MacrossReviews

Macross Ep. 32: Broken Heart

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Summary

A U.N. Spacy Disk Sensor recon plane carrying Misa heads for enemy territory escorted by Skull Squadron. Missiles approach from Kamjin’s ship, but Skull Squadron destroys them. Hikaru and Misa explore the interior of the ship, but it’s apparent that the ship was just recently abandoned. Elsewhere, Kamjin escapes in his Glaug, followed by his Regult forces. He feels like he’s in a good mood, so he decides to do something. In Ionesco City, Minmay sings “Sunset Beach” in a concert hall filled with humans and full-sized Zentradi. As she sings, the ceiling and walls crumble as Regults burst through and attack. Minmay and Kaifun try to escape, but Kamjin blocks their way and grabs them. On the Macross, Global receives a call from Kamjin. Kamjin shows that he has Minmay and Kaifun as hostages, and he demands that Global give him a battleship by 6:00 A.M. the next morning or he will kill the hostages. Kaifun shouts out that Global should destroy a ship instead of give it to someone like Kamjin. Kamjin reinforces his demand and leaves Global to choose what he will do. Kamjin wonders what he will do with Minmay, and she begins to sing “Love Drifts Away.” Kamjin is momentarily stunned, but he grabs her when she tries to escape. He tells her that he’s not unsophisticated like she might think, and he’s immune to her cultural nonsense. He asks her if she thinks her songs can move people and squeezes her in his hand. He then tells Laplamiz to stop what she’s doing because she is playing with Kaifun like an action figure. In the air, Misa is informed of the situation by Claudia. Ionesco City’s Destroid forces are to work with Skull Squadron in a joint operation to attack the city and rescue the hostages. Misa calls Hikaru and informs him that Minmay is a hostage. He forgets military procedure for a moment, which makes her angry. After landing at the base on the outskirts of Ionesco City, they go over the plan. Hikaru makes it clear that he objects to the plan because it doesn’t place any importance on the lives of the hostages. She tells him he gets worked up easily over Minmay, and he asks her how she can joke like that when lives are at stake.

In the concert hall, Kamjin, Laplamiz and Oigul get drunk with alcohol. Minmay wonders if Hikaru will save them, but Kaifun doesn’t think the military will give over a battleship in exchange for them. Kaifun decides he will try to talk to Kamjin, and Minmay tells him in the end he’s just all talk. Kaifun calls out to Kamjin and asks him what good it will do to start a war again and kill his own people. He tells them to go back to living cultured lives, and Kamjin says he knows how to make culture. He grabs Laplamiz and starts kissing her in front of everyone. Oigul interrupts and tells him that they’re getting a call for help from other Zentradi. Kamjin goes over to the radio, and a Zentradi officer tells him they came to help him but were attacked by U.N. Spacy. Kamjin says he will help and orders his forces to move out. He gives Laplamiz his Glaug and jumps onto a stolen Destroid Monster to ride it. The Zentradi soldiers turn out to be with U.N. Spacy and are part of the trap to lure Kamjin out. When Kamjin and his troops come out, the Zentradi soldiers and the Valkyries run away. Kamjin follows them into a crater and is suddenly surrounded by Destroid Monsters and Valkyries. With only three Regults left at the concert hall, Hikaru storms the building and rescues Minmay and Kaifun. Outside, Kaifun yells at Misa and asks why they used such dangerous methods to rescue them. Misa says they considered all the options, and he keeps yelling at her. Hikaru exits his Valkyrie and greets Minmay since it’s been six months since he saw her. Nearby, Kamjin’s forces run out of ammo, and Laplamiz’s Glaug is damaged. Kamjin destroys several Valkyries barehanded and decides to retreat. Misa asks Hikaru to chase Kamjin, and he yells at her and says to send someone else. She reminds him of his job, and he goes and takes off. Minmay says to herself that she is now able to return Hikaru’s feelings.

Commentary

Kamjin makes a decidedly human move by taking Kaifun and Minmay hostage. He asks for a warship in exchange, and one has to wonder if he really expected to get one. Though he says he’s unaffected by culture, that doesn’t seem to be the case. He enjoys kissing Laplamiz, and he gets drunk and fights with human tactics. Though he may be immune to Minmay’s singing, he has been changed by culture. However, he still falls into the military’s trap and loses. There’s also some conflict between Hikaru and Misa over Minmay. Minmay seems to be going after Hikaru now, so what will Misa do? On a side note, the city here is curiously named Ionesco City. Shoji Kawamori and Haruhiko Mikimoto were big fans of Mobile Suit Gundam, so is this a nod to the Minovsky-Ionesco reactors that power mobile suits? One has to wonder.

Original Review: May 1, 2000

Overall Rating
4/5
Macross Info


Director:
Noboru Ishiguro

Writer(s):
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Shoji Kawamori
Noboru Ishiguro
Sukehiro Tomita
Kenichi Matsuzaki

Mechanical Designer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Kazutaka Miyatake

Character Designer:
Haruhiko Mikimoto

Musical Composer:
Kentaroh Haneda

Format:
36 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.03.1982 – 06.26.1983

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