Short Synopsis: The final assault on the Vajra home planet begins. You don’t want to read this entry before watching this episode, so be warned.
Highlights: Not going to spoil that here.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10
Oh, okay. I admit Kawamori: you have me. I give up, and I was in the wrong.
Ah, the irony. I was about to give up hope on this series. I kept rambling on how the creators had the guts to kill off Ranka, and that they’d just go with the predictable paths. And then this episode comes and kills of none other than Alto! That’s just about the best plot twist that you can think of at this point. I mean, how often do you see the main character getting killed off before the final episode of a series?
Seriously, that twist is made of nothing but win. I’ve actually never seen Alto as a well-written character. All of the best moments in this series were either about Ranka, Sheryl, Kuran, Michel, Ozma, etc, but Alto never managed to impress me. In a way, he’s the dullest character in this series, especially when compared to the amount of screen-time he got. In a way, it’s quite ironic: my dislike for Ranka comes from the way that she was used, but her actual character is pretty good. I really wonder what would have happened if she got more screen-time than that she actually got, and Alto would be more reduced to the background.
In any case, now that that annoying factor is gone, I’m actually looking forward to that final episode a lot. But Satelight: if you’re planning to revive the guy, then I’ll kill you!
I wonder if he’s really dead though. Crossing my fingers that he is truly gone just because it’d be something new I’ve seen in an anime series.
I somehow doubt he’s dead at all… But yea, if they did kill him off, that’ll be something to actually talk about 😛
A certain blogger is going to get rick-rolled so bad at the start of 25….
Alto’s not dead, lol @ anyone buying that.
Nay, he ain’t dead. You’ll see.
Kinda reminds me of the Anime Physics I posted on my blog awhile ago:
http://ultraedge.net:88/?PAGE=blog&ID=11
How I wish he would stay dead, but I agree they’ll probably bring him back. Sheryl really deserves someone more worthy of her greatness. He just pales in comparison to her character, as does Puppet Ranka.
You seem new to this, but not once has the male lead ever eclipsed the rest of the cast, Hikaru did not outshine Fokker and Misa, and Isamu was playing second fiddle to Guld. I think that Alto was fated to be the most average of them all, if he were a bad ass pilot then Brera and Ozma could not beat him. If Alto were too decisive on the love thing then one of the girls would have to be incredibly unlikable for over half the series. I think that it is a more of a symptom of having a male be the fulcrum of a love triangle, if he starts dithering then he is indecisive if he simply ignores both women, then he’s a dullard and heartless. Men are not allowed to complain so for the most part we don’t know what Alto is thinking which is why most of us are scratching our heads, and a few like you rage in futility.
I like Alto quite a bit he went from a rebellious wannabe hot shot who hated his colony to some one who realized that it was worth protecting and ended up cooling his jets to that he could lead grunts into battle. Just like how Hikaru, Isamu, and Shin were not the best pilots or the biggest movers and shakers in their series, Alto is in a similar vein, only this time Sheryl shines incredibly brighter, while Ranka has that unkillable childish naivete that makes her moe. It was inevitable that Alto would be eclipsed, but being average was to be expected.
Alto will live and you will cry and rage. Kawamori would like a sample of your unmanly tears when the next ep airs… 😛
Still hats off to Kawamori for making things go in a similar fashion to the much maligned Macross II instead of doing the expected duet.
My dislike for Ranka stems pretty much to the way she remains a child who thinks of Ranka first as the world burns all around her, she does not merely cry hell she’s handing out the torches at this point. I like Alto because he chose to do his duty to volk and fatherland. Ranka however became a traitor whether she intended to or not, but not even so much as lifing a finger against Grace, Ranka became a plot device than a character who has shown much growth. I think of the whole cast Ranka has grown the least overall.
I don’t believe Alto is dead. Something happened before he died. Just doesn’t feel right. Maybe something to do with the fold crystal earring. Not sure yet but we I believe they still need Alto to save Ranka by breaking Grace’s mind control on her. I have a feeling that we are in for a twist in the end.
Mhh, really does seem unlikely that he died. But then again – what would be better to wake Ranka up than her realising that she caused his death?
(I could also see her saving Alto though)
My prediction based on the guns which were left on the mantel in the first acts of ep 15, 17 and 24.
1. Alto _is_ dead.
2. Grace tries to take on the mother of the bugs (to take over as the ‘root node’ and fails.
3. Ranka realizes she killed Alto, regains all of her memories (including that one key piece of information which has been with held)
4. Ranka and Sheryl team up their voices.
5. Ranka sacrifices herself to ‘unmake’, ‘remake’ or whatever word they decide to change reality, bring Alto back, and cure Sheryl.
6. The aging doctor gets to see his long dead love ones (or something similar) before he dies himself tying everything together with him as the mastermind/puppet behind it all for his own selfish desires which are completely unconnected to the rest of the story.
Granted this might be because I have been staring into the anime matrix for too long…
Well, the guy is not dead. When a main character dies, then the death scene will take a lot longer than than 5 seconds, and they go out with a great heroic speech and a mighty feat.
So, the guy is not dead… But, as other people put it, it would actually be cool, and a bit different, if he were to die. If he were to die in a suicide attack to take out Ranka, and they both die, now, THAT would be epic.
Shades of RahXephon then. And damn, if that wasn’t one of the finest mecha drama ever.