Series Recommendation: Macross Delta Movie: Zettai Live
A fruit still green is one
Being attracted is two
My heart is burning…
Being attracted is two
My heart is burning…
After 1 year of waiting, fans around the world have had the chance to watch the final movie of Macross Delta: Absolute Live. The movie is the 2nd movie of the series, just like Macross Frontier, it is a completely new story that follow the same cast of characters (with some new ones as well). The story serve as the climax as well as conclusion to the saga of Freyja, Hayate and Walkure. As usual, the movie is a two-hour auditory and visual experience that will please even the most picky Macross fans.
Continuing from the first movie, Zettai Live started off with Windermere and the NUNS establishing a peace treaty. Delta Flight and Walkure was paying Winderemere a visit, which also mark the first time Freyja has come back to her hometown. New relationships are established, as well as new challenges and of course, a new enemy. A mysterious giant battleship appeared out of nowhere carrying an ominous song from beyond the void, with the intention of “liberating” the universe. Delta Flight and Walkure, along with their new allies, must rally to stop this threat and save the planet of Windermere.
+ Plot: Even though the plot of the movies are supposed to be standalone, it is very clear that they expect us to take the development of Hayate and Freyja’s relationship from the tv series, since they are moving quite fast (the same can be said with Frontier but not as much). Hayate and Freyja are definitely the focal emotional point of this movie in particular, as Kawamori managed to paint a very painfully beautiful relationship between them. Furthermore, other characters also received their own highlighted development by revolving around the Hayate-Freyja dynamic. It isn’t the main driving force, but it does help moving the characters along, which is a pretty neat move. The tv series failed to provide substantial development for characters that needed them, but the movies succeeded in providing everyone ample screentime (except Chuck, poor Chuck).
What’s even better is the fact that they put the power of love over the actual skill of the characters in the movie. We don’t see the main cast suddenly become ace pilots that can decimate rows of enemies at once, but they progress gradually in a very realistic way, driven by their heart’s desire. The main cast all feel pretty human with their own personal issues, but the villain sadly didn’t get the same treatment. The “bad guy” in the movie is quite shallow and seems like something they just made up for the sake of the plot. But at least they serve their purpose.
+ Plot: Even though the plot of the movies are supposed to be standalone, it is very clear that they expect us to take the development of Hayate and Freyja’s relationship from the tv series, since they are moving quite fast (the same can be said with Frontier but not as much). Hayate and Freyja are definitely the focal emotional point of this movie in particular, as Kawamori managed to paint a very painfully beautiful relationship between them. Furthermore, other characters also received their own highlighted development by revolving around the Hayate-Freyja dynamic. It isn’t the main driving force, but it does help moving the characters along, which is a pretty neat move. The tv series failed to provide substantial development for characters that needed them, but the movies succeeded in providing everyone ample screentime (except Chuck, poor Chuck).
What’s even better is the fact that they put the power of love over the actual skill of the characters in the movie. We don’t see the main cast suddenly become ace pilots that can decimate rows of enemies at once, but they progress gradually in a very realistic way, driven by their heart’s desire. The main cast all feel pretty human with their own personal issues, but the villain sadly didn’t get the same treatment. The “bad guy” in the movie is quite shallow and seems like something they just made up for the sake of the plot. But at least they serve their purpose.
+ Animation: Zettai Live is a Zettai Experience! This movie is no doubt the most beautiful movie the franchise has ever gotten. The animation from the action to the SoL scenes all look gorgeous. The action utilizes way more dynamic shot as well as a bigger focus on Battroid and Gerwalk mode than Fighter, which was very prevalent in the tv series and the previous movie. The good Fighter scenes are reserved for the enemy’s mecha which is also very beautiful and has a cyberpunk neon feel to them – which really reminds me of the song “Laser Speed Force”.
The movie consist of 1 CGI concert by Walkure, which is still a bit awkward for me. The movements are quite fluid, but still has some awkward moments. And the face model still hasn’t gotten to the satisfactory point yet. But still, it’s not a deal breaker.
+ Mecha Design: The main Valkyries are still the VF-31 Siegfried but with some extra twists. From the promo material, it’s really hard to not talk about them. The VF-31AX is basically a fusion between the Siegfried and Kairos, with some added Durandal in it as well. The wings are fromo Kairos, and the added Fold Mechanics is definitely inspired by the Durandal. And on Blu-Ray, they look absolutely amazing. Aside from that, we also got Armored Pack for all of the Siegs, and they got some really good screen time this movie, unlike the really brief display in Gekijou Walkure.
Now for the enemy mecha, which is one of the highlights as well. The SV-303 is definitely from an alternate cyberpunk timeline with all those neon patterns. Also it’s pretty much the first time we see Variable Ghost in Macross. To be fair, they are much bigger than Ghost and is essentially unmanned VFs. Their arsenal is pretty crazy too, it’s pretty ridiculous that Kawa-sensei cram that much stuff into those fighters. A bold move, but it is a breath of fresh air for Macross.
The movie consist of 1 CGI concert by Walkure, which is still a bit awkward for me. The movements are quite fluid, but still has some awkward moments. And the face model still hasn’t gotten to the satisfactory point yet. But still, it’s not a deal breaker.
+ Mecha Design: The main Valkyries are still the VF-31 Siegfried but with some extra twists. From the promo material, it’s really hard to not talk about them. The VF-31AX is basically a fusion between the Siegfried and Kairos, with some added Durandal in it as well. The wings are fromo Kairos, and the added Fold Mechanics is definitely inspired by the Durandal. And on Blu-Ray, they look absolutely amazing. Aside from that, we also got Armored Pack for all of the Siegs, and they got some really good screen time this movie, unlike the really brief display in Gekijou Walkure.
Now for the enemy mecha, which is one of the highlights as well. The SV-303 is definitely from an alternate cyberpunk timeline with all those neon patterns. Also it’s pretty much the first time we see Variable Ghost in Macross. To be fair, they are much bigger than Ghost and is essentially unmanned VFs. Their arsenal is pretty crazy too, it’s pretty ridiculous that Kawa-sensei cram that much stuff into those fighters. A bold move, but it is a breath of fresh air for Macross.
+ Music: Zettai Live bring Macross music to a whole new level. It isn’t just “pop idol” music anymore, but these are singers that put their heart, their soul, their love, their anger, into their voices. The emotion from every singers – especially Freyja – infuse into the lyrics and the melody they carry. It really remind me of the climax in Symphogear (make sense since it’s Satelight), where the songs aren’t just music anymore, but something with more heart and soul than ever. All the songs are fantastic, along with the way they were performed. Yami_Q_Ray and Walkure has demonstrated they can rival their predecessors and surpass them. Go buy their CDs and songs now, it’s worth it!
+ Conclusion: Zettai Live really elevated Delta into a very good series. The movie serve as a satisfying emotional roller coaster and visual masterpiece that it actually redeem the TV series. While the movies are their own contained series of events, having context from the tv series really bring more value to the movies, especially for Zettai Live. I wouldn’t say the two Delta movies together is better than the Frontier ones, but Zettai Live definitely shine above the rest. Really good development for all the characters, especially for the main couple. Zettai Live is definitely the movie that make it all worth it!
+ Conclusion: Zettai Live really elevated Delta into a very good series. The movie serve as a satisfying emotional roller coaster and visual masterpiece that it actually redeem the TV series. While the movies are their own contained series of events, having context from the tv series really bring more value to the movies, especially for Zettai Live. I wouldn’t say the two Delta movies together is better than the Frontier ones, but Zettai Live definitely shine above the rest. Really good development for all the characters, especially for the main couple. Zettai Live is definitely the movie that make it all worth it!
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