junior

It's also when the NUNS finally arrives. At that moment, the Vajra on hand (iirc, a single red and 3-4 yellows) became heavily outnumbered. Given that we've got at least the one instance of a red Vajra showing up without any yellows, I'd say that it's more likely than the idea that the yellows are controlling the reds.

On the one hand, yes it's simple. On the other hand, you may have to learn how to focus your eyes properly (i.e. so you don't get distracted by another nearby target), and recognize just how long to focus in order to lock the target without spending any more time than is absolutely necessary. So yeah, on the surface it's easy. On the other hand, so far we've only seen two people do it - Ozma and Roy. So there might be complications that aren't readily apparent.

You're confusing the Vajra in episodes 4 and 5. Episode 5 is the Vajra "corpse" in the isolation tank that's apparently accidentally activated by Ranka's singing. Episode 4, on the other hand, is the red Vajra that folds in (the bridge bunnies detect the fold) during the middle of Alto's mock combat with the Pixie team. That's the one that I meant when I stated that a red Vajra was acting independently. It's a Vajra that's in the middle of a combat zone with no yellow Vajra in sight. Obviously it's getting orders from somewhere (because as Leon states the red Vajra are essentially mindless), but it doesn't appear that a yellow Vajra is directing it as there are none in the area. My current guess is that Vajra that we've seen are being controlled through some sort of fold-space communications link similar to what the Frontier leadership uses to watch the battle in near real-time in episode 7. Presumeably the Vajra on the battlefield are able to look after themselves without immediate orders, and the controlling intelligence focuses on strategy and tactics. Or that, so far as we've seen, humanity is actually the most peaceful race in the galaxy? I find it highly ironic that the AFOS was threatening to wipe out humanity for being too warlike when human culture ends up being the thing that can convince the warlike Zentraedi to stop fighting.

I decided to drop the Episode 11 summary from the official site (http://www.macrossf.com/story/story_list.html) into Babelfish to see what came up - Original Japanese version - After being mangled by Babelfish - So it looks like

It may also take a lot of practice to be able to use properly. So far we've seen just two pilots use the system, and both of them were vets.

Er... Huh? I'm not sure I understand how a comment that the yellow Vajra probably don't control the big Vajra ties into Skull Squadron and the Koenig Monster. As far as similarities between the red Vajra and the Monster are concerned, I don't think there's enough there. The Koenig Monster is designed as a back-line support unit. Ozma spends the first part of the episode 7 fight clearing a path for Canaria (sp?) to reach the Dulfim. The red Vajra, on the other hand, seems to be a heavy front-line unit that specializes in punching through enemy lines. The Koenig Monster is capable of massive devestation, but it's pretty helpless against enemy units that manage to get up close. The red Vajra, on the other hand, is very capable of protecting itself against enemy units that get close. It also occasionally operates independently, as we see in episode 4.

Given that the yellow Vajra typically seem to outnumber the red Vajra by a pretty good margin, I'm inclined to disagree. If anything, I'd argue that it's the red Vajra that control the yellow ones - except that Leon has revealed that the red Vajra are pretty much mindless.

Read EVERYTHING that I wrote, and not just the parts that you want to object to. I pointed out that in the plane, Brera could have easily been using the plane's communication system and not his implant. And since we don't understand exactly how the plane works, his hands could have been doing something that isn't visible to us. For instance (just to throw an idea out), it's possible that his hands act as data ports that interface with specific consoles on the plane and allow him to control it. In such a case, his hands might need to remain motionless in order to control the plane properly. Since we have no idea how the plane works, whether or not we actually see his hands actively controlling it is irrelevant. /bonks ma2ha3 on the head Maybe he lifted his hand to answer it and put it back down after doing so? Maybe it's only a curtousy action that is performed out of habit when other people are around even if there's no real need to (such as in episode 9)? We don't really know exactly how the implants work. What we DO know is that in episode 6 Grace lifts her hand to her temple to answer the phone. In episode 9 we see Brera performing the exact same action. If you want to continue to believe that the two identical actions do not share the same purpose, then that's your right. But don't expect to persuade people to your line of thinking, or expect to successfully use it to push a particular theory.

We see Grace lift her right hand to her temple as well when she gets a phone call on her cell phone implant at the start of episode 6 (regarding the distress call from Galaxy). There's even an audible click when her fingers touch her temple, implying that the action is how she "picks up the phone", so to speak. So there's nothing unusual about Brera using his cell phone implant with one of his hands to his temple. When he's in the VF-27, his hands would be otherwise occupied handling the plane. So it wouldn't make sense to keep one at his temple (and it's also possible that the message came in through the plane's regular communication systems and not through his cell phone implant). In episode 10, he's just been through a rough fight which once again might explain why he doesn't lift his hand to his temple (note that it was the uninjured arm that was raised earlier). But he does roll his eyes to the far left as if to try and look at the source of the voice until the conversation is finished. So it's not out of the ordinary to adopt an unusual action when using the cell phone implant.

I refuse to be held responsible for any expected or unexpected harm or changes in relationship status (either up or down the marriage ladder) that results from referring to significant others as Christmas Cake!

I think so. Alto tends to be a bit more hesitant with Ranka when Sheryl's around. Note for instance when Ranka and Sheryl first meet in this episode, Sheryl ends up having to prompt Alto to say hello. And he gives a somewhat abrupt, "Yo!" So yeah, I think Alto's aware of Ranka's feelings, and is somewhat careful to try and avoiding hurting her feelings too much. Of course that begs the question of how much Sheryl is aware of Ranka's feelings. I got the same Minmei-Hikaru vibe from the scene (mentioned several pages back - it's easy to forget that in DYRL Hikaru and Minmei don't meet until after she's already famous). I also think that Sheryl wanted to get her own lip-lock in place before Ranka got a chance too.

He probably didn't have time to respond to it. She was supposed to have a non-speaking part, so Leon probably figured that it was safe for her to appear in the movie. And he probably didn't find out about her new role until it was too late to interfere without going very public about it. If it becomes obvious to the public at large that he's interfering with Ranka (I'm pretty sure that even Cathy doesn't know about it), then he'll probably get into a lot of trouble.

I'm wondering if elements of Macross Zero are going to end up as foreshadowing for Macross Frontier, and if so what elements? Ranka pretty blatantly compares her situation with Alto to that of Mao and Shin. i.e. Ranka's stuck on someone that she knows is instead attracted to someone that Ranka considers a friend, just as Mao was stuck on someone who was instead attracted to her sister. What other elements of the plot, if any, are going to show up in Frontier? Just wondering.

Those are boots! More seriously, cowboy boots and the like general have a pronounced heel like that. You can't use stirrups without the heel. I'm not sure why Brera would have them. But there's nothing overly unusual about a male with boots like that. It's possible that they have something to do with the foot control setup in the VF-27. iirc, there's loop around each leg when he's in the plane. Presumeably they're to hold his legs in place while he's piloting, which suggests that the position of his feet is important. The boots might have something to do with this.

He hasn't appeared to be wearing a helmet so far. It might just be for EVA activities.

I think the point was that any similarity between Brera's eyes and Ranka's eyes is unimportant. When you can see Brera's eyes up close, you can tell that they're implants (his iris has visible rings around his pupil). So it doesn't matter what color his eyes are as the color probably isn't his natural color. You can't "make up" that level of popularity. You can make it easier for a person to become popular, as Sheryl offers for Ranka. But ultimately people only buy the albums and pack the concert halls because they like the singer. Sheryl has to have something in place that generates that kind of interest or she would have remained an unknown. I wouldn't be surprised if Sheryl drops into the background as Ranka takes the spotlight, however. One of the themes of the series seems to be fame versus close friends (both Ranka and Sheryl have one, and seem to be searching for the other), and I wouldn't be surprised if the girl who gets Alto in the end is going to recede out of the limelight.

I'd have to doublecheck, but iirc you can see it glowing in episode 9. Of course, Alto has Brera's arms pinned so Brera is unable to use it.

Assuming that Kawamori isn't setting us up for a big surprise in the near future. On a more serious note, assuming that Grace really is Leon's contact and Brera's boss... I've got an idea that there really is a Grace O'Conner, and that she really is Sheryl's manager and likes to go poking around where she's not wanted on computer networks, but the person that we regularly see as Sheryl's manager isn't really Grace. When and where Grace was replaced and how willing Grace was to get involved with it, I don't know. But there are a couple of items that are of interest to me for this theory. First is that Sheryl has known Grace for a while now. Sheryl mentions that Grace likes to go hack systems in her spare time for whatever reason. That's the kind of thing that Sheryl would probably only learn after spending time around Grace. Second is that at the start of episode 1, Sheryl has fold sickness, which is apparently similar to motion sickness except that it's triggered by space-fold. That sounds like something that someone would get frequently, and if so then Grace should be aware that Sheryl is likely to get it. Instead, Grace seems unaware of why exactly Grace might be feeling under the weather until Grace mentions why she's feeling the way she does. Yeah, it's quite tenuous... but it's what I've got to work with. The person currently masquerading as Grace is the man that we see as Leon's contact in episode 10. That's his normal appearence. To appear as Grace, he puts on a wig and uses prosthesis on his chest. A hologram suit similar to the one worn on-stage by Sheryl helps complete the disguise. And finally, some sort of voice implant makes his voice sound like Grace's except when he changes the voice to issue orders to Brera or talk to Leon. In episode 10, the contact gives Leon information on the VF-27 and in exchange tosses Leon an unpolished crystal of roughly the same size and shape as the one in Sheryl's earring. I'm guessing that the deal is that Leon gets the information, and in exchange creates an earring to match the one that Sheryl lost. That suggests that the earring is important beyond 'merely' being a relic of Sheryl's mother, though we don't know the exact reason yet (and Sheryl may not either).

I think most of the answers are found in Alto's background, which we're just starting to get a look at. What we know at this point is that Alto was considered a very talented and skilled Kabuki performer before he suddenly quit for reasons that we still haven't been informed of (besides the fact that he wanted to fly). It's possible that he's annoyed and contemptuous by all of the fuss about fame, due to his background. He was famous, and he walked away from it. As a result, Nanase gushing about how Ranka is going to become famous would be a huge turn off for him, but at the same time he can't actually say anything because he doesn't want to be out and out rude and discouraging about Ranka's big opportunity. It is a big deal for Ranka, and she's not necessarily becoming a singer just to become famous. And while there's a definite connection between Alto and Sheryl, she can't seem to help but try and draw attention to herself when she's in the public eye. The best times between the two of them so far have been when Sheryl and Alto have had "alone time" together, with Sheryl out in public but avoiding recognition (episode 5) or simply not in public at that time (episode 6 and the end of episode .

Nah... In DYRL, Minmei hadn't really developed feelings for Hikaru yet (that came later). She was merely giving him an 'example' of acting. Sheryl, on the other hand, appears to actually have an attraction to Alto although both she and Alto are seemingly doing their best to act as if there's nothing between the two of them.

I don't think so. The car still appears to be intact when we see it later on. Most likely the Hydra tossed it around but wasn't actually able to get inside (which would have required ripping the frame apart or tearing off a door). Instead, the occupants were probably all pretty banged up, and there may very well have been broken bones and/or concussions from the incident. Not really... Have you seen Macross Zero? While Mao is never really a serious love interest for Shin, she appears to have a crush on him. And Shin and Mao's sister Sara are the major love item in the OVA series. When I saw the dialogue for the scene in which Sheryl kisses Alto, I got a serious 'Minmei kissing Hikaru in DYRL' vibe. Though I don't remember Minmei coloring like that after she kisses Hikaru.

Would make sense. There probably wasn't much left of Mayan Island after the three Fuel Air Bombs went off... Dangerous as opposed to, say, his regular job of flying a VF-25 against Vajra that can't actually be hurt by his gunpod? More likely, he nicked it a couple of times. A sidearm isn't going to do much to a creature that big. Except maybe piss it off. Go rewatch episode 3.

Micheal and Nanase? Don't you mean Micheal and Clan Clan? It would explain Clan Clan's miclone form...

Yeah, I know about Bobby's role with her. But as family, one would expect Ozma to be there. Nanase is present, so it seems clear that Ranka was able to bring one or more guests. But it's strange that her brother, who is presumeably the person that she's closest to, didn't appear to be in attendence at her debut. I didn't say it was likely. I merely pointed out the very remote possibility. Maybe super dimensional resonance crystals are immune to Wave Motion Guns? Cyberware and cellphones - No need to let Leon know about the implanted cellphone. Presumeably any number of other methods to transmit the information could have been chosen that didn't necessarily involve direct contact between the cellphones. Sheryl went on a tour. So if Grace is indeed the spy, then her espionage work was either specifically aimed at Frontier as the last stop on the tour (which gets back to the "fortuitous coincidence" theory about the timing of the attack on Galaxy), or else the Galaxy fleet wanted to get information regarding all of the other Macross fleets on Sheryl's tour route. Regarding the Kite - given that the VF-27s have both NUNS and Galaxy symbols on them, I'm pretty confident that Galaxy doesn't use the Kite either.

Someone on the GML mentioned that Marina Ismail in Gundam 00 is an old hag at age 24. When called on that, he mentioned that the Japanese refer to women who are that old as "Christmas Cake". i.e. no one wants them after the 24th. While I can't vouch for the veracity of the supposed slang, it does fit with the ages that we often see in Japanese mecha shows.