Seto Kaiba

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.

If there's a silver lining to having caught the flu, I guess it means that I get to marathon my way through a whole bunch of stuff in my backlog. Metallic Rouge's latest episode finally decides to try its hand at explaining what the hell is actually going on in the story. It's a shame that they waited until the series was half over before bothering with any proper exposition, but we get some decent explanations about what's been going on and why.

Yeah this looks like it's going to go in the same category as the Doom movie with The Rock. Might be in so bad it's good territory, but definitely not good good.

I got my set direct from Animeigo and the cases for each disc in my set are black. I'd assume, based on that, that the color-matching cases are the leftover stock that was the repackaged leftover stock.

Yeah, I have no doubt that Joytoy's Horus Heresy line will expand further and will probably cover all eighteen of the Heresy-era space marine Legions when it's done. Joytoy definitely picked a good place to start and timed the release well. The last book of the Siege of Terra series and the overarching Horus Heresy series as a whole dropped a few weeks ago, and the XVI Legion Sons of Horus and VII Legion Imperial Fists are basically the poster-children for the entire Siege as the overall leaders of the traitor legions and loyalists respectively. I know I'll 100% end up buying at least a few. Ever since the main line launched, I've wanted a non-Primaris Raven Guard with the classic "beakie" helmet. With the Heresy on the table, I can get that... and a few other possibilities from my favorite bits of the novels present themselves too. Especially since this line includes canon characters. The Imperial Fists line has a pre-Emperor's Champion First Captain Sigismund.

Yeah, the Mark VI "Beakie" helmets are a classic from the earliest days of Warhammer 40,000. As a stickler for detail... it might be a deal-breaker for me tho. All the really iconic Sons of Horus art uses Mark IV and Mark V, and Mark VI was almost exclusively a loyalist thing since it was introduced by the loyalists after the Isstvan V drop site massacre and field-tested by the Raven Guard. Never did like the Sons of Horus's sea green paintjob either. The Luna Wolves white-on-black is so classic that even the Orks consider it synonymous with strength 10,000 years after the Luna Wolves wrecked their sh*t at Ullanor.

So I decided to watch another episode of Keijo!!!!!!!! over lunch. Honestly, the main thing standing between Keijo!!!!!!!! and being the single weirdest sports anime I have ever seen is that it leans so hard into its obsession with breasts and butts at every opportunity that the alleged sport the series is titled for feels very much like an excuse plot more than it does a parody. Keijo!!!!!!!! is a sports anime (parody) in the same way that Dead or Alive Xtreme is a beach volleyball game. In a way, it's kind of a great example of what I thought Iwakakeru was going to be a few seasons back. The promo art made it look like Armpit Fetish: the Anime, but it was a laser-straight sports anime about rock climbing that bordered on infotainment at points. Keijo!!!!!!!! IS Ass Fetish: the Anime. If it took itself seriously, I'd rate it even weirder than that absolute drug trip of a sports anime Birdie Wing... but this is the "when your parents walk in" half of the "What anime looks like" meme incarnate.

Some years ago, the MacrossWorld admins decided to clean up the community's image a bit and instituted harsher rules regarding the maintenance of civil conduct. So a number of long-time members who'd often gotten involved in heated discussions over one thing or another in years past - something I was no stranger to myself - were on thin ice going forward. You could say the ice gave out unexpectedly. It's a shame, really. We didn't get along back in the day, but once we met in person at SDCon and a mutual friend insisted we bury the proverbial hatchet I found him to be quite a pleasant fellow and of course he's very knowledgeable about Macross and vintage mecha anime. As far as I know, the technology is never mentioned again... so either it didn't work as well as expected, or Shinsei and General Galaxy found something more effective by the time of the VF-19 and VF-22. No excusing is necessary! This thread is for questions and wonderings and musings and so on. 😁 So... the reason that a few of the rebel Zentradi weapons appear on this chart and the simpler one in Macross Chronicle is that those specific models are derived from the New UN Government's Variable Fighter technology and are Variable Fighters themselves. The Variable Glaug and Feios Valkyrie are based on a stolen VF-4 and VF-11 respectively. Others like the Neo Glaug, Neo Glaug bis, and Queadluun-Alma are based on those designs. With respect to the technology used by the Zentradi forces themselves, there are a few remarks here and there that indicate that specific models of battle pod and battle suit were the latest models in their respective design series when the Protoculture's civilization collapsed. No guidance is given about what may have come before those designs. Whether the New UN Government has some classification system for reproductions of Zentradi mecha we do not know. There is a clear statement that there have been several sequential models of Queadluun-Rhea with the latest being the Rhea/56, but because Zentradi technology has been basically stable for 500,000+ years it's unknown if Humanity's finessing would be grouped into generations since the basic design isn't changing. (It's especially difficult to argue it based on the Queadluun-Rhea, since the Queadluun-series battle suits were known for their excessively high mobility and most of what we know General Galaxy did in terms of improvements was survivability focused or intended to support VF-like operations rather than improvements to their already impressive maneuverability and acceleration.)

Nah, more an early and alternative take on solving the g-force problem that was already starting to rear its head with the likes of the Gen 3.5 VF-16 and VF-17D/S/T. The VF-19 went with a movable seat that could change its position within the cockpit in order to mitigate some lateral g-forces and so on. The VF-22 went with the Quimeliquola special Inertia Vector Control System that has the side effect of shielding the cockpit from high g-forces. EX-Gear is more like the love child of a powered suit and the movable seat from the VF-19. Well... it's not licensed, there aren't that many fan translators working on Macross stuff, and those of us who are working on it are doing it pro bono in our free time. Gotta balance that stuff with our day jobs and families and whatnot, y'know? My output went to hell in the last few years because I've been working 70 and 80 hour weeks at my day job, and am only starting to get back to something like work-life balance. (So much so that I moved more than a year ago and still haven't finished unpacking.) Of course, we all also have our particular mediums and areas of interest too. The one person I know who's paid particular attention to the light novels is Gubaba, who unfortunately is no longer able to participate in this community. He's mostly done older stuff, IIRC, like DYRL? and Macross II's novelizations and short stories from the time of the original series.

The booster rockets built into the Super Pack do. The conformal fuel tanks that are used to supplement the internal tanks feeding the VF-1's thermonuclear reaction engines and its verniers are carrying hydrogen slush. The NP-BP-01 booster packs contain a hybrid rocket motor that uses a solid fuel and a liquid oxidizer... in this case, liquid oxygen and the aforementioned overtechnology-derived polymer solid fuel that's said to have the consistency of putty or clay.

Unfortunately, there is currently no art for either of them. The YF-26 is only mentioned in passing in Variable Fighter Master File: VF-25 Messiah as the third of three competing prototype 5th Generation main VFs that was produced under the "Project Triangler" codevelopment project between the Macross Frontier, Macross Olympia, and Macross Galaxy fleets. Each fleet used the YF-24 Evolution as a starting point and developed their own prototype based on a mixture of the fleet's proprietary technology and shared technology. The idea was that the winning design would become the Next Main Fighter of all three fleets. Macross Frontier produced the YF-25, Macross Olympia produced the YF-26, and Macross Galaxy produced the YF-27. Macross Olympia's YF-26 dropped out of the competition relatively early, and the Master File does not include any pictures of it. (The winning design was ultimately Macross Frontier's YF-25, though since Macross Galaxy didn't participate in good faith it was only Macross Olympia that joined Macross Frontier as the earliest adopters of the VF-25.) Whether there is a YF-28 at all is unclear. Much like the YF-26, the YF-28 is mentioned only in passing and in one book. In this case, the sixth chapter of Macross the Ride. In the scene in question, representatives of Macross Galaxy are mulling over the demonstrated performance of the YF-25 Prophecy and comparing it to the data leaked to them by LAI that they were using to complete the VF-27 and hypothesize (correctly) that there must be another model of fighter under active development in the Frontier fleet besides the YF-25.

The VF-15 is one of those designs that's only mentioned in passing and with almost no detail. It's only noted trait is that it was the first VF to incorporate a biological anti-g system. Its pilot seat can use lasers, infrared, and electromagnetic pulses to manipulate the pilot's metabolism to compensate for the stress of high g-forces. The Fz-109G Elgersoln Gustav is a reproduction of the Fz-109 Elgersoln used by the anti-government group Fasces in Macross the Ride. It's said to have performance comparable to the VF-171 and have been built at the same factory satellite that supplied the Varauta forces prior to Macross 7.

A Sign of Affection is great again this week... but still very much at "it tastes like diabetes" levels of sweetness. On a lark, I decided to watch something from Crunchyroll's recommendations... and after the first episode I am VERY curious what I watched that convinced Crunchyroll's system that Keijo!!!!!!!! was something I might like. All I can think of is that it must have been either Birdy Wing or Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, because Keijo!!!!!!!! evokes the same feeling that the show isn't so much a thing you watch as something you hallucinate in some kind of on-demand fever dream. (Either the author is putting his own personal fetishes on display for the world to see, or he's a BIIIIIG fan of that one Chorusline song "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three".)

Ah, yeah... all things considered, it was always an obviously foregone conclusion that Laplace's Box was going to be a massive nonevent in the Universal Century's history. The Federation's status quo was still very much in place for titles set after UC 0096 like Hathaway's Flash, Gundam F91, or Victory Gundam and there was zero chance they'd cut half the timeline loose for Unicorn. So a lot of the drama surrounding it falls flat because the audience went into it knowing there wouldn't be an Earth-shaking revelation at the end and that the world greeted the news with a collective "So what?". Yeah, I gather it drifted rather far from the original light novel it was based on... though since that was a part of Unicorn's tangled story I doubt it's any better than what we got.

Ended up fielding a bunch of different questions about the subject of VF generations last night on Discord and Facebook, so I figured I'd update this listing of mine with the latest information since I haven't touched it since December 2021. 😅 For the sake of convenience, the following rant will be color-coded! VFs that officially exist and have appeared in a Macross official setting work VFs that officially exist and have NOT appeared in a Macross official setting work. VFs that exist solely in non-official works like Variable Fighter Master File VFs whose placement is speculative. Last Edited: 11 Feb 2024 - Added VB-4, VB-5, revised Sv-154 Svard placement, added unmanned Neo Glaug, revised naming convention for Neo Glaug bis, revised Generation 5.5 and Generation 6 entirely. Generation 0 - "Prototype Generation" This generation is purely speculative and exists mainly to segregate designs that do not fully comply with the design qualifications for the First Generation Variable Fighter (e.g. thermonuclear reaction turbine engines) and were built principally for evaluation purposes rather than mass produced for actual combat service. YVF-X-0 VF-0 Phoenix (YVF-X-0B) VF-0-NF Sv-50 Sv-51 Sv-51Σ (Unmanned Sv-51) Generation 0.5 - "Upgraded Prototype Generation" This generation contains designs that exist only in Variable Fighter Master File. These VF designs are upgrades of the 0th Generation prototypes that were upgraded with technology from 1st Generation VFs or otherwise modernized to make them viable for long-duration operation. VF-0+ Phoenix Plus Sv-51Ω (Repurposed incomplete Sv-52 with conventional engines) Generation 1 - "First Generation" The defining traits of this generation are the adoption of Overtechnology, including thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, laser weaponry, energy converting armor, etc. in a production variable fighter. Sv-52 VF-1 Valkyrie VF-X-2 Generation 1.5 - "Upgraded First Generation" First Generation designs upgraded with Second Generation hardware drawn from the VF-4. Sv-51 Replica (Macross 30) VF-0 Phoenix Replica (Macross 30) VF-1 Valkyrie Plus (Blocks 6 and later, incl. VF-1X) VF-1P Freyja Valkyrie VF-1X++ Valkyrie Double Plus VF-1C Civilian Valkyrie VF-1EX Valkyrie EX VF-3000S Crusader VF-3000B Bomber Valkyrie Generation 2 - "Specialization for Emigrant Fleets" The hallmarks of the Second Generation designs include the adoption of Zentradi overtechnology, refinements for regime-optimized performance in either atmosphere or space, "lessons learned" from the First Space War, and optionally the adoption of particle beam weaponry. Most were intended for use by emigrant fleets, with low cost, simplified manufacturing, and parts-sharing. VF-X-3 VF-4 Lightning III VF-3000S Crusader VF-3000B Bomber Valkyrie VF-5000 Star Mirage VF-5 VF-6 VF-7 VF-9 Cutlass VF-X-10 V-BR-2 VA-X-3 VB-4 VB-5 Generation 2.5 - "Upgraded Second Generation" Second Generation VFs that were modernized to keep them in service alongside Third Generation VFs. VF-4G Lightning III VF-5000G Star Mirage VF-9E Cutlass Generation 3 - "Project Nova and Diversification" The Third Generation VFs are defined chiefly by the Project Nova design contest that decided the generation's main variable fighter as a true all-purpose successor to the VF-1 Valkyrie, but also by the continuing diversification of variable craft design into dedicated Attacker and Bomber roles. VF-11 Thunderbolt VF-14 Vampire VF-15 VF-17[A-C] Nightmare VA-14 VAB-2 VA-3 Invader VBP-1/VA-110 Variable Glaug VB-6 König Monster Generation 3.5 - "Upgraded Third Generation" Third Generation VFs that've been modernized or upgraded with technology drawn from Fourth Generation VFs to keep them viable or evaluate technologies meant for Fourth Generation implementation. VF-11MAXL Thunderbolt VF-11C Thunderbolt Interceptor VF-16 VF-17[D-T] Nightmare XVF-19 (a modified VF-11) Fz-109 Elgersoln Az-130 Panzersoln FBz-99 Zaubergern Generation 4 - "Project Super Nova: the Advanced Variable Fighter" The Fourth Generation's distinctive design traits are among the best known in Macross. The adoption of the next-gen ARIEL airframe control AI, thermonuclear reaction burst turbine engines, fighter-scale pinpoint barrier systems, and native compatibility for fold boosters. This generation was largely defined by Project Super Nova, the ultimately futile contest between the YF-19 and YF-21 at Eden's New Edwards Test Flight Center. The insurmountable technological and performance complications of the two designs led to a third design, the VF-171, becoming this generation's main variable fighter. VF-19 Excalibur YF-21 VF-22 Sturmvogel II VF-22 Sturmvogel II (SMS Type) VF/B-22 Jagdvogel II VF-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II) VB-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II) RVF-171 Nightmare Plus (Blocks I and II) Sv-154 Svard Feios Valkyrie Fz-109G Elgersoln Gustav Neo Glaug (Macross Plus Game Edition unmanned version) VBP-1/VA-110 Neo Glaug bis (Macross R/Macross F novel version) Generation 4.5 - "Upgraded Fourth Generation" The Generation 4.5 designs are few, and consist mostly of VF designs that were either upgraded to evaluate tech for eventual adoption by Generation 5 designs, or ones that were upgraded in extremis to make them more effective in combat against the Vajra. VF-19ACTIVE Nothung VF-19EF Caliburn RVF-19EF Caliburn VF-19EF/A Excalibur ADVANCE VF-22HG Schwalbe Zwei VF-22 Sturmvogel II "Manfred" VF-22 Sturmvogel II "Ushio Todo Custom" VF-171 Nightmare Plus (Block III and IIIF) VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX Thrones Custom (Macross E version) RVF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX Queadluun Alma Generation 5 - "Project Evolution and Decentralized Development" The Fifth Generation of Variable Fighters started development as a response to the disastrous first contact with the insectoid alien race known as the Vajra. Existing VF designs proved utterly inadequate to rival the performance of Vajra drones, and new programs were launched to develop countermeasures for the high-g forces and other major problems with the newly finalized Fourth Generation. The design hallmarks of Fifth Generation Variable Fighters include the adoption of Inertia Store Converter technology to insulate the cockpit against high g-forces, Stage II thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, contactless Linear Actuator technology for transformation, the ARIEL II airframe control AI, Extender Gear (EX-Gear) user interfaces, Advanced Energy Conversion Armor (ASWAG), and heavy quantum beam weaponry. YF-24 YF-24 Evolution VF-24 YF-25 Prophecy VF-25 Messiah YF-26 YF-27 Shahar VF-27 Lucifer YF-28 VF-31 Kairos Queadluun Alma Generation 5.5 - "Upgraded Fifth Generation" The precise criteria for the Sixth Generation of Variable Fighters are still somewhat unclear in the absence of a true production Sixth Generation Variable Fighter. Materials from Macross Delta and its movie Absolute Live!!!!!! have offered some clues as to the defining features of the Sixth Generation that reframe several Macross Frontier-era designs as experimental or prototype Sixth Gen VF designs and offered some additional clarity for the intermediate Generation 5.5 designs. The foundational feature of the Sixth Generation is fold wave resonance technologies based on fold quartz which are used to boost the performance of systems that use fold waves natively (e.g. thermonuclear reactors, dimensional beam weapons) and to supplement a Variable Fighter's energy supply by extracting energy directly from higher-dimension space. Fifth Generation designs retrofitted with these technologies or scaled-down versions of these technologies are tentatively (or officially) now classified as Generation 5.5 designs. VF-31 Siegfried (Xaos Valkyrie Works custom) VF-31AX Kairos Plus Sv-262 Draken III Sv-300 Sv-301 Sv-302 Sv-303 Vivasvat Generation 6 - "Fold Waves for All" Until recently, there was no concrete information about the Sixth Generation of Variable Fighters other than its hypothetical existence based on one design being officially classified as a 5.5th Gen custom variable fighter. Materials published for the movie Absolute Live!!!!!! have offered more clarity on the matter and reassigned several Frontier-era VF designs that were previously treated as Fifth Generation "super prototypes" as Sixth Generation experimental or prototype Variable Fighters. Their key design feature is the adoption of fold quartz-based fold wave resonance technology that operates synergistically with systems that use fold waves natively like thermonuclear reactors, inertia store converters, dimensional beam weapons and the like to improve performance to a level beyond what is achievable with fold carbon or without fold wave resonance effects. Other new technologies suggested to be a part of the Sixth Generation requirements are the adoption of layered energy conversion armor as a material for the VF's structural frame, Ghost "parasite aircraft" wingmen, and next generation energy conversion armor, active stealth, and communication technology that uses fold waves in place of electromagnetic waves and allows the entire aircraft skin to function as a composite sensor. YF-28 YF-29 Durandal YF-29B Perceval YF-29C (Earth NUNS trial production version) YF-30 Chronos YF-30B Chronos (NUNS Version) VF-31AX Kairos Plus VF-31X (Experimental 6th Generation VF) Sv-303 Vivasvat

It's also probably not a real option under the global distribution agreement they struck a couple years ago. Apparently one of the concessions they made was that future Macross titles meant for the global market would refrain from using the original series characters.

Hard to say... it does show up on Macross Chronicle's Variable Fighter design lineage diagram (Technology Sheet 01Q), but it's not connected to anything on either side. Macross Chronicle Technology Sheet 01L mentions a VB-4 and a VB-5 that we know nothing about, so they may be unrelated or there may be some unknown models in the middle there somewhere.

To be honest, that's more or less how I'd describe Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. My feeling on Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn was that its story was a jumbled excuse plot that was mostly built on fanservice. The main conflict between Banagher and Full Frontal was a repeat-by-proxy of Amuro and Char's final conflict in Char's Counterattack, and everything leading up to it was a meandering and largely unnecessary sightseeing tour that'd be unnecessary if anyone in the story had a functioning brain (Laplace's box is "hidden" in plain sight on Laplace station FFS) and was liberally infested with MSV designs that did not have official gunpla yet. The whole affair felt like it was written by the marketing department, even if I knew in advance it was adapted from a light novel. I have to admit, I do see where you're coming from on Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative though. It's Unicorn again, but worse in every way and they're not even putting in the effort to pretend otherwise. It's REALLY blatant on the Neo Zeon side thanks to... It just takes the worst aspect of Unicorn and makes that the whole plot. Namely, psycoframes are just straight-up magic. The Axis Shock was one thing, since that was supposedly the collective will of humanity acting on the psycoframe. Unicorn and Narrative have just made Newtypes into wizards. It's not surprising the ending has Mineva saying that it's her life's work to put the genie back in the bottle because these developments don't fit with any of the works set after UC 100. Banagher's cameo is also completely unnecessary. This movie really doesn't contribute anything meaningful or interesting to the story of Gundam Unicorn or to Gundam's Universal Century as a whole. More than anything, where Unicorn felt to me like a toy commercial... Narrative feels like a fanfic.

In some capacity, though they shared the role with the Valkyries stationed around Earth's fledgling cities until the New UN Government finally got sick of dealing with giant Zentradi violence and banned Zentradi from living as giants on Earth's surface in 2030. Most emigrant fleets don't permit giant Zentradi for resource reasons, with Macross Frontier being one of the few exceptions (presumably at the behest of its Zentradi financial backer Richard Bilra), so the problem doesn't seem to have popped up in many other places. There was some rioting on Uroboros, but that was apparently induced rather than a natural occurrance, and Master File suggests the aggression problem that led to rioting was first mitigated with medication and then cured with gene therapy.