We were not mistaken earlier when we said that Mikumo has a voice actress and a singing actress. The producers knew exactly what they were doing, and it has paid off immensely. Originally, Ami Shimizu was slated to do everything for Mikumo’s role which would have relegated Mikumo to still relevant, but just not as much of a standout character. With a separate seiyuu just for singing, her character was able to blossom and become the center of Walkure. The shocking part is that JUNNA is just 15 years old and the youngest seiyuu to have ever been a part of the Macross Franchise.

Tracks that showcase her vocal performance are “Ikenai Borderline”, a common song played throughout battles in the first half of the season, as well as the second ending, “Hametsu no Junjou.” Having an impressive range and distinct voice have also made her stand out in the series in comparison to Freya, the new member of Walkure who is sort of forced on the viewer, as well as Kaname who is the actual leader of Walkure!

However, other than her scene with Messer, Kaname does not stand out, and Mikumo belts her way to the top. Mikumo is also featured in many other songs, but the first episode with the battle with the Var and the Aerial Knights, where she sings “Ikenai Borderline” for the first time that really captures the powerful and compelling voice that she delivers. For reference, she also has her own version of “Giraffe Blues” which is fantastic compared to the original!

For a tactical musical unit capable of dealing with the Var, and going toe to toe with it, Walkure is slightly inept about knowing about their own members. Not much is known about Mikumo throughout most of the series. She is shrouded in mystery, which probably stems from the fact that the Kanji for “cloud” is used in her name. The creators wanted to create an air of mystery for her, and they certainly did by saying next to nothing about her.

Within the series we see her often leaving to do things on her own, and she tends to skip out a lot anytime when she has to work with Mirage. For some reason, Mikumo does not like her. She obsesses over her nails and it makes you wonder if she was just trying to embody some supposed ideal of femininity or more, but that is shattered when it is revealed that her communicator is actually hidden in one of her nails.

No one has any clue either as to where she actually sleeps and lives within their ship. It is a secret. There is also the fact too that somehow, Mikumo, along with Freyja, are the two members within Walkure to possess the most fold receptors which allow them to not only resist the Var Syndrome when it rears its ugly head with the song of the wind, but also it allows them to help heal others via song.

Furthermore, when Walkure does sing live, the only time that the Protoculture ruins seem to respond the best, is the time when Mikumo is present and singing as well. When Walkure launches the assault on the Protoculture ruins taken over by Windermere, the ruins begin to respond to Mikumo and Freya seemingly falls into her face!

The biggest reveal of all throughout the whole series, though, and this is a spoiler, by the way, a very big one too, is that Mikumo has been artificially created by Lady M. While she may look like the other members, of Walkure, she is actually only three years old. She cannot even explain herself nor her growth herself. The reason is because…

That is right! There is no playing around here. Mikumo is so powerful, that she is actually the “last boss” of the series so to speak. After she is captured, post-reveal that she has been artificially created, by the Kingdom of Windermere, it is revealed that she is actually a clone of the Star Singer, a Windermere priestess that has access to not only the protoculture, and a way to unifying the star cluster, but also she is actually the original Singer of the Wind. She is so powerful that she herself does not realize it until she is completely under the control of Lloyd of Windermere. He may seem to be pulling the strings, but Mikumo is the one with the power.

She actually can not only control the song of the wind aka “Kaze no Uta”, but she is also able to sing the Song of the Stars which actually allows her to halt the entire mission to save her and put to stop to Lloyd’s scheming. Set up on the Star Stage, which is essentially a suped up stage that Heinz used to sing on until Lloyd discovered that he should put his chips on Mikumo, Mikumo literally paralyzes everyone. Her singing not only sends Delta Waves throughout the entire star cluster, it paralyzes the galaxy.

It takes the power of Hayate and Freyja, and a rejected Mirage, to band together to set free the Aerial knights to take out Lloyd while Walkure reunites one last time to bring home their mysterious member and save her along with Hayate and Mirage.

At the risk of sounding slightly chauvinistic and creepy, Mikumo is the most visually appealing and attractive among the members of Walkure. She does work out hard and tries her very best as evidenced through the flashback episode that details how Mikumo joined Walkure. She has a cute, yet sexy outfit that bares her shoulders, stomach, and upper thighs while still being cute and adorned with frills and more.

The fact too that she can own it and is in complete confidence means she is a good role model. She may go through various outfit changes throughout the series, but not once does she ever complain about her outfit or act as if she is uncomfortable. She also maintains her health by being sure to hydrate post performances as well. Mikumo finally is a good role model because she does just what she wants and needs to. She never goes around telling everyone everything that she intends to do, and she also withholds information that is not necessary.

Mikumo is not a common stock character which cannot hold it in and needs someone to tell everything to, nor is she someone who needs someone else to pull information out of her. Not that these characters are bad, however, they are a dime a dozen in anime. She maintains herself and does everything exactly at her own pace and time. Mikumo is in control.

This final point is not to bash the other members of Walkure who have their own appeal, but to show how she stands above them. When compared to the leader of Walkure, Mikumo is always strong and is able to come to help. Kaname, on the other hand, is diminutive once her minor story arc ends around episode 10. Kaname is cute and spunky, but she is not that standout after she has her swan song. Plus, let’s be honest, she sucks as a leader for the most part.

Freyja is cute and is supposed to be the main focus of Walkure as she is the new member, however, Freyja cannot ever rely on herself until the very end when she leaps into the air to save Hayate. While she is cute and their romance is an enjoyable part of the series, Mikumo is able to stand strong and carry herself in a manner that does not leave herself vulnerable. Save it for the last boss part that is… Makina and Reina are just cute stock characters in Walkure. They have potential, but alas fall short. Reina is cute and is a hacker with a small voice and a laid-back, slightly tsundere personality. As such, though, she cannot be a standout character because she is not Freyja, and her tsundere-ism is not dialed up enough to make her shine.

Makina, essentially the T&A service of Walkure, is only that. She exists purely for fanservice. While she can sing, and she does have a close friendship with Reina, she is often portrayed lesbian-baiting with Reina in order to get people to either cheer harder or get more money. Heroes? Sure. Standout? Not really. Mikumo on the other hand, blasts through and actually does feel like the leader until Kaname comes out and says she is. Mikumo could have been calling the shots up until that point. We honestly do not know~!