danth

See, that's so weird. I don't even like anime that other anime fans like. I didn't like Mac Plus that much. Sure, it was cool seeing Valkyries kicking ass, but the story was gay. Isamu would NOT be allowed anywhere near a test plane in any version of reality. Isamu and Guld were both jerks, Myung was a hopeless victim, and that blonde chick was a ditz. I hate them all. Plus, the animation style was ugly.

And then there's Cowboy Bebop, an anime that can trick anime fans into thinking its uber-chic. Now there's an accomplishment. "Ooh, this guy wears a 70's style suit and knows kung-fu and smokes cigars! And the music is reminiscent of Shaft-- how cool!" Blah. I bought the first DVD and, as much as I tried to want to, I couldn't justify buying the next volume.

I mean, look at character development in anime now: Dumbass guy blows stuff up, then goes into melodramatic monologue, complete with still images, about his painful past. Ooh, I now identify with this character! I mean, you don't know how often I kill bad guys with fiery explosions and then recount how my father never loved me.

Yeah, this really is a self-hating anime fan thread.

Ever since I watched Robotech as a kid, I've loved japanese animation. Back in the eighties, I would watch any animation that I could tell was Japanese. I would search for comics and toys and videos and models, anything. It was all so very cool and exotic.

Now days, I still want to capture that feeling of discovery and wonder. So I'll rent some anime every once and a while, and, invariably, I find myself bored and annoyed at whatever I'm watching. Full Metal Panic, Gasaraki, um...poo, the other 20 or so were so bad I can't even remember their names. Anyway, I hated all of them. Everything new I try out is melodramatic, super-silly, and downright boring (I don't even care much for Cowboy Bebop. The movie literally put me to sleep). The anime they show on local TV is horrible, and the Cartoon Network stuff is just not that good.

Still, for some reason, I always give anime another chance. I can't shake the addiction to what I felt watching Macross and Bubble Gum Crisis and Megazone or reading Appleseed and Caravan Kid.

Then, the other day, I watched Venus Wars on cable. It was beautiful. The designs and animation rocked. The characters were believable and well drawn. It actually looked like Japanese animation.

So, the pattern emerges, and it was so obvious. I hate new anime, and I like old Japanese animation. I think the old stuff shouldn't be called anime. I think anime developed around 1995. Anything before that should be called Japanese animation, and has a chance of being good. Everything after that is anime, and most likely sucks.

Who's fault is it? What about all the unbathed and crusty-haired fans, who were so nerdy they found the Japanese word for animation instead of simply using the term "Japanese animation," and consumed uncritically all the crap shows that came to the US? What about Clamp and Shonen Jump, who seem to be a heavy influence in the industry, pushing their style of poorly drawn and poorly written cartoons?

The real pattern, though, is this: I like eighties-style animation with characters I care about. The last "anime" I've seen like this was Tenchi Muyo, the TV series. And of course it all started with Macross.

Does anyone else share my taste?

im sure ozone will hurt his toy as ozone is highly reactive.

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Good point. I bet it would cause yellowing or something. But, I was only half serious.

Ozone. My brother cleans apartments after they are vacated, and he has an ozone machine that gets rid of cigarette smell. Good luck getting some ozone, but if you do, that should do the trick.

P.S. You can't breathe ozone (O3), so make sure there is plenty of ventilation.

Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. Kakinuma did most of the Inbit stuff. At least, that's according to some guy on a forum somewhere (http://toyboxst.inwards.com/phorum/read.php?5,105746).

I believe they're just toying with us with their translations.

Anyway, I have the same questions. Will the GBP be released in a set with a valkyrie? If so, which valkyrie?

Question: Will the 1/48 GBP armor come with a Valkyrie or be sold separately? If so, will it come with a Hikaru 1J or something else?

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Does anyone have a definite answer on this?

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There was a rumor about that, eminating from some retailers overseas. So far, no solid information yet though man.

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Thanks man.

P.S. Is that Storm Shadow?

I would like to see expensive versions of the banpresto valks. Make them tougher, better limbs, more detail, (landing gear, able to carry missiles etc) slightly larger, increased posability and articulation,

and then make a bunch of enemy mecha for them to fight in the same scale. I've always wanted something like that..

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Ahh, now you're talking. I always thought the other valks were too big. I like the overall proportions of the Banpresto, but they're just cheap.

Question: Will the 1/48 GBP armor come with a Valkyrie or be sold separately? If so, will it come with a Hikaru 1J or something else?

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Does anyone have a definite answer on this?

Question: Will the 1/48 GBP armor come with a Valkyrie or be sold separately? If so, will it come with a Hikaru 1J or something else?

Another improvement, looks like the arms won't be hanging lower than the legs compared to the 1/48. The gunpod will have plenty of clearance.

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THANK GOD!

The only reason I don't own a 1/48 VF-1 is the nutsack-like shoulders that hang down way lower than the intakes in fighter mode. They look so awful, they ruin the toy for me. I'm glad the VF-0 doesn't have this problem.

nevermind

Walken v. Arnold 2008! Do you know how awesome that would be?! Every time I try to get out of politics, it pulls me back in!

Is that Mari Ijima in there? If so, she looks way hotter now.

Okay, I found a good one today! This is from a review I found on the internet. I won't tell you what it is, but you'll figure it out by the end and have a good laugh.

from robotech to this! it was always going to happen. watched robotech ( macross saga ) when i was 15 years old now 33. loved mimei and the songs didnt know she became such a great song writer and wonderful talant untill early this year. this is the first album i have purchased of mari's and it is so calming and soft to the ear, listen to it loud or low and it's great. if you want to hear mari in her first career as lin min mei in robotech go to www.robotech.com there you can get the history and purchas all the episode's of the whole saga and get to here miri as min mei. your choice. see ya.

Now that's funny!

I always wondered what that blue jet was!

the first issues of all the 1/48s had nosecones and wing flap problems with falling off. 

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Ah, that's a good thing to know. Thanks.

(PS to Witchblade and Agent One: I forgot to mention, I've seen both Clash of the Bionoids and DYRL in Japanese. I loved them both. And to Hurin: Thanks man! I'm surprised someone is willing to do that. )

So you have seen Robotech, but have you seen SDFM?  How about DYRL?  Most people I know quit being Robotech fans when they watch the original tv show, then the movie.

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I don't see a problem with being a Robotech fan and a Macross fan. I'd love to see the subbed Macross series, but I doubt seeing it would make me hate what is really just a demonized dub.

If anyone wants to mail me the subbed DVDs, we can make it an experiment...

I have a small vinyl cutter at home.  I made a Macross logo for my truck too.

http://exografx.com/macrosssticker.JPG

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Damn, that looks good for being home-made!

Wow, I can't believe that I got so many replies!

Anyway, the schemes I really like are Milia's, the CF, and Hikaru's 1J. To be honest, I'm sick of the boring DYRL colors. And of course the Low-Viz iz cool, but it's not from the animation.

I don't really see myself getting any of the previously released valks because they're just too expensive now. Of course, if anyone knows where I could get a Cheap Milia or Hikaru...yeah, right.

Oh yeah, Agent One: I AM a fan of Robotech. It's what got me into Macross.

*Gasp* Calvin and Hobbes! I love them!

Even though I have all of the treasuries, I still want this set. It's beautiful!

I've been putting off buying a 1/48 but they are just too beautiful. I need to get one while I have the chance.

My plan is to get the CF from HLJ when it comes out, and also the Fast Pack set. If I like that one enough, and I have the money, I'll get the GBP set too.

Is there anything I should know before I do this? Like better places to buy from, or cooler versions of the VF coming out later, or fragile areas on the 1/48 I should be careful with?

Thanks!

I think the only thing I could have done better would be to use stiffer transparency paper (if it exists). There is one slight "wave" or "buckle" in the window because the plastic wasn't laid perfectly flat. Stiff paper could have helped me avoid that.

Alright, the project is finished! Now I wish I had taken a "before" picture, because it looks pretty great. I used double-sided tape that is supposedly "photo safe" so it shouldn't corrode the box or plastic. I used transparency paper ($.50 from Staples for one sheet) and it worked fine.

Here's two pics: one with flash and one without.

one thing at a time bobe...let's not flood rohby or else the work just suffers...but that little regult does look very tempting.

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trust me, he's got the whole vf-1 line down. So now is a good time to start thinking about regults.

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Yeah, think about it: a Rohby VF-1, then a Rohby Regult. A Rohby Armored VF-1, then a Rohby Glaug. A Rohby VF-4, then a Rohby Q-Rau. The pacing is perfect! After the hard work of making a transforming Valk, he gets a break and makes a non-transforming villain. Since it's probably cheaper to make battle pods & power armors, we'll just buy doubles of those. So this way, we're happy and Rohby gets to make a living!

Now we just have to talk Rohby into it...