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IC INFORMATION
NAME: Ranka Lee.
SERIES: Macross Frontier.
CANON POINT: Post-series.
HISTORY: The 117th Large Scale Research Fleet is not a mystery to anyone on the Macross Frontier. Everyone mourns the loss of thousands--but what many don't know is that there were two survivors. Ranka and Brera Mei, also known as Ranka Lee and Brera Sterne, are the only survivors accounted for from the fleet. Ranka Lee was placed under the care of Ozma Lee, as her 'brother'. Ranka, however, has no memory, having blocked it out since it was so traumatic. ... however, pasts have a way of worming themselves back into the present.
We meet Ranka Lee in the very beginning as your normal, everyday, 2050's schoolgirl who works a part-time at a restaurant called the Nyan-nyan. After meeting Alto, and having him save her from the Vajra, however, things quickly spiraled out of control. She met her idol, Sheryl-san, and after entrance into Miss Macross and a starring role in a movie, became an idol herself. Ranka loves to sing, and the only thing she can remember from her days as a little child (she has dissociative amnesia) is a song called Aimo. Upon hearing her sing that song, the director decides to place her as the star in the movie. She sings her way into her new nickname, 'Super-Dimension Cinderella', by stopping a riot on Gallia 4 (a planet) where Sheryl, who had fallen ill, was supposed to sing. She went to Gallia 4 primarily to sing for Alto--it was his birthday, and she wanted to tell him that in person, so she enlisted the help of Michel to fold her across to the planet.. Before she and Alto can go back to the Frontier, their ship crashes near a ship that was part of the 117th Research Fleet. Ranka starts to get vivid flashbacks, as it was connected to her past. Ranka is kidnapped right by Alto, and onto the Vajra mother ship. Alto has to rush back to the Frontier and make plans to rescue her.
Brera makes an appearance and rescues her right before Alto can. Returning to the Frontier, Ranka's manager (Elmo) is replaced by Sheryl's--Grace, under government orders. Brera is made her bodyguard. Just as Sheryl's popularity starts to dwindle, Ranka's popularity starts to soar. This hits an all-time high when she helps the military in fighting the Vajra.
The Vajra, alien mechas who have been attacking the human fleet ships since before most were born, react to Ranka's song by slowing down their attacks. Brera points out that the Vajra keep learning their attacks--if they keep attacking one way all the time, they'll grow immune. Ranka's singing may be the only way to stop them. Ranka sees no problem with singing and helping the military until later, when she realizes that she experiences pain when many Vajra are vanquished. Just as they complete a fold jump to one side of the galaxy, her old pet, Ai-kun, disappears. Instead of going to the float especially for her, she goes to search for him, fearing the worst. Brera, while helping, asks Ranka who she sings for. At first, she tells him that she sings for hope. For everyone on the Frontier. After careful consideration, however... she realizes that isn't the truth. She sings... for Alto. As long as Alto is hearing her, she doesn't quite care anymore. At her concert, even Alto realizes it. Afterwards, she goes to meet him--to find him holding Sheryl (not for the reasons you'd think). Just as Ranka runs away, crying, the Vajra attack the Frontier.
She meets up unexpectedly with the pet she had taken in before fame, Ai-kun. She had found him before she had become famous, and to her surprise, he's... quite bigger than he was before. She realizes that her little pet wasn't just an unidentified creature, he was Vajra spawn. She leaves the Macross, not willing to be a tool to the military any longer, in search for answers about herself--and also to bring Ai-kun back to his Vajra parents. Back on the Frontier, Ozma and most of his men set out to find Ranka. Alto and his closest friends stay with the Frontier. Ranka, far away, finally founds the planet the Vajra seem to hail from. Even while trying to show she is peaceful, the Vajra capture her, being lead by no other than Ai-kun himself! There, she realizes that Brera is actually her real brother, while Grace, trying to harness the power of the Vajra connection, tells Brera Ranka is his real sister.
He has no time to do anything, however, because Grace takes control of him through his cybernetic parts. Ranka sings, her song emitting slight fold waves that are picked up by the Frontier. They rush towards the planet, realizing it's the Vajra home planet. The new 5th President, Leon Mishima (the one who put Grace in charge of Ranka, and who... actually put the 4th president to be killed) announces that the only way to win is to completely demolish and kill the Vajra, and conquer their planet as their own. As the Frontier moves in, Ranka is forced by Grace to sing for the Vajra, increasing their strength and abilities in battle. Sheryl (reaching the terminal stage of her V-infection, which makes her singing have the same affects as Ranka's), having been enlisted to sing for the Frontier just as Ranka did before, can only watch helplessly as Alto fights Brera. Brera wins, destroying his ship.
Thankfully for Alto, he ejected from his fighter at the last moment, and... in a split second, he was able to see that the Ranka everyone else saw was just a hologram. He sends a message to the forces of Macross Quarter, to shoot at the hologram. With that dispersed, what is actually revealed is... the Macross Galaxy's battle fleet, a ship that was supposedly lost and perished. While Galaxy and the Vajra place a counterattack, Alto is able to see Ranka's state. He quickly alerts Sheryl, urging her to get through to Ranka and awaken her from Grace's hold and trance. Grace, finally connecting herself to the Vajra Queen, joins the Galaxy and Vajra forces, fighting the Frontier and Quarter.
Sheryl succeeds in freeing Ranka, however, and sings to cancel out her control over the Vajra. Alto ventures into the Vajra hold and rescues Ranka, bringing her back to the Frontier. Moving Sheryl's V-infection to her abdomen, just like her own, she saves Sheryl's life. Together, they sing for the Frontier, and are able to cut the control from Grace and the Vajra. Alto and Brera go down to Grace and cut her control completely--by cutting off the Queen's head. Grace is completely destroyed, and the Queen calls the Vajra back. They make a fold jump to another part of the galaxy, leaving the Frontier the planet they had previously inhabited. Ranka's able to explain afterwards--because of the V-infection she had since she was born, the Vajra considered her one of their own. The Vajra thought humans were strange, threatening, because they weren't completely connected to each other at all. When Ranka was being 'kidnapped', she, in truth, was being 'protected' from the 'strange Human race'.
PERSONALITY: Ranka Lee, in spite of all the hardships she's had in her past, is a bright and bubbly teenage girl aboard the Macross Frontier. She cares a lot for many people in her life--her friends are her top priority. As someone who follows her heart, even as she has no real physical strength, Ranka will defend her friends in any way she can. In "Fastest Delivery", once getting wind that Sheryl's entourage were hostages, she pleaded Michel and Luca if there was some way to get there. In the end, she and Michel complete a fold straight to the planet where Sheryl's crew is held hostage--and she sings, successfully pacifying the soldiers. She originally came there to be able to say only Happy Birthday to Alto.
Ranka is capable and does change throughout the series. In "Legend of Zero", she claims that she can't think of why Mao, a character she was asked to play in a movie, would go behind her sister's back and kiss the man her sister loves, even if she does, too. However, once she sees Sheryl kissing Alto, whom she had already developed a deep liking for, she suddenly understands. Her love is important to her. She will never give up without a fight it it comes to her friends, if it comes to Alto in particular. She can be forgiving--even if Sheryl was her rival in Alto's love, she did not let Sheryl perish at the very end. Instead, she moved her idol's V-infection to her abdomen, and worked with her to fight.
As compliant as Ranka may seem, she has her selfish moments--even as she's named the 'Songstress of Hope', and she knows that the Frontier is depending on her to help save them from the Vajra and to soothe their panic, she refuses to sing at a military funeral because of her own ache. She leaves to bring Ai-kun back to the Vajra, and tells Alto that she 'always loved him' as she leaves. Ranka lets her childishness and naivety show much more than her thoughtful side, which is a reason why many people don't take her seriously. She knows when she's being used--it was part of why she left, exclaiming that she wouldn't be used by the military in hurting the Vajra anymore.
WEAPONS/ABILITIES/ETC: Ranka has no actual powers. If anything, the ability to move her hair is genetic and the ability to faintly control Vajra is because of the symbiotic V-type infection in her abdomen.
SAMPLES
THIRD PERSON: Ranka grasped the edges of her dress as she looked around the square she had suddenly appeared in. It didn't look anything like the Frontier, or... the Vajra planet, to be quite honest. She hadn't sung in a while--were there ambient fold waves on the Vajra planet? Did that make sense? Looking at her feet, she thought about it with her brows furrowed. Wouldn't Alto and Sheryl be with her, though? She wasn't exactly alone...
"--Alto? Miss Sheryl?" She called out, stepping a bit into the street. No answer...
"Alto!" Raising her voice didn't even work. Ranka turned around slowly, brows furrowed. "Big brother Ozma? Mister Brera? Hello!" Cupping her hands around her mouth, she was about to call out again before she heard a whisper behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she turned to ask the two ladies--before they hurried away. Blinking in confusion, she looked towards one of the store windows.
"--ah!" Her hands went to her throat. She hadn't had that before! Where exactly was she?
JOURNAL: ... Solace, ne? Um, does anyone know an 'Alto' or 'Miss Sheryl'? They're my friends, and... they were just here.
There aren't any Frontier fleets here, are there? Ah, I must be dreaming...!