Mao Nome (マオ・ノーム Mao Nomu) is one of the main characters in the Macross Zero OVA who also makes an appearance in the Macross Frontier television series. She is the younger sister of the village priestess Sara Nome who would later become the maternal grandmother of Sheryl Nome.
Personality & Character[]
Mao is a cheerful and hyperactive girl, a stark contrast to her older sister, Sara Nome. She is fascinated by modern technology, and dreams of seeing civilization beyond her home of the Mayan Island. The island tribal leader, Nutouk, finds her curiosity amusing, but realizes that it is merely a sign of the times as more of their young people also share that same fascination.
Mao is smitten when she first meets Shin Kudō, and is amazed at how adept he was at working with technology, to the chagrin of her sister. This interest in technology would carry over throughout her life, as she became one of the head researchers aboard the 117th Long Distance Research Fleet.
She is a pretty good swimmer, likening herself to a "Bird Human" to Shin.
History[]
2008[]
| “ | You really are a Bird Human, Shin. | ” |
—Mao Nome | ||
Mao studying Shin Kudō as he repairs the island's generator.
Mao is a carefree child who had always been fascinated with modern technology. Although she has sufficient knowledge of Mayan Island customs, she longs to leave someday, curious about the sights and sounds of the modern world. She meets the stranded pilot Shin Kudō, and is taken by his utter nonchalance at living in modern civilization. Her older sister, Sara Nome, the village priestess, disapproves of her sister's interest in the man, but is unable to dissuade her from pursuing a relationship with him. When Shin fixes the village's old generator and power is restored to the island, she listens to an old radio and dreams of what life must be like in the city. This worries her sister once again, seeing technology as the harbinger of their doom.
One day, she takes Shin out to the ocean to show her a treasure she had found underwater. The take a moment to admire the flying fish as it moves past their boat. They then take a dive and Shin discovers it is one of the missing fragments of the "Bird Human" that the United Nations Military had been looking for. They are ambushed by Anti-U.N. submarine, and Mao is left in a catatonic infant-like state. She is rescued by Edgar LaSalle while Shin proceeds to take out the incoming enemy forces. Mao's regressive state worries their village elder, Nutouk, who calls upon his people to pray over her.[1]
Mao singing with her fellow villagers as Shin falls from the sky.
By the time Mao recovers from her trauma, the final battle had begun against the "Bird Human". The vessel had possessed her sister Sara, inducing her to sing the "Song of Destruction", signalling the end of the world. Mao attempts to communicate with her sister, but to no avail. She then uses her mystical powers to contact Shin to dissuade Sara from causing further destruction. Shin and Sara make contact, and for a moment, the spell is broken. However, Mao witnesses a HWR-00 Monster fire upon the "Bird Human", causing it to leave the galaxy. As Shin's Valkyrie falls to the Earth, he hears Mao and the villagers song and, recalling their moment seeing the flying fish, is suddenly transformed into a "Bird Human" himself before Shin finally leaves Earth to join Sara.[2]
2048[]
Dr. Mao confined to a wheelchair in 2048
While Dr. Mao does not appear formally in Macross Frontier beyond a cameo in Macross Frontier: The False Songstress, she did become one of the pioneering researchers of the Protoculture where she was also the key scientists researching the miraculous substance known as Fold Quartz and was aboard the Macross Galaxy during various archeological expeditions. Dr. Mao also authored a thesis on this subject. In 2048, she, along with Ranshe Mei and Grace O'Connor, accompanied the 117th Research Fleet which had been sponsored by the Critical Path Corporation to research the Vajra and the V-Type Virus, possibly find a cure.[3]
In Episode 10, the fleet was suddenly attacked by the Vajra summoned by the singing of Ranka Lee and Dr. Mao was killed during the attack.
She was later identified as Sheryl Nome's grandmother after a letter addressed to her by Sally Nome was found in one of the ruined ships of the ill-fated fleet in Episode 24 and Sheryl's treasured fold quartz earrings once belonged to Mao.
Relationship[]
Family[]
Sara Nome[]
- Sara is Mao's older sister who sees her as stuck-up, traditional and too self-serious.
Sally Nome[]
- Sally is Mao's daughter whom she passed down her Fold Quartz earrings to.
Sheryl Nome[]
- Sheryl is Mao's granddaughter whose Fold Quartz earrings were passed down to on her birthday by Sally Nome.
Love Interests[]
Shin Kudō[]
- Mao develops a crush on Shin as she sees him as a symbol of modernity.
Gallery[]
Promotional Art[]
Anime[]
Macross Zero[]
Macross Frontier[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- In the Macross 30th Anniversary Super Dimension Duet Collection CD, there is a special track featuring a duet between Mao and her granddaughter Sheryl Nome singing Aimo ~ Tori no Hito.
References[]
- ↑ Macross Zero Chapter 1
- ↑ Macross Zero Chapter 5
- ↑ Macross Frontier Episode 18,
External Links[]
Macross Zero characters
| ||
|---|---|---|
| U.N. Spacy | Shin Kudō | Roy Focker | Edgar LaSalle | Raizou Nakajima | Aries Turner | Katie | |
| Mayan Island | Sara Nome | Mao Nome | Nutouk | |
| Anti-U.N. Forces | D.D.Ivanov | Nora Polyansky | Dr. Hasford | |