VFTF1

FFFIIIINNNNAAAAAAAAALLLYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! It's out of customs ... That means my YF-21 should appear in my long awaiting arms maybe even Monday...hopefully by Weds.... Will post thoughts/pics when I physically have it... but it's nice to finally know it's safely on its' way to me! VFTF1

Hmm...well, I have family in Australia - and I've always wanted to go to China too Maybe one day I'll take a rountrip vacation - a week in Australia, a week in China and TWO WEEKS in Japan ahh...dreams VFTF1

I went with the majority and voted Grace. VFTF1

Yeah... too bad I LIED!!! AHAHAHAHAH!!! Shinji is an emo jerk off creep!!! The whole anime sucks!! Be a Man Shinji! So...what's the cheapest way to get to a DVD store in Japan? VFTF1

My numbers: 1/60 V.1: VE Elintseeker 1/48: VF-1S Roy Fokker VF-1J Stealth w/super and strike parts VF-1J Ichijo Hikaru w/Armor VF-1A Woodland color (I am a fan of this color!) 1/60 M0: VF-0A w/Ghost VF-0S SV-51 Ivanov SV-51 Nora 1/60 MP: YF-19 YF-21 (in customs, but it's as good as mine!) 1/60 V2: Nothing yet - but have VF-1S super strike on the way. Will also DEFINITELY be getting the VF-1D. Skipping VF-1A Hikaru - hate the white 1A bleeeeeeeeeeh!!! small but essential collection VFTF1

Damn. My EX never gave me ANYTHING! AAAANNNYYYTTTHIINNNG!!! my current beau at least got me God Ginrai and lots of nice shirts, a pair of jeans and some good movies. EDIT: (just in case she, or a just and vengeful God read this) my current beau also let me use her credit card to get the Beast Wars Reborn Convoy and Megatron set with the nifty show-accurate remoulds. I hate my EX. as to the battle pod - that's cool. Chunky, silly colors...wierd colors... I'd sell it. even if you get just 50 bucks you could put it towards stuff which is more visually appealing than this...err...thing. VFTF1

I have had it for two years now and have mastered the transformation. Did you remember to transform the neck? it took me a looooong time to get used to this bird VFTF1

Yay (and sorry Mods for not noticing this thread beforehand) Certainly very good news VFTF1

At Wonderfest! Wooo hoo!! FINALLY!! VFTF1

That's cool! VFTF1

My YF-21 is "here" .... as in... "here" in my country... but in customs That will take like...oh...thirty days But at least it's FINALLY here Yay for me. I will likely post a frothing at the mouth happy review when I actually have it in hand VFTF1

I don't read it that way, although I can see where you might derive this opinion. The way I see it, everyone ELSE surrounding Shinji is a loser: His dad is a loser because he thinks manipulation, politics and the quest for Godhood are more important than being happy with your loving wife and kid, the kids in school are losers (in the beginning) because they don't even think about Shinji as a human being thrust into a horrible situation, but just presume to blame him for the civilian casualties...the list goes on. In fact, there are very few human beings who aren't losers - Misato being one of them, her boyfriend being another: these are people who know that the world is a place of deception and cruelty and they do what they can to survive; always looking to carve out a little piece of happiness amidst the storm. But they are few and far between. They also have the pathos of distance with them - something Shinji lacks. Shinji can't divide his public from his private self; he can't "play his part" in the mess of human existence while also finding something happy in his private life. He rebels against this division - the hypocracy of it that everyone seems to take for granted - he is, in this sense, the most heroic of anime heroes - because the other ones who "outgrow" their childhood and become "men" actually just become bigger children (if childishness is understood to be a kind of escapism from reality). Shinji never escapes reality - he faces it constantly. So, he's not a "loser" - he's a big time winner - he is, in a world of losers and lunatics - a human voice crying out for sanity. In fact, the nice family life we see inthe final episodes of the series underscores this. This is the kind of life that makes Shinji, his mom, Asuka, and his Dad happy fulfilled humans - the kind of life they all rejected in favor of insane hubris. Shinji is the best anime hero because he says "no" to joining the fray - that he literally has to be dragged into his EVA in EOE is proof of it. He doesn't want to save humanity because humanity is the final angel: humanity is the enemy: humanity deserves to die because it is not worth saving. Not even for the few humans Shinji loves - because that would save everything else - including what is horrible in mankind. So, it's not a rebellion against the hero stereotype in favor of the "loser emo" type - it's a higher type of hero; one who is extraordinary in that he faces brutal reality and makes no attempt to find grounding in the void. VFTF1

I just watched the TV series for the first time, and then EoE after that. It's almost as though Shinji is Nekki Bassara without the Deux Ex Machina of Song Energy... Bassara's idealism is positive and energetic and upbeat precisely because music is the practical method of expressing his philosophy of life, his dreams and aspirations - music WORKS on his enemies, his friends- on everybody.... therefore - Bassara is not confined to simply negating (aka NOT fighting, NOT taking sides etc etc) - he can take positive action. More - the result of his positive action is, at worse, that people will flee from his music. Shinji is just like Bassara in terms of character and psychology - albeit without the music; and more importantly, without any positive means of not only expressing himself, but of positioning himself in the world... I really like the character. In fact, viz a viz Macross, it made me realize just how much I DISlike Hikaru Ijicho - who is just to "charming" - even if he occasionally cries over Kakizake's death, or wonders what he's doing here in life (oh yeah - protecting Minmey!)... Shinji is far more sophisticated - anyways... not to get too far into it - but really really good stuff. VFTF1

On a related albeit slightly different note- a thought in retrospect regarding the plot: When the series began, some did indeed suggest that Ranka would become super-important based on the opening credits of the series... I honestly thought that the only reason she was shown hovering around space naked was because that's just what anime girls do.... I didn't think she would be so important... In fact - I must admit that I would have prefered the result from episode 4 - that she just stayed at the chinese restaurant; and maybe that she kept singing and believing in her music; but her career didn't take off like a rocket. Not that I'm whining - but I ...err...I'm whining I guess Although I haven't seen episode 15 yet; so shouldn't talk till I do VFTF1

It's all a matter of interpretation. I take that last post to be "melodramatic uppity feign anger" rather than BBQ... VFTF1

I don't think that's an animation error - it's a fairly consistent trait, and I believe it is a conscious choice. It underscores that Sheryl is a manly woman. VFTF1

The real answer is that there are TWO Isamus: Alpha one and Eagle One. VFTF1

But...by whom are they regarded as devils? From the standpoint of human aesthetics, naturally the Birdman is angelic (although it was more of a dark angel, as it was capable of destruction)... On this note - what always interested me is: If alien beings are able to come check on their experiment and, upon hearing of some minor kinks (war etc), terminate the whole thing... Why aren't they capable of just appearing and trying to pre-maturely convince humanity to give up fighting? Bassara does it when he encounters enemies - why won't the Protoculture do it upon encountering violent humans? This leads me to believe that anime spiritia and the power of song are uniquely human creations and or inherent genetic gifts... And that humans are more powerful than the protoculture who had to rely on technology and genetic engineering all the time - while humanity can rely on the power of love and song. VFTF1

Eh? Max and Milia are in the poll. They are failing too Apparently people think Bassara loves his guitar more than Max loves Milia (strangley - this is probably true; Bassara would never seperate himself from his guitar, let alone get a divorce from it or something ) VFTF1

All very good points. I guess it all depends on our definition of what makes for a strong and or intense love? Max and Milia are, in my view, more a case of honor, lust and chivalric rivalry almost FORCING them to get married. Max and Milia were, if anything, in competition with one another from the get go - and in a sense, their entire relationship is one big "I bet ya I can do it better!" - this goes for Macross 7 as well; where Milia is constantly hounding Max in her capacity as mayor, and Max is constantly acting as if the military is more important than what his wife does... I agree that Hikaru and Misa's love did go through the most trials - and in that sense, I guess it can be said to be very strong in the sense of solid... But I don't see Max and Milia as being comaprable to Shin and Sara - I mean, ok...I guess on a surface level - there is this tension that is there - Max/humanity vs Milia/Meltran and Shin/Modern Civilization vs Sara/Ancient Virtue - true - but on a personal level, I think that there is great tenderness between Shin and Sara, and that Sara wins him over fairly quickly: Shin, after all, as he says from the beginning, just wants "stability" - he doesn't fight for the UN for anything else than the dream that one day the ground will stop quaking and shaking... Sara shows him that stability starts with you - with your choice: and that to fight for it is to move further from it and become the thing you set out to oppose... Shin seems to give his heart to this view, and to Sara, fairly early on - however war keeps intruding and compelling Shin to be a soldier - in the end, to fight to save his love... but in the end end (grande finale end) - we see that Shin realizes that he must give himself totally and wholly over to his love - and by this I mean - believe in everything Sara has said and taught - in order to save her... If anything, I guess it's a bit of what Milia (the soldier) had to think about Max kissing her and being attracted to her - but the Max/Milia situation was kind of a like a romantic comedy - it was all light hearted... Shin and Sara are a much darker thing, and I see their love as being truer; more romantic. Maybe I'll put it this way: Max and Milia are the type of people who, as they did, are made to settle down, have a big family, quarrel a lot, and generally deal with day to day life (making coffee and onward)... Shin and Sara are both romantic idealists with traumatic experiences in their pasts who are almost tragically destined to die from the moment the saga begins... and yet they still find joy in having known one another... I guess I would compare it to the love story in the first Terminator movie if anything... VFTF1 PS - and shockingly Bassara and Guitar are STILL WINNING!!

Don't worry As of now...shockingly!...that option is WINNING! Go figure! The ONE poll in which Basarra wins...I vote for somebody else Forever stuck in the minority I am D'oh! Freud would be proud of me VFTF1

Ok - this question should be pretty straightforward once you get the jist of it: Out of all the romantic relationships in the Macross Universe, which is characterized by the STRONGEST LOVE within a couple? Remember - this is NOT a question about which of these couples is your favorite, or who should be with whom, or which girl is cuter or better. It is a question about which love is strongest, given what we see on screen. The qustion came up because of a "debate" with local Macross fans in Poland, where they were (again) putting down Macross Zero because it had "too much romantic elements" and I was (again) defending it, by noting that actually it had the fewest romantic themes of all the Macross series... I started wondering why, despite indeed having numerically the least romantic pairings of all the Macross Series, did these fans think that Macross Zero had "too much romance in it" - and I came to the conclusion that it might be because despite having numerically less romantic themes, and despite actually giving very little time to any romantic development, the INTENSITY of Shin's love for Sara was so pronounced that it gave some people this overwhelming sense of Zero being a monumental love story... Which of course leads to my vote: Sara/Shin. I think that their love was indeed the most intense we've seen in the entire Macross Universe thus far. Hikaru and Misa kind of stumbled into one another - their love was the result of both of them needing the other, they were humble, normal people engulfed by events who found happiness with one another - and the process was very drawn out; sentimental even, but not "intense." Ranka/Alto/Sherl...errr... they are fun - but I actually don't detect much love there - not serious love anyways...more like fun love Myung/Dyson/Guld - there was less intense love then intense friendship amongst these three - I think - honestly; even though of course Guld wanted to take it to another level when he proposed to Myung..still - they are more dear friends than intense loves. Gamlin and Mylene I would call innocent virgin young puppy love not intense...just "fist"... Sara and Shin however - well...I think they deeply and passionately loved one another. The first budding feelings between them came when Shin started carving the Yaree Wei alongside Sara - and it would have been a perfectly sentimental romantic paradise island budding love story if not for the fact that a moment later Sara was having visions of th e coming of the Birdman... This little episode is actually telling of the nature of their love during the whole series: a Love unfulfilled, interupted by events that are beyond either of them - and compelling both of them to sacrifice their lives for one another: something lovers imagine they do in the looong run (aka I will be with you until the day you die...which is like, 50 years from now ) ... in the case of these two: Shin had to "make up his mind" immediately - as did Sara really - and it was obvious they were devoted to one another. As the situation got worse and worse, Shin decided to go all out an listen to his heart - and Sara really did love him sniff...I think their love story was the most powerful and strong in all the Macross universe because they gave their lives for their love and showed the Protoculture that humans are capable of great things. What's your vote/opinion? VFTF1

Naturally I voted for the best Valkyrie since the dawn of history (a very long time ago)....que midgets! VFTF1

You're wrong! Episode 1 features Chogokin Superdimmensional Cinderella Ranka with her "dog ears" hairstyle singing "Nyan Nyan!" (Meow! Meow! in chinese). Therefore super wonder galactic songstress girl Ranka CAN be a dog girl and a cat girl at the same time! Unlike that OTHER chick VFTF1

Ranka all the way! She's the most lovely baby doll doll super dimmensional songstress superstar wonderful girl in the universe! yay Ranka! VFTF1