Ms. Macross: The Passion and Pathos of Misa Hayase

Like many English-speaking fans of Macross, I came to know the franchise through Robotech. Robotech which began life as a straight-up English dub of Super Dimension Fortress Macross. I'm mentioning Robotech because it's where I first met one of my favourite female characters of  any medium. She was introduced to me as Lisa Hayes but, eventually, I came to know her by her real name: Misa Hayase.


I always considered Misa the true protagonist of Macross. More than any other character, SDFM is her story. That's not to take away from Hikaru and Mimnei who are iconic each in their own way. It's only to say that Misa embodies the themes of Macross through and through.

She's introduced to us first through her role in the SDF-Macross' command structure. We first see her assume station on the bridge. Naughty boy Roy Fokker speaks to her with respect.  Hikaru might insult her but it's with a little bit of fear on his part because Misa is an authority figure and a legitimate one at that. However Claudia might tease her about not having a man, Misa is all about the job.

Episode 7 "Bye-Bye Mars" (my favourite of the early episodes) is the first to focus on Misa as an individual. Making a pit-stop on Salla Base on Mars, Misa obtains permission from Captain Global  to explore and find out what happened to its occupants. We find out that, during the wars which occurred in the series' back-story, Mars base was destroyed by Anti-U.N. forces. What Misa doesn't tell anyone is that her first love, Karl Riber was stationed there. Misa might have joined U.N. Spacy because of her family tradition but her intention was to follow him to Mars so that they could be together. Watching her wander around the deserted base is hauntingly sad. The moment where she finds Karl's room and his personal effects is heartbreaking. This opportunity to reconnect is so powerful that she is content to die there as the base self-destructs. Luckily Hikaru rescues her and they're able to get away from the exploding base (Poor Misa had to be the one to flip the self-destruct switch).  Knowing that she's living day to day with this crippling loss explains why Misa takes forever to get together with Hikaru. For her to even admit to herself that she wants him is difficulty enough.

The degree of pathos generated by the character is extraordinary. She embodies a compelling combination of melancholy and dignity. Her courage in the face of apocalyptic war is quite moving. It's one thing to see the Zentraedi armada firing down on the entire planet Earth. Misa being trapped int he ruins of U.N. Spacy headquarters screaming at her console screen as she witnesses the devastation makes it all the more visceral.

When she and Hikaru and trapped on Breetai's ship, they have a bit of a conversation. It's the first chance they've had to actually think about what they've seen  of the alien army that's been dogging them for months. Hikaru is disturbed at the idea of an entire people whose existence is defined by warfare. Misa however gets it. She identifies with the Zentradi. Sad.

In a way, Misa's personal development parallels the cultural development of the Zentradi. She reconciles the civilian side of her self with the military one. She goes from hiding her vulnerability to confronting it. Her feelings for Hikaru bear this out. In the end, she gets to have it all: The guy and the career (she's given command of Earth's first colony ship the Megaroad-1) but unlike some useless rom-com heroine, she earned her happy ending.

Misa doesn't just have her 'will they or won't they?' relationship with Hikaru. She has her relationships with Captain Global, her more problematic relationship with her father Admiral Takashi Hayase and her close friendship with Claudia,  allowing us to get know her long before Hiakru does.

It's not really Macross without Misa
slamming her fist against her console...

Most importantly, Misa is a bad-ass. In addition to her heroics on Mars, she is the one who comes up with the Deadalus attack in episode 6 ("Deadalus Attack" funnily enough). A brilliant military strategy which saves the day more than once and is referenced in later Macross Series. When the long range radar is damaged during an attack, Misa volunteers to go on an unarmed reconnaissance craft with only a small escort for protection.

At this point, I'd be remiss in not giving props to the voice actresses who have made Misa come alive for me. Mika Doi and Melanie McQueen (yes I know she was on Robotech voicing Lisa Hayes. Details!). Their performances in concert with good writing and exquisite character designs, established a complex well-drawn protagonist that will occupy a special place in my geeky heart for life.

Summaries and great reviews of almost all Macross series episodes and movies may be found here.