John Focker

So does this show have good mecha action/dogfights or not?

Graham

Only a few dogfight scenes when Aiba's reminiscing, for the most part it's been techno-mythical adventure.

However, Ep. 16 shows that the newly developed soundwave-based weapons are being fitted onto mecha (Cockpit Armor), which will most likely alter its previously ineffective status.

Also, the new intro shows more mecha action (ships and mecha), will update when Ep.17 becomes available on Thursday.

Starting with Ep. 15, there is new intro animation.

Spoilers...............................

As expected, Nanao Shu has also returned to life as semi-Hadian, protecting a resurrected Yuno (no explanation to her resurrection). Nanao hides Yuno from Aiba, but does ally with him in the fights. Iera meets Yuno briefly, but Noa didn't get to. Itsuki also comes back to life, no indication yet as to whether she'll confrot or ally with Aiba.

Humans develop an effective soundwave-based weapon (no sound energy/anima spirit jokes, please) against Hadians, and plan mass production.

A.D.1995年

未知の時空震によって、銀河系の時間軸が複数に分岐。

A.D.1995，The Galaxy Time Coordinates to be changed with unknown spatial-temporal shaking.

Being a Chinese-American who has less difficulty with Japanese-kanji than hiragana, I'd like to reveal some additional detail to the info kresphy has kindly provided.

Here's my translation:

A.D.1995, Due to an unknown spatial-temporal disturbance / shaking (未知の時空震), the Galaxy's time axis (銀河系の時間軸) has split (分岐) into multiplicity / plurality (複数).

Dear Hory Froating Head, I seriously hope against a parallel / alternate universe Macross story.

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

I don't mind sharing with you, but you'd need to be able to read Chinese subtitles.

For anyone who is still following, or intends to follow.

************************* S P O I L E R ****************************

I've watched up to Episode 12, and basically all of Shu's former colleagues who were killed/eaten by the Hadian are coming back to life. Apparently while being eaten by the Hadians, their strong will to survive allowed them to take over the Hadians' bodies, so now each of them possess Hadian-like super abilities. For one dumb reason or another, they challenge Shu one by one, and are of course, defeated. So far, Aguri, Loki and Tohn have been killed off.

Rei seems to be of same or similar origin to Varda/Vaire/Valar, and apparently she and Kyoka are just using each other for unknown purposes. Kyoka's intentions are still unknown, but obviously there's more than meets the eye regarding her betrayal.

The NES mecha no longer appear, or have been reduced to minimal importance, such as transportation.

Seiko was a popular Japanese idol singer at the time. But I dont think the chick in the backseat looks similar. Seiko had short hair. I`d link an image but MWs not letting me.

There's no "chick in the backseat", it's a "poster of a chick".

I wonder what the musical theme for the new macross is. Back to J-pop perhaps?

II Mix Delta or T.M. Revolution wouldn't be bad...

Anything written by Yuuki Kajiura is fine...

RYTHEM if they wanna go cutesy duet... (twins Muse and Therese Jenius, anyone?)

But no Chemistry please...not that they're bad...but just doesn't seem fitting...

Spoiler? NOT!

Episode 4 is...in fact...a...

C L I P S H O W.

It's gotta be a nightmare! 4th week?

Even the infamous SEED Destiny did not get a clip show until week 16.

NO, please NO, just no

Fine!

Macross SEED Destiny then...

Chinese subs are released at a much faster rate, so I've just finished watching ep. 3.

Serious Spoilers Alert

After 3 episodes, I'm convinced that although quite well-made, Kissdum is a Eva derivative with a small dash of Macross.

Although "the good guys" pilot transformable mecha like Viper and Dolphin, these are usually as useless against the Hadian as VF-11s were on Protodeviln. Io dies in ep 2, but Aiba emerges as a bio-weapon that fuses with mechanical components, with the mysterious Balder (Ba-ru-dah) as aiming / locking / seeking factor. The fact that opposing forces: Hadians and Aiba both stem from the Book of Dead is were the parallel with Eva is drawn (in which humans fought angels with angels / angel derivatives).

Kyoka turns out to be, at least superficially, sided with Hadians and critically injured Yuno at the end of ep 3. Yuno may be dead with body parts scattering all over the place, but I still doubt that's the end of her it since it's still early in the series. Aiba will probably travel to Luxor, Egypt per Yuno's instructions. The plot seems to take a grander scale, and so far I've been pleased with little twists here and there in every episode. The bullet effect with Balder is well-done with good, blood-pumping BGM.

In the music dept, II Mix Delta is obviously brilliant. What surprised me was the ending theme, performed by new artist STEPHANIE, who's set to officially debut on May 30. Marketed as "Super Clear High Tone Soprano", I don't particularly enjoy the Mariah Carey approach for hitting those high notes, but asides from that, the girl can sing and has good vocal, clearly superior to Nami Tamaki of SEED fame.

Series look promising, just that at the current rate of casualties, we may need a new cast soon.

Yeah, don't expect any major news for quite a while. It's still in the very early stages of development.

Graham

Dear Graham,

We all know you're probably under some type of NDA, but can you at least tell us WHEN the NDA ends?

In other words, let us know how much more torture we must endure.

Thanks a mil.

Just finished watching the RAW and then a Chinese sub.

My first impression was that the overall ambience feels very much like Evangelion with a dash of Macross.

1) Book of the Dead / Deceased (although a saber) => Dead Sea Scrolls

2) Hadean / Hadian (from Hades) => Angels

3) Kyouka => Commander Ikari

The initial shipwrecking event reminds of Second Impact.

Battles with mysterious creatures in Tokyo and main character going through dramatic experience (Shu stabbed by "Book" of the Dead => Shinji / EVA-1's rampage) seemed all too familiar.

However, resemblance to another great anime classic aside, it does seem like a show with potential.

At least I liked it, and look forward to more. II Mix Delta only adds to the appeal.

most annoying kid character in the history of great mecha animes.... Shinji from Evangeleon, everytime I watch it I just wanted to throw the remote at him, hahhaha

You've seen NOTHING yet my fellow MW'er...NOTHING...

You think Shinji's bad?

Just check out those whiny-kid-infested Transformers reincarnations...

or better yet...

Check out the Superior Defender Gundam featuring the kid with Tri-radish hair and poliomyelitic toothpick legs donning Shaq-size shoes.

If Macross is raped with such montrosities and turned into a Pokemon/Digimon clone, someone must die!

Who was it that said after Mac7 there's no where but up?

Some of my fave mechas in seed destiny were:

-the dog like mecha on four legs that transformed into a humanoid gundam.

ZGMF-X88S Gaia

-the transformable mobile armor which had the chicken legged mode.

ZGMF-X24S Chaos

-that valkrie gundam that had a transformation similar to the zeta gundam.

MVF-M11C Murasame

To each their own, I'll just say that the enmasse dismisal of the entire hip hop genre is your loss and only speaks to ones own obsolescence for refusing to make the attempt. Like genres of music from ages past with something to say, some are always unwilling to lend attention to anything other than what they know and quick to dismiss hip hop as rubbish. Some of it is rubbish but a lot of it is not. Like jazz, folk and rock, hip hop has in turn become the voice of a generation and has a lot to say about everything in the human experience, just as much as any other musical form.

If Macross uses hip hop in a new production, I certainly won't shy away from it anymore than I would upon hearing it in a film. But if I were a betting man, I'd say the odds of anything but minor hip hop influences appearing in Macross Flyer is low

Ah, but don't get me wrong, fellow MW'er. (No offense intended towards your personal music preference)

There's bound to be some good songs from EVERY genre. It's just that hiphop and rap have fallen prey to the overwhelming saturation of vulgar language, which reflects the lack of either effort or intellectual capacity on the part of the author.

Excuse me for placing a strong emphasis on LYRICS, as I do acknowledge some hiphop/rap have great beat and rhythm, but unless I didn't understand English, I simply cannot fully ignore the derogatory vulgarities to enjoy the musical component.

For instance, a lot of people bash Eminem, but I actually think he's got a few songs that had lyrics with meaning. However, the million dollar question is:

Do I (or you) REALLY wanna hear Eminem-style (or 50-cents, insert own list of gangsta rapper) tunes in Macross?

Hip hop is good in this "kid's" book. Now I can understand where the hatred came from when the older generations spoke ill of rock; guess the silliness must perpetuate.

Back in the late 80's, there was actually some good rap and hip-hop that actually had lyrics that made sense or even told a story, requiring some thought and talent from the writer/artist.

Somewhere along the line in the 90's, rap and hip-hop took a turn for the worst, and turned into an uncreative mishmash of profanities and unoriginal, sexually/racially discriminatory expletives, which can no longer be classified as "music" even by the loosest definition.

If the next Macross idol, female or male, starts singing something like:

"Yo yo yo, your ass is b1tching..." or "Man, you motherf***ing ho..."

(This may have excited or provocated the Zentradi if sang by Minmei during the Space War)

I will personally bomb the BW HQ.

And last, I'd much rather be called an antiquated stubborn silly old man than listen to brainless 'cuss fest of rhythmic trash.

I have a strong feeling that it could be an AU .

I have a strong feeling that your strong feeling is wrong.

Macross has NEVER released an AU.

Even Macross II was considered CANON continuity when it was first released, and only later was semi-officially demoted to AU to eliminate inconsistencies.

An excellent 5 minutes remains just that: 5 minutes, out of which I've probably enjoyed 2 (coincidentally my vote).

Personally I find it incomprehensible how people can lavishly praise a rehash of SDF Macross and DYRL with high marks, despite the above-average song and the gorgeous 5 minutes.

While DYRL is not a bad adaptation, it simply isn't possible to squeeze a storyline of SDF Macross' magnitude into a couple of hours. The magic gets lost in translation. To underrate SDF Macross SOLELY on accounts of graphic quality would be akin to...well...leaving Misa (substance) for Minmay (appearance), since the former has achieved cult classic status despite budget and time constraints.

I hate to tell you, but there was "magic" in Macross Plus as well, what did you think Sharon Apple represented? As well as Myung's song at hte end....

For those who don't like it, I honestly don't know what tell you. Macross has always had this style of balance for me, be it with giant aliens which are awakened to love & music, or giant flying bio-mecha (which I sure as  hell don't see as a giant leap from the Zentradi in general). Anyone thinking Macross was just a hard war story needs to wake up to the fact that it was never intended to be. Gundam has Newtypes, Macross has Spiritia.

Sorry Keith, but I beg to differ. Sharon Apple was really more "hypnotism", and like the Duke said, "subliminal suggestion," rather than magic. Several scenes were shown in Macross Plus that pointed to the manipulation of brain secretions (hormones and neurotransmitters) leading to hypnotic effects. There was NOTHING magical, or even remotely supernatural/paranormal in Macross Plus.

As for the parallel drawn between Gundam and Macross, Gundam was designed to have NewTypes as a main plot device since the very beginning (Gundam 0079). Macross, on the other hand, went through the TV series, DYRL, Flashback 2012, and Macross Plus without even touching SPIRITIA! Spiritia is a much later (both chronologically and in terms of continuity) afterthought that's only received partial acceptance amongst fans.

From the look of things, more spiritia may be coming our way. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that ALL Macross fans are fans of M7 and spiritia. There are still many who psychologically refuse M7's canon status, therefore the statement "Macross has spiritia" stands only for M7 fans. For the rest of us, it is still the good ol' love triangle, songs, giant transforming ship, and 3-mode transformations.

I watch dubs when I put on the movie and I'm drawing or something. Besides, you can't beat Myung's english rendition of Watashi no Kare wa Pairotto...

my boyfriend is a pilot now,

he's a pilot NOW!

three words for the guy who thought of that... chinese water torture... except instead of water it should be hot boiled pee.

I think you're talking about "Kate" singing it?! I can't recall Myung doing it...

Nah, the sounds in EP4 dub are superior to the sub. Listen to that entire fight scene with the sound cranked up. Much more various and interesting IMO.

I must concur. I actually watched the dub first on VHS tapes, and it was pretty impressive. I did not watch the sub version until 3 years later, and the sounds from the sub version in ep4 (Isamu and Guld's atmospheric fight) did not induce the same amount of adrenalin in me.

NOTE: Not to say that either is better than the other, it's purely a matter of subjective viewing and personal preference.

I like the earlier design over M3's. The earlier design has more visual tie-in with earlier variable fighters (VF-1, VF-4), while it also resembles the VF-17, so it's a good transition in terms of visual design. That said, the M3 design is nice, but it just felt less Macross-like.

Anyone notice that on the last screenshot on the Nanashi page

http://nanashi.macrossmecha.info/resrc/cat/vari/vf14.html

the VF-14 at the left bottom corner?

It has a Jolly Rogers skull on its left shoulder!

Long live the Skull Squadron!!!

The timecode is 25:52 in the raw (DivX) version I have. I think it's the birdman's head but it's really hard to tell. Definitely not a battroid.

it is.

here's a cut from the R2's designworks pamphlet.

The module at the middle of the top side REALLY resembles the YF-21/VF-22's head. Not surprising since the YF-21/VF-22 carry heavy Zentradi style cues, which in turn, are Protoculture-based.

All in all, Macross Plus does not, IMHO, have any "magical elements".

Myung sings Voices in a whisper while Isamu is hypnotised by Sharon.

Somehow Isamu hears this whispering voice through the closed canopy, from really far away, over the sounds of his engines. It sounds pretty magical to me...

Either Myung or Isamu must have some Betazoid blood...