By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Over the years, Star Trek has boldly gone where no franchise has gone before by exploring different ways to tell killer sci-fi stories. We've had movies, live-action TV shows, 3D animations, 2D animations, all backed by a library of books, magazines, and comics. The latter includes some surprisingly good Star Trek lies. Despite that quality, however, we never got an official anime. But that hasn't stopped the writers and producers of various shows from coming in with tons of references to their favorite shows!
Most of those references are hidden where fans can't easily see them. For example, references to shows like The Dirty Pair they were often written on Okudagrams or on computer monitors Star Trek: The Next Generation. In one sad instance, however, the homage to the anime classic was hidden in plain sight. In the episode “Yesterday's Business,” Enterprise-C Captain Rachel Garrett is killed, leaving remains of her body. Look closely, and you'll notice something wild about the most prominent piece of shrapnel: a wing from a Super Dimension Fortress Macross model kit.
Death by Anime
In “Yesterday's Enterprise,” the Enterprise-C accidentally moves forward in time to the present day instead of being destroyed. This changes reality, causing Starfleet to be in the middle of losing the war with the Klingons. Picard convinces Enterprise-C captain Rachel Garrett to return to the past, sacrificing herself in hopes of saving the future. However, Tasha Yar must take command of the old ship after the Klingons attack the Enterprise-C. This kills Rachel Garett, and in a shocking scene, we can see her lifeless body torn to pieces.
Believe it or not, that shrapnel has its own strange story. In accordance with Star Trek: The Next Generation art department artist Rick Sternbach, the shrapnel on Garrett's head was the wing of the VF-1 Valkyrie model kit from the popular anime series. Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Interestingly, this was not the first time this model has been seen secretly at the show. It was also used (albeit at a much larger scale) to create both a desktop version and a studio film model of a Constellation-class ship. That's the same type of ship as the Stargazer, the ship Picard commanded before becoming captain of the Enterprise-D.
The Most Requested Anime On The Holodeck
While this trivia may seem odd, it's not really surprising that an anime model kit makes a prominent appearance in Star Trek. I The Next Generation the writers were big fans of Japanese animation and would often hide references to their favorite shows between random episodes. For example, both “A Matter of Vision” and “High Performance” had their references The Dirty Pairis a popular anime about a couple of female counselors who have a reputation for causing Demolition Man levels of destruction wherever they go. Such Easter eggs reveal how much Trek writers loved anime a decade before its popularity exploded in the West.
“Yesterday's Business” may have been the best episode Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's an episode that doesn't draw anything, killing off popular characters like Riker in seemingly shocking ways. No one died more brutally than Rachel Garrett, whose body was torn to shreds. It can be hard to watch, but maybe knowing that he has an anime model kit coming out of his face will make things better. It's a surreal detail reminiscent of the famous episode of Trek icon William Shatner The Twilight Zone. “There is someone in the wing,” he said crying. “The othersthing in the wing!”
Yes, there's something in the wing, right: Rachel Garrett's face!
