SDF Macross episodes 32 and 33 – I, Claudia
December 10th, 2009
Kamjin’s insurgency makes its first coordinated attack, choosing to take hostages at a Minmay concert, and while this is significant, for most of these episodes the conflict shifts to the relationship battlefield. Hikaru and Minmay being reunited brings out some intense jealousy in Misa, but even when things appear bleak Claudia’s intervention and wise counsel helps to set things back on the right track. Despite Hikaru’s temporary bout of douchebaggery and Misa’s understandable if a bit sharp-edged jealousy, Claudia knows all and sees all in the realm of romance and really shines as a friend and confidant to Misa. And we even get to hear the story of how she and Roy met as she uses it to illustrate some important lessons to Misa.
Still lacking for arms and vehicles, Kamjin’s insurgents are a mix of mechanized and infantry forces.
Storming into the concert hall, Kamjin’s forces overpower the mostly Zentradi audience and take Minmay and Kaifun hostage.
No one would really mind if this hostage wasn’t recovered.
Kamjin holds Minmay responsible for what he sees as the degradation of his people.
Capt. Global considers Kamjin’s ransom demand of a warship while smoking his disturbing looking pipe.
Still on patrol after finding and eliminating a now abandoned insurgent base, Hikaru, Misa, and their teams are told about the kidnapping. Hikaru gets all flustered when he hears that Minmay is one of the hostages, and Misa reprimands him for acting unprofessionally about the matter, venting possibly a little too strongly in her frustration. A plan is developed to rescue the hostages, a joint operation between Hikaru’s team and the 103rd Destroid Squadron, and before setting off Hikaru and Misa argue again about Minmay’s effect on Hikaru. It is a rather strong reaction, especially given how minor to nonexistent the interaction between Hikaru and Minmay has been lately. Fortunately his emotions don’t get in the way of his ability to do his job during the rescue itself.
Well really only one of them matters.
Get with the program Hikaru or it won’t just be that control panel that gets a Misa fist taken to it.
*takes a deep breath and counts to ten* It’s okay, it’s just the writers trying to find a way to stretch out the love triangle until the end of the series.
Seriously, this is most unprofessional Hikaru.
One of several cool ground crew shots in these episodes.
Back in the concert hall Minmay and Kaifun are being kept inside a cage made of Zentradi forks while their captors get drunk and act like the unprofessional rebel scum that they are. Kaifun tries talking once more to their captors, to predictably little effect, though it does cause Kamjin to bring up that he doesn’t need culture because he can make his own. ‘Making culture’ to him meaning kissing Laplamiz right in front of everyone. A rather long kiss is interrupted by a distress signal from what appears to be some Zentradi who wanted to join Kamjin’s uprising asking for help. Kamjin, tired of waiting, departs with most of his group, leaving behind only three guards without Regults inside the hall and three Regults outside.
Can’t really blame him for trying in this situation, but it’s true that his talk offers no solutions for anyone. Ever.
‘Making culture’
Kamjin feels like making culture.
I’ll never understand how these two got together, but they do provide the lulz.
The call to Kamjin for help is just part of a clever ruse set up by the NUN forces, the Zentradi asking for help in fact on their side. Scouts on the edge of the city observe Kamjin’s forces leaving the concert hall and alert the 103rd, which is waiting with its large force of Destroid Monsters to ambush the insurgents. Meanwhile Hikaru’s team makes short work of three Regults left outside the building and overpowers the three unarmored Zentradi inside to rescue the hostages unharmed. The plan went off brilliantly, with only a handful of Kamjin’s men making it out of the ambush area, and the hostages were never in the line of fire. Though you wouldn’t think that if you asked Kaifun.
I love the idea of cigarettes as tall as a human.
Kamjin riding a captured Destroid Monster, trying to act like a cowboy. As we in America know well from the past administration, wannabe cowboys make terrible leaders.
Excellent use of scouts in service to a larger plan. The use of actual planning and tactics in Macross continues to impress.
Kamjin wanted to act like a cavalryman, now he gets to make the Charge of the Light Brigade. “Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell…”
Hikaru’s team easily takes down the remaining Regults. In a planetary environment the Valkyries’ agility and ability to fly gives it a huge advantage over the Regults.
After the area is secured the hostages meet up with the NUN troops outside the concert hall. Kaifun continues to be an ungrateful moron, trying to criticize Misa and her operation despite its emphasis on the hostages’ safety. Minmay, to her credit, calls him out on this and defends the NUN forces action before Hikaru lands his Valkyrie nearby. Hikaru is so excited to see Minmay after so long (half a year apparently), that he forgets himself and the two run to hug each other. Out at the ambush point, meanwhile, Kamjin is trying to fight his way out of a losing battle and crashes his way towards Laplamiz’s nearly disabled unit, and once he’s sure she’s safe, orders a retreat.
They’re just saving your worthless ass all the time.
Would he have preferred that they’d have been given a warship and use it to bombard a city full of civilians?
Oh sure a hug. What’s the kiss count now, Minmay? Misa 2, Minmay ½ (that crazy, ‘kiss me before we die’ thing only gets half credit in my book.)
Kamjin is obviously concerned for her. Though this shot shows how off the size of the different battlepods vs the size of a Zentradi outside one is just a bit off.
Kamjin’s retreating forces are still on the loose, and when Misa is informed of this she uses the chance to accomplish both legitimate military and personal jealousy ends by ordering Hikaru to get back in his Valkyrie and help hunt down the survivors. Hikaru gives her an attitude after being interrupted, and even throws down his helmet like a little child in protest. Then Misa asks him if he’s a flight leader or not and finally shames him into returning to his duty. It may have come off as a little harsh, but seriously, it’s Hikaru’s job and letting enemy forces go to fight another day just so he can hug Minmay is no good excuse. Minmay then chases his VF-1S as he takes off, Misa smiling at this as the sun rises, knowing it to be a metaphor for Minmay’s future: always chasing and never catching.
Damn right.
Pilot, get back in that Valkyrie and do your duty! I for one did not feel that this was harsh in the slightest. Hikaru has a job to do.
Your commanding officer will tell you when you’ve done enough! And as for it serving the great good of Hikaru X Misa, that’s just a happy coincidence.
Minmay, endlessly chasing under a shadowy sky, while the sun shines beautifully on Misa. I approve of this symbolism.
Some time after the operation concludes Misa is sitting alone at a table wondering if she was too harsh towards Hikaru and if she let her jealousy get in the way of her role as a leader. But just as she’s despairing of this Claudia shows up with a gift of some high quality tea, intending it to be used as a pretext to bring her together with Hikaru. Claudia once again shows how great of a friend she is, and how smart she is in figuring out those around her, and takes it upon herself to set things right between Misa and Hikaru. Hikaru returns from his mission, and is told that Misa wants to speak with him. Still in a bad mood about what happened, he throws her his report and then starts to leave just as Misa is about to apologize to him. She gets angry and defensive in return, and Hikaru responds by sinking to one of his lowest points since the start of the series when he tries to ask Vanessa out for coffee as a way to hurt Misa. She’s caught off guard at first, then recovers and tells him that this is inappropriate, especially because Misa is in love with him, which he SOMEHOW STILL DOESN’T GET.
Claudia, ever there to provide help in time of need, now descends, like compassionate Venus, to help along the love of her friends.
Another nice ground crew shot. Makes me want to get a VF-1S model and some appropriately scaled ground crew models and put them together as a scene. I wonder if I can find some 1/72 scale ground crew…?
The ends justify the means!
Hikaru, me glad that you’ve accumulated a lot of favor in my eyes, because this is pretty damn low.
He’s the only one who doesn’t realize this. Like, the only one in all the remnants of humanity.
The bridge bunnies then have a side conversation about all of this down on the floor level of the command center, kind of one of those classical theatrical elements where the minor characters provide the commentary and some comic relief to the main characters’ serious drama. Vanessa restates her disbelief as to how dense Hikaru really is, while Kim and Shammy are both generally in favor of one or both of the two to just admit their feelings openly already. And we find out who the people bullying that pathetic looking guy from last week’s episodes: the bridge bunnies! What a pathetic guy. He gets to work with three interesting, friendly, attractive, and intelligent (well, ok, maybe that last one doesn’t apply to Shammy) coworkers, and somehow always manages to annoy them. Come on man, the Genshiken Team got on their good side and you can’t?
If they could identify and replicate whatever it is that comprises Hikaru’s skull, they could use it for armor piercing rounds like they do with depleted uranium. They’d probably be even better, Hikaru must have something denser than DU lining that head of his.
Frustrating watching from the sidelines? Tell me about it!
Hey it could work. Especially if she wants to take the Miwako approach and “Belittle him. Point at him and laugh…and comfort him. [and then] I want to be appreciated.”
That’s about the oddest threat I’ve ever heard. But now that “Shammy is rip your pants off awesome” comment that was made by a commenter in one of my early posts finally makes sense!
If you’d work yourself into the conversation more naturally you wouldn’t have this problem, loser.
The rain is coming down as Misa walks back to the officers’ area of the city, and she hesitates despite the downpour outside of Hikaru’s house. But as she stands there about to give up on her chance, Claudia shows up again and hands her an umbrella. She then invites Misa in for tea, though Misa is in more of an alcohol mood after her spat with Hikaru and the two switch to wine. Though I won’t call this a violation of the Tytania Rule because she’s simply having her celebratory wine in anticipation of the victory that Claudia is planning. Plus it serves Claudia’s purposes of letting Misa open up her feelings. The two talk, and a few houses down Hikaru lays in bed, also having doubts about whether he was too harsh and contemplates his feelings in general.
Claudia the guardian angel.
All is proceeding according to Claudia’s design.
“It warms the blood, adds luster to the eyes, and wine and love have ever been allies.” – Ovid
Hikaru starts getting his act together.
While Misa sits in Claudia’s living room, Claudia imparts some of her wisdom to her about love. Firstly, Misa should be glad that the man she loves is still alive. Then she goes on to tell Misa the story of how she and Roy met, illustrating the potential misunderstandings and complications that may be involved in expressing one’s feelings. During the Unification Wars Roy and Claudia were stationed at the same out of the way base where Claudia first fell for Roy. However his cocky ways and tendency to show off cooled her feelings despite his attempts to make up. But later when they were both assigned to South Ataria Island he admitted to her one night that he would act they way he did because he was trying to cover up his fear with jovial actions, but that at the end of the day the only one he wanted to tell this truth to was her.
Smooth right from the start.
Hmmm, sounds like someone we know…
Roy used to party hard.
Yes, this is reasonable Roy…*facepalm*
The Colasour approach.
Half drunk confession on a rainy night. Very Roy.
After sitting at home considering recent events, Hikaru runs off looking for Misa, intending to apologize and make up. She is still at Claudia’s when he goes by her home, but rather than give up and have one of those excruciating cases of bad timing that’s so common in romantic drama, he does the smart thing and calls the command center and then Claudia to find out where Misa is. Claudia picks up the phone when he calls and tells him to head over. She then gracefully nudges Misa out the door when Hikaru shows up so the two can walk home together. Keikaku doori. Just as planned, the two quickly reconcile on their walk and Misa invites Hikaru to have some of Claudia’s tea together. The couple walks off into the night smiling and happy together. All is right with the world.
Fret not Misa, for benevolent Claudia watches over your love.
Claudia’s skills are great.
That’s ok, because if it was too sweet then you’d put salt in it.
Final Thoughts: – Claudia really shines in the latter of the two episodes this week. She’s incredibly insightful about the situation and turns around what could have been a major setback for Misa and Hikaru into another opportunity for them to spend time together and show their feelings for each other. It made me supremely happy for the Minmay moment in the first episode to be undone so quickly. Claudia is definitely one of my favorite supporting characters in an anime series.
- Whenever I’m about to rage at Hikaru acting dense and still acting like he’s as into Minmay as he was at the start of the show, I just have to remind myself that the writers are trying to draw out the romance aspect until the end. Though that just makes me rage at the writers a bit, since with so few episodes left there’s no reason to draw it out like this. This is probably the only time so far in the series where I’ve had a significant problem with the writing, it’s just way too forced how the love triangle is being kept on life support. Pull the plug already! There’s plenty of other things that can be resolved in the remaining episodes. Despite their interference, I remain confident in victory for my OTP.
- I’ve been warned by my readers about some poor animation quality in some episodes, but I never really noticed it much until this episode. I seriously checked to see if these episodes, especially 32, where in a lower resolution than the rest. Still, it didn’t get in the way of my enjoying the episodes.
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