sketchley

No answer, and I'm looking for one. Most of the people that I bump into on a daily basis have no idea what Macross is, let alone any of the specific series. Mind you, most of them were born many years after Macross 7 finished, or are their parents. Very, very few of those parents know of Macross in general, and their usual follow-up question is about Lynn Minmei.

I do agree that fan subs are dubious in their translation credentials (Macross Zero: turning the Fuel-Air Bomb into a 'nuke'!) That said, it is all about nuance. Well, nuance and the translator's experience with the subject being translated. The "Don't lecture me on my duties", "I'm tired of being bossed around by a woman", "I can't just sit around and do nothing" is a good example. They may all actually be correct, but not correct at the same time. I'd put money on "Don't lecture me..." and "I can't sit ..." as being closer to the original statement (think of the original as a combination of both, said in a way that means one, but implies the other.) So yeah... translation is both technical, but a finely finessed art at the same time. It's almost impossible to completely convey the intended meaning... just think of translating your average SitCom into another language, the audience for it has no idea about pop culture nor the history of the SitCom's creator nation at all. No easy task, translation be.

Note: he didn't state that Macross 7 had a good story. He stated that it was focused on the story and characters. Nevertheless, my wondering still hasn't been answered: "How popular Macross 7 was (is?) in Japan?"

Just some food for thought: SDF: Macross - 1 TV series (36 eps.), 1 Movie, 1 OVA Macross Plus: 1 OVA series (4 eps.), 1 movie Macross Zero: 1 OVA series (5 eps.) Macross 7: 1 TV series (49 eps.) + 3 bonus eps., 1 OVA series (4 eps.), 1 movie. Makes me wonder how popular Macross 7 was (is?) in Japan - given that it has the most animation produced for any Macross series.

beer can missiles. Cute.

I believe that it does say somewhere in the compendium (or another canon source) that in combat, the SV-51 is better than the VF-0. Of course, the VF-1, with it's semi-transatmospheric nature (read: higher service ceiling) does have an advantage over the SV-51 (I'm thinking along the lines of the two jet fighters used in the Korean war - one of them could fly higher and faster, but at the same time had a lower manueverability.)

Perhaps the transformation system was developed seperately from OTEC? OTEC simply provided the tech level to pull it off? Or the threat level that demanded/justified that both a jet and a giant infantry soldier had to be in the same vehicle. Either way, the Anti-UN had 'perfected' the process first, and the UN took it. The points that IAD brought up support it quite a bit. Just remember - the UN Government was embroiled in more than two wars between 1999 and 2009. The wars themselves being termed in-universe as 'the UN Wars.' That says quite a bit about their modus operandis. Heck, for all we know, the act of stealing the transforming technology may have been what precipitated the war(s) and conflict between the UN and Anti-UN! (This is entirely speculation with no support whatsoever.) That line makes no sense whatsoever. Sorry, but why bother investing in creating a whole arsenal of warcraft that are poorly equipped, with ill-trained pilots, and no tactics? (Sounds like the Zentraedi...) It makes more sense to invest more time and energy into perfecting the tactics and training of these elite units. Real-world example: the "new" F-22 Raptor. That design was approved when? April 1992. It entered service in December, 2005. What were they up to during those 13 years? It certainly wasn't mass producing them. (This is a rhetorical question. Don't be tempted to reply to it.) The very same conditions and circumstances that surround the F-22 could be applicable to the development of the SV-51 (VF-0, VF-1, Destroids, etc., etc., etc, ad naseum.)

Uhm... some updates from the 'far East': HDTV is the standard, already. Japan has set the date of 2011 as being the day that ALL broadcast TV in the country will be exclusively HDTV.* NHK (and a few other channels) are already broadcasting in HDTV. Korean manufacturers, as of a few years ago, were producing HDTV's exclusively, first for the foreign market, and then for the domestic market (much to the chagrin of the locals.) Perhaps the 'alarming' thing, is that NHK has already proposed the UHDTV (the next generation of HDTV - reportadly 16 times better than HDTV.) So yeah... here comes the future, whether you're ready or not. Display screen technology has also been leaping ahead. One of the big HDTV pushes in the months before the World Cup was that moving images on the giant sized HDTV screens were clear (if I'm not mistaken, it was a switch from liquid crystal to plasma. I'm not an enthusiast, so I could be mistaken. Keep in mind that these are for the giant sized sets, and not the small ones.) * http://www.broadcastpapers.com/whitepapers...romCategory=230 I believe that the UK has also set that as their date too...

Japan is going 100% HD in the next few years. Expect any new Macross productions to be in HD, and the possibility of older titles being rereleased in HD. That said, Macross isn't exactly a big seller here. It'd be more logical to expect an HD rerelease of the more popular Gundam shows. In other words - don't hold out for any rereleases of Macross in HD...

I always thought that the Supervision/Inspection Army was made up of both Protoculture (microns) and Zentraedi (macrons.) Reason being: - The protodevlen took control of the Protoculture present on the world where the Evl Series Zentraedi were being developed - The VF-1 was designed to fight giants. The only reason they would have done this is because the SDF-1 was designed for Zentraedi sized crew (perhaps not 100%, but at least partially. The airlock that Hikaru uses to catch the tuna is proof in the 3rd (4th?) episode.) Add to this other Protoculture and Zentraedi that were brainwashed along the way...

IMHO, the water effect is ok, as an image. Most people won't pick it apart. Though, the problem is that there is no shadow from the ship on the water... for me, that's what fails to sell the image. The final shaded image presented above does look wonderful. It has a lot of weight and volume to it - so kudos for that. I believe that when you get the final skin on the model, it'll look much better. You may want to make it more of a matte finish, so it doesn't have the glossiness of a plastic model. Though, it really depends on the amount of detail in the skin... the average viewer (looking at it for only a few seconds) won't notice those kinds of things nor the small mistakes that are all to glarring to the artist.

If I remember correctly, the SDF-1 was supposed to be the flagship of the Earth's fleet (defensive, or otherwise.) During the 10 years that it took to rebuild (and reengineer the technology contained therein,) a plethora of other equipment were developed and built - the 2 most visible are the VF-1 and the Destroids. During those 10 years, we do know from the timeline that: a) a reaction weapon is test detonated on the surface of the moon b) a base is built on the moon, and construction of the grand cannon on the moon begins c) a base on Mars is built, and soon after, abandoned d) space colonies (clusters) are built in Earth's orbit (the L3, or L4/5 points?) e) a small fleet of militarized ships are built (ARMD, and Space Destroyers. Also, the anti-grav Prometheus and Daedalus ships could be included here - but IMHO, they are more likely used only as heavy lift vehicles.) Therefore, there has been a lot of stuff that has gone on in the background of the main Macross storyline that we haven't seen, but has happened. The most applicable to this current discussion (based on the timeline facts above) is two seperate classes of ship: one for transport of supplies and colonists to both the moon and Mars (perhaps beyond, as well,) and exploration/science ships - these could be manned or unmanned. So... IMHO, the SDF-1 was rebuilt to a) see if it could be done, b) reengineer a lot of, or most of the surviving technology found aboard, and c) make the flagship of the Earth fleet. Other ships were fulfilling the rolls of transport, science, exploration, destroyer, and aircraft carrier roles.

Falicy patrol: 1) the SDF-1 (at the time ASS-1) defolded at moon orbit, in 1999. Immediately it crash landed on the Earth, destroying lots of cities, and lowering Mt. Everest by at least a 100 m (or was it 1,000 m?) 2) There was evidence of weapons of war on the SDF-1. In fact, the forward 1/3 of the ship is one big gun. That says a lot about the nature of the aliens. 3) The UN Wars started AFTER the crash landing of the SDF-1. Presumably it is because 1 group wanted to be the leadership of the rest of the world, and other groups disputed their ideology, and contested their claims to power. Yes, the ship could have been drifting for a millenia. However, it is also possible that the teams sent to investigate the ship found stored data indicating otherwise. Maybe the found nothing. Maybe during transit from the moon's orbit to Earth, people monitored the ship moving and changing direction. Nevertheless, with a crash landed ship with the forward 1/3 of it being a single giant gun... it does make one think about the nature of the aliens out there. Which brings up the next point: 4) The eve before launching, the leadership of Earth basically ordered Captain Gloval to not fire first, attempt diplomacy and a peaceful first contact. 5) the Zentraedi were deliberately following the ship - registering it's defold from 10 light years away (in other words, 10 years after the ship arrived.) They came searching for it. Even if all the weapons were removed, the Zentraedi would still have done something to or about the ship - given the standard operating tactics of the Zentraedi, a peaceful resolution wouldn't have entered their minds. (Scortched earth tactics...) EDIT: forgot to add this: 6) the UN Wars were fought to keep control of the information and technology resulting from the crashed alien ship. The most obvious reason would be the ensuing panic and chaos resulting from any public release of information that there are giant aliens with stupifyingly powerful weapons folding around the galaxy. For that reason alone (preventing the end of life as we know it, and maintaining stability) is more than enough justification to keep it secret. (Something that the Anti-UN also complied to, it should be noted.)

I second that. Above, when the thread briefly switched back to the thread topic, elements that have not been seen, nor mentioned, where added to his side of the debate. The only thing I have to add about human sympathizers is: a) noone had met the aliens at that time, b) only a very few people knew about the aliens at that time (probably one of the justifications why it was kept a secret,) and c) they probably existed, but in the form of religious extremists and doomsday cults. These, of course, were probably rooted out as soon as they were detected - even by agencies/nations that were not part of the UN and had no idea about the existance of aliens. It's common sense, as these groups are highly destructive to themselves, and usually to other people! Re: the Breetai in space thing. I think the animeigo liner notes only serves to reinforce Breetai's above par abilities. In that he didn't black out, and was able to move a significant distance across the hull to another airlock. All of it happening in a vacuum, which is no doubt painful. (Or would it be liberating? Air has a certain weight and resistance that we've grown accustomed to - unaware of, in other words...)

My bad. In my post above, all YF-21 should be YF-19 (mind was obviously busy on something else at the time of posting.) Re: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/magazi...dh-aug-06-1.jpg Planned release in the winter of 2006.

You do realize that you changed your stance on the Anti-UN 100%, do you? From: both sides fighting for dominance, to one side fighting because they want to get in good with the aliens. As a personal favor, can you not include references to other productions (or summaries of other productions) - as they muddle the issue on what point you are trying to make exactly - they also make reading and deciphering your posts (specifically what points you are trying to make) nih impossible. Please & thank you.

That's reaching...

Sorry, have to point this out: this whole thread is based on pre-release marketing. As for lead-times to production... go back to the first post in this thread. Look at the blue Yakuto-douga and the GP-03 - they are much closer to production than the YF-21. They actually have mock-up models. They are also scheduled for a September release. Depending on how fast the company is progressing on the YF-21, I'd speculate a release date of 2+ months from the month of publication of mock-up models. Which could be anywhere from next month, to next year. Note on magazine publications: the information in them is usually already a month old by the time that they are released. Deadlines for advertising/articles for some magazines are usually a week or three before they go to the printers - which is usually a week before they hit the newstand. (I could be mistaken here, as I am basing these estimates on the North American publishing scene - specifically the comics one - which, FYI, has lead times of up to 3 months for advertisements...)

Eh? If it is similar to Macross Plus, then why the need for fighting? Competitions for the nth generation of high tech weapon of war can occur peacefully. (JSF, YF-22 vs. YF-23, etc., but to name a few.) I do agree that wars and fighting allow for a real situation to test out new weapons and technology. HOWEVER, the causes of the UN Wars are different. Note that the compendium does state warS, implying that there is more than one (yes, it could be the same groups fighting a series of small wars that end, and then flare up again a few months or weeks later; akin to the brushfire wars. Though that is doubtful.) Please keep in mind that both the (real world) UN, and Japan don't support the ideological paradigm of the 'military industrial complex,' like the USA does. In fact, a number of anime have deliberately critiqued it (Patlabour II, GiTS SAC 2nd Gig, etc.). I will keep your theory in mind, but as I see it, there is a big hole in it: the loss of military equipment, and trained personnel. Both of which are needed in the massive arms build up to counter the (at the time perceived) alien threat. Also, IMHO, I believe there are other things going on - things that other members posted earlier in this thread.

I see a lot of talk on armour, destroids, VFs, and combat tactics... question: how does it relate to the POLITICAL CLIMATE OF MACROSS???

What about the upcoming GiTS movie that's supposed to be released this summer (here in Japan)? I read, just now, on wikipedia, that it's in the works for Production IG and will be based on the SAC version of the series. Has anyone heard anything above and beyond that? It's near future, but definitely science fiction. Also, there's the Appleseed II movie too...

*cough* It's a whole, wide world out there, and one's personal beliefs, or the beliefs of the society they live in, aren't necessarily applicable to people in other cultures. The three articles above were written from, what appears to be the US's cultural viewpoint and biases. A lot of the comments that followed, are also from the US's culture point of view. Is the US's culture the ultimate culture? No. Yes, there are good points to it, but there are bad points to it as well (the articles above highlighted some of them.) The same is true of all cultures on Earth - they have both good and bad points, and none of them are better than the others. They are all equal. Different, and equal. Is Japan a sexist country? Perhaps from your point of view. In Japan, a paternalistic country, the issue isn't viewed in those terms at all. In fact, the only way to truly inform you on how the Japanese view the issue, amongst other things, is "put yourself in their shoes." In other words, a culture can only be judged on its own terms, not the terms of another culture that holds different beliefs. I think the points to keep in mind is that anime is by and large entertainment. It is entertainment aimed at different subgroups and ages. These subgroups and ages all have different wants, needs, and escapism needs. Also, it is unwise to view anime by only the few releases that make it overseas - the ones released are already scewed towards whatever the companies releasing them feels their target demographic will purchase. There may also be mistakes inadvertently introduced due to mistakes in translation, or inability to accurately translate the finer nuances of the language used in anime. Not to mention that a lack of understanding of Japanese culture in general will bring about different interpretations of small things - things that may be a non-issue to the Japanese. (For example: nudity. Japanese have a totally different point of view on nudity. Up until a few years ago, and still in the majority of main stream media, below the belt nudity, of both genders is, against the law.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudity

Uhm... what was the topic of this thread?

I thought they covered at the very beginning of Enterprise? The road that is hinted at throughout the first few episodes of Enterprise is that the Vulkans were holding back humanity. I don't think that there could be an interesting story - beyond what later episodes of Enterprise mention/show. The years between Enterprise and TOS would definitely be interesting. At the very least because Kirk-era diplomacy is so much more... physical (punch, punch, kick, kick) than the TNG era. That alone makes for more... uhm... dramatic conflict.

Good points above. If one considers that the battroid mode of the Valkyries is like the infantry, and the destroids are the tanks, it starts making more sense.* Gerwalk mode could equal (attack) helicopters, and jet mode is, well, the jet. Both VFs and Destroids serve vital functions on the Macross battlefield - along with conventional vehicles as well. The problem we are facing is that the producers of Macross animations focus on VFs above all else. So... other stuff probably exists. Probably... ... though in this day-and-age, of jet fighters being optimized for multiple roles, but not really the master of any, it makes sense for the VFs to do likewise. *As I know it, infantry are mobile, difficult to hit, and able to hide in the terrain. However, they are easily eliminated with low-power weapons. Tanks are less-mobile, easier to hit (bigger sizes, slow moving), and are only able to hide behind the larger structures on the battlefield.