Macross Frontier Ep. 17: Goodbye Sister

Sitting alone in his apartment, Ozma recalls when he brought Ranka to live with him ten years ago. He also recalls giving her a pineapple cake he baked, which she said was bad. On the Macross Quarter 25, Cathy forces Alto and Michael to walk in their EX-Gears on manual as punishment for sneaking Sheryl aboard. When they bicker about how they got into this situation, she punishes them further by adding extra laps. They then criticize her harshness, and she adds five more laps on top of that. Ozma arrives and tells Cathy he wants to speak to her later. After their laps, Alto and Michael shower down, and Michael meets with Klan at a café in the city. Michael asks Klan to introduce him to a student in the pharmaceutical department named Theressa, and Klan is surprised that he remembers someone he just met once. She explodes in a fit of jealousy, and he covers her mouth when he spots Luca getting into a black limo across the street. Later, Ozma meets with Cathy, and she tells him someone with implants is involved in what’s going on. He thinks that the people from the Macross Galaxy are suspicious, and she says Leon is involved too. Ozma says their objective is unclear and wonders why Ranka’s singing needs to be used when they have new warheads. They both believe the keys to the mystery are the Vajra and the 117th Research Fleet. As he leaves, Ozma asks Cathy if she still remembers how to bake pineapple cake. After he’s gone, Cathy lies on her bed and thinks about her past with Ozma. Elsewhere, Alto climbs up the narrow gap between two buildings to sneak into Ranka’s room. He asks why he has to enter like some adulterer, and she tells him there’s too many bodyguards. Ranka runs off to make tea and coffee, and Alto looks at a picture of young Ranka and Ozma. He then takes a closer look at a pet bed, and Ai jumps onto his face. He asks what she called him for, and she mentions the experiment. He mentions that everyone in the squad is happy because the fighting will be easier, and she asks for his opinion. He says conflicts emerge when beings expand, and they’re in a fight for their survival now. Ranka decides that even if her song helps just a bit, she’ll do her part. At the government building, Leon talks to Luca about fold quartz, which is only produced inside Vajra bodies. Luca asks if this is what Birla is after too, and he suspects this because SMS originally was a transport company. Luca thinks that monopolizing transport and communication on a galactic level amounts to galactic control, and both Leon and “G” tell Luca their objectives are different. Elsewhere, Ozma pulls up outside the research facility in Island 3 where the Vajra corpses are being studied.

Ozma walks into a tunnel under the facility and attempts to break a gate, but Brera arrives and tells him to stop. Ozma pulls out his gun and opens fire, but Brera easily dodges and disarms Ozma. Ozma asks what they’re planning to do with Ranka’s singing, and Brera says it’s necessary to keep her safe. Ozma says things are different now and that they have the weapons to protect Ranka, but Brera says that’s only for right now. Ozma looks at Brera’s harmonica and recalls seeing him as a young boy, but just then Brera gets a call ordering them to sortie because the Vajra have appeared. At Tenkumon Hall, Grace asks Nanase to join Ranka’s project team. Ranka stands on the empty stage and can’t believe she’s made it so far. In space, the SMS and NUNS squads take off, equipped with reaction warheads. The Vajra forces move in, and the NUNS and SMS units fire their reaction missiles, which have no effect. The Vajra shed their skin and continue their attack, easily destroying several Nightmare Pluses. Alto wonders what’s going on and dodges a Heavy Soldier. The Vajra open fire on the Macross Quarter 25‘s bridge, but Ozma blocks the shot with his Super Messiah‘s pinpoint barrier. He struggles with the attacking Vajra, which is destroyed by the heavy quantum beam from Brera’s Lucifer. Brera says that “right now” has become the past, so their attacks won’t work anymore. He says the Vajra are constantly evolving, and the injury data is shared between all of them, meaning that future Vajra creatures will be immune to those attacks. Brera adds that at some point, even his beam cannon won’t work, so they need Ranka’s singing. Ozma says he doesn’t care and will keep fighting with whatever weapons he has, even if he’s down to teeth and fingernails. He says he wouldn’t be a man if he couldn’t protect his sister or the woman he fell in love with. He rushes forward while listening to Fire Bomber’s “Try Again” and takes on a Heavy Soldier with his knife, which he destroys. Alto and the others join the fight, but Brera thinks what they’re doing is useless. More Vajra attack, and the Lucifer squad responds with its beam cannons. Later, Ranka opens her debut show by singing “Interstellar Flight.” Cathy sits with Ozma and tells him how surprised she was by what he said during the battle. In another box, Alto, Michael and Luca watch the show. On the Macross Quarter 25‘s deck, a technician inspects Ozma’s Messiah and is shocked by what he finds. Ozma thinks to himself that Ranka isn’t a crybaby anymore. Cathy asks Ozma if he wants the pineapple cake she just baked, but he says nothing. She looks at him and is shocked to see him in a pool of blood. Later, Ranka visits Ozma in the hospital and they discuss pineapple cake. Outside, Sheryl runs into Grace and says they have things to discuss.