Macross Frontier movie is pop gone flat

28.11.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith

It’s been a long wait, but finally moe moe Macross has made it to the big screen. Banzai! Before I get into the review – spoilers ahead – allow me a short explanation. I am writing this on the assumption that no one who watches "Macross Frontier The Movie: The False Diva" will do so for the story. “Macross Frontier” is about characters, so let’s talk about characters. The original Macross is itself an advert for the power of moe - what beats macho mecha and invincible alien invaders is young female idols who wear short skirts and sing. The Zentradi say "deculture," I say "moe." Hell, director Kawamori Shoji would probably agree with me. His “Macross Frontier” TV series has enough moe (and mecha) flying around to please otaku boys and fujoshi girls of all stripes. If possible, the movie takes this up a notch. The story has been seriously streamlined and deals more with relationships among Alto, Sheryl and Ranka. Alto and Ranka start off as best friends (Nanase does not appear in the movie), and Sheryl seems to know Ranka, or at least has pictures of her home planet and can sing “Aimo.”

One thing to note is that the first film is more geared toward fujoshi. We all know that passive leading man Alto is the queen of uke characters and is on the receiving end of relationships with everyone in the show. Granted, he is a lot cooler and more decisive in the movie. He comes to terms with why he ran away from a life playing women’s roles in kabuki (some existential stuff about not knowing who he was) and has some seriously bad ass urban dogfight scenes. But his manfriend Mikhail still sexually harasses him (including putting his arm around a blushing Alto when they are alone in the park at night). Brera, who is himself much cooler and less of an intrusion in the central love triangle, also covers Alto during a skirmish and gets the “you can be my wingman any day” treatment. You can cut the homoerotic tension with a knife. But all this pales in comparison to Alto becoming a girl. Literally. Alone in his room, he let’s his hair down, puts on Sheryl’s earring, looks in the mirror and becomes her. Any coolness points he might have earned just flew out the window.

In comparison, the loli tones have been muted. Klan only appears in chibi mode once at school, and she looks notably older. Panty shots in general at a minimum. Ranka is less the “little sister” she was in the TV series. In place of all this soft teasing is a whole lot of Sheryl lounging around her room in lingerie, her in the tub and some shower nudity from manger Grace. That said, some familiar gags are present, like Ranka holding meat buns suggestively over her breasts. Ranka also changes costumes about every two minutes, each one cuter than the last. Her rise to fame as an idol is much more detailed, starting with an awesome street live in Zentradi town and continuing with her singing jingle songs for natto (yes, the sticky fermented beans do end up on her face), a super robot series (promoted in front of what appears to be LaOX on “Deep Akihabara Street,” and she is cosplaying as a mecha musume) and the actual convenience store Family Mart. The music is, of course, awesome; Kanno Yoko shines when writing playful music. In comparison, the Sheryl’s concerts are bogus – absolutely heinous. In one, she dances on a giant clock with the springs as backup dancers (and a vampire Sheryl sucks her blood…), and in another she is running around on what appears to be an oil refinery. Not cute. Worst is when the stage is a pirate ship in the middle of a pond projecting images on its sails. Adrian Lozano calls this Fantasmic! meets Macross.

This wouldn’t be so bad if the movie wasn’t centered on these performances, but it is. The narrative tension begins with Sheryl coming from Galaxy for a concert in Frontier, which seems to be a front for her and Grace to engage in some good old-fashioned espionage, but it is canceled due to an attack by the Vajra. The story ends with Frontier saving the refugees from Galaxy and repelling the Vajra at Sheryl’s second concert. The result is a movie that is like an extended music video. Macross means a merger of mecha battles and pop music, but in this movie the battles are drowned out by an unending stream of May’n music. This is a real shame, as the dogfights are actually pretty intense, and the mecha are rendered a lot better than they were in the TV series. Overall, the story is also not well developed, for all the singing. Fine, I didn't come for the story, but damn it all if no one outside the main three characters sees any significant screen time. Mikhail and Klan, Ozma and Ranka, Ranka and Brera - interaction is almost nil.

That said, the movie had its moments. She can't compare to natto, but Sheryl was actually cute, especially during her date with Alto in the forest. She is actually developed as a character who seems to have problems, and her growing feelings for Alto are believable. The Frontier colony looks awesome. You can see clearly where Kawamori borrows from Akihabara, Sydney, Big Sight and San Francisco. It feels futuristic, but a kind of uncomfortable jumble that may well be in our near future. One great scene is Ranka riding through the richly imagined town on a scooter, a scene scored by “What 'bout my star?” The next movie, “Macross Frontier Movie: The Wings of Goodbye” promises more story development. As if anyone cares - Ranka’s “kira” idol concert and her major debut are still ahead. And the trailer shows Sheryl and Ranka both in wedding dresses, which is sure to create a buzz among the fanboys.

The verdict is unfortunately not favorable. Honestly, there was almost no emotional energy in this film. None of the main characters have died and no one, not even Grace and Brera, are bad. Sheryl and Ranka don’t seem to be rivals, and Alto has all but chosen Ranka already. The next movie better do something, anything, to move us. Just don't add any more singing sequences. Seriously.