Sorata

That is the name of a Macross II Valkyrie the VF-2JA

Thanks boinger.

Thanks. If you look at the first pic youll see a blue and white VF-25 and cannon fodder colored VF-25s.

I thought you were talking about Rex the leader of the biker gang in Macross 7. (She looks better on a Valkyrie showing off her tattoo than a Metal Gear ) Might I suggest VF-25 Urd. (hides.....) Please no one say VF-25 Skuld that would be creepy.

Thanks Graham, hope your feeling better.

Its bad to use wikipedia for info as anyone can change it (Sony employees were actualy caught and traced by wikipedia and news groups altering info on Microsoft related items for example) but this is just a quick and simple way to let you know what Opanium are. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophanim

I think the primary reason for having a gun pod on Valkyries is for fan aesthetics lets face it the sound of and look of a gun pod is just considered cooler than a laser in anime. Heck rumor was the YF-22 beat the YF-23 in the realworld due to aesthetics and old world thinkers. And it gives the Valkyrie a more familiar feel to it when it uses something based on technology from our world that is common (projectile technology) ( we have laser technology but nothing on par with the Macross World) and makes the series feel more real to you like Top Gun than say Star Wars. But if we are looking for a realistic reason it boils down to production cost. A gun pod is simply cheaper to produce and gets the job done from a practical point. Do you really need a 1000 dollar Five-seveN pistol at a 20 yard gunfight when a cheaper 500 dollar Springfield XD will do the roughly the same job (yep I have both). Add the fact you can use a gun pod in both atmosphere and space (though to a lesser ability than a laser) and it has the added bonus of being able to lead targets in atmospheric combat which is probably a concern to UN Spacy as everything really boils down to how they can protect their home world if it ever intruded on again. Plus the Valkyrie was built to be a jack of all trades anyway, it does the job of a fighter, soldier and helicopter. That is further testified to by the destroids being obsolete thanks to the multi role ability and upgradeability of a Valkyrie. But for any multi-role military hardware to be truly effective for military use it must be not only a jack of all trade but have an acceptable cost for the military it serves to shoulder. Say you have a F/A-18E that can do the job of a fighter, recon, tanker, and bomber for less than the cost of building an equivalent number of specialized aircraft which as a nation would you rather have 100 recon planes, 100 bombers, 100 tankers and 100 fighters or 400 multi-role planes that you can switch out to do which ever task you need more of at the time for the same if not cheaper cost. The cost and multi-role ability of a gun pod over a beam weapon adds to that that argument and the bottom line. UN Spacy must be concerned with its bottom line. Funds and resources are finite and there are a lot of planets, patrol fleets, controlled and protected space territory and colony fleets that need Valkyries and that takes a lot of money, time (its more than likely faster to build gun pods too and you already have a ton of ammo stockpiled for them that needs to be used up too) and resources plus the gun pod system is probably easier to maintain and my or n=may not have less parts. Oh did I mention the contacts and kickbacks that are probably involved with the companies and government that may date back to the days of the VF-0 (not very unusual stuff it pretty much common place). I concede though the beam/laser weapons are better in technical terms but realistically they aren’t better for a large still expanding and developing Government like UN Spacy until the laser gets cheaper. But to be honest like it has been said before why not get the best of both worlds and mount gun pods and beam/ laser weapons if the cost and operability provides without sacrificing performance. EDIT: All that being said I sometimes enjoy throwing my 2 cents in while others throw in their 98 cent to keep a good argument and discussion going that leads to the parties involved all gaining knowledge and understanding from the affair.

VF-25 Bandit VF-25 Star Razor VF-25 Vedas VF-25 Deliverance VF-25 Stratus VF-25 Raider VF-25 Indomitable VF-25 Solar Wind VF-25 Malevolent VF-25 Mystic VF-25 Artemis VF-25 Viridiance VF-25 Trojan VF-25 Creed VF-25 Viper VF-25 Cobra VF-25 Nexus VF-25 Twilight VF-25 Nourn VF-25 Griffin VF-25 Dais VF-25 Eclipse VF-25 Flare VF-25 Squall I like it too. I would also try the full spelling of it Seraphim or one of the other Christian angelic hierarchy like Cherubim, Ophanim, or Dominion to keep with the theme.

Yep your right I was half asleep. But in some cultures in mythology a pixie and fairy are similar though in most they differ in attitude as a pixie is often the nicer of the two but a prankster where as the fairy was often violent and mischievios in a harmful manner.

If I remember correctly it also isnt in the center of the frame in most shots. I'll look when i get a chance and put the times it appears below. If you dont have the dvd if i can i will snap a pic of it off my TV the image might be jagged but that isnt due to my photo skills it is due to the quality of the film and the fact i will snap it of a 52" DLP with a digital camera and have to put it on photobucket. 1:33:02 in Battroid form shooting from the ships surface. I will look for the other two later when i have more time as they are hard to spot and i just pulled a 12hr shift i have to go rest for now.

It was the name of the all female squadron in Macross II. Spoiler about the Manga:

Seems to me the Metal Sirens Special ability was akin to a electrical discharge. As you see it sweep by enemy mecha they are unaffected by it as I would expect as most craft are shielded to prevent such things happening to them in lightning storm and the upper atmosphere. However the inside of the Marduk ship was clearly un shielded as it was affected and the sound fx used in that scene reminds me of when I have heard electronic equipment over load and burn out violently (thats what i get for toying with a circuit board). On a note I cant stand Palladiums liberal use of info that they themselves create however at 1:33:02 on the DVD of Macross II you see a Variable Fighter in battroid mode on the deck of a ship firing at the enemy it appears after the green striped VF-2SS Variant. The design is clearly not a VF-2SS so until my artbook for Macross II and the 10 volumes of the Viz Comic arrives that I ordered the only place I had to look at line art for Macross II was the RPG books and it is definately the VF-XX Zentran Fighter (atleast that is what the RPG calls it which may be wrong) this is the only scene I remember it in and i knew it existed in the RPG but never realized it was in the film. If Mr March had never started this topic I wouldnt have rekindled my intrest in Macross II and ordered all the comics and artbook just for art of the VF-2SS (or Silvie art )

100% sure the news casters covering the aftermath was a UN Spacy run broadcast and I paused it to be sure.

Just noticed something while rewatching Macross II. At 46:16 at the culture park when they are showing the attack victims being airlifted to medical help the reporters Mic has NUNS on it. NUNS is also a tag on the right arm of the service uniforms in the some scenes of the OVA such as on Commander Exagrahms (spelling) arm but at other times the wording SPACY replaces it as can bee seen on Silvies arm at times. I am sure that was pure coincidence though.

As usual thanks for the efforts Graham.

Mr March here are some badly done pics of the VF-17 that I did back when you were doing the VF-11 for VFX-2. Ill see if I can find some better ones.

Actually I dont doubt it one bit. Individuals in PMCs are held to a stricter standard as they arent protected by the Geneva convention and arent afforded the rights a regular soldier would hve. They are also much easier to target for legal actions against them and have about the same protection that an illegal combatant such as a terrorist for example has. By the way I am ex military myself and was actively looking into joining a PMC when I opted out of doing it. But were getting off topic. Too bad the VF-25 on display isnt completed.

Please tell me you meant firm....not farm.

Saying its a US euphemism isnt exactly right. The majority of PMCs are not American operated or owned, also PMCs arent just used as "Mercs" the majority of PMC work world wide is just to train forces of governments and to train police forces in other countires. Yes they do fight in some countries predominately Africa but they also serve as the coast guard, police trainers, operate ROTC programs, serve as body guards of government leaders, do cash transport, intelligence services, logistical support, cyber security, weapons destruction, surveillance and even train correctional officers in foreign countries on behalf of friendly governments who dont want to occupy their own forces to in what most governments view as menial task. They also have stricter restrictions on conduct and being able to return fire if attack than military forces in the same situations but the majority of their work is training not fighting. PMCs have existed of centuries but the SMS in Macross Frontier is more of an altered version of real world PMCs and fits more in line with how people off handily percieve them.

Just reviewed the scenes in question and your right they only appear green in one shot in battroid form. The colors you did are spot on and your also right that the stripe appears and diappears throughout the show. At one point the Valkyrie piloted by Silvie in the crappy US Manga DVD release appears Maroon and not red but I am sure that was an error too like the constant on and off of the leg striping if you also notice the kite on Silvie's Valkyrie is clearly drawn on the wing but it is not colored and blends in with the wing paint color at 55:30 on the US DVD. Seems the crew painting the cells got lazy like with the on and off stipes. I think the new set you did is right on the money. Here is some links to some nice Macross II VF-2SS model pics http://members.shaw.ca/decepticon/nexus.htm http://page.freett.com/stzip/vf_2b.htm

Just wanted to chime in that we thank you for your continued effort Mr March. I'll go pull out my DVDs of Macross II and look at them real quick. I have the US and Japanese release of it.

Yep it is the lack of sleep I had check the thresd but completely skipped the page the pics were on. I am going to bed now

Ok I must be blind due to lack of sleep after work (3 days in a row of 12 hour shifts as the supervisor at a prison) but what thread is that from as I cant find where you got this from.

Woops totally missed that and the correct title is spelled "Friends - Jikuu o koete" it means "Friends -Beyond Time and Space." By the way which version of the song do you prefer the one that both Iijima Mari & Sakurai Tomo sing or the one with just Iijima or just Sakurai? Wait never mind thats Friends - Choujikou wo Hakuete ( I think it means Friends - Surpassing Time and Space) or are they the same song cause I have seen it on different CDs listed as both and yet the titles differ but the song is the same I think. The CDs I am talking of are Friends Lynn Minmay and Mylene Jenius Duet 15th Anniversary which is on the new 25th anniversary set too and Friends - Choujikou wo Hakuete [Lynn Minmay Version] and Friends - Choujikou wo Hakuete [Mylene Jenius Version] cds. Plus the one you linked too above. I have seen it listed both ways.

Okay I have a couple translations on it on my storage but I dont know which is the most accurate and keep in mind they are several years old (probably dating to when the series first aired) I know there is the english language version of the song by "English Fire" but I dont know if that is a direct translation either. EDIT REMOVED DUE TOO BEING STUPID AND TO SAVE SPACE.