Macross Frontier: The False Songstress

I've finally seen it! After waiting for the fansub to come out for more than a year I've finally laid my eyes on it. *insert tears* Macross has been my favorite anime franchise ever since I was a little girl, so when they announced that a 25th anniversary anime series was going to be released two years ago, I was more than ecstatic. Of course I followed the series with a burning passion and fell in love with it almost the same way as I did with SDF Macross. SDF Macross however, remains to be on a skyscraper level of love for me though. Nonetheless, I waited for the movie sequel to the Macross Frontier series with massive enthusiasm in the hopes that it would contain answers to many questions left unanswered by the series two years ago.

So how did the movie fair? Unfortunately, it seemed a bit so-so for me and this is where I'm really frustrated. I still loved it but it didn't really have that much emotional effect on me as the series did. I really can't pinpoint what went wrong. I'm maybe too much of a Ranka fan that I felt her exposure and rise to stardom (or role in the defeat of the Vajra) in the movie was downplayed compared to that of Sheryl's. I don't know why they went on the Sheryl path (no offense to the fans though). I felt like the movie was made for her. I also didn't like the changes they made on Ozma. I loved how bad-a$$ he was in the series especially his low tolerance to Alto's emotional outbursts. He seems to really kiss-ass with Alto in the movie which frankly is a bit annoying and cliche (eww at the welcome initiation). Maybe that's what happens when you compress a 25-episode series to two hours. Certain charms of the series had to be sacrificed. That didn't happen with Macross: Do You Remember Love? (the movie retell of SDF Macross) though. Sure, certain characters that fans loved were given a less share of the limelight but the Misa-Hikaru-Minmay love triangle became more epic. And I liked their take on the story with Misa discovering one of the most amazing love songs of all time. I guess my expectations were a bit too high. It's really difficult to top something so incredibly epic.

I loved the animation of the Macross Frontier movie though and the re-arrangement they did on some of the songs. Surprisingly, the fanservice moments didn't annoy me although I felt they were a little bit forced and trying hard to join the trend of fanservice animes. Overall, the movie will really make any Macross fan happy. Especially those that waited too long to be immersed once again in the mystical Macross universe. Come on, let's all dream and fly! Yikes! Can't wait for the 2011 movie! Anyway, here is the movie version of the song Diamond Crevasse performed live by May'n and Megumi Nakajima with no less than Yoko Kanno on the piano!