Score: 3/5
Original post with images
Ah, finally my prayers have been answered. Thank the gods. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could bare seeing shows with little or no value being subbed with greater speed and motivation than the much-hyped Macross F. It’s been a hard enough journey, fighting my way through every week since the archaic first episode special pre-release was aired. I’ve been craving more of the show for far too long to wait patiently for fansubbers. Although. Thanks goes to Anime-in-Action and their partners for releasing this episode with enough swiftness to stifle my oncoming descent into madness. Of course, I was always well aware of the fact that I’d essentially be getting a rehash of that which I’d already seen in the delicious Deculture edition, but I was keen enough just to see the preview for the second episode, and when I heard that there were changes and additions to the episode I was intrigued to see the new scenes and alterations.
Of course, I wasn’t disappointed; even if I, in conformation with the general consensus, felt that the Deculture edition was far superior to this “tweaked” premier, it was still marked by the same intensity, brazen pace and stellar production values that grabbed everyone’s eyes in the first place. And I did take note of the extra detail they dabbed into scene here and there, especially into the action scenes near the end. I really appreciate the depth to the visuals in each scene - it’s the main reason why I could watch the episode numerous times and continue to enjoy it, because each time through I spot something new (unlike many anime where there’s nothing to spot the first time).
When all is said and done, I think the feeling this episode left me with was one of enhanced appreciation of its predecessor, the Deculture edition. Because of the way that the snipping of scenes, changes in music and the insertion of new material drastically changed the flow of the episode into something that felt a lot more disjointed and less compelling, I got an understanding of just how well everything was edited together in the Deculture version. The pacing of that episode was just spot on, from the pleasantness of the character introductions, to the sense of foreboding to all-out chaos - things moved quickly but smoothly.
Although I can’t say I miss the teasing-Alto scene near the beginning, it and Sheryl’s in-flight awakening all contributed to the nice fluid build up by providing some slower scenes to start off with. Also I loved the visuals in that scene. A number of the scenes added were perhaps important to flesh out the characters, but they do so at the cost of the episode’s sense of tension. As Omni stated, splitting and expanding the concert was certainly the biggest mistake in that sense, as that was a great scene combining the sound and visuals whilst keeping the pace rolling along. Sheryl’s tantrum over the people employed in her show was a good defining moment of her character early on and completed alters my view of her character from what we saw in the Deculture edition.
A few changes to the soundtrack also didn’t go down well with me. The removal of the guitar piece used in the trailer here from the scene where Ranka is told she has tickets to the concert was disappointing, as that was a perfect fit to the mood (unlike it’s subsequent use in the preview). The addition of the track that plays when Alto meets Ranka is jarring with the mood of that scene and a little intrusive. I much preferred that the way it was musically as well.
Nonetheless, entertainment value remained very high and I’m as excited about the next episode as ever (I won’t have anything to compare it to disparagingly either). The trailer was so very promising - it looks like episode 2 will be action-packed and perhaps even emotionally turbulent. Bring it on.
Questions/Notes:
1. Why did the president seem to be privy to the attacking force? His reaction and comment that they’d “finally come” indicates that he considered their attack an inevitability. There’s obviously something more to the assailing force than just an aggressive new species/race.
2. Why did the enemy squadron leader enter the city ship, and then approach Ranka specifically when it saw her. Everything points to the fact that the intent of the foe was to find and perhaps retrieve Ranka. This begs the question of what Ranka is, which in turn makes me dubious as to whether she is really Ozma’s sister.