Actar

Got some extra cash recently and was thinking of getting both the VF-11B and the Sound Booster... but ended up only getting the Sound Booster as I had a ton of other stuff I wanted to get and had already pre-ordered and I don't like the 11B that much, considering it's limited appearance in Plus. Perhaps another time.

Wait... so the gunpod doesn't completely hide away in Battroid mode? I suppose the covers can only be put into place when the gunpod has been removed?

Yup, I know that. That's why I said "national" and not prefecture, etc...

Me neither. Gonna look sweat posed back-to-back with the Kai. (^.^)

I don't really understand what you mean. After Gamlin and Diamond Force was reassigned to protect the city, they needed someone to replace them who didn't pilot cannon fodder VF-11Cs. I do agree that they seriously lack characterization (most likely an oversight by the writers) and screen time, but I think that their introduction was justified. ...also, I don't see the problem with Gamlin courting a 14 year old girl for three reasons: 1. The national legal age of consent in Japan is 13, 2. Gamlin is 100% chaste and devoid of illicit intentions and 3. It's an Anime, which is completely fictional.

We can only hope... That, I'd pre-order on sight. (^.^)

Absolutely brilliant stuff! I'll be the first in line for a D when pre-orders come up. Curious, were transformation instructions not available that day?

This is brilliant! I'm not too familiar with this event, was this in Japan or America? ...but shouldn't this be posted under the Toys section? (^.^

If you ask me, I think the problem is exacerbated in that picture due to the chest being angled up and the head pointing down. It wouldn't look as bad if the chest was angled down more and the head tilted up, which I think is supposed to be the proper position.

My god, being a die-hard Macross Plus and YF-21 fan, I'll kill for one. I'm dying to recreate the climactic battle between Guld and the X-9 in all its glory.

Damn, that is quite awesome. Wouldn't mind seeing more female-piloted Valks getting made. Praying desperately for a Mylene one, but that seems to be an impossibility... Really sad, considering she's one of my favorite female characters from all of Macross. It would also be so, so, so awesome it would be to have all of Sound Force displayed on my shelves in all their glory.

Not to mention, I don't think they've shown any pictures of the actual gimmicks yet, have they?

Admitting it and proud to do so. (^.^) CCS is definitely one of the best Magical Girl shows of all time and is my personal favorite Magical Girl show. Regarding the age versus look thing, I really have no idea why so many people take up issue with this. Am I wrong to say that one possible reason for this could be that, in America and other Western countries, sexuality is extremely taboo whilst violence is much more openly accepted? I mean, The Dark Knight got a PG-13 rating... Putting aside the fact that we are we dealing with fictional 2D, fictional characters, are we going to discriminate people based on how they look now? Even in the real world, there are many people who look much younger (and act younger) than their actual age.This is particularly true for people in Asian countries.

2 minutes in photoshop is all it took.

Aw, really? I would love to see the improvements that have been made and how far toy engineering technology has progressed. (^.^)

So, since many have been saying that the VF-19 Kai has a McDonalds color scheme, just for fun, I made my own interpretation of how the VF-19 Kai would look like it it had a real McDonalds color scheme with it being mostly yellow, some red and some white. Quite different from the very un-McDonalds blazing red awesomeness that is the VF-19 Kai. Picture courtesy of M3.

Am I the only one who really, really wants to see more comparison pics between the V1 and V2 in the various modes from different angles?

Oh, that's not it. What I meant to say was if the toy had fold booster compatibility.

Not sure if this was addressed before, but I was just looking at my M7 TIA book and was wondering if the VF-17S/D has fold booster compatibility.

Wow, that looks like a beast to build. I expect that it requires more work than just snapping the pieces together? Sanding, painting, gluing, etc...

Speaking of DYRL, has there been any word on the cannon of the movie versus the TV series? Will this be another case of 'left to fans to decide'?

That's definitely one way to see it. However, you can also say that Basara is an extremely strong and passionate character who holds fast to his beliefs and doesn't let anyone tell him otherwise.

Question: How far back are the shoulders supposed to bend? For me, I actually bend them back as far as they will go so that they are at an angle. This way, the back plate also sits flat against the cockpit window and the neck looks properly pronounced.

Ah, that I unfortunately can't agree with. In my opinion, subtitles should translate what is said and not take into consideration where the show is set in, England, Fantasy Land or otherwise. Lest we forget, Anime is a product of Japan and the characters are speaking Japanese. To me, that's all that matters. Questioning why the characters are speaking Japanese in England or a non-Japanese setting is akin to asking why Japanese and foreign characters in US cartoons all speak English, regardless of setting. I don't really want to get into a long drawn debate on the importance of honorifics, because I've already been through that numerous times, but let's just say that I'm a staunch advocate of literal subtitles. Of course, we each have our own preferences and I'm just putting my views up there. But yeah, other than the occasional mistranslation and missed lines here and there, I have to give it to them that they did a remarkably good job in terms of accuracy and speed.

Might be writing a longer review for it, but I have to say, as a Macross fan, I thoroughly enjoyed all the little tid-bits and easter eggs that they threw in from the various other Macross series. The Fire Bomber outfits, the Bird Man ending and of course Isamu's cameo. The characterization and plot progression is much smoother this time round, as many people have already attested to, but of course, this would be a given, considering that they had the luxury of editing down the TV series. The use of fans's preconceived notions of the series and the changing familiar plot points was pretty neat as well. That being said, just like the TV series, I just couldn't get into any of the characters. Alto, Sheryl, Ranka... They all felt so 'distant' and I just didn't feel like cheering for any of them. The closest I ever came to rooting for a character would be during the manly Ozma scenes. I do think that it is ingenious how they were able to keep the movie relatively different from the TV series, but kept the key scenes and occurrences similar enough to allow people to recall the TV series. For instance, the Galia 4 incident became the Alcatraz scene, with Ranka wearing the exact same outfit and singing 'Seikan Hikou' - which I have to admit is one of my favorite Ranka songs. Concert scenes were great and the visuals were stunning. However, I have no idea why Sheryl and Ranka's songs don't get me as fired up during the battle scenes as opposed to Fire Bomber's music... I know its weird for me to say this, considering that this is Macross, but I think that they overused the songs in this movie. After awhile, they began to sound all the same, possibly due to the same two voices and similar sounding pop music. In my opinion, I don't think that their songs stand out from each other enough. Would have loved to have heard more of the exciting battle BGM. Did anyone notice the classic Tezuka stuff playing in the background of the hospital scene in the beginning? I caught Black Jack and The Mighty Atom (Astro Boy). Lastly, with regards to the Commie's subs, really sad to see that the Macross staple, Reaction Weapons/Missiles/War Heads were translated as something else. No honorifics either, but I don't think anyone else cares but me. Speaking of the VF-19, I really wonder how it transforms into Battroid mode with those FAST packs attached on the wings... ...and a freaking surfing Macross Quarter and Captain? Now I've seen everything.