Macross Frontier/Characters
Alto Saotome
Voiced by: Yuuichi Nakamura
Male protagonist of Macross Frontier, Alto's a high school student in the Mihoshi Academy, studying its "Pilot Training" course. As a result of his fine, masculine features and long, blue hair, he's often mistaken for a girl at first glance, even receiving the In-Series Nickname "Hime" (Princess). Otherwise, Alto's your Ordinary High School Student, though somewhat aloof and standoff-ish. Born into a well-known Kabuki family, his persistent yearning for the skies has made a thorny relationship with his father Ranzou Saotome. He constantly frets having to live aboard the Macross Frontier fleet, due to the lack of a "true sky". After getting the chance to pilot a VF-25 Messiah variable fighter (due to its original pilot, Henry Gilliam, being killed by a Vajra space mecha-drone) and seeing the destruction brought upon by the Vajra, he makes it a point to serve the S.M.S., a private military corporation, to protect those around him and fulfill his dreams of taking to the skies. Under the designation "Skull-4", Alto serves under Major Ozma Lee of the S.M.S. Skull Squadron.
Throughout the series, Alto balances both school and military life, being called into service when the Vajra attack. He also develops emotional bonds with Ranka Lee, a young girl who aspires to be a singer and shares Alto's similar drive to achieve his dreams, and Sheryl Nome, the Idol Singer from the Macross Galaxy fleet.
- Accidental Pervert - Happens in episode 2 when he accidentally gropes Ranka's (non-existent) rack. A few episodes later, he inadvertantley catches a glimpse at Sheryl topless. Then, there's that locker room scene in episode 5...
- Badass Long Hair
- Berserk Button - Being mistaken for a girl.
- Big Damn Heroes - Subverted; he tries to be one at the beginning of the series but forgets a variable fighter's gunpod doesn't have Bottomless Magazines.
- Gets a better one in episode 14.
- Bishonen - To which he comes with a...
- In a slight subversion, he seems to be the only bishonen character ever to be dissatisfied with looking so feminine, an indulges in manly hobbies like piloting partially to prove how macho he is.
- Bishie Sparkle
- Brown Eyes
- Catch a Falling Star - Today: save Ranka; Tomorrow: save Sheryl; The day after tomorrow: save Ranka; The day after that: save Sheryl. Repeat ad infinitum.
- Character Tics - Almost guaranteed to make a paper plane at least once an episode or two.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady - And is consistently mocked for it, repeatedly.
- Dying Declaration of Love: towards Sheryl. Movie-verse only.
- Subverted. Word of God says he never died. He folded. He was shocked people thought he died!.
- Heir to the Dojo
- The Hero
- Hime Cut - Natch...well, once he lets his hair down, anyways.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On - He really didn't: his cellphone was on vibrate.
- I Just Want to Be Badass
- In-Series Nickname - Alto-hime (Princess Alto)
- Innocent Cohabitation: With Sheryl
- Up to a point, the novel makes it clear they do end up sleeping with each other, but Word of God now is everything is Alternate Continuity, but there was still that Sexy Discretion Shot.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Jumped At the Call - ...right into the cockpit.
- Leeroy Jenkins
- Loss of Identity - Alto's backstory. Finding his identity is his personal plot. Central to this is a theme of decision-making, and whether Alto ever really made a decision for himself or if it was the role deciding for him. Arguably this was never resolved in the series, but equally arguably was in the movies.
- Love Triangle - The main point of it, with Ranka and Sheryl competing at the other ends.
- Resolved in the second movie: He chose Sheryl.
- Meaningful Name
- Meido - Dressed up as one in the 2nd movie during a concert staged as a cover to help break Sheryl out of prison. The fact that he also does the actual sneaking in and breaking out while dressed as a maid may qualify him for Ninja Maid status.
- Screaming Warrior
Falling IntoTook a Willing Leap Into The Cockpit - Deconstruction- Talking to Himself: With Graham Aker in Super Robot Wars Z.
- Training from Hell - Which includes firearm training, close-quarters combat, running laps around the Macross Quarter's hangar bay wearing the EX-Gear suit on without its power turned on and general hazing by the S.M.S. on New Meat.
- Tsundere - A moderate case of Type A.
- Wake Up Go To School Save The Fleet - Essentially, Alto's life becomes this once he's officially part of the S.M.S. The "going to school" part's averted by the last few episodes, as he's become a full-time military pilot at that point.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Alto in the second movie, puts on purple lipstick and dresses in a gothic lolita outfit, complete with heels in order to disguise himself when busting Sheryl out of prison.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair - It's rather pale blue, and sometimes mistaken for gray or purple depending on the light.
Ranka Lee
Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima
One of two female protagonists, Ranka's a petite, lively and cheerful (although naive) teenage girl with green hair and one-quarter Zentradi, which gives her a unique ability to have her hair move on its own according to her feelings, including an above-average resistance to the vacuum of space. Ranka suffers a mild form of amnesia due to having witnessed the destruction of the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet where her biological family perished. As the adopted younger sister of Ozma Lee, she initially attends an all-girl's high school at the urging of her brother while working part-time at the Chinese restaurant "Nyan-Nyan", but later transfers to Mihoshi Academy to facilitate her singing career after being discovered at the Miss Macross Contest and an ensuing movie. Ranka started off as a huge fan of Sheryl Nome as she loved singing since her childhood and had dreamt of becoming a singer. She develops a crush on Alto, especially after being rescued by him when the Vajra first attacked the Macross Frontier fleet.
Ranka is the daughter to researcher Ranshe Mei, the leading scientist aboard the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet, who worked alongside Dr. Mao Nome. She is also younger sister to Brera Mei, later revealed to be the cyborg Brera Sterne. When Ranka was conceived, Ranshe was infected with the "V-Type" infection that was slowly killing her, but Ranka was born immune to it. This allowed Ranka to have a deep physical connection to the Vajra via her songs, that seemingly mimics the actions to that of a Vajra queen. It's because of this the Vajra were lured to her singing and caused the attack on the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet.
- A-Cup Angst - Happens to Ranka in episode 4 during the Miss Macross Contest. It doesn't help that her best friend Nanase Matsuura tries to tell her that size doesn't matter.
- Big Damn Heroes - Her Dynamic Entry in episode 12. When it was reenacted in Super Robot Wars Z 2: Hakai-Hen, the protagonists from the other shows comment on how singing worked on the Zentreadi Marines.
- Brainwashed - Grace uses this to some extent to get Ranka to override Sheryl's song at the Final Battle with Do You Remember Love? sung for the Vajra. What follows is six minutes of NUNS getting their asses kicked by judicious Beam Spam. Alto and Sheryl snap her out of it with Northern Cross.
- Break the Cutie - She gets better
- Brother-Sister Incest: With Brera in 'Sheryl: Kiss in the Galaxy' manga. YMMV. But the undertones and the wedding dress she wears at the conclusion are hints towards this direction.
- Catch a Falling Star - Not so much falling as she is getting sucked into space.
- Catch Phrase - "Embrace each other! To the ends of the galaxy!" (or something like that)
- Cute Little Fangs - Only during her poses while singing.
- Dark and Troubled Past - Orphaned survivor of the 117th Research Fleet which was nearly wiped out by the Vajra, source of her Trauma-Induced Amnesia.
- Expressive Hair
- Glamorous Wartime Singer - In quite the traditional sense in her Big Damn Heroes moment, singing before two competing armies of Zentradi Marines, thus ending the fight, and notably causing Nosebleed.
- Hive Queen - Her singing slightly mimics a Vajra queen's, but she can't outright command them.
- Idol Singer
- In-Series Nickname - "Super Dimension Cinderella"
- "Little Queen" by Grace, in regards to her being able to slightly command the Vajra.
- Love Epiphany - Episode 12.
- Love Triangle - The second point, rivaling Alto's affections with Sheryl.
- MacGuffin Girl
- Theme Music Power-Up: In Super Robot Wars Z 2: Hakai-Hen, she gives Kamina the inspiration to create the Giga Drill Break by singing "What 'Bout My Star" after Baron Ashura and some Kikaijuu show up in Scenario 18-A.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia
- Voice of the Legion: A very kindly one for the Vajra.
- What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome? - Her frog phone/MP3 player.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist
Sheryl Nome
Voiced by: Aya Endo, May Nakabayashi (singing voice)
The second of two female protagonists, Sheryl's known as the "Galactic Fairy", a pop idol from the Macross Galaxy fleet who constantly topped the music charts, leading people to say it was impossible not to hear her songs if you lived in the Milky Way. Her popularity was soaring just as high in the Galaxy's sister fleet, Macross Frontier. Due to her beauty and singing talent, she's a very proud and self-assured person. Sheryl recognizes the singing talent of Ranka and often offers to help her "behind the scenes" to realize her dream. Sheryl's first encounter with Alto was when he served as a backup stunt performer at her first concert in the Frontier, leading her into the series' archtypical Love Triangle.
Sheryl is maternal granddaughter to Doctor Mao Nome, a researcher who worked aboard the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet alonside Ranka's mother Ranshe Mei. Dr. Nome sent an infant Sheryl a pair of earrings with fold quartz crystals years before the series began. In her early life, Sheryl lived anonymously and was a homeless orphan girl in the Macross Galaxy fleet's slums after her parents were killed for rejecting cybernetic implants and opposed the government for it, until Grace picked her up for the "Fairy 9" project. It's revealed Sheryl also suffers from the same terminal "V-Type" infection and will eventually die in the absence of a cure. However, during a charity concert, Luca Angelloni discovers her infection gives her similar abilities to those of Ranka in producing fold waves through her singing, albeit to a lesser extent. During the Final Battle, Ranka cures a dying Sheryl of the infection by sending "V-Type" microbes from her brain into her abdomen, resulting in Sheryl having the same capabilities as Ranka to physically connect with the Vajra through singing.
- Ambiguously Bi - Les Yay with Ranka is one thing, but she also "stares lewdly" at Nanase during a shower scene and comments on her figure.
- And the one man she's interested in is Alto-hime.
- Armor-Piercing Slap - Delivers one to Alto when he accidentally sees her topless.
- Be Careful What You Wish For - In Episode 18, Sheryl demands to know why Ranka can influence Vajra - and she cannot. Turns out she can - but she is dying because of it
- Bifauxnen - Some of her costumes during her concerts in the movies have her as this.
- Big Breasts, Big Deal - Type 4, Pride. Her chest gives people hopes and dreams.
- Break the Haughty / Break the Cutie
- Broken Base - In show example: only referenced in the liner notes of the first soundtrack to the series for Sheryl's song Sagittarius☆9pm Don't be late, mentioning that it was this song that threw Sheryl into the galactic spotlight. Naturally, her older fans thought It's Popular, Now It Sucks.
- Catch a Falling Star - The falling star every time: played straight twice in the series, while Sheryl invokes this during the movie once. The second time it happens in the movie the trope's subverted because she saves herself.
- Catch Phrase - "Because I'm Sheryl! Sheryl Nome!"
- Up to Eleven with the scene she hires the SMS to save galaxy using her credit card. "The Galactic Fairy becomes the Goddess of War."
- Continuity Nod - She's not a Nome for no reason.
- Cool Car - Her Ferrari California in Nyan Cli. She drives a stick no less.
- Couldn't Find a Pen: In The Wings Of Goodbye, Sheryl ends up imprisoned without a pen. She writes the lyrics to a song with her own blood that she keeps coughing up from her V-type infection. What song, you ask? She called it The Wings Of Goodbye.
- Dark and Troubled Past - Spent much of her early childhood a homeless orphan on the streets of Galaxy before she became a celebrity. Her rise was made possible by Grace, who found her at age 7 and spent ten years making her a celebrity. Yes. Grace. The Big Bad of the series who played a hand in the death of Sheryl's entire family, secretly (and painfully) gave her her Incurable Cough of Death in the name of Galactic Domination and revenge against Mao Nome, and sadistically discards her to die when she finds out Ranka serves her plans better. Ouch.
- Despair Event Horizon - Approached twice. In episode 18 she is left a sobbing wreck. In episode 25, her song fails to override Grace's control of the Vajra and the Fold Wave pushes her V-Type Infection to its end game (that is, killing her), and Sheryl, barely conscious on the ground, resigns herself to death. Ranka mentally slaps her, then goes and cures her illness, which has the side effect of multiplying Sheryl's power over the Vajra significantly. Cue Crowning Music of Awesome.
- Do Not Go Gentle - Luca and Leon give her the opportunity to save Frontier, and basically use this as their argument. She takes it, even though she doesn't expect to live through the Final Battle either way.
- Double so in the movie. What do you do when you are both In last stages of terminal illness and awaiting executien in cold cell, without anything to write? Write the lyrics for a new song with blood, of course!
- Gainaxing - Sheryl gains a unique version of this: there's a close-up of her cleavage as artificial gravity gradually engages from zero-G to 0.75Gs early in episode 1.
- Falling Into the Cockpit - Deconstructed with prejudice. She gets shot down immediately.
- Fan Nickname - "Hopes" and "Dreams", but we aren't talking about all of her...
Sheryl Nome: "My chest isn't the same as yours: mine brings people hopes and dreams."
- First Girl After All
- First Girl Wins - Surprise case. Ranka appeared to be the first girl up until near the end of the second movie, when Alto has a flashback to his Kabuki years when an inspired fan girl met him and told him she'd become the greatest Idol Singer ever. It was Sheryl, and it's pretty clear from that moment who he's to choose.
- She's also the First Girl introduced in the Tv series. Alto and her cross paths briefly before Ranka stumbles upon him.
- Get a Hold Of Yourself Woman - The deliverer and the recipient, both with Ranka.
- Godiva Hair - A blink and you'll miss it in episode 3 and 7.
- Groupie Brigade - Who stalks her when she goes to Mihoshi Academy and chasing her panties.
- Hello Boys - First ten seconds of Deculture and Yakh Deculture edition, and indeed it is very deculture.
- Hello, Nurse! - Complete with Naughty Nurse Outfit.
- Heroic Willpower - Not the most obvious, because the only real skill she has to back it up is her singing, but she often tries...tries VERY HARD. And it takes a lot to break her down, namely the simultaneous multi-wham of her career spontaneously imploding, her boss and, up until then, best friend turning out to be an evil Magnificent Bitch, and the revelation she herself is terminally ill with no cure and has months, perhaps weeks, to live. Yet, she still got through it, but with a little help. The only time it ever truly fails her is when she's literally at death's door from her "incurable" fatal disease.
- Hidden Depths - she begins as a shallow Rich Bitch and a typical Idol Singer - "A Fabricated Icon". Only gradually we see that she is actually nice and has tons of Heroic Willpower as well as readiness to help other people. Note that she never show any contempt towards Ranka.
- Idol Singer - Until the war erupts, whereupon she became a Glamorous Wartime Singer.
- Ill Girl
- Incurable Cough of Death - Somewhat subverted, since she gets better.
- Innocent Cohabitation - With Alto, to a point. The novel/manga makes it clear this is something of a Subverted Trope, also something of an Averted Trope in that no one really gives them grief over it.
- In-Series Nickname - "The Galactic Fairy".
- Laser-Guided Karma - Her commitment to Ranka ultimately saves her life. Twice. First she escapes the Dimension Eater bacause she wanted to help search for Ranka, second time she she convinces Alto to save Ranka, and is healed in return
- Let's Get Dangerous - Complete subversion. Sheryl's attempts to do things beyond her position as Idol Singer results in complete disaster throughout the series, and her Catch Phrase tends to precede the low points of her life more often than the high. The straightest subversion is in Sheryl's infamous attempt to fly a Valkyrie. She says her Catch Phrase and even gets a Theme Music Power-Up and still she bungles it up.
- Double Subverted in the final part, when her singing turns out a more powerful weapon than any single Valkyrie could ever be. The Power of Rock rules!
- Like You Were Dying - Sheryl lives her (presumed) last days as if she had won Alto in the Love Triangle and actually sleeps with him. Later she gets drunk for no apparent reason other than living like she was dying.
- Love Triangle - The third point, rivaling Alto's affections with Ranka.
- Master of the Mixed Message: In Episode 10 she kisses Alto intensely then plays it off likes it's not serious.
- Ms. Fanservice - Seriously, there is an awful lot of Sheryl Fan Service.
Alto Saotome: "You exhibitionist."
Sheryl Nome: "What did you just call me?!"
- Multicolored Hair - Platinum-blond, with natural pink highlights.
- Believe it or not, it's officially supposed to be strawberry-blonde.
- Music for Courage - Possibly the most triumphant example.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - ultimately subverted: by helping Ranka, Sheryl cheats herself out of her fame and career, and gets a rival in Love Triangle, But it saves her life!
- Non-Singing Voice - Real Life Idol Singer May'n does Sheryl's singing.
- Not Quite Dead / Only Mostly Dead - Movies only. Fisrt she and Ozma are Thrown Out the Airlock, but Sheryl's connection to Vajra saves them. Then, this very connection puts her in a coma, but Ranka saves her with a transfusion. However, she is still in a coma at the end...
- The Ojou
- Pastel-Chalked Freeze-Frame - Sheryl gets one at the end of episode 24.
- Playing to The Fetishes - Her stage shows would border on Striptease were it not all holographic. Sheryl is a professional. Sheryl knows who the show's target audience is.
- Plucky Girl
- Rags to Riches - Her backstory, literally from homeless street urchin to fabulously rich Idol Singer.
- Red Herring - Sheryl's last name is the same as sisters Sara and Mao from Macross Zero, Mayan High Priestesses with a unique blood type that let them do crazy stuff like make rocks float and control Protoculture technology with song. Many fans assumed even before the first episode that Sheryl would turn out to be Mao's granddaughter and that this would become a major plot point. The first part turned out to be true, but the significance of this fact only goes as far as being one of the many Shout Outs to the other series.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money - Frontier's government decides to ignore a distress call from Galaxy as sabotage, what's an Idol Singer to do to save people? Hire a Badass Army of mercenaries for a rescue mission. Later using the exact same action to deflect suspicion from Grace and herself of being spies.
- Sheryl Nome Is About To Shoot You - "The Galactic Fairy takes up arms for her homeland!" Comes with a Pistol Pose after.
- Rich Bitch - Comes off as this sometimes.
- Sexy Discretion Shot - Sheryl gets one with Alto.
- Shout-Out - "Listen to my song!"
- She get's another Basara Shout-Out in the 2nd movie where during a flashback to her first meeting with Alto, she declares that "I'll shake the galaxy with my singing more than you ever did!" mirroring Basara's similar declaration of "moving the galaxy" during the final episode of Macross 7. That declaration later becomes instrumental and making Alto remember their earlier meeting.
- Show Some Leg - How Sheryl gets onto the bridge of the Macross Quarter.
- "Shut Up" Kiss - Episode 24 to Alto. And he was going to spill his true feelings, too. This is the whole reason why the audience doesn't know how the Love Triangle ends. Well, that and an annoyingly placed The End.
- Spell My Name with an "S" - The Lion version of the opening title writes her name as "Sheryl Noam", a typo which persists to the brief shot of her album artwork. Early artwork also had a habit of writing her name as "Cheryl".
- The Blu-Ray release of Macross Frontier actually fixed Sheryl's name in the Lion opening title, but not the CDs in Episode 18.
- Apparently, Word Of Random Artist That Did That Shot is that he intentionally made the CDs that way because they're actually pirated copies of Sheryl's songs.
- The Blu-Ray release of Macross Frontier actually fixed Sheryl's name in the Lion opening title, but not the CDs in Episode 18.
- Stealth Mentor - To Ranka
- Stripperific - Her stage outfits.
- Stage outfits nothing; some of her regular attire are this.
- Subspace Ansible - Sheryl's earrings.
- Ten-Minute Retirement - She loses her original reasons for singing (which are implied to have been largely self centered) when her career vanishes and she finds out she's terminally ill, announcing to Alto that she doesn't want to sing anymore and wants to try something else. She later decides that instead of singing for herself, she can sing for everyone else.
- The Lady's Favour - Sheryl gives Alto one of her earrings when he goes off to battle. He loses it; Sheryl gives him the second one before the Final Battle.
- In the movie, he never loses the earring. He keeps it and becomes an important plot point in their connection.
- Theme Music Power-Up - Subverted hilariously.
- The Show Must Go On
- Thrown Out the Airlock - see above.
- The Tease - Especially with Alto, but she gives it to more than a few people.
- Tsundere - Tends to Type B, significantly intermixed with The Tease.
- Try Not to Die - Sheryl gives a variation of this to Alto... Twice.
- Unlimited Wardrobe - Idol Singer, natch. Becomes a bit more limited after episode 18. In the world of art this is almost a meme, as official and fan art both frequently portray her in an enormous and fashionable variety of outfits, many original to the artwork in question. Often this is even while other members of the cast are wearing the same outfits they always do in the very same image as Sheryl's totally new one.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment - Drops Alto's talisman down her shirt in as "insurance" that he'll look for her missing earring.
- Also used to carry her cell phone in the movies.
- Whip It Good: Her stage mic is shaped like the handle of a whip, and can be cracked like one, though the actual whip end is never shown.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: During one of her early performances in the second movie.
- You Are Not Alone - Occasionally has to be reminded of this in both the movies and the series. Alto tells her those four very words in The False Songstress, and the very last four words of Diamond Crevasse are "You are not alone".
- Your Days Are Numbered
Mikhail "Michael/Michel" Blanc
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya
Alto's high school classmate and friendly rival, Mikhail's one of his closest friends who knew of Alto's reputation as a kabuki actor. Outside of school, he's an excellent marksman and the designated sniper of Skull Squadron with callsign "Skull-2" with the rank of Second Lieutenant, piloting a blue VF-25G Messiah (gunner/sniper variant). Mikhail's motto is to always acquire his targets, be it an enemy or a woman, which maintains his reputation as a considerable ladies' man. He initially expresses doubt over Alto joining the S.M.S., stating he's using it as an excuse to further retreat from his family. In normal attire, he wears corrective glasses, but dishes them once in combat. Notably, Mikhail's ears are pointed, although whether this is a simple genetic quirk or the result of some degree of Zentradi lineage is never explained.
Mikhail's parents died when he was a child, leaving him with his older sister Jessica, who served in the military, and Zentran childhood friend Klan Klang. Unfortunately, Jessica commits suicide after an investigation and court-martial, whereupon she's accused of shooting her superior officer (and her lover) during combat. Ultimately, he joins the S.M.S. to investigate whether his sister's suicide was justified; unfortunately, this small bit is never resolved at all, although it's arguable he's learned to let go of this tragedy.
- Big Damn Heroes - Episode 12 and 13
- Dead Older Sister
- Dying Declaration of Love
- Friendly Sniper - With loads of Deadpan Snarker.
- Genre Savvy
- Death By Genre Savvy - You just had to poke the fourth wall one too many times, didn't you, Mikhail?
- Handsome Lech
- Happily Ever After - Movie version, Mikhail survives, as does Klan.
- Heroic Resolve - Saves Klan before and after being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice.
- Heroic Sacrifice - Go with God in all the dark places you may walk, Michael Blanc. Klan will not forget your sacrifice.
- The Nicknamer - Is the one who came up with "Alto-hime".
- Shipper on Deck - Is an Alto x Sheryl shipper.
- Well, sort of: it's more like Mikhail would rather have Alto pick between Sheryl or Ranka than continue to be indecisive about the Love Triangle he's in. With a little bit of luck (and some pushing on his end), Mikhail ends up helping Sheryl more than Ranka in support of pursuing a relationship (though mostly due to Sheryl being an Ill Girl), but it's quite clear that he (along with Klan) would rather Alto actually make a decision than simply do nothing.
- Spared by the Adaptation in the movies
- Unresolved Sexual Tension - Literally, since he gets Killed Off for Real.
Luca Angelloni
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Alto and Michael's junior classmate, Luca's often frustrated his seniors give him a hard time, even though they're studying in the same classes. He's a genius with computers and military electronics, as well as serving in the S.M.S. Skull Squadron as "Skull-3". Luca pilots a green RVF-25 Messiah (reconnaissance version), but he's customized it to have three AIF-7S (QF-4000) Ghosts (hich he calls Shimon, Johanne and Petero, or simply Simon, John and Peter) that respond to his verbal commands and support him. His penchant for naming objects with Biblical names extends to his EX-Gear, which he dubs "Samson". He's also the heir to the L.A.I. corporation, a manufacturing company for the military, with near unlimited access to exotic, prototype technologies and is unknowingly involved in Grace O'Connor and Leon Mishima's plans. Throughout Macross Frontier, it's strongly hinted he has a crush on his classmate Nanase Matsuura.
- Attack Drones - Unlike the rest of Skull Squadron, Luca relegates to information gathering and heavily relies on his three Ghost drones to do the fighting. This is fully displayed in the Final Battle, where he unleashes the program limiters in his Messiah, granting the drones independency from his commands.
- Covert Pervert - His first thought at Sheryl proclaiming Alto's her slave for the day when she comes to Mihoshi Academy? BDSM.
- Cute Shotaro Boy - He's only a year younger than Alto and Mikhail, making him Older Than They Look, but Luca certainly looks the part physically. Discuss Typecasting for Jun Fukuyama.
- Dude, She's Like, in a Coma - Gives an innocent kiss to an unconscious Nanase at the hosptial before heading out to the Final Battle.
- Heir To The Corporation
- Sempai-Kohai
Nanase Matsura
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima
Another classmate of Alto, Michael and Luca, Nanase Matsuura is also Ranka Lee's best friend. A shy, quiet and voluptuous girl with glasses, she also works in the same "Nyan-Nyan" restaurant as Ranka and supports her dream of becoming a singer. Nanase's a skilled artist and was hired by Grace to become Ranka's costume designer.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Gainaxing
- Hypocritical Humor - Unintentional; she tries to encourage Ranka that "breast size isn't everything" when Ranka competes in the Miss Macross contest...despite the fact she's one of the most stacked characters in the show, proportionally. The camera angle adds to the effect.
- Les Yay - Most of her interactions with Ranka have been interpreted as this by some fans. She also draws Sheryl's Female Gaze in the shower.
- Meganekko
- Purple Eyes
- Shipper on Deck - Ships Ranka with Alto.
Ozma Lee
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi
The top ace in the S.M.S. and leader of Skull Squadron, designated "Skull-1", Ozma holds the rank of Major and is an experienced former New UN Spacy (N.U.N.S.) pilot, currently using a VF-25S Messiah. He's an avid fan of Fire Bomber and often plays their songs in his car or at home, even naming some of Skull Squadron's battle formations after their songs (i.e. "Planet Dance" and "Totsugeki Love Heart"). Although laid-back and careless on the outside, he knows when to be serious, and believes the real duty of a soldier is to care for his subordinates and civilians. He's somewhat overprotective of his younger sister Ranka, and lies to her about his work so she won't have to worry about him, telling her he has a desk job in a company's personnel department.
Ozma is non biologically Ranka's brother; in fact, he adopts her following the tragic attack by the Vajra on the 117th Large Scale Research Fleet 11 years before the story begins. He constantly blames himself for failing to protect the fleet and Ranka's family. To end, he willingly takes her in and ensures the same won't happen to her again, even if it means he must take the bullet to do so. Years prior, he persued a romantic relationship with N.U.N.S 2nd Lieutenant Catherine Glass, but broke it off, which makes their current working relationship aboard the Macross Quarter a little tense at times. The end of the series implies Ozma gets back together with Catherine, during the closing scenes.
- Ace Pilot
- Badass
- Badass Creed - "Sorry, but I'm not an adult: I AM A MAN!" (No punches).
- "Who cares about that!? If reaction warheads don't work, use missiles; if missiles don't work, use guns; and if guns don't work...even if I have to have have to use my teeth and nails in the end, I'll continue to fight! I'LL DAMN WELL FIGHT!! OUT OF THE WAY!"
- Big Brother Instinct - He does let go once he figures Ranka's old enough to decide and accept on her choices, even if it means running away from the Frontier fleet.
- Big Damn Heroes - Ozma practically lives on this trope.
- Cool Car - His Lancia Delta Integrale; it also bears the same color pattern and skull logo that's on his VF-25S.
- Even the Guys Want Him
- Expy - Shares a lot of features with Roy Fokker, except the curse of the pineapple cake.
- It's All My Fault, My Greatest Failure
- Made of Iron - Ozma's immune to the curse of the pineapple cake.
- Nose Art - The traditional skull of Skull Squadron painted on top of his VF-25. And his car as a matter of fact.
- Older Sibling Substitute - Adopted Ranka and filled the role of an older brother, due to feeling guilty for not saving her family.
- Perma-Stubble
- Shut UP, Hannibal - To Brera in episode 17; bonus points for ejecting his Messiah's Armored Pack and gutting a Vajra with its knife to prove his point.
- Talking to Himself - With Johann Trinity and Kamina in Super Robot Wars Z 2: Hakai-Hen. Also, in one of the Game Over quotes of Super Robot Wars Z 2, there's a conversation between said people and they comment on how they are always stuck with a little brother/little sister.
- Unstoppable Rage
Klan Klein
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi
A blue-haired Zentradi female (Meltrandi) in command of the all-female S.M.S. Pixie Squadron, Klan holds the rank of captain, piloting a red Queadlunn-Rea. As the childhood friend of Mikhail Blanc, she's harbored a life-long crush on him that does not get reciprocated, most likely due to a certain genetic anomaly, as she appears her age as a fully-developed Meltrandi while macronized, but becomes physically a juvenile in her micronian form. This makes her the perfect target for Mikhail's mockery. In fact, her love for Mikhail turns utterly tragic as he dies defending her, while she's still in the macronization process, during a sudden Vajra attack within the Frontier fleet. As a memento, Klan takes Mikhail's broken eyeglasses and puts it on a necklace as her way of remembering her one true love.
- Badass Adorable - Badass when macronized, Adorable when micronized.
- Boobs of Steel - Ironically, even in her macronized form, Klan does not have the largest bust size by proportion; that goes to Nanase.
- The Captain
- Fetish Fuel Station Attendant - An almost Anvilicious Deconstruction.
- Powered Armour - Two of them: the first is her regular Queadlunn-Rea, while the second is strapping herself with a variable fighter's jet engines, missile pods and gatling gun, turning into "Armored Klan", during the Vajra attack inside the fleet.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge
- Shipper on Deck - Alongside Mikhail, Klan shares his opinion in regards to Alto's Love Triangle. But like Mikhail this will favour Sheryl than Ranka.
- Spell My Name with an "S" - Hoo boy...can we at least make a standardization for her name on this page?
- The Worf Effect
- Unlucky Childhood Friend - His confession to her are his dying words...
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
Nene Rora & Raramia Reremia
Nene is voiced by: Aya Hirano
Raramia is voiced by: Kana Oomuraa
Those two Meltlandi who are usually with Klan, Nene's the tall (by Zentradi standards) pink-haired girl and Raramia the redhead. Together, they are part of the all-female S.M.S. Pixie Squadron. While Nene's calm, gentle and kind, Raramia has a rather intense gaze and very Bifauxnen.
- Dark-Skinned Redhead (Raramia)
- Gentle Giant
- You Gotta Have Pink Hair (Nene)
- Onee-Sama - Nene addresses Klan this way.
- The Quiet One - Both, actually, due to their lack of screentime.
- The Voiceless - Specifically Raramia, since she has no voice actor.
- Jossed - While she never spoke in the series, she DOES have a designated voice actor.
- The Voiceless - Specifically Raramia, since she has no voice actor.
- Red Shirt - Raramia: she gets Killed Off for Real after a random, direct hit in battle against the Vajra. She's practically more redder than Henry Gilliam, since he had a voice actor, and Raramia never uttered a single line.
Canaria Bernstein
Voiced by: Houko Kuwashima
A 1st Lieutenant in the S.M.S. and the pilot of Skull Squadron's VB-6 König Monster variable bomber, Canaria also serves as the S.M.S.'s military medic. Although she rarely speaks, Canaria offers advice with great weight, often. She's the only character who's married and has a young son named Eddie.
- Action Mom
- BFG - König Monster has 4 of them on its back.
- Boobs of Steel
- Combat Medic - Taken Up to Eleven, who's skilled in medicine and an exceptional pilot of the very aptly named König Monster.
- Dark-Skinned Redhead
- More Dakka - König Monster. Aside from the cannons, it has 2 sets of 4 missile launchers on each arm.
- Nose Art - Paints the Monster with pinups of Sheryl and Ranka.
Catherine Glass
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
A N.U.N.S. General Staff 2nd Lieutenant attached to the S.M.S. Macross Quarter, Catherine's also President Howard Glass's daughter. Both beautiful and intelligent, Catherine was a former Miss Macross winner, and later went on to serve on the judging panel in the 2059 contest Ranka participates in. After having graduated from university with honors, she joined N.U.N.S and is fast-tracked into the elite. Though a very competent officer, she sometimes lacks flexibility. She has a relationship with Leon Mishima without her father's knowledge and was formerly in a relationship with Ozma before that, until they broke it off under mutual circumstances. When the Frontier fleet settles on the Vajra home planet, she's seen to have made up with Ozma, while the overlook the new homeworld.
- Christmas Cake - Implied.
- Composite Expy - She shares a lot of qualities with Claudia LaSalle and Misa Hiyase.
Bobby Margot
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake
The highly skilled helmsman of the Macross Quarter, Bobby appears stern, but he states he's "just like a girl inside". Prior to serving the S.M.S., he was a hair stylist and make-up artist, and was known in its circle as a legend. Bobby's well-liked by the female crew members for his good understanding of others, due to his very open homosexuality and not-so subtle feelings for good friend Ozma, though he claims to be "way beyond the point in life where [he] needs [his] love to be reciprocated". Bobby tends to constantly criticize the N.U.N.S.'s actions on a regular basis, and while very feminine, calm and soft-spoken during times of peace, he will delve into a serious, daring and aggressive attitude during combat. Like Ozma, Bobby's also considered a fan of Basara Nekki, as he refers to him as "Basara-sama".
- Badass
- Bridge Bunny - Since Bobby is...
- Camp Gay - Enough to count for the above trope.
- Fan Nickname - "GARby", when he puts on his...
- Game Face - Normally has a soft expression to go with his Camp Gay-ness, but when it's time for business on the Quarter, he starts to go...
- Hot-Blooded - HOLY AND FUCKING HOW!
Monica Lange, Mina Roshan & Ram Hoa
Monica is voiced by: Rie Tanaka
Mina is voiced by: Aya Hirano
Ram is voiced by: Kaori Fukuhara
The three female bridge operators of the Macross Quarter, Monica's in charge of the Quarter's main search radar and chief operator, while Mina's responsible for internal warship status management and Ram's responsibilities include communications and main weapons control.
- Bridge Bunnies
- Control Freak - Ram...maybe: she's a person of not too many words, but she tends to classify everything that she comes into contact with on a regular basis.
- Hair Decorations - Ram
- Fan Nickname - "Bobby's Daughters"
- Meganekko - Ram
- Only Sane Girl - Compared to Mina and Ram, Monica takes a more serious stance in her duties.
- Teen Genius - Mina has an IQ of 180, but has trouble adjusting to the pace of her operating buddies.
- Token Minority - According to the official site, Mina is of Indian ancestry.
Jeffrey Wilder
Voiced by: Tohru Ookawa
Captain of the Macross Quarter and de facto field commander of the S.M.S., Jeffrey ranks as a colonel and was originally a pilot in a UN Forces aircraft carrier early during his career. A seasoned veteran, he has a horizontal scar across his face as proof of his previous combat experience. Though a very polite officer, he can become highly mischievous when the situation requires it. Captain Wilder ultimately makes the decision for the Macross Quarter to abandon the Frontier fleet to continue Ozma and Catherine's investigation on Leon's involvement with Grace. When the crew finds what they're looking for, the Quarter heads to the Vajra homeworld to reinforce the Frontier fleet.
- Badass Beard
- The Captain
- Chekhov's Gun - In Sayonara no Tsubasa his surfing hobby comes back in a BIG way.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars
- Good Smoking, Evil Smoking - Is occasionally seen smoking from an old wooden pipe.
- Grandpa What Massive Hotness You Have - Easily among the oldest characters in the show, but that doesn't stop him from looking like a rugged beast.
Howard Glass
Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura
The fourth elected president of the New United Nations Government and also the administrative director of the Macross Frontier fleet, President Glass's administration was responsible for the creation of the Frontier colonial fleet. As president, he shoulders all political decisions to ensure the security and well-being of his citizens. He is also Cathy's father. Glass is assassinated by Leon's coup d'etat splinter group in order to take control of the government, having been deemed too reluctant in taking an offensive against the Vajra.
- Badass Moustache - Unfortunately, points are taken off because he's considered...
- Dumb Is Good - Too naive regarding the Vajra and the threat they're considered
Leon Mishima
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita
President's aide and Chief of Staff, Leon's a very calm and composed man, and Glass's closest associate and confidante. He's a constant source of all political trends throughout the Frontier fleet, and is in a secret relationship with Catherine.
Leon's working in secret with Grace O'Connor throughout the series: he helps lure the Vajra to the Frontier in order to harvest the various fold quartz crystals amongst their dead bodies, while attempting to discover their homeworld. When Ozma and Catherine confront him on his planned coup d'état, Leon escapes and has President Glass assassinated, granting him the fifth presidency of the Frontier government and total control of the N.U.N.S. military forces in the Frontier fleet. He also orders Grace's death, deeming her usefulness having no longer any merit, but she escapes the Frontier. Regardless, Leon has the fleet head for the Vajra homeworld, now bent on wiping out the alien species to claim the planet as theirs. Unfortunately for Leon, the exiled crew of the Macross Quarter returns to the fleet and accuses Leon of masterminding the coup and assasination of President Glass. N.U.N.S. officials hastily place Leon under arrest.
- Evil Chancellor - Not much of a surprise, considering the numerous Traitor Shots on him from the beginning of the series.
- Professionals Do It on Desks
- Relationship Voice Actor: With Yuuichi Nakamura. In another series, their roles as protagonist and antagonist gets reversed.
- Smug Snake
- Unwitting Pawn
Brera Sterne
Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi
The mysterious pilot of the crimson VF-27 Lucifer that Alto encounters for the first time inside a Vajra battleship, Brera seems to know how to play the first part of Ranka's song "Aimo" using a harmonica carried around his neck, claiming the song is but a fragment of his past. After saving Ranka from a wild beast attack, the injuries Brera sustained reveals he is also a cyborg. He's assigned to become Ranka's bodyguard by the Frontier government after he reveals he is a major of the Macross Galaxy's Antares Squadron, who was supposedly missing-in-action alongside the Macross Galaxy. Brera harbors a great deal of concern for Ranka's well-being, but doesn't exactly know why, but describes the feeling he gets from her songs as being enveloped in a universe that accepts him instead of rejecting him.
Brera is, in fact, Ranka's biological older brother Brera Mei, the son of Ranshe Mei. How he survived the destruction of the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet is unknown, but his body is rebuilt into a cyborg's by the Macross Galaxy years later. When Ranka decides to leave the Frontier fleet in search of the Vajra's homeworld, Brera accompanies her and locates their planet, but this unwillingly helps Grace O'Connor and her co-conspirators. Since he's a cyborg, Grace forces him to become her slave and is commanded to prevent the Frontier fleet and Macross Quarter from stopping her. During the Final Battle, Brera helps the Brainwashed and Crazy Vajra destroy Alto's VF-171EX Nightmare Plus, but the explosion of nearby Vajra battleship shatters Brera's slave circuit implant, freeing him from Grace's control. He proceeds to encourage Ranka to fight off Grace's influence and rally the Vajra to destroy the Macross Galaxy.
- Badass Longcoat: In The Movie.
- Battle Butler: To Sheryl in The Movie.
- Bishonen
- Blade Below the Shoulder
- Blond Guys Are Evil - Subverted by the time he assists Ranka away from the Frontier fleet.
- Brainwashed and Crazy - Or rather, being "remote-controlled" and crazy. Subverted by series' end.
- Cyborg
- Death by Adaptation in the Wings of Goodbye.
- Hannibal Lecture
- Heroic Sacrifice.
- Long Lost Sibling
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner - "Be scattered to the ends of the galaxy."
- Red Eyes, Take Warning
Grace O'Connor
Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue
Grace is Sheryl's manager from the Macross Galaxy Fleet and appears as a person with a gentle, calm attitude. She often upsets her employer, despite having considerable abilities.
The main antagonist of Macross Frontier, Grace was a scientist aboard the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet, working alongside Dr. Mao and Ranshe, until the fleet's destruction by the Vajra. Although it's suspected she's the instigator of the attack (which really was due to Ranka's singing), Grace survives the assault and continues research on the "V-Type" infection with the Macross Galaxy fleet, using Sheryl as a test subject and manufacturing her Idol Singer status, swearing vengeance against the Vajra.
With her co-conspirators from the Macross Galaxy, Grace's true goal is to control the Vajra's galactic scale "body" to dominate the galaxy, through fold quartz crystals implanted into every human and Zentradi. Those who do not wish to be part of their Assimilation Plot will be destroyed by the Vajra, since nothing in the N.U.N.S. and S.M.S.'s arsenal would be unable to withstand the Vajra's superior interdimensional abilities on a galactic scale. To that end, Grace acts as the conspiracy's leader and allows her mind to be uploaded digitally, giving her one cybernetic body after another (should the current one be destroyed) and conspires with Leon to achieve their means (Leon believes he's doing it to destroy the Vajra and take their homeworld for themselves; Grace wants dominion over the entire Milke Way).
When Ranka's discovered to harbor abilities to that of a Vajra queen, Grace discards Sheryl and uses Ranka as their tool to gain the obedience of the Vajra. When Leon Mishima orders her assassination, she escapes from the Frontier fleet and rendezvous with the Macross Galaxy, discovering the whereabouts of the Vajra homeworld from a disobedient Brera and runaway Ranka. Linking her cybernetic body with the Vajra network, she and her co-conspirators compromise the Vajra fold communication network by manipulating Ranka and sending the Vajra against the entire galaxy, subjecting all who oppose to destruction. In the end, however, Grace did not account for the strength of Ranka and Sheryl's song, releasing the Vajra from her control and is destroyed by the combined Vajra, S.M.S. and N.U.N.S. forces. Alto delivers the coup de grace (no pun intended) with Mikhail's VF-25G sniper rifle.
And with this amount of spoiler text, you can probably guess something is up.
- Assimilation Plot
- Big Bad
- Complete Monster
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul - Justified and done willingly. Grace deletes her feelings for Sheryl at some unspecified time to keep it from getting in the way of her plans. All There In The Drama CD.
- Fan Nickname - "Despairs and nightmares"; much like Sheryl's Fan Nickname, it refers to two specific parts of her...
- Comes from a later scene where she gropes her breasts similar to the scene that earned Sheryl her Fan Nickname. This naturally sums up memories of Sheryl's own scene, only Grace is evil and giving her evil speech at the time had fans reverse the polarity of Sheryl's nickname to create Grace's, as opposed to Grace using the words as Sheryl had.
- Heel Face Turn - Movie only, getting shot up severs her connection to the Galaxy's Omniscient Council of Vagueness, allowing her to show that she really does care for Sheryl.
- Hive Queen - Temporarily, until Ranka and Sheryl break her control over the Vajra.
- Hot Scientist
- I Am Legion
- Mad Scientist - Oh, sweet Jesus, VERY
- Magnificent Bastard
- Sexy Secretary
- Sinister Surveillance
- Playing Against Type - Belldandy is just going to be a kind, supportive stage manager who keeps Sheryl happy, healthy and sane...right?. BZZT! It's actually I-No wearing Belldandy's face!
- Subverted in the movies. She's controlled by Galaxy like Brera is and is indeed Sheryl's Cool Big Sis who is concerned about her. She gets a Tearjerker death on her arms.
- Villain Team-Up: There are hints that she is working with Ribbons Almark in Super Robot Wars Z 2: Hakai-Hen. In the ZEXIS route of Saisei-Hen, you even fight them as a Dual Boss
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness - Subverted; Leon, and by extension, the Frontier fleet and Vajra, has outlived theirs.
- Weaksauce Weakness: In Saisei-hen, Nekki Basara's singing can harm her Vajra Queen form because his singing disrupts Grace's control over the Vajra.
Ranshe Mei
Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto
Mother of Ranka Lee and Brera Stern. Assistant to Mao Nome.
- Hot Scientist
- Incurable Cough of Death: Implied to have had a V-Type Infection in a flashback when she coughs just like Sheryl.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Ranka was immune to V-Type infections because her mother had it while she was pregnant with her. We know she wasn't herself immune because her older brother did not have this immunity (nor apparently an infection), and it's quite telling when in a flashback we see her coughing suddenly, just like Sheryl.