Lott Sheen

Most department stores in Tokyo and Japan have hobby shops within them and definately a selection of Yamatos aswell. On video games vs physical toys, I cant see how one can replace the other. I will always prefer physical things on my shelf, DVDs, CDs, books, toys, I`m just not of the generation that is apparantly satisfied with digital versions of everything all on their PC. Sure it saves space and money but wheres the love for that out of print CD, comic book back issue or rare video game? Holding something `real` in my hands is more nostalgic and satisfying than executing a file will ever be. Same as with girls

I already have two maxed out credit cards and no cash due to an unfortunate obsession with vintage Air Jordans and hi end Japanese clothing but if my only real hobby was Macross and I had a spare credit card I would do the 1/2000 Macross so fast. Cmon, someone has to get one, this is MACROSS WORLD, whats $2-3K really? Whats money for if you dont enjoy it? DO IT!!

no. No its not, its mostly from the original show.

I never said ZZ look at that, beautiful clear animation. Much easier to follow than convoluted over stylised computer action like Macross Frontier too.

I saw the Manchurian Candidate and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold for the first time earlier this year and I was impressed. Ice Station Zebra I think is still really good too.

I wonder if anyone under 20 years old here has checked out stuff like Layzner or Orguss and appreciated them more than Macross Frontier?

No its more like `Anime history 101.`

No, its not that, it is just a stone cold fact (not being sarcastic like the above poster) that the best time for robot anime that we like WAS the 1980s. The other guy had a point, it was the perfect storm: Gundam had been a hit in 1979 and set up the `80s for copycat shows. What we actually got due to Japans economy peaking at the time and due to a huge appetite for the genre was TV stations taking chances on inexperienced creators doing the SF real robot shows they wanted to do, not what was safe. We ended up getting tons of unique and gritty shows that were made for adults and were really really cool. Maybe I`m simplifying but the `90s were setup by Evangelion, a mediocre show storywise imo but a huge hit in Japan. Economic stagnation spawned a few even more mediocre imitators, then Moe blew up in the 2000s and paedophiles took over the whole industry, then it was all over...no time since the `80s has been as good, more than a few dodgy rushed episodes of Macross or not. End of story.

er that was Transformers, a show I have very little respect for. There were many many hardcore SF shows from the `80s were accuracy, realism and scaling was very well done and paid attention to -> see shows like Layzner, Orguss, Z Gundam etc. Transformers wasnt part of the real robot genre. Macross suffered I think from an inexperienced staff who didnt know how to spread the budget and manage time, then again we had some incredibly detailed and fluid high frame rate sequences in Macross that were better than anything in any other anime on TV then or since. In the `80s they cared, very much, it was much more passionate than the safe homogenised cell shaded anime today. I think you`re wrong, there are many super realistic robot shows from the `80s, many more than now. again, time constraints, rush jobs, having to farm out work to then amateurish Korean studios.

aw man Lotteria double zeppin cheese burgers are the best, small and expensive but so so good. Miss having a couple of those with a tall can of Kirin.

Seto, exactly, the amount of hard work on a show is related to budget, and shows in the `80s had more budget than they do today, I`m sure. I think the fluctuations in SDFM`s animation quality is to do with the staff being mostly fresh out of university, ambitious and inexperienced. I`ve read that Itano would blow huge amounts of the budget and time on those certain ridiculously detailed sequences leaving no budget for other scenes. The true magic of the `80s was that TV stations were willing to give people like this budgets in the first place and take chances. I`m speculating based on what I`ve heard about Studio Nue rushing episodes of SDFM to the TV station hours before broadcast but without a bunch of ambitious kids who maybe didn`t all fully understand the business of doing TV anime getting a chance and plenty of creative freedom we would have never known Macross. btw love the new macross2.net

Why do you think technical aspects today are superior to the `80s? Cells are still hand drawn today, the quality of the output is simply a function of human creativity plus frame rate plus hard work. Computer techniques may save money today and make the output more consistant but it does not make better animation, it actually makes blander more homogenised animation that is cheap and nasty by comparison to something like Orguss, Zeta Gundam, Votoms, Minky Momo, Layzner, Vifam, Macross etc etc. I`ll admit that character designs may get outdated or unfashionable but its impossible for hard work and smooth detailed animation to date.

Exactly! Why does the fact something was made in the `80s even a factor?

I`m starting this thread because a comment in the Regult thread reminded me of the kind of comments I always notice on Macross World, the poster said something like, `Of course the regults were out of scale in SDFM, it was a TV show in the `80s!!!` Seems to me a lot of people on this forum, mainly younger, instantly dismiss `80s productions as being somehow inherently inferior. Its as if some people think that without super high tech computers and the internet around that people back then were dumber or poorer or drew worse just because it was the `80s?... I mean DYRL, Akira and Honneamise all came out in the `80s aswell as some astoundingly creative, well drawn and well directed sequences in TV and video anime. Perhaps its the aging film stock that tell the age of some of these productions and young people just think `old therefore LAME`? I dont get what it is but even though rational people know that the golden age of the anime most of us prefer (realistic mecha shows) was the `80s people on Macross World seem to constantly knock the `80s? There seems to be an ethos of NEW EQUALS GOOD AND OLD EQUALS BAD with some people. Does anyone else notice this? WTF?

Yeah because people in the `80s were dumber and worse at drawing aswell as having less money for drawing good. Actually in the `80s in Japan there was more money, passion and freedom in the anime industry than at any other time in history. Look closely at anime then and now, sure stuff now is more polished but it`s also more homogenised, safer and generic. You will never see scenes as detailed and well animated in TV as stuff like Roys last dogfight or the combat inside Macross city between Max and Millia these days. Sure some of it was inconsistant and some episodes of SDFM were rushed and Studio Nue were just getting started in the industry and were a bit amateurish back then , but look at how much stuff MOVES and how much added details there is in most of SDF Macross then look at how much stuff moves in modern anime, not much, it may not have anime friend episodes but its also bland and tasteless. oh and my 2 cents on the Regult debacle, I paid full price for a Millia since I only collect 1/60 DYRL, its not a great toy but looks okay displayed, if no regular 1/60 regult toy is coming out in the near future fine by me, I cant really afford it anyway, just as long as one comes out before I`m 80 years old, no rush. edit, actually all you people complaining about the price of the HDPE kit but at the same time so obviously desperately wanting a 1/60 Regult should just get a proxy in Japan to get if for you, its not just for the rich, all you need is a credit card and regular people drop way way more cash on their hobbies than that every day. If Yamato is your only vice then thank God because some people I know are spending that much on pairs of shoes, jackets or jeans. Its all about what makes you the most happy, I have too many hobbies and am never satisfied with any of them because I`m not rich, if Macross is your only hobby then there are far worse things you could max your credit card out on than an 1/2000 SDF 1 or a 1/60 Regult exclusive, think how happy it will make you. DO IT.