VFTF1

I miss ramen noodles. You are soooooooo lucky! Pete

This is wrong on so many levels. Allow me to clear something up using this example: Yes - 40 dollars to make a snowboard - ok. Now you have to SELL it. As a producer, what is your business? What's your function? Your business and function is production. You don't sell the things you produce. Why not? Because then you'd have to also go into business as a retail seller. What's that mean? That means establishing retail chains, that means advertising, that means logistics, transport, shipping, warehouse management... Are these things free? Do they not cost money? Of course they cost money. So - if the producer made a snowboard for 40 USD and turned around and tried to mass sell it to consumers then guess what? The snowboard would no longer cost "only 40 USD to make" In fact - I submit to you that the total cost for the producer of getting the Snowboard to the final customer if the producer had to also act as distributor/retailer would be WELL ABOVE THE 300 USD you pay for it at a store. This is because right now, there are many different stores, many competing retailers, a division of labor in retail, different business models, which brings down costs and causes price competition to try and attract customers. If every producer were to suddenly try to distribute their own product - the final cost to the consumer would be much higher. Thus - it is just disingenious to say "gee - product X costs only 40 bucks to make...I should be paying 45 or 100 or at least 50% of what retailers charge." Why? Because if you want to look at the costs that the producer would have to incurr if the entire retail distribution system didn't exist then I would wager that the board would not cost "only 40 bucks" but 400 to 500 bucks - this counting the costs of actual production and then distribution to consumers. People sometimes write as if distribution to consumers does not entail costs; as if advertising does not entail costs, as if transportation, storage and getting something on a shelf for you to look at it and wonder whether or not you want to buy it entails cost. the job of retailers is to advertise products - to make you aware of all of the cool products out there and offer them at good prices. They take the risk of stocking a variety of different things all so you can look at a variety of different things and wonder which one to buy. This is not something producers do - and if producers tried to do it then they would incur higher costs - probably much higher then letting a diversified retail market take care of it. So to immediately go from "it only costs 40 bucks to make this snowboard" to "well then they're too greedy selling it for 200 bucks" is groundless. Pete

When the fastpacks are mounted - you're supposed to install that "chair" looking piece to secure the backpack. It comes with the super and strike parts and looks like a chair. Check out Graham's reviews/galleries in the toys section of the sight to see what it looks like/how to install it. Without the fast packs - it should be secure on its' own. Are you nudging the back-panel that the backpack attaches to IN towards the body? If not - do so - you'll notice that it is made to go there - but you have to be careful doing it - there are two bulbose points it passes through to stay secure. How did that happen? If it's bent out of shape and therefore won't fold back in, then unfortunately you're screwed and the fin is just waiting to break off. Sell it and buy a new VF-O hoping for a better model this time around (I did). Pete

Thanks Keith, for clearing things up. What surprises me about your explanation - particularly about the dynamics behind Yui merging with Eva and Gendos wish to also do so and travel the universe seeding worlds like a God, is that the people who work for Gendo, and Gendo himself, seem to be so low-minded - far too low minded to concieve of them as being Gods who seed the universe with life...unless my own personal theological biases are gettingi n the way, and we are to accept that God creates life more out of a scientific curiosity than out of pure love? In any event Yui demonstrates her love of Shinji while merged with Eva - although I guess you could say that she is also "lowly" in the sense that the protects her child to the detriment of others - after all - she has no misgivings about using the full power of EVA, unlike Shinji who does... So are you saying that Shinji's is a rebellion against parents who are so fixated on saving the world from pain through science? Is Shinji to represent a rebellion against this possibility in favor of an imperfect world? Pete

Are those region 2 DVDs and do they have english subtitles? My Beast Wars Takara reissue DVDs work just fine on my laptop - so I guess I can play Japanese DVDs. If they have subtitles - I'm gonna get it. Box looks great. How many yen does it cost? Pete

Hm - well, of course it's very hard to be sure - but I was actually under the impression that Gendo deliberately led to the accident in which Yui was merged with EVA-01. And it would not be hard to concieve that Ritsuko's mother would have helped him do it - given that she was clearly having an affair with Gendo, and probably saw the short sighted possibility of removing Yui and maybe having Gendo marry her instead (therefore she helped get rid of Yui out of jealousy). For Gendo's part - having Yui merge with EVA would not only be an interesting experiment in its' own right - but above all, would clear the way for EVA to have such a near perfect synchronosation ratio with Shinji...Yui's son. So, I think the intention was to give EVA a very specific human soul - and the fact that we don't see more of her humanity in EVA except snippets (saving Shinji, taking pity on Misato and releasing Shinji back into the world etc) - is only due to the restaints placed on EVA which allow it to be controled - it's hard for EVA's humanity to break through those restraints, and it only happens when Yui's maternal instincts are piqued by external dangers (physical or psychological) to Shinji. This is a good point - particularly if we're going to accept all of the wild and fantastical ideas in Evangelon - BUT.... I think that Neon Genesis Evangelon would be premised amongst other things on the notion that we are...alone in the universe. This is what makes Instrumentality all the more pressing and the quest for it all the more deseperate - because in NGE - humanity knows it is alone and people can't bear to live with that sad fact. So - I think it would actually ruin the story to even imagine other beings in the NGE galaxy - it would take away one of the basis foundations that the whole drama is built around: we are alone. Pete

The Stealth 1/J and Stealth Super Strike parts were my very first 1/48 and my second Yamato Valkyrie "generation 2" (aka post 1/72 Plus). Still very happy to have gotten it. It's a great piece of work Pete

Well - that's what Misato argued too. But Ritskuo then told her that, contrary to her words - she chose Instrumentality. See, the people behind Instrumentality would argue that each human beings' desire to escape loneliness and find happiness the same as choosing Instrumentality, which is the best and only way to escape loneliness and find happiness. In this sense, Instrumentality is perfect democracy. But you're right - it's also insulting - I think mainly because it takes away the possibility to make the WRONG CHOICE and deal with the consequences which is a big part of being human, rather than just a rat in cage... I sometimes wonder whether - in that sense- Gendo, Ritsuko and the others all basically looked at humans the way they looked at Ayanami Rei... just something to be controlled, experimented with... Ironically - it is the EVA, particularly in her Berserker mode, that is most human - she acts to save her child, a very primal desire... I wonder - does EVA (Yui) also become part of Instrumentality? It would seem so. Pete

Such a FAQ could even replace the Forum. Instead of having any kind of conversations, we would just all constantly add a question (and an answer after wiki/googling it) to the FAQ. All doubt and emotion would be purged. There would only be a pure, unadulterated stream of factual information which would eternally grow until each and every one of us had perfect and equal knowledge of Macross therefore canceling out the need for individual members. The Macross Instrumentality Project. Pete

Yes, I realize that the ending is similar to Ideon - that much I was aware of, though I have yet to see Ideon - yet As for it being a cheap way for Gainax to finish production - of course, the director stated as much - but he also said that rather than quit, they decided to show what the team was going through; to mirror that in the ending... So I don't think that you can say the ending was unreflective. I always found it to be very beautiful and moving, and actually very well thought out - it was almost as though the budget constraints had a positive effect and led them to make a far more involved ending than otherwise would have been produced. I have nothing against End of Evangelon - in fact, I do not see how it conflicts with the TV series. The TV series shows us the psychological perspective of the ending while EoE gives us a more physical, chronological one. Anyways - my point wasn't to discuss the ending as such - it was to use the ending as a spring board to discuss the Instrumentality Project; whether it is a viable, desirable idea or not. As for Ideon - I do have to get around to watching it. Pete

I am reviving this thread to share with you my thoughts on the ending of the TV series, and specifically, on the Human Instrumentality Project and episode 25. Here they are: Thoughts on the Human Instrumentality Project 1. Is it necessary? The necessity of the Human Instrumentality project, as explained in episode 25 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, can be sumarrized thus: Man is alone in the universe, and he is haunted by his loneliness, which motivates him to seek an escape from loneliness. However, each subsequent attempt at escaping loneliness brings him to the Other. However, the Other is also alone in the universe and seeks escape from the loneliness. When these two find one another, they feel that they have escaped the loneliness. Yet, two beings, who at their core are essentially lonely, cannot overcome loneliness by coming together. Two voids do not make for fullness. Therefore, with the passage of time, the Other becomes like all else that surrounds man – a fragment of the surrounding existence which reminds Man how much he is apart from it, and how lonely he is in the universe. In fact, to the extent that the Other is a reflection of Man’s loneliness, we might even posit that when Man and the Other come together, loneliness is compounded. Thus, as is stated in Neon Genesis Evangelion by Dr. Ritsko: „A creature that cannot overcome loneliness cannot be allowed to exist in its' current form” given that the creature is unhappy in its’ current form (the state of being alone) and cannot escape it (even in death). Therefore: since Man is by nature – psychologically and physiologically incapable of overcoming his loneliness, cannot come to terms with it, and sees in it the cause of his suffering and unhappiness – he must necessarily be forcefully evolved, replaced. Man must break out of the cycle of escaping loneliness by seeking out the Other, who in turn is also lonely, and thus incapable of remedying 2. Haven’t we heard this all before? Yes – but No. Fantasies wherein all of human existence was brought to an end in order to “start fresh” have been around as long as Man has been around. Usually, they called for a return to the beginning; a liquidation and annihilation of all civilization and the preservation of a remnant which would start anew in accordance to an enlightened moral code. The problem with this approach, aside from the moral issue (which Misato also brings up regarding Human Instrumentality) of whether it is right for one group to murder millions in pursuit of an ideal vision of civilization, there is also a practical problem: namely, if the root cause of the corruption of humankind if human nature, then the quantity of human beings annihilated has to be 100% in order to root out the cause of this corruption. However, this would simply mean the eradication of all human life, rather than its’ improvement; and since the goal of nihilist idealism (in the sense of an idealism that is willing to destroy on a mass scale) is to improve human life, then, assuming we are not dealing with idealists whose idol is death itself, then the annihilation of all humanity would be more harmful from the point of view of even radical idealism than the preservation of humanity in its’ corrupt form. This is why all nihilist idealists have fantasized about a remnant of enlightened survivors who will be left to build anew, in accordance with enlightened ideals. Yet if the root of the corruption of humankind is human nature, then the survival of one human being – no matter how “enlightened” he or she may be, means the survival of human nature, and the inevitability of the return of his corruption. Ikari Gendo is truly revolutionary because his project is not predicated on human ideals; and foresees no remnant left after the destruction of everything who will “rebuild” anything. Instead, Ikari Gendo finds the flaw to rest within human nature – which is lonely – and sees the solution as an amalgamation of all human consciousness into one whole (where we will not ever again be alone). 3. That sounds nice, but what does instrumentality look like? Presumably, Instrumentality looks like what we see in Episode 25 of Neon Genesiss Evangelon. That is to say, it is manifested on the one hand as the equal death of all physically existing human beings. No one, including the initiators of Instrumentality is left “on Earth.” All human consciousnesses, animating principles, souls (call them what you will) are united – yet since by definition the human soul is always embodied (in an individual body) and is also a composite of “views” that are “mirrored” in other souls (who see through the bodies of Others), then “inside” Instrumentaliy, the “I” takes on the shape of “I as I see myself,” and “I as the Other sees me.” In short: existence in Instrumentality takes on the shape of what appears to be a perpetual dialogue between human beings who are no longer constrained by their lonely human nature which characterized them on Earth. In this sense, Instrumentality is not a finite state – it is not a “nirvana” – it is not like Christian heaven, or any other religion’s Heaven, where we get to “be with” the perfect Being that is God. No. It is quite the opposite – it is a state of being which is Absolute Becoming. Absolute Becoming because it is the fully actualized, conscious state whereby each individual soul seeks out its’ true self in community with Others; through itself and through Others. 4. That sounds nifty, but there’s gotta be some fine print… Indeed. There is no doubt “fine print” in the sense of pitfalls and imperfections. Off the top of my head, I can think of the following: eventually, “you” will stop looking at “yourself” via the Other who is well known to you (Shinji will stop looking at himself via Misato, Asuka, Rei etc etc) and you will encounter an Other who is utterly unknown to you and begin the process anew. This will be more frightening. To illustrate this with an example: Misato was frightened by how Others (known to her) viewed her real “I” – and shamed by it. Imagine, however, if these were views expressed by complete strangers. Imagine if throngs of Others that you never knew; who were not your close friends, lovers, family etc – suddenly were judging you and you were suddenly expected to judge them. In this sense, the AT field that all life forms have – the psychological and physiological barrier between “I” and “Other” that exists in the World Prior to Instrumentality is actually a blessing: it is a blessing precisely because it allows you to be alone; to be private, to be intimate to be unique, to not share what is precious with anyone and everyone, to always have some part of yourself reserved for yourself. Instrumentality denies this. Instrumentality succeeds in closing Man from his Being as Loneliness and therefore also closes Man from his Being as…a private, unique individual. 5. Dag. That kind of sucks. So Gendo did a bad thing? Perhaps. It is hard to say. Gendo would likely contend that “bad” is just a notion worthy of beings who cannot go beyond good and evil – beyond themselves – who cannot evolve. But, as Fuyutski said earlier, during a confrontation with the “computer virus” Angel – the natural end of Evolution is…death. Is this the case for all beings – even those who arise from Instrumentality? Or, does the assent to Instrumentality from the physical, Earthly form, demonstrate that Death is not a finite thing, but rather can be overcome – that the End of “being” is merely a moving on to a new type of Being? Does the Soul “in” Instrumentality die eventually? If so – does it die “alone?” This is almost impossible, since there is no more “alone.” Therefore, presumably, Human Instrumentality dies together. What does it die of? Certainly not physical decay. So – spiritual decay? Caused by what? By never finding final happiness? Does it become tired of the perpetual quest? I would guess that it becomes sad – it despairs even – it despairs and finds itself missing the state of being alone. Imagine having to constantly – for your whole life – be “seen” by Others and also at the same time look at Others. In the beginning of Instrumentality – what we were shown in episode 25 – the process actually looks cathartic and good; because everyone is “finally being honest with one another.” However – note please that it is only cathartic and good because there is something that everyone can be honest about: namely – their Earthly existence. Imagine what happens later. Later, there is no existence. There is no “tomorrow.” There is no “human drama” that requires some kind of unraveling, some kind of curing, some kind of analyzing – there is only infinite Instrumentality. People do not love and hate, they do not hope and despair. They do nothing “alone” and nothing together (for what else is there to do). Ergo – all they can “do” is look back upon when life was in motion and uncertain and lonely. And eventually – I contend – they will find themselves actually missing this loneliness and uncertainty. They will want to return to it. Barring this possibility – they will need to evolve even further. Into what? How? Who knows. Perhaps Gendo need not know. Anyways – there are my random thoughts on this excellent anime. I had the chance to watch it in much higher quality than YouTube, which really helps. This is also why I had more thoughts about it than during my previous, first watching. Pete

Everything in your post only shows - in my opinion - that you are not ignorant, but rather very intelligent and honest. I would have nothing against people saying "I understand the economics of it, but I feel the price is just too high." Nothing wrong with that. It is an expression of your personal preference independent of economic facts. To use another example - some people have cars. Me - I don't have a car. I don't really want one. I might buy one if I could get one for a hundred bucks (and I don't mean used, I mean brand new good car). But since they cost far more than that and I have no need or real interest in buying one, then I don't buy them and won't buy them probably. Does this mean I think car companies are greedy for charging thousands for cars? No. Does it make me ignorant of economics to say "I won't buy a new car unless it costs a hundred bucks" - no. It is a statement of my preference. There will always be people for whom the price of something is too high and others for whom the price is "just right" and others who will look at the price and say "what a bargain! must have!" This is common sense, and more often than not, economics is just that...common sense. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. I have NO CLUE what a "set of 8 pistons to go into a new 351C" is. Seriously. Haven't the faintest idea. If you put them in front of me and said - hey man, here - got a set of 8 pistons to go into a new 351C - and you can have em for 200 bucks" I say - ummm...no way! Heck - if the price were TWENTY BUCKS I'd say...umm...why? No thanks. I would rather spend twenty bucks on something else. A movie, pepperonii pizza... These are my preferences. I don't know and don't really need to know what the pistons and 351Cs are and therefore don't value them very much. Everyone has different preferences and sometimes they meet up with what is available - and sometimes they don't. Exactly. I agree 100%. The problem with people voting "yes Yamato is greedy" in this thread is - I think - that they can't just be content with saying - as you do - dag, these are expenssive and then either choose to buy them or not and eventually hope that they will be of better quality and relatively lower price in the future. Instead, it turns into a discussion about whether Yamato is greedy; as if every other company on Earth is giving things out for free and working to make them the best they can because they love you, and only Yamato is evil and in it for the lucrative trillions of dollars they are making off of repainting one VF-1 mold a couple of times. So - yeah - I wish Yamato's "critics" were more like Reddsun1 and just said "hey man - for me personally - this is way too expensive and maybe if they got cheaper or I made tons more money then I'd buy them." Also - what I really like about Reddsun1's example is that he noted alternative things which he DOES buy, or would buy at that price point - and notice please that those things are not necessarily things that others would agree to buy at the same price point because not everyone has the same preferences. But I'm not about to say that the guy selling pistons for 200 bucks is evil and greedy because to me - those pistons are worth 5 cents. That's beside the point. Pete

Messing with a fully double plus armed VF-1S Gerwalk can be hazardous to your health...but looking at it, particularly with the special ability to move that head out just like in SDFM TV... sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttt.... Pete

Sketchley - stop being rational and logical! The more rational and logical arguments you write, the less chance that this thread will continue into infinity! Now - Look guys - yesterday, my mom bought some tuna fish - it cost the equivalent of ONE dollar. And you know - tunas - they swim in the ocean - they don't grow on trees you know. But still - a can of tuna costs about one dollar. Now, if a can of tuna costs one dollar retail and a Yamato Valkyrie costs 200 dollars?! Come on! Yamato shame on you! Pete

Hi! Happy that you decided to sign up Hope you enjoy your time. Use our search function if you'd like to find all of our discussions of each consecutive chapter of Macross: Frontier - right now there is a general series discussion pinned in the Movies and TV thread, but the individual episode discussions are far more interesting and fleshed out. Happy to have you aboard Pete

You know, reading about all of these "fixes" has gotten me a bit worried all of a sudden... do you guys concieve of the following scenario taking place: YAMATO: VF-0S! 1/60! HERE YOU GO! Fans: ok here's 200 bucks Yamato! Yamato: Genki! Fan: Oh no! The arm broke off! YAMATO: Oh well! Back to drawing board!....VF-OS 1/60 V.2 ! HERE YOU GO! FAN: Ok here's 200 bucks Yamato! YAMATO: Genki! FAN: Oh F#$%!!! The shoulder eploded again! YAMATO: Oh well, guess that method doesn't work either. Back to drawing board...VF-OS 1/60 v.3! HERE YOU GO! FAN: Ok here's 200 bucks Yamato .... and you get the idea where this is going I think Yamato might just have a business model wherein the consumer is considered the QC guy Pete

Oh my Hory Froating Head you're right! I must be infected by thought-crime and evil-think! If I see a Tread and immediately think "Beta fighter/Robotech"... then...I...I...I am the very thing I swore to defeat! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *jumps off bridge* forgive me Sumerdimmensional Cinderella! Pete

What's Yoshinol? Says a guy with a BETA FIGHTER AS HIS AVATAR!!! HERETIC!!! HYPOCRYT!!! ON THE PHYRES WITH HIM! BURN HIM I SAY!! HE SPEAKS OUT OF TWO MOUTHS - ONE SWEET WITH YOSHINOL, THE OTHER WITH VENOMOUS HOMOTEC FLUIDS!! Pete

Well that's really cool Hope he signs up here. Pete

Good point. As someone dissatisfied with the Alternators/Binaltechs, I would actually be happy with MP Hot Rod or MP Jazz, Hound etc etc for that matter. Also - Bandai's Soul of Chogikin has different price points depending on the heft, height and complexity of the figure. Couldn't we concievably get an in scale Masterpiece Jazz or Hotrod at a subesquently lower price point? And no - the Alternator version won't cut it - I'm talking a Masterpiece Jazz that actually turns into the porsche we see on TV and then has a robot mode EXACTLY like what we see on TV etc. But...they did release Universe Unicron. I mean - it's not a new mold - but the old one from Armada is - I think - fully up to the task, no? I was just wondering what it would look like as a Henkei. Pete

Just to repeat myself - my 1A is not as tight as the 1S and is balanced - tight enough not to be floppy but loose enough to make fo easy and fun poseability and movement.

Nope. They are younger than me - but all in their 20s (I'm almost thirty)... So that's what makes it sadder still... Nope... sadly they've seen all the previous Macross series and movies. In fact, they seem to be "Macross Plus Fanatics" - if you can believe such a thing exists; and claim that Frontier was bad because it wasn't as cool as Plus. It's very hard to argue with them, because they set up this view whereby SDFM/DYRL/PLUS = awesome and then Frontier/7 = poo poo. And then over and over I get remarks like "we need to have a Macross series that shows us what happened to Megaroad-1 and tells the further story of Hikaru, Misa and the others" Naturally as usual I'm making a big deal out of nothing - since it's just other people's opinions, but still - I find it interesting that this view exists and is so hard to penetrate. But also, they are kind of inconsistent in their views. For example - they say that the animation in Frontier is lifeless and has no soul (the "has no soul" part is then explained to mean "CGI!") ... but then in the next sentence they are capable of writing that they LOVED the CGI renderings of the Macross Frontier and the Macross Galaxy... but they still hated the CGI battles... ??? I find it difficult to concieve of how you can love the CGI renderings of the fleet ships and then hate the battles of which 99% take place...around and often with the fleet ships... Then I get things like "Frontier characters are just copies of Roy, Hikaru etc etc" which are easily dismissed with facts (that argument was attempted on these boards as well) - BUT I also get the following lines: "The only good character is Klan Klan because she's like Millia." Sooooo...all of the other characters are bad because they're just copies of past characters...but Klan Klan is awesome because...she's a copy of a past character Like I said - obviously different people will have different opinions, and it's happened on this board too - but I was just surprised at the fact that EVERYBODY on my local board, other than me, had basically the above view... and it made me wanna cry and come running to Macross World for comfort Pete

Actually kids these days have it worse off than we had it when we were kids. Know why? Because when we were kids the top of the line toys were also affordable. Transformers, Robotech, GI JOE, TMNT etc etc- these were the best toys on the market and generaly sold at prices that kids could get out of their allowance (I remember saving my weekly allowance to buy the TF Devastator set for 12 USD at our local Zayres [then competitor of Sears]) - it took me about two months to save up... Or kids could also get their parents to agree to buy it. Nowadays, as "great" as lots of kids' toys are and as advanced - they still SUCK compared to adult collectibles which are not only out of the financial reach of a kids' allowance but also not likely to be bought by parents on a casual day... So -we had the best of all worlds. Kids today don't have it as good. Now where's my DX Bandai? Pete

I'm gonna email him and invite him to Macrossworld - but tomorrow. Tonight I'm too tired to be saving souls... Pete

I don't want Yamato to do that though. It would be pointless. If anything, Bandai could do it, and then yeah - we'd have G1 Jetfire and I'd get that and it would actually look good next to my other G1 TFs. But a 1/48 sitting there next to the G1 TFs? Totally don't fit together. And I can't say the 1/48 would be an "MP" either - because it looks like a Valkyrie from DYRL and not like Jetfire from Transformers. So - I don't see the point of doing something like that. Pete