Did Max become Skull Leader in DYRL?

[Chicago]

Was watching DYRL for the millionth time today and notice that when Misa and Hikaru got back to the Macross and then the Meltron attacked by the old city, It was Max's valkyrie that was in the lead and not Hikaru. It was quite distincive that the valkyrie up front had a blue strip. So I conclude that he was actually Skull leader while Hikaru and Roy were gone for that month, the next choice is Max. Hikaru was never Skull leader in DYRL. Max also had the Skull leader head on his machine and i think Hikaru still had the VF1a head. This has probably been talked about before but maybe someone will tell me if im right.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Yes, Max was Skull leader, but then he ended up with the Meltrandi. I'm not sure what VF-1 variant Hikaru was flying. Maybe a VF-1A, while Kakizaki was upped to the VF-J.

[Chicago]

I was wierd when I finally noticed that he was in the lead and always thought Hikaru became Skull leader when he returned to the Macross. I also notice how Kakizaki called max commander and Hikaru was still a Lieutenant at the Minmay reunion. Goes to show there always something new to macross no matter how many times you see it.

[connor99]

Max did become the Skull leader in DYRL, after the disappearance of Roy and Hikaru that is. Hikaru also became the Skull leader in the movie, but only towards the end, when he flew inside Gorg Bodolza's ship and kick the s**t out of him!

[ewilen]

Kakizaki never got a 1J. I doubt you can tell from the film but...it's basically a given.

Anyway, yes, this has been discussed before. In fact, it was one of the first things I posted about as a newbie, and people already seemed a little tired of explaining it over and over. I guess it's just one of those things you have to go through on the path to Macross Knowledge.

[Chicago]

ok, I never really considered myself a newbie but just thought id post some cuz I havent in a long time but it was one of those thing that i just noticed.

[Beltane70]

Actually, you can see that Kakizaki was in a VF-1A. You see his fighter enough to see the single head laser.

[Chicago]

I didn't think Meltron used bullets because i would have assumed that Kakizaki head should of been blown off buy a laser beam then a nice tiny round hole threw the face shield like when millia shot that Zentrans head off. But it was a cool scene.

[dedalus001]

Max did become the Skull leader in DYRL, after the disappearance of Roy and Hikaru that is. Hikaru also became the Skull leader in the movie, but only towards the end, when he flew inside Gorg Bodolza's ship and kick the s**t out of him!

waitwaitwait. but aha!:

hikaru refers to himself as "delta 1" during the final battle with the bodolzaa fleet.

so maybe because skull squadron basically got torn to shreds when it lost max and kakizaki, hikaru joined delta squadron?

then again. it could be a cool flashy movie name for "he who must shoot many things at the enemy leader" and nothing more.

[UN Spacy]

I didn't think Meltron used bullets because i would have assumed that Kakizaki head should of been blown off buy a laser beam then a nice tiny round hole threw the face shield like when millia shot that Zentrans head off. But it was a cool scene.

I've always wondered what it was (from Miria's Quadelunn Rau weapondry) that took out Kakizaki. It sure wasn't a barrage of missles (seeing as how there were no huge explosions) and I don't think those wrist mounted guns could do that kind of damage.

[Wicked Ace]

waitwaitwait. but aha!:

hikaru refers to himself as "delta 1" during the final battle with the bodolzaa fleet.

so maybe because skull squadron basically got torn to shreds when it lost max and kakizaki, hikaru joined delta squadron?

then again. it could be a cool flashy movie name for "he who must shoot many things at the enemy leader" and nothing more.

Actually, the line reads, "Skull-1 to Delta-1. . ."

[Chicago]

It also strange how the blast was behind the cockpit and not in the front. I wonder what got him then, possible bird strike.

[Anubis]

Actually the arm guns were pulse lasers. I'd say that was what took out Kaizaki.

From everyone's favorite tome of knowledge.

ARMAMENT: Primary Cannon: two medium-bore simultaneously-firing impact cannon. Secondary Gun: two air-to-air high-speed-rotating tri-barrel laser pulse gun. Rocket Weaponry: four close-combat short-range super-minature high-manoeuvrabilty missile launchers (126 missiles standard).

Also, Hikaru was talking referring to Misa as Delta -1 I think. He did say Skull-to-Delta.

[Chicago]

For the life of me I am still confused as to what took him out with a head shot when his canopy isn't even damaged when he was shot in the face

I don't mean to derail my own thread

[JsARCLIGHT]

If you look closely at Kakizaki the glass of his helmet is blowing out not in. If he was "shot in the head" like some people have hypothesized the glass would have blown in along with his face (which is still visible through the shattering glass)... of course that would also require a very small projectile or laser strike to make such a wound on such a small moving target from so far away, no sniper in the world could have pulled that off. Kakizaki is actually dying from the main thing that kills most pilots/drivers of armored vehicles in combat: bits of his own jet as shrapnel flying through him. Add to that the concussive shockwave of the initial munitions hit and there is a good chance that alone blew out his helmet glass.

Poor Kakizaki... if he had only been watching the road, listening to the constant annoying lock on tone his plane was buzzing at him and actually paying attention rather than trying to insult Hikaru. Let that be a lesson folks, save the smart-ass for the barracks and keep your shiite wired tight in the field or your parents will be buring you in a lunch box.

[UN Spacy]

We can also make it a fact that Max is indeed squadron leader (if there was any doubt), you can see him turning his head towards HIS right side. Ditto for Hikaru and the fact that Kakizaki's VF-1A is almost parallel with his.

The radar also shows some kind of tactial display. I bet that yellow circle was the first strike by Miria and posse.

[Anubis]

And there's the proof Kakizaki was still in a -1A

[SuperOstrich]

I don't have the movie in front of me, but I'm pretty sure Kakizaki hits his head on the console and shatters the glass of his helmet. There is no bullet.

[eugimon]

I vote for the explosion behind him, ripped apart by shrapnel theory... after all, how times does hikaru hit his helmet on something without shattering the glass?

[J A Dare]

Friendly fire from behind maybe?

[Beltane70]

Just the fact that Max has a VF-1S is enough proof that he is squadron leader.

I'm pretty sure it was most likely a missile strike that took Kakizaki out. At the angle they were flying, a beam weapon would have hit the front of Kakizaki's VF-1

[Anubis]

Millia and co. were not necessarily right in front of them, but also at 12 HIGH. Thus there's no reason really not to hit Kakizaki behind the cockpit.

Edited March 22, 2004 by Anubis

[PC Valkyrie]

One thing always bothered me about this scene where Kakizaki gets killed. I'm not sure whether this has been discussed before, but why wouldn't have they detected Millia and company by radar before she was able to strike at such close range?

[Powered Convoy]

I always thought this scene was very traumatic and cool. I was very shocked when I first saw it (I watched it before I had seen the episode of the TV series were Kakizaki died). It was very quick and brutal. While Kakizaki was making joke.

I always thought it was neat that Max became Skull Leader in the Movie. Between his leading the squad of Valkyries in that scene and his VF-1S (Yamato Release This!) it became fairly obvious. Also he had mad pilot skills.

Randy

[dedalus001]

waitwaitwait. but aha!:

hikaru refers to himself as "delta 1" during the final battle with the bodolzaa fleet.

so maybe because skull squadron basically got torn to shreds when it lost max and kakizaki, hikaru joined delta squadron?

then again. it could be a cool flashy movie name for "he who must shoot many things at the enemy leader"  and nothing more.

Actually, the line reads, "Skull-1 to Delta-1. . ."

my apologies- havent watched the movie for a long long time and i lost my copy of it.

[Anubis]

waitwaitwait. but aha!:

hikaru refers to himself as "delta 1" during the final battle with the bodolzaa fleet.

so maybe because skull squadron basically got torn to shreds when it lost max and kakizaki, hikaru joined delta squadron?

then again. it could be a cool flashy movie name for "he who must shoot many things at the enemy leader"  and nothing more.

Actually, the line reads, "Skull-1 to Delta-1. . ."

my apologies- havent watched the movie for a long long time and i lost my copy of it.

LOST your copy?!?

Shame on you.

[ewilen]

One thing always bothered me about this scene where Kakizaki gets killed. I'm not sure whether this has been discussed before, but why wouldn't have they detected Millia and company by radar before she was able to strike at such close range?

If the VF-1 radar is anything like a modern fighter jet's (and it sure looks that way from the removable nose cone on the Yamato 1/48's), it can only cover a "cone" of airspace extending forward from the nose of the plane. Enemies outside that area are detected passively and imprecisely by watching for their radar as it hits you. If they have radar turned off, you won't know they're there unless you spot them visually (always remember to check your six!) or they start putting holes in you.

Now, if you have several groups crisscrossing an area, or even better, AWACS or ground-based radar (such as the Macross itself), you could actively scan the entire battlefield and share the information in realtime between planes. But it seems that Millia attacked shortly after the alert and may not have been pinpointed yet.

[ArchVile]

Friendly fire from behind maybe?

Heh, he's unlucky enough I wouldn't hold it against the writers to kill him off that way.

I personally believe it was the wrist mounted lasers that took him out. It would have been obvious if he got fragged by a micro missile.

[dna]

I had always thought that green flash we see on the monitor as his eyeballs fry WAS the green laser beam. It's not just static as you can see his hand in front of the green. The super heated air would be enough to make the inside of his helmit go pop, I would think. The only thing that doesn't agree with this is the outside shot that shows his canopy in good condition. However, perhaps the animators simply didn't draw the hole the laser melted through the canopy. If she raked his fighter from front to back from above, it would account for everything else.

ALSO: does anyone have proof that it was Milia that iced Kakizaki? If I was Max, I would have a hard time porking the gal who just iced one of my subordinates (and good friends.)

[Mallet21]

I'm pretty sure the shot came from a second Meltrandi on a grassy knoll

[Godzilla]

Yes, Max was Skull leader, but then he ended up with the Meltrandi. I'm not sure what VF-1 variant Hikaru was flying. Maybe a VF-1A, while Kakizaki was upped to the VF-J.

I dont think there was VF-1J in DRYL.

[mbs357]

Consider that maybe the shot came from the front, hit the starboard side of the nose, and went through the canopy at an angle, and exited through the chest plate.

That could be why we see no damage to the nose and canopy, because it all happened on the starboard. Heck, it didn't even have to hit him direclty anyway. And maybe that's also why we see his air brake flying off?

[UN Spacy]

I dont think there was VF-1J in DRYL.

If you blink you'll probably miss it.

[Godzilla]

I dont think there was VF-1J in DRYL.

If you blink you'll probably miss it.

I thought I saw the VF-1A CF in the armor. Which part was that?

[UN Spacy]

I thought I saw the VF-1A CF in the armor. Which part was that?

Shorty after Misa orders the Skull Squadron back to defend the SDF-1, you'll see several shots of various Destroids defending the ship. I think it's just before the Monster makes an apperance.