jenius

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.

I think of MacII as a very americanized sequel... the kinda stuff Hollywood puts out to cash-in. The plot is definitely a re-hashing that seems to miss a lot of what Macross is about. The whole thing seems to have been written by a strictly action writer who watched DYRL and then wrote his own ideas into it. It makes up for that though by being flashy and unique enough in its own ways. I just felt it was a real shame they blew up the SDF-1 and had an ending that was way too similar to Boldoza's demise. So, to get back to the subject at hand, I hope we get a cameo of the SDF-1 in the new series. That said, I hope the action actually takes place out in deep space. Maybe just a shot to someone on Earth making an order with the SDF-1 standing in the background would be sweet.

Alright, I was the same dick who said we were way too hyped about the YF-19 when we never saw it standing on its own or posed dramatically in any way. In the end I was wrong (although it still leaves a bit to be desired) and I was happy to be that way. In the same token, I'm going to urge caution in everyone's expectation of having this thing stand in their display cases. One picture in a magazine does not make a guarantee. Patience... In the meantime, even if it does need to be propped, I think it's purty.

Man, I'm with you 90% of the time but I think you're out ahead of yourself this time (as conspiracy theorists are apt to occasionally be). He is a conveyor of information and takes the roll of the messenger. You are the man willing to kill the messenger and even going so far as to be angry with him when there is no message to convey. I have almost no free time these days but when I do I like to contribute to my own Macross/RT site in the hopes that it will help people out. Graham puts my tiniest of tiny contributions to shame. If you don't believe him, or if you disagree with him, then simple patience will reward you with answers from others and in that time you'll probably see the price of the product drop any way. Now is a good time to simmer.

I'm with Mr. March on this one, typically I can tell how well I'll enjoy a show by its first episode. There are many exceptions. I just watched the first seven episodes of Kissdum and thought it sucked until the 5th episode, now I'd like to see more. More often then not there are spots where a show LOSES me. At some point I lost interest in Champloo and Blue Gender.

With a dearth of facts comes an excess of speculation. With an excess of speculation comes large discussions and debate on the past. Love or hate Macross7 discussions, Mac7 does comprise a HUGE chunk of the Macross universe. Thus, any speculative thread on an upcoming series will inevitably carry with it a heavy dose of Mac7 discussion.

You'll definitely have to let us know.

When I watched Robotech i thought all the characters were adults. Now the twist on this is, when you're 8, 16 is pretty much an adult to you and 30 is ancient. The question is, if we were 8 watching it with modern character designs, would we have a similar impression or would we relate more to the characters as children. Personally, I think a lot of people in this industry have given up on making characters that kids watch and think "When I grow up, I wanna be like that guy!" and have instead made characters that kids think "wow, he's just like me!" Sketch, as far as the comments earlier go, if you read a dozen people stating "Basara stays the same through out the series' and then you write "It seems to me, from what I've seen, this is the way Basara is in Mac7" you're not doing anything unethical. Save ethics for married people banging their secretaries. What Chrono did is at worst, a bit hasty, possibly flawed, but I think we can stop the bus short of unethical. If after 10 episodes someone said "the valks in Mac7 look like transformers rejects with cheesy paint jobs and craptastic faces" would you insist that the person watch the entire series for that opinion to be qualified? No. Basara's character is similarly self-evident to the silliness of the valks.

If you acknowledge the potential for error by prefacing your statement in such a way as to notify the entire audience that you're not an expert in something (or that you're not through it entirely) then there's no harm in sharing your opinion. I'm also reminded of someone's comment before that they didn't need to eat an entire turd to know it tasted like crap, one little sample would do. Point is, sometimes you can be qualified to make an opinion without being completely exposed to something, other times you can state your opinion on something and defer ire by acknowledging your own weakness in the subject. Whenever anyone reads a book or watches a movie they constantly analyze what they're taking in before it's complete and there's often a lot to be gained from that analysis. It's also pretty easy to draw some conclusions by simply reading discussions on this forum. So, UN Spacy Academy with a new Valk.... the good news is it should be hard to start that story off with the frantic pace Kissdum worked with.

I wouldn't mind if there was a separate line of Zentran pilots that we could opt not to buy to keep prices down...

Isn't the Matchbox Battlepod about 1/60 scale? I dont' see any reason to believe that this toy would be too big. Also, the thing isn't all that crazy complicated, it doesn't even have arms. I dunno, I guess engineering the legs to both be poseable and capable of supporting the egg could be tricky though. Still, I think we're discussing a toy that's probably on par with the Q-Rau from a cost perspective and with greater appeal.

Just because Basara is a poorly written character it doesn't make him less of a character. Sure, of the two, Mylene is more complex, but Basara is still a lead character AND symbolic of a certain mindset. What irked me most is his mindset is also flawed and in the end he appears to be right without anyone really having learned anything. If only A1 hadn't earned that lifetime ban... I hope the new show has a character with drive and ambition who doesn't devolve into some silly fanatic of ill-gotten causes like Basara. If UN Spacy's answer to new alien threats is "We'll just throw our crazies at them in expensive flamboyantly painted valks" then I'll be rooting for the destruction of mankind.

Old = Cool I finally added another vintage toy up on my site. They're not the most glorious toys but I'm sure some of you will recognize them from having thrashed them during your youth.

I would say Mylene is more like Hikaru than Gamlin is. I also think people dismiss her because she is so easily dismissed, not because she is a girl. There are strong female characters in Mac7 that are a bit tougher to dismiss, Rex, Miria, Sivil but Mylene is just fluff. She takes all the things that drive us crazy about Hikaru and exemplifies them even more. Like Hikaru though, she redeems herself toward the end of the series but again, she does it in a manner that's not as satisfying. Gamlin plays a good foil to Basara but I don't think he's really all that comparable to any of the cast in the original SDF:M. He's too straight-laced to be Hayao or Hikaru and not talented enough to be Max. As much as anyone would like to say M7 is not about Basara you pretty much have to ignore the fact that every single episode is about him to do so. He overwhelms every aspect of the plot so much that he doesn't even have to be present or involved all that much before he has grabbed the viewer (often for worse rather than better). I hope someone at least mocks this up... it sounds too awesome.