alindasue

I'm having difficulty with the concept that being naked with a person automatically implies sexuality... bringing it back to the very innocent Totoro bath scene that animators also took the time to draw and animate. The fact is that people do not generally bathe with clothes on. It's as simple as that. Besides, Basara's tastes generally run toward older, much bustier women like Rex or Emilia. He doesn't even show any remotely sexual interest in Mylene, despite Mylene's crush on him (and fans' attempts to pair them). Now the attempted rape scene with Mylene... from what I can see, it can be agreed that that was nothing but (rather wierd) fanservice. It wasn't perfectly normal behavior, like bathing naked is, and unlike the bath in the healing hot springs, it did nothing to further the story. peace

I still fail to see where that bath scene could be considered even vaguely sexual... and I'm looking at it from the point of view of a pretty conservative mother who has several teenage and young adult daughters. Heck, the girl's father is even with them and is not bothered by it. If it were even remotely sexual, her hot-headed father would not be so calm about it, eh. peace

I agree. Basara grew up quite a bit during the course of the series... and he's not trying to crack through the whole military mindset in this one. Just the police this time... If you listen to the radio dramas going on throughout the show, you'll hear that the Zolans do, in fact, have pouches also. I didn't notice one on Elma during the split second we could see her fully naked, but that may be because she's still immature... Speaking of Dynamite OVAs, I'm watching the Electric Fire 2007 DVD - again - Fukuyama-san is singing "New Frontier". I really like the Dynamite OVA music. I think it's a bit closer to Fukuyama-san's Humming Bird sound than the other Macross 7 music. I've seen it. I've favorited it. ^^b That duet is a very well done fan compilation that mixes the Dynamite OVA version with the version that Mari IIjima did for the Macross Tribute album. Fukuyama-san also did a great version of the original Macross theme on that same album. I agree. I really couldn't see a point in adding that particular Mylene scene. It did nothing to actually add to the story. The only thing I can think is that possibly they were showing that Basara wasn't there to watch over her that time like he had been when Bobby pulled his stunt during the series... but even that's stretching it a bit, eh. "Elma's bath" wasn't just Elma's bath. It was Elma and Basara and Graham's bath. They were all just as naked for the same reason. People don't generally bathe with their clothes on - just like in the Totoro scene. By the way, I really loved how the opening credits became more and more detailed each time through. I loved the ending credits too. They seemed to have a lot of fun animating them. peace

Basara's not really into politics, but I think if he were to vote at all, he'd more likely vote for Kucinich based on his anti-war stance and calls for a multilateral nuclear disarmament. During the show, Basara openly showed his disdain when they resorted to the use of such weapons to try and solve a problem. That disdain was also shown towards the whole military mindset. He really hated the fact that the military leaders didn't understand what he was trying to do and instead saw his music only as a "weapon" against the enemy, instead of the weapon against war that it was intended to be. I notice in these threads that we sometimes get dangerously close to the forums rules against political debate. I believe that's because, more than any of the other Macross series, Macross 7 itself is a political statement on the part of the creators. peace

Part of the problem is that through all of Macross 7, his name only once showed up once in any of the credits, as the composer for "Dynamite Explosion!" A lot of people know who Fire Bomber is but not who the voices and musicians of Fire Bomber were. Even now, the only "Fire Bomber" musician I can tell you for sure is Fukuyama-san. I also thought about starting a new thread about the DVD, but I don't know where to post it. It's not a model or toy and it's not one of the TV series... With all the music in the Macross franchise, what this message board really needs is a section just devoted to the music. ^^b Yes, of course, I have both concert DVDs. ^-^ The "Electric Fire 2007" DVD was quite a bit pricier. Actually, it was only 1,000 yen more, but between the weak US dollar, shipping, and added taxes, I ended up paying $91.00 for it. >.< ouch! I'm glad I did though! Some of the songs are the same, but a good half of them are duet version this time. Chie Kajiura also has several solos, although Fukuyama-san is still onstage during most them as part of the backup band and harmony. Kajiura-san adds a ereathrall quality that plays against Fukuyama-san's energy quite well. The difference in styles between Fukuyama-san alone with his band vs Kajiura-san and Fukuyama-san together make it well worth owning both concerts. Both are excellent for different reasons. peace

Try this: http://www.dvdidle.com/dvd-region-free.htm It's what I use. The program tricks your computer into ignoring the region coding on the disc. It loads when you open your media player - and if your media player is not on it's preset list of programs to work with, you can add it to the list. It's perfectly safe. I've been using it for a few years now without any ill effects to any of my computers. The only drawback I've ever seen with the program is that you pretty much have to register it ($39.95) if you want to watch more than a half hour of a show at a time. ComicKaze, about English Fire... I've heard some of it. It's ok... however, although it's still Fukuyama-san's guitar playing, the vocals pale in comparison to the original. If it were a standard $14.00 American CD, I'd probably be tempted to buy it, but I don't consider it worth the $40+ I normally pay for import CDs. peace

No, but I can give you a few links to uploaded videos from it: Feel Universe http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3090292 Light the Light (duet version) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3085661 Totsugeki Love Heart (duet version) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3081811 Angel Voice (duet version) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3081425 Planet Dance (duet version) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3077924 The site these are on is Japanese. You may have to register to view them, but the registration process is pretty simple. To see it all, you will of course have to buy the DVD. I ordered it through the Kinokuniya up in Seattle, but a friend in Puerto Rico ordered his copy through cdjapan - http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=GNBA-7510 btw, I just found a Fukujin recording! It's on the same site as the above links. Fukujin, for those that don't already know, is Yoshiki Fukuyama and Nobutoshi Canna, the two men who voice Basara. They got together this last year and did a few concerts. http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/nm2958952 Enjoy! peace

I first saw Robotech during it's first run on TV back when I was in college in the early '80s. I liked it, but it didn't impress me like Star Blazers had. Later in the early '90s, I saw some Macross, which did impress me, but it wasn't really until about '95 when a friend of mine handed me a couple fansub tapes of Macross 7 that I really became a fan. I was hooked from the first couple episodes! Now, over a decade and several hundred dollars later (import CDs are not cheap!), it's still one of my favorite anime. peace

When Yoshiki Fukuyama, Basara's singing voice and guitar, came out with his first solo album a few years back, one of the reviewers of the album started hisreview with something that translated as "if John Lennon were Japanese..." Comparing Basara to John Lennon is not that far off. ^^b peace

Amen to that! I say as I sit here watching the "Electric Fire 2007" DVD (GNBA-7510) for the third time since I got it yesterday... What I like about Macross 7: 1. The music. I like the Fire Bomber music (especially Fukuyama-san's vocals and guitar work). I like the way they included songs from the other Macross series. I like the fact that music was a constant element of the show. 2. The message. I like the fact that Basara was quite capable of handling himself in hand-to-hand or valkyrie fighting, yet he chose not too. He chose instead to try to spread peace with his music. Ditto for Viffidas and Ray. 3. Elma from the Dynamite OVAs. She reminds me so much of myself as a child. 4. Max and Milia's family issues, including Mylene 5. Flower girl. 6. The fact that Basara was born on my birthday Just had to include that (heehee) - but seriously, the fact that Basara's birthday is officially on August 15th, End of War Day in Japan, underscores the purpose of Basara's character. peace

Macross 7 is one of my all-time favorite series, but even with my favorite shows I find pet peeves. My pet peeve with Macross 7 is that even though there are literally dozens of excellent Fire Bomber songs used in the series, they feel the need to focus on "Planet Dance" so much. My pet peeve with the origional Macross - actually, it's with Robotech (i've only seen a little actual Macross) - is that they keep intoducing Minmay's "new song" and it's always the same flippin' song! Did they only make a couple songs for the dub version? I also think it would be fun to see a cameo or two by Basara and Fire Bomber in the new series. It's not beyond the realm of possibility. There's been a lot of "Fire Bomber" activity this last year in honor of Macross's 25th anniversary. Even outside of that, Yoshiki Fukuyama and Nobutoshi Canna (Nekki Basara's singing voice/guitar and actor respectively) have been singing and creating "internet radio" broadcasts together as "Fukujin". Their web site is at: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/fukujin2007/ Such a cameo would be cool to see... peace

It's been remastered and released into two box sets that came out last September (BCBA-3049) and October (BCBA-3050). Unfortunately, I haven't had the $300+ needed to buy either of the boxes. T-T But, I think you will enjoy it. I have a friend who bought them and he says they did an excellent job with it. ^-^b peace

Added. ^-^ I'm in Tacoma, WA, USA peace

Actually, Get Free and the other song, Atarashii Kaze, were sung by Humming Bird. Fukuyama-san was a member of Humming Bird from 1988 until the group split in 2000. I ordered the set and am looking forword to getting it, mainly because of Atarashii Kaze. I really like the song, but it's one of the few Humming Bird songs I don't have on CD yet. I have an mp3 of it, but that's just not quite the same, eh. I discovered Humming Bird just about the time they broke up and missed getting the singles at first release. This rerelease set makes me quite happy. peace

The interesting thing is that with all the music cycling going on - especially the excessive use of "Planet Dance" - there still managed to be a good two dozen Fire Bomber songs used in the 49 episodes, plus another dozen or so more songs used in the four M7 Dynamite episodes. The fact that even with that many songs they were still able to manage repeating a few to excess AND borrowing songs from the other Macross series demonstrates just how much music there was in the series. peace