Mr March

Gotta love anime magic.

The rear picture of the Queadluun-Rea is a little small, but I'll take what I can get Oh, look what we have here. A mention of the Su-27 in an article about the VF-25? (grins evily)

Hahahaha I'll see what I can do

I agree. There seems to have been some major policy restrictions towards reaction weapons post-Space War I. Probably had a lot to do with the annihilation of Earth. Millard mentions in Macross Plus the use of reaction weapons would cause a serious political problem, so reaction weapons are likely held back in nearly all circumstances except the most dire. After all, there could very well be an encounter with another Zentradi main fleet, so the reaction weapons would be needed to repel such a large force. Then again, by 2059, reaction weapons seem to be in fashion again. Cannaria appeared to use reaction weapons against the Vajra with her VB-6 Konig Monster.

Yeah, but I'm not really going for the complete synopsis thing. I'm trying to concentrate more on the review itself rather than a play by play.

I don't think it was a question of firepower as much as it is about numbers. Even if a reaction bomb is only one-tenth as destructive as the super-dimension-energy cannon, reaction bombs are far more plentiful and versatile than a one shot super beam weapon. Firing one hundred reaction warheads all at once basically magnifies the destructive potential of your weapons by an entire order of magnitude. In the case of Macross 7, Max was probably thinking that if the fleet unleashed all their reaction weapons, they could overpower Glavil's defense. A bulletproof vest might stop one or two shots, but blast it with a couple machine guns and the vest is now wearing it's owner for protection In the case of Operation Stargazer, the Varauta lair was deep underground with a mountain range on top. It's unlikely the Battle 7 could assure the Protodeviln's destruction, whereas a point blank reaction bomb smuggled inside the vulnerable lair would ensure the Protodeviln would stand a chance (such as it were) Besides, reaction warheads are shown as less directly destructive than the super-dimension-energy cannon. Compare the destructive power of the ARMD's reaction warheads in SDF Macross Episode 1 to the destructive power of the SDF-1's main gun in that same episode.

After the brief action-adventure side story of episode 9, episode 10 dives head first back into our main three characters and the show shines all the brighter for it. This episode makes a connection with the 2002 OVA series Macross Zero, the events of which have been kept secret from the people of the Macross world up until 2058. Now in 2059, an ambitious director begins filming a movie about Macross Zero and features Alto, Sheryl and Ranka involved in the casting. This is a welcome return to our main cast and the focus of this episode shifts back to Alto and his relationship with Sheryl and Ranka. Sheryl again uses her flighty side to play with Alto's emotions but Ranka is determined to maintain Alto's attention. But before that can happen, Ranka finds herself in danger from a stray Zentradi pet called an Eden Hydra (in a nod to the planet in Macross Plus). Alto tries to save her, but is ultimately bested by the creature. Just when it seems the end for Ranka, she is saved by Brera Sterne, who has been following Ranka around for two episodes now. His skill in battle is apparent but it's also revealed Brera is a cyborg. He is injured, but easily defeats the hydra and vanishes. After the danger passes, it's back to the set, where Ranka and Alto must share a kiss as part of the script as they portray Mao and Shin respectively. It's great to get back into the drama of our three characters, especially Alto who has been too long removed from his own character arc. Based on flashbacks, his departure from his father was a very bad break yet his acting ability continues to pull him back into a world he thought he'd left far behind. Sheryl continues to show her interest in Alto, but is always thinly veiling it behind her carefree attitude. If Ranka can be more forward with Alto, she may yet have a chance with him by exploiting Sheryl's inability to take Alto as seriously as she should. For Alto's part, he still seems too unaware of Sheryl's true intentions and maintains a distance from Ranka. I'm personally hoping Alto and Sheryl hook up, but Ranka is no slouch and if she can prove herself, there's hope. For now, the fate of these three can only be guessed until more is revealled in episode 11. Deculture!

Episode 9 side steps the main story of Macross Frontier to bring us a character piece on Michael Blanc, Valkyrie sniper extraordinaire. During a battle with the Vajra, Michael has a flashback of his sister Jessica's death and loses some of his nerve. Distracted, Michael's shot goes wide, inflicting a surface hit upon on Alto's VF-25 Battroid. After the mission is over, Alto is extremely angry and the two come to blows in the hangar. This episode is mostly Michael's show. The story feeds us some small pieces to keep the carrot dangling, but overall episode 9 can't escape the fact it's mostly just treading water. Michael is an interesting character, but he's not Alto, Ranka or Sheryl and his character arch is not nearly as dramatic or interesting. This episode does include some interesting developments, such as Brera Sterne covert activities aboard the Macross Frontier fleet (his VF-27 somehow remaining undetected). Later in the episode, Brera's handler on the Frontier fleet orders him to destroy a UN Spacy ship that appears to be loaded with eggs of some sort, suggesting a Vajra connection. This action is ultimately what keeps episode 8 going strong and we are privy to some great mecha fights. There is also a character moment between Klan and Michael, suggesting that Klan is carrying a torch for Michael. Episode 9 is mostly a side story with some throwaway drama and only a hint of the overall tale of the Vajra. Though there is nothing particularly wrong with the episode, the characters or the action, I find myself eager to move forward with the grander story rather than pausing to develop secondary characters. Nonetheless, I'm still in for more. Next comes episode 10. Deculture.

I'd love to get a calculation for the explosive yield for the first firing of the SDF-1 Macross again. I curse myself to this day for not copying and pasting the fan calculations I read years ago You're right that it is insane. It was the vaporization of the mountain range and thousands of kilometers of ocean that made the cannon so impressive. Sure it also destroyed two, 500 meter long Zentradi ships a light second out, but that was easy compared to the trip it took to get there. I don't think that Reaction Bombs need be nearly as destructive as the main gun. What makes Reaction Bombs so attractive is that they are more powerful than nuclear bombs and ANY delivery system can be used. The super-dimension-energy cannons take a lot of power and space to work. All the ships have to be big to mount them. But with Reaction bombs, even the lowliest valkyrie can be turned into a ship killer. This was part of the reason why the UN Spacy fleet was able to inflict so much damage upon a much larger Zentradi force. I like your thoughts on the super-dimension-energy cannon. It may indeed be a clever cheat to get around conservation of energy. Yeah, bombs are pretty inefficient as energy delivery. You need to significantly increase the yield of a bomb in order to match the destructive force of a focused beam. But the reaction bombs could also be shape charged, so the majority of the energy could be unleashed in a particular direction

"Fly up to the air", track #2 on soundtrack one

As long as the original always remains available in every new format that is released from now until my death, then they can make all the alternate versions they want. Listen to the wisdom of Ridley Scott; here's the versions and I'll let you the audience decide which you like best.

JB0 Yes, they always call it a thermonuclear reaction and "fusion" is specifically mentioned in the Macross Compendium translation. So that at least makes sense. But that creates a load of problems itself. For example, I once read a detailed analysis in which a fan calculated the explosive yield for the SDF-1 Macross super-dimension-energy cannon that placed it's total destructive power in the teraton range. Whether one assumed fusion or anti-matter, neither power source was sufficient to power an energy beam that destructive. Thus it lead to the conclusion that perhaps pair-annihilation refers specifically to much more exotic (and potentially far more powerful) elements used in the reaction process. Perhaps super dimension energy and anti-super dimension energy? Dwelling on that point for a moment, you seem to know a lot more about the tech than I do; could you also determine the explosive yield of the SDF-1 cannon, using the events of episode 1 as a benchmark?

Dude, there's a porn advert at the top of the page when I click on your images Now granted, I selected the links to see some anime skin, but some guy's fist up another girl's backside is more than I bargained for

I'm a little hazy on the whole "control" thing. When you all talk of "control", do you mean to "command" like Ozuma commands his squadron by giving orders to Alto, Mikhail and Luca? Or are you talking about some perpetual control signal whereby the Red Vajra directly dictates the actions of each Yellow Vajra? Or, is "control" defined as a situation similar to Luca's "control" of his three Ghost fighters? I think at the very least it's clear the Yellow Vajra act on their own. When the Red Vajra was killed inside Island 1, the Yellow Vajra within the dome continued to act on their own.

That sounds great. My e-mail address is actually now a working link found in the header/footer menu bars within each vehicle profile on the M3. For example, you can send the scan to me using the e-mail address found in the menu bar for the ARMD profile. I fixed all the pages when I last updated

Of course the art work is Kawamori. No ownership of the actual art work itself was implied in any way by my post, only acknowledgement that I was the colorist of all those pictures. You do realize that all the color pictures on the M3 were originally black and white before I colored them in Photoshop, yes? This fella made his "Justice League Macross" using the colored line art from my website. That's all that was said. I enjoyed this fan made picture very much.

I agree. I think Kaiyodo was really planning ahead with the Macross line. The scale between the VF-1 and the Reguld is near perfect and it's likely the YF-19 and YF-21 will also be much larger than the VF-1.

I really hope that new Macross Chronicle book has some line art for those medium sized missiles the YF-19 is shown launching.

It is indeed. This isn't bad, but have you got a scan that's bigger?

The picture from the Newtype magazine shows a rear view of the VF-27 Battroid. A blade is shown extended from the front of the shield.

Brilliant work, Sulendil Ang! I couldn't have answered it better myself.

JBO Thanks for going through it all again I definitely understand better what you meant. In order's of magnitude, even an inefficient anti-matter bomb would be more powerful than a similarly sized fission/fusion bomb. The only thing that concerns me is that the underlying process of the OverTechnology reaction engine is described as "extreme efficiency" and even with a very advanced reactor design that somehow manages to collide every atom of matter with every atom of anti-matter reactant in the core (I'd really like to know how that could be accomplished), the anti-matter reaction itself only produces 50% usable energy. To my mind, the language of the Reaction technology leads me to believe they get a 99% return on any fuel they input into the reactor.

That's unfortunately the best I have available. There are a few pictures taken from Macross Perfect Memory that were faded or too small when they printed the book, so a lot of the detail was lost for the sake of inclusion. I know there are some other books out there that might have better pictures, but for now, that's all I got.

Brera is wearing cowboy boots. I can almost guarantee it. The styling of his boots looks very western. The tall heels are indicative of the "cowboy heel" styled boot which have much higher heels specifically more useful for riding than the the more common form of walking heel you find in store bought boots. Given all the western undertones permeating throughout Macross Frontier - like the covered wagon-style Islands of the fleet, the "frontier", not to mention giving Brera Sterne a harmonica - it's almost certainly cowboy boots he's wearing. Kronnang Dunn Yes, statistics on that knife would really be helpful. grss1982 The subtitles that are being released are fast, but quite engrishy and rough. I don't blame you for waiting

Doesn't really bother me either way. Just as long as whatever they are doing remains as interesting as it has been so far, I'll be content.