Macross Frontier 24 – Last Frontier

Ouchie!

So Ranka regains the rest of her memories and falls into a pit of despair as she realizes her song called forth the Varja and caused the tragedy 11 years previously. Grace uses this to gain control of Ranka through Brera.

Young Ozma!

Chibi Ranka, destroyer of worlds…

Ozma and Cathy find out some information from the floating wreckage of the 117th Research Fleet. After first contact in 2040 and 8 years later, or 11 years previously, they succeeded in capturing and doing research on the Varja.
The leader of the project was Dr Mao Nome a pioneer of Protoculture Research and Grace was one of the researchers of course. Ozma is irritated with himself for not discovering it sooner since the Magnificent Borg of Evil brazenly boarded the Frontier with her original name!

Canaria meanwhile has found the medical records for Ranka’s mother Ranshe Mei. They confirm that she was the first person to contract the V-Type Infection and carried Ranka to term unaware that she was infected. This they realize is indeed the source of Ranka’s power.

Grace’s master plan is… A JELLYFISH?

Continuing to dig they find a thesis draft for Grace’s plan regarding a hyper dimensional network with fold quartz and implant technology. Back on board Quarter, they create a real time galaxy wide concept illustration of the implant network based on the thesis.

With fold quartz as the implants core, theoretically there is no lag throughout the entire galaxy. If utilized it would be a galaxy-wide, hyper-parallel though-network. Bobby really hopes that it never sees the light of day since he doesn’t want guys to know when he’s checking them out!

Cathy says the idea is nice, to unify the galaxy as one, however as Ozma points out there is a catch. The network wouldn’t be made of completely parallel thoughts.
There will be terminals, which would be main hubs that would have supremacy over lesser nodes. If they are intensified, the central node will become a superior existence. Therefore, that one node literally is in control of the entire galaxy.

Ahh Ranka, being the best puppet she can be.

Cathy points out that implanting all of mankind would be impossible and that is where the Varja come in. Those who reject will die; those who accept will be subjugated. Grace chose them perfectly, since they transcend fold faults and render reaction warheads ineffective and so mankind has no effective method to stop them. And the key to it all is the human who can communicate with them… Ranka!

Quarter passes on what they know to NUNS and can only hope that they make it in time to stop Grace. Wilder stresses that they don’t have to go up against the Varja but placing a hand on Monica’s shoulder asks if she will and she blushingly agrees.

Sheryl’s mommy!

Cathy has her own tender moment with Ozma while sifting through material recovered from the wreckage of the research fleet. Finding a note to Mao from her daughter saying that she has passed on her earrings to her grand daughter (Sheryl!) And Cathy realizes that no matter where they are even in the vast regions of space, people’s lives don’t change.

Regulators… MOUNT UP!

Now if you just had the balls to do it whilst she was awake…

The Frontier convoy arrives at the planet to begin the fight against the Varja and Alto goes to see Sheryl before he leaves, whilst Luca steals a little something, something from Nanase.

Foreshadowing so thick you could frost a cake with it.

And yet again Hime leaves it all up to Sheryl.

Sheryl is full of winsauce this ep!

You wear it well Hime!

Alto meanwhile tells Sheryl that he will be coming back; he will survive the battle and return. He tells her that he now understands one can’t fly alone.

Putting on a brave face she jokingly tells him he’s slow since he only just realized that. He smiles and tells her that he doesn’t know what to say and so she tells him its fine and they should end the lover’s game now.

He tells her to wait and is about to say something but Sheryl stops him with a kiss. She tells him not to say anything when they break apart (that was a really long kiss Ranka, your odds are virtually nil right now) and tells him, “if you say it now, no matter what you say. I won’t be able to sing.”

She tells him when everything is over he can tell her the rest, she puts her earring on him. Telling him to save Ranka and come back and then she’ll listen to what he has to say. She tells him to make sure he comes back, saying he’ll rarely find a woman as wonderful as her.

The MDE’s do their thing.

Fighto!

Contestant 1 – Ranka Lee

Contestant 2 – Sheryl Nome, Songstress Battle BEGIN!

Grace’s goal.

And so Sheryl sings, the battle begins and things go great for the Frontier forces. Of course, all good things must come to and end and using Brera, Grace gets Ranka to sing and soon the Frontier forces find themselves on the losing end so Grace can head towards what she really wants.

Things that make you go boom!

Bye bye Hime? Pfffffft whatever!

Brera engages Alto telling him to stay away from his sister, Klan helps out but has to back off when she takes some damage. Alto’s fighter takes a direct hit and goes up in flames…

Nostalgic Ending

Speaking of nostalgia…

Michel-kun tribute pic of the week. He’s with you in spirit Klan!

There will be no tribute picture for Alto-kun, because, MY HIME IS NOT DEAD!

I believe he either ejected out and once SMS arrive will be back out there in his spiffy VF-25. Or since the blurb for next week mentions a silhouette appearing on the Battle Frontier, somehow through the power of the earring he folded out and ended up on the Battle Frontier.

Whatever happens he’s alive!

How do you all think it will end?

I propose this…

Silhouette is Minmei, her song will combine with Sheryl’s.

Alto ejected, SMS will arrive and he’ll get his VF-25 back. The combined effort of Minmei an Sheryl will wake up Ranka.

Ranka horrified by what she has done, will sing a Varja song of suicide. Destroying them along with herself.

Since the virus is a form of communication for the Varja, with them dead, the virus will fbecome dormant and Sheryl will be saved.

Varja gone, Sheryl saved, Hime alive, happy ever after!