You know that reality-check I kept on ranting on about? Well this week Hayate got just that in the most intense and unforgivable fashion. Since he joined the Delta Platoon, this is his first real combat experience in space. It is during this fight Mirage finds herself cornered and in a dire situation. Hayate being the only one close enough to help does everything he can to ensure her safety, even at the cost of his enemy’s life. As result, for the first time, we see Hayate showing respect to his superiors, as he addressed Mirage as his instructor. This was particularly important to me because not only did Hayate go through that, but he also experienced support from Mirage. She shared her own experience of the first time she killed someone and comfort him by explaining how everyone carries burden for every life they take.
I really liked we were able to see Mirage’s insecurity. She feels pressured by her ancestor’s legacy by always being compared to them, and as result she feels inferior. This made me realize and appreciate the fact her partnership with Hayate is going to be an important one. In fact, perhaps the most interesting distinction between the two is their style of flight. While Mirage is a skilled pilot, Wess has criticized her for being too predictable, flying by the books. Hayate on the other hand is unpredictable, but due to the lack of skills, his unpredictability will only keep him alive for so long. The difference in their personalities and strengths will help balance each other. After watching this episode, it only made me more excited to see how these two will help each other grow and become what I believe, the ultimate tag-team.
I don’t always laugh when it comes to Hayate dancing while on duty, but this time, it actually paid off and it was absolutely hilarious. The twins reaction to Hayate’s narrow escape by pulling some crazy stunts or as they put it, dancing on the wind (which I expect both Hayate and Mirage to utilize in the future). This only makes me even more curious about Hayate’s origins, especially when you consider how sensitive he is towards the wind, and his ability to dance with it.
Freyja on the other-hand has a serious conflict of her own. The leader, Mikumo is being hard on her, bluntly telling her current condition is not good enough and to leave if she lets crazy words (from the Aerial Knights) get to her. She does this while making snide comments that is planting the seeds of self-doubt. Mikumo has implied that Freyja is missing an important quality and has encouraged time and time again to undergo a deep self-reflection to understand her own heart. The questions Mikumo had asked were: ‘Why do you stand on stage? For what purpose? What feelings do you put into your singing?’ Freyja doesn’t have an answer for any of them, so it makes sense why her fold-reactor isn’t delivering consistently. It also shows how Freyja is lacking conviction. She is in a very difficult position right now, her homeland is calling her a traitor, fans and peers are speculating she is a spy from the Windermereans’ military. Simply put, I don’t think her heart has picked a side yet. In fact, I think Freyja might be subconsciously avoiding the reality, and is doing so shifting her attention onto her performance ability.
And finally, this week’s episode further highlighted that Chancellor Roid is in fact not really the one to be concerned about at the moment. He showed us more of his humility by siding with Prince Heinz, encouraging him to rest, and stop singing for a bit. Instead, the one who pushed him to sing as much as possible is his elder brother Keith. And if that isn’t enough, Keith is now only adding even more weight to his brother’s frail shoulders by showing him their kingdom’s scar. It is this scar in their land that makes Keith and the other knight’s grudge so intense, compared to Prince Heinz, who (before seeing this) wanted to make sure there were no major bloodshed, minimizing causalities and end the war as soon as possible.
Next week, Lady M (I presume they are referring to Mikumo) ordered investigations to be made regarding the planets which have been occupied by Windermerean Kingdom and figure out why they are targeting those specific planets. Though it is quite forgettable, they did actually show us a hint that there is a reason why Windermerean Kingdom are prioritizing certain planets first. They are conducting research on what appears to be ancient relics that resonate with Prince Heinz’s song. So now their mission is to infiltrate the occupied planet Voldor to find answers. I wonder how that will go…
Random Note of the Week: Uroh he’s new. Wait a minute I recognize him from somewhere…
Oh that’s right Bell from Gundam: G no Reconguista. LOL, Uroh only lasted for two minutes and is said to be dead (but honestly I’m not too sure about that).
Excellent. I like how Freyja’s and Hayate’s superiors are pushing them to be better and not just giving them a pat on the head. Tough love. Messer and Mikumo don’t have time to cuddle their underlings, they need to push them to perform here and now. If they and their comrades are to have a chance to survive, they’ll have to give 110%. The moment they falter, they will lose. Freyja needs to accept that she is a soldier and not an idol. Fates of entire planets, squadrons and ships are dependent on her performing consistently without doubt. She’s as much a soldier as Hayate and not a mere performer.
So can you jump into this series blind us it worth it I’ve read some people saying it’s really good but I’m not familiar with the franchise
As of right now I would say yes you can. The only thing you will be missing out on are references/Easter eggs to the previous series.
Now it’s all make sense why hayate got blue fighter rather than usual lead red one, they are going to pair him with mirage to mirror max & millia from macross, which make me think hayate would end up with mirage rather than freyja
The Jenius couple are undoubtedly the “Mary Sue” and “Larry Stu” of the Macross franchise, where they are always flawless and incapable of making mistakes. They are always so perfect that their characters are plain predictable and has very little to offer in the classics like DYRL and 7.
What I really like about Mirage’s character is that she is more down-to-earth, flawed and realistic unlike her “perfect” grandparents, who are also the reasons behind Mirage’s insecurities and lack of confidence at her own piloting skills while trying to live up to her grandparents legacy.
At the beginning, Hayate was more of a smart-ass with a big mouth and huge ego. But after experiencing life threatening war events and getting his balls squeezed by Messer, he started to come down to earth and learn to take things seriously for once in his life as a drifter.
I think we will be expecting more coming from this “odd couple” where one is more bookish and the other is more footloose will have to learn to work together and watch each others’ backs.
True to Mikumo’s words, Frejya has to dig deeper to find her own cause and reason to sing her heart out while still remain loyal to her own homeworld, which will be interesting to see how she will find a common ground for both Windermere and NUG. Keith is slowly unveiling his vengeful hatred towards the NUG while his brother, Heinz on the other hand is at doubt with the whole war business.
Things were scattered and draggy in previous episodes, Hayate’s attics at chasing merkats and unable to fly by wire are just petty and more like side shows that are often being ignored at. Frejya was reduced to a pom-pom girl who barely has any weights on Hayate’s character while he was constantly bickering with Mirage, is this another Lin MinMay, Hikaru Ichigo and Misa Hayase triangle relationship in the making?
However, this episode is picking up as the main 3 characters began to experience life changing events and digging deeper as the war between the Delta team and the Aerial knights are heating up. And of course, the mystery behind the Protoculture relics and the past conflict between Windermere and NUG still remain the primary reason to follow up this anime while enduring many “magical girl” fan-services.
Hopefully, we will expect more than just songs and dances.
I’d like to point out that supplementary material and the shows own site states that Kaname is the leader of Walkure, not Mikumo. In previous episodes, we’ve already seen her more involved in the actual day to day running of Walkure. More importantly, it makes for a better parallel between both Delta and Walkure, where it’s the sub-leaders (Messer and Mikumo) who are pushing the newer members and not the actual leaders (Arad and Kaname) themselves.