grebo guru

Well... You're gonna hate almost all mecha shows, then. The closest thing to Macross is probably "Genesis Climber MOSPEADA", which has three-mode fighter planes as well as transforming motorcycles. It was packaged as the third "Robotech" story in America, but recently (at last!) it was released with its original dialogue and name. You'll probably like it. Among my personal favorites, and sure to please you, are the movie-length OVAs "Megazone 23" Part I, "Megazone 23 Part II", and the shorte, two-part OVAs "Megazone 23 Part III" Acts 1 and 2. The first one was worked on by many Macross and Mospeada alumni. Transforming heavy-duty motorcycle action. Excellent stuff. However, really, if you want to know about mecha, I have to recommend the ultimate classic: Mobile Suit GUNDAM - the TV series (or the three movies, GUNDAM I, GUNDAM II, and GUNDAM III) Mobile Suit ZETA GUNDAM - the TV series Mobile Suit GUNDAM: CHAR'S COUNTERATTACK - the movie, and the final chapter of this story Considering that Gundam with THE FIRST anime to have "real robots" (that is, giant robots serving as mass-produced military weapons, as opposed to superheroic robots), there would have been no Macross without Gundam. Things that should not turn you off to these shows: * The main characters in Gundam and Zeta are around the same age as Hikaru, perhaps a bit younger. But they deal with very mature situations, and there are lots of adults in the shows. * No transformables in Gundam, but transformable mecha start showing up in Zeta Gundam. * Gundam is OLD. (1979) It looks kinda old-fashioned, but it is a GREAT show. Zeta Gundam is from '85-'86, and looks better. Char's Counterattack looks really good. Another recommendation: Armored Trooper VOTOMS This is a very gritty, intelligent mecha show. There are no transformables, and the mecha are only about 17 feet tall, but it is really good. The hero is an adult, as are all the characters. Strongly recommended. It, too, is kinda old -- 1982 -- but looks alright and really, it is a terrific story. The show is divided into four "chapters", and unfortunately the first chapter (the first quarter of the series) is the weakest one. However, the show really picks up and becomes epic and brilliant by the end. Also recommended: Neon Genesis EVANGELION This was an epoch-making show, from 1995 or so. It is, in my opinion, the best anime TV series ever. However, I guarantee you you'll hate it because all the main characters are 14 years old. Too bad for you... its truly an amazing show. Another good one: GETTER ROBO: Armageddon This is a "super-robots" OAV series, not a real robots story like Gundam or Macross. However, it is WILD. Incredibly action-packed, balls-out, over-the-top. All adults for your heroes, too! GIANT ROBO: Day the Earth Stood Still Similar in some ways to Getter Robo, but less rage-fueled. Incredibly enjoyable, with iconoclastic, low-tech mecha. Great stuff! Other mecha shows out there worth seeing: Super Dimension Century ORGUSS ZOIDS: Chaotic Century Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 Detonator ORGUN DAI-GUARD Cenocyber MACHINEROBO: Revenge of Chronos M.D. GEIST SUPER ROBOT WARS Orginal Generation: The Animation Platinum Hugen ORDIAN GALL FORCE A.D. POLICE, BUBBLE GUM CRISIS, and BUBBLEGUM CRASH Argento Soma Aura Battler DUNBINE Kishin Heidan (also known as Kishin Corps) MAZINKAISER Dangaizer 3 Aim for the Top! GUNBUSTER ZONE OF THE ENDERS: Idolo (and Zone of the Enders: Dolores I) The Big O and The Big O II BLUEGENDER Cybuster Infinite Ryvius Full Metal Panic Dangaioh Overman KING GAINER The Mars Daybreak (also known as KENRAN BUTOSAI) GASARAKI King of Braves GAOGAIGAR BRAINPOWERED GHOST IN THE SHELL: Stand Alone Complex Hades Project ZEORYMER FULL METAL PANIC GODANNAR VANDREAD GUNPARADE MARCH There. That should keep ya busy for a while!!!

Hmmm. Interesting stuff... Is this really certain? I rather got the impression that the disorienting effect of the music on enemy troops wasn't something that wore off. At least not quickly. Makes sense to me. I wonder if there's any canon discussion of this, though. I don't remember this part, but it's clearly true. The attack on Bodolza's fortress in the movie is a prime example. Hmmm. Are we sure about this? Or are you making an educated guess? I don't think it would have been useless... But certainly the "culture contamination" was key, no doubt about that. How exactly is a "direct attempt at encouraging an emotional response from the target" different from the Minmay Attack? And really, getting the aliens to experience an emotional response -- one which, as beings without music nor certain emotional regularities in their culture (or lack thereof) -- IS a kind of culture shock, isn't it? Wait. I just realized we're talking about the Varauta here. Hmmm. Hey, what do we actually know about the Varauta? I mean, they're "alienized" human colonists, right? Or are they? I must admit that although I watched all of Macross 7, I was left so cold by it that I didn't really invest myself too much in figuring out what the hell was really going on... heh. Yes, I'm well aware of this. However, part of the point in Macross II -- this is one of the good points in the story, IMO -- was that before the Marduk invasion, UN Spacy had it easy. Every few years a random Zentraedi fleet would show up, and they'd always fall victim to the Minmay Attack (well, Minmay Defense, technically) and/or culture shock, and UN Spacy would beat 'em with ease. Over the years, the UNS became complacent, overconfident, lazy and soft. Hence, when the Marduk showed up and were resistant to the Minmay Defense, UN Spacy found themselves unprepared for a "stand-up fight". I think this is a really good idea for a storyline. Unfortunately, Macross II executed it pretty poorly. When I first heard that MII was going to be more of story of Culture Clash than Culture Shock, I was intrigued. And the idea of Battle Singers, who motivated enemy attackers and countered the Minmay effect -- that sounded so cool! I had this image of really intense, almost savage-looking alien musicians, beating on massive electronic drums... "The natives are restless" in a high-tech space war. But no. Instead, the alien Battle Singers turned out to be these willowy, anemic waifs who wail and moan lamely (it was supposed to be eerie, I think, but it wasn't). SUCH a disappointment. Still, the basic idea is a good one, I think. Like much of Macross II, the basic idea just wasn't executed well. Well, y'know, good-lookin' alien broads always love Earthmen. I almost plotzed when Syvil the Protodevlin chick fell for Basara! I mean jeez, she's a freakin' abomination...! Anyway, thoughts?

Ah yes, I've seen your site. It's a great art and info source -- thank you! But I'm aching to know... is that ALL the art from the booklet? Is there anything more? Thanks again!

Ahoy all, I've been thinking about buying the ol' Macross 2036 video game -- purely for whatever artwork might be in its booklet. Does anyone here have the game and would you be able to clarify for me what artwork is in the book? Thanks! Grebo

I'm not too keen on the VF-0. A few changes make all the difference, though; I'm quite fond of the VF-0D. I wanted to see a one-seater version of it, so here it is. All three modes. Not high enough resolution for my taste, but it's a start for the moment. Grebo

Thanks for compliments! Huh. I actually had no idea that the name "Phoenix" wasn't canon. Well, I appreciate the clarification. Grebo

Heh. I knew someone would decry this as blasphemy. No surpises there. Of course, my idea was to remove the sacreligious aspect of the Sound Booster (that is, the spiritia/speaker equipment) and repurpose the design as something more credible. Thanks for the compliments about the quality of the work. I hope to do a color version sometime soon. As for the Gundam-ness of the result, I dunno. Certainly the VF-21 is a lot more Mobile Suit-like than classical VFs and yeah, Kawamori should have his wrist slapped for that, but I personally don't see how the addition of the Booster makes it any more Gundam-like. I look forward to modifying the VF-17's Booster as well. That'll be pretty spiffy. I'm not going anywhere near the VF-11 MAXL nor is Booster; no hope of redemption there...! Grebo

Here's an experiment: I am not a fan of the Sound Booster concept (the whole "magical music" thing leaves me kinda cold), but I do like the way the VF-17Tkai and VF-19kai look with their Sound Boosters attached. My Frankentein-like solution is to graft a Sound Booster onto the VF-19A Excalibur and replace the speakers with conventional weapons. I'd call it a "Storm Booster" rather than a Sound Booster. So, attached is my first stab at a Storm Boosted VF-19A. I'm not 100% pleased with how it came out, but it's a start... and I do rather like the overall package. A VF-19A with 76 micromissiles and a pair of large-bore beam cannons. Fairly sweet. Grebo

Arph arph, So, Nanashi wrote: No, you're right all right. All over the net, in every published work I've ever seen, and heck, even on robotech.com the machine is referred to as a vEritech. I've never understood it. That's a shame. Great stuff. It's been a long time since I've watched it myself, admittedly. Commendable! Well yes, but you can't really fault them for the term -- it does work. After all, another meaning for the word culture is "growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) cultivated in prepared nutrient media". And "proto" can mean "a form that is the ancestor of a related group" or, even better, chemically it means "having the least amount of a specified element or radical". So technically the term "protoculture" could refer to a kind of elemental organic fuel-soup. Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba wrote: Thanx! Thanks very much, sir. Yeah, the original gunpod definitely has a lot to recommend it... the one as used with the Super Armed Valkyrie II just looks so awkward and drab. There are plenty of mecha designs by Ohata which I like, but that gunpod isn't one of them. I don't think the differences are prohibitively profound, though. Especially given that they'd be built by another company entirely -- Takachihoff, to be precise. Sure, some continuity needs to be tweaked a tiny bit, but really, who doesn't do that? Now the Metal Siren... THAT I ain't going anywhere near. Although I like the basic idea behind it OK, the final product is ugly unimaginative, and just plain lame. It's gonna stay as far away from my game as the Fire Valkyrie is! Glad I'm not the only one who's not super fond of the Armored Phoenix. It is indeed ugly, although really, ugly can be an aesthetic all its own. The Japanese Battletech mechs, the mecha of Armored Core, and several other mecha designs from Miyatake/Nue/Kawamori are pretty darn ugly, but they're kinda endearing and admirable as well -- the kinda hypnotic allure of form following function and function defining form, etc etc... Can't agree with you about the GBP-1, but to each his own. Actually, you're absolutely right about that. I remember when I first saw the VF-XS, I was fascinated to discern from its design that it basically was a beefier, futurized VF-4. Thanks for the feedback! More on the way, whenever I get around to it... Grebo

Woof woof! Veritech?!? Well, I suppose an awful of Rowboatech-speak is used here, so I won't harp on it much. I do have to ask, though... I've wondered ever since I first saw the term used: Why is it vEritech and not vAritech? I mean, shouldn't it be vAritech, as in vAriable? What's the "e" mean? Is it vEritech, as in vEritable? "Truetech" if you will? Makes no sense to me. Aw, it ain't that hard. There's several pieces posted all over the net. Although, in my case, I scanned the art right out of my books -- I have high-resolution versions too, but they'd be much too large to post here. You hit the nail on the head. That's the problem I have with it as well. Hence, in my Macross RPG, I'm re-designating the VF-0 as the VF-2. My only other problem with the Phoenix is that its shape is a bit too modest -- however, I dig the VF-0D because of the little additions that make it snazzier. Bigger wings, canards, etc. In my RPG, all the VF-0s are gonna have those features. Thank you sir! Grebo

This is awesome stuff. Exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Thanks very much guys!

Here's the Reactive Armored Valkyrie II in color as well. Woot! Grebo

I've just been goin' nuts today! Here's the "VF-12S" in color. Grebo

And while I'm at it, here's the Gerwalk mode carrying the same XS-type gunpod. Grebo

Okay, here's my other customized work of the day. As I said, I'm a big fan of the VF-2SS. I'm also not a fan of the VF-0. (Actually, I like the VF-0D much better than the J or S, but I digress.) However, I am quite fond of the look of the Reactive Armored VF-0. So, I figured I'd hijack the Reactive Armor and slap it on the VF-2SS. Now my RPG can have an Armored VF-12S Valkyrie II. Yay. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy! Grebo

Ahoy there, I've always been a huge fan of the VF-2SS. Macross II wasn't very good, but in my opinion the Valkyrie II was very, VERY good. I've always thought that it is actually the single best Variable Fighter retake we've ever gotten -- better than the VF-11, VF-19, VF-22, better than anything. Of course, I may be biased, as Kazumi Fujita is my favorite mecha designer... Anyway, in my Macross RPG that I'm gonna run, the VF-2SS exists along with all the others. I call it the VF-12S. (I also use the VF-2JA as the VF-10... and the VF-0 as the VF-2, but that's another story.) Anyway, being a big fan of the VF-2SS, but NOT a fan of its ugly gunpod (as seen used with the cool SAP set), I used my photoshop powerz to work in the gunpod used by the VF-XS (Fujita's early design for the VF-2SS). Attached is the picture. I hope you all enjoy! Grebo

Ugh, sorry. Messed this post up.

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! Military Divisions In Gundam, the Earth Federation's military forces have only two divisions -- EFSF (Earth Federation Space Force) and EFM (Earth Federation Military -- I think). Basically, the terrestrial military and the space military. No Air Force, no Navy, no Marines, no Army; all that falls under the terrestrial EFM. In Macross, there's UN Spacy which is obviously the space forces, and there's... uh... what? Is there a UN Air Force, UN Army, UN Marines, and UN Navy? If so, do these branches exist only on Earth, or on every planet? I know that in Macross II UN Spacy was the entire military and even, effectively, the government. But in "prime" Macross, I'm unclear on the divisions. It seemed to me at least aboard the SDF-1 Macross, there were two divisions: UN Spacy (primarily VF forces) and the Defense Force (primarily Destroids). Is that how it works? Thanks in advance for your input, everyone! Grebo

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! Brain-Direct control I gather that the VF-22 does not use the Brain-Direct control system used in the YF-21... But was BDI completely abandoned after Macross Plus? I should think research and experiments in its use would continue. Its potential is enormous. And really, a lot of the problems with the YF-21's BDI stemmed from the fact that its pilot (Guld) had hidden mental problems! It seems to me a more sane and stable pilot would reap temendous benefits from BDI. Has this been explored in any of the video games or other material? Thanks in advance for your input, everyone! Grebo

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! Post-SW1 Psycho/Sociology Dude, almost all of humanity and historical civilization was destroyed in SW1. Think about America's national psyche after 9/11. Kinda bleak. Now think of Japan's national psyche after WWII, what with the firestorms and A-bombs and all. Very bleak. Now imagine the human population of Gundam -- 50% of the human race died in the first half of the One Year War; the anime doesn't delve into this as much as it should, but the general psyche of people should be pretty damn dark indeed. (It does explain the nastiness of the Titans, though.) Now I'm trying to imagine what kind of mindset people would have after the catastrophic, apocalyptic Zentraedi bombardment of Earth during Space War 1. I gather that only about a million humans survived it -- most of them in Grand Cannon bases, on the Moon, in Space Colonies, and aboard Macross itself, right? 1 million out of 6+ billion... that means only 0.0167% of the human race survived. 99.983% of the human race died. I mean damn. That would leave its mark on the population's mindset! I'd expect humankind to be pretty messed up. Add in "naturalized" (shrunk-down, culture-acclimated) aliens who would, realistically, outnumber the human survivors, and you've got quite a strange social environment. Plus, clones! Are there any details on the human cloning efforts (described in the timeline) performed to increase the population? I'm wondering if each clone was an exact duplicate of the "clonee", or were the clones different somehow? Could it be that many people in the post-SW1 world have one, if not several, if not dozens of identical-looking clones living all over settled space? And one more issue to think of -- almost all of the survivors or Space War 1 would, it seems to me, be military personnel or scientific personnel (space and lunar colony staff, etc). I should think this, combined with post-apocalypse survivor mentality, and the imminent threat of further alien attacks, would lead to a highly militaristic society... Has there been much discussion of this? Any canon material on the subject? Thanks in advance for your input, everyone! Grebo

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! Minmei Attack This has been bothering me for a while. In Macross TV, DYRL, and Macross II it seems that the Minmei Attack can be performed simply by broadcasting. But I wonder. In Macross 7, Basara fires speaker pods onto enemy mecha, which makes more sense. But still, it's there in the TV show, DYRL, etc... How the heck does the Minmei Attack work? I mean, sound doesn't travel in space. Therefore, I assume you'd have to broadcast the song over all radio channels at such a high power level that it overwhelms any other conventional communications. However, if this is the case, several problems arise. First of all, what's to stop the enemy from just turning off their radios? (I suppose it's possible that the moment the enemy hears the song, they're sorta "hypnotized" by it -- so stunned and abosrbed that they can't bring themselves to turn it off, or don't even think of that.) Second, if you're broadcasting over all frequencies, wouldn't you overwhelm your own side's communications as well? Earth pilots wouldn't be stopped by the music, but you'd lose battlefield commo, which is very important. (I suppose it would be easy, though, to just NOT broadcast over your own particular battlefield commo frequencies.) Another idea, I guess, would be gathering intel to determine exactly what frequency the enemy uses for battlefield commo and only broadcast the Minmay Attack on those frequencies... but even dumb newcomer Zentraedi would, I should expect, think to change to different frequencies, or eventually wise up and think to jam the enemy's broadcasts, or at least opt to go into battle with their radios off if necessary. Hmmm. I'm kinda stumped. Anyone have any insights? Has there been any canon discussion of this subject? Thanks in advance for your input, everyone! Grebo

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! Space Folds In the TV series I got the impression that a space fold is instantaneous -- one moment you're at you're departure point, the next moment you're at your destination. Transit time would seem to be limited only to getting out of any obstructive gravity well. However, in later shows it seems like there is travel time in "foldspace" (or hyperspace, or subspace, or the bleed, or whatever you want to call it) as is the case in many sci-fi shows. Which is correct? And, if there is travel time in foldspace, are there any specifics which can be cited? Like, 1 minute per light year, or 1 hour per light year, or something like that? Thanks in advance for your input, everyone! Grebo

Greetings all, I'm no newbie to Macross (been following it since it started), but there are some rather specific technical issues I've been wondering about. See, I plan on running a Macross game sometime soon and so there are several Macross details I'm looking to learn more about. (For those who are curious, I'll be using R. Talsorian Games' "Mekton Z" system rather than Palladium, which I find unsuitable. I wrote up specs for the Macross Plus VFs which were printed in an issue of V.Max magazine back in the '90s. They represent the kind of stats I plan on using.) Anyway, here's one of my questions. If the subject(s) I bring up were discussed/answered in previous threads, I'd appreciate it if someone would point me to them. And if any of these matters have not been covered, I'd be thrilled by a discussion. Thanks! The Grand Cannon(s) I believe five were constructed on Earth, but two or three were destroyed, right? Well, what I'm really curious about is how a Grand Cannon works. I understand it "uses Earth's gravity as a weapon" somehow, but I know nothing more than that (and what I've seen in the anime, of course). Also, any idea on how much recharge time is needed between shots? How about how many people are needed to staff a Grand Cannon facility? Tangentially, I gather that the whole point of the space colonization efforts seen in post-SW1 stories is to "decentralize" the human poplation; thus ensuring that we are less likely to be wiped out by another massive attack. This being the case, I would expect each colony plant (like Eden, etc) to have at least one Grand Cannon facility of its own -- completed or in the works at least. Right? Thanks in advance for your input, all! Grebo