The one who should have gotten the role of Sara Nome.

Okay so I lied, but he by far the prettiest. So after watching the released episodes again and given Shin’s “why is Alto so moe” comment I have to say as far as mecha pilots go these day Alto-hime pretty much in a league of his own while emo-dorks going off to play war is nothing new Alto-hime lacks the blind fanaticism (Tieria) or hot bloodedness (Domon Kasshu) of most mecha pilots. More over, he doesn’t have near as much emotional baggage with the typical tragic (Setsuna, Shinn Asuka, Lock-on) or made up tragic past (Shinji) past and no living family of any significance.

It is rather recent that the gruff and rugged mecha pilot of old (Roy Fokker) was supplanted by the younger bishie in the post Gundam Wing years, I guess rather young boys that look effeminate are here to stay for a while. Tieria may have had XXXY phenotype it seemed that only the crazy knife wielding maniac actually realized how womanly Tieria looked with every one else being blissfully unaware. Not so with Alto-hime whose beauty does not go unnoticed and ends up causing him some rather unique problems. Not only is he prettier than most girls this season he is also more interested in women than he is in men. For this and many other reasons I think Alto-hime is one of the better mecha pilots to come along in recent memory. So in lieu of an episode post I guess a post on our unique protagonist will have to suffice.

Alto-hime age 14

Alto-hime age 17/18, it seems to only get worse better with time.

Well he is a princess after all…

I think this is probably one of the few instances of a series being ever ready to remind the view of the protagonist’s femininity while in other series it is more often ignored. Alto-hime however is not your typical mecha pilot his dad is alive and well and from what we have seen of his past it seems that it was not traumatic nor was it crushingly abusive. Ranzo might have been a harsh disciplinarian, but given how famous Alto-hime became after a stint as Sakurahime it is clear that the lessons were only meant to make his son a better actor, and indeed a legendary actor. The falling out it seems had less to do with a harsh regimen, but a dispute over what Alto-hime could do with his life. Prior to his joining SMS Alto-hime was provided for and allowed to enroll in the pilot course, thus Ranzo was probably paying the cost of his son’s education while the pall of silence between them descended.

Sheryl was jealous of Alto-hime as her mirror pronounced him fairest of them all.

Looks like a cat fight, doesn’t it?

Queen Sheryl likes her princesses haughty.

In any case Ranzo did train a superb oyama and in so doing, pretty much left his son with a rather unique sense of style and possibly a skewed sense of gender nuances. As Alto-hime was able to take his hazing in a stride it is quite possible that because of Ranzo that Alto-hime better prepared for it given the harsh discipline in his acting lessons. Given that Alto-hime did not make the most symbolic break with Ranzo by cutting his hair and adopting a hyper-masculine appearance, Alto-hime’s ill will towards Ranzo doesn’t go as far as hatred. Thus far Alto-hime isn’t bitching and moaning about abuse then wearing it around like some badge of disgrace like other male leads (Tomoya).

All too easy. Perhaps Alto-hime was not as masculine as he thought.

Alto-hime’s character design carries the beautiful boy concept to uncharted territory at least in mecha. There is no effort made to make him be more girly but as he is there is no denying that the long blue hair, pony tail, and red cord are probably more fitting for a female character. Even when we look at him close up along side any of the female characters the image that results can easily be taken as yuri. Alto-hime’s methods for attracting all sorts of attention are rather unique to him alone. Every girl at Miboshi knows that he is a guy, but they are not attracted to him because of his rugged handsomeness, intelligence, or prowess in a sport but rather his feminine beauty and possibly his skills when performing as a girl in kabuki.

Even Ranka is in on it.

Mina basically voiced the general sentiment when she remarked that it was such a waste of good looks for Alto-hime to be just a pilot. Alto-hime’s first meeting with Ranka was similarly influenced by his looks, with Ranka describing him in terms that most men would hate to be associated with. Alto-hime’s masculinity is overshadowed by his physical appearance, and his theme on the OST for some reason reminds me of a hime forlorn than a boy out to prove something. The fact that Alto-hime has been beaten up by Ozma, Canaria, and Mikhail denies him any claim to superiority in fighting.

Oh look Sheryl took your manhood!

Two women talking, wait…

If the boys of the Saotome family are this good looking one must wonder how drop dead gorgeous the women and meltrans must be…

Despite his temperament most of his rage is directed at Mikhail who ceaselessly goads him. With every one else his dealings are cordial, and lack the rage he reserved exclusively for his on and off tormentor. Given that Alto-hime has known success at an early age and had fans of his own, wanted and otherwise, his early clashes with Sheryl are understandable given how they both had accomplished careers on stage. As kabuki was an older art than pop music it could be argued that Alto-hime might have been snubbing the achievements of Sheryl calling her an exhibitionist and doubting the power of her songs along to energize and move the audience. Since Alto-hime still has fans three years since his greatest performance Alto-hime has achieved much if such fan loyalty can survive such an extended hiatus. The concert made him a believer in the power of song, but did not change his stance on using sex appeal to garner attention, though Sheryl did win his acceptance.

Does he love ye?
I wanna know!
How can I tell if he loves ye so?

(Is it in his eyes?)
Oh no! You need to see!
(Is it in his eyes?)
Oh no! You make believe!

If you wanna know
If he loves you so
Its in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)

In line with his reputation as a legendary oyama Alto-hime is quite different from most other mecha pilots because he was not bred for the purpose of war (Sagara). There is no overriding need for him to want to go to war, but when the threat became clear he signed up, rather he begged, pleaded, and busted his way into SMS. He is more like the average recruit that signs up in your typical all-volunteer force, I would have had a field day if Alto-hime said that he “had no where else to go.” His starting skill set had nothing to do with his new job, but he was able to learn and was subsequently trained quite well, but nonetheless in his first battle he was not already putting his more experienced comrades to shame.

So in this light he’s more human than most mecha pilots as he isn’t perfect or very good at the beginning, and was and still is taking a huge back seat to Ozma, Mikhail, Klein, Canaria, and GARby. Alto-hime signed up because he felt that it was his duty to do something a concept seemingly alien to a tanuki conscript. It was not ideology, necessity, or vengeance that motivated his desire to join, but duty. For this I like Kabuki-hime more than other mecha pilots who seem to be more filled with overt rage and emo baggage than any professional soldier ought to have. The rest are for the most part amateurs, Alto-hime is a professional, a rare kind of mecha pilot in this age of hellish emo. To be sure he complains, but like a real pro he complains for less than five minutes and does as he is told, rarely if ever dwelling on any past grievances.

In the realm of relationships thanks to the Macross pedigree Alto-hime is not completely ignorant of the opposite gender nor is he stealing into a woman’s room to debate the nature of God. Unlike a few others he who have cultivated a crowd of female admirers willing to have his babies through the greatest aphrodisiac, power, Alto-hime captured the hearts of his female admirers by virtue of his lack of overt masculinity and power. Understandably he is not too eager to encourage this and does his best to avoid the issue, but in doing so he reinforces his own mysterious hime mystique. Alto-hime isn’t overtly rude consistently to any one other than Mikhail and Sheryl. The former he sees as an intermittent menace that helped coin his title, while the latter responded to him with haughtiness and hostility. Thus Sheryl induced what no other woman on Frontier has done; incite something other than politeness and courtesy in Alto-hime.

(Oh yeah! Or is it in his face?)
Oh no! It’s just his charms!
(In his warm embrace?)
Oh no! That’s just his arms!

If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss!

(That’s where it is!)
Oh,ooh, oh! Its in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)

Granted that Luca and Mikhail often had their part time jobs, Nanase was for a time his only friend. It even went so far as letting her drag him along to support Ranka, Nanase was also in on the declaration of Alto-hime’s title to Sheryl as well. By virtue of having Nanase as really nothing more than a friend Alto-hime is quite unlike the rest of his mecha pilot compatriots. Every other guy in his shoes needs work, or rank structure to increase female contact. Alto-hime’s friendship without overtones of attraction (contrary to Sheryl’s hints at other wise) also serves to reinforce his every man quality as not every guy is out to chase every woman he comes across.

When it comes to his relations with Ranka I found that on a mini-marathon of what has already been released that the majority of Alto-hime’s contact with Ranka has pretty much been him protecting a young child and encouraging her to achieve something. Hence the rather brotherly affection he has for her is going to remain for a while longer until Ranka can force a change. I have to hand it to Alto-hime though transitioning from and older sibling/mentor to potential boyfriend is not the easiest of transitions and one that does require a bit more thinking and time. Ranka wants his attention but thus far her clinging to him in terror is only reinforcing Alto-hime’s perception of Ranka as a child. While Ranka did kiss him, all of Alto-hime’s apprehension was concentrated on the possibility of it occurring prior to the act. If he did feel something Alto-hime wasn’t showing any sign of heart flutter. It seems that his concern was more for Ranka’s first kiss than anything else.

Sheryl, however, seems to have had a larger impact on Alto-hime this half. Both of her kisses did illicit a noticeable response from Alto-hime and they share much more in common having already gained fame and accomplished much despite being relatively young. Both have been called upon to grow up a bit earlier than most thought they have much to learn. Left alone they seem to play off each other’s tsun tsun nature rather than being antagonistic and combative as they were in their earlier meetings. They are much more open with each other than anyone else, even the bridge crew had to do a bit of digging to find out more about Alto-hime’s past. Given that they both possess an independent streak, distinguished careers, and a rapport, if they are destined to be parted it will be difficult given how close they have come.

Oh, oh, oh, hug him!
Squeeze him tight!
Find out what you wanna know!
If it’s love, if it really is,
It’s there in his kiss!

(How ’bout the way he acts?)
Oh no! That’s not the way!
You’re not listenin’ to all I’m sayin’!
If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh, ooh, oh! Its in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)

Oh, oh, oh, hug him!
Squeeze him tight!
Find out what you wanna know!
If it’s love, if it really is,
It’s there in his kiss!

(How ’bout the way he acts?)
Oh no! That’s not the way!
You’re not listenin’ to all I’m sayin’!
If you wanna know
If he loves you so
It’s in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh, ooh, oh! Its in his kiss!
(That’s where it is!)
Oh, yeah! Its in his kiss!
(It’s in his hiss, that’s where it is!)
ooh! It’s in his kiss!

So yeah I think Alto-hime is one of the more likable main mecha pilots to come to anime for some time. His claim to fame is not the over used tragic past or desire to be number one in anything. Unfettered by ambition he’s your average grunt who volunteered to fight war because it was the right thing to do. I still would like to know what inspired Kawamori and his team to create a male protagonist that is head and shoulders above the rest of the recent lot in terms of looking girly. In any other series it would just appear more as a concession to yaoi doujins, but here it’s more than that. It seems that they are actively baiting the material by pushing the fact that Alto-hime looks like a princess. It’s not every season where you get a main male protagonist whose main traits are his abilities to look and act convincingly like a girl and yet openly claim a male identity. He’s not the kind of doormat who wins the hearts of women in the typical loser way of just being there. The Alto-hime method is not the way most guys would want as a means to attract attention. Alto-hime is not only significantly different, but also pretty and likable. I cannot wait to see how his birthday celebration going to be and to see a bit more on his interesting past.

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