Bounty Hunter

It seems to be the general view in this thread that Mari a)left Japan for the US straight after Macross and b) did so in the search for more artistic freedom. I believe it's a bit more complicated than that. For a start Mari had quite a long career in Japan post Macross and ended up marrying an American which I guess contributed to her relocation. I'm a fan of all her work and have half a dozen non-Macross related albums of hers. Beautiful music, definately a notch above your average pop music, you can tell she's a real artist and a music lover. She gets quite personal in her lyrics sometimes too so her facebook posts aren't really that surprising to me.

Currently watching Maison Ikkoku from beginning to end (up to episode 54 after 3 weekends of marathoning). I love the attention to detail in every episode. The way mundane and everyday things from Japanese domestic and city life in the 1980s (and today, a lot hasn't changed in Japan since the '80s) are lovingly rendered in realistic detail. From the kitchy interiors of a "snack bar" to rice cookers to instant noodles to vending machines with the prices clearly visible (with stagflation in Japan, even they haven't changed much!!) I'm not really familiar with recent anime but I get the feeling that creators wouldn't put the same minute attention to detail for the sake of detail into productions today? Smaller budgets I guess? Please nobody spoil the end of Maison Ikkoku for me!