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  1. Welcome to the Macross Delta Episode 3 Talkback Thread Guidelines: Macross Delta episode file requests, file offers or any audio/video sharing links of any kind or format are not permitted anywhere on the forum except by Boinger in the iMacross thread. This is 2016, not 2007. They know about us and how the 'Net operates now. This includes, but is not limited to BitTorrent files/links, YouTube, Nico, related video-sharing or video streaming site links, File sharing links, full audio soundtracks, etc.. Any user-post in violation of this rule will be deleted without notice. Repeated offenses may result in a ban. DISCUSSION ONLY. Send a PM to Boinger with a link to the file to be added to iMacross. This thread only covers the episode listed in the subject. Do not post comments about another episode not covered by this thread. (i.e. References are OK, but do not post a critique about episode 1 when this thread covers episode 999). This thread(s) is about current episodes only. Please reserve mecha talk and news talk for upcoming threads. Do not cross-post. Please reserve all talk about future episode spoilers for the upcoming News thread. Do not ask when an episode will be aired or released (this includes fansubs). Raw files will be release shortly after broadcast. Subtitled versions will be released when they are ready. Please use spoiler tags for the first 24-hours after an episode airs. New episode threads and polls opens Sundays, 9:00AM EST/6:00AM PST (22:00, i.e. 10:00PM JST), 30 minutes BEFORE the broadcast. Broadcast schedule: Sunday: Tokyo MX, 22:30 JST Monday: TVQ Kyushu, 26:30 (2:30 AM) JST Tuesday: MBS, 27:00 (3:00 AM) JST / BS11, 24:00 (midnight) JST Wednesday: d anime store, 12:00 JST / TV Aichi & Television Hokkaido, 26:05 (2:05 AM) JST (Broadcast times subject to change, Check listings.)
  2. Welcome to the Macross Delta Episode 4 Talkback Thread Guidelines: Macross Delta episode file requests, file offers or any audio/video sharing links of any kind or format are not permitted anywhere on the forum except by Boinger in the iMacross thread. This is 2016, not 2007. They know about us and how the 'Net operates now. This includes, but is not limited to BitTorrent files/links, YouTube, Nico, related video-sharing or video streaming site links, File sharing links, full audio soundtracks, etc.. Any user-post in violation of this rule will be deleted without notice. Repeated offenses may result in a ban. DISCUSSION ONLY. Send a PM to Boinger with a link to the file to be added to iMacross. This thread only covers the episode listed in the subject. Do not post comments about another episode not covered by this thread. (i.e. References are OK, but do not post a critique about episode 1 when this thread covers episode 999). This thread(s) is about current episodes only. Please reserve mecha talk and news talk for their respective threads. Do not cross-post. Please reserve all talk about future episode spoilers for the News thread. Do not ask when an episode will be aired or released (this includes fansubs). Raw files will be release shortly after broadcast. Subtitled versions will be released when they are ready. Please use spoiler tags for the first 24-hours after an episode airs. New episode threads and polls opens Sundays, 9:00AM EST/6:00AM PST (22:00, i.e. 10:00PM JST), 30 minutes BEFORE the broadcast. Broadcast schedule: Sunday: Tokyo MX, 22:30 JST Monday: TVQ Kyushu, 26:30 (2:30 AM) JST Tuesday: MBS, 27:00 (3:00 AM) JST / BS11, 24:00 (midnight) JST Wednesday: d anime store, 12:00 JST / TV Aichi & Television Hokkaido, 26:05 (2:05 AM) JST (Broadcast times subject to change, Check listings.)
  3. I don't think that this thread already exists, so here we go. (if it does exist, let me know) One simple rule. ROBOTECH is off limits. Just trying to save Azrael some time. You can slag off at a whole franchise, one branch of it or even just one season. So lets slaughter the sacred cows. A few dishonourable mentions first. GALACTICA 1980 - Words can't describe how bad this was. At least we knew that they weren't wasting any money on it. (Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep) For a good read about how shabby the effort was, check out this wiki. EARTH 2 - One of the worst examples of poor SF from the 90's. The only saving grace was that there were at least a few good ideas in the show. To bad that nobody knew how to bring them to the small screen properly. STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE - Ok, ok, babes must be in catsuits, we get it.... AND THE ABSOLUTE WORST - SEAQUEST DSV A really, really poor effort at an SF series. Seems that the cast hated it about as much as the audiences. I think it was that tacked-on environmentalism crap that really hurt the show, and by the time they tried to drop it it was too late. And they made three seasons of the garbage. OMFG. Taksraven
  4. Welcome to the Macross Delta New Year's Eve Special Talkback Thread Guidelines: Macross Delta episode file requests, file offers or any audio/video sharing links of any kind or format are not permitted anywhere on the forum except by Boinger in the iMacross thread. This is 2015, not 2007. They know about us and how the 'Net operates now. This includes, but is not limited to BitTorrent files/links, YouTube, Nico, related video-sharing or video streaming site links, File sharing links, full audio soundtracks, etc.. Any user-post in violation of this rule will be deleted without notice. Repeated offenses may result in a ban. DISCUSSION ONLY. Send a PM to Boinger with a link to the file to be added to iMacross. This thread only covers the episode listed in the subject. Do not post comments about another episode not covered by this thread. (i.e. References are OK, but do not post a critique about episode 1 when this thread covers episode 999). This thread(s) is about current episodes only. Please reserve mecha talk and news talk for upcoming threads. Do not cross-post. Please reserve all talk about future episode spoilers for the upcoming News thread. Do not ask when an episode will be aired or released (this includes fansubs). Please use spoiler tags for the first 24-hours after an episode airs. Thread and poll opens at Thursday (12/31), 3:00AM EST/12:00AM PST (17:00, i.e. 5:00PM JST), one hour BEFORE the broadcast.
  5. Disney's most successful animated series of all-time* is being rebooted in 2017 for the Disney XD channel. Disney XD to Reboot DuckTales Animated Series for 2017 Launch *Darkwing Duck fans will have to admit that they wouldn't have their show without this.
  6. Sorry if this has already been mentioned but I did not see it. Netflix is bringing this title to the US? (or did they pay to have it made?). Looks interesting from the trailer. If Netflix follows their normal pattern I'll be binging on this on July 4th... http://www.blastr.com/2014-6-26/1st-trailer-netflixs-new-sci-fi-anime-knights-sidonia-awesome
  7. So, I have A Feast for Crows on order from SFBC and was just curious if anyone else has gotten into this series and what their thoughts on it are. For those who don't know, A Song of Ice and Fire is an exciting fantasy series by George R.R. Martin which has some crazy politics, some crazy sex and some incredibly brutal violence. The four books thus far in the series are: A Game of Thrones A Clash of Kings A Storm of Swords and the newly released A Feast for Crows There are several things I enjoy about this series: 1) The books seem to tell so much story for their size. Martin is a descriptive writer who also seems to pack a lot of substance into each chapter. 2) Magic is present in these books, but is rarely seen for most of the books, and it's rarely explained which makes it very mysterious. 3) The violence. The brutality displayed in these books is no punches pulled, throw little kids off of towers, kind of violence. It's gruesome and oh so good! 4) Most importantly, no character is safe. Main characters with established plotlines can, and are, killed off at the most unsuspecting moments. Which, in turn, throws the whole story off. Anyhow, I suppose there are going to be seven books in the series (there were going to be six, but A Feast for Crows was written when Martin realized he couldn't pull off a five year gap between A Storm of Swords and the book he originally planned next, A Dance with Dragons). So we have three more to anticipate. Any thoughts, kids?
  8. ANN just posted this https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-10-19/new-macross-anime-project-announced-with-singer-auditions/.80094 The New Macross show will be called Macross Delta and set in 2067.
  9. The Man in the High Castle Scott Free Productions/Electric Shepherd Productions/Amazon Studios, 2015 Directed by David Semel (Ally McBeal, Dawson's Creek) Written by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, Millennium) Based on the novel by the late Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale) Running Time: 60 minutes Rated TV-MA for graphic violence, nudity, and profanity. Cast Alexa Davalos (Kyra in The Chronicles of Riddick, Andromeda in Clash of the Titans) as Juliana Crain Rupert Evans as Frank Frink Luke Kleintank as Joe Blake DJ Qualls as Ed McCarthy Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat, Heihachi Mishima in Tekken) as Trade Minister Nobusuke Tagomi Rufus Sewell (Adam in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Autolycus in Hercules) as Obergruppenführer John SmithJoel de la Fuente (Ruben Morales in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Paul Wang in Space: Above and Beyond) as Inspector Kido Synopsis In an alternate timeline, the Axis Powers have won World War II. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan occupy the United States and establish the Greater Nazi Reich and The Japanese Pacific States, respectively. Between those puppet states is a neutral zone comprised of the Rocky Mountain States. In the year 1962, a series of small events occur on both sides of the continent involving The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a film that depicts the Allied Forces winning WWII. Juliana Crain of San Francisco and Joe Blake of New York meet each other in Canon City, Colorado, each having discovered the film. Meanwhile, relations between both the Nazis and the Japanese are slowly deteriorating, and with rumors of Hitler nearing his death, there are suspicions that his successor will drop nuclear bombs on Japan and gain complete control of the former United States. Lowdown To learn more about the original story, watch Alternate History Hub's video analysis: There have been a number of alternate history media depicting the world if WWII had ended differently. This TV pilot adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1962 novel is probably the most realistic depiction of society under Axis rule. This episode is very plot-heavy, introducing our main characters and the dystopia they live in. Technology has not advanced beyond WWII, while the Nazis and the Japanese keep a close eye on the citizens of their occupied states. The younger generation lives normal lives while the older people continue to regret the war they lost. Meanwhile, the discovery of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy raises questions on this dystopia due to its realistic nature while cracks begin to form between the Axis Powers. On top of that, the excellent performances by the actors add to the grittiness of the setting. So far, we learn that Juliana Crain is on a journey to find out what her half-sister Trudy was killed for, while Joe Blake is a Nazi double-agent assigned to discover the motives of the American resistance in the neutral zone. Thanks to the critical acclaim of this pilot, Amazon Studios has greenlit the series for a full season. Rightfully so, as this is one of the best TV series debuts of this century. Rating: A Links Official Website
  10. Takeshi's Castle (風雲!たけし城) is a Japanese game show that aired from 1986 to 1990, and is one of the pioneers of the extreme Japanese game show phenomenon. In the show, hundreds of contestants storm through various obstacle courses for a chance to defeat Takeshi Kitano (Mr. Kitano in Battle Royale, Takahashi in Johnny Mnemonic) and win a million yen (somewhere around US$8,000). It can be heavily argued that this game show was one of the inspirations behind Battle Royale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRhUYMEn48w The UK broadcast was edited with majority of the comedic sketches trimmed out. At least it's closer to the original than the American edit, known as MXC (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge). Oh yeah, ABC attempted their own version of Takeshi's Castle, called Wipeout. That only got them sued by TBS.
  11. Upcoming series. Ridiculous name, but has some big names attached to it and some gorgeous looking animation (trailer needs more robots tho !) http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-12-30/gargantia-on-the-verdurous-planet-1st-full-promo-subtitled-in-english
  12. Coming to Disney XD on September 26 is the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series. While it continues where the first film left off, it will not be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so don't expect anything leading to Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
  13. Please forgive me if this has been posted before. How old were you when you first discovered Macross? It doesn't matter if it was Robotech or not, since it 'tech uses the same animation for the first third of their saga. I was about 14, just getting into anime, back when it was still rare and underground. I had heard of Robotech from when I was younger, from commericals and all, but it was never on here. So, I discovered that a video store here had anime for rent. I clearly remember renting Project A-KO, but saw both Robotech II the Sentinels and Macross II (this was the VHS days) on the shelf as well. I later rented Robotech II, but honestly didn't understand any bit of it. A few weeks later I rented Macross II vol 1, and I was amazed by the space combat and storyline. I then subequently rented the later volumes when the store got them in. An anime all about transforming jets? Yeah I was definitely pleased. I later rented Clash of the Bionoids from another rental store, by this time I knew it was Macross, but still didn't know how it was related to Robotech at all. A few years later I found out the "awful" truth about the differences between Robotech and Macross, By that time, I had all 4 vhs OVA episodes of Macross Plus (still my favorite macross story to date), had purchased the "Uncut" version of Clash of the Bionoids, aka "SDF Macross: Do You Remember Love?" as everyone else in the world knows it as. Then Robotech came on Toonami (RIP) , and I was able to enjoy it knowing it as an alternate universe to a greater storyline. Years later I was finally able to watch the original Macross series the way it was originally intended to, and enjoy it that much more So, what's your Macross story?
  14. Details↓ http://www.macrossworld.com/5155/macross-frontier-bd-digital-remaster-boxset-announced/
  15. So for those of you who live in the UK, Star Trek: The Next Generation is finally back on air on the new CBS Action channel. I have finally picked off from season 2 which was airing when Sky Three, the former British broadcaster went defunct, way back in in the late 2000s if I remember correctly.
  16. Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39eegoYnH9s&hd=1 Looks generic but fun.
  17. I never saw the original series, so I don't know much about that, But this looks really good. Definitely fun and its great to see Cavil spreading out from the Superman role. Although I am hoping for a gag reel where he opens his shirt to show the 'S'!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Ky4KPzKwY
  18. Toei and TV Asahi premiered Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger today in Japan. It celebrates 35 years of the Super Sentai franchise. For the series, the characters use a pirate motif. An interesting twist is the team's ability to use the powers of the previous 34 Super Sentai groups. I'd love to see how that plays out (at least before Haim Saban rapes and pillages this series). In the meantime, here's the preview. I don't know about you guys, but the costumes look badass. Hope the show is as good as Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger. TV Asahi's Official Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Homepage
  19. No confirmation from the Hasegawa site yet. But I'll probably definitely be buying!!
  20. CHiPs Rosner Television/MGM Television, 1977-1983 Warner Home Video, 2007-2008 (Seasons 1-2 only) Created by Rick Rosner Running Time: 48 minutes per episode Rated TV-PG for violence. Cast Larry Wilcox as Officer Jonathan A. "Jon" Baker (call sign: 7-Mary-3) Erik Estrada as Officer Frank Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello (call sign: 7-Mary-4) Robert Pine (Chris Pine's old man) as Sgt. Joseph Getraer (S-4)with Lew Sanders as Officer Gene Fritz (call sign: 5-David-5) Brodie Greer as Officer Barry "Bear" Baricza (call sign: 7-Adam) Paul Linke as Officer Artie "Grossie" Grossman (call sign: 7-Mary-5) Lou Wagner as Mechanic Harlan Arliss Brianne Leary as Officer Sindy Cahill (call sign: 7-Charles) Lowdown CHiPs chronicles the adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers in Los Angeles. Jon is a cool-headed blond guy partnered with Ponch, a hot-headed Hispanic who is on probation. Together, they spend each episode chasing runaway vehicles or speeding villains on the freeways, resolving road rage, rescuing injured motorists in accidents, or arguing with Sgt. Getraer over just about everything. So the story level is pretty shallow in this series. Your typical episode has one main plot involving a freeway incident, coupled with some subplots that occur either on-duty or off-duty. Some episodes even have Jon and Ponch pulling over the celebrity of the week. Sure, the script is filled with cheesy one-liners (almost all of which come from Ponch), but in an era where oil prices and the automotive industry were at their worst, you have to admit that CHiPs had one hell of a budget. These days, action TV shows have to resort to CG effects. During its day, CHiPs took full advantage of newly built freeways before their grand openings; this meant a lot of unrestrained car chases and crashes on each episode. In addition, it popularized bike-cam angles that would be used in later action films. And while Ponch's off-duty hobbies may be rather quirky, you'll end up cheering for him and Jon by the end of each episode. CHiPs is best known for launching the career of Erik Estrada, though he could not achieve the same degree of success elsewhere. Larry Wilcox was supposed to have been the main star of the show, but perhaps because his character was too clean-cut, he always ended up playing second fiddle to Estrada's loose cannon of a character. This resulted in a lot of tension between the duo behind the camera to the point where Wilcox called it quits after the fifth season. Also, only hardcore Trekkies know that before Michael Dorn was Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was Officer Jebediah Turner in seasons 3-5. Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner (now Caitlin Jenner) appeared in season 5 as Officer Steve McLeish while Estrada went on strike. Another focal point of the series is the music. Season 1 uses jazzy instrumentals typical of police and detective films of the 20th century, spearheaded by John Parker's iconic theme. Veteran score composers Mike Post (The Rockford Files, Doogie Howser, MD) and Pete Carpenter (1914-1987) (The A-Team, Magnum, P.I.) also contributed to season 1's music. By season 2, the disco craze was at its peak, so the producers brought in a young Alan Silvestri (The Avengers, the Back to the Future trilogy) to rearrange Parker's theme for everyone to boogie to. Sadly, like all TV series, CHiPs ran out of gas halfway through its run. The series was plagued by on-set injuries (such as one in 1979 where Estrada broke his ribs and wrists in a motorcycle accident), declining ratings, and contract disputes. When Wilcox walked out after season 5, he was replaced by Tom Reilly as Officer Bobby "Hot Dog" Nelson (call sign: 15-Mary-7). That season tanked heavily and led to the show's cancellation in 1983. Fifteen years later, Jon and Ponch reunited in CHiPs '99, a story to be told next time. In short, CHiPs is considered a guilty pleasure to some, but an entertaining good guy show for most families. Let's see how Hollywood screws this one up on the big screen next year or so... Rating: B References The Internet Movie Database
  21. So I liked avatar last airbender...and I stress "liked" I wasn't giant fan, but appreciated the show. Now that The Legend of Korra has aired, I'm liking it a whole lot more and thought the first 2 episodes were great. The art style and animation has been knocked up. I'm sure animation quality may drop in later episodes. No review here, other than to make some people aware to check it out if they had any interest in avatar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-_EoE0JMhE
  22. Listen To My Song!!! This ain't your daddy's Macross. Released in 1994 at the same time as Macross Plus, M7 is a bit of a departure from what has happened in the Macross productions that came before. Now what I'm going to do in this is no more plot summaries, at least not long ones. I'm going to split this up into the story, the characters, the mechs and misc. So here we go. First off, the story. As short as I can do this, the story takes place in the year 2045, five years after Macross Plus and thirty-five years after the end of the Space War in the first Macross series. The YF-19 prototype is now being mass-produced and is the VF-19 Excalibur, although the older VF-11 Thunderbolt still far outnumbers the -19 in the fleets of the UN Spacy. Instead of focusing on a single ship, Macross 7 is focused on the fleet of the same name. The colonization plan that we saw outlined in the last few episodes of SDF Macross and the launch of the first colony ship, SDF-2 Megaroad-01 in Flashback 2012, is expanded upon here. The Megaroad ships, which could only hold about 25,000 colonists, give or take, have been replaced with the New Macross-class ships, which can embark roughly a million colonists. The Macross 7 fleet in particular consists of the central colony ship City 7 and its escort battle carrier, Battle 7, seven main ships that fulfill different functions such as the recreation ship Riviera and the factory ship Three Star, and an entire flotilla of frigates and carriers to protect the fleet. This fleet is the seventh of the New Macross-class colonization fleets, as the name implies. We see some old standbys from SDF Macross show up here. Max Jenius is now the Fleet Captain of Macross 7 and the Captain of the Battle 7 carrier in particular. A funny little anecdote here: Max is 52 by the time Macross 7 starts but he looks like he's only in his thirties. The character designer explained it, I believe, by saying, "Growing old is a state of mind... and Max Jenius is a genius, so it's not an issue for him!" We also have Max's Zentradi wife Milia, who's basically his opposite number as the Mayor of the City 7 main colony module. She also doesn't look too much older but that has more to do with her Zentradi DNA than anything else. We also see the Zentradi advisor Exedore Folmo. Unfortunately we find out that not all is well with the Jenius family since we saw them last. Max and Milia's relationship has gotten to the point where they're pretty much separated and Milia's even wondering if it was the right thing for her to have gotten involved with Max. We're also introduced to all the new cast members as well. We have the rock band Fire Bomber, which consists of members Basara Nekki, Ray Lovelock, Veffidas Feaze and Max and Milia's youngest daughter Mylene Flare Jenius. There's ace pilot Gamlin Kizaki and the pilots of Diamond Force, and bridge operators Sally Ford and Miho Miho. Why her last name is the same as her first, I have no idea. Another little anecdote here: The long running joke about bridge bunnies continues here or, that is to say, that the ships in UN Spacy all seem to have a 90% female bridge staff. Har har. So the basic story of Macross 7 is that the fleet has been searching for an Earth-like planet to colonize for the past seven years until they encounter the Protodeviln and their Varauta army slaves. The Protodeviln need this energy called Spiritia to survive. It's never explicitly stated what Spiritia is but it seems to be some term for a person's lifeforce. The Varauta find the Macross 7 fleet and realize that the people onboard can regenerate their Spiritia, so they decide to make a kind of farm out of the citizens of Macross 7. However, some people like main character Basara Nekki, produce a kind of Spiritia called Anima Spiritia that Varauta mechs and the Protodeviln can't absorb. We eventually find out that the Protodeviln are responsible for the destruction of the ancient galactic Protoculture and the Macross 7 fleet takes the fight to the ice world where the Protodeviln are imprisoned. At the eleventh hour, Basara and Fire Bomber's music, enhanced by some nifty techno-wizardry is able to show the Protodeviln that they can produce Spiritia on their own, the destruction of the galaxy is averted, the day is saved, hooray! A simplistic take but Macross 7 is still the longest Macross series so far at 49 episodes so I didn't want to make this too long. Now, as I said at the beginning of this entry, this ain't your daddy or your grandaddy's Macross. Though plot points from the previous productions are filled in, Macross 7 has a style that is definitely all its own. The overarching story could lag at times but there were many episodes with a lot of character development that made up for this. The concept that music is a form of (possibly psychic; they're very vague on this point) energy and can be used to bring understanding and an end to conflict may seem pretty far fetched even in a sci-fi setting but it is one of the primary themes of Macross, just taken to a new level here. Personally, I feel that when stacked up against the other Macross productions it doesn't really jive but that's a minor gripe at best. I liked how they showed that after 35 years, Max and Milia are experiencing a lot of relationship problems. It even gets to the point where you think Milia at least just doesn't love Max at all anymore and then it slowly starts to change, starting with an episode where Mylene gets her parents to sit together at one of her concerts. By the end of the series they're not back together but I believe they've pretty much fallen back in love with each other, which is nice because, even with the bad knife fight and the almost instantaneous wedding in SDF Macross, I liked Max and Milia's relationship and was glad that they reached an understanding at the end of Mac7. No Macross show would be complete without some kind of love triangle but the one in this show is kinda weird. It could even be said that there are two triangles in the show. First of all there's the "triangle" with Basara, Mylene and the Diamond Force pilot Gamlin Kizaki. I put "triangle" in quotes because I really don't know if this qualifies. Mylene is set up with Gamlin because Milia wants Mylene to marry him. She eventually develops feelings for Gamlin BUT she also has a crush on Basara. Basara for his part really doesn't give a damn. As far as he's concerned she's a kid (which she is). But having all that said up, nothing really happens. Mylene waffles between Basara and Gamlin, Gamlin kinda-sorta-awkwardly proposes to Mylene which she doesn't say anything about. Considering the triangle between Hikaru Ichijo, Misa Hayase and Lynn Minmay in SDF Macross, this doesn't quite measure up. In my opinion, the actual triangle with more punch should have been between Basara, the Protodeviln banshee Sivil and the Protodeviln Gigile. Why? Well because the sexual desire that Sivil has for Basara could be cut with a chainsaw! And Gigile is so devoted to her that he actually betrays the other Protodeviln. He even ends up sacrificing his own life to prevent Basara and Sivil from being killed. You know what? I'm going to declare it right here: Basara should have ended up with Sivil at the end of the series. One part of the story that was well done was when they discover a sunken Protoculture instalation/temple thing. The murals inside reveal a lot of what happened to the Protoculture, which was never explained in SDF Macross. One of the best touches was that to access a holographic data cache, Mylene's blood (she had got cut on the arm earlier) which is half-human and half-Zentradi opens the cache. Seems some of the Protoculture thought that their creations might meet in the future! Basically the story that is revealed by the murals and the Protoculture AI is that the Protoculture had an ancient galactic republic and they were peaceful... UNTIL (you knew there had to be a but or an until in there right?) some of the Protoculture dissented from the rest and formed the Supervision Army. The Protoculture genetically engineered the giant Zentradi warriors to fight in this war and then, as most people probably would, created even more powerful bio-weapon creatures. But then (and I might be messing this part up) either some Protoculture drew the Protodeviln into our universe or they just showed up, but the Protodeviln posses the bio-weapon creatures and pretty much trash the Protoculture completely. But just before the Macross 7 crew can find out how the remnants of the Protoculture imprisoned the Protodeviln, they attack and destroy the installation. Figures. Overall the story was enjoyable enough to keep me going to the last episode. And it's unusual but somewhat satisfying to see the villain of the series get a happy ending whereas usually they are slain by the hero. There are some aspects though which lessened my enjoyment of the series, mainly that with a lot more focus on the music and the "power" of music, there isn't as much of the high-flying adventure or space opera as there was in other Macross shows. Now to the characters. Basara is likable enough as a hot-blooded rocker and Valkyrie pilot but he can be a jerk a lot of the time. He also doesn't have a lot of dramatic change in the series. When you look at what Hikaru went through originally, especially with Roy dying, not too much happens to Basara and he's pretty much the same character throughout the whole series. This would certainly be a big minus if the series was plotted differently, but the way Macross 7 is, it's thankfully minor. Mylene can be likable enough but she just doesn't quite do it for me the same way characters like Minmay, Misa, Ranka or Sheryl do. Also the sexualization of Mylene, especially in a lot of the end credits can be kinda disturbing when you remember that she's supposed to be 14. I ain't a Pedobear dammit! Ray, I think, actually gets some more character development than Basara does, in that we learn he was once a special forces pilot that made a bad call that got his wingman killed. Ray almost became a hopeless drunken loser until he met Basara and started a band with him. Veffidas the Meltrandi drummer is mysterious. We never learn much about her and she doesn't talk much at all except to say mysteriously profound things. Also, her habit of drumming on EVERYTHING can get a little annoying. Gamlin is one of the best characters of the series and I would actually rate him a little higher than Basara inasmuch as he starts off the series as a by-the-book pilot with an iron rod up his butt and later mellows out some, falls in love with Mylene and gains a belief in Basara's music. He grows as a character. His old boss Lt. Kinryu gets points and a mention simply by being a pimp and dating Sally and Miho at the same time, something that the ladies in question don't mind one bit! (Which really makes me wonder about those two... you know what? better not go there.) Dr. Chiba gets a mention as a creepy Minmay fanboy and being the resident Egon Spengler of the fleet. I already mentioned Max and Milia and as another thing concerning them, I would have liked more info on their family. They have eight daughters (7 natural, 1 adopted) but we barely know anything about them. We know Moaramia was adopted and is a pure-blood Zentradi, Milia almost died giving birth to Miracle, Komilia was the first Zentradi/human hybrid, and Mylene and Emilia are singers, but that's about it. What about the twins Muse and Therese? What about Miranda? Where are the rest of the Jenius daughters during Macross 7 (besides Emilia, who we'll get to in the Mac7 movie)? Also, Max proves that he's still the best pilot in the fleet, even at 52, by doing his own version of the Death Star trench run and Milia also kicks butt in a (by then vintage) VF-1J. I also felt sorry for the un-named Flower Girl. She only could get that bouquet to Basara right at the very end! And Colonel Barton gets the award for being the military #$^&wad of the show. The rest of the secondary and background characters on the fleet, like Rex and her biker gang, Sally and Miho and others all look like they have a story to tell, but don't get a chance because Fire Bomber's in the spotlight with others. There's also the Protodeviln villains. The head boss man Gepelnitch might be a little confused as to whether he's a man or a woman (joke joke) but it's pretty obvious that if anyone interferes with his plans he'll kill them and not even blink. Funnily enough I think he's the only villian that I know of that gets a happy ending. Gigile was kind of annoying at first but he grows on you and its kind of touching how he sacrifices himself and betrays the other Protodeviln to save Basara and Sivil, especially when you're not entirely sure if she returns his feelings. Sivil herself was kinda cool, mostly for being a hot alien chick but for being the first of the Protodeviln to realize that something more can be had from the hapless humans than Spiritia. The long and short of it is that I think she goes from being creepy alien seductress/vampire to actually falling in love with Basara (and if I had my way she would have stayed with him in the end. Check it.) As for the other Protodeviln there's not much to say. Except for those two really annoying twins. I WANT THEM TO ROAST ETERNALLY ON THE SPITS OF A FLAMING HELL!!!!!!!!! And they were only in five episodes or so. Think about that. Now there are some cool mechs in this show but unfortunately they are seriously underused. I don't know what the exact reason is but most of the fights between UN Spacy and Varauta variable fighters largely consist of stock footage for at least the majority of 2/3 of the show. You have the VF-11C Thunderbolt, which is the old workhorse and looks cool but is made completely useless. Seriously, the way the Thunderbolts are depicted in this series they seem even more fragile and useless than TIE Fighters! And even with other designs like the F-117 inspired VF-17 Nightmare and the mass-production VF-19 Excaliburs and the Sound Force custom VFs all mostly operate on stock footage. One of the rare exceptions ar Max and Milia's VF-22S Sturmvogel II planes. If you've seen Macross Plus, you'll recognize that the VF-22S is the re-tooled YF-21. Even though the YF-19 won the competition and was mass-produced, the YF-21 was adopted by SpecOps and was produced in limited numbers as the Sturmvogel. Milia only gets to fly hers at the very end but she's still brilliant and Max pulls of the most awesome Death Star Trench, as I said. The Varauta mechs look nice enough but don't really float my boat. *sigh* It's just such a pity that almost all the combat footage is stock. that is one place where this series truly fails. There is one fun scene in an episode where Mayor Milia throws a festival and asks the citezins to donate their privately owned Valkyries/battroids for "exhibits." Actually it's a little plan for her to find some good pilot candidates after City 7 becomes separated from the rest of the fleet, but results in hilarity when some old farts bring a Monster mk. II Destroid and try to use its quadruple cannons, which results in devastation. They really should have known better to fire warship-killing cannons near a city! Last thing to talk about is the misc. which means music in this case. And quite appropriate because music is a VERY big thing in Macross 7. The one unusual thing though is that Mac7 has no score. Instead the entire soundtrack is Fire Bomber songs. This is good and bad because while Fire Bomber's songs (featuring the vocal talents of Japanese Rock god Yoshiki Fukuyama) are early 90s rock and very catchy, some of them, like Charging Love Heart and Planet Dance get way overused while other gems, like Diamond Calling, barely get used at all. Also, I don't think that Mylene's singing voice, Chie Kajiura, doesn't actually sink up well with Fukuyama. They're still worth a listen and be honest, nothing matches up with space fighters charging into battle quite like rock. Here's some of Fire Bomber's songs. A burning, passionate heart and a sound more explosive than missiles!! FIRE BOMBER! In the final analysis, I don't think Mac7 is the strongest entry in the Macross franchise but despite the fact that it can seem like Power Rangers meets Star Wars, it's a Macross series at the core and is worth a watch both on its own and as part of the franchise itself. On the MAHQ scale it gets 3 1/2 stars. BOMBA!!!!
  23. Glen A. Larson, the producer behind the series Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica, Magnum, P.I., The Six Million Dollar Man, Quincy M.E., The Fall Guy, Manimal, Automan, and The Highwayman, died on November 14 at age 77. Thanks for the memories, Glen. Glen A. Larson, Creator of TV's Quincy M.E., Magnum, P.I., and Battlestar Galactica, Dies at 77
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