August 3rd, 2016 
AstroNerdBoy Macross Delta 18
Macross Δ 18
マクロスΔ 18
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Delta Squad and Walküre are on Voldor for their covert mission. The climate has changed dramatically, thanks to the Protoculture structure. The Aerial Knights arrive at the planet to provide protection to the ruins. Bogue offends Cassim, who then leaves. An uncertain Freyja is teamed with Hayate when she smells apples being cooked by Cassim. She investigates and is captured. However, she’s not taken prisoner since Cassim has walked away from the Aerial Knights and Freyja knows him from his farm. Hayate arrives and is disarmed by Cassim. However, Cassim lets them continue their mission after vowing that in the skies, he’ll show no mercy.
Mirage and Mikumo arrive at the ruins, where Mikumo begins singing. The ruins react, so the other members of Walküre show up to help her. Delta Squad take to the skies to defend Walküre from the Aerial Knights. Hayate synches with Freyja’s singing. Roid has King Heinz sing, which causes a massive reaction among everyone. Freyja’s singing causes Hayate to start having Var Syndrome, forcing Kaname to stop her. Mikumo starts having memory flashes of her past. She resumes singing solo, swamping Heinz in a fearsome manner for him. Her song destroys the structure, after which Mikumo collapses.
Thoughts/Review:
Well, this episode went in an unexpected direction.
Getting things started, we have Kaname remembering Messer. I actually like this, though I can’t figure out if the writers want Kaname to be with Arad or not.
After the Hayate’s father is revealed to be the one who bombed Windermere, there’s an awkwardness between Hayate and Freyja for a while. I’m glad that didn’t last long. I’m OK with Freyja and Hayate as a couple.
It looks like the forced love triangle element might be over. I hope so. It is a shame that Mirage doesn’t have a better character arch. I like her.
While the series has been showing Cassim’s displeasure with the direction Roid has taken Windermere, his temporarily walking away from his fellow Aerial Knights caused me to roll my eyes. That’s because this ended up being such an obvious thing so that Cassim could fraternize with the enemy. Also, it allows Cassim to learn Hayate’s connection with the bombing of Windermere.
Where things get weird is with Freyja and Mikumo. For Freyja, her connection to Hayate caused him to start getting Var Syndrome. However, it seems the Protoculture ruins/structure started taking her over somehow. It was very strange.
For Mikumo, she too started acting possessed somewhat. She started having flashbacks to her past. However, her solo singing destroyed the structure on Voldor and did something to Heinz. I figure Mikumo may actually be a member of the Protoculture race.
So what the heck is Roid ultimately up to? I can’t figure that out to save my life. I’m guessing that Roid is somehow responsible for what happened to Freyja and Mikumo.
Finally, Bogue is turning heterosexual thanks to Reina. 😆
In the end, we get more music CD advertisements (you can’t buy these songs on iTunes), but we get some story with a weird ending.
Posted in 
Tags: 
What i got out of it. [spoiler]My impression is that Freyja and Hayate aren’t going to be a couple but just made to look like their going that direction. I think what is going to ultimately happen is Freyja is ultimately going to become the Queen of Windermeres and bring peace to the galaxy since the King who is a boy has no clue and being used by everyone. I think Hayate’s father despite having bombed Windemere but didn’t complete his mission on purpose, choosing to bomb something else than people. However, the big enemy of entire series will be either a) NUNS, since their the one who had sent the Hayate’s father in the first place and B) Mikumo will use her power of music to ultimate resolve the situation and likely destroy the Protoculture machinery that’s harmony of everyone (enslavement).[/spoiler] It would be interesting if the Macross universe human only? government was overthrown by multi-species led one. Or fragement into warring nations, which would fuel the universe for more stories. Despite main point of entire series to provide a vehicle to sell music CDs and promote love wins all thing..
Interesting theory on what might happen. 🙂
Kinda what Windermere is attempting to do to NUNS. 😀
Well, there is a scene where Mikumo remembers her awakening in some kind of medical/operation room, being watched from above by people who looked like medics/scientists. Very similar as how are portrayed on movies the alien abductions (first person view, aliens and light, all blurry, etc…). This reminded me of how Leelo in the Fifth Element were “revived” using DNA samples. And maybe Mikumo’s memories were concealed on her DNA, and singing in the ruins activated them.
And another thing: When she awakens, before singing she says “Something something MAYAN”. Do you remember in Macross Zero the tribe with magic singing priestesses? I think the place or them were called Mayan. And they were people more genetically related to the protoculture race than other humans (and Sheryl nome ancestors btw).
And, related to that singing:
[spoiler] They were capable of rise and make fly things, like the “birdman” or the proto-valkyrie of the male protagonist on the climax of the series, something very similar to this wind song magic[/spoiler]
So, yeah, I think that Mikumo is from the protoculture race, and my guessing is that she either were on stasis on a capsule, or in my preferred imagination she was born a la “jurassic park” by a NUNS secret facility, and Roid is the main crazy scientist working with a secret subdivision of NUNS just for the progress on his investigations. Kinda like the CIA black ops putting a man in charge? haha.
That’s why I think she might be Protoculture. NUNS may have found her in stasis somewhere and did what they did. Of course, if that does turn out to be true, then how was she allowed to become an idol in Walküre?
Interesting idea.
Heh! Well, that would fit with another idea I’d had were I suspected that NUNS (or a group within NUNS) and Windermere’s king were working together based on the reactions to the Protoculture structures.
Astro, it will be amusing to see what you think of Episode 19, since it’s out.
Yeah, I’m about to delve into that…I hope.