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So does anyone think its good?

When I asked Tochiro how it was, he replied, "Can't talk now, going off to see Expendables 2".

So, obviously it was good enough to make you want to go back into the theater to see muscular men blowing stuff up. Er... Hmm.

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When I asked Tochiro how it was, he replied, "Can't talk now, going off to see Expendables 2".

So, obviously it was good enough to make you want to go back into the theater to see muscular men blowing stuff up. Er... Hmm.

I also asked him the impression of FB7 online, his answer was "good for 7's fans, maybe."

I must know what he implied, hm.

Edited by antibiotictab
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I've seen it asked in these forums (and we discussed this on the latest podcast which will go up in the next couple of days as well), whether or not THIS WAS IT. Was FB7 THE thing, THE MAIN thing to come out of the 30th anniversary? THE thing to expand on the universe and give us something new.

It isn't. That honor goes to the MUSICALTURE (speaking of which, has anyone else noticed how the preview clip and all song samples from the MUSICALTURE have been removed from the website/youtube recently?).

FB7 is a fun trip down nostalgia lane if you are a fan of Macross 7. For those who aren't familiar with Macross 7 I cant really say I recommend this movie. I had fun watching it but to anyone who doesn't know their Macross 7 it would most likely be very confusing.

And that's because, as I predicted, FB7 is essentially ...

...a clip movie. That's right, FB7 is a 90minute commercial for the upcoming Macross 7 boxsets, except that if you watch it then you don't really need to see the series so it fails even at that role. The payoff at the end of it is brief and not really worth it if that's all you are watching for.

As a fan of M7, seeing the remastered footage on the big screen was fun. heck, I'll probably even see it again. But all the hints dropped in the trailer amount to pretty much nothing, including the exact same Valkyrie fakeout that the commercial for the Wings of farewell pulled.

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At an unspecified point during Frontier, Ozuma is on his way home, arguing with Bobby about Firebomber. Bobby claims that they are a 'legendary band.' Ozuma rather violently disagrees - their whereabouts is unknown but they are still out there somewhere. they havent faded into legend yet, he claims. Bobby points out that no new music has come out in years but Ozuma claims that the songs they did put out were plenty. heck, he listens to the same FB music everyday driving to and from wor...

Out of the blue, a winged protodevilin-looking bird slams into the car. It gets away, but leaves a VHS tape on the dashboard...

Bobby takes Ozuma to a geeky tech shop in Akiba Deep to find a VHS player (shades of Cowboy bebop?). The tech crew who come to set it up the following day is..Lucca.

So, they set everything up, switch it on and voila!....the tape is literally edited together recaps of M7 episodes. They even still have the 'To be continued' screen at the end of each tape.

'Each' tape?

When the tape finishes, the protodevilin bird conveniently lands outside on the windowsill....with another tape.

During each viewing session, the number of viewers increases. First its just Lucca but the Klan and Michelle turn up, as does Ranka and then Sheryl (her outfit gives some idea of where this interlude sits within the Frontier timeline). On her way to visit, Sheryl conveniently ran into a bird-thingy that gave her a tape....

Finally even Canaria turns up.

Oh and one tape even contains the M7 eyecatch sequence.

While the gang are watching, a few things come to light. There is very little information on what happened to the Macross 7 or Firebomber. Almost no records of the fleet exist in the military database (which Lucca casually hacks into) although they do find some records regarding the protodevilin. All that is known is that there was an incident with the M7 fleet and that Basara/Firebomber went so far as to 'cooperate with the military' to help resolve the conflict. (Apparently the events of D7 are either unknown or a strictly kept military secret - which would explain why Ozuma never has Angel Voice playing in his car, but not why Sheryl/Ranka know Dynamite Explosion at the end of the film).

As such, watching the M7 tapes reveals to Ozuma and co for the first time the events that transpired in M7.

Once they've finished watching everything, the protodevilin bird is shown transforming into Gavil, who gives a smile, and flies away.

Sheryl, Ranka and co break into song (FB medley) with no lead up or explanation. Part of this sequence includes the Valks which were hinted at in the trailer. The new FB song then plays during the credits.

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Ultimately, it felt like the director had been given the budget for a high quality animated music video and told 'here, go use this to make a movie somehow.' The result was 75-80mins of reused M7 footage, 10mins of new Frontier footage, and an awesome 5 minute music video at the end. And the music video didn't even tie things together, nor was it really explained. It just happened. They could have released it as part of a limited edition album or even the single of Virgin Story and I would have been more than satisfied. For anyone who isn't a fan of M7 though, the music video isnt worth siting through the 70~80minutes of 17y/o animated material that precedes it.

Having said that, the M7 footage is remastered and reformatted - it looks as good as it ever will and was enjoyable enough on the big screen. But there is absolutely nothing new here regarding the cast of M7.

FB7 is a clip movie attached to a music video. See it for the nostalgia or to play a drinking game (take a drink every time Anima Spiritua is said - I reckon you'll last 30mins, tops), but for new material in the expanded Maross universe fans will need to look elsewhere.

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That is pretty sad, but not unexpected.

So.. what they're basically saying is that the Macross 7 fleet disappeared somewhere into the center of the galaxy too? Great. Maybe Minmay, Basara, and Mylene are rocking out together with Shin and Sara, and the remnants of the Protocuture. Makes me wonder if they're setting up for some kind of science-fantasy Gainax ending someday, where everyone winds up together in some alternate dimension where the Protoculture are living now. Just as long as there's no Tang or folding chairs involved. :p

At least we know that Isamu didn't fall into the "everyone in the main cast disappeared and were never heard from again" lot. But if Mr. Bilrer ever gets there, he'll probably die of a massive Zentraedi-scale otaku nosebleed. :lol:

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post-9325-0-37415800-1350984835_thumb.jpg

I've seen it asked in these forums (and we discussed this on the latest podcast which will go up in the next couple of days as well), whether or not THIS WAS IT. Was FB7 THE thing, THE MAIN thing to come out of the 30th anniversary? THE thing to expand on the universe and give us something new.

It isn't. That honor goes to the MUSICALTURE (speaking of which, has anyone else noticed how the preview clip and all song samples from the MUSICALTURE have been removed from the website/youtube recently?).

Hmmm... it's a shame that they decided to not take the potential of FB7 and move Macross in a new direction...

Nevertheless, last night, while watching Lincoln*, a Macross commercial was aired. At first I thought it was a CM for FB7, as the first two characters shown were Ranka and Sheryl. However, it continued with other characters from other Macross series. It wasn't until the very end that it became clear what it was about - one of the major cable TV providers is using the Animax Macross airings as a promotion to get new subscribers.

Which begs the question - should that Animax Macross night be considered one of the major events? Even the main event? That commercial, especially when it aired, is now the most primetime, mass-marketed CM for Macross I've seen, to date. More-so than the CMs for the Macross pachinko game. And much more than when the two MF movies were released.

* This TV show (Tues @ 10, on TBS):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_jcb6awmVw

Edited by sketchley
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Nevertheless, last night, while watching Lincoln*, a Macross commercial was aired. At first I thought it was a CM for FB7, as the first two characters shown were Ranka and Sheryl. However, it continued with other characters from other Macross series. It wasn't until the very end that it became clear what it was about - one of the major cable TV providers is using the Animax Macross airings as a promotion to get new subscribers.

Which begs the question - should that Animax Macross night be considered one of the major events? Even the main event? That commercial, especially when it aired, is now the most primetime, mass-marketed CM for Macross I've seen, to date. More-so than the CMs for the Macross pachinko game. And much more than when the two MF movies were released.

Actually, I'd say that the re-broadcast of every Macross to date, including the Superdimensional Lectures, were more important than the Animax Musix gig.

But the definition I'm using here is that THE THING should, in principle, add something new to the franchise. Alternatively, it has to be one heck of a big event (like the Crossover Live, for example). The Animax broadcasts dont meet either criteria. Granted, these are my own personal criteria but I'd be very interested to hear whether they are similar to what others on the boards think :-)

The tv CM you are referring to is indeed a pretty big deal! But I think it has more to do with riding the popularity of the final trickle of the Frontier wave.

@Chronocidal & VF15-Banshee

Whoah! Hold your horses there guys! I didnt say anything about the M7 fleet disappearing, just that theres very little data. This could mean a coverup, OR a disappearance, OR something else altogether. But enough news 'leaked' for the fact that there WAS an M7 incident to become widely known. Personally, I'd like to think that Lucca's concern over the lack of data could lead to a REAL crossover where they decide to locate FB - although as they say 'it's nice to want things.'

As for the existence of RE:FIRE, I thought the exact same thing. But, from a production standpoint, I suppose they couldnt shoehorn the albums existence in NOW since it wasnt released when Frontier originally aired and hence wasnt used in the series.

As far as the fiction is concerned, IF they give a damn I suppose they could claim that the M7 fleet is out of contact with everyone else so the album was only released there... or something like that?

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From what I recall, Re:Fire was released in 2060-2061, which is after these events take place. As for the 7 fleet disappearing, it makes sense that the UN SPACY would segregate the fleet after the whole Protoculture incident. Especially if the Zero events were still classified at the time. Or Max could have just raised a middle finger to the brass after their complete and total lack of support, giving the 7 fleet up as a sacrifice to try and pacify the Protodevelin.

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Thanks for the writeup Tochiro. As someone who enjoyed M7 I'll sure give it a watch if/when it's available somewhere else.

Actually, wouldn't it be a good watch for those who dislike M7? I mean if you're a Macross fan yet have problems coping with the thought of watching 49 episodes of Basara, surely you can put yourself through 90 minutes worth of it and have a nice recap of the story.

Edited by Marzan
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I flat out refuse to watch this "movie".

Unless someone else pays for the ticket.

Well...maybe if it comes out on dvd.

Ummm...maybe if it's playing on tv late one night.

Uuuuh....maybe if it's the in-flight movie on a plane that's tail-spinning into the Pacific ocean after suffering catastrophic engine failure and it's the only thing on DUMB enough to act as some sort of tranquilizer to take my mind off my impending watery death!

Yeah. Maybe then.

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The lack of knowledge about the Protodevlin incident reminds me of Liza saying Fire Bomber defeating the Protodevlin and asking what is Sound Force interest on the Space Whales. To which Basara respond he didn't defeat anybody and him being on Zola has nothing to do with Sound Force.

So there is precedent that the rest of the galaxy has sketchy details on Fire Bomber's adventure.

It doesn't surprise me given Max had to investigate the origins of the enemy Valkyries coming to the conclusion that they are based on Varauta VF-14s.

What would be the reaction that on UN Spacy HQ's orders the Varauta Research Fleet accidentally unleashed a force that led to the demised the Protoculture civilization in the past and endangered several colonies and emigration fleets. Not to mention potentially endangering all life on entire galaxy.

It is a scandal.

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Okay, Renato and I saw it today. So here's my review, lovingly entitled...

Macross "F*** '美,' Seven"

or

A Pretty Amazing Day Organized About a Pretty Bad Movie

Part 1: Tokyo Dome City Stamp Rally REVENGE!!

I finished work at 3:30 and walked down to Tokyo Dome. Renato was working in the area, too, so we met up there. I paid ¥500 to do the second stamp rally, which immediately got me the Sheryl clearfile, companion piece to the Ranka one from the first stamp rally. Since the six free stamps were all in the same location as last time, finding them was a piece of cake (compared to the trouble we had a few weeks ago).

The stamps had changed, too. Last time, you may recall, the stamps were of Ash, Sakura, and Vigo (from the Musicalture) and Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay. This time the stamps were Basara, Mylene, and, er, "Guvava," and Ishtar, Sharon, and Sara. After getting those stamps, Renato and I went to the "Silver Moon" café to get the "event" stamp (the one you have to pay for). Renato ordered a Pink Monsoon (some kind of soda with fruit in it) and I got a Sheryl-and-Alto spicy hot dog, which was pretty good. For this, we also got coasters. Due to a mix-up, I ended up with two coasters. Awesome.

We met up with Save, and he gave Renato the full set of U.S. Renditions' release of Orguss on VHS tape. He also did his very best to lower our rock-bottom expectations for FB7 even further, and succeeded quite handily.

Then I turned in the stamp card, reached into the box to pull out a button... and got a VF-25 one... with a little piece of paper attached to it saying "B Prize." Apparently, a few of the buttons had extra prizes you could win. In my case, I got five mini-posters for the 2009 Crossover Live. Again, awesome.

Then we said our goodbyes to Save, and went off to Shinjuku to see the movie.

to be continued.

Part 2: The Movie

Tochiro has already recapitulated the "plot" as it were, so I won't bother. Let me just say that... y'know how sometimes, all your friends see a movie first, and they all say it was terrible? And then you end up going, expecting a godawful piece of trash, and you end up being pleasantly surprised...?

Yeah, that didn't happen here.

I wasn't, however, MORE disappointed than I expected, I hasten to add. My low, low expectations were met exactly by the movie.

That said, the music was good, and it was kinda fun seeing Macross 7 on the big screen. I also grooved on the ending.

Other than that, though? A waste of time. It would've made a good TV special, or DVD extra. The ending could've been released as a DVD packaged with the new single. But in a movie theatre, for full price tickets? Nuh-uh.

BUT...there was ONE MASSIVE THING that made up for it (actually, two). As we were getting ready to go, a guy with poufy "rock" hair and a really nice brown leather bomber jacket scooted past us from the back row and nearly tripped over Renato's bag of Orguss. He looked at Renato, Renato greeted him like an old friend, they shook hands, and then the guy zoomed off again.

"Don't you know who that was?" Renato asked me.

"No," I said, as one big suspicion came slamming into my head.

"That was Yoshiki Fukuyama."

Needless to say I scooted off as well, walking hurriedly (but, y'know, casually) out of the theatre, hoping to run into him again, but we didn't see him as we went down the eight flights of escalators.

However, once we got to the lobby, we DID see him, going down the final set of escalators (and away from us). We waved hello, Renato called out, "What did you think of the movie?" Fukuyama hemmed and hawed and called back, "Well, this was the first time I'd seen it..."

And then he was gone.

But Renato's eyes were already elsewhere, next to escalator, in front of the screen showing Yamato 2199 Chapter 3. There was an older guy standing there, with long, greying hair and a baseball cap. "I think that's Yutaka Izubuchi," Renato said. We approached him, and yes, indeed it was he. We introduced ourselves, but then his lady friend arrived, and they went into the movie theatre together.

So yeah...the movie? Not so good. The experiences around the movie? Once again... awesome.

to be be.

Edited by Gubaba
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What!? Damnnit. Great. I was half thinking of blowing off my other appointment to go with Ren and Gubaba. Now I haz regretz.

Is that so. I believe your words were:

Uuuuh....maybe if it's the in-flight movie on a plane that's tail-spinning into the Pacific ocean after suffering catastrophic engine failure and it's the only thing on DUMB enough to act as some sort of tranquilizer to take my mind off my impending watery death!

Yeahhh... :p

Edited by Renato
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