TV-Series
Description
Alto Saotome is the central protagonist of Macross Frontier, a seventeen-year-old male student enrolled in the pilot training course at Mihoshi Academy. He possesses fine, delicate features and long hair, a combination that frequently leads strangers to mistake him for a girl, a source of great personal embarrassment. This has earned him the unwelcome nickname Hime, meaning Princess, which his peers and colleagues often use to tease him. His striking appearance was inherited from his late mother, Miyo.
Alto was born into the prestigious Saotome family, a well-known Kabuki household, and was rigorously trained from a young age to be an actor, specifically performing female roles known as onnagata. Despite his success in the theater, his true and persistent yearning was for the sky. This fundamental desire to become a pilot and experience a real, open sky created a deep and thorny rift with his father, Ranzou Saotome, who eventually disowned him for abandoning the family tradition. Alto feels stifled living aboard the Macross Frontier fleet, as the colony's artificial environment lacks what he considers a true sky. His personality is generally aloof and standoffish, but this exterior masks a rebellious and sarcastic nature that emerges when he is confronted about his past or his dreams.
His journey as a pilot begins unexpectedly when the original pilot of a VF-25 Messiah variable fighter is killed during a Vajra attack. Alto seizes the opportunity to pilot the advanced craft, and his natural flying skills immediately draw the attention of Ozma Lee, who recruits him as a candidate for the private military company S.M.S.'s Skull Platoon. His core motivation is twofold: to fulfill his dream of flying, and to protect those around him from the Vajra threat. This drive leads him to balance his life as a high school student with the dangerous duties of a military pilot.
Throughout the story, Alto becomes emotionally entangled with two central female characters. He shares a bond with Ranka Lee, a young aspiring singer whose own drive to achieve her dreams mirrors his. He also develops a complex, often belligerent relationship with the famous idol Sheryl Nome. His relationships with his S.M.S. comrades are also significant; he serves under Major Ozma Lee, works alongside his friends and rivals from the academy, including the sharp-shooter Michel Blanc, and forms part of a close trio with Michel and the younger pilot Luca Angeloni.
Alto undergoes considerable development, evolving from a rebellious youth fleeing his family's legacy into a dedicated and responsible soldier. His commitment to his role deepens as the conflict with the Vajra escalates. In a notable turn, when the S.M.S. breaks away from the Frontier fleet due to suspicions of conspiracy, Alto remains behind and later joins the New United Nations Spacy forces, where he is promoted to squad leader and given a new VF-171EX variable fighter. He struggles with the harsh realities of war, even vowing to take extreme measures against Ranka if she is turned into a weapon by the enemy. Despite being presumed dead after his fighter is destroyed, he survives and returns to the final battle in his original VF-25, playing a crucial role in defeating the primary antagonist.
As a pilot, Alto is exceptionally talented, possessing skills that surpass most military pilots. He is known for his emotional and sometimes reckless combat style, often charging into situations without a clear plan, but his natural instincts and abilities allow him to prevail. His training in Kabuki is subtly reflected in the graceful, almost artistic maneuvers he performs while piloting his Valkyrie. In the end, after the final battle, Alto finally achieves his lifelong dream. As the Frontier fleet lands on the Vajra home planet, he ejects from his damaged fighter and soars through the planet's vast, open atmosphere using his EX-Gear, at last experiencing the real sky he had always sought.
Alto was born into the prestigious Saotome family, a well-known Kabuki household, and was rigorously trained from a young age to be an actor, specifically performing female roles known as onnagata. Despite his success in the theater, his true and persistent yearning was for the sky. This fundamental desire to become a pilot and experience a real, open sky created a deep and thorny rift with his father, Ranzou Saotome, who eventually disowned him for abandoning the family tradition. Alto feels stifled living aboard the Macross Frontier fleet, as the colony's artificial environment lacks what he considers a true sky. His personality is generally aloof and standoffish, but this exterior masks a rebellious and sarcastic nature that emerges when he is confronted about his past or his dreams.
His journey as a pilot begins unexpectedly when the original pilot of a VF-25 Messiah variable fighter is killed during a Vajra attack. Alto seizes the opportunity to pilot the advanced craft, and his natural flying skills immediately draw the attention of Ozma Lee, who recruits him as a candidate for the private military company S.M.S.'s Skull Platoon. His core motivation is twofold: to fulfill his dream of flying, and to protect those around him from the Vajra threat. This drive leads him to balance his life as a high school student with the dangerous duties of a military pilot.
Throughout the story, Alto becomes emotionally entangled with two central female characters. He shares a bond with Ranka Lee, a young aspiring singer whose own drive to achieve her dreams mirrors his. He also develops a complex, often belligerent relationship with the famous idol Sheryl Nome. His relationships with his S.M.S. comrades are also significant; he serves under Major Ozma Lee, works alongside his friends and rivals from the academy, including the sharp-shooter Michel Blanc, and forms part of a close trio with Michel and the younger pilot Luca Angeloni.
Alto undergoes considerable development, evolving from a rebellious youth fleeing his family's legacy into a dedicated and responsible soldier. His commitment to his role deepens as the conflict with the Vajra escalates. In a notable turn, when the S.M.S. breaks away from the Frontier fleet due to suspicions of conspiracy, Alto remains behind and later joins the New United Nations Spacy forces, where he is promoted to squad leader and given a new VF-171EX variable fighter. He struggles with the harsh realities of war, even vowing to take extreme measures against Ranka if she is turned into a weapon by the enemy. Despite being presumed dead after his fighter is destroyed, he survives and returns to the final battle in his original VF-25, playing a crucial role in defeating the primary antagonist.
As a pilot, Alto is exceptionally talented, possessing skills that surpass most military pilots. He is known for his emotional and sometimes reckless combat style, often charging into situations without a clear plan, but his natural instincts and abilities allow him to prevail. His training in Kabuki is subtly reflected in the graceful, almost artistic maneuvers he performs while piloting his Valkyrie. In the end, after the final battle, Alto finally achieves his lifelong dream. As the Frontier fleet lands on the Vajra home planet, he ejects from his damaged fighter and soars through the planet's vast, open atmosphere using his EX-Gear, at last experiencing the real sky he had always sought.