Who took care of Michael Blanc after Jessica Blanc died?

[MomoHibiki]

In Macross Frontier, Jessica Blanc, Michael's older sister and only family he had left, died by suicide after being falsely accused of shooting someone on purpose while it was actually an accident. Michael was 13 when Jessica died, who took care of Michael after Jessica's death? 13YOs are not adults and they don't care for themselves.

[Seto Kaiba]

On 7/18/2025 at 7:56 PM, MomoHibiki said:

In Macross Frontier, Jessica Blanc, Michael's older sister and only family he had left, died by suicide after being falsely accused of shooting someone on purpose while it was actually an accident. Michael was 13 when Jessica died, who took care of Michael after Jessica's death? 13YOs are not adults and they don't care for themselves.

We don't know who became Michael's legal guardian after his sister passed in 2055.

The most likely candidates to serve as Michael's legal guardians (or at least guarantors if he continues to live alone) are his friend Klan's parents.  We don't know what his exact living conditions were, so it's hard to say how he would have lived after his sister's passing.

There are (rare) circumstances under which a teenager can legally live alone in Japan, though these almost always require the consent of a parent or other legal guardian who serves as a signatory and guarantor for any contracts like apartment leases and such.  IIRC, the most common such case is students from very remote rural areas being given permission to get a place closer to school... though staying with relatives or in a school dormitory is vastly more common.  There are also very rare cases of minors living alone (with permission) either due to the child wanting more independence from very trusting parents or not getting along with their parents to the point that neither can stand to see the other, both of which are used in popular fiction far more commonly than they occur in reality.

In Macross 7, Mylene Jenius is one such case of a minor (aged 14) living on her own with parental permission and support.  Macross Frontier's Alto Saotome also started living alone at 16, renting an apartment in the Senzoku district of Island-1.

[Big s]

Is it Michael, or Michelle?

been rewatching frontier lately and my old bootlegs were a bit confusing over spelling. They’d waffle back and forth. The Hulu subs spell it Michel and it sounds like it’s pronounced like Michelle. I know here in the States it’s extremely rare to be named Michelle and be male, but he does seem to have a French last name, so I wasn’t sure on which name it’s supposed to be.

[MomoHibiki]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Is it Michael, or Michelle?

been rewatching frontier lately and my old bootlegs were a bit confusing over spelling. They’d waffle back and forth. The Hulu subs spell it Michel and it sounds like it’s pronounced like Michelle. I know here in the States it’s extremely rare to be named Michelle and be male, but he does seem to have a French last name, so I wasn’t sure on which name it’s supposed to be.

Mihael Blanc's real name is Mihael Blanc, and his nickname is Michel, which is pronounced Michelle. Michel is a French form of Michael. Blanc is a French surname Mihael Blanc is of Zentradi, Zolan, and French Human descent.

[Seto Kaiba]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Is it Michael, or Michelle?

been rewatching frontier lately and my old bootlegs were a bit confusing over spelling. They’d waffle back and forth. The Hulu subs spell it Michel and it sounds like it’s pronounced like Michelle. I know here in the States it’s extremely rare to be named Michelle and be male, but he does seem to have a French last name, so I wasn’t sure on which name it’s supposed to be.

"Yes."

You see, we're dealing with a character who has a nickname that is a variant form of his given name.

His given name is written ミハエル (Mihaeru) which is the katakana rendering of Mikhail or Michael.  His nickname is ミシェル (Misheru), the katakana rendering used for his name's French variant "Michel" (but also the feminine "Michelle").  

Back when the series was being fansubbed, this naturally caused a great deal of confusion because his name was being pronounced inconsistently by different characters.  Some fan subs went with the assumption that he was Russian based on the Russian sounding pronunciation of his given name and that his surname is spelled/pronounced "Buran" (ブラン, Buran, which can also be used for the French "Blanc") like the Soviet spaceplane/space shuttle program.  Some fans assumed he was French and that his nickname was his actual name, and rendered his name as Michel Blanc instead.

Official materials (e.g. Macross Chronicle) and merchandise have since cleared the matter up, that his given name is meant to be written "Michael", that his surname is "Blanc", and that the French variant we hear "Michel" is an affectionate nickname.

 

 

 

42 minutes ago, MomoHibiki said:

Mihael Blanc's real name is Mihael Blanc, and his nickname is Michel, which is pronounced Michelle. Michel is a French form of Michael. Blanc is a French surname Mihael Blanc is of Zentradi, Zolan, and French Human descent.

That's generally incorrect (see above).

A lot of fans have guessed about what the nationality/ethnicity of his Human parents might be, but AFAIK there has been no official statement on the matter.  The few books that do talk about his family generally stick to mentioning that he has Zentradi, Zolan, and Human ancestry.  Sometimes they get as specific as to say the Zentradi is in his grandparents generation, but that's about as specific as they get.

[Big s]

Thanks for clearing that up