.:Eternal Eternity:. v3.0

Considering that I have a weakness for female leads, I thought it was a good idea to participate on womenlovefest.
Problem is, that most of my female characters don't get that much hate at all, so it was hard to pick up one.

But there's one that gets hate all across the Internet. My little princess. *points to her icon*
The Super-Dimensional Cinderella, Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier.

Don't expect a great meta post from this =_= You all know how retarded, unclever and ineloquent I can be. But considering just how much hate Ranka gets, even my blabbering can be enough =_=
Also, keep in mind; I haven't seen the movie. This is a series-only rant!

So, who's Ranka? A cheerful, petite girl who lives with his brother Ozma in the Macross Frontier. She's a rather normal teenager: she goes to school, she works at the Nyan-Nyan restaurant, she has a crush (Alto Saotome), and a singer she idolizes (Sheryl Nome). At first glance, there's nothing special about her except that she has a pretty nice voice.



Why do I point all of this? Because people often forget the first and foremost of all of Ranka's characteristics: she's a teenager. We can all admit she has flaws: she's naive, insecure, immature, a crybaby, and perhaps too mesmerized with Alto. But then, she's only 16; those are all things we should expect from someone of her age. And that's the biggest mistake that people do: to compare her with Sheryl, when there's no possible comparison point. Despite being an orphan, Ranka has a loving brother; someone she can call her family, a place she can call 'home'. Sheryl has nothing of this, so no wonder she has matured sooner. Sheryl's a through and through woman (albeit not a perfect one). Ranka's not...and that's fine. Besides, people often point at her flaws as if she was the only one with any flaws...



Ranka's bashed a lot for having refused to sing at some point. That she's petty, unprofessional, a coward...but really, can you blame her? She realizes she's being used only as a tool for war. A war against creatures whose pain she feels as her own. And the person she's singing for isn't getting her message. Ranka's bashed as well for singing only to Alto, but it's a bit unfair to question her motivations...she's a newbie with no experience, who has not seen yet what her singing can produce on people. She's not looking for fame. She doesn't want popular appreciation neither she needs it; she already has a good life. Given that it's because of Alto's encouraging that she pursues a singing career, no wonder she wants to appeal him.

You could say that Ranka's defined by Alto to some degree. But even if that were true, we all know how this drastically changes in episode 21. In there, not only Ranka gives up on Alto after seeing he doesn't love her enough to trust on her...she also makes a choice. Not without grief, of course, but she gives up on her crush for a greater good. Her priorities have obviously changed by this point.



Ranka's also usually bashed for having abandoned the Frontier. To me, this is another proof that she's by far the most compassionate character of the series. She feels compassion for creatures that no one feels compassion for: the Vajras. She does what she feels it's the right thing to do, how can that be wrong? It's often said that Ranka gives her back to humans but, it's really the humans who give their backs to Ranka. Had they listened, maybe things could have been different.

And yet, Ranka doesn't bear any grudge, and she still joins the battle in the end. By the end of the series, Ranka's a different person. She has grown up. With renewed confidence, she's able to step out of Sheryl's shadow to look at her eyes. She's able to stand up on her own two legs. Now she sings for the people. And she's finally ready to give a fair fight for Alto, now that she's seen that Alto came back for her and cares for her.



And honestly, it has to take some guts to go against a mass of people for what you think it's right. Say what you want about her reasoning or her motivations; she's still a damn strong girl.

Or a damn strong woman, by the end of the series. ♥