sketchley

Just did a quick search (results are from the Japanese google): Macross World is still 9th. The first mention of Robotech doesn't appear until page 3; #38, if I'm reading it correctly.

Basically it's the difference between TV series and movie versions. The in-universe explanation of DYRL is that it is a movie, made in the Macross universe, based on the story of SDF:M. As it was made a couple of decades after the actual events, they used the equipment available at that time: more advanced versions of the VF-1, etc.. Block, in this case, means the set of VFs manufactured (or upgraded) to a standard equipment level. The most obvious differences, are the seat, consol screen, HUD (use of the cockpit glass in the later block), and controls (lack of battroid specific controls to the left and right of the control panel//jet HOTAS act as controls in all modes in the later block.) http://macross.anime.net//mecha/united_nat.../vf1/index.html (scroll to the avionics section.)

Betamax was definitely better than VHS. However, Sony's stranglehold on it, killed the format... which makes me a bit concerned about the future of Blue Ray... has Sony learned their lesson?

I suggest two things: be careful about making statements about things you haven't scene or experienced yet (it may come back to bite you on the a$$), and hurry up and go see the movie!!! Frankly, I was blown away by the level of detail and richness put into some of the scenes - scenes that are not necessarily the type made to show up in sound bites and preview clips, if you know what I mean. I also recommend going in with zero expectations. If you go in expecting a clone of the first GiTS movie, you'll probably be disappointed. If you go in expecting SAC, you'd probably be disappointed too. If you go in expecting a character study, and Batou going through a kind of catharsis, that's occasionally punctuated by intense violence, you probably won't be disappointed.

Just out of curiousity, I got out a varied selection of my Macross books, just to check the copyright writeup: This is Animation: SDF:M 下巻: copyright æ¯Žæ—¥æ”¾é€ & ビックウエスト (Publisher: å°å­¦é¤¨) Macross Perfect Memory: copyright æ¯Žæ—¥æ”¾é€ & ビックウエスト (Publisher: ã¿ã®ã‚Šæ›¸æˆ¿) This is Animation: Macross 7 TV Animation Materials: copyright ビックウエスト (Publisher: å°å­¦é¤¨) Shoji Kawamori Macross Design Works: copyright ビックウエスト,　河森正治＆スタジオã¬ãˆ (Publisher: MOVIC) Tenjin Hidetaka Art Works of Macross: Valkyries: copyright Tenjin Hidetaka & ビックウエスト　(Publisher: KOBUNSHA) As suspected, the copyright for the material in the book(s) is still with Big West, which is actively publishing related material. In addition, there may be the copyright for the book with the company that originally published it (the additional material produced by the publisher that wasn't provided by the copyright holder.) There is also the possibility of the publisher reprinting the book. For example, my This is Animation: SDF:M 下巻 is the 5th printing, printed in 1990.9.01, when the first printing was in 1983.9.10. Another point I'd like to raise is that copyright laws are potentially quite different in Japan, from your country (if it isn't Japan.) What I have noticed here in Japan, is that websites do not have copyright pictures in them, without permission from the copyright holder. On the other hand, there are many derivative pictures, which appear to be allowed by Japanese copyright law (the sheer number of dojinshi appears to confirm this supposition.) Regarding the visibility of Macross World - it is currently ranked 9th on a google search under the term 'Macross.' As I'm in Japan, and google loads into a Japanese page, I did the search again, limiting responses to English only. Macross World is 5th. Highly visible, in other words. Yes... I agree that 'we' get away with more than the law allows. IMHO, pessimistically, it's because a lot of the infractions are two small, or causing negligible (financial) damages. Optomistically, the copyright holders let us get away with them, because a large proportion of the membership actively buys their products, not to mention all the free publicity the Macross World Publicity Machine © is generating for them. But that's just me and my alcohol fueled take on it.

These things are usually published under license. The license for the book may or may not have expired, but that doesn't mean that the copyright held by Big West is over.

In a way, Innocence is much, much better than 2nd Gig - it shows growth, and development of the characters that isn't really evident in any Gits production save for the original manga's developments of the Motoko character. I also look at the film as, gasp, not a Shirow production, but an Oshii production. But yes, good points on movies being made for the big screen. I was seriously blown away when I saw Star Wars Eps. 2 on an IMAX screen. The level of detail in the CG backgrounds of some of the scenes actually increased exponentially (of course, being able to see all of the pock marks, zits, and imperfections on the faces of the actors was a bit of a turn-off.) IMHO, Blue-Ray looks to be the better format. People want more, and Blue-Ray offers more disc space, than HD-DVD, for all of the extras and freebies that people want along with their ultra-high resolution movies. So yeah, they coulda done a lot worse than having Innocence as one of the first Blue-Ray anime releases. On the other hand, how many other anime would actually have improved visuals on a Blue-Ray than on a DVD? Not many... It'll be interesting to see if Steam Boy gets released on Blue Ray or the other format...

That could just be copyright renewal. What was released in 2006 other than kits and toys? EDIT: unless if there is something rather big and massive in the pipe, and it was so massive that it wasn't anywhere close to being able to release even teaser information on it in 2006... my money is mid-to-late 2007 for something to appear. That, or close to the exact anniversary of the first broadcast of SDF:M! That's Oct. 3rd... hmm, supporting where my money is. http://macross.anime.net/production/animat...irst/index.html

Oh! This is making me interested in the Blue Ray - erm, PS3, all the more so. I can't say much more than what I just found with a quick google search: Released on December 6th. It's the international version. It has subtitles in Taiwanese, Japanese, English, French, and Korean languages. It looks like it has the same extras (plus more???) as the two-disc 'standard' DVD release. Here's a page (in Japanese) with the most information that I found: http://www.dvd.netyokocho.jp/catalog/VWBS-1013/

Yeah, that doesn't sound like a problem. Now, if the VF was two small on the other hand...

Yes. Isn't it Big West who hold the rights? And as they are in the process of revising the Macross website, it implies that they are still publishing content, right?

Let's also not forget that Bodolza's fortress (in the movie) is really a Beginhill training ship covered in holograms. Shoji Kawamori once said something along the lines of if he told Macross as a TV series, you get SDF:M. If he told it like a movie, you get DYRL?. Of course, for Macross canon/history/continuity, the events of the TV series are true, but not the designs. The designs from the movie are true. It's confusing... And no, the ARMDs were intended to be BOTH stand-alone space aircraft carriers/platforms, AND docking to the SDF-1, and SDF-2. There are images of the planned, but never built, SDF-2, with ARMD arms, that predate the release of DYRL?.

ï¿¥0. Of course, you could always take digital photos of the book. A friend of mine did that for both Kazutaka Miyatake's and Tenjin Hidetaka's books. The results were very good. The main reason he did this was because of the sheer time involved with scanning (not to mention the wear and tear on the books.) I've had mixed results with this, as I tend to have the camera too close, and/or in bad lighting. I believe the trick is to use the zoom feature, while keeping the camera far enough away for the focus to work properly. Anyhow, good luck with whichever means you choose for digitizing the book.

Japanese. Try searching with マクロス or 超時空è¦å¡žãƒžã‚¯ãƒ­ã‚¹.

Scroll down to the big red text, the title's there. Or here: http://www.google.com/search?q=The+Super+D...earch=anime.net

I was always of the impression that it was some kind of a spaceship city used by the Protocultures that first visited Earth - later being abandoned/forgotten as the war with the Supervision Army heated up. I'm not quite sure how the Birdman of Macross Zero fits into it... haven't given that revision much thought, to be honest.

You could always look to the play-by-post Macross roleplaying sites. It may ramble at times, it may be divergent from the canon storylines, but it is fan attempts at keeping whatever it is that makes them interested in Macross alive and continuing. Follow my sig...

Aside from those film comics based on the original series, there's also the Macross 7 Trash Manga http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/transl...ations_menu.htm There's also a couple of short stories that fill in some of the gaps in the SDF:M story. They are in Japanese, and found in Macross Perfect Memory. http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/books/series_pm.htm

I recently purchased the entire set of "This is animation: SDF:M". In it, there is a picture of the bridge of Breetai's flagship after Max has busted through the screen at the rear, and a replacement screen has been mounted inside the ruins of the old screen. The repairs took place well before Breetai became allies with humans, I'm sure it has been previously mentioned in this thread (too lazy to reread it at this time.) Nevertheless, it is strong evidence that there are personnel trained to do at least minor repair/replacement. In this case, not only do the wires to the new screen have to be properly connected, but the screen must be mounted properly, so that it doesn't fall off in heavy manuevers, etc.. Not to mention that the big hole in the bulkhead that Max left needed to be replaced/filled in with wall. I can see Breetai saying, "damn, it's drafty in here! Call the Super."

That's Ai Oboeteimasu ka? 愛覚ãˆã¦ã„ã¾ã™ã‹ï¼Ÿ

Don't capitalist countries (ie USA) have anti-monopoly laws? If I remember my news correctly, Microsoft got spanked a few years back in the browser war, and is possibly going to get a big spanking from the EU for its OS. That Guitar Hero stuff sounds like an abuse of the law...

Can't they just get along? Like DDR and that other dancing game made by different manufacturers? So much time, creativity, money, and effort is wasted on lawsuits when they could be put towards Macross dancing and singing games!

yes

The game has some pretty good animation in it. Another good one is an entirely CG clip of the DYRL version of the SDF-1 doing the 'Daedalus Punch' in the rings of Saturn.

It's a VF-1. It's the opening animation from the SDF:M Do you Remember Love? game for Sega Saturn and PS1 - first released in 1997. The original music (from Macross) and sound effects (from Macross) is much better - along with the dialogue that they have too.