PixelatedShinobi

I've been building the excellent new HG VF-31J Siegfried, and the build process actually left me with a question about its weapons - what are the two little gold cylinders in the head? They appear to be laser cannons, but official specs for the siggie list only the head-mounted laser. Are these vents, or cameras, or something? I've no idea.

Back on the topic of Macross M3 , I'm putting this forward on behest of the translator - does anyone have any strong opinions on what the ship Max and Milia are assigned to is called? I'm personally in favor of Algenicus, but we're also passing around Algenix, Argenix, and Argnicus. Has this thing ever had any official romanizations? What has it been translated as previously? Would help a lot.

With an upcoming Macross M3 translation on the way, I've been thinking again about the game's "Final Weapon" - the, to my knowledge, unnamed Zentradi combining robot that appears as the final boss of M3. the Only art I've ever been able to find of it is a partially-lost split-up scan from "Nanashi's Information Group", a group that actually appears to be defunct and whose scan is as old as I am. This is the only mention I've ever seen made of it on the internet, and I'm curious if we have literally any other information related to it - I have no idea where the scan even came from.

It's mediocre, but it's still exciting to see a translation patch of it at all - it does have a pretty alright story with some interesting implications.

Macross M3 is getting a translation patch!

The Windermereans also start out with Deniable Operations low-vis black paintjobs in the beginning of Delta before Roid makes his announcement. I'd have to check but something's telling me Brera's Lucifer might also do something similar at some point.

It's really excellent. The animations have certainly taken a quality dip due to how expensive modern game development is, but the /plot/ is the best in a decade at least, and backed up by a ton of very well-drawn CGs. Delta specifically has been given the usual SRW treatment of a "hybridized" approach, mostly following Passionate Walkure's major beats but using plot points and elements from TV to make it work in the unified setting and stretch out the movie's events to cover an entire game. This is the last thing some poor Var'd soldier saw before he died. But yeah, it's just an indication of how slapdash Passionate Walkure was and it's not like it's continuity breaking or anything. I must admit I never really even /noticed/ the black accents until SRWY, I had just always assumed the KAI was simply Hayate's custom reaper insignia. I hope we get a (presumably premium bandai) exclusive variant of the new High Grade with the KAI detailing.

Here's something interesting/annoying (your pick, really) SRWY has got me thinking about the 31JKAI for the first time in a while, and I noticed something - it doesn't actually appear in Zettai Live? In the opening battle of Zettai Live against the Vivasvats, the Delta Flight Siggys are all equipped with LilDrakens in a fun bit of crosscultural cooperation - but interestingly, Hayate appears to have the wrong VF. Consistently (I've checked multiple shots), his VF appears to be his base 31J with LilDrakens equipped as opposed to his 31JKAI from the end of Delta TV. I'd think this is just a thing where they wanted to keep that exclusive to the TV anime, but (due to footage reuse at the end of Passionate Walkure), the 31JKAI *does* appear in the movie timeline. I don't think there's really a point to my post, but it's interesting, at least?

Oh, these are gorgeous! The M3 designs are incredible and it's really cool to see (fanbooks?) for it. Great find.

It's rough being a ZZ fan out here.

Got a very nice assortment of artbooks, manga, and LNs today! At some point in the future, I'd love to scan some of this, the 30 artbook and Nyan Dora especially. Alto Meets Sky is gorgeous enough that it /has/ to be shared. Unfortunately, I don't have proper scanning equipment, and I'd also ideally like to find second copies of them to take apart. For now, they'll be personal treasures. I'm very excited to have a copy of Wired Warrior, included in the short story collections! In image: Macross 30 Complete Visual Guide Macross F The Wings of Farewell Official Complete Book Macross F Nyan Dora Macross Frontier Diaries Macross Frontier Memories

The "Nome" theming might also be a connection drawn to everyone's favorite (mine, at least) Galactic Fairy?

I'm looking for art reference specifically. Thank you!

Been poking around trying to find things - are there any decent references for the YF-29's Super Packs? Been unable to find any on the Macross Mecha Manual. Worst comes to worse I'll find the issue of Chronicle it's in and scan them myself, but was wondering if someone else has done it for me. I've been unable to find the specific issue the Durandal is profiled in too, so anyone who knows which would be immensely helpful.

I just finished "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 2036", a shoot-em-up set in the DYRL-Lovers Again timeline starring a grown-up Komilia, and I'd like to shine a spotlight on some of the excellent mechanical design present in it. The "Attack Valkyrie" or "VF-1KAI", a modified VF-1 with new head units, new inbuilt Super Packs, and a really nice proportional facelift from Koichi Ohata, is a standout (and naturally should be, being the lead machine). Komilia's unit (in red) isn't designated as anything in particular by the manual from what I can tell, but the Macross Wiki gives it the designation of VF-1JR (despite having a head more reminiscent of the 1S!). Conversely, her partner Lott's machine (in yellow) has a head more reminiscent of the 1J (and the wiki gives it the designation 1SR, for some reason. I assume this is some fan conjecture, because it's a wiki and they get things wrong all the time.) A grunt variant also exists, appearing in 2036's sequel, Eternal Love Song. (The wiki calls it the 1AR, for obvious reasons. Still don't know where the "R" came from!) While the U.N. Spacy fleet is primarily comprised of Zentradi ships (since the surviving human population in DYRL's version of Space War I was... small, to say the least), that doesn't mean they have zero presence. The Daedalus II type debuts in 2036 and returns in Eternal Love Song, a ship designed with the express purpose of accelerating to ramming speed and performing a solo Daedalus Attack on enemy ships, in one of the most metal things I've seen this year. On the opposing side of the Zentradi, spearheaded by a miraculously alive but very beat-up Kamujin/Quamzin/whatever, is a slew of elaborate and very oversized machines to serve as the game's bosses. While the stage minibosses don't tend to feel like they're from Macross (I love that they feel like Thunder Force rejects myself), the bosses are a wild and diverse bunch of Glaug, Queadlunn, and Nousjadeul-Ger evolutions with all sorts of wacky gimmicks. Kamujin's personal machine is a REAL bruiser. Unfortunately, he's one of the easiest bosses in the game to beat if you know good positioning. OUAREHRAHGH GH HPROOOOTOOCULLTAAAAA (dies) 2036 was a fun game! It ranks high in the list of Macross games for me. It's a very solid shmup in addition to having all this great mechanical design, has a fun story that while a bit basic, does have the standout personalities of Komilia, Britai, and Kamujin keeping it engaging. I'd definitely recommend to any fans looking for some new DYRL/II style content.