sketchley

The scary thing is that he has the same name as one of the most famous Japanese animation directors: Miyazaki! You'll have to do your own googling to find further info on him. Old news...

Chas's post pretty much sums it up. As for the effects of Macross in general - I occasionally hear some of the orchestral music of Macross (only Zero and Plus, so far,) on Japanese variety shows. It's only short clips, but it's definitely Macross. Also, there's another character out there in the Laser Raymond Hard Gay tradition, who raises his right fist and screams, "Bomber!" Though, as his name is Captain Bomber, and he wears clothes of the same design as the US flag, I'm not sure if it's a reference to Macross, a political statement, or something else entirely.

Yes, I'm not an EVA fan... just a lowly viewer of it, and reader of it's manga. I don't intend to do such 'fannish' things as playing the pachinko version of it just because it's EVA...

Did I say that? No. Perhaps I alluded to Aegis being a clone of Roy's DNA, but nothing more than that. In fact, my original intent was that he was a clone. Period. A clone of who or what, doesn't matter, just that he is a clone and not the offspring of parents.

Personally, I like the definition whereby a planet is any object capable of making itself into a sphere (has gravity, and a rotation that doesn't rip itself apart,) and isn't a star. Reasoning is simple: some people look at the solar system as ONLY nine planets (or eight) plus the sun, the moon, and an asteroid belt. Adding additional planets not only increases the perception of the variety of planets (gas, hot, cold, atmosphered, etc.,) but also opens awareness that there is more than the 9+ objects. In the past half a year, I was floored by the number of large objects being discovered; and I was flabbergasted at the size of some of the objects that were already discovered but put into dismissive categories like 'asteroid' (Ceres comes to mind. That things huge!) It renewed my interests in space - especially local space. Sure, you can debate this until one is blue in the face, but as this is my opinion...

Weak? Macross fact, is what it is. Mass human cloning/emmigration/extra-solar colonization ring a bell? The background of Macross Plus, 7, VF-X, and VF-X2 to name but 4.

"This is Animation Special: Macross Plus" pg. 77 (rough translation) "The YF-19 has 7 external hardpoints, and 1 special use external hardpoint." As per the VF-11, VF-17, VF-19, YF-21, and VF-22, the special use external hardpoint is where things like the fold booster or radome is mounted. The other 7 external hardpoints? Obviously, one for the gunpod, leaving 6. The text doesn't describe where the external hardpoints are located, but the paragraph continues to describe how the stealthiness is reduced (or negated?) when things are mounted on the wings. There is also something about long duration/length ferry trips too... maybe about additional fuel pods. Not enough time to do a more in depth translation... Wasn't that inside of the arm, and not something mounted externally? I recall it folding out of the arm...

Agreed with Graham. I just checked the Macross Compendium, and it does state that the YF-19 has 4 hardpoint stations. Just for fun, I checked the VF-19, and there is no mention of hardpoints. Conclusion: this kit is of the YF-19, right?

This is Macross - anyone remember mass cloning to restore humanity? CLONE!

Nah... it'll be about the 1st impact in Antarctic, retreiving the apostle/angel. Then it'll be about the establishment of Nerv (possibly some political stuff too, backroom deals, etc.,) the creation of the Eva prototype, the cloning of Rei, and the death of Ikari (Gendo's wife.) Basically, some of the stuff that's been seen in the manga, but not in the anime...

It was bothering me too about that (just too lazy to follow-up on it.) 水 (water) and 氷 (ice), though very similar, are quite different. One could also translate 潜水 as 'dive.' So it could be interpreted as 'diving ship.' Nevertheless, correction = good!

JBO, despite your lengthy post (or because of it?), I still lean towards chrono's side. Plus he's got a good point - why the rush? Is it based on the sudden increase of discovering objects in the solar system, or something else?

I can see it transforming to gerwalk and moving into the 'optimal position' to catch it. But there's still the need for dropping it. Last I checked, the VF-0 doesn't have extendable hands, like in Patlabor. Though... could it use those 'magic hands' that were seen on the VF-1 in all of one episode? Those things would extend the reach, and probably be able to carry (or redirect the fall of) the gun pod.

The big question is, IF the refueling craft hadn't exploded, how would he have received the gun pod? The way I see it, he still would have had to do some chasing after they dropped it.

From what I last read on the issue - the vote occured on the last day of the conference when the majority of attendees had left. There was also some controversy about 'in this day and age' only people who were physically present in the room could have a vote - and not those in other parts of the country or even in other countries. Me thinks that it is a good enough reason to call for a revote on the issue - only a small percentage of the astronomers that belong to the group voted after all! Here's the article in the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5283956.stm

Yes, there is more going on at the convention than the news briefs let on. Personally, I think this whole thing reeks of politics - possibly even an attempt at limiting our view or understanding of what's "up there." Just think, how many other objects are out there, that people have found, charted, and photographed, but the average lay person isn't even aware of them, let alone that there are (or were) 9 planets! 10 if you include Ceres on the list (that on again, off again, is it a giant asteroid?, mini-planet.) Saying that there are only 9, or 8, or 12 planets sounds very definitive, and if further information isn't forthcoming, than the next generation of kids may grow up believing that there are only 8 objects orbiting the sun! Yes, it's a bit extreme of an example, but given today's acceptance of news at face value (and the news reporters themselves not having very good reporting skills), and little personal research further into the stories... or at least cross-referencing with another source... I think the facts should speak for themselves, and we should all believe what we want to believe from them. I. for one, am going to teach my son that a) this conference is whacked, and b) there is a billion + 1 objects orbiting the sun. Most of them are rather unimportant, but they are all out there, doing something.

Sorry, that's 'termination shock', and no I wasn't making a joke about these 'astronomical changes' <- that was a joke. Seriously: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termination_shock

I think you just answered your own question. Solar system = the system of objects orbiting Sol. How far does it go out to? I think it's almost 1 light year... not sure the exact distance, but beyond the outer Oort cloud, and well beyond 'terminal shock'.

Don't forget their first TV series: "Nadia of the Mysterious Seas" - it's great, and as far as conclusions go, it has one of the better ones. Of course, one can also see a lot of the seeds of Evangelion in it, and some of the motivations for the creation of Evangelion directly stem from the production of Evangelion (as in disruptions of the creative control/process by those funding the series.) Personally, I felt that NHK's input into the series makes it better and more well-rounded, but I can also understand the creative stuff. Alas, this is NOT the way I wanted to introduce the series, as it should be judged on its own, seperate from the creation process and what came later. One other Gianax work of note is "Otaku no Video." It is also recommended for the sheer reality and positiveness of it (despite the subject matter ) There's also "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi". For me it has the added plus of 'I live near there.' It was fun and interesting to watch, but as I caught only one or two episodes as it was first-run on Japanese TV... anyhow, Gianax links and stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Gainax

I think Max and Miria's kids are all girls because Miria was one of the hot chicks in Macross, and her kids makes for satisfied imaginings in the Macross otaku... or something like that. Guld is dysfunctional the way he is because it helps the story, adds some mystery, etc.. Please note how many other Zentraedi have the same condition as him. (I think it has something to do with him surpressing memories and the memories leaking out in unexpected ways, rather than anything to do with his Zentraedi gene pool.)

I won't discount the possibility that Max and Miria's daughters are some to all XY females. HOWEVER, there is no evidence of anything in the animation. Some quick questions: how many of them are known to be married? How many of them are known to be in romantic relations that could result in Max and Miria's grandchildren? I think these claims of their sterility is simply to attempt to explain one of the many mysteries of Macross, when the answer is in plain sight: they, as characters, haven't been given the chance to show whether they can or cannot bear children. If you want a definite answer, go badger Kawamori Shouji to include it in his next 2050+ era Macross story!

To be honest, this is an extremely difficult question to ask. There is so much anime out there (and so much new stuff coming out,) that it'd be far better to focus on one or two genres (or even better - subsections of genres.) So, what genres are you interested in? The only real direction I feel I can point you in is to watch anything and everything by Hayao Miyazaki. Also, "Grave of the Fireflies" - for the sheer emotional power that the film packs. If you are interested in learning Japanese culture, and language, I suggest "Sazae-san," as it is a realistic depiction of family life, customs, and language in Japan. Also, the original manga first started publication in 1946, with the ongoing anime starting in 1969. Yes, ongoing and from 1969. That says a lot more than I can compose about it's popularity in Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sazae-san The show is nearing it's 2000th episode. No, I don't recommend watching from the very beginning. Just start like most Japanese do - from the latest episode.

Short answer: it's not as mainstream as you'd think. Without going too far into the details, there are some serious differences between the Japanese culture, and yours (whomever the reader is.) The biggest is manga*. Due to manga, and by this I mean its sure presence in every aspect of the culture, anime and anime related properties are a lot more present. In some ways you could claim that there is more of it, but it is less visible because of it.** I would go so far as to say that anime, in general, as a storytelling medium for all ages, is more accepted than in English speaking countries. But on the same token, most people do not go out of their way to watch anime, and a surprising number do have a "anime, yech" reaction if the topic is brought up. IMHO, anime is neither more popular nor less popular than in other countries. The prime difference is the viewers of anime are a lot more vocal about what they want and don't want, coupled with an industry that is responsive and flexible to meet the wants of the viewers. The fact that there are a lot of viewers clustered in small areas also helps with things like marketing and keeping costs down. Japan is also a land without network channels - so some anime could even be described as regional or only regionally available. This further increases the depth, breadth, quantity, and you could even say quality - the results of more competition for national exposure on one of the two or three channels broadcast nationally, or for broadcasting on the local channels. In addition, anime is a far cheaper medium to use than live action in the creation of fantasy or science fiction shows. So, it is IMHO, that a lot of people who, in countries with a larger live-action movie industry, would migrate into that industry, instead migrate into the animation industry and contribute vastly to the quality of it. The basic proof of the presence and acceptance of anime would be the shelfspace in the local video rental shop. I would estimate that it occopies roughly 25 - 30% in the average shop (with around 40% for English or non-Asian cinema and TV, and the remainder for Japanese and Asian cinema and TV. I encourage other readers to attempt to answer the question (as my view may only reflect my experiences, where I live in Japan, and the people whom I happen to associate with.) * I am tempted to add kanji and the overall Japanese sense of artistic style. However, I can't really say much beyond a gut feeling that by having one of the three alphabets used in Japan being historically based on pictographs - passing information via pictures - storytelling via anime/manga/pictures/what have you, has a higher level of concious and subconcious awareness and acceptance than cultures and languages that do not use an alphabet that is historically based in pictographs. ** To clarify: in the US there is South Park and The Simpsons. Everyone knows those two shows, and they are highly visible. It is their uniquiness of content, coupled with their medium (animated) that makes them so highly visible. However, in Japan, the opposite could be said to be true - in that there is a lot of high quality animated programmes, so the only ones that are memoriable are ones like "Sazae san", "Chibi maruku-chan," "Boy Detective Conan", "Blackjack" and so on. Though, I should add the disclaimer that these are shows known to adults. For kids, other shows would be memoriable, like "One Piece." To reinforce the point, I recently saw a Japanese liveaction police drama on TV, and I remarked to my wife about the oddness of the presence of a criminal with a gun. Yes, bad guys armed with guns is not the norm (anime is the realm of the firearm, live action drama is not.)

OK... going back to the first post: we are presented with ç ²è‰¦. ç ²è‰¦ literally translates as Gunboat. However, 艦 by itself translates as warship. (ç ² translates as gun.) So, we can go for a literal translation of "Gun-warship." I think another angle to look at it is the English abilities of the game design staff. Let's be honest, their specialty is game design. Excusing my the rudeness of my assumption... but perhaps they merely applied the name because it looked cool, or it fit the role the ship takes, but isn't a literal translation of the Japanese term used. Another thing to consider is that just as Japanese words don't translate or fit easily into English words, the same is true of the reverse process. It's highly possible that the people involved with the game didn't like the nuances associated with such English terms as gunship, gunboat, and monitor. Instead, they felt that the nuances attached to the Japanese translation of the word destroyer best matched their vision of the ship.

That would explain why I saw a full-sized model of the stock VOTOMS armoured suit being built by someone here in Japan - seen in the latest issue of Great Mechanics.