Xx-SKULL-ONE-xX

Just confirmed, it is not present ( I will have to update my review I guess). The scene goes from Sheryl sleeping on the bed after getting hit by Alto (with Grace talking in the backgorund) to Ozma's car and no talking. Luckily I am currently downloading/seeding the 720P version with hard coded subtitles...It may help my enjoyment getting a better sense of plot. Or maybe not much talking/plot, just Grace bewbs?

At what point roughly is the Grace shower scene? I am not a creep, I just don't remember seeing it. All I saw was Sheryl in the bath. Perhaps my legitimate Malaysian government certified DVD has been cut? I just did a quick fast forward and I didn't see it either. Any help? thanks

Yup. The part in the song Do You Remember Love? when it goes "I'm not alone anymore" or "Mou hitoribocchijanai" still gives me chills, every single time. Then I like how the ship frosts over and turns lifeless after Gorg dies.

If they don't get the "lips" sculpted right I am not buying it I suppose one good thing about them making more Mac 7 stuff is we might actually get a GBP for the VF-11, or maybe a yamato VF-17D. If they make the VF-11 MAXL before either of those though I will be most upset. I mean they would have to make the VF-17D before they could put out a VF-17T right??? Right???? Well I guess you guys need to buy lots of the Sound Force so the line becomes super successful and they put out more molds.

ah, robo boobs...my kind of implants!

Has to be DYRL and to a lesser extent, SDF macross. I saw Clash of the Bionoids as a child and loved it so much that I bought the first release of Macross Saga Robotech on DVD just to try and find it, hoping it might be in their somewhere. You see as an adult I never remembered what that awesome cartoon was, all I knew was that the Robotech guys seemed almost exactly the same, but something was a little off... When I finally bought a hong kong bootleg after finding out what Clash of the Bionoids really was (my dad remembered the name of the cartoon we used to watch because we rented it ALL the time) it was like heaven...Roy dying the proper way, Minmay being caught while falling through the city, Skulls on all the Valkyries..so badass when you are little. To this day, even with all they awesome mechs that Macross has produced, VF-1S Strike is my favorite. If no other Macross was ever made (heaven forbid) I would still be happy with SDF macross and DYRL, watching them regularily. On a side note, a similar thing happened to me with Warriors of the Wind (what some of you may refer to as Nausicaa) except I remembered the name and we always had a copy of Warriors of the Wind. Me and my brother skipped university classes the day Nausicaa was released properly by Disney...ah good times.

I having been re-watching Mac 7. I have watched it, D7 and the movie in their entirety previously, but have been unable to get msyelf through the series again. I am past episode 25 now, want to know my trick?... Finger on the fast forward button. By fast forwarding through singing animations, and stock singing valkyrie footage, I have been able to dramatically decrease episode length and increase episode enjoyment. During the the episodes 10-20 I had even been enjoying the series. Sadly; however, I think I will be needing to fast forward more as pretty soon minus a couple episodes. Episode 26 is coming up (my personal favorite) but after that it is going to turn into a permanent power rangers fest. Almost all the mech battles are going to turn into sound boosters. I suppose we get one good scene of Gamlin's power up for his rifle used 100 times and the Stargazer as well. Maybe I will be surprised though, who knows? On another note, my copy of Mac 7 doesn't have the Mac 7 P-L-U-S episodes on them, is there another source for these other then youtube?

I like my Konig Monster...Not 1/60 but still DX

Crap, I guess I don't have Mac Plus complete, though those were never in the show....

Any Macross fans in Edmonton Alberta other than myself (and to a lesser extent my bro)?

Macross plus is probably the easiest as it is only three valks and they are each totally distinct. Hence that is what I have as complete. The 1/60 V2 VF-1's do seems to have alot of fans, but ALL the DYRL stuff is like 10 figures and they are all the same (essentially) model. Zero is bad too, with 3 enemy valk's, and three good guys, but only two different models, you essentially have to triple up. I dunno, kudo's to anyone who has done other then Man plus, but not for me...

Your argument is well written but I find that I still disagree. Perhaps future viewings will change my mind but I didn't feel like the series dragged and as a result I feel the movie seemed rushed. Macross 7 on the other hand...couldn't have dragged its feet any slower. I conceded to you that the much of the drama of which I spoke was later on and I am aware there will be a new movie, but I can't see them doing justice to all of it in only another two hours while still keeping a coherent plot. More then likely they will just rush through as much as they can just like the first movie. I would just prefer an all new story set in the frontier timescale. Perhaps a story about how Galaxy became corrupted, to help tighten up the plot in TV Frontier. FYI, I would love a story about Wedge, stand alone or not.....

Hmmm. That is a very good point and it fits even better with my own opinion of the movie...you sir have changed my mind!

True, you never explicitly said character development was removed, indirectly though, I think that some of those things you mentioned which were removed qualifies as character development. Some of those episodes that don't advance the plot are the best character developers (see Mikails episode as an example) I didn't get a more Hero like sense from Alto, just gender confusion, which I thought was a little much. He is less of a whiner/ sulker for sure though. It seemed odd to me that he could become such a good pilot so quickly, where we saw him steadily improve in the series. I agree, Sheryl was more likable, human and fleshed out in the movie. I disagree with anyone that says Ranka's interactions with Alto in the movie make her seem like more of a viable choice. Compared with the screen time Sheryl got, Ranka doesn't have a leg to stand on as far as I am concerned. As for the drama being covered later in the series, this is the movie, not the series. Just because it happens later in the series doesn't give him license to remove all drama from the first film. He made so many other little changes, he could have introduced some of the later dramatic elements earlier. And don't say it would have been too rushed(like the rest of the movie) because there is no way he will now be able to fit all of those elements into the second movie without it being rushed. Anyway, I enjoyed the film, but prefer the series.

I feel the exact opposite minus not missing Nanase. The movie removed almost all the drama, and as you noted character development. No one but Gill died, Sheryl never got sick, an entire planet never got destroyed, etc, etc. The relationship between Alto and Sheryl may have been paced somewhat well, but I am still at a loss for Alto's "interest" in Ranka. Oh, and you still have an unresolved love triangle.

Someone had asked me to do a review of this when my copy was in hand and I had seen it. EDIT: I have recently realized that the shower scene was cut for unknown reasons from this version, as such I cannot recommend you buy. 1)Packaging is your standard Malaysian affair, hologram stickers and Malaysian government seals. One nice thing is that the packaging art is in nice high detail and the pictures do not look pixelated at all unlike others. It has a dvd case and a high gloss slip in cover, both of which have the same art. The slip on cover has a metal effect over top of the lettering that looks quite sharp. For a DVD of questionable origins I feel that it has a great presentation. 2)Menu's are non animated however look clean. The only options are Subtitles, play and scene selection. Subtitles are English, Malay and Chinese. The scene windows in scene selection are animated. 3) English translation was about what you would expect. For the first minute when Alto has his monologue while floating in space there are no subtitles at all. They kick in once the narrative about the history of the colony vessels starts. Having seen Macross Frontier TV (also a Malay "import" which I feel had marginally better subtitles)I had no difficulty understanding the plot, though I am sure some subtleties were lost on me. If there was an official English translation released (and for Zero and DYRL) I would snap them up in a second. Knowing the odd Japanese word was helpful when the subtitles had some ambiguity, but I think someone with no Japanese and no Macross Frontier would be able to follow this. 4) The video is clean, not high def (obviously), and probably not as sharp as it could have been if it had an official North American DVD release. 5) The only "Extra" of note would be that it does include at the end of the credits the preview for "The Wings of Goodbye", or as the movie puts it "The End Part Wings" (Hey, I never said all the translations were great ) Final: So for those of us that enjoy having a hard copy of our Macross, I give this version the nod until something better comes around with the caveat that if ever a legitimate North American release comes out (yeah right) you should purchase that. It is not perfect, but it will do for now. As for the movie itself...I am in the camp that prefers the series. Spoilers below. Pro's: 1) Brera's new costume 2) I liked the new songs mostly 3) Sheryl's first concert was cool, and I agree it did give me a small Mac Plus vibe. The set piece for her second concert was really neat as well. I liked how the sails were screens. 4) The fanservice despite what others have said was no worse then the series (I am not a fan of Fanservice BTW)As a matter of fact, most of the stupid gags were reused anyway. In the same vein, the "vampire" Sheryl was way more subtle then some people made it out to be. I wouldn't have even noticed it really if it wasn't for all the spoilers I read before the movie. 5) The backgrounds were nice. 6) I had read about all the reused footage from battles and actually had a hard time noticing too much. Mind you I have only watched Frontier TV 3 times. At least if wasn't kicking me in the face with how obvious it was (I am looking at you Mac 7) 7) The smaller yellow Vajra seemed so much more ferocious instead of just cannon fodder for the big red ones. Neither Pro nor Con: 1)I would have preferred more new tech. The tornado was decent, but still lacking compared to the already existing VF-25S armoured. The new Giant purple Lasers (someone is going to give me the correct name I am sure) on the battleships were really cool. The effect for the Macross Cannon was good but disappointing that it didn't do any damage initally. I thought the new green Vajra bug was pretty cool too. Maybe I am greedy, but more tech would have been better. (I refuse to count the segway. 2)No Nanase. Didn't really notice or care, though that could have been because there was such limited Luca on screen. 3)Klan Klan at school. Don't care, it was only one scene anyway, I did like how she was less child like when micronized. Cons: I am beginning to think Kawamori should not make "movies". Other then DYRL I always prefer his series. Mac Plus, Escaflowne, and now Mac Frontier. 1) Nothing really new here but the pacing was blistering fast. He should have cut more and expanded the best of what he kept. If it isn't the series, don't try to make it into the series. 2)The "plot" was a even more strange then the series. They suspect Sheryl as a spy because she came from the Galaxy and they were attacked when she came? Is that really all you got? Is she the only person currently on Frontier who is originally from the Galaxy? Wouldn't the Galaxy choose someone more low profile and less busy with concerts to do their spying? Maybe i am missing something in my poorly translated copy, but I find their "evidence" circumstantial at best. 3) What is with the lack of a clearly defined bad guy? Arguably the Vajra could be considered as such because we are not sure what their motives are but Macross history often repeats itself so most likely they will be merely misunderstood once the next movie comes out (like in the series). But now Grace isn't good or bad? Leon is just an adviser to the president? Kawamori should leave the "no black of white, only shades of grey" to people like Miyazaki who are better at it. Sharon Apple, Bodolza, Ingus, Grace and Leon (TV Frontier) and Dr. Crazy from Zero were all bad guys that needed stopping. I know there is another movie to come which might give us an archetype to hate, but for now I think it made the movie suffer as the storytelling wasn't good enough to support a "no one is really bad" type plot. 4)Again, I know there is a second movie, but since it does not yet exist, the lack of explanation for Sheryl and Ranka's powers is not encouraging. In conclusion, while not a bad movie, it is no DYRL. I heard a poster saying they were going to get their brother to watch it in order to get them into Frontier..I would just get my brother to watch the first few episodes of Frontier and that would be enough to get him hooked, I'd be afraid the bad parts of the movie would turn him off of a great series.

To my knowledge they are retractable, so when you put the fast pack on, you put them in.

Good points about the the turbofan's. For the reasons you listed though it almost seems too advanced for Mac Zero. I didn't care for it until I saw the toy and could really get a good look at all the unique aspects of its design, now I think it is probably the coolest enemy mech.

I wish the university I went to was that cheap. I don't know about taxed to kingdom come, 5% is the most I will have to pay (which I suppose does add up with the multiple purchases). I am having to set some limits for myself, no DX chogokin for me, no Zero stuff (even though the SV-51 looks awesome, but then I would need a VF-0 with ghost booster and you can see the road that leads down), and no Mac 7 stuff (won't be a problem). A 1/60 VF-1J GBP may still be in my future though. In a few years if bandai reissues the DX stuff an armoured Ozma may make it into my home...Or perhaps a Green VF-27 (Am I the only one who doesn't like purple??) Edit: I just browsed through the Valkyrie count thread to make sure I am not crazy....there is someone with 19 1/48's! that is like a double of every single scheme...

I have no idea, I was looking for a Skull One avatar when I was setting up my account and found it on google image. Your guess is probably better then mine.

I went a little crazy... I have the Yamato Macross Plus 1/60 triad in the mail (as well as fold and fast packs) as well as a 1/60 VF-1S Roy PLUS.

Like I said, if you have a specific suggestion that you want to vote for, let me know what it is and I can add it. If you are going to vote for some variant of something up there, just add your rationale in a post.(best in the era, I like the color purple, can land in the water, etc) Not meant to be a comprehensive list.

I think this is a good point minus a few little things like ex-gear, etc. I do however like the designs simply because I am a raging missle-aholic and the armored VF-25 has that in spades. Kawamori says they are moving away from passive stealth, sure, however you want to rationalize it. But then there are other things like variable swept wings and they really don't have a place on a new VF like the 25 (unless it is needed for transformation).

humbug! I knew this was gonna happen...I shouldn't even have bothered...You guys know way too much. Besides, I am constrained to only twenty options by the nature of the poll, I wasn't trying to put up a comprehensive list of every valkyrie variant ever made. Why not add Blue VF-22 or Red VF-22? Because like the VF-0D, one tiny little variance (like a D wing and an extra seat)doesn't justify a spot on the poll. If you want to choose a specific model IE: VF-19 vs YF-19 feel free to add that to your post. Sorry Seto, I figured I would get more flak from having Mac II then not... If Macross II was in the poll I would vote for the Macross Cannon and be damned that it isn't a VF. Now, I have three spots left, if you guys are seriously interested in voting for some of these obscure models then pick your top three and I will add them.

I am tempted to pick the VF-1 because it was essentially the first VF and everything that came after was an evolution of it; however, I chose the YF-21 because it is so different from any other VF IMO. 1)Brain controlled 2)Changeable wing surface 3)Thrusters not in legs (I feel like this would increase the speed and performance in GERWALK/Battroid modes) 4)Dual gun pods 6 Fixed cannons mounted on bilateral arms 7)Ejectable limbs for faster top speed.