VFTF1

Watched it. Surprised! Here I thought Sheryl made this great ploy to snag Alto - and bang! Ranka gets him, saves the day AND makes an homage to Sound Force!!! On that note - what in the world does Sheryl SEE in Alto anyways? He's clearly somewhat...err...well - cruel is the wrong word... but maybe she likes him for being that way.... Hikaru was a bit similar, but I always thought that on Hikaru's part, it was his youth and shame....Alto doesn't come across that way - he's just...cold? All in all - a FUN episode! VFTF1

Just watched episode 11. One of the BEST episodes thus far. Right up there with episode 5. Extremely interesting and wonderful dramatic situation for Alto - not just Ranka and Sheryl pulling at him due to his birthday; but his PAST as well. This is a very good way for us to be exposed to Alto's past - rather than a dry recollection of events, the past suddenly calls for Alto to return - and if his "Big Brother" is to be believed; Alto has never left - is this true? Is Alto really an actor at heart? Personally, I found it amazing albeit true to Alto's rebellious nature that he went with Sheryl. Of course; the question still remains - did he chose Sheryl... or did he chose the SKY? In any event - you go girl (Sheryl)! A mature woman understands men enough to get to their heart: my girlfriend, for example, always keeps me enslaved because she takes me out for Chinese food - I have a weakness for beautiful women who like to take a guy out to chow down. Sheryl hits Alto spot on - giving him the chance to finally fly in a real sky. Bravo. It is this kind of behavior that will ultimately endear Alto to Sheryl. Does Ranka have a chance still? Hard to tell - I think no... after this episode I can't see her making her way into Alto's heart. Sheryl has decided to go to the same school, to fly, and now she's taking Alto to see the sky. Ranka is waaaaay behind - because in the beginning she gave her emotions to Alto (rather than slapping him like Sheryl did), and later focused so much on her success.. Ohhh - speaking of which! Smart manipulative Sheryl! Could it be that Sheryl "helped" Ranka with he career in order to get RID of her as competition for Alto's afffections? Women are supposedly extremely capable of being evil to one another when fighting over a man. In fact; now I suspect that Sheryl keeps Ranka close because you should "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." On this note - a very little mentioned but important achievement of this story is the conflict between Sheryl and Ranka for Alto's heart. It's very pronounced - far more than Misa vs Mynmey ... And on that note - I detect a complete reversal of roles - you see, it is RANKA who is more like MISA! Sheryl is totally like a more mature version of Minmey - adept at manipulation; having made an art of it. Remember that Misa was, on the outside, very crusty and strict - but around Hikaru that exterior melted away leaving the little girl who fell in love with Riber and who wanted nothing more than to be a woman rather than a soldier - she is actually very much like the "girly" Ranka. Sheryl on the other hand, is Minmey on steroids - she has mastered the art of the flirt, the wink, the "meaingless kiss" and everything in between. The only reason I like Sheryl now is because she LOVES ALTO. I think she really is in love with him - even this episode - look at her face after she thanks him for coming and he says "did you say something?" - it's obvious that even she is shocked at herself for falling so madly in love... But there it is - I guess if Sheryl can be so dedicated to a guy and so in love with him - then she's a cool chick despite all of the other stuff...which WILL come back to haunt her in the end Leaon is TERRRIBLE! WHY does Cathy even tolerate this shmuk?? The whole "Cinderella" exchange was aweful. Poor Cathy. Ozma has to take the girl back. Speaking of Ozma - he's been kind of sidelined since the premiere three episodes, but I think we'll be seeing more of him real soon. All in all - I would say this is a candidate for best episode, certainly makes the top two or three. Great stuff! VFTF1

I hate to question Gubbaba - and I don't know Japanese - but are you SURE that it doesn't say that he is "a president of UNG" rather than "THE President of UNG?" In any event, "a president" makes more sense and fits with what we've seen in the series. It is impossible that Howard Glass is the President/ruler/executive for all of the UNG and its' feelts and planets... Look how Sheryl reacts - she doesn't act like she's in the UNG "capitol" - in fact, no one acts as though Glass were in charge of everything. Heck - if their system ran like that - with Glass being truly in charge of everything, then they would have known about the attack on Galaxy way before Lootenant Survivor Dude folded in and radioed them... Nope - Compedium aside - but I refuse to believe something so patently illogical as that Glass is in charge of everything - that this one guy runs the whole show. If anything, the UNG clearly runs like the UN we have now - there are members Colonies and Member Planets. There is a General Assembly of Member Colonies and Members Planets. There is a Security Council composed of the most powerful colony fleets and members planets. There is a President, or Secretary General of the UNG - ok - and heck - maybe it IS Glass - but that would mean UNG is a colony vessel - its' headquarters at least... But THAT in turn would mean that we would see Glass meeting with repesentatives from all of the other colony vessels and planets - he NEVER does. Nope. No way. Don't believe it. Macross is too well thought out to have such a juvenille political system... VFTF1

Do I detect some pesimism amongst some of you? Let me...Try Again! Tatta hitotsu no kotoba de Mirai wa kimaru no sa ... Oh - bother - I can't sing, and I don't know Japanese - I am only capable of melting away as my spiritia levels rise thanks to the power of song, but like the Protodevilin - I am as yet incapable of generating the stuff - although I do believe I have it in me - I just need to right context, a bit of practice...maybe a shower?.... But seriously: a) Speakers in space This issue did indeed "bug" me - after all, as the old cliche goes "In Space, no one can hear you scream." So....it would technically follow that no one could hear you sing either. But the speaker pods Bassara shoots punch through a craft and then seal the "rift" between the pod and the hole that resulted from the punch - and then inject sound into an atmospherized and properly presurized environment. Sure, it's far fetched - but it's not just "sound in space" by any means. As to the Strike Super Sound Parts, as I like to call them - this is a different level all together. They do not, ipso facto, transmit sound through space (impossible) - they transmit SONG ENERGY which itself is harnessed by the Sound Booster and then "shot" at the enemy - this is pure, undiluted Song Energy which washes over the enemy and most likely generates sound in their brains using positrons or some other transmitor that can go through space - much like a radio wave. Think of radio sound waves that travel through space - we can't "hear" them - but when they are picked up by a radio in an insulated space craft; they are immediately converted into sound. Song Energy works on a similar principle - only the recieving "radio" is the enemy's brain - which instantly converts the Song Energy into Bassara's music and lyrics (albeit somewhat garbled and with the equivalent of "static" I'm sure)... In any case - The assumption that "rainbow waves" could never best a Super Dimensional Cannon have no basis in fact or rationality but are merely the result of the stereotype that weapons of destruction are always more powerful than weapons of construction. Power to the Dream! VFTF1

This is a very sound observation. Then again, even I recall being shocked at the character designs - only once I'd seen the film did I accept and even come to like them. But yes - in general I "moved" to or maybe was pushed towards Macross and Gundam just about the time when the TF hysteria was at its' height. This is why I dread a Robotech movie and agree with Graham that anime should be left anime... Why does everything have to be made live action? Albeit - I'm rather at peace with the TF Movie now. I like Animated too. Only thing I categorically dislike is the Unicron Trilogy. VFTF1

I am happy to read that the old Movie characters will have new toys. That is really good news. It does of course make perfect sense for Optimus Prime NOT to get a new body in the film, but to get a better toy in reality. I hope that is what happens; because as I said - I love the movie designs - but the toys are so fu fu crap crap. Hoping for a really great Starscream!

Err...yeah...that "Duke" poster looks really bad... Would have been more interesting if they put - you know - a COBRA character on the poster...since it is "Rise of Cobra" and all... Heck - even General Hawk would have been a better pick. I just don't like Duke being this young kid - he was always supposed to be the elder soldier, experienced and looking out for everybody... this guy looks like ...umm...Sparrow?..Wombat.. FALCON! That's it - this guy looks like Falcon - aka younger brother .... And you know who the costume/super suit reminds me of? Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Now THAT was a hilariously good movie - but you shouldn't make Duke look like Brad Pitt out of a Romantic Comedy with guns VFTF1

Why was I not invited to this event!? Sure one of such great stature as ME should have been there! But Stan Bush was in Germany recently; and I didn't move my duff to see him... In fact - I've never EVER been to a concert before - not counting bands/DJs playing in clubs, which is so totally not the same thing... I've read about the complaing that Marii does - and personally I find it charming! I love beautiful women with a modicum of success who nevertheless wine and complain - seriously - it makes them more feminine and appealing Besides - it's what Minmey would do! VFTF1

Personally I prefer magnets. The one and ONLY thing that Toynami Masterpiece VF1 had going for them. VFTF1

My "boss" routinely finances and partakes in the production of work that large numbers of people accuse of pornography, pedophilia, and degeneracy. So browsing MWF on the rare occasion that I am actually on a computer "at work" isn't really going to turn any heads there Change jobs! Or - get a laptop and buy mobile internet - then you can just check MWF at lunch or something or over coffee. VFTF1

I would not be a big fan of an "anti-UN" revival because the Anti-UN were a very very "time" based group; who merged together and fought for the believable and understandable goal of maintaining the soveriegnty and independence of smaller states for fear of being ruled by a hegemonic global dictatorship. We have STILL not really seen anything that suggests that military dictatorship did not replace democratic representative government following the crash landing of ASS-1. In Macross Zero, we are given a glimpse of the UN assembly discussing the event; so we might infer that free governments decided to come together and create a world government with military and other powers - but we don't really know. There is still a mayor - of Macross City no less! - and he doesn't ever appear to be a military stooge; but then again we do learn that on the SDF-1, the civilians are clearly controlled by the military, as food rationing is the means of the distribution of goods and services, and Minmey has to convince her parents to do what they would have done under more natural circumstances - open their restaurant back...Of course all of this was also the writers being a bit more reflective of the prevelent thinking regarding Political Economy in the later 1970s and early 1980s; when Keynesian economics and a view of the "complexity" of industrial society mandated central planning and regulation as the most logical modes of economic organization. In Macross: Frontier, we see a healthy departure from this kind of thinking, and yet another nod to the times (when even the military is hiring private contractors and no longer conscripts people, but rather tries to recruit them) - and hence we have the incompetent and beauracratic centrally managed NUNS, and the far more flexible and real-time reactive voluntary SMS - we also have political leaders who are not so noble and concerned with the public good as - say - Global was (although to be fair, SDF TV had its' share of vile politicians as well; and the scene where Misa and Gloval give their report is a great bit of political theater which shows the paradoxes and dangers of handing your government over to an effectual military dictatorship - even in light of alien attack [aka "radical/extreme" circumstances]. But my point here is that I see NO POINT in the BEING an Anti-UN in the Macross: Frontier time line. If anything, the Anti-UN achieved its' goals even in SDF TV - after all, remember the Ontario Autonomous Region? Bet that wouldn't even exist if not for the Unification Wars - clearly the UN Government got the message: don't attempt to centralize all power in Alaska over the entire planet - respect local autonomy, the desires of diverse peoples to govern themselves differently - ergo we see that under the UN, there are "autonomousregional governments" - perhaps indicative that the Wars were brought to an end via a compromise, whereby a sort of global federalism was adopted? With the inception of space colonization - the rational for an Anti-UN is even slimmer - because each space colony is in a very real sense an autonomous "city" unto itself. Sheryl marvels at the Frontier's reliance on "green" energy - noting that Galaxy uses chemicals and what not. This is indicative of diversity within the fleet - diversity in political and economic and scientific methods used - and therefore diversity in government. So why would there be a militantly active anti-UN movement? People are clearly free to move from fleet to fleet - so if someone doesn't like one fleet, they just move to another one. While we (still) don't see any direct political activity, the Frontier has a President in civilian clothing ruling it; ergo we can presume he was elected? While there might be terrorist cells fighting for some particular interest or as a result of some particular grievence; I don't really see any rationale for an Anti-UN entity that allies certain fleets against...well against what? Against the UN government on Earth? That would be silly. If anything - the UN government on Earth doesn't really have much more power that it did - it can't run things on Frontier; or on Galaxy. Perhaps there is some "uber council" - but it would likely only deal with inter-fleet issues - and any attempt to centralize power in such a council would fail - without the need for a war: after all - couldn't one fleet that didn't like another fleet just...you know...Fold "far away" so they wouldn't have to see eachother? The notion that "bad guys" are these mindless drones that drink blood for dinner and attack because that's the MO of "eeeviiill!!" is a bit silly - and so why would an Anti-UN survive just to build Vajra and send them against the colony fleets? Because they are EEEVVVILLL? I think this underestimates the validity of the Anti-UN cause: government always uses crises to gain power, promising security but delivering only tyranny. It's not wonder than in light of ASS-1 crashing, the UN and its' immediate backers tried to sieze total power over Earth; and it's no wonder that in a panic they made their bid in a radical way, triggering an equally radical reaction (the formation of the Anti-UN and the inception of the Unification Wars). It is also no wonder that the result of the War was not a victory for the UN, but rather a compromise allowing for political autonomy in certain regions, and giving the UN control over matters directly pertaining to the alien threat. This compromise - to my mind - saved the UN, and extinguished the potential grievences of the anti-UN. In short: there is no more Anti-UN because there is no reason for one - ergo - they are not the villain here. IF they are - I will be disappointed in the story telling of Macross for the first time, and it will ruin an otherwise very good series. Speaking of which - don't you guys think that it is more likely that the Vajra are indeed the creation of the UN "gone wrong?" - The Protoculture also spread through the galaxy, much like the colonies of the UN, and also tried to preserve their culture - but also ended up creating the EVIL and sparking wars which ultimately destroyed their civilization. Recall the debate between Hikaru, Gloval, and the Dr. in "Puppets of the Devil" (that would make a great Spinal Tap song) - about whether war was inherent in our nature, and in effect - it was our destiny to follow in the tragic footsteps of the Protoculture. If anything - I see that happening in Frontier; where humanity has basically become a Second Protoculture Stellar Republic - and it to is on the brink of destroying itself. VFTF1

Wow! I'm loving that Musha Gundam! My Gundams are all about to be sent over...so hopefully by the end of July I'll have built most of them and then I will present my beautiful Gundam collection (rather than the three paltry Gundams I have now)... But I like the Musha! VFTF1

Glad to hear/see from your review that the 21 is so wonderfuly sturdy. Good stuff! And bodes well for the 1/60 VF1 VFTF1

Given recent events, which I do not want to get into because that is not the point of the thread, I have decided to open this topic as a forum for exchanging opinions and observations about Japanese Anime and Western culture; how anime is percieved, how it is being influenced by or has influenced western culture - whether you think these developments are positive or negative, and why? Clearly, we have seen from recent events on this sight that one of the more tricky aspects of the influx and growth of Anime in the west is that anime essentially goes against the grain of what is usually considered "cartoons" or "children's television" by introducing explicitly or implicitly adult themes, and thereby risks potentially offending or confusing general audiences or viewers who expect a "children's cartoon" and get something on quite another level. Another example of the impact of anime on Western culture is one from my own backyard, here in Poland, where I run a store that sells lots of anime-based goods. European Union law states that "toys" must carry CE certification, which basically is akin to a government accreditation of a product as being admissible for exchange within the EU. At the same time, as anyone who lives in Europe knows, there aren't very many European based companies that produce toys; most of which are made in China. Most large companies like Hasbro print special "European" boxes for their products - we tend to think that these boxes are made for the European market which is multi-lingual - but multi-lingualism is actually only a minor reason; the main one being that this way Hasbro can create a box that conforms to the EU law and has a CE marking on it. Companies that do not market or directly distribute their goods in Europe like say, Yamato, don't make boxes with CE markings on them. The law stipulates that there is a category of goods called "Adult Collectibles" which do not need such markings and are exempt from otherwise strict criteria governing "toys" - and so importers can import Yamato, Takara and other foriegn, non CE-labelled products as adult collectibles. But this is a bit of a "lie" - because a very large segment of the market that demands these products are children. And lots of times, these children and other young people are quite sophisticated. To use an example - would you pay top dollar for a Masterpiece Megatron that had a pig white label sticker on the box that said "CE" and then spelled out in 16 languages that Megatron was a toy etc etc etc? Would you consider him MISB? Clearly not - and since it is not worth Takara-Tomy's money to create seperate MP Megatron boxes for Europe (where they don't market these things), then importers - if they wish to import MP Megatron as a "toy" - would have to put such labels on the box...effectively making it impossible to do so - since nobody is going to pay top-dollar for such an abomination. The result? Import them as "adult collectibles" - even though a huge portion of your market are children - via their parents naturally - but still - children. To me, this is a good example of how the culture is transforming in ways that laws are not capable of encompassing - and therefore silly paradoxes such as these arise. In the USA, I expect the orange capping of MP Megatron is a similar absurdity. It all ultimately boils down to the fact that the "border" between adult and child media is melting away - cartoons were once laughed at for being "childish" - anime has proved that they can be works of art, touch upon serious and important subjects - and therefore contribute in a relevent and important way to the adult world... and the thanks anime gets? Being condemned as pedophilia - or at least making people shiver in their shoes about being anime fans, or stick ugly orange plugs into beautiful figures in order to avoid being arrested. But then again - was there ever a "border" to begin with? Most Catholics take their children into a Church where - on the face of it - there is statue a half naked guy grotesquely nailed to a cross. Of course; the religion is about a lot more than this crude image. But if some people can look at anime and say "oh my goodness! pedophilia!" then they should consider how others might view some of the things they engage in just based off of "first impressions." Are we to consider a beautiful woman who wears an alluring dress to certainly be a prostitute? Are we to consider a Kabuki cross dresser like Alto to therefore be a pervert? Are we to consider DYRL to be gorophilia because of the way Fokker dies? Is it ok to put a yellow ribbon on your car and support soldiers but censor cartoons where there is bloody combat? A final thought: Another line of work that I have relates to this kind of situation very often. I work in theater in Poland; specifically as a translator and journalist who covers theater. Every single week there is a story about somebody who tries to sue a theater or a director for "violating religious sensibilities" - and in general any and all plays which elevate themselves above a family friendly farce are considered scandalous and shocking and accused of being pornographic - when in fact they are just art and not crude pornography. Usually the accusers don't even go see the plays - they just rely on one or two photos and vague press reports about "controversial scenes." What is truly ironic is that nobody attacks strip clubs - which openly flaunt that they are pornographic in nature, but theater plays which are intelligent and serious and often very beautiful works of art are attacked all the time for being pornographic because they have the audacity to consider themselves artistic rather than merely pornographic. (for the record I have nothing against strip clubs and don't think they ought to be attacked - I was just using them to illustrate a point). Personally, I think this is because the majority of people have crude psychologies and consider most matters of a sexual nature to be inherently "embarassing" and fit for censorship or, if they are "progressive," a red light district. But when these matters are elevated and an attempt is made to explore them in ways that do not fit the stereotype of "sexality=pornography=do it if you must but keep it quiet" then people have a tendency to go insane, to become hateful and accuse artists of pornography because of their (Freudian) complexes. This is not at all unlike what we sometimes see happening with anime; where the fear that someone out there will cry "foul" makes people waver and they are suddenly afraid of anything that is controversial - even though the whole point of art is to stir controversy and debate and thinking about important issues in life - not to be a Diplomatic Corps. Diplomatic Corps must follow diplomatic ettiquette because often times they deal with cultures that are not open and free - and of course it is always better to deal with people than to close yourself from them; and if you think open cultures are better than closed ones- then the best way to open a closed culture is to deal with them peacefully and by example - enter diplomacy (or Nekki Bassara! ) I guess ultimately it's the same old same old debate that has been going on since the beginning of human society: what is "acceptable" in public? What words and images are acceptable and which are not? And always there will be different sides of the issue - the problem is that when one side suddenly feels like it has to temper its' speech or presentation out of fear of retribution from the other side - then I think we answer the question of what is acceptable: It is unacceptable when someone does not speak because he or she fears. It is unacceptable when someone does not present an image or work of literature because he or she fears. Once we give into fear - then we become our own censors. This is quite common in the West. In the East - at least Eastern Europe - the government was the main censor and people either conformed or rebelled. But now, we see that in free, open societies, public opinion and the pressure of public opinion often act as a "hidden censor" which strikes fear of "what others will think" into all of us and makes us sub-consiously temper what we say or do or show. I don't think anime will ever be universally accepted. It is - like most phenomena in culture - a niche. Those who do not love it will never understand it; just like there are probably many other cultural phenomena that we as Macross fans will never understand - and may even feel disturbed by. But I hope the next time we join the crowd in condeming someone or show "understanding" when "fear of prosecution" is used by a business or institution to justify the tempering of actions they would otherwise have taken that what we are really doing is not "cleaning up" the culture - we are making FEAR that driving force of culture. That's bad in my opinion. I for one think that the real reason why people prefer to accuse anime of scandal or pedophilia is because they fear the lessons that lots of anime carries: like the lessons about peace and music and love that Macross carries - so they try to generate a bad vibe about it and make even those of us who love anime fear public opinion enough to look both way before we smile at how cute Ranka is. VFTF1

I hope they start of with Pink Pecker VF-11! That would be awesome! Finally an officially Macross 7 Yamato! VFTF1

I think these kind of things make sense in business of any kind, art and music not exepted. The idea is that even though it's a minor courtesy in a minor matter - you want to always cultivate a reputation for courtesy in the small things so that you can then hope for reciprocal courtesy or - better still - wider courtesy and help with the big things. As to the music - I love it, but sometimes - as someone who doesn't speak or understand Japanese, I get a little miffed because I have difficulty concieving of the actual real world artists behind these songs. I've seen Marii Iijima on youtube, and also Yoshiki Fukayama - but I've not seen any of the real world artists who do the songs from Macross: Frontier - so I can't really comment on songs unless they are referenced as "Ranka's song" or "Sheryl's song" VFTF1

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080624/tc_nm/britain_phone_dc This is great news!! Song Energy is NOT far behind!! Read it and weep, my fellow fans who call "foul" every time Macross Zero or Macross 7 shows us something "mystical." As I've argued in other threads - "mysticism" is usually a term used to cover phenomena that we are not yet able to wrap our brains around. Yet scientific advances have achieved in real terms what was once thought to be the province of wizards. When science fiction is bold - as Macross always has been - it concieves of scientific discoveries in terms and forms that even for us - superficially advanced and modern - seem to reak of "mysticism." Yet what is mystic for us will be standard issue for people in a couple hundred years! Of course- I needn't point out that in order to CREATE dance energy - you need SONGS! And MUSIC! Ergo -Song Energy! Wooo hoo! Basara would be proud of us! VFTF1

I think we can just agree to disagree Back to Macross episode 8: I don't want to veer into the "badly animated" tone that has sometimes sprung up - but I must admit that until episode 8, I couldn't understand what people were talking about when some folks noted that animation was poor in some places. Then, suddenly, in episode 8 I got the feeling that - well - the animation wasn't "bad" as much as the characters; particularly Sheryl - were drawn somewhat...differently. Although - as I look at the episode; I wonder whether it is intentional? Because actually, Sheryl looks more comical the way she is drawn (and I'm not just talking about the "anime/comedy" faces/poses) - and maybe this was a stylistic choice - not a step down in animation execution - to make the episode "funnier" ?? VFTF1

2-Part post: 1) Digression, 2) Carrots I just want to make one last point re Cydeo1's comments - if I may be permitted - and also note that I personally think that such "mini" discussions don't derail the thread, because in a way the entire Macross story line is about war, racial differences and the challenges to building common understanding, so it's natural that from time to time, references to these things in "real life" will come up. In any event, both of us are being polite and courteous to one another in our exchange - so I don't see why a third party need take offense. We're also not breaking the "no politics" rule, because we're not having a partisan discussion, but just wondering about history in the context of what seems to be an "off-hand" remark that was made by a fourth party With that apologia behind me - here's my short rebuttle: 1) As I wrote, I was not justfying the General's thinking, rather trying to understand his emotions. It is easy to understand why there was so much bitterness towards the Japanese and less towards the Germans. Because the Germans never attacked the United States. After all, millions of Americans were happy to be allied with Stalin, who murdered about twenty times more people than Hitler, but the Japanese had to be "rounded up." It's called war-hysteria and the psychology of crowds, "mindless mass hysteria" - it's a bad thing. 2) The comparisson to calling a person named Daniel Danny even if he doesn't want to isn't so easy to make - because we're talking about a word that some people will take offense to, others will shrug at, and still others do not mean anything bad by it, or feel anything bad when hearing it. I think therefore that a "case by case" rule of thumb has to be followed - and common sense too. For instance, it is likely that elderly people will be more sensitive to the word, that it ought not be used on certain occasions - but this is all to the discretion of the user. 3) The freedom of speech argument is IMO extremely important nevertheless. "I might disagree with your opinion, but I will die to defend your right to express it" is a moral credo that holds us to a high standard - and forces us to admit when we didn't meet that standard (case of the internment camps). Of course you are right that just because you "can" do something you "should" - but I think it's unhealthy to build these taboos. The Devil hates humor, as the old saying goes. The Devil takes everything seriously - he hates when laughter enters the picture because laughter and distance deflate swollen emotions - and swollen emotions are what breed hatred and conflict. So again - not saying people "must" - but I personally think they "should" chill out and try to not get provoked. Carrots: Peronally - I think it would be logical for Ranka to sing "This Carrot Loves you" - rather than "Carrots love you." This is because the point of dressing a cute girl up as a Carrot and having her sing is to co-relate the image of a carrot with a cute singing girl and love. It's like the energizer bunny. Why do you think they used a pink bunny? They could have just said "The battery has a cell life of X" But dry info like this is usually not the best way to get an add to stick - unless it's info that is dry but powerful "75% per Month return on your Savings Account. Citibank" - would be a good example. If that "dry" commercial ever aired- I'm sure it would be sufficient to get people to open accounts at that particular bank. But usually such "wonderful" offers don't exist- and yet people still need to advertise. The point is not then to advertise carrots ("Hey! Look! CAARRROOTTTSS! HAVE YOU HEARD OF THESE!?" - but to advertise a store or dealer of carrots...and this is a fun an innovative way of doing it... Personally - the Carrot song reminds me of Nintendo... the old NES that is... the music is like something out of one of their games VFTF1

Sorry for the double post, but I just rewatched this and realized that the film director from Episode 10 is in this episode! He is one of the random people that Ranka hands an mp3 of her song to! So THAT'S where he heard it! Cool VFTF1

This is on DVD!?! With English SUB TITLES!? WHY was I not informed?! Where can I buy this!?!? VFTF1

I really don't see the point of "If Yamato made [insert relatively cool Macross fighter jet] would you buy it?" threads... I mean - have we ever had a thread on ANYTHING in the Macross Universe where the majority of people were like "THIS SUCKS! NO WAY!" ? So far, I haven't noticed any fandom rebellion as was the case - for example - when preview images of the TFs from Bayformers got out - people really had an "OH DEAR LORD WHAT ARE THOSE!?" moment... But in Macross - never happened. I'd buy the thing - even though I don't know what it even looks like - but given what Yamato has done up to now, I trust 'em VFTF1

But the dude in that picture IS Kamjin. Clone. It's the only explanation. VFTF1

Really hard question... There have actually been very few VFs to date - and this is a good thing on the part of the Macross universe... each new one is a masterpiece in its' own right - but that makes it really hard to chose "one." For me I guess it's a match up between the SV-51 and the VF-0A.... ooops. Did I just let slip my undying love for Macross Zero? ?) VFTF1

Right. Here's my eagerly awaited review of episode 10. First of all, I would like to state for posterity that I find it odd that my taste - so fine, exquisite and unique - is shared only by a ball of fur with eyes on it... But alas: I too, like only one other person, thoroughly enjoyed the Hydra and the fight scene. Why? Because I am - surprise, surprise - a big fan of Macross 7, and that includes the whacky EVIL bodies of the protodevilin. The hydra, in color especially and design as well was in some ways an homage - in my eyes - to the protodevilin. Yes, yes, he comes from Eden and is a cute pet in episode 5 - whatever - navy blue strange devil like creatures with wings will always make me think of the protodevilin; and so it was nice to see "one." - sort of... That said, I am also a big Macross: Zero fan, so obviously I'm going to like this episode. I find it both hilarious and smart that they put Miss Macross in as Sara - largely because if the role of Sara had gone to a more intelligent and sensitive woman, she would have overshadowed Ranka - and the point here was to have Ranka be someone special. I also found Luca's wierd "we're going to use CGI to turns the 25s into zeroes" a wonderful bit of "Underbasism." For those who don't know, the Underbase Saga was issue 50 of the Marvel Transformers comic and featured a wholesale slaughter of all of the characters whose toys had definitively gone out of production - only the ones that were in current production "survived" the story... So... I see Bandai looking over the episode 10 script... "Homage to Macross Zero you say? Macross Zero...Zero...VF-0? Hey! Don't Yamato make those!? Well you're not ACTUALLY planning on putting them in there are you!? As things stand episode 7 was the only one where we got any really lasting product placement! It's like we have to fight just to get the blasted VF-25 into any scene in any episode! And now you want to put old Yamato figures in! Nooo!!" And bingo: The reason why VF-25s were used Overall a very good episode which brought Ranka back up to speed as a cute girl and a character. VFTF1