マクロスF Episode 03
Macross F Ep. 03

SPOILER Summary: Ozama has the Vajra in front of him, which unfortunately leads to a spot right where Sheryl, Ranka, and Alto are. Mikhail and Luca come to the aid of their captain, who’s having hard time holding the biomechanoid in place. Mikhail uses his sniper ability to take it out. However, just when things seem over, the Vajra comes back to life and the ensuing fight breaches the dome, forcing Alto to take the frightened Ranka and dive for a shelter, followed by Sheryl. The SMS units follow the Vajra into space as it flees until they are joined by military forces. Ozama has been wounded and needs to be escorted back to Macross Frontier.

Meanwhile back in the shelter, Ranka is so frightened, she finds she is unable to let go of Alto’s shirt, leading him to suspect that she’s just playing around. The battles above them have caused power problems in the shelter and even Sheryl to have a wardrobe accident, which allows Alto to get a good look at her breasts. She slaps him and the two get into an argument until Ranka breaks it up, almost timidly offering some Maguro-man (Tuna Buns) which happen to look like breasts. The tension is lifted with a laugh and the three eat.

However, things are still looking bad for the group as Sheryl notices it is getting harder to breathe. There’s no way out of the shelter save the way they came, and that was not a good option since everything was being vented into space. Sheryl decides she’s going to take the chance just the same, only to find the shelter hatch opened from the outside. Lt. Glass, Sheryl’s manager Grace, and a rescue team are there. Sheryl teases Alto about the earlier wardrobe event and gives Ranka some words of encouragement before leaving.

After she’s gone, Lt. Glass gets word of what happened to Ozama. Ranka, who believed her oniichan had a safe desk job, is stunned to learn he’s a pilot and to make matters worse, his craft is literally carried by Mikhail and Luca over their heads, leading Ranka to cry out in frustration at Ozama having lied to her. At the hospital sometime later (the next day?), Alto visits Ozama along with Mikhail and Luca, where Alto learns that Ranka really isn’t Ozama’s little sister, but someone who lost her entire family to the Vajra 11 years ago and now has dissociative amnesia over the event. As such, Ozama took her under his wing and she now thinks of him as her older brother, hence why she addresses him as “oniichan.”

Alto wants to know what the Vajra are and is warned that once he learns the truth, he’ll never be able to go back to the way he was. He agrees to this, but Ozama makes him cool his heels for 24-hours. On the way out of the hospital, Luca explains why they could not tell Alto of their SMS jobs and Mikhail wants to know if Alto will run away again, referring apparently to Alto running away from his family’s kabuki business. Alto wanders about and hears singing in a secluded area where he finds Ranka. Ranka now addresses Alto as “Alto-kun” and mentions how she doesn’t remember anything of her past but that song, which she comes to sing alone. However, she decides to let Alto hear it and he enjoys it, further encouraging her in what she wants to do.

After a funeral for one of their comrades, Ozama, now out of the hospital, sees Alto and since Alto is resolute, Ozama tells him to report to the barracks at 08:00. Luca is excited his school senpai is part of the team and Mikhail acknowledges with a smile that things are going to get interesting. Meanwhile, having been encouraged by both Sheryl and Alto, Ranka tries out for Miss Macross Frontier, her initial interview being on TV so that Sheryl gets to see that Ranka took her advice.

Thoughts: I should have known that Ozama Lee wasn’t Ranka’s real oniichan and that she has no memories of the tragic events that happened to her in the past. Well, I guess that means that this little tidbit will come up down the road, say when Ozama dies. I hope not, but I’m just saying.

Alto isn’t really that likable of a character is he? I doubt he’ll be any more likable as an SMS so-and-so. I’m glad to see that Sheryl hasn’t gone goo-goo for him (yet) and that Ranka, while having been saved by “Alto-kun” a few times, appears to just be very friendly at this point, which I also like. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of good romance, but I haven’t seen anything to make me think, “Oh! I hope they end up as a couple.”

Anyway, the episode is another enjoyable one even though the table is still being set for the overall story.