Kelsain

Looks like it does transform just like the 25 - the arms are even the same shape. I can't figure out where those big shoulders are coming from, though...

That wouldn't explain the glow though. My pick is a heat blade, like in the original Gundam.

FV

Could be superheated plasma confined within a magnetic field around the blade. That might explain the bright blue color and the "Shifty" appearance of the glow.

Oh I'm not brave enough to start that kind of discussion. I'm a follower, not a leader . It doesn't bother me either way though.

I haven't said much on the VF-27, but after seeing everything from everyone I have to say insignia's don't lie. It is a NUNS plane, and being from Galaxy makes sense... now if we only know what exactly the VF-27 is, lol... as I used to say (not that anyone here would know) "Terribly Mysterious."

But then why would he shoot Luca's gun away when he could cut it in half with his mind?

(Sorry if it's already been said... didn't feel like searching for it...)

The Lobsters were much more resilient and I believe that is in part due to the ECA as well as the possiblity that the Hammerheads are actually mecha akin to the type the Zentreadi used, but far more advanced.

Every hit the Hammerheads took from the sniper rifle carried with it a distinctive "clang" or metallic sound, unlike the Lobsters, which we know to be an organic life form.

Ah, but their bloody, lifeless husks littered the floor of the Vajra ship, evidence of Brera's handiwork.

I figured that this is what the "Time-Space event in 1995" that appeared on the Frontier promos was all about. It was just their way of saying that the Macross timeline diverged from the real world timeline at that point, most likely to the political climate that lead to arming the UN and the Unification Wars. And of course, in 1995, cell phones weren't very prominent either.

Now come on! Everyone knows that modern technology was reverse engineered from Megatron! duh!

And they were able to do it without ever taking anything apart!

So SMS are soldiers for...Prophet?

*Rolls up newspaper*

No! Bad Vinnie!

This whole quality debate is one of the reasons I choose to wait for the subs before I watch an episode. It's easy to nitpick on the visuals when that's all you've got. Yes, the quality is kinda down on the characters, most notably KK - again. (and she look so cute last episode) When I'm engrossed in the story, I don't really notice it at all. I've noticed that a lot of the shots where the characters look more "cartoony" seem to be the comedic bits, anyway - ie the quiet sexual harassment discussion, or Ranka's reaction to her manager's over-the-top performance. I kind of accepted this as the style they were going for for these scenes. I see the discrepancies, but am not too bothered by them. Even the OVA's have their bad days, like parts of M+, vol 3.

ANYWHO... I thought it was a pretty good episode. Not really too much on the Ranka front for me, though I did like the cowpottamus jammies. Is that regular chocolate pocky, or has she raided Ozma's stash of men's pocky while he's away? Mmmm, men's pocky... Alto & Sheryl seem to be moving along swiftly - too swiftly - I expect things will swing back toward Ranka in the next 5 or 6 eps.

On Galaxy: it's interesting to see so much difference in the fleets now. Differences in laws and living conditions, as well as ship types and color shemes. Assuming the big red thing in the bg is Galaxy itself, is that smoke billowing out or is it carved out of an asteroid? Those yellow circle-y things remind me of the Megaroad class. As mentioned before, the Diaz-class whosits (orange ships) are rather reminiscent of Gepelnitch's ship - cool. And these green guys, circled in the attached pic - are those the Vajra ships seen in the preview for the next episode, or are they the winged Zentraedi ships seen in DYRL? Gah, why must they tease us so?

The Quarter needs to grow on me a bit more. I got the Whitebase vibe as well, mostly from its overall configuration. I do like the notion that the events of M7 may have resulted in a backup fortress being installed on the City ships.

Can't wait 'til next weekend for Ep7 with dialog!

*Sorry about the sentence format here - I've been typing this a little bit at a a time for the past half hour

Rangerkarl on IRC pointed out that the guitarist was using what looked like Basara's guitar. I looked and hell....i think it IS basara's guitar. That or at least it looks identical and probably put in there as a homage. Nice!

Yeah, I noticed that little homage, I thought it was cool. But of course, it doesn't mean it actually IS Basara's guitar, could be the same brand. Then again, it could be... IIRC, didn't Basara ditch the guitar, and head out with an acoustic in Dynamite? Maybe Ray hocked it on M-bay to get money for booze. So hard to wash away the memories of Sound Force...

1.) To the average myclone, probably not. But to a whole buncha Zentraedi, yes. Watch "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" for reference.

2.) 5' what?

3.) Yeah...i question the lack of verbal echo as well. Were they on the Macross Quarter? I thought that was a seperate zentran farm module or something.

4.) Probably not....u might get stepped on accidentally in a fit of female zentran rage.

5.) When inspiration hits an artist...do not disturb.

1. First time I've ever seen someone say "Watch "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" for reference" , but I do concede the point

2. Ladies' shoes

3. I was just thinking that if KK, Nene and Ramaria could walk to the M1/4, living most of the time full-sized, it would cut down on deployment time. Might also avoid any potential complications from over-micloning, considering KK's condition. Plus, it appears from the opening credits that the M1/4 is attached to one of the smaller islands. On the other hand, it might just be tucked into a corner of Island1 - after all, Sheryl went to SMS HQ with no sight of Zentraedi. I'm just letting my mind wander at this point, I'm sure we'll find out.

4. You're right, that's a very good deterrent for naughty behavior - though I'm sure some would take the risk.

5. I just thought it would bring a whole new layer to getting in someone's panties.

I also really like Ozma - now that I've seen how commited he is to taking care of Ranka. I don't think I could live with Ranka and remain just her big Brother

Ewww, now I gotta go and recalibrate my smarmometer... It's just wobbling between Woody Allen & FLDS*...

You realized he's raised her since she was like, 3, right?

*Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (Texas polygamy debacle)

1) You will LISTEN TO THEIR SONG!

4) When most people around you are that size...what's the problem.

But there were normal size people there. Maybe they're only allowed on the upper levels (also avoids trampling lawsuits...)

I like Klein Klan, she's easy on the eyes and those legs go AAAAAAAAALLLL the way up

Too bad they are in HER IMAGINATION

I didn't get that implication. They had already established that people were singing at the entrance, and the first guitarist was shown to be sitting by a shop window. I'm under the assumption that they were all musicians hanging around the mall and were similarly enthralled by Ranka's singing. She was singing a well-known tune, so It's no surprise they could play along. If I was sitting around with a guitar, and some adorable little girl nearby started singing a song I knew, I'd sure as hell back her up!

On the other hand, she was standing with a microphone in hand - she had to get it from somewhere. Maybe she convinced the mall band to give here a shot at the mic.

A couple of things struck me about the Folmo Mall:

1) Do Zentraedi singers need microphones?

2) What kind of engineering goes into making 5' Pumps?

3) I missed the verbal echo, but it was nice to see KK full-sized in that sweater. Perhaps she only miclones when it's necessary to go to one of the other islands. I wonder if Pixie squadron takes a tram from that island over to the M1/4, or is the M1/4 actually based there?

4) Is it a good idea to wear skirts as a macronized Zentraedi?

5) Would it be ironic or perverted to make a set of sheets out of those panties? Both?

So, how much candy will it take to convince our wonderful fansubbers to subtitle it as the Albatross instead?

Was that a Minmei doll that flew pass Ozma before he gets hit in the face with a frying pan?

Yup, and I think the figure behind the pan is Mylene's VF-11

Perhaps it just comes down to CF outrage. I like the CF fighters, if not always their color shemes, and it'd be nice if pilots other than the heroes had a little competence. Even the guys in M+ seemed to do pretty well, Isamu just outclassed them.

Like raymond mentions, you'd think there'd be a few good pilots in the NUNS ranks. After all VFs have been standard for over 50 years at this point. Maybe they should have stuck with the X-9 Ghost after all? Perhaps we'll see them perform a little better when we start getting some fleet action and Battle 25 transforms.

Ja, I find I'm getting tired of the "NUNS sucks" attitude of everybody. Perhaps it's simply that we're only seeing the show from SMS's perspective so far. We don't know if the 171's took out the headless Vajra and his companions in episode 3, or if they simply folded out. Show NUNS a little respect, they built and operate that big dome you're all livin' in, sheesh!

I really do hope we get another NUNS character or two, at least one hero VF-171. But we'll see.

As for KK, I like her. If she is 100% Zentraedi, or even further a culture convert herself, her attitude in chibi miclone form is not surprising. It's like the ULTIMATE expression of Napoleon syndrome. All of that Zent agression packed into a tiny frame that's getting constantly mocked and pushed around.

Also, think of the hormonal frustration - Giant KK is teh hottness, but all Chibi KK can only get the pedos to give her an alluring look. If Macronized reproduction is impossible (forget fluid volumes, just think of the forces involved!), poor KK may be the end of the line! Ah well, that's evolution for ya.

Ranka's nyan nyan chant with a nice twist

It was cute, but it's been stuck in my head for 2 days!! Damn you!!!

The Factory Satellite is over twice the size of the Fulbtzs-Berrentzs Class Fleet Flagship. The FB is 1,400 kilometers tall; the Factory Satellite is 3,000 kilometers tall and is roughly twice as wide as it is tall. The moon is 3,474 kilometers wide by comparison. The Factory Satellite was set near Earth at a Lagrange point and was so large it was still visible to the naked eye from the surface of the Earth (though the Lagrange point is much farther from Earth and thus made the satellite appear noticeably smaller than the moon, which orbits much closer).

Therefore, based on the size of Earth's horizon, it's likely that the structure seen in the prologue is just a space station of some sort. Stations of many configurations were seen in M+, which were then blown up for cover. Also, when you look at the SIS defense grid from M+, there's probably a WHOLE LOT of big stuff in Earth orbit.

She's the Monster's pilot and a lieutenant, part of Ozma's Skull Squadron. She's also trained as a medic and doctor, with a proper medical license.

The official Macross F website has been updated today, for everyone's information.

Well alrightee, then. Maybe I should stop randomly speculating and get some real work done...

I was influenced by the following in order to come up with this name - the beautiful long fighter nose of the 25, its far-reaching wingspan, the red-striped white finish, the letters in Alto's name, a bird, and the way it rhymes with Macross:

VF-25 ALBATROSS

So what do you think? In Japanese, they'd say it a-ru-ba-to-ro-su. Like it? Thanks for reading.

Tune from SDFM pops into head...

AL-BA-TROSS!

AL-BA-TROSS!

*dadadada*

AAAAAAALLLL-BUH-TU-ROOOOSSSSSSS!!!!!

I don't think it would take her long to get into a flight suit. And considering how big a VB-6 is, by the time they move it to the catapult, she'll probably be dress and ready to go.

She may be ground crew, or is there something like a "pit-boss" in these situations?

Ep1, after the pilots get their V-3 code, Ozma shouts "Canalia (sp?) we're coming!"

Ep3 early, still in reg clothes, she indicates the VB-6 is ready for launch.

Ep3 late, she seems to be in charge of keeping an eye on Ozma, talking to the doctors, calling the nurses after his wounds reopen.

She seems to be in charge, in some capacity.

I think it may have been a beauty shot for the first episode that was never meant to be continued. The extra work to keep doing it would be a waste of time that doesn't serve the story. On a TV production schedule, time is at a premium, so all unnecessary work is often culled from the herd so to speak...

Ah, but it's also missing in the opening credits, the traditional home of the beauty shots. Honestly, whatever the reason, I'm glad they decided to do without it. Feels like Macross again, instead of Transformers Energon or Power Rangers. Now, if they would just show the dang VF-171 transforming and kicking some ass...

Taking a break from knives, cables, and thrust/mass ratios...

Has anyone else noticed something that's been MISSING since episode 1? Something that was almost uniformly reviled?

I speak, of course, about the green energy arc during the 25's transformation.

It just hit me on my last viewing - and sure enough - no green lights, except for that first transformation of Ozma's fighter. (It is still present in the broadcast version of Ep1) I'm surprised I haven't seen it mentioned before! Most likely it's b/c the transformations just seem right now, where before, they definitely seemed wrong.

This might be nothing at all....where was Mickhail when he was sniping the hammerheads pursuing Alto? He seemed to have landed on ground level but from the targetting reticle it would seem as if Mickhail was either on a very high building or on a very very tall hill.

Later when Mickhail snipes the final hammerhead and saves Alto+Ranka, it would seem he's still in the original position but from the cockpit view you can see the street lights....meaning he's on street level.

Animation/directorial error perhaps? Or nothing at all?

There was a large hill shown in the wide shot of Alto standing on top of the concert hall, so Mikhail probably landed there (being a good vantage point for a sniper). He was among buildings, though, which imply that there are streets on the hill too. Also, several minutes passed between sniper fire, so Mikhail may have moved down the hill to get a clearer shot (Big red & the other Vajra were all dead at that point, so he'd be clear).

Hey Luca's valk is 'faceless'.

I bet it's crammed full of non-standard sensors, as he flies an ELINT 25. Michel appears to be flying a standard 25"A", and of course, we know the faces of the 25F and 25S. All freakin' sweet.

Ok, there's been some mention of Sheryl & Ranka's little duet at the end. Am I mistaken, or was that the song Minmay sang in DYRL while she was held captive by the Zentraedi? If so, great homage! If not, boy it sure sounds like it!