sketchley

Again. Refer to the thread. A serviceman in a navy illustrates quite well how surface going naval vessels could survive the instant trip to space. Not to mention that only one of them is an aircraft carrier...

Re Asuka II, refer to: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?show...amp;hl=Asuka+II

Sorry, but shipped and purchased are two different things. The good news is that there are multiple copies of the DVD in CD and DVD shops near me. Sadly, no Bluray. I feel like I live in the frikken countryside! Going to go out to the nearest Animate and check out what's there later today.

No. As he said, little to no cultural impact. Of all the people that I have met, very, very, very, very, very few have heard the name Macross, let alone know anything about it. Of those, there are two types: parents, who may have watched the original series, and tend to talk more about the music and Iijima Mari. Or those who only know about Macross from Macross F. Everyone has heard of Gundam, weither they've actually scene it, know details about it, or not. EVA is probably halfway between the two. Though, about a month ago, I had a junior high school student suddenly start singing the theme song in one of my classes! Which had me scratching my head, as she hasn't seen the new movie(s), and was something like 2 or 3 years old when the series was first released! For all our love of Macross, it is still quite niche. Hopefully the continuing broadcast of Macross F as well as the constant presence of Macross Chronicle in the magazine stands will raise awareness and rekindle forgotten love of it. All of that said, I do hear, or think I hear "fire bomber" or "let's fire" or "fire!" (screamed like Bassara) on occasion. I'm not sure if they are a genuine culture footprint of Macross 7, or simply borrowed cool sounding English words spouted at random.

Standard romanization: ヤック := yakku. Not on pronunciation: the standard dialect of Japanese tends to not pronounce (or significantly reduce the pronunciation) of the final u. Therefore, it will sound like "yakk". (Which is different from, but to the untrained ear, almost the same as the bovine, "yak".

Ah. Ok, now I see where you're coming from. I agree, I dislike those attitudes as well, and am sickened by the behaviour of some of the FOB foreigners (generally from English speaking countries) who cope with it by becoming drunk womanizers before they return to their home country in a year. Nevertheless, it stems from culture shock, which everyone, from anywhere experiences to a greater or lesser extent when they move to and live in a foreign country (moving to live, as opposed to people traveling or on vacation.) I agree with expectations with some risk. Nevertheless, the intent of my posts on coming to Japan was more to temper unrealistic expectations more than anything else. I'm all for realistic expectations. Regarding Macross chronicle and expectations of statistical data (which started this whole tangent): the designers of Macross have given only the barest minimum of statistical data on their mechanical creations to date. The first issue of Macross Chronical reinforces this. I hope that I am wrong, but I strongly recommend readers of this to not expect more hard statistical data than we have had from other print sources on Macross to date.

Didn't you know that they were built with anti gravity generators, same as the Asuka II from Macross Zero, and used as heavy lift vehicles to help in the construction of space colonies, ship yards, and the pre-SWI fleet?

Thanks for clarifying. Look closely, and one can see places where the armoured dome has been built to incorporate the buildings. Refer to the following image, specifically the structures on the mid point of the dome. It matches where those buildings are.

A little uninformed and biased? Everyone knows that the tourist cities are Kyoto and Tokyo. Also, when I first came to Japan, back in 1999, I was going to a university in Kanto. Also, I wasn't talking about getting what you give. I was talking about expectations. Apples and oranges, my Tokyoite friend. Nevertheless, come down to Kansai and have some real food. @Zinjo: these aren't magazine inserts. Also, everything BUT the cover has holes for the binder. @Wes: No idea how many years. It may go on for a long time. So far, the best estimate would be to pool all of the Macross mecha and characters, and divide by the following rate from the first two issues: Issue one mecha: the VF-1J (no attachments) and the Sound Booster for the VF-19 Kai. Characters : Linn Minmei and Mushu (whutever. Cross-dressing barber from Macross II.) Issue two mecha: SDF-1 Macross, VF-1J (?! maybe the armoured version?), SNN Valkyrie. Characters: Mirena Furea Jiinasu, Soldier(s) of the Anti-UN Alliance.

Erm... Aim For the Top 2, Diebuster already had that (the towed Earth being chased by a giant alien, which was itself towing a black hole (which it had just consumed, or something.) Maybe the series should be called "over the top"? Buildings in space are the same as spaceships with windows in space. The inside of the shell is done with holographic projections. There's probably a bit of reflected light from a nearby star going on as well. The interior of the dome may also be coated with something that reflects back the blue wavelength of light. Personally, what always got me scratching my head are all of those subway tubes running over the surface of the dome. I think there are also some stations up there. I can understand their need when the dome is closed. But as it's hardly ever closed and there are no charlie and the chocolate factory glass elevators...

Possibly. For me, the scene was loaded with references (tea cup, Galaxy Express 999, etc.). EDIT: to clarify - in response to the post with the pictures of the tea cup.

I think the TV shot was taken from an analogue broadcast; possibly one recorded on media that downgraded the quality (VHS, etc..) To my tired eyes, the BluRay shot looks like there is more detail than in the high vision broadcast - though, that could just be because the brightness and contrast have been turned way up.

I found it quite easy to take apart. Mind you, I did it page by page, and gently. At one time, I mistakenly was pulling out two pages, and it was resisting more. So yeah, go page by page, and gently, and one should have no problems.

Magnetically held in place like the plasma in a beam sabre? Erm... OTEC explanation: "a variation of the PPB is used to hold reaction..."

<shrugs> Apparently the "standard household TV size" here is 40 inches. Which, apparently, makes our less than 3 month old TV already behind the times...

No. Size info on Island one has been on the Compendium for a long time. The only new info that I've gleened (so far) from Chronicle is that the Island One is a new type of long range emmigration ship. (SDF:1* Class > Megaroad Class > New Macross Class > Island Cluster Class.) *Chronicle just calls it Macross. I'm using the alphabet soup to make the meaning clearer here.)

?!?!?!?! My 1440x900 monitor doesn't do it justice! (Playing the 1440x1080 MP4, that is.) Trust me, the only way to see it is on a 37 inch (I think that's the correct conversion) OR LARGER tv, in high vision (HDTV?)! That way you can answer things like "where does the transport go when the title flashes on the screen?" Me thinks things are "slow" because it's summer. Lots of people are on vacation or playing outside. Personally, I like this slower pace...

<shrugs> Just saying the best advice given to gaikokujin about Japan. Expect nothing, and be surprised. Expect something, and be disappointed.

You may also want to try the Japanese book store in Richmond. In... Yaohan Centre? I'm not sure about Japanese bookstores in other parts of Canada. However, I've heard of branches of Japanese stores like Kinokuniya in LA and maybe one other part of the US. You may want to try them, too. You'll still have to pay additional costs. But I'm fairly certain that it'll be less than ordering direct from Japan. Edit1: Found info on it: Iwase Books Map and contact info in English: http://www.iwasebooks.com/j_company.html Japanese page with contact info in English and link to company homepage with English: http://www.iwasebooks.co.jp/tempo/van.htm Edit2: Apparently they take subscription orders.

It's actually a shame that some fans don't notice size differences when it is written in text. It's almost like they are not reading posts. Which is sad, as this is a message board...

I remember when I came to Japan a short 5 years ago (has it really been 5 years?!?!) and getting an internet connection was a big push - and that was only the connection that comes over the phone lines. Nowadays, they're pushing fibre optic connections, but it's not as big nor as noticeable a push as the "get your first internet connection" was, 5 years ago. I'm not saying that the internet hasn't been available before then. Just that it wasn't very affordable except for places like universities where uni students could get it for free (after paying tuition, etc..). So that, coupled with getting affordable computers that can do 4 byte characters with ease has delayed things internet in Japan. Though, I probably am fuzzy in my facts, and the beer in my system may be twisting things.

PS all this stuff about new openings has to stop. It's extremely doubtful that it'll change until the season ends. Personally, I'd rather the animators work on making more good Macross story anime, than an opening that will only recycle the elements that are already in the opening.

I can't remember which thread I spotted it in, so I'll add it here: This is a bird's eye view of Island 1. The red line that I added is to indicate where I think the Battle 25 is. It is quite small next to the city section. Compared to the Battle 7 when attached to city 7, the Battle 25 is downright puny. Image from Macross Chronicle.

The shop I picked it up at didn't have that display... it was in with the other databook type magazines.