Episode
18: Pineapple Salad
Review
by Chris
Original
Review: May 1, 2000
New Review: April 2, 2003
In
the hospital, Hikaru thinks about how he was shot down and thinks
he's pathetic. Misa comes in to the room with flowers, and he's
surprised to see her. She tells him she's sorry he was hurt because
of the orders she gave. He's surprised that she's actually apologizing
to him, and she tells him it was her fault. Hikaru says that if
he had been a better pilot that he could have survived no matter
what orders she gave. Misa says she's lost her confidence, and
Hikaru tells her it isn't like her to say that kind of thing.
She places the flowers in water and tells Hikaru to get better
before leaving. Misa returns to the bridge, and Claudia tells
her to stop moping because she felt the same way when she first
met Roy. Claudia tells Misa that she should take a chance and
tell Hikaru how she feels even though he's younger. Their conversation
is interrupted when Global enters the bridge. Misa asks how much
longer they will be staying in the Pacific Ocean, and Global answers
that they will leave when they finish getting supplies. Roy, Max
and Kakizaki go down to visit Hikaru and find he is depressed.
They ask if Minmay came to visit, and he says a big star like
her doesn't have time for him. Roy is glad that Hikaru isn't seriously
hurt, and Max foolishly says that he shouldn't have been injured
by those missiles. Kakizaki then foolishly says that he and Max
are hoping to get their own squads, which makes Hikaru feel even
worse. Roy decides they should leave, and Max asks if the flowers
came from Minmay, to which Hikaru answers they came from Misa.
Roy sees that Hikaru's problem is mental and needs special medicine.
He meets with Claudia at a cafe to get Minmay's shooting schedule
for her movie. Elsewhere, the three spies steal a Minmay singing
doll and run into Kim, Vanessa and Shammy. Shammy asks them if
they're lolicons, and Loli explains they work in the Bamboo House
Disco. The girls then drag them along with them to the disco.
In space, Quamzin argues with Milia about the Macross
and tells her they have an ace pilot too. Roy visits the set of
the martial arts movie Shao Pai Lon and asks Minmay to
visit Hikaru. Kaifun says it's Hikaru's own fault because soldiers
like to fight. As he drives through the city, he receives a call
from Misa that they've spotted incoming enemies.
A
Zentradi ship enters the atmosphere, and Milia's Queadluun-Rau
squad launches. She tells the other pilots to make it so that
she can find the ace from the Macross and fight him one-on-one.
Roy launches in his Skull One and is joined by Max and Kakizaki
since Hikaru isn't there to lead them. Max destroys several Queadluun-Raus
on his own, and Milia realizes he is the ace Quamzin was talking
about. She attacks him and is surprised that he can dodge her
attacks. As they continue to fight, Claudia and Misa find the
attack to be strange because the Zentradi aren't attacking the
ship. Though Global doesn't want them to attack the ship, he agrees
that it is odd. He sees that one enemy is making too much of an
effort to fight Max, so he has Roy tell him to pull out of combat.
In his hospital room, Hikaru receives a visit from Minmay. He
asks how she knew about him, and she explains that Roy told her.
She lies down on the bed and says she is very tired because she's
only getting two hours of sleep a night. Before she can say much
more, she falls asleep. When Milia continues to chase Max, Global
sees that Max was indeed being targeted. Roy fights off several
Queadluun-Raus, and his Skull One is damaged. Milia pulls in ahead
of Max and heads for the Macross, and Global orders all
the hatches to be sealed. Milia manages to get inside the ship
and breaks into the city, followed by Max. Hikaru leaves his bed
and watches them fight. Max shoots at Milia and damages her, and
she can't believe she's losing. Global has the hatches opened
to chase her out, and she fires several missiles and flies away.
Max begins pursuit, but he is ordered to fall back as Milia escapes.
Milia vows she will get revenge for her disgrace. Minmay's manager
comes to the hospital and takes her away while Hikaru is gone.
Two mechanics working on Roy's Skull One are shocked when they
see the cockpit is full of blood. Roy plays the guitar in Claudia's
quarters while she prepares her pineapple salad. He suddenly stops
playing and falls over, and she sees his back is full of blood.
At the hospital, Claudia collapses in tears when Roy is pronounced
dead. As Hikaru plays with a biplane toy, Misa comes in and tells
him Roy is dead. Hikaru drops the toy because he can't believe
what Misa has said.
What
a surprise this episode was. Who would have ever thought they'd
kill Roy? There are some hints, though. As a rule in anime, when
a character is about to be killed, that episode suddenly focuses
entirely on them. So if you're watching a series and find a character
who is generally ignored suddenly in the spotlight, chances are
they're going to die. Roy's death brings sadness to the whole
ship, but especially to Hikaru. With his sempai dead, Hikaru now
has nothing left from his childhood and is forced to be more of
a man in a war that seems to have no end.
Overall
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


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