sketchley

Just some reminders - between Macross 7 and Macross Zero, there were several Macross projects that saw some pilot animation produced, but never get the green light for production (some of them can be seen on the Macross 20th Anniversary DVD.) Also, given the direction of those failed projects, and the direction that Macross Plus, 7 and Zero took the animation, I'm suspecting that if any animation results in this, it'll have a lot of, if not exclusively be, CG.

Nope. It's usually students who attend certain schools are usually accepted into elite schools higher up the educational ladder, BUT the students still have to work their butts off to get through the entrance exams. (Call it being similar to professional sports teams - those with the money tend to attract, or purchase, the better talent. In teaching - that means the elite schools can charge more money, in turn being able to hire better teachers who better prepare the students to get the right answers on the entrance exams (not necessarily getting a well-rounded education in the process - it's a big controversy right now. There are some reforms in the works in the Diet.)) The 'this school leads into this school leads into this school' phenomenon has resulted in at least one mother murdering a neighbour's child, only because the neighbour's child got a spot in a kindergarten and her kid didn't. The kindergarten in question having had most of it's pupils get into a certain elementary school, which had most of it's pupils get into a certain middle school, which had, etc., ad nasuem. That murder happened in late 1999, so this isn't a new thing. Though, the declining birthrate may reduce the societal pressures that result in these things - however, this is all a topic for another thread. Back to this topic: more Macross = more happy purchasing customers (hint, Big West, hint, hint!)

Japan does not equal other countries (given that most of the users are English speakers, let's go so far as to say Japan does not equal English speaking countries.) Education is king in Japan, and getting into a good school is all important. What isn't generally known is the flip-side to all the success stories of the people who successfully navigate through exam hell to get into the best universities. The flip-side being those who start working, or enter apprenticeships after finishing Middle School (aka Jr. High School). Yes, you read that correctly - middle school. High School is not mandatory here in Japan, and middle school students have to work their butts off to get accepted into the good ones (and that's only if their parents can afford to send them to the good, aka more expensive, high schools.) I'd go so far as to say that some High Schools should probably be called vocational schools. In this case, someone in first year of middle school who lands this job, has a good chance of making a career out of it, so they don't have to work so hard in their studies to complete middle school, and don't need to attend high school because, hey, they already have an extremely well paying job - with better wages than most of their classmates will get even after graduating university. As for her love life - it's part of the image. Would you be more or less interested in a famous woman if she was presently with someone? Whatever the results of this project are, the producers understand the market (Japan) and they know that a single, young woman is much more marketable than someone who is not. Anyhow, different culture, laws and country. The others hit on excellent points about the possibly whys, kudos. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school#Japan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_education_in_Japan I'm not holding my breath until something more substantial gets announced. Graham's comments may be mysterious, but ultimately, there's little substance other than a new project is looking for a cast.

I have a Hasegawa VF-1 Battroid kit - and the fine detail turned me off of building kits (combined with some non-modelling related interests.) Personally, I don't recommend starting with a Hasegawa kit, unless you are very dedicated, serious, and are willing to work on it for at least a month. Despite Noyhauser's comments (I haven't noticed the concerns mentioned) the 1/144 Bandai Macross 7 kits are quite easy, and a single model can be completely assembled in less than a day (of course applying putty, glue and paint will add a couple of days.) Nevertheless, a good starter kit, that's great for giving a confidence boost, and won't have you banging your head against the wall due to the complex instructions in Japanese.

I recommend the Bandai 1/144 scale kits from Macross 7: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models...bandai_1994.htm They do not require glue during assembly (but they kind of need it on some sections) and there are plenty of "holes" in the resulting models that require some putty - if you want to fill them in. They also don't break the bank. I picked up the VF-11 last year for ï¿¥525 (or was that ï¿¥300?) I'm not sure how much mark-up you'll see if you buy from an importer overseas. Nevertheless, the kits do result in some pretty decent models, and the battroid is quite poseable.

I'll give you points for that creative interpretation. HOWEVER, in English, pop music is different from rock music, and even though rock music could become popular music (ergo pop-music in the most loose sense), it is generally and exclusively classified as rock music (often a sub-genre of it, and not the all-inclusive, general, interpretation of rock music.) Therefore, the point stands: Macross 7, specifically the music of the main group, Firebomber, is J-rock, not J-pop.* I could care less about people's opinions on it (kiddie, or otherwise,) just that they accurately or adequatly describe it. *Of course, if you classify bands like L'Arc~en~Ciel and X Japan as J-pop, then feel free to classify Macross 7, specifically Firebomber's music, as J-pop. Nevermind the legions of rock fans that will be upset in the process.

You're not the first to question: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...mp;#entry454687 As for their opinions - call it a mix between not paying attention, and wanting to use demeaning adjectives (but ending up using wrong descriptors) to voice their negative opinion on it. EDIT: I should probably add that the posters who say that most likely have different musical tastes and their opinion of rock (and probably what they consider as good rock) music is different. I think we all can agree that the rock music in "Macross 7" isn't hard edged (say like the stuff in "The Matrix",) but it is just as much rock music as Elvis Presley - who is also nothing like the harder edged stuff. Opinionation is alive and well here...

Left Canada a few years back, and these kinds of stories makes me happy that I left for lands were businesses actually compete with each other with low pricing plans, and they actually understand the meaning of service. Waves. Seriously, I'm not even sure what to suggest as a solution. Me thinks this is related to an article on the BBC that came out a few months ago about companies charging more for hi-bandwidth users (as opposed to applying a smaller charge equally amongst all users.) Personally, I think it's all retarded, because hey, internet 2.0 et al, eh. Aside from shopping around to see what other deals are out there (with other ISPs in the area; cable companies don't tend to make good ISPs if I remember correctly,) there's always the option of getting the files hosted on an overseas server somewhere.

Agreed with T.V. If you want to be really anal retentive, try a screen grab, and then playing with it in photoshop to get the sky to a skyblue shade, and see what the color of the SV-51 becomes.

North America = region 1 Japan (and East Asia, not sure about SouthEast Asia) = region 2 Though that is for DVDs, and no idea about BluRay. Speaking strictly of BluRay releases, there's the added potential difficulty (which may emerge) where North America is HD DVD and Asia is BluRay. Simultaneous releases might work; especially if a movie is released on disc at the same time as it is released in theaters. I read an article on the BBC World News about the latest Bond movie's premiere in China, and how pirates were already selling DVDs of it on the street for 1/6 the cost of going to see the movie.

Actually, the number of times the same music is repeated, is a strong point for Macross 7 - from the perspective of importers. Just think: they only have to pay for the translation once, and simply copy and paste the results of the translation (subtitles or whatever) whenever the song appears. That's probably why the producers of Macross 7 did that in the first place * *Yes, I know, the real reason was because they were hyping the music so good Macross fans would go and buy it - and if they played a new song every week, no song would get any type of momentum at the music shop to really bring in the money. We must remember that Macross 7 was originally meant to be viewed 1 episode per week, not 4/8/12 in a row, in one sitting.

This is a tough line being drawn into the arguement. On the one hand, there are old (some could say ancient) series that are getting exported and translated into English (Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, etc..) However, there is a difference between those and Macross 7. I'd summarize that as 'mass appeal.' Therefore, the question is: does Macross 7 have the mass appeal to bring in the profit? We've already got the answer from the companies who are involved with importing and translating anime...

Agreed. Everything else is irrelevant once a show has passed it's 'best before' date. Even Macross Zero is coming up to that 'dated' deadline...

I'm taking a guess here, but it is probably due to the cost of purchasing the rights for distribution + all of the other costs of production and advertising, vs. an estimate of how many sales/much profit the release will get. Given the number of Macross fans here, in a Macross fan site, that vocally dislike the series, it is doubtful that Macross 7 would earn enough profit to even break even. So, IMHO, I don't believe it is just the music. Mind you, the Macross 7 music catalogue is rather large, and as it includes music from other Macross series, purchasing the music distribution rights may mean also needing to purchase the distribution rights for the other series as well. But this is all my guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hisaishi Think music. Great music.

Didn't someone mention that a few, to some, of the personnel stationed on it survived? If I remember the thread correctly, there was little concensus on anything much.

This question (and it's answers) have been brought up before. It's somewhere buried in this topic: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=20552

Hmmm... I don't want to spoil the fun of flying the various VFs and trying them out in the different missions... but I will add this: The nuke is an area effect weapon. Beware it's blast radius, and if you find yourself in it, get out of it! (Applicable to the Armored VF-11 (blown myself up at least once!) and the Hatchet Class Destroyer.) The grenades also do this too (VB-6, and if I remember correctly, the Armored VF-1, and VF-11.) During the battle royal mission, the former squadron leader returns, and offers a choice, by way of a face off. You can either shoot him, or not shoot him. Not shooting him leads to the final few missions, along with a groovy animation. It is also the easier of the two conclusions. Shooting him in the faceoff results in the quicker, and much, much more difficult ending. Storywise, it's a bit convoluted, but basically the UN personnel that are doing the coup are lead by the squad's commanding officer. By not shooting the former squad leader, you are making a choice to join with a faction of the group doing the coup (they may be a seperate, and unrelated group) and eventually doing the right thing for the UN Spacy and humanity in general. Shooting your former squad leader basically means following the commanding officer, and hunting down the former squad leader and his allies. I'm sure I'm not doing it justice, as it's very, very late as I write this, and I haven't played the game in months. Nevertheless, there's a running joke in the game - during the opening for the first mission, when the pilots are saying roger to the squad leader, the hero (Aegis Focker) is pretty much caught not paying attention (due to nerves?) and says something unsuitable. He gets teased from then on for being a greenstick. (This is despite the fact that he is already a highly skilled pilot, and the first mission is essentially a virtual sim testing him, and the other pilots to see if they'll work in the VF-X Ravens squad.) Listen for it - cherry boy.

I thought they didn't have roads in Alaska, and relied on ferries. Psst - If I want to drive, I'll have to wait for the next land bridge to form in the Bering Straight

Don't you mean the USA? Wouldn't Northwest be Alaska, the North part of BC, and the Yukon?

Advice: save your micro missiles for the Ghosts and harder level bosses. The shorter time needed to lock on, and their higher manueverability is a definite benefit, especially vs. the highly manueverable Ghost, and against the later or last one or two bosses - that litterally hammer you to death with gun fire if you start flying level and in their direction. Don't be afraid to do constant full thrust turns. Especially with the more advanced VFs, it is effective at avoiding incoming missiles, and sooner or later the enemies run out of missiles (especially true of the ones that fire gobs and gobs of them.)

something is wrong about the city in the 2nd image - I think it's the perspective and size of the buildings. It implies that the curvature of the Earth is much greater than it really is!

the only way to get forward view is before starting (or resuming a game) in the options screen. You have to activate it (and at the same time, you have the option of changing whatever action some of the buttons will do, if I'm remembering correctly.) By the sounds of things, you appear to be doing it correctly. Nevertheless, I must ask for a double check: was it really activated? If yes, there may be some other problems going on. Oh... are you playing the actual game release, or the partial release that came with the PS1 release of the DYRL side scroller? I haven't checked, but the partial release *may* not have all the features of the game. Once forward view is activated, you'll be able to switch between target, missile, and forward view. I find it highly annoying that forward view is NOT a default setting. >.< It's the only real weak point of a highly enjoyable game. I'm not sure what the difference is between arcade and simulator is - it may be a difference between more realistic, and more fantastical flying. But that's just a guess based on the words used. Forward view basically keeps the camera exactly behind the VF. IMHO it is the best view, because you know exactly where you are shooting, and where you are flying - I get disoriented by the other views too easily. @.@ However, they are useful for checking where the enemy is, and are helpful if you want to dodge missiles that are on your tail.

Cool picture. IMHO, there were troops on the Macross - the troops in the Daedalus, that got transported with the SDF-1 to Pluto's orbit. Of course they don't get shown, because the armed squirrel in the above post would be equally effective against an entire Zentraedi ship. Soldiers also crop up in other places - the military compounds inside of the SDF-1. My guess is that they would be akin to Marines - mostly doing internal ship security, but ready to bring the fight to the enemy if needed. Of course, given that the SDF-1 folded to Pluto, and the ship didn't exactly have a full crew complement, it's highly probable that the people who became soldiers doing guard duty were probably the one's incapable of doing the higher-mental-capacity required things like piloting VFs and Destroids (or even jeeps... ) So yeah, the point everyone is making kind of stands - the soldiers wouldn't be that effective.

What's the difference between terrorist and freedom fighter? Not much other than politics, and which side of the political divide one is on. The question I have is: are any of the agencies in Macross actually true blue terrorists (getting their political message through by terrorising civilian populations)? Aside from the attack and destruction of the mostly civilian (? at least undefended) fleet returning from Mars, pre-SWI, there really hasn't been much terrorism going on in the Macross chronology. It's been mostly group A vs. group B; the two groups having different political beliefs. Wait... isn't that war? I guess that Kamjin's attacks against civilian populations at the end of SDF:M count as terrorism too... Anyhow, VF-X2 plays out as a military coup attempt of the UN government. It just happens that the Vinderance Terrorist group are involved with the main group attempting the coup. I don't think that one group's previous activities should be used to define the entire group, especially the groups activities during VF-X2. Maybe it's just the in-universe government propaganda machine labeling it as terrorism, to hide the reality to the unsuspecting populace? I would have to say that the Japanese do understand terrorist acts fairly well - if you've traveled by car to Narita airport you'll have had a definite tangible experience of the aftereffects of international terrorism here (Air India Bombing.) There's also the insane activities of AUM. There's not many countries that have had sarin nerve gas terrorist attacks in their subway systems, assasinations of judges and lawyers against terrorist groups, or even failed attempted gas attacks against military and government facilities by terrorist groups... Anyhow, perhaps it is the creators of Macross that don't know, or perhaps it's even the (fan) translators of the timeline who mistranslated things...?