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Macross 25th Anniversary! New TV series coming!


wolfx

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When he didn't like how ESB went over budget and he essentially screwed his chances of getting Speilberg to direct ROTJ by leaving the Director's Guild, he ended up directing Return himself.

Technically Lucas didn't direct ROTJ. It was directed by Richard Marquand, but he did such a crappy job that Lucas ended up doing a lot of the work.

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I suspect this project is different from the Kissdum and Jenius Party ones.

Kawamori probably doesn't handle the direction, storyboarding and mechanical designs to the same extend as with Zero and Plus.

Didn't he state somewhere he was 'tired' of revisiting Macross?

He's free to change his mind of course, and I think it'd be stupid to not reconcile yourself with the product your most famous for.

After all, he's in his late forties, so I expect him to do so in some degree.

The chance that other talent will be more involved with Kawamori restricting himself to creative direction is very likely IMO.

Well he was "tired of Macross" by the late 80's and divorced himself from it. It wasn't until Macross II that seemed to jumpstart the franchise again, which prompted Big West to fund his Test Pilot project as a Macross property only.

So if he is indeed tired of the Macross franchise, at his age and with his reputation, he may not return to the franchise again and continue making shows he's been planning for years. If Genius Party is successful, it wil be a platform by which he will be able to do them.

For those who continue to believe that Macross is and always has been a one-froating-head show, I'd like to point out that Kawamori didn't really assume any direct creative control until DYRL. SDF Macross was mostly directed by Noburo Ishiguro, with the "scenario" credits going to Ken'ichi Matsuzaki, Noburo Ishiguro, and Sukehiro Tomita. And ultimately, it's because of SDF that most of us are here in the first place. Would something written or directed by any of these men somehow be any less "Macross?"

The creative control he had was over the animation of the valkyrie sequences, story boards and story outlines that the script writers then ran with. SK is credited with creating the universe.

However I agree that SDFM was a collaborative effort of a group of talented people, not just one person.

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The creative control he had was over the animation of the valkyrie sequences, story boards and story outlines that the script writers then ran with. SK is credited with creating the universe.

Links? References? Is this buried somewhere on the Macross Compendium's bafflingly outdated layout, obscuring it from a casual search?

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Lucas didn't hand off the writing, just the directing. At all points in time, he was still in control of the story. Major difference there being, Lucas was "never" able to believably direct people.

Wrong. Lucas also handed off the script to Leigh Brackett. Unfortunately she died before being able to complete the job so Lawrence Kasdan had to finish it off.

I like lord_breetai's idea of another video game or drama cd. Another vidgame is always welcome, and the drama cd may not be completely off the mark, why else would they mention Hiroko Kasahara (Ishtar's voice)? Either way, at least the continuity has a chance of staying intact. :D

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Well he was "tired of Macross" by the late 80's and divorced himself from it. It wasn't until Macross II that seemed to jumpstart the franchise again, which prompted Big West to fund his Test Pilot project as a Macross property only.

So if he is indeed tired of the Macross franchise, at his age and with his reputation, he may not return to the franchise again and continue making shows he's been planning for years. If Genius Party is successful, it wil be a platform by which he will be able to do them.

The creative control he had was over the animation of the valkyrie sequences, story boards and story outlines that the script writers then ran with. SK is credited with creating the universe.

However I agree that SDFM was a collaborative effort of a group of talented people, not just one person.

That's exactly it. It's somewhat analogous to Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry created the frame and outline of the Trek universe, but it was not his baby only. DC Fontana and Theodore Sturgeon are responsible, for instance, for crafting much of the mystique and character of Mr. Spock. Trek's most enduring villain, Khan Noonien Singh, was created by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber, though Roddenberry supplied the name.

In fact, Roddenberry, for a long while, had no creative control over Trek. After 1979 (and an embarrassing script he had penned in which the Enterprise crew had to make sure Kennedy was assassinated to keep history on track), he was kicked upstairs and the franchise was taken out of his hands until 1987 and TNG. Yet the years 1980-1987 were the years of the three best of the Trek movies IMHO.

In the same way, so long as a Japanese equivalent of Berman and Braga isn't let in the back door, Macross could get along quite well without Kawamori in a hands-on active role.

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Links? References? Is this buried somewhere on the Macross Compendium's bafflingly outdated layout, obscuring it from a casual search?

Grasshoppa, not all is contained in that webspace.

I've gleened this info from various interviews I've found on the web, as well as "digging" into the Compendium's less than user friendly interface.

Do a search on "Kawamori interviews" and at least 3 separate one's will pop up with various degrees of relevant Macross information.

Edited by Zinjo
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They don't really have to remake the original macross, just redo it through a AU like the way gundam seed did for MSG. (hell they even recycled old mecha designs like the zaku as an homage to the old)

Even if it sucked I bet people would still watch it. Worried about it being out of the control of SK? Don't worry, it wouldn't spoil the original macross because it is not part of that universe. (no more than wing destroys the universal century series of shows. You can still have your cake and eat it. Just don't watch wing if you hate it)

But who would come up with newer valk and alien transformable mecha designs? I thought macross II had a decent valk in it. Why not TRY it? I don't think it would hurt the Macross name. It's already a dead franchise, anyway, right?

SK can always come back and return to continuing the macross story through a new future ova or tv series, many years later so long as people are clear on the differences of the original and Alternate Universe stories.

I actually think of mospeada in a sense as an alternate macross to be honest. It has many similar themes, (aliens and humans getting along, earth invasion and destruction, a musician, alien races older and more advanced than ours coming to live on earth and wanting to stay etc) and a mecha that has the 3 mode transformation. But also ADDS other things like transformable powered armor. So you get bubble gum crisis and macross with a bit of space battleship yamato in a single show. (the whole "alien race coming to earth as thier new home without asking us permission" theme.)

Some of my fave mecha in gundam are actually from gundam wing even though I like the UC gundam shows more. So it's a give and take. A newer AU show would result in more newer and modern looking designs, but it might also have a less well thought out story.

Edited by 1/1 LowViz Lurker
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They don't really have to remake the original macross, just redo it through a AU like the way gundam seed did for MSG. (hell they even recycled old mecha designs like the zaku as an homage to the old)

I'd like to see a retelling of the story using modern animation techniques with the Shneeblume as the VF-1 (to distance the show from the original Tatsunoko animation) and maybe even a few better written episodes like the Max and Millia love story, etc...

Even if it sucked I bet people would still watch it. Worried about it being out of the control of SK? Don't worry, it wouldn't spoil the original macross because it is not part of that universe. (no more than wing destroys the universal century series of shows. You can still have your cake and eat it. Just don't watch wing if you hate it)

But who would come up with newer valk and alien transformable mecha designs? I thought macross II had a decent valk in it. Why not TRY it? I don't think it would hurt the Macross name. It's already a dead franchise, anyway, right?

SK can always come back and return to continuing the macross story through a new future ova or tv series, many years later so long as people are clear on the differences of the original and Alternate Universe stories.

I tend to agree with those who feel SK is better suited to be a creative consultant on future works. This allows him input, but frees up his time to work on his own projects. Which I'm sure is where his true interest currently lies.

Most need to remember he was drawn back into Macross because BigWest insisted his "test pilot" project be a Macross show or they wouldn't bank roll it. No doubt Mac 7 was also part of the deal to get Mac Plus produced and directed by SK (at the time, a largely inexperienced directoral talent).

I actually think of mospeada in a sense as an alternate macross to be honest. It has many similar themes, (aliens and humans getting along, earth invasion and destruction, a musician, alien races older and more advanced than ours coming to live on earth and wanting to stay etc) and a mecha that has the 3 mode transformation. But also ADDS other things like transformable powered armor. So you get bubble gum crisis and macross with a bit of space battleship yamato in a single show. (the whole "alien race coming to earth as their new home without asking us permission" theme.)

Well, Mospeada has more in common with Megazone 23 than Macross (MZ23 was initially planned by Artmic to be a sequel to Mospeada, but it went in a different direction). It is only through RT that the two became connected. Mospeada was certainly influenced by the highly successful and popular Macross, but that is where the similarity ended, IMO.

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Largely inexperienced directorial talent aside from Do You Remember Love and Flashback 2012...

He was co-director with Noboru Ishiguro on DYRL.

He got his first "executive director" assignment on FB2012 and there was what, 10 minutes of new animation for it, if that?

Mac Plus was a huge gamble for Big West in terms of directorial faith in Kawamori.

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Most need to remember he was drawn back into Macross because BigWest insisted his "test pilot" project be a Macross show or they wouldn't bank roll it. No doubt Mac 7 was also part of the deal to get Mac Plus produced and directed by SK (at the time, a largely inexperienced directoral talent).

lol he must totally hate his fans. Killing hikaru and misa, not wanting to make the new transformable plane mecha into a macross sequel, generally giving us joke endings in macross zero so we would think there was an extra episode covering what the hell happened after the alien head vanished....but still never giving us one. etc

When is there going to be a 8th MS Team sidestory for macross with the destroids? I'd go for that. Maybe they could cover what happened to misa's boyfriend on mars or something with destroids fighting in sandy desert environments struggling to hold off the anti-un forces.

Edited by 1/1 LowViz Lurker
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lol he must totally hate his fans. Killing hikaru and misa, not wanting to make the new transformable plane mecha into a macross sequel, generally giving us joke endings in macross zero so we would think there was an extra episode covering what the hell happened after the alien head vanished....but still never giving us one. etc

Nah, he's probably tired of it though. No doubt he was hoping Mac Zero would have been a bigger success, but I fear he has lost touch with his creation, instead opting to get metaphysical as opposed to enigmatic.

He divorced himself from it once, then was drawn back into it for about 10 years and now he has an outlet in Genius Party to explore new non Macross stories. Naturally as a story teller, he'd be drawn to that.

One of the elements that made Macross successful were the enigmas within the story.

The ever threatening, yet never seen SA, the PC, Bioweaponry, etc... The fact that the enemy was not always from without (Kaifun/Kamjin anyone?).

The more lauded stories were the ones with conflicted heroes and villans (taking a page from Yoshiyuki Tomino), unlike one franchise series which featured a throw back to the superheros of the 70's, the ever present favorites are the ones with "realistic" characters.

No doubt Kawamori was/is not willing to adapt the best stories in his head into Macross ones as was the case with Macross Plus. Thus the projects are fairly well spread apart, essentially being produced a decade apart.

IMO if SK really wants to move on past Macross, he's going to have to let others play in his sandbox. As already stated by others he would serve the franchise best in an advisory capacity and occasional director.

There are still dozens of stories to be told in this vast universe and it's a dis-service to the franchise and the fans to only allow one person to tell all the stories.

SK's talent should not be wasted exclusively on Macross projects and the fans should not have to be deprived of stories in their favorite universe as he explores other projects.

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I dissagree. It would be a disserve to the franchise to treat it like Gundam, with a myriad of sidestories that have nothing to do with the core plot & themse of the story. Gundam is about Newtypes, not grunts, not Zeon loving kids, etc. While the sidestories there are fun (at least most of them), they do nothing for the core like 0079, Zeta, & Victory do (and Turn-A if you choose to include that).

Macross most certainly doesn't need that.

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I dissagree. It would be a disserve to the franchise to treat it like Gundam, with a myriad of sidestories that have nothing to do with the core plot & themse of the story. Gundam is about Newtypes, not grunts, not Zeon loving kids, etc. While the sidestories there are fun (at least most of them), they do nothing for the core like 0079, Zeta, & Victory do (and Turn-A if you choose to include that).

Macross most certainly doesn't need that.

Side stories or stories within the larger stories are OK, but Mac is so large and the history so extensive and unexplored, there is plenty of room for new stories within the existing chronology.

There is a 28 year gap between FB2012 and Mac Plus, a 5 year gap between Plus and 7 and then beyond....

Dyson was involved in at least 3 conflicts in his Spacy career according to his record in Mac Plus before being assigned to the Super Nova project.

There is plenty of room for new stories in the universe.

Now if you want to play with the continuity like Kawamori there are even more available. :p

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I just noticed this thread... interesting so far... While I'd really like to see something new with some top-notch SK variable designs, I don't understand how people wouldn't also enjoy a Destroid pilot story or even parallel side story... I've always been a big fan of the Destroids, both as designs, and as a different aspect of the armed forces... I realize that infantry and stuff are useless against Zents and whatnot, but I don't remeber, are there Destroids left behind on Earth when the Macross leaves after the attack? Conventional ground forces supported by Destroids could have faced Anti-UN forces?

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Macross animes are too few and far between to do something that doesn't feature Valkyries. But because of the fact that productions are spread so thin over the years, there is plenty of open territory for all kinds of stories in the Macross universe. Just need to make a good one :)

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I dissagree. It would be a disserve to the franchise to treat it like Gundam, with a myriad of sidestories that have nothing to do with the core plot & themse of the story. Gundam is about Newtypes, not grunts, not Zeon loving kids, etc. While the sidestories there are fun (at least most of them), they do nothing for the core like 0079, Zeta, & Victory do (and Turn-A if you choose to include that).

Macross most certainly doesn't need that.

But OVA sidestories like macross plus do flesh out the history a bit and allow a glimpse into the future valkyrie technology that would later be use in macross 7 like using fold booster. (we do have a triangle of love, the music being an important part of the story, and some new stuff to add into the macross timeline - things that happened after SW I) Just because it is not a tv series, doesn't mean it doesn't stay true to the expectation of the creator. He could still supervise if another person took control..

Remember this wasn't even supposed to be part of macross. Look how good it turned out. I just don't understand why he would NOT want to make robots that transform into planes (something already done in macross) to be a part of the macross universe? Bigwest were right on the money on this one. Just comes off to me as: "I hate those macross fans so much, I will deny them any future macross show,ova,movie" etc :D You know like that elitist "Comic Book Guy" on the Simpsons?

I just think it is a waste of potential. Although I like the main gundam core stories about the newtypes, those "realistic robots with realistic physics with realistic characters" shows are my favourite. Stardust Memory shows us what an ordinary skilled ace can do when taking into account the limits of the robot being used. And having the various types of robots work as a team (the chunky and heavy ones with the ability to snipe an escaping shuttle) is far more interesting to me than a single guy who can use his psychic power to foresee a future event and get out of the way before the bullet is even fired. Or just fly anywhere and be everywhere at once because the machine being used by the prepubescent kid hero is the only thing in the war able to perform those things.

I guess my love for those other gundam stories, is similar to what drew me to mac+: little details like the way the bullets fire and arc under the gravity over long distances, the G forces, the way the dogfights and battroid fighters are handled, (rogue zentradi scene where the powered armor gets owned by the bayonet at close range) and how the characters pretty much have to fight the whole world. (getting past the satellite lasers, fighting an AI controlling a battleship, the general pace of the in-close fighting and using cover behind buildings and taking advantage of every mode. etc

Don't ask me how they would do it for the destroids, but if 8th ms team could add the realism of needing specialised roles, (uising various weapons to deal with each unique situation and taking the environment into account) and macross plus could provide the fast pace and stylistic fights, then that is close to the kind of thing I'd like to see in a sidestory macross. We got it with zero, but what would be interesting is if they could bring the ingredients of what made all that work into something to do with destroids and valks (in a team situation with some wearing GBP, some in destroids, and some in transformable mecha (similar to octos) to fight in, that would be great. You can still have all the stuff you were talking about, just amidst this setting of war and destruction.

It might just be a simple thing like giants in a big city taking control of a town and the destroids have got to deal with it, because the place has limited space to fly around in and there is a lot of anti air weapons. So they got to go in through foot to deal with the problem. (a "black hawk down" for macross?) They pulled off something like it in SDF:Macross where kamjin had a team of zentraid go and steal the machine that converts the aliens back to giants. So yeah something like that would be easy.

Edited by 1/1 LowViz Lurker
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Macross has so many possibilities for a new story. It can be placed in practically any period, from Zero and all the way into Macross 7. Heck, even a newer era. The thing is that there were alot of things going down at the same time with the events of the main characters, especially the the various series (SDF Macross, 7).

You could show more background action and side stories from Macross Zero, but since that era has recently been covered, it may or may not be a good idea.

I won't get much into Macross 7's era since I "cut myself off" from that period, but the series is long enough where there surely is a ton of things going on in the background that a show could cover.

Macross Plus' timeframe is a good in-between period that isn't really covered as much compared to SW1 and Macross 7's. It'd be nice to see more of the era where we see how things were in this period. From what little we see in M+, there are no huge wars like in SW1, but there are enough skirmishes going around.

But the period I'm most familiar and in love with, SDF Macross' timeframe, has alot of potential too. You could follow characters from other UN Spacy units on Earth or even on the SDF itself. Even starting the story right at the arrival of the huge Zentradi fleet 2/3 of the way into the original series, there still is ample story to be told outside of the original characters.

We can follow other UN Spacy units and see things, or even the same events / battles, from a new view. Heck, it'd be interesting to see a Destroid unit being depicted, but I'm quite sure this new show will follow VF's mostly.

I actually don't mind going back into SDF Macross with a new story, just as long as it doesn't bork the original characters. It'd be interesting to see how the original VF-1's receive a new treatment in animation / artwork, plus the original UN uniforms B))

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If there is a new Macross series coming out I'd hope for it to be a TV series. I'd like something my brain could be completely immersed in (like Macross TV).

If it is a new Macross series...my guess would be that it'd be a continuation from what happened in Macross Zero...but in a different time frame perhaps as a result of the events that took place in Zero. I mean, with the way Shin and Sara just disappeared like that with no explanation as to why they disappeared and/or where they went.... One of you might bring up the fact that we don't know what happened to Hikaru and Misa...but we do know that they took off into space on a colony mission; we don't get that with Shin and Sara.

My two cents.

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I bring back my old idea where Macross 7 is reanimated and made into a movie release ala DYRL? They'll call it Macross 7: Love Remembered. :lol:

It may be the perfect way to redeem itself and a movie length M7 could just work better than that 49 episode TV series.

The movie will start with a huge battle around the M7 fleet. Basara flies into the fray with the start of either Holy Lonely Night or Try Again. Basara already has the Fold Booster and starts disabling enemy units. They discover the ProtoDeviln, and of course, Sivil, then ends with operation Stargazer with Max and Miria kicking Varautian ass. :) Big West should hire me as a director. ;)

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Macross Spaghetti Westerns!

Macross - A Fistful of Miclones :ph34r:

The "Reconstruction Era" after the major orbital battle in SW1 provides alot of potential story also.

The UN, along with the rest of Earth, is devastated. At this period is where we see the UN at its weakest in any Macross show. The gov't control is good in some parts, but almost "Old West" in some areas. The military was the cornerstone of UN control and since it was devastated, control, law & order could be problematic in more remote areas. Add into the mix surviving Zentradi, increased criminal / rebel activity, and you have a pretty unique scenario for a Macross show compared to most other Macross productions.

You don't see a well established, technically advanced, strong UN / UN Spacy in the Reconstruction Era. Not like in Macross Plus and other productions. You see the UN at its lowest point, trying to climb out of the ashes.

SDF Macross touched into this era well enough for its storyline, but I think there's more to be had.

It wouldn't be about "showing the next, coolest UN Spacy hardware and save the day" either. We'd see the UN Spacy units make do with what little it had left.

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Sounds like cowboy bebop in macross universe. :D

Could be interesting. I kinda like the space pirates thing in one of the macross 7 ovas. But I would prefer something along the lines of Zentradi rebels who just lived out in the wilderness, and the destroids had to mop up any kind of resistance the giants put up against humans after they got sick of minmays songs. They mixed with humans, learnt how to have sex with giant women built giant boats and fished whales using thier giant bodies. They then created thier own culture and started to attack humans while they were at thier weakest and the humans were almost extinct.

They got smarter, trained harder, and learnt how to repair. The tv series would pick up here and that is when the human create a special line of destroids designed to survive out in the wilderness in camo for extended periods of time and weather the harsh environment and the purpose was to use these to try to hunt down the remaining giants who became a problem. Of course at this time humans were scared of giants and didn't know if they could trust the ones who had allied with them so all the people used to fight against them were humans in giant-sized mechas. There would be no mention of minmay, no mention of hikaru, misa or max. All new cast of characters and the series would be able to stand on its own as if it were a new series that had nothing to do with macross. This could then get imported to the US under a new name. The emphasis on this series is mecha with armor, mecha with weight restrictions, and awareness of surroundings, ammo, and type of weapons used in the tactics against the zentradi. (ie close combat is more dangerous for slower destroids that might be poo in a built up environment with little space) Mecha that actually have to trudge through dirt, sand and uneven terrain. Mecha that have to be able to adapt to the use of combined weapons. (a good example is a micron zentradi armed with anti mecha weapons that are hard to hit, teaming up with giant zentradi who can provide better up close defense) Things like staying hidden and taking the element of surprise would be the order of the day and each new ep would be not disimilar to mospeada where it gets to a point where they find the hidden headquarters of the leader of the rebels and that is where the tv series ends. (maybe chuck in a surprise ending and have it so the mastermind is actually a human who believes the humans were meant to die. A bit like that mad scientist/archealogist in macross zero or the guy in macross plus who wanted to create a true AI lifeform at the expense of safety. The good thing about this is it would explain how the zentradi rebels are no longer the dumb brutes of SW I, but trained and hardened and educated to be able to fight humans at our own intelligence level with thier own ability to think for themselves)

There ya go bigwest. Now just tie SK to a chair and force him to make us some nice variable destroids (that octos thing in macross zero looked pretty cool, was that a SK design?) and hire someone to do the story because he is sick of macross and hates his fans. Then have yamato release these variable destroids in 1/60 along with SW I era destroids used in SDF:Macross.

Edit:

I think the best use of destroids would be the post apoc earth after the rain of death, because it would be a time when humans and zentradi are the least trusting of each other. After the bombing by kamjin on the christmas episode and the ramming of the ship into the sdf-1, what safeguards do the humans have against future attempts at kamikaze terror attacks like that? The only way is to have the humans act more racist and fear the aliens. So although hikaru max and the others learnt to get along, there would be all kinds of bitter people who disagreed and this tv series would cover these events. There would be groups that just don't get along with government and be the equivalent of a new anti-un that rises up before eventually being destroyed by the giant rebels.

So you got these groups:

1. un (people who learnt to get along and want peace. Consist of humans and zentradi)

2. anti-zentradi people (consisting of 100% humans that want to kill all aliens because of what happened to earth - xenophboic. They don't believe humans should mix blood with aliens since the aliens have warrior genes. They are like a KKK :D)

3. new zentradi rebels (took control after kamjin's failure to kill off the humans - these would be smartened-up zentradi. Consisting of a mixture of micronised and macronised zentradi and possibly some zentradi sympathisers who are just getting paid by these aliens to help them)

1 = good guys

2 = pissed off humans

3 = pissed off aliens who want to kill the zentradi who defected as this is considered a disgrace to the alien warrior race

But each episode would have people somewhere in between one group and another group. So you might have a zentradi character who has a human girlfriend but also loyal to rebels and has conflicts between helping his friends kill group 2 (pissed off humans) but not want to harm certain humans. (ie the GF who he plans to start a family with and have half alien half human children)

Edited by 1/1 LowViz Lurker
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I was thinking in a complete new war with the supervision army. Could be interesting to see the U.N. Spacy facing this powerful menace in a last space war. And maybe a lost zentradi fleet can get involved too, in a battle to get the control of the new micronian's colonies and the last source of the protoculture. But saving all that spiritia stuff because is not required with the protodevlin out of scene.

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