This is a list of characters from the anime series Macross Frontier.
Main characters
Age: 17, male. The series' protagonist, Alto is a high school student in the Mihoshi Academy Pilot Training course. As a result of his fine features and long hair he is often mistaken for a girl at first glance, even receiving the nickname , much to his embarrassment. His appearance was revealed to have been inherited from his late mother, Miyo. Despite this, he is otherwise a rather normal, though somewhat aloof and standoffish, boy. Born into a well-known Kabuki family, his persistent yearning for the skies has made for a thorny relationship with his father, who has disowned him. He constantly frets about living aboard Macross Frontier due to the lack of a true 'sky'. After getting the chance to pilot the VF-25 Messiah variable fighter (due to its original pilot, Henry Gilliam, being killed by a large type Vajra in the first episode) his flying skills draw the attention of Ozma Lee, who accepts him as a candidate for the S.M.S. Skull Platoon. When S.M.S. grows suspicious of Leon and breaks away from the Frontier fleet, Alto remains as one of the few S.M.S. members who stays behind on Frontier. He later joins the N.U.N.S. forces and is assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing as squad leader (three fighters) with the call sign Sagittarius-1. As a result, he is given a new VF-171EX variable fighter. After being told by Leon Mishima that Ranka may become a tool for the Vajra in their war against humanity, Alto vows to kill her if necessary to save the Macross Frontier fleet. He is presumed dead after his VF-171EX is destroyed by Brera Sterne's VF-27 during the initial stages of the final battle between the Macross Frontier fleet and the Vajra. However, Alto reveals he had ejected from the VF-171EX before it was shot down. He resumes the fight in his original VF-25 Messiah, stopping Grace O'Connor with Michel's sniper rifle while being aided by Brera, who had broken free from Grace's control. As the Frontier fleet lands on the Vajra home planet, he ejects from his damaged VF-25 in his EX-Gear, giving the fighter a final salute as he fulfills his dream of flying in a real sky. He is last shown flying over Ranka and Sheryl at the Vajra planet. As part of the 25th Anniversary Tribute, Alto is shown mimicking scenes from the previous Macross series: The scene where Alto saves Ranka for the first time is a nod to when Hikaru Ichijyo rescues Lynn Minmay. While controlling his VF-25 in slave mode, he uses the same flying hand motion as Isamu Alva Dyson. His salute to both girls in the final episode is a nod to a similar scene in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?. When his fighter is rising to the surface to be launched, that scene and the one in which Alto raises his head is very similar to those shown in the opening of the original Macross when Hikaru and his Valkyrie rise to the surface.