Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa (The Wings of Goodbye)

[VF5SS]

So a lot of people in Japan bought this beast.

i don't need to tell you how to find it otherwise

So has anyone else seen this yet? Like the first movie, The False Songstress, Wings of Goodbye is an alternate take on the events of the TV series. It is about 95% new footage. Pretty much everything has been turned on its head. Yeah there's some new battles but I found myself laughing at many of the character moments. Much of the overt fan-service has been toned down. Everything feels much more natural in terms of character interaction.

Here's some highlights
Spoiler

Everyone hangs out at the beach and we get to see that Captain Wilder is one hell of a surfer.

SMS and the NUNS forces assault a derelict DYRL style Boldolza fortress that has been turned into a Varja hive. Brera and Alto do their best to destroy the core queen. Alto is shot down but survives.

While in the hospital, Sheryl fails at cutting apples for Alto. He on the other hand, manages to carve one into an airplane because he is a PERFECT HUSBAND.

Grace and her cyborg forces attempt to take over the Frontier CIC when a bunch of dudes in EX-Gear suits fill them full of lead. Grace is shot up and captured. Sheryl is arrested and sent to jail for being a spy.

Leon has been using research being done by LAI (Luca's parents company) to find out a way to control the Varja. Using a combination Fold Quartz antenna and missile launched implants, they are able to take control of a large number of Varja.

Luca gets spaced.

Oh no wait he's ok.

Alto, Ranka, Mikhail, and Klan mount a rescue for Sheryl. You see they put on a concert for the prison all Blues Brothers style. Ranka does her Interstellar Flight gig as Mikhail and Klan provide backup dressed as Basara and Mylene respectively. Using a combination of a Gothic Lolita dress and rockets under his skirt, Alto rescues Sheryl.

While escaping in an underground railway, Brera confronts Ranka, Alto, and Sheryl. Tries to take Ranka away but Ozma busts in with his EX-Gear and fights Brera. A huge explosion rips through the ship and Ozma and Sheryl get spaced.

The Frontier goes to the Varja home world. Leon plays with his balls in a menacing way.

Cyborgs kill everyone on the Battle Frontier bridge and hook up their mother brain to it. They start making Varja bits grow all over Battle Frontier, turning it into an final boss.

SMS goes to attack the Cyborgvarjaized Frontier. Alto gets the sweet YF-29.

Isamu Dyson (well his voice and VF-19) gets a silly cameo as one of the SMS fighters.

Using a technique called foreshadowing, we pump our fists in the air as Captain Wilder uses his surfing skills to make the Macross Quarter air surf on a huge piece of debris. It is awesome.

Ozma and Sheryl are still alive (yay)

Ranka users her singing to attempt to break the control placed on the Varja. Alto notices the implants on them and starts breaking the Cyborg's control.

Brera is still being controlled so he attacks Alto with a few V-9 Ghosts in tow. Cool fight ensues.

Alto rescues Ozma and Sheryl. He brings her to the stage from the first movie with allows for an instant concert.

Brera breaks free from mind control and destroys the Cyborg core of the VarjaBattle Frontier. The Varja come to their senses and take control of the Frontier. Alto ejects from his YF-29 and lands in the palm of the Frontier's hand.

A ton of NUNS Macross Quarters and Koenig Monsters land on the planet and point their guns at the Varja Frontier. It space folds away with Alto on it.

AISHITERUUUU ALTOOOOOOOOOO

Everyone we care about who is not Brera is alive!

Years later, the remaining people are colonizing the now Vajraless planet. Sheryl is in a coma. Ranka goes to the wreckage of the YF-29 and says goodbye.

The end.

Yeah that was pretty good. I can see why it won the Kobe Anime award for best movie.

[Dendrobius]

My BR limited edition copy has just arrived on my desk at work. Provided I can knock off on time and also HAVE time this evening, I can give you a general review tomorrow.

I have heard good things about it. With no subtitles though, I'm going to be struggling mightily to understand what's going on bar *much explosions* and *mecha pr0n*.

[Stark]

You bought a movie in a language you don't understand?

[VF5SS]

Well it also comes with a video game. And scripts for both movies and other stuff.

Gotta support the franchise. You know my shelf full of robits, Stark.

Plus it won't go without an english translation for long

[Stark]

Yeah but muxing a sub into a BD = might as well just have waited.

But what's this about a video game? Tell me more.

[VF5SS]

It's called Macross Last Frontier. I don't know much about it.

[Dendrobius]

Well, my Japanese is not of a conversational level, but I can nut out enough for to enjoy a movie without falling sleep. Heck, when I was in Japan last year, I made a point of going to two movies, the Gundam one and Ooku. The funny part is, the second one was far more enjoyable than the first, even though it stretched my Japanese way beyond breaking point.

The video game as mentioned is what makes this worth buying for me. You can't get the game any other way. It's based off the PSP series, but improved for the PS3.

[Stark]

Oh that's totally different; my partner is sorta fluent in Japanese, and can easily keep up with most anime. I thought you'd be watching blankly while unintelligible jibberish came out of the speakers.

And not just the music.

Ps that game...

it enrages me...

...

fuckin Sony!

[VF5SS]

Yeah sorry Stark, they only cared about putting effort into the PSP games.

That's how they keep people buying them.

PS2 was last good console for robot games yes/no.

[Stark]

I guess selling on Sony platforms is a neat way of avoiding rights issues selling them in the States. It's extraordinarily annoying. Am I going to have to buy a goddamn PSP and call it my ROBO SIMULATOR???

[VF5SS]

Hey Ford, there's totally some transhumanism in this movie.

And by that I mean dudes in power suits fighting cyborgs.

[VF5SS]

So in addition to the YF-25 in the corner there with its dapper orange and white colors.

That one VF-25A just below it is apparently a MIRAGE KNIGHT!

[Dendrobius]

Didn't get time to watch much of it last night, but of what I saw, it was well worth buying on BR. The other stuff that came with the limited edition was interesting. Repros of the original storyboard was interesting artwork in its own right. The complete script for both Itsuwari no Utahime and Sayonara no Tsubasa was a worthy addon, but being completely in Japanese is somewhat...challenging..for me. The best artwork would be the postcard sized reproduction of promotional materials for both movies, I only wish they were bigger.

Probably the most amusing thing is that the box clearly says "For Japan Only". Yet because it has the PS3 game on it, it's region-unlocked. Muhahahaha.

Will give a complete report later, however that's not looking likely till the end of the week.

Oh that's totally different; my partner is sorta fluent in Japanese, and can easily keep up with most anime. I thought you'd be watching blankly while unintelligible jibberish came out of the speakers.

Can this be possibly the first non-snark response from Stark which I've ever seen on the board?

[VF5SS]

Pretty sure American and Japanese blu-ray movies are still the same region chief.

It's the easiest way to convince nerds to import movies they can't understand.

[Dendrobius]

American and Japan BR are the same region, yes. However I live in Australia mate, it ain't the same thing.

[VF5SS]

Why are all you people in Australia.

The colony drop should have driven you all away.

[JointStrikeFighter]

It was already uninhabitable dude.

[Dendrobius]

Ok, managed to get some time last night and finished the movie. Quick thoughts:
Spoiler

- Just like the first movie, all side-stories got sidelined in favour of further developing the Alto/Ranka/Sheryl triangle. I can't say it's a bad choice, it was a necessary evil for a two-movie series.
- GO Ozma! Ex-Gear vs cyborg, that was a FAR better fight than the TV one in the sewers.
- Speaking of Ex-Gears, the cloakable and camo'ed Ex-Gear that the Frontier SpecOps uses is amazing. How can they be so effective vs the redshirt NUNS pilots?
- I'm not sure making Mishima the big bad as opposed to Grace was a good decision. Him essentially collaborating with the "Galaxy Cabal" is just odd, especially for motivation. (Maybe it's my terrible Japanese kicking in here though).
- Grace is a much more sympathetic character here. Almost a complete 180 from the TV version.
- Surfing. Macross. Quarter. During reentry. That is all.
- VF-27 + Ghost V9 combo, you'd think that would be awesome, but they got taken apart in no time by the YF-29. Wasn't a good enough fight.
- Well, the triangle is resolved. Hopefully Ranka doesn't go down the Senketsu no Ketsumatsu scenario (Google for "School Days") if Alto comes back.
- The ending deliberately aped Macross Zero's. I can't say I like it. Does this also mean that Alto's going to come back with an organic based Ex-Gear? (ref: Setsuna with 00 Qanta ELS edition )

[Stark]

Why are all you people in Australia.

The colony drop should have driven you all away.

The big lumps of colony debris are a second gold rush.

[VF5SS]

Dude I played Rise from the Ashes. All you guys have are cities, huge turrets, and big water tanks you can't destroy without getting a bad score.

[JointStrikeFighter]

I didn't know youve been to Brisbane.

[VF5SS]

Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa sells 142,607 Blu Ray discs

That's not bad.

[VF5SS]

So the strangest thing happened while I was re-watching the movie, I was visited by the .ASS-1 and suddenly there were words on the screen. Funny that.

So how happy would Peter Griffin be with a movie that mentions both its own title (in a song) and the title of the preceding movie? I think he'd be psyched.

The titular song even mentions Valkyries, so now it's the perfect Macross song.

[Manus Celer Dei]

Finally watched it. That was pretty awesome, hell of a lot better than the first one.

Pretty sure the Macross franchise has reached it's peak with ALTO SAOTOME, JET POWERED COMBAT MAID.

The ending...eh. If it's just left at that it's a bummer, but I hope there's something else in the pipeline. Given the comments made prior to the films release regarding Frontier's relationship to Zero I'll bet there'll be something soon to cap both stories off.

Also lol at Kawamori still trolling with Mikhail death fakeouts :V

[Ellindsey]

I really have to get a copy of this somehow. I expect the western release rights are still tied up such that there will never be an official release over here, right?