystem of the planet would be wiped out, there likely isn't enough atmosphere to breathe or sustain pressure anymore and the temperature probably plummeted a few hundred degrees. The planet itself may be largely in tact, but I would think the world is well on it's way to being a lifeless rock.

Going back over some of the older stuff on my website, I noticed I still don't have any high resolution scans of the VEFR-1 Electronic Warfare Valkyrie. Anyone have the ability to get me some high resolution scans of this mecha? I'm not even certain in which art book they are to be found, but any help is appreciated.

Yes, the final episode shows the Macross 7 using the pin-point barrier system, with many more movable discs that the old three on the SDF-1 Macross. If I recall, there was about 9 or 10 discs visible at once on the Battle 7.

I love those poses. Great work!

That's some serious SV-51 fan heaven

A dozen more synopsis/reviews to go. I'm gonna have written a book by the time the series ends

"And this is how I met...Tyler Zinjo"

I admit, Macross Frontier is raising the hair's on the back of my neck and giving me that weird feeling in the stomach when something epic or beautiful happens. Ranka's singing of Aimo to Alto in the park made me giddy. The epic struggles in episode 7, 13 and 14 are giving me that hair raising feeling and shivers along my back. When I really get into a show (like "The Wire"), I'm like that. With Macross I also get the ancillary benefit of being an old fan and the nostalgia heightens the experience somewhat This all sounds very support-group-ish

That's fantastic. What an odd pair of companion pieces. I agree with the comment made by one of the users on ogiue maniax; it's fascinating how the Japanese anime uses a western style setting while the American animation uses an asian style setting

I built some comparison pictures and a special version of the Macross 25/Frontier screenshot.

So far the Macross Galaxy and it's fleet are mysteries. It did have what appeared to be Zentradi escort ships, but the Macross Galaxy itself as well as the orange escort ships like the Dulfim are totally new and of unknown classification. We know many early fleets prior to 2030, like the Megaroad colony fleets and the Research fleets, were not lead by NMC vessels. The Macross Galaxy could also be such an exception. Clearly the Galaxy itself is no NMC. It may have a NMC class attached, but the city/island/whatever portion (the only part we see) is clearly not a city class ship. Can't really say much about the fleet at this point.

Episode 14 “Mother’s Lullaby” Review Again this episode opens with a brief review of the previous cliff hangar showing Grace activating the Dimension Eater and Alto flying into space to escape it. He activates the overboost on his Valkyire and manages to avoid the dimension eating effect as it abates. Gallia 4 is shown with nearly a quarter of it obliterated. Back at Island One on the Frontier, Elmo worries about Ranka missing her debut concert. Nanase and Luca meet each other and he tells her about the dire situation with Ranka and the others. Ozuma agains broods about Ranka in the hangar bay of the Macross Quarter, Bobby stopping by to offer some kind words. Kathy and the Bridge crew chatter while eating lunch about personal relationship and pester Mena about her crush on Captain Wilder, just as he enters the bridge and asks to try some food. Mena leaps at the chance and Wilder comments her fine skills would make her a good wife, but before the moment can develop, a ship alert sounds; the Vajra fleet is defolding in front of the Frontier fleet. Back on Island One, Luca is about the tell Nanase something but is interrupted by the alert. The president orders the Frontier prepare for battle and all ship shutters close on the Island fleet as the Vajra begin an attack. Luca leaves Nanase heading for battle. As the NUNS fleet begins to deploy, Bobby arrives on the Macross Quarter and transforms the ship for battle, the rest of the SMS forces are already in space and ready for combat. Meanwhile, Alto links with the fold booster and heads back to Frontier, the words of Temjin ringing in his ears as he too believes only one race can survive this war. Now prepared and armed with Anti-Vajra ESA munitions, the NUNS forces are holding their own against the Vajra for the first time. In the midst of battle, Sheryl awakens inside the VF-25G, still clinging to the outside of a Vajra ship, and she realizes Mikhail is seriously injured. Back at the command and control for the Frontier fleet, then NUNS report a stalemate in the battle and Leon encourages President Glass to authorize use of reaction weapons. Sheryl takes control of the VF-25G but it’s clear she’s not yet experienced enough to properly fly it and is shot down, but ejects. Luca finds her and tries to rescue her and Mikhail but he’s disabled and about to be destroyed when Alto arrives and saves him. Aboard the Vajra mothership still in fold space, Ranka is trapped but is shown a projection of the Frontier fleet by the Vajra Queen. Alto and Luca take Sheryl and Mikhail back to the Macross Quarter. Just then the Vajra Mothership and a second fleet defold behind the Frontier and open fire. The Frontier deploys the pin-point and full barrier systems for defense, but Island One is breached and innocent civilians are thrown into space. At NUNS command and control, the NUN Forces are surprised by the cunning flanking maneuver of the Vajra fleet. Glass reluctantly authorizes the Reaction Weapons and the fleet begins arming. As the SMS Macross Quarter begins to assault the mothership, Alto warns that Ranka Lee is aboard. Authorizing the Full Armor with reaction warheads, Alto prepares his Valkyrie for a desperate mission to rescue Ranka. Ozuma warns Alto he better succeed or he’ll kill him. Alto unleashes his reaction warheads and charges into battle. Aboard the mothership Ranka encounters another projection, this time of her mother and it appears the Vajra are attempting to communicate with her using the song Aimo. Ranka sings back to the Vajra and a brief vision is shown of some microscopic organisms inside Ranka and her abdomen glows again. Outside the battle grows more intense and Raramia of the SMS Pixie squadron is killed by a Vajra. The Vajra outside then seem to respond to Ranka’s singing. Alto uses the moment to bravely assault the Vajra, blasting his way through them in an impressive display of skill that stuns his fellow fighters. Luca’s valkyrie is then damaged by enemy fire while Brera’s VF-27 seems able to detect Ranka’s song somehow emanating from the Vajra mothership. As Alto blasts his way into the Vajra mothership, Brera appears in the VF-27 and beats him inside the ship, severing the stalk that hold the shell with Ranka inside and grabbing it for himself. As the Vajra Queen attacks Brera, Alto arrives inside and unleashes all his firepower on the queen. As the Queen dies, Ranka screams for Alto to stop but all of them flee the ship. Outside, Brera contacts the SMS/NUNS forces and reveals himself as Major Brera Sterne of the Macross Galaxy Antares Squadron, revealing he’s rescued Ranka and will agree to aid the Frontier fleet. At that moment, Wilder unleashes the Macross Quarter’s main gun and destroys the Vajra mothership. The bridge crew then report a massive disruption in the Vajra’s coordination and the NUNS press the attack, unleashing reaction weapons upon the Vajra fleet. The scene changes to Grace, somehow alive, unharmed and surrounded by machinery, perhaps implying that this is another artificial body for Grace and not the one that perished on Gallia 4. She declares Ranka is the “Little Queen”. Ranka begins crying for the Vajra, but cannot understand why. The episode ends as the remains of the Vajra fleet are destroyed. Another near perfect episode and even more of the story begins to form. For the first time, the humans have actually made contact with the Vajra through Ranka. Their tactics in battle also reveal a much greater intelligence. The Vajra also begin to be seen in a different light for the first time. They’re not the mindless monsters we were lead to believe so far and they come across as somewhat tragically manipulated. At the same time the NUNS/SMS are shown as victims of this orchestrated plot as well and we see numerous victims of this war falling to the Vajra onslaught. Grace is going to great lengths to forge these tragic events but we’ve still yet to be given any answers behind her nefarious purpose. As far as war drama goes, Macross Frontier is pulling upon every emotional string and striking every epic chord. Not only are we being treated to what’s shaping up as a finely crafted tragedy but the epic action is taking Macross to new heights. To say this series is flying high is an understatement. I think I can also sense a strong dramatic conflict being built in this episode. Alto has pretty much reserved himself to the fact that the Vajra must be annihilated. Temjin’s words are echoing in his mind and he sees no other way out but for one species to come out triumphantly at the expense of the other. In contrast, Ranka is the first human that is beginning to understand the Vajra. She can communicate with them on some level and even empathizes with them. This could create a lot of conflict between Alto and Ranka and may divide them just when they were beginning to grow closer. As the war grows, the chance for a resolution will only fade and as Ranka begins to understand more, she’s likely to encounter stronger resistance from her own people. We don’t know what will happen next, but the seeds of some great anime have again been sown in episode 14. More great Macross Frontier is sure to follow and the show is really getting into gear now. Deculture!

Episode 13 “Memory of Global” Review As this episode starts off, we have a short review of the cliff hangar from episode 12 that finds Alto and Ranka discovering a Macross ship abandoned in the wilds of Gallia 4. Brera Sterne in his VF-27 is shown observing their crash. The Zentradi garrison is shown detecting the D-pulse responsible for bringing down Alto's VF-25 Messiah. Elsewhere at the base, Grace is nursing Sheryl while Mikhail looks on before the d-pulse kills the power. Alto and Ranka make their way slowly toward the Macross ship, but the powerful jamming from the Macross forces them to continue on foot. Ranka has more flashbacks about her past and Alto tells her to avoid thinking about them. The two walk toward a glade. Back at the base Mikhail tells Sheryl the fold booster sitting in orbit hasn’t been used and they assume something’s happened to Alto. After Grace has left, Mikhail suspects the pills are bad and avoids giving them to Sheryl. Back in the glade, Alto and Ranka share some personal time and false alarm puts them in an awkward position. After that Ranka is separated from Alto and snatched by the Vajra. Back at the Macross Quarter, Ozuma blames himself for failing to send enough personel to protect Sheryl and Ranka on Gallia 4. At the NUNS headquarters Lucas is chastised for his insubordinate decision to load the LAI fold booster to Mikhail. A brief sequence shows Nanase lamenting for Ranka and Ranka’s pet is shown with new limbs. Back on Gallia 4, Mikhail and Sheryl decide to go searching for Alto and Ranka, Sheryl now clearly feeling better without the pills. Alto, equipped in his EX-Gear discovers the Macross is the 04 Global attached to the 117th Research Fleet. He heads straight to it as Brera discusses the next move with Grace, indicating the capture of Ranka should be a secondary priority. Grace meanwhile is shown leaping around a cliff overlooking the Zentradi base, clear revealing her inhuman abilities. Back at the 04 Global, Alto searches inside the derelict, finding the computer recently erased and a Vajra specimen as well as picture of Ranka and her former family. Brera makes his way inside some cavern, pondering why Ranka is so important to him. Flashbacks seem to indacte Brera is Ranka’s sibling. Ranka now awakes inside a Vajra hive, likely where Brera is headed. Just then Alto also locates a path to the hive and comes in radio contact with Ranka. As Ranka screams at the approach of the Vajra Queen, Alto bolts toward her position. Brera arrives first and fends off the queen and small Vajra units. Alto arrives to resuce Ranka, but the Queen has erected a shell around her with Alto can’t get to. After a stray shot from Brera injures the queen, the whole hive begins to shake. Brera and Alto flee and as they do the 04 Globabl shatters as a Vajra Mothership and an entire fleet of Vajra ships emerge from underground. Alto gets back into his VF-25 and pursues. Menawhile, Grace takes this time to unveal a bomb labeled with the LAI logo. Alto pursues the fleet and is intercepted by Brera; the two fight, Breara gets the upper hand, but Mikhail saves him with a long sniper shot destroying Brera’s gun. Alto tells Mikhail that Ranka is aboard the Vajra mothership and needs to be rescued. Just then Brera gets behind Alto but breaks off at Grace’s command. As the Vajra fleet, Alto and Brera leave the surface, Grace activates her Dimension Eater and unleashes a destructive spherical anomaly that is destroying the planet. The Zentradi are annihilated and Grace herself is killed in the event. As the Vajra fleet fold out, Mikhail and Sheryl hitch a ride with them into Fold Space. Alto charges out of the atmosphere and we’re left to wonder if he’ll survive the Dimension Eater bomb engulfing Gallia 4. This is a very strong episode that begins to reveal much more about the nature of the war. Grace and her cohorts are clearly on their own side and have been manipulating the both the NUNS/SMS and the Vajra. It’s apparent Grace is responsible for destroying Gallia 4 and the Zentradi garrison, but no one else except Brera knows this. With Alto, Ranka, Sheryl and Mikhail the only survivors of the Gallia 4 incident, it’s clear that blame for this will fall upon the Vajra. From the Vajra’s eyes, they likely blame the NUNS/SMS for an attack upon their hive and thus the tragedy continues to play out. We’ll have to see where this goes, but next episode seems to show a big battle so it’s likely Grace has succeeded in manipulating everyone again. Aside from all the wonderful intrigue, battles and epic animation, this episode was another opportunity for some character development between Ranka and Alto. While searching for the 04 Global, the two seemed to bond and Ranka seemed almost ready to tell Alto her feelings for him. For Alto’s part, he’s becoming more impressed with Ranka as she begins to assert herself more and mature. The seeds of a relationship are now growing between the two, but how will it end? Mikhail now begins to suspect Grace, the first one to do so, but with her death it might be too little too late. As far as plot, character and action, this is a near perfect episode. This episode has all the elements of Macross in just the right dosage and also begins to pay us viewers dividends on the investment we’ve made in the show so far. It’s looking great and feels like more goodness is on the way. Episode 14 is next. Deculture!

Perhaps I'm not seeing an alternate interpretation of what I wrote, but I definitely don't believe the Battle 25 is single mode. The Battle 25 is a New Macross Class ship so I'm confident it transforms just like every other NMC vessel. We don't have to see it transform. In fact, given the official information about the New Macross Class vessels, we have no choice but to assume the Battle 25 can transform until we're specifically told otherwise. Like I said, unifiying the facts, always.

Those are definitely Uraga Class Escort Battle Carriers. Here is the Uraga Class side view picture (found in the line art section of the Uraga profile on my website) that will show the similarities much better.

There appears to be one internal missile launcher per side as opposed to two per side on the VF-17. Also, the VF-171 appears to have four ventral launchers (two per side) on the "knees" of the each leg/engine. There appear to be six hard points on the wings, not three (one rack of three missiles, a missile pod and an lone outboard missile). So I think it would be: 1 x eight-barrel multipurpose gatling gun pod. 2 x fixed small-bore forward laser guns OR beam guns (mounted left/right of cockpit) 2 x fixed anti-aircraft laser gun turrets (mounted center dorsal in Fighter/head turret in Heavy Battroid) 6 x internal mico-missile launchers (one mounted on each side of the dorsal main fuselage/shoulder; two mounted dorsally on each engine nacelle/knee) 6 x underwing hardpoints 1 x fixed fighter-carried pin-point barrier system Optional Armament 1 x electromagnetic rail sniper gun pod.

Morpheus A fella from another board already corrected me on this one, so it'll show in the next update. But thanks for telling me anyway. It was unclear early on who was aboard what vessel, but as the distinctions became clearer over more episodes, some old information needs to be corrected. The Macross Frontier section is also in flux, so plenty of information will need to be corrected as official sources are translated and/or become available. Sadly there is precious little available thus far. Just to note, for each Macross ship I include all the characters onboard as part of the crew. In a general sense, crew means people working aboard a ship, but since each Macross vessel has also doubled as either a civilian city or colony ship, it seemed appropriate to include every one. Oihan Well don't be shy. If you have any "official" information on the other mecha/ships (not RPG stuff, but translated japaense sources), feel free to offer them. Also, big, clear screen shots of any of the mecha/ships not yet included would save me a TON of work and make it easier to add more mecha to that section.