Nekko Basara

According to Macross Chronicle, Mash is straight. No word on Honey, though... yet.

Haha, I didn't know that. I thought he jokingly propositioned Hibeki, but maybe I'm misremembering. But, anyway, I didn't say either of them was gay; I said they were "effeminate."

It seems like the portrayal of masculinity in Macross could make a good separate thread, and maybe it already has. It strikes me that even aside from flamboyant characters like Bobby, Mash, and Honey, a lot of the central characters are far from hyper-masculine. People make a big deal about Alto, but Hikaru is a small, pretty, and often very un-assertive guy. Max, Michael, and arguably Hibeki are basically pretty-boys. The characters with loads of machismo are more often in supporting roles, like Roy, Ozma, and Ray (although Isamu is a clear exception). Macross may have historically had a mostly-male fanbase, and SDFM certainly comes off as a story written by a bunch of (naive) young men, but I'd argue that Plus - written by a woman - is the only animated installment where the male leads are all aggressively masculine.

Bobby Margot is simultaneously the most effeminate male in Macross and its most hotblooded character.

Mash and Honey are sad

Bobby is more than enough hero for any Macross show. ;-)

There are also bleed valves built into some airbrush models, and others that can be added after-market. These let you essentially dial-in a lower max pressure (although you won't know the psi). This can be less hassle than adjusting your compressor, and it is easier to hold a constant pressure with the trigger full-open than partially depressed. Good if your are ham-handed like me, but you limit the versatility of the dual-action control.

I use an Iwata HP-CH copy, which has the valve built in under the paint cup, and a Harder-Steenbeck Infinity with a proprietary add-on valve that connects to the handle. Either approach works fine.

Ah, so Ukraine still has a number of Mig-29s left.

And they're as smoky as ever.

The real heroes wear pink like Megumi Nakajima's character in Happiness Charge Precure.

And she has eye beams!

I'll see your pink eye-beams and raise you a tazer-hair-bow (2:00)

http://youtu.be/cBAh7FPoRGc

(Sorry, Veef, no good Mayuyu hits in this one)

If you don't tell them what you liked more, how are the people who make the shows ever going to decide what is appealing to most people?

I doubt that Kawamori & co. are reading this thread to decide what the show they have already announced will be about. And, if history is any guide, they're going to strike out in a new direction that's different from what fans expected anyhow.

I feel like you're speaking to me directly, because you quoted me. I never said I wanted more Frontier. I never said I didn't want a SDFM reboot. I've said I like a bunch of silly things that were half-jokes, but I'd also enjoy prettymuch any of the ideas raised in this thread. But as for your opinions about SDFM versus M7, I respect them. Please respect that they are opinions and not something everyone knows or agrees with.

More to the point, I am not saying I liked M7 better than SDFM, or Frontier better than Plus, or anything like that. Because there is no "either/or." Like courses in a meal, you can enjoy all of them, or skip any ones you like. There's no need to choose only one, and comparing them "apples-to-apples" is a bit silly.

What I was reacting to was people saying, "I wish I could go back in time, storm the kitchen, and stop the chef from making that terrible salad" or "the salad I had when I was 10 years old was so disappointing that now, as a grown man, I am still upset about it."

So, there you go. Macross 7 is a salad. I'll try not to say anything more about salad here.

All that hate for Build Fighters! Every Gundam series - arguably most mecha aniime - has been about pushing the merchandise. Sure, it's nice when a good story comes along for the ride, but that depends a lot on the target age group. Personally, I find the explicit "How To Buy Action Figure Man" attitude of Build Fighters refreshing and often tongue-in-cheek hilarious.

Regarding M7, nobody can tell anyone else what to like, but from my own experience the harsh derision directed towards M7 does a disservice to Macross fandom. I grew up watching Robotech on channel 25, watched tapes of DYRL in high school, saw Plus in college, and questionably downloaded Zero and Frontier as they came available ( a story shared by many folks here, I'm sure). But I always avoided M7 because of its terrible reputation in the US. I finally saw it about two years ago, and I did so because I thought it was my "duty" as a fan.

And I loved it. But that's not the point - I get that it's not for everyone. The point is that when folks call it a disappointment and talk about wishing it was never made, they're talking about excluding what is literally the largest (and, prior to Frontier, probably most successful) part of all Macross. That's not a fair representation of the show or the "franchise," and it contributes to folks like me missing out on experiencing it themselves.

Sorry to vent. I just wish I'd seen M7 sooner :-(

(And I totally want a new show about Meltran who are all idols piloting destroids.)

Basically, I will have a MUCH easier time with the blue pants than the white and I really want an in-show reason to justify having them blue.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

How about you go with the light blue and just say Shammy forgot to wash them separate from the jacket?

I like you. I hope you're not Tochiro in disguise (with glasses).

Well, my first post was a Macross/AKB0048 crossover on April Fool's. Now, who loved AKB0048? Hrmmm...

Pretty much. And everyone here LOVED the first episode of Frontier, for being "dark," "gritty," and "military" (in fact, some thought it went too far, in crushing Gilliam).

Oh, how that changed...

So, one day it was "popping a dude like an over-ripe fruit is going too far, man!"

And then it was, "Aliens stealin' your panties - now that is too far!"

Sounds like very interesting times

Please don't let me derail the laptop discussion, but I wanted to drop something in here in the hope that it might amuse some folks. This is my desktop, rebuilt around Christmas time.

All of my primary rigs have been named "Blue Max" as a double-reference to my favorite Macross character and my love of WW1 aviation. This time I decided to decorate the case to fit the name.

I don't know what the next Macross series will bring, but the more I post on this thread, the more I think everyone should just watch Macross 7 again.

It's a deal!

(But I reserve the right to skip over "Planet Dance" if it plays more than three times in a single episode.)

Basara was a force of nature to be reacted toward and should never have been made the focus of the show. Perhaps it was a grand experiment in story telling, but IMHO if that was the case, it failed.

What you are saying about Basara being a "force of nature" reminds me of something I heard related on ANNCast or the AWO podcast, regarding Spike Spiegel (sorry, I'm not going to be able to attribute this properly). Basically, the idea was that in "good" Western storytelling, the hero has to change from the beginning of the story to the end. But Shinichiro Watanbabe said there could be another kind of hero, the one who specifically does not change, and causes the story to revolve around him by his immobility.

I think Basara is another example of this hero type. He has one goal - bringing the power of song to people - and he follows that unerringly from start to finish. His immutability is what defines him and makes him heroic. I don't personally feel this renders him more plot device than person, but I can see where that's coming from.

Anyways, I'm not trying to derail the thread or start an argument; I'm a new poster and I don't want to step on toes. That just rung a bell and I felt compelled to share.

Awesome!

I think that someone needs to introduce her to iTunes.

(And, wow, there are a lot of Mikus in that toy pile!)

I never realized that "AXE GIANT: The Wrath of Paul Bunyan" was a remake, but clearly Japan got their first.

And I'l second the Amazon Marketplace suggestion. I've been surprised at stuff I've seen on there, usually cheaper and more reliable than ebay. It doesn't hurt to look, anyways.

The more I think about it, the more fun I think a Macross cop show could be. Think of all the Macross-specific crimes they could be called to deal with, like:
1) Rock bands squatting in the unused parts of the ship

2) Zolans shoplifting with their pouches
3) Corrupting underage Meltrandi ("She looked legal when she was 60 feet tall, officer!")

4) Unauthorized indoor hang-gliding

5) Rampaging wild pokemon full of hamburg meat (think Frontier ep.10)

6) Theft of dino-bird eggs to make Macromelettes

7) Karaoke (ok, that's not Macross-specific, but it's still criminal)

Each "patroid" could carry a "buddy" team of pilot-cop and idol-cop; the latter ready to sing at a moment's notice to calm an unruly Zentraedi. It practically writes itself!

As with so many story ideas that have come up in this thread, I gotta say, once again, "Mac7 did it!" to the police robots idea.

Oh yeah! "City Police 24 Hours!"

so basically patlabor?

Yeah! See, the police need a special unit equipped with valkyries to fight criminals who use valkyries to commit valkyrie crimes. Just like the real police have a bulldozer unit to fight killdozers!

I'm laughing, but I'd watch Patvalk in a heartbeat.

Thanks so much for the Emergency Broadcast, guys. And for all of the past episodes, because... I've never posted, and I should have. I started listening about a year ago, and once I got caught up on old episodes, waiting for each new one was like being a kid who doesn't know what day Christmas is. So, yeah, two episodes so close together (and one a double) was a treat.

"Boys are watching girls, and girls are watching robots." That rocked.

Don't let Gubaba go home, even if you have to trip him with a bag of Orguss.

Not long after the announcement of the new Macross series, I was startled to encounter a huge and strangely effeminate bird, which attacked my car and left behind only a battered 5-1/4” floppy disk. Needless to say, it took some digging to find the hardware necessary to read this disk, but I was eventually able to extract the following text. Could it represent a rough outline of the upcoming series?

Summary

The year is 2078. Macross fleets have stretched mankind’s reach to the edges of the universe, but disaster is brewing in the populous worlds of the inner sphere!

The Entertainment Ban - enacted in the inner sphere following secret reports of the 37^th fleet’s encounter with the eight known Protodeviln - has been revoked. Massive protests, inspired by the guerrilla idol group AKB0048, forced politicians to abandon a law whose purpose neither they nor their constituents fully understood. A new wave of song and culture washed across the inner sphere worlds… and with it came a great danger.

The center of this revolution is Akibastar, a world where the idols of AKB0048 channel their song energy through massive subterranean deposits of Fold Crystal. Drawn from their sub-universal abode by this beacon of pure Spiritia, new Protodeviln burst forth into our galaxy by the thousands to sate an ageless hunger. The bodies of the hapless AKB0048 Successors become their vessels. Songs that once inspired a joyous revolution now serve only to enslave world after world as energy sources for these super-powerful Spiritia vampires.

In the face of this dire threat, the remaining governments of the inner sphere have only one choice – to recall every available Macross fleet, and use military expertise gained on the dangerous galactic frontier to fight this new threat at humanity’s core. However, force of arms will not be enough; only song energy can fully counter the power of the Protodeviln.

Thus, Project Jamming Pheonix is born. A new generation of pilots are paired with the remaining AKB0048 kenkyusei, who managed to escape Akibastar. By combining the latest variable fighter technology with the power of idol singing, a weapon capable of fighting the Protodeviln on equal terms is created.

Notable characters

Pilot/Idol teams:

Nekki Lee – Son of Ozma Lee and Cathy Glass-Lee, Nekki is the hot-headed leader of Phoenix Squadron. He seeks to prove himself to his estranged father, who always wanted him to be a musician rather than a soldier.

paired with

Chieri Sono – Center Nova of Phoenix Squadron, she is a powerful performer and the only remaining idol capable of triggering a Kirara Reaction. She is haunted by the memory of her best friend, Nagisa Motomiya, now transformed into the Protodeviln known as “A-yami,” and will do anything to bring the real Nagisa back.

Hikaru Dyson – Grandson of the greatest test pilot to ever sit in a variable fighter, Hikaru has the skills to pay the bills… and he knows it. His arrogant attitude gets under Nekki’s skin, and his constant leering sets the idols on edge, but when the missiles start flying, there is no better wingman.

paired with

Suzuko Kanzaki – Chief tactician of Phoenix Squadron (and obligatory megane-girl), Suzuko’s unassuming appearance belies one of the sharpest analytical minds of her age. She is able to memorize mountains of data and analyze complex battle plans at a glance. She also pays an uncomfortable amount of attention to the other girls’ personal habits.

Emylee Jenius- Daughter of Emilia Jenius, she is the oldest and most experienced pilot in Phoenix Squadron, but she has a young appearance thanks to her quarter-Meltran heritage. Emylee works hard to support the other singers and idols, but what she wants most is to discover the father she never knew.

paired with

Sonata Shinonome – Youngest member of Phoenix Squadron; what she lacks in talent, she makes up in enthusiasm. Sonata will do anything to stop those mean Protodeviln. She also wants boobs.

Protodeviln:

A-yami (formerly Atsuko Maeda the 14^th, Nagisa Motomiya) – Leader of the Protodeviln. An ancient space vampire in the body of a 13-year-old girl, she plans to turn humanity into mindless cattle for a Spiritia farm perpetually renewed by her dark song. Any who oppose her will be laughingly annihilated.

Mari-yami (formerly Mariko Shinoda the 8th, Mimori Kishida) – Voice of the Protodeviln, she serves as an “ambassador” to deliver their demands and ultimatums to humanity. Always smiling, her gentle demeanor conceals the implacable nature of her message.

Tomo-yami (formerly Tomomi Itano the 11^th, Tomoyo Itano) – Captain of the Protodeviln forces, she leads a fleet of identical warrior clones that battle humanity without mercy, fear, or sense of taste.

Others:

Mikako Minamino (formerly Minami Minegishi the 5^th) – Hard-drinking ace pilot and former idol, she serves as instructor and drill sergeant to the pilots of Phoenix Squadron. Also something of a cougar. Minami secretly feels that her inability to protect the Successors amounted to a second betrayal, and drowns her guilt in alcohol… but she can still fight when she’s drunk!

Mayu Watanabe Mark IV – Singing, dancing, killing machine. Lacking an organic brain, the cyborg unit Mayuyu Mark III could not be inhabited by the Protodeviln when they encountered it on Akibastar, and was summarily disposed of. However, when its data core was retrieved by Luca Angelloni and incorporated into his previously-unsuccessful “Nanase-bot” prototype, a fighting and singing unit of extraordinary potential was created.

Dennis Lone – An optimistic young reporter and strict teetotaler, Dennis wants to be the first eyes on the scene at every battle, to bring the story of humanity’s triumph back to his viewers. But how will the realities of war affect him?

Max Jenius – Fleet Commander of the UN Spacy Reclamation Forces. 85 years old and still the baddest MF’er around.

Is this for real? Could the new series actually bring every Macross series and AKB0048 into a unified continuity? All I can say is: keep your eyes on that monitor!