jenius

Meh, I think we just have a different opinion of what constitutes a rip-off. While I would never argue that Mospeada wasn't meant to cash-in on the success of Macross by using a formula similar to Macross I would definitely say it falls short of being a rip-off. For me it's like saying all hair bands ever did in the 80s was rip each other off where some would just say they were in the same genre. For me, if Mospeada truly was just a Macross rip-off it could never be lumped together with the original in what became Robotech because everyone would just feel like they were watching a crappier rendition of the first chapter. I've seen lots of discussions on Robotech and not once have I read or heard someone say they felt TNG was just some sloppy rehash of TMS. Obviously it's similar enough to be lumped into Robotech, but a rip-off? Well, if it's a rip-off why wasn't that term thrown around during the Southern Cross podcast? Aliens attack humans, tri-mode vehicles are deployed to save the day, aliens and humans fall in love, music plays some sort of role. Same genre or rip off? Southern Cross has destroids... but they don't look nearly as cool as the unused designs for Mospeada. Macross obviously had a huge influence on many shows after it, and toy manufacturers obviously were looking for a similar cash-in, but just lumping in everything that follows it as a rip-off implies its devoid of new innovation or original thought.

Cool podcast... most everything sounds pretty right on. I think calling the show a Macross rip-off is a bit harsh although I could definitely see the Legioss as a Valk rip-off. While Mospeada is definitely in a similar vein the Inbit are nothing like the Zents, Minmay's singing has an entirely different effect from Yellow's, the ride armor is unlike any Macross design, I'd say the two shows have entirely different feels to them (Macross being more involved). The podcast hints at Batra's blue eye but I think it would have been cool to point out that Batra's evolution is one of those few elements that does actually get carried out over the span of several episodes rather than being nicely encapsulated into one. One other point, the Refless is not a 9' tall woman in the end, she's still transparent, she's just appearing to the group as a human (of sorts). It goes to that whole Inbit collective consciousness thing Stig realizes when he sees all the Inbit being killed in space. Considering how long the podcast was, I could see where packing in anything else might have been impossible anyway. In Animefriend's defense, there work in Mospeada is clearly much better than it was in Macross (albeit still mediocre).

The velcro flaps aren't quite deciders. The VF-1J supers have velcro as does the VF-1A low vis and they're version 2s.

I used to race cars and "Perfect Drug" was one hell of an anthem. Man, those were the days.... and they were many days ago.

Stories this long should be broken into two and made into an extra film. Move the plot point around to make a faux ending, add another film, make more money. Seems like an easy equation to me... but I'm glad I'm not the one having to do it. I'm no Harry Potter guy, never read the books, but I've enjoyed the movies so far. I always like hearing people who have read the books comments and then contrasting them against completely un-initiated people like myself's opion.

Worst is Hayao's DYRL scheme... they screwed up his head laser. I love the unique paint schemes like the Angelbirds, VF-1A LV (1 or 2), Stealth (kinda drab) and the TV VF-1J team. The DYRL schemes are all meh with the exception of Roy's since it has so much sentimental appeal. From a QC stand point, my CF-1A and Angelbirds 1A had the worst, my Stealth had the best but I agree with everyone else that it's just a crapshoot and they're all pretty similar.

I totally agree. The colors themselves might look cool but these are just too conservative. A two-tone pattern could have been optimal but I think after the butchering of the red/white valks they decided the fans wanted something boring. Sadly red/white valks could have been awesome if the paint job hadn't been so... odd.

Well I said I'd do a review of this toy once it was probably sold out everywhere and I put the review up today. Not sure if this thing is sold out everywhere but I suspect it's close. If you're familiar with the thread you won't really find any new info in the review, seems like most the people who bought one pretty much have the exact same thing to say about it -

I heard the PS3 is noisy enough to making it a sub-par blu-ray player for people with high-end entertainment centers... like during really quiet suspenseful portions of films you'll hear the PS3 whirling away. Any truth to that?

Ugh, I liked the Auroran a whole lot more when I had forgotten exactly what it looked like... strike 3 for the Southern Cross mecha designs...

Since it's back in stock, instead of a preorder, isn't it possible that HLJ just found a few boxes of these or maybe picked some up for ridiculously cheap off some vendor that just wanted to clear inventory?

I've noticed this as well.

They've been showing up on eBay now for over a month. I think that is just a case of Internet sales people banking on the original released date. Something for the folks in the US to consider is that Toynami is showing these at the cons with an MSRP of $80 seemingly indicating that these toys will be available in the US without the huge shipping cost.

Without a doubt. This is also another area where Robotech just absolutely butchers the original. It could be an interesting study into why though. Did the writers of Robotech notice that the audience became disinterested in the mystery of the Zor and so the writers of Robotech tried to force a bit more knowledge on the audience sooner? As you can probably tell, and it's possibly quite unfair since I had seen Robotech before watching Southern Cross, but I never developed an interest in the Zor at all. The decision to ditch the body-snatching element of Southern Cross in Robotech sucks the creepy factor right from The Masters further crippling that arch. In Macross we got superb villains that were supposedly all business but had explosions of menace and personality, in Mospeada we had the Refless with her omnipresent eye and her haunting "eliminate them" as well as her super goons Batra and Sorji... in Southern Cross we get *kinda* distant, *kinda* cold, creepy guys that seemed like they'd make crappy neighbors. I have a problem forgiving it with the production problems though because there were points earlier in the story they could have exercised some brilliance or seemed way creepier but they didn't. What I love about Southern Cross is the notion that the humans may very well be willing to die to keep an alien from coming home. There are many moments in Southern Cross that leave you wondering if certain characters are good or bad. There's a ton of internal conflict that spills over into the plot. In that respect, I think your efforts to get people to re-examine it free of bias are very noble. Unfortunately, I think it's executed so poorly that I have a horrible time actually recommending the show to someone else. Yes, the Spartas/HT is very unique and that's cool but that's more cool if it's implemented in such a way where people aren't constantly coming up with ways it could be better. The same is true of the Auroran/AGAC. Yes, a transformable helicopter is kinda unique but will that stop the audience from wondering why a pure-bred space-fighter isn't being used? Add to that the numerous ambiguities (many are probably caused by the production problems but they're still present) and a method of writing that makes some of the characters so human they conflict the audience rather than becoming rallying points and it's not tough to figure out why those production problems occurred. I would contrast that to Genesis Climber which is absolutely formulaic and episodic. There is character development but nothing ground-breaking. Stig goes from blinded by hatred to destroying his own people's drones to set the Inbit free, Jim goes from a coward to a Lion... crap, think I got my stories mixed up. Anyway, there's very mild progression and Lord knows the writers were not intending the soap opera effect nearly as much as the writers of Southern Cross. Where Genesis Climber succeeds over Southern Cross is purely in entertainment. No, you don't get the cerebral action of a crazy Sefriet but you do get conflict, drama, and resolution and just enough open-ended-ness to bring you back (usually in the form of Aisha). The Inbit in the series typically just serve as motivating factors for the group to move from one post-apocalyptic moral to the next. Yes, those morals often seem canned but hey, it's better than the old GI Joe technique of just having Duke tell you a moral that had nothing to do with the show before the credits rolled. Genesis Climber makes better sense. The Inbit aren't as evil as they seem, the heroes aren't as heroic, but in the end the heroes win and the bad guys don't even have to die to make it happen (leaving a restored Earth in their wake). Could it have been 100x better if the writers were more daring? Hell yes. Could it have been much worse if the writers were more daring? Hell yes, and I would say your proof of that is the failure that is Southern Cross. PS - It seems I'm getting off-topic now. I am pretty sure you didn't want this to be a big Southern Cross or Southern Cross vs Mospeada thing so I apologize. Also, none of that was written in the hopes of sounding condescending, angry, or any other way that might sound petulant, I'm just kind of rambling. I enjoyed your podcast.

Cool podcast, I always love to hear what happened to people involved in these shows and get some background. Seems like you're giving the show points for noble efforts even when those efforts ultimately fail. A good example of that would be the praise of the mechanical designs; boy, are you right when you say some people would disagree with you (your comments on the Logan excluded). It also seemed like you two were (and I'm sure you are) much better versed in the Southern Cross universe than a person who would pick it up off the street. That person will see about three different suits of armor and have no idea about some of the cool thought that went into the show that just ulitmately was excluded. So in that way it seemed to be more review of the concept of Southern Cross as much as a review of the series itself (that's not really a criticism, just kind of an observation). I do prefer Southern Cross to Robotech's Masters for many of the points you guys bring up. I think the Zor/Masters fail as compelling villains though in both because of a dearth of personality. In fact, Sefreitt is almost forced into a position of carrying the personality for the would-be villains. The show also suffers from having villains that seem to defeat themselves which nicely reduces the drama a show can generate. Will the heroes overcome their emaciated foes lead by crusty old dudes? Are crusty old dudes that look like they're wearing flower costumes really the face you want to put on a mysterious foe that's pulling some major Invasion of the Body Snatchers junk? I don't know, the podcast starts with "It's a good show, better than Mospeada..." and yet there's never another mention of Mospeada. The comparison would be a show that does all the basic stuff right but never tests its own boundaries to a show that got all the basics wrong but was constantly trying to stretch its boundaries (IMHO). That's kind of a rant, worth only what it cost you.

Indeed, I wonder why the purple Maia MPC wasn't shown.... they've got Marcus' there. I'm REALLY curious how they're going to stagger the releases. It appears they're shifting things around to make the Beta their first release since it's the only one that has a target date listed (a target date that appears to coincide with the Aoshima Legioss release). There's no mention of when the TSC Alphas, TNG Cyclones, or Wave 3 of the 1/100s will hit shelves.

That's an accessory pack!

This seems to be the least desired 1/48 at the moment. Step 1, make sure it's not a first edition. Step 2, pay as little as humanly possible. This is the only 1/48 I've seen go, brand new, for less than $100 shipped in the US. Granted, that's a rare anomaly... but it happens.

This just in, this just in, much ado about nothing! Wow, I feel bad about the money I've wasted on toys for these animes... I can't imagine how low my self-image would be if I took it ot the stage of toting cream pies....

The Purple Alpha is a superposeable... don't go thinking that's how the MPC is.

The only thing really irking me right now are the forearms... otherwise I'm likin' it. The bike could look sleeker but it's not too terribly bad as to drive me away.

That's cool, I said it a while ago that the only way you could get battloid to work was to go around the nosecone... looks like Toynami came to the same conclusion. Kinda looks like that stand will come with the toy also...

I think the VF-1 drought is intentional to get us valkoholics to buy VF-0s, YF-19s, and SV-51s

On the Japanese vs. Chinese, HK, Tiawanese, Singaporean issue, I can state definitively that when we discuss old Gakken toys for the Mospeada line the Japanese versions ARE better made. These toys have obvious differences though (like different paint applications, different materials, etc). That whole thing is a different argument though. In those cases, the toys made FOR Japan were made IN Japan. When we're talking about Yamato that argument is kinda non-sensey. Everything Yamato makes, regardless of the market, is made at the same place by the same people using the same products. There may be products ear-marked for certain regions but that almost certainly just comes from whatever area in the warehouse the product gets parked after assembly. Sticker application on the boxes may be the very last thing that happens as the toy is on its way out the door which may indeed end up identifying where it gets shipped... but it doesn't make the toy inside any different. From there a release date gets set and vendors everywhere start getting their products. Like DVDs, sometimes the vendors sell early to make an extra $$ if the shipment arrives early. I find it quite dubious to think the Japanese are just a more forgiving crew. Maybe the Japanese are just more likely to be pack-rat types who stash their toys away after purchase? I think the best answer is probably that they're on a forum somewhere griping just like we are. The other issue being that they can get service from Yamato so they're complaints probably get resolved unlike us who are left with a crumpled toy and an empty wallet.

So where would I find these episodes?? I got to 7 and haven't seen any more.