Seto Kaiba

Yeah, Yoshiyuki Tomino was in a dark, dark place when he made Space Runaway Ideon. If I'd known your intention was to binge the series, I'd have warned you against it. Ideon is best taken in small doses because of how unstintingly bleak it is... and the movie version is worse.

... this might be the first non-main-movie Star Wars thing to get me to open my wallet. Yeah, Andor was/is supposed to be a two-season limited series. The first season is the story of how Cassian ended up joining the Rebellion and the second season is supposedly going to cover his life as a rebel agent and end with the start of the mission he was on at the start of Rogue One: a Star Wars Story. They were supposedly almost done shooting Andor season two when the strike hit, and as a direct-to-streaming series it's not beholden to the broadcast schedule so work could just stop instead of being beholden to scab writers like a traditional TV series, so the impact of the strike on the production shouldn't be nearly as bad as past strikes impacts on broadcast shows.

An unwise assumption to make, given his fairly well-documented habit of stretching the truth and outright lying to exaggerate his credentials and the show's as well. He indulged in a fair amount of "I meant to do that, honest!" and a few verifiable whoppers in the early 2000s interview that remark is from. Even HG has been more candid and said that there's no real intent behind most of the weird choices in the show. Nah. They can treat it like every other anime made while the manga's unfinished and make up their own ending. After all, that's never ended poorly for any series, right? 🤣

Yeah... Space Runaway Ideon was Tomino's first new project after finishing the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, and it's ever bit the relentlessly grim war-is-hell misery porn you'd expect from "Kill 'em all" Tomino. If anything, it's easily some of the darkest - if not THE darkest - work Tomino has ever been responsible for. So much so that it's credited by Hideaki Anno as a primary inspiration for Neon Genesis Evangelion's own hopeless story. It will forcibly remind you why Tomino's nickname is "Kill 'em all". This season's offerings are pretty meh still. We're well past the halfway point and out of the 20 or so titles I'm currently following the only ones that I can say I'm actually enjoying are Mashle, Dungeon Meals, and to a lesser extent The Witch and the Beast. Mashle is losing some steam as it pivots to a greater scope conflict between Easton Magic Academy and the setting's Voldemort-equivalent "Innocent Zero". It's still lots of fun and very much a tongue-in-cheek Harry Potter parody, but it feels like it's running out of things to do with the premise a bit. The Witch and the Beast is definitely bogging down in Witch Hunter Robin-type shenanigans, with the current mini-arc being an Idiot Plot that only works because everyone involved is unwilling to do any critical thinking at all. (Lampshading the fact that everyone except the main cast is a moron doesn't make it less of an Idiot Plot though.) It's especially bad as the villain of the piece is so Obviously Evil that he might as well be wearing a sandwich board that says "SERIOUSLY EVIL DUDE HERE" and singing a little song about how much he enjoys framing people for murder and kicking puppies. It makes the surprise from everyone else in response to his sudden yet inevitable betrayal feel a bit... silly? Stupid? Totally unbelievable? It's like having someone named Back Stabbington start measuring your back for the explicitly stated purpose of finding the best place to stick a knife and then acting surprised when he shanks you. If you telegraph the plot twist that hard, it stops being a plot twist. Banished from the Hero's Party S2 is flat and lifeless. Villainess Level 99 is pretty much form letter overpowered isekai protagonist comedy nonsense that isn't really funny. Hokkaido Gals are Super Adorable is kind of tedious generic romcom stuff, as is The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil. 'Tis Time for Torture, Princess is almost unbearably tedious with its one and only joke. Villain-san's Day Off is cute but toothless for similar reasons. The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids feels like even the studio has given up as the animation quality continues to plummet and its story is clearly flailing for something interesting to do. Blue Exorcist is just a big mess because of the part of the source material they're adapting. The Unwanted Undead Adventurer is just kind of messing about with the same premise half a dozen other titles already did better (e.g. Overlord, Skeleton Knight, etc.). Metallic Rouge is halfheartedly trying to be Blade Runner and Android Kikaider at the same time. The Wrong Way to use Healing Magic is also pretty lifeless and uninspired. Bang Brave Bang Bravern is still just painful to look at because it won't pick a lane and wants to be both serious and a parody, though it's leaning more and more towards parody. A Sign of Affection, which was previously one of my standouts for the season, lost a lot of its appeal because they didn't even make it half the season before the two main characters officially became a couple and sucked half the tension and interest out of the story. It's still cute and interesting but it feels less invested in its own premise now. I really hope we're headed towards the end of the tyranny of isekai stories. Much like superhero stories in western media, isekai stories have really worn out their welcome and what little novelty their premise had. We got a couple really good stories out of it, and a whole lot of mediocre trash, but it's time to let it go and move on to the next thing.

That it does... though as seen in Macross Frontier, it doesn't necessarily have to separate in order to lay down the law with its Macross Cannon. I've often wondered why they didn't put the government facilities in the docking umbilical. Seems like a waste of space to keep the civilian command center in the military one so far separated structurally.

Well, it is a Yoshiyuki Tomino series, so at least you know what you're getting yourself into.

Considering the amount of space that the SDFN had to work with, it's not that weird... the folks operating the pilot fleets scouting ahead of immigrant ships need r&r too. Keeping the populations as small as possible keeps the risk down, and those ships were used after humanity learned what the prevailing situation in space was and decided to focus on avoidance rather than confrontation. If you don't count the Battle-class attached to the latter... that was very much an offensive option. Yeah they have some weird perspectives on things.

TBH, there are still some problems with that explanation too... mainly involving remarks about Earth's domestically-produced fold technology not being very good until some time after the First Space War. Zentradi ships were probably faster and more reliable, and we know they were definitely more available in the immediate aftermath of the war. Considering the infrastructure of those middle-generation fleets, it's unlikely that there were any giant Zentradi outside of the crews of those few remodeled Zentradi ships. Well, it IS a doujinshi... the author's own personal interest. The Macross-class was a less than optimal environment for maintaining a civilian settlement as originally designed, and the Megaroad-class was pretty much all envirionment ship with virtually no offensive or defensive ability... that's why later generations opted to keep those two roles separate as much as possible with the 3rd Generation City-class and the later Mainland-class and Island Cluster-class. Generally speaking, the last thing you want is someone shooting at the ship carrying tens or hundreds of thousands of civilians... so whether it's armed or not is less important than its ability to stay out of trouble in the first place. To clarify, the Zentradi-styled Northampton-class is the only fleet-specific variant featured... that doesn't mean it was the only Earth-designed escort ship in the fleet. Just the only one that merited separate coverage. Given that the fleet uses large numbers of VFs, they almost certainly have Uraga-class and Guantanamo-class carriers too.

TBH, I don't recall anything about Zentradi ships being used for short distance emigrant fleets because of range limitations. That wouldn't really track, since the Zentradi have been roaming far and wide across the entire galaxy for millennia. My understanding was that Zentradi ships were used for those operations because that's what was on hand and operational at the time those missions started. Though they definitely weren't all Zentradi crews though, given that Eden has a pretty substantial human population and it was that program's first success. Honestly? Any of 'em. It's easy to forget because we don't often see them next to familiar objects of easily conceptualized size, but even the smallest Zentraid ships are freaking gigantic by the standards of Humans. The Zentradi fleet picket - the tiniest regular warship they have - is significantly larger than a Nimitz-class supercarrier (500m vs. 333m). The regular combatant classes are all even larger than the Macross-class, humanity's largest warship by a sizable margin at the time, and there's a LOT of empty space to play with there.

Didn't they kind of give us that in Absolute Live!!!!!!? Instead of the big reveal of some grand decades-long adventure, the movie revealed they've been up to absolutely bloody nothing after breaking down on the side of the space road decades ago.

They could, but for a variety of reasons (e.g. respect for Hikaru's VA having passed) they almost certainly won't.

Pretty much. It's a borderline coin flip which version will end up getting used when any given scene calls for showing the original SDF-1 Macross. The same as many other designs from the first series and movie.

So... that's one of those areas where the lines blur a bit because of Macross's broad strokes approach to in-universe history. The explanation that's been on the books since ~1994 is similar to the ones offered for the VF-1 Valkyrie, Exsedol, etc. in that both versions are "true" and reflect its appearance at different points in in-universe time. Namely, that the TV version is what the ship looked like prior to Quamzin's suicide attack in January 2012 and that the Movie version is what it looked like after being repaired with postwar technology from January to August 2012. Now, that's what the books say... But, of course, actual in-story depictions are not as consistent. We essentially have three different versions of the Macross in play at any given time. The TV version, the Movie version, and the Novel/Manga version that is a Movie version with the Daedalus and Prometheus instead of ARMDs. It's not uncommon for shows to use the DYRL? versions of events when glossing over the First Space War, though we also see weird mix-and-match moments like Macross Delta showing a DYRL?-styled Macross lifting off without any attached ships like the TV version did alongside a character having a TV version Macross model on his desk. If you wanted to get Watsonian about it, it could be argued that people like Berger Stone are using footage from in-universe historical dramas without worrying about total historical accuracy. The Doylist view would be that the creators just think the movie version looks better.

Hrm... I'm a bit concerned by the idea of issues with the AI cleanup, but can't say I'm surprised by the prospect. I'll have to give it the once over tomorrow. See how it looks on a 4K set at a reasonable viewing distance.

Did you order from CD Japan by any chance? I'm curious because I also got hit with a fraud alert when payment for the order processed the other day.

Just got mine.

As starting points go, there are few finer... welcome aboard.

Apart from @sketchley's excellent explanation, it might be more helpful to think not merely in terms of what is covered in Macross Chronicle but of what specific stories end up referenced by other stories within the official Macross setting. For example, in creator interviews for Macross Frontier Shoji Kawamori mentions that the events of Macross VF-X2 played a pretty significant role in shaping the political landscape and worldview of the Macross Frontier story. Those events are also referenced much more directly in the Macross Frontier light novel Macross the Ride and in Macross Delta, where characters in both stories directly participated in those events and that conflict in turn led to other conflicts more directly involved in the present day of their stories.

Just one... which is that none of that has anything to do with the OP's questions. They aren't Watsonian/Doylist matters of perspective. They're real world production questions with objective answers... "After, c.1994" and "Yes" respectively. WRT the rest of your post, I think you're making it much more complicated than it needs to be. According to Kawamori, Macross runs on broad strokes continuity. He's used a couple different analogies to explain this simple point over the years, like that each Macross series is a dramatization of historical events, but they all mean the same thing. He's not going to get bogged down in the details. If he's going to reference the events of past stories, he'll stick with the key bullet points only so that he's not locked into only one interpretation of past events while he's developing new stories. Some works join up more of the dots than others but none of them try to lock into a single rigid interpretation of in-universe history. The existence of in-universe dramatizations of past events are basically fun little in-jokes playing with the franchise's multiple choice past and vehicles for a bit of fanservice that can emphasize connections to past titles. They've always been presented as historical dramas, including the ones that are only mentioned but not seen. They've never suggested Macross II is an in-universe film like DYRL? is, though it's been a fan theory for a while based on the reuse of Macross II's music in Macross 7, and AFAIK they've never suggested the games are in-universe games.

Nope. It's a problem with the source material. The Rising of the Shield Hero web novel and light novel sold itself as the underdog story of a unwilling isekai hero who lost the superpower lottery and ended up hated by the people he was destined to save due to false accusations of criminal conduct. The ending of the first major story arc is undeniably satisfying but also incredibly counterproductive because it completely undermines the story's entire premise. Naofumi reveals that he is far and away the most powerful of the Four Heroes and that the Shield is actually at least as OP as the other weapons once you know how to use it, and the Queen conveniently returns and not only clears his name for him but removes everyone opposing him from power. It's a satisfying ending that unfortunately also completely changes the shape of the story going forward. The Rising of the Shield Hero was a breakout hit because it followed the same approach the other breakout hit isekai titles did: it subverted the genre's tropes and expectations. It stops being a subversion after that arc ends, and it feels like the writer had a serious "oh no" moment when they realized everything that made the story popular was now gone. It feels like the only reason the other three of the Four Heroes continue resenting and avoiding Naofumi is that someone has to in order to create drama and avoid Naofumi being a hero with universally good publicity. Nah, season two was pretty faithful to the source material like season one was. The issue is that the series basically jumps the shark at the end of the story arc season one finishes on. It does a lot of pointless messing about before returning to the same villain from the start and doing it all over again... twice.

That is a topic I'm working on. I haven't published anything for yet, but it is a topic I've been researching for a while now. As @sketchley said, that new view of the film was something that was introduced at the time that Macross Plus and Macross 7 were coming out. Macross 2036 and Macross: Eternal Love Song were made as promotional tie-ins with the OVA Macross II: Lovers Again and they were the first Macross video games to be officially included in a Macross series official chronology in 1992. Presumably they share in their parent project's move to "parallel world" status c.1994. Macross Digital Mission VF-X was assumed to be a part of the official setting for a long time but I don't recall seeing any official confirmation of it until Macross Chronicle gave the game's characters and mecha some coverage. Based on available information, it seems like the only games that are part of the ongoing official setting are M3, the two VF-X games, and 30.

Started Dungeon Meal today... This sh*t's legitimately wild. One part comedy-themed dungeon crawl, one part borderline infotainment cooking show as a party of extremely strange people attempt to live off the land while on a rescue mission deep inside a magical dungeon complex. I was curious just from the premise alone when I read about it but the presentation here is SO GOOD. It is seamlessly switching from the most off-the-wall nonsense to playing its premise straight to playing its premise laser straight for comedy and it works so well. I was hooked in just five minutes and I can tell this is gonna be the one I remember from this season. It's almost surreal in a way. I'm only on the second episode right now, and in the space of barely a minute they've transitioned effortlessly from fighting a basilisk to worrying about poison from basilisk wounds to... rotisserie roasting the deceased basilisk like a giant chicken. (And yes, the basilisk really does taste like chicken according to the cast...)

Y'know... I was going to say that that's way too morbid and that Star Trek's showrunners would never do something like that. Then I remembered that Star Trek: Lower Decks already did it in its season four opener. They were taking jabs at the premise of the controversial Voyager episode "Tuvix" and by the end of the plot had accidentally turned a good chunk of the main cast into a transporter-fused blob of indistinct flesh. Still, it's a safe bet Burnham won't be allowed to go out quietly. They've acted on zero of their four chances to replace Burnham with a more likeable protagonist thus far and her main character syndrome is so pronounced that even in-series characters are commenting on her out-of-control savior complex as of season four. They keep escalating in each successive season, so if she does tap out she'll do so saving the entire galaxy or universe or whatever and if she doesn't they'll make her out to be Starfleet's greatest-ever hero just to spite the vast majority of fans who find the show unwatchable.

To be honest, looking at the insurmountably massive disparity in quality and entertainment value between Star Trek: Discovery and its spinoff Star Trek: Strange New Worlds all I can really muster in response to this trailer is "Why did they even bother?". They could have just quietly struck the sets at the end of season four, reallocated the budget to Strange New Worlds, and almost nobody would've noticed or cared. The way Star Trek: Discovery is written, it doesn't really NEED a series finale. Each season is a self-contained serialized story with only minimal connection to the others beyond a shared cast. Without the episodic format of other Star Trek shows or an overarching plot thread or two to tie off at the end they could've stopped at the end of any given season's story and it wouldn't have made any difference to the narrative. They don't have the store of goodwill to lean into an unsatisfying fanservice-heavy finale like Star Trek: Picard had, so they're either going to try to end with Burnham being proclaimed the greatest hero of all time (despite being probably the worst Starfleet officer to ever wear the uniform) or it'll just kind of peter out with a noncommittal "These are the voyages" style ending where "the adventures continue, we just can't be arsed to show you".

Watched a few more episodes of Keijo!!!!!!!! while laid up in bed with the flu... and I am not for one second buying the argument that this is meant to be just a sports anime/manga parody and not an excuse plot wrapped around the original manga author's weirdly specific fetishes. There's just too much here that's played up in a blatantly sexual way.