Liottel

I thought the ending of the series was really bad... Ryousuke Takahashi has a knack for making endings to otherwise plausible shows that just infuriate you. I mean, have you noticed the commonality? Votoms has a "Huh, that doesn't make any sense!" ending, as does Gasaraki, and to a lesser extent, Blue Gender aswell. All have similar mecha designs, all are portrayed as fairly realistic, yet all have endings that don't make a shred of sense. Some creators just /can't/ write good endings! Because they can't, they attempt to cover this up by making a trippy 'out there' ending. After all, if no one can figure out what the heck is going on, they can't really diss the content, right? **coughMacrossZerocough** ~Liottel.

I own the Dorvack mini-magazines Mr.News #1, and #3, and I have only ever seen 1 through 4. Was there more than 4 dorvack Mr News mini magazines? http://s2.simpload.com/050144569079911a8.jpg These magazines contained all of the lineart for the show, but focused on models of the series, with lots of scratch built stuff, akin to the Macross Hobby Handbook #1 book (the one with all the prototype Earth Trekkers, models of the radar-valkyrie from the original series, not the elintseeker, etc etc). I believe there were also side-storys, told through model dioramas, although not being able to read much Japanese, I could be wrong. Dorvack has some of the coolest mecha. Their powered amors are extremely realistic (even if the show is a bit absurd). What came first, Maschinen Kriegers powered armor suits, or Dorvacks powered armor suits? Because they have a striking resemblance to eachother, and in my oppinion, the Dorvack ones seem more plausible - check out the cover of Mr. News #3! ---Liottel.

No No Ginrai What I mean is, the Salamander OVA is sort of a combination of the storylines of Gradius and Salamander. In one of the Salamander OVAs, one of the "end boss" things the main characters have to fight is the giant freaky head thing. In the first OVA the main boss is a giant angry dragon that lives in a magma pit - I believe that's from Salamander right? I have the soundtrack to the OVA. The end themesong is pretty cool. Theres also fairly un-interesting orchestral remixes of some Gradius tunes in it - further proving that the OVA is indeed based on both Salamander and Gradius. ---Liottel.

Salamander basically is Gradius. And the Salamander OVA actually has two or three storys in it (I forget), and at least one of them is definitely the original Gradius story. Right down to shooting the scary head monster thing in the end. (Or was that Gradius II?) You can find HK's of it pretty easily. Definitely cool. ---

Some of the enemy mechs in Dorvack are screwy pod things with one leg. I reckon thats what the single legged walker thingy is. ---Liottel.

The manga was far better than the movie. ---Liottel.

Speaking of Gall Force.. I was really let down by that series.. I thought Eternal Story, Destruction, and Stardust War were only 'ok'. I mean, I think I enjoyed that little GARAGA ova more. In all honesty I thought the entire plot was really screwy. I thought it was fairly enjoyable to watch.. But it didn't really move me at all. But, I thought that Rhea Gall Force, and Earth Chapter was really cool. It was so apocalyptic and great. I haven't seen New Era, or Revolution. Is that any good? Man, speaking of weird little OVAs... Anyone here seen BIG WARS? I thought it was really enjoyable in the same style as Venus Wars and stuff like that. The Salamander OVA (Based on the GRADIUS series by Konami) was really cool. The Dragons Heaven OVA was actually really enjoyable, if super short. I love Genocyber. I Wish You Were Here, was actually super cool - if way too short. ARIEL is one of the screwiest anime i've ever seen - but it was really cool. There are just so many handfulls of really enjoyable, really short, little OVAs out there. And most people don't watch them because theyre just one tiny story smashed into 30 or 45 minutes. I thought the Big Wars landships were absolutely awesome. The fight scenes in that movie were incredible. Area 88 is super cool. I love how dark and depressing it is deep down. The remake is total waste, and no one should ever see it. Ahhh, memories. ---Liottel. P.S. Hey Yoshi, wished you live near me man. You could watch Dougram with me and actually tell me what the heck is going on with all the politics and stuff. Dougram is one show you just CANT watch raw, not understanding that much Japanese, and still expect to even have a clue about whats going on...

Waaaait a minute. The Dezalg are human/alien mixbreeds??? Oh... And one thing I never get... Many years ago in the storyline the Megazone 23 encountered the Dezalg ship and they blasted eachother a lot, leaving whole sections of the Megazone 23 ship destroyed, and for some reason their paths cross more then once? I never really got it... Why are the Megazone 23 and the Dezalg intersecting eachothers courses every hundred years or so?? Does every ship have an Eve? ---Liottel.

Two best bands ever... SHOW-YA. EARTHSHAKER. SHOW-YA is an all female metal band from the 80's. They were one of the most popular bands in Japan for a while, and I think they had the most musical talent of any Japanese band ever. The lead singer, Keiko Terada is terrific. EARTHSHAKER is a band that came out around when Loudness was getting popular, and their early stuff sounds similar. Earthshaker is still around, and sometimes the lead singer, Masafumi Nishida (Nickname: Marcy) sometimes teams up with Keiko Terada in the band HIP'S (which has only released 3 very good singles). Earthshaker is still going strong, releasing new -extremely- high quality albums. Virtually any project done by Nishida is bound to be great. I have almost every single album by SHOW-YA, and quite a few Earthshaker albums. SHOW-YA is one of my favorite bands. But I doubt virtually any of you have any albums by either band, for some reason they haven't developed a following outside of Japan. ~Liottel.

Ok folks - There are a lot of really good mecha shows that don't deserve to be forgotten. Fang Of The Sun Dougram was a brilliant political mecha-show, and one of the longest running single mecha shows of all time. Dorvack was cheesy and derivative, but it was really fun. God Mazinger was mediocre, but it had quite a few really fun moments to it. Metal Armor Dragonar was Gundam In New Clothes, and had absolutely nothing original going for it whatsoever - but it was pretty and had great music. Very fun to watch. Gold Lightan is one of the stupidest shows you'll ever see - but if you watch enough of it, it is AWESOME. Platnimhugen Ordian is one of the most bizarre psychotic anime you'll ever see, and I'm really not sure I enjoyed it, but its definitely worth a look. Even little known OVAs such as BIG WARS can be entirely enjoyable for casual viewing. So, is there ANY mecha show that is just so flamboyantly terrible you SHOULD NOT see it even if given the opportunity? Yes. Srungle. Srungle is one of the worst anime ever made, in my oppinion. Its absolutely terrible. In the 5 DVD box set (Box set #1 of 2), there was only one episode I thought was remotely entertaining. I can't really describe how mind numbingly retardely stupid the entire series is. The production quality is --attrocious--, the characters are terrible... I really really wanted to like it - but in the end I was thoroughly repulsed by it. Do you folks know of any other shows you thought had ABSOLUTELY no redeeming value?? ~Liottel.

I thought that Eve implied that the Megazone 23 and the Dezalg ship were the last remaining remnants of earth ? I don't think there are any more Megazones out there. And, the Megazone forces did have many auxiliary ships, you see quite a few of them in various scenes in Part II. When B.D. orders all remaining units to start sending people to the spaceport to board ships and try to escape, to give up Megazone Two Three, and then later on you see B.D.s forces escaping in their Zahme-Sau and Willde-Saus, I think its apparent that at least a small fraction of Megazone 23 humans managed to escape in ships. They DID have ships other than the FX fleet! And... You know... Part III doesn't exist. It's like Macross II. It's fine, but it does not fit the continuity whatsoever. I heard that this "New Megazone" was going to use the characters from Part 1 & 2, but maybe creating a new story with them - thus completely destroying the notion that Part III is in the same continuety. And it shouldn't be in the same continuity in my oppinion!! I thought Part III was absolutely terrible. ~Liottel.

I have a really beautifully boxed 2 DVD HK bootleg by Animation Video. Subs are pretty bad, and the screen quality isn't as good as the ADV release, but it works. If your interested, you should check out Ebay. Either that, or just download a Region Free program. I installed one, and now I can watch any region DVD on my computer without switching or anything. Really neat stuff. ~Liottel.

Ginrai, you are awesome :D 00 Hargun with missile packs is downright badass! Say, do you know if they're supposed to be redoing Megazone 23, or creating an all new story? I mean... B.D. and a good number of people from Megazone 23 escaped the final destruction, as did Shogo and his gang. And... Maybe it's just conjecture here... But the Dezalg were vastly more advanced - couldnt they have simply built a ship and escaped ADAM too?? So, for all we know, the 3 forces, BD, Shogo, and Dezalg are stil ready to do battle!! Could be interesting. ~Liottel

Yes I do understand. I just thought that most people associated WWII Germans with the Black, White, Red, crooked at a 45 degree angle one, not the straight up & down White, Black, and Blue one of the Finns. And actually, in some representations the Presidential Hakaristi looks even cooler, with a rose in the middle. It's really pretty. I believe that Finland is the only country who's government still actually uses the symbol. And at least, when you see it on the presidential flag, yellow bars inlayed on blue maltese cross, it's quite striking! Having been to Finland many many times, and having relatives that fought in the Winter War and Continuation War, I must say I'm a bit proud of Finlands use of it. I wonder if, in many many years, if the Finnish Air Force will once again adopt the symbol? Germans still fly the Iron Cross, after al. Imagine seeing those new Finnish FA-18's decked out with blue on white Hakaristis, it'd be amazing looking. Although I think all Finnish F-18's sport low-vis grey paint.. But still. ~Liottel.

Ok, you get upset because I use a Finnish symbol that, in fact is no longer in use. Ok, fair enough. Updated my avatar. Finnish flag, the hakaristi on the Finnish Presidential Flag flying today, and the heraldic symbol of Finland. Dare say theres no way no how someone could find it offensive now. ~Liottel.

I'd really rather like to keep it, but I suppose I could use some other Finnish hakaristi that isn't nearly as visually similar to the one you are referring to. And besides, so far it's only my threads that have been derailed. I don't mind. And I mean, as far as people mistaking it for the WWII German symbol and being offended - I bet they wouldn't be offended if I had a hammer & sickle as my avatar. And in fact, Communists under the Bolsheviks, Stalin, Castro, Mao, and more, have murdered millions more than the Germans ever did, and continue to brainwash and oppress a staggering number of humans on this earth. The communist party of Mongolia recently illegally ousted the democratic president, because communists are the enemy of mankind. Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, are all stagnant mires with no possible future for their populations due to the oppressive and sick communist principals controlling their government. China is beginning to forcibly oppress Taiwan, and I believe Taiwan probably won't be what it is today in 50 years. Not only has communism killed millions more than the fascists, their influence on this earth is still damning and apparent - while fascist influence lasted only a quarter century, and has been firmly cleaned from the earth. And yet, most of you would not be offended by a hammer & sickle. ~Liottel.

In the 50's a Victorias Secret commercial would have been universally offensive, but now it's commonplace - and I really rather enjoy it I figure it's fine. People will figure it out. Or eventually I'll just get bored with my good luck symbol and get an avatar of an underage really busty skantily clad girl ~Liottel.

That would be great Ginrai, if it's not that much of a problem. Machine Saurer is one of my favorite Go Nagai creations. It's just so absurd!!! In those last 4 panels... Machine Saurer has been flown into the air by an enemy monster, and then dropped. Saurer has no wings, so he'll plummet to the earth and die. So, the Saurer Base people launch the new weapon - a cyborg pterodactyll!!! The pterodactyl splits apart, attaches to Saurers shoulders and back, and becomes Saurers wings! Just like the Jet Scrander from Mazinger! Later on theres even a Boss character, who drives a really crappy pathetic cyborg Triceratops and tries to compete with Saurer, haha. I really like it. ~Liottel.

Ginrai! Have you ever found lineart of the 00 Hargun with his missile packs & rifle? I mean, the VF-1J isn't a flaming knockout until you plop his huge missile batterys onto him. The VF-11 is just a pretty cool fighter, until you give it that immense missile system. The Redshoulder Custom is just a regular ol' Scopedog, except it's got heaps of ordnance plopped onto it. A mech almost triples in coolness the more guns & missiles are slapped to it. For that reason, the 00 Hargun really might be my favorite Megazone mech. But the lineart for it makes it look so boring! I'd love better pics. Oh, and I got the impression the FX Fleet was well away from Meegazone 23 by the time the battle took place. So I still think they were launching from the ventral bay of one of the escort ships. Its the only thing I could come up with. ~Liottel.

Ginrai, you are amazing!!! And as for your questions, I had absolutely no idea. I'd have to go look it up. I'll be happy to see what other people figure out. And as for D1 and D7 hints... D1 is from an OVA, D7 is from a 75 episode show. D1 may also be spelled D 1 D-1, etc. ~Liottel (And thanks for your understanding about the symbol. It's actually still used on service medals and on the presidential flag in Finland. If we banned the use of anything that offended a bunch of people at some point in history, I don't think thered be a single thing left on earth.)

Well, basically anyone who's looked at the old model cataloges for that series remembers the Ishkick and the Nickick. Their names sort of become glued in your head. Plus, it's a lot more unknown than the star mecha. And even those aren't -really- well known. I'd say the reference deserves an 8. PM me if you don't understand my avatar. I don't understand many of your boobly naughty avatars either, haha. Or just go look up Hakaristi on the web. ~Liottel.

Here's a fun little quiz. Match the key word with a Japanese animated mecha related production. Only go look it up online after you've exhausted your cerebral capabilties. Do not read replies below until exhausting cerebral capabilities!!! OL = Obscurity Level. Asurada (OL-5) D1 (OL-9) D7 (OL-10) Ishkick (OL- Shaian (OL-9) Soyukaze (OL-3) J9 Trilogy (oL-10) Melos no Youni (OL-10) Tulcas (OL-3) Round Vernian (OL-2) Shooting Star (OL-10) Just thought this would be fun ~Liottel

The original magnet toys are extremely expensive and hard to come by, but recently there was a gashapon line of lesser known Go Nagai figures. It included Machine Saurer, Devilman Lady, Groizer X, Govarion, Big Dai X, and God Mazinger. The Machine Saurer figure was definitely the best. Here's some pics of mine posing: http://s2.simpload.com/04094438b58786a45.jpg http://s2.simpload.com/04094438b576c8903.jpg ~Liottel.

One of the original gets was purple... Blitzwing or Thundercracker? And Cyclonus from The Movie was purple. Was there even a toy of Cyclonus ?? ~Liottel.

Say, speaking of Leiji who basically has one type of story he can tell, although he tells it incredibly well... Do any of you like Koichi Ohata? Koichi is one of my favorite directors. A lot of people watch M.D. Geist and think "Wa'da'hell??", but those same people might go and watch a Tarantino movie and enjoy it. Koichi Ohata is all about making a character that is entirely out of the ordinary. M.D. Geist isn't a hero at all - He Wants To Kill You. Why? Because Your Alive. In part 1 where you finally realise he isn't a hero at all, he's just an insane murderer, is when he activates the death force, stating it hasn't ended "It has only begun." Made my head spin. Furthermore, Genocyber is a hair raising cyber punk anime that really impressed me. You have to have the right mind set for that sort of thing... On one hand, it lifts your spirits, because the main character girl is becomming free - on the other hand, in order to do it, she annihilated all of Tokyo. Leaves you sort of questioning things. And Ryosuke Takahashi used to be an amazing director - Dougram, Votoms, Layzner, etc. But, in making Gasaraki he started to loose his mind I think. So, when Blue Gender came out, I was extremely skeptical. Then, I realised that Koichi Ohata had collaborated on it. Know why Blue Gender is so absurdly dark and forboding? Koichi Ohata did that. I firmly believe that if Ohata wasn't there helping out Ryosuke Takahashi, it would have become a horrible piece of philosophical mecha drivvle. How it was completed though, I thought it was an A+ anime. Similar could be said for Burst Angel (Bakuretsu Tenshi). It was a lame lame story, with lame characters, done in a lame way. And it would have been absolutely horrible - except Koichi Ohata partook of it. Because of that, a happy-go-lucky Babe In A Robot anime actually ended up being pretty dark and forbidding. At first I thought the show sucked. But by the end of it, I thought it was a pretty good show. I can't wait for whatever Ohata works on next. ~Liottel.