Graham

There seems to be an animation error with the VF-171 that Ozma first flies up next to. When we first see it shortly before Ozma arrives, it seems to be missing its forearms/vertical tails and instead has some sort of cylindrical object mounted in place of the forearms (see attached screen captures). Yet later on the forearms reappear! At first I thought it might be a new variant, but later on after Ozma finishes talking to the pilot, the forearms magically reappear. Graham

The official site has an update. Something about the song 'Don't Be Late' and the date 2007-12-30 and the time 9.00. Anybody care to translate? Graham

I think the key phrase here is "all known". Graham

Sorry, this whole thing about Max & Millia faking their divorce smells like fanfic to me. I'm definitely calling BS on it. Graham

And after 12 viewings so far, I'm still not getting bored and plan to watch it another 2 more times tonight (AiA sub). Reallly really excited about Frontier. The character designs, mecha designs, music, action, story, enemy. All fantastic. This is probably the best first episode of an anime ever IMO. Graham

Regarding the VF-25 pilot that gets crushed by the red bug, when I first watched the raw video, I thought his name was Gideon. However after repeated watchings (12 times so far), I'm also leaning more towards Guillaume. Not that it really matters, as he is puree now. Graham

So the Shinsen Subs version refers to the 2 different types of augmentation pack for the VF-25 as "Super Pack" and "Armored Pack". It will be interesting to see how the AiA translation calls them, once I've finished downloading it. (Edit in) Actually, listening to what is being said, rather than reading the subs, you can hear the SMS commander(?) clearly say "Super Pack" & "Armored Pack" in English, so I guess that makes the names official. Personally, I love the look of the Armored VF-25 fighter mode more than the Super Pack VF-25. I really love the Stampeed Valk vibe. Graham

I find it interesting that Michael and Luca seem to be connected to SMS, while Alto is not, even though they all go to the same school. See the attached screen shots from the Shinsen subs version. When Ozuma and the other pilot see Ranka at the concert on TV, they comment that it is the concert that Michael and the others have the part time job at. Later when the bugs attack, Michael gets a call telling him to leave, he then asks Luca to go with him, but not Alto, who is left behind. Graham

I'm very curious about what is being said in this screen capture from the Shinsen subs version.: - "A message from both of the Macross Frontier Governments". I wonder are they referring to both New UN Spacy (NUNS) and the civilian city government, or perhaps there is a different government structure in place? Graham

And the missilon dollar question is, just what is that purple CG VF on the screen? It isn't a VF-25, SV-51 or VF-4, although it shares elements of all. Perhaps a mid season replacement for the VF-25? OOr maybe just an earlier design for the VF-25 that Kawamori discarded. Graham

As it says VF-171 on the side of the fighters in big bold letters, plus two Japanese magazines have already published the name as being VF-171, I think it's a pretty safe bet that the name of the fighter is indeed VF-171. Graham

Heh, in ep 1 we did see lots of dead ghosts.....LOL! Graham

Kresphy, do you know how many pages is the Macross Frontier manga in the new issue of Shonen Ace? Graham

Err, I think it's probably a pretty safe bet that we all noticed this. . Graham

Cool, the VF-171's head looks like it closely resembles that of the VF-17D, my favorite ever VF. Now I want a toy of this more than ever. Graham

While not official, all indications are that Yamato does not have the Frontier licence. As I've stated multiple times before, the initial licence toy goes by default to the major sponsor of the TV series, which is Bandai. And given Bandai's past track record with Macross, I'm not expecting much from them. I'd kill for a 1/60 Yamato VF-171 and FP equipped VF-25. It's not all bad news however. If my understanding is correct, the Frontier toy licence will open up to other toy companies after a couple of years. Graham

Gotta say, I actually like the idea of the flying exo suits for the VF-25 pilots. Nice to see some new capabilities. Graham

Gundam 00, Shadow Chronicals......sorry what? Macross Frontier eats them for breakfast.......LOL!....hic! Graham ...................................I fight better when drunk!

While not directly related to the Director's cut of episode 1, I just want to say Merry Christmas to everybody and also isn't technology great. I should be used to it by now, but it still blows my mind that within a few hours of it showing on a Japanese TV channel, we can have a raw download avialable online and then within 24 hours have an English subbed version also. Sorry, several wines and beers in me right now. Also, nice to see Nanashino back posting. I thought you had lost interest in Macross buddy. It would have been nice to see you involved in the Macross Frontier discussions takling place these last 2-3 months. Graham

1) While not confirmed., my usually reliable sources told me 26. 2) April 2008. Graham

Eh, you want to buy Egan Loo? Who's selling him & how much? Graham

I wonder who the heck is the 1 person so far who voted boring? How any Macross fan could find that pilot episode boring is completely beyond me. Maybe I'm just too much of a rabid Macross fan, but ater 20+ years of watching anime and getting pretty jaded with it in recent years, this has got me interested like no other show.....ever. If they carry on with the standard of the first episode, it's gonna be the best mecha anime show ever, heck maybe even the best Macross show ever. Graham

Well, in the original series FPs and GBPs where brand new tech just being introduced put into production in limited numbers. Graham

I use VLC, prefer it to WMP. Graham

Graham