Macross Frontier

Born into a legendary Kabuki family, Alto Saotome ditched the stage because all he wants to do is fly. He's training to be a mecha pilot on Macross Frontier, a massive colonial fleet drifting through space with a whole civilization onboard — humans and Zentradi living side by side. Things are pretty calm until two women crash into his life at roughly the same time: Sheryl Nome, a galaxy-famous pop star touring the fleet, and Ranka Lee, a cheerful green-haired girl working at a restaurant who dreams of singing herself. Then an unknown alien species called the Vajra shows up and starts tearing through the fleet's defenses, and Alto gets pulled into S.M.S., a private military outfit flying cutting-edge mecha called Valkyries. Here's what makes this 25-episode TV series from Satelight land differently than most mecha shows: the music isn't just background. Sheryl and Ranka's songs are woven directly into the battles and the story's emotional beats, and the love triangle between the three leads actually has weight to it. The animation holds up well, mixing traditional work with CG mecha sequences that still look sharp. If you liked the drama and relationship dynamics of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED or the way Evangelion layers personal conflict over its battles, Macross Frontier hits a similar nerve but with a warmer, more romantic tone and a killer soundtrack driving the whole thing forward.