VFTF1

Even if they did - I don't care. Let them make a live action movie and let Robotech become the hottest property in the US since Transformers. Big deal. As long as Kawamori and BW can make Macross in Japan - I'm happy. Would I like to be able to walk into a movie theatre and watch EVA 2.0 or Macross Frontier? Of course. But you know what - it's not HG's fault that I can't. It's mainly the fault of people who don't know and don't care. [note: I don't live in the US] Thankfully, we have the internet, and mass marketing and global re-packaging to fit regional mass demographics and tastes is no longer necessary and it doesn't matter. I understand that people who live in the US, especially I guess in bigger metropolitan areas on the west coast where there's a bit of anime culture, it is frustrating that they can't get Macross legally in a DVD store or in a movie theatre or on cartoon network or whatever. But at least we have Macross and can get it on the internet. Think back to the bad old days when you didn't have the internet and then you REALLY couldn't watch what you pleased - license or no license. The only thing that is interesting to me about HG and Robotech, really, is the phenomena of Robotech fans who actually fanatically are devoted to the show. But I guess that just proves that even in the age of the internet, the fact is, if I decided to only visit www.dumbass-views-of-the-world.org and NEVER went anywhere else or read or heard anything else, then I'd STILL be a dumbass - even though I use the internet. Pete

Well Kevin did write in a thead at Robotech.com that people naysayed the Shadow Chronciles and refused to believe it had even been made before it was released - and hey presto - it did get released. But these kind of arguments are beside the point as always. The point is always the same: the quality of their product sucks, it is an understatement to say that they are hyperbolic whenever they DO make anything, their range of comparissons and understanding of anime is narrow and they have nothing to do with us except the ACCIDENTAL fact that Macross is part of the pile of anime that they have in their grab-bag and which they have hacked and repackaged. Let's just say it nice and plainly: IT IS OBVIOUS THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT MACROSS. Macross is just one of three anime that they randomly chose. In fact, it's like Jenus' story from one page prior - which I think is what really happened - it's like "go get some cheap cartoon licenses so we don't have to fork out money on creative talent and artists and lets dub it and put it on TV." "Ok boss - here. I got a couple of shows but none of them are long enough to syndicate." "Screw it. Just make up some reason why the shows are connected and show it as one program." "Ok boss." And that's it. This is not even the "American version of Macross" - it has nothing to do with Macross. It's an ACCIDENT. We wouldn't even be at odds with Robotech.com and HG if not for the small accident that they happened to suck in Macross. I think their consideration for the source material is purely from a business angle - they have about as much respect for the artistic and literary achievements of the original anime they are dealing with as bootlegers of models and other fine toys, figures and kits. Pete

Wait - what "set" is being refered to here? Pete

Those were posted a few pages (or more) back But of course it can't hurt to re-post stuff from time to time since lots of folks probably won't comb 33 pages of pictures for the older gems Pete

UUuu... I made the "mistake" last night of deciding to watch "just one" episode of Gurren Lagann before going to bed...as you can imagine, it is impossible for me to watch "just one" episode of this anime, so I ended up watching half the series before passing out That said.... I think I've discovered my all time favorite part in the entire show: I LOVE episode 11's ending - where Simon accepts himself as he is and scares the crap out of Guam with his speech about being Simon the Digger before kicking ass. That scene is like my all time favorite. What about you guys? Do you have any scenes or parts of this anime which are amazing for you? Pete

Oh I agree that it's entertaining. But what is painful about it is that Robotech fans and Harmony Gold talk about their work as if it's the second coming. I mean - I have no problem with a company that gets the license to a cartoon, does a cheesy dub, throws it on TV, and then the cartoon goes down the memory hole. That happens all the time. But Harmony Gold has this habit of presenting all of its' works as milestones in the history of "anime." I even will go so far as to say that I'm sick and tired of the platitude that Robotech was so great because it introduced mature content like "death, love etc" to a "cartoon" because that is only an "achievement" insofar as the American market is concerned, and it's certainly not solely something that Robotech did, since Transformers had Optimus Prime die and there were always cartoons that sometimes tried to attempt a more mature story line. But it seems to me that HG talks about it as though the simple fact that some people die in Robotech is ENOUGH to make it this great masterpiece. It's like if I wrote a story that went like this: Bob got into his transforming robot to fight the aliens, but then he got shot and died. The End. Is that a great literary masterpiece just because Bob dies? No. In terms of cartoons in the USA, Robotech was just part of a broader development in the market where there was a general push towards more mature content. And let's not forget that even in the USA, mature content was present in COMIC books before it moved slowly into animated programming. I mean - in issue one of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there's a heck of a lot of cutting, hacking and bloody chopping ending with the Shredder being impaled, and falling to his supposed death from a roof top - and I'm sure that's just the tip of the ice berg. So even if we forget about Japanese anime like Zambot 3 or Ideon, it's not like Robotech's "contribution" on this front of "mature content" is anything new. BUT - insofar as it MIGHT have been a merit 20 years ago; nowadays you need a tad bit more meat in your story to make it interesting. It's not enough to say "people die!" But then - I keep operating under the illusion that there is a story here.... I guess there is...in the novels...for better or for worse... but that's just about it. Pete

My thoughts on perfect transformation valk: I think the most important thing is to make a valk like a Transformer, and in general Yamato needs to scrap the entire line and give up the license to someone who will re-market this dying series because right now it's just a bunch of 100 dollar cheap plastic toys that only old blind people with too much money buy. They need to use the same plastic and methods that Hasbro uses and combine it with the plastic used by the NASA on Space shuttles. On a serious note - Kawamori didn't need lego. I don't have the picture - maybe somebody does - but remember that Kawamori's first VF-1 was made of wood. I believe it had the swing bars. Pete

Great review! Pete

Gubaba - can you please post a nice picture of Ozma with a guitar ...? Pete

I do. And if anybody attacks Agent One for no good reason other than the simple fact that Agent One doesn't like Macross 7 and expresses it then I am done with this thread and it can be closed or you can go on without me. Either way - I am very sad that you keep picking a fight with Agent One just because he happens to hate Macross 7. That is also a point of view. This thread is not meant to be a bunch of Bassara lovers patting themselves on the back. Yes, MY goal is to show that the anti-M7 criticisms we often here have been wrong. But I'm not going to do that by having a thread where people with Agent One's opinions aren't welcome. Agent One has not flamed, has not made any personal attacks - he's just stated his opinions and this is the second time you've gone after him. It's really sad. Why are you doing this? You and me both love Macross 7 - I read your posts and usually agree 99% with stuff you say. I'm going to ask you with all due respect to please leave Agent One alone. Go ahead and attack his arguments, make fun of his opinions - fine. But please don't treat him like he has no business being here. That's actually the most anti-M7 thing that you could do or write. I mean - way to go. Don't you see the hypocracy of being pro-Macross 7 and trying to discourage people who are anti-M7 from participating in the thread? That would be like Bassara shooting missiles at the Protodevilin because they won't listen to his music. Bassara doesn't do that. Bassara tries to find a sound that will reach their hearts. I believe M7 is cool enough that it could even reach the hearts of M7 haters like Agent One. But if we behave like a bunch of stuck up snobs and poo poo anybody who has anything critical to say - even radically critical - then how are we supposed to be spreading the love of this anime? How is that helping? So bury the hatchet please and let's keep going TOGETHER. Pete

Given everything HG has done up to this point - why don't they just DUB over ROTF and be done with it. Rick Hunter is a mild mannered regular every day kid who has the hots for Lisa Hayes, high school sweet heart. But then alien robots land and start a war over the Protoculture Matrix. Protoculture is a cube instead of a flower, but whatever. Lyn Minmey is that chick from Australia. Just dub over some songs - she will speak in singing rymes. Robotech: Battle for the Protoculture Matrix. There - done. Pete

I think by "they" Shadow Strike does NOT mean Yamato, but rather the studios making the series/movies - it's just that he seems not to notice that one could interpret from his sentence that he thinks Yamato designs the valkyrie in the first place... I read the "they" in his sentence as referencing a general, generic "they" (aka the people who make the series/movies) rather than "they" = Yamato. This could easily become a fun new Macross World sport: Can You Understand the Meaning of Shadow Strike's posts? I think we have non-english native speakers from foriegn countries who are easier to understand... But then again - we should make allowances for his young age I guess. Can't be too hard on him. Pete

I could hope that your story is a sarcastic joke - but somehow I think it's true Pete

I have Turn A and I don't understand ....it has butterfly wings? I think he might have been talking about full burst Strike Destiny or whatever it was called...that kind of looked like butterfly wings... Pete

First thought/action: Alright! Something to do for the next hour! Thanks... Opens Link Reads this: SON OF F!CK!!!! F!!KCIN' A!!! GODD@$#((MUTH#$@#(%!! Have these guys ever NOT just hacked random anime together into something completely different!! I was actually STUPID enough to think that this was some bit of Robotech that I HAD NOT SEEN. But no. I saw this a long time ago - before I knew there was a Megazone 23 of course... and I was confused. I was so utterly confused. I was like - where's the SDF-1? Why are there no VF-1s? In fact - where the hell are the Inorganics and the Cyclones? Why do we keep seeing random new stuff that doesn't seem to have anything to do with one another. I don't wanna watch this crap again. What would be the point? I want to rip into Robotech - but I can't rip into Megazone 23 with a bad dub over it! I mean - it's NOT HAPPENING - in the sense that it's like watching Star Wars as we know it with dialogue from the Brady Bunch dubbed over it! It's pointless!! Aaaah!!! How infuriating these Robotech fans are - why WHY do they cling to this utter crap!? I mean - ANY merit to ANY of this is from MACROSS and SOUTHERN CROSS and MOSPEDEA and MEGAZONE 23 - anything cool is from those original works and it just makes more sense to see the originals anyways!! Also - note that the opening music theme is the EXACT SAME that it's ALWAYS BEEN since they first put this crap on TV. Dum-du-dum du-du-du-du-dum! That cheesy pseudo Star Wars/Star Trek "high minded sci-fi" operatic score rip off. And the Star Wars like running text at the beginning - WHY!? - WHY must you do that?! Can't you NOT rip SOMETHING the f!#(#$ck OFF!?!? I mean - it's like this company does nothing but sit around and f34243king BOOTLEG everything out there! Hey - look - transforming robots! Let's call it Robo-warriors and put it on TV. This is so baad!! I mean - it sucks! And the credits! Directors Carl Macek and Ishiduro Naburo - right - like they really SHARED the lions share of the work on this!! Right!! I'm assuming the latter dude actually directed Megazone 23? But whatever - the poit ... oH - and the story is by Carl Macek too! GREAT!! Jesus - be accurate: HACK JOB: Carl Macek!! God! And there are NINE parts to this!? I'm not watching 9 parts! Oh god - and THIS: This is depressing They bought the license, screwed around with it and then said 'nah...whatever.' I can't take it anymore I quit. Sorry. I'm not watching any more of this Oh my god... it's like one minute into the "MOVIE" and they're already using recycled footage of launching missiles that we just saw used like one second ago This is basically of the same level of quality as if some MEDEOCRE computer geeks dubbed over some Japanese cartoons. No - sorry - actually - there were Transformers fans who did dubs of Victory that were more faithful and FUN than this crap. Hm. I will admit to not having watched this part. The part I watched several years ago was from Megazone 23 because it featured that main character dude on the bike transforming it to a robot... this sucks. I'm turning it off! Pete

Well - maybe. I dunno. I liked the Wing Zero - it DOES manage to catch your eye. And the MG Wing Zero was the very first Gundam I ever built. Oh how I messed it up. I broke the yellow crown coming off the rutters, and I generally didn't have a clue how to get the dry transfers on it...and when I did...I don't think I did it right... I got rid of it a while ago along with a couple other "first builds" which later I was dissatisfied with... But if I ever get a PG, it'll probably be the Wing Zero. I have read that the MG is actually better for several reason, but whatever - I like the angel wings. I also vaguely remember watching Endless Waltz on cartoon network when I was in college - or at least part of it or something like that. But it's not high priority or anything... Just kind of when/if I get around to it and more likely when/if a Wing Zero lands in my lap - maybe next year. Who knows... Pete

Yes - because the Wing Zero custom, in my opinion, is at least aesthetically pleasing. Sure, it's not functional, but it's artistic and lends an air of angelic nobility to the Gundam. As for the butterfly wings... which one would that be? The problem I have with the O Raiser is that it's just odd. I'm not spasmatic about it or anything, I will grant that the design is interesting, but it's just odd. Then again, like I wrote -it's in the tradition of strange Gundam combos.... Yeah - this is true. Insofar as some people complained that SEED was overload in terms of all the crap they would strap onto a Gundam, OO is like the opposite direction. The armor, when there is any, hugs the inner frame like skin and there's less industrial bulk to it. But then again - it's just the same progression that most robot have made from the 70s to now - from boxy bulky to sleek and slender. On that note - do you guys see the similarity between the OO Exia and the Movie Optimus Prime? The head design is very similar, and the arm mounted sword/blaster.... Or is it just kind of coincidence? Pete

Yeag, but there are better and worse add on parts. In Macross, the super packs and armor make sense. Super packs allow you to travel further distances in space - that's important if you want to go somewhere fast - like Hikaru wanting to escort Misa all the way to Earth. The armor helps when you want your battroid to serve as a walking artilery station. Gundam's record is half and half. I think most of the packs in SEED actually do make sense. They're diverse enough - some of them are flight packs, others artillery etc etc. All of them are sensible in design - as is most of SEED mecha actually (unlike SEED anime). The Super Robot add ons are also fine because they are supper robots. But sometimes someone some where drops the ball. Hate to say it, but the O Raiser might be an example. It's a beautiful PG kit - but is makes absolutely no sense. I mean - it makes less sense than any other backpack on a robot that I've ever encountered -seriously. Pete

I could be wrong - but I don't think he wears glasses. Those are sun-glasses tinted in blue - like what John Lennon wore. It's also kind of like Bono wears pink-tinted sunglasses - so Bassara wears blue ones. His eyes are fine. Besides - notice how he's always got his glasses tilted down on his nose in an arrogant typically haughty upper east side Soho rock star way (I'm generalizing here of course). He never actually has the glasses on "properly" - if he did we might think he uses them to see through - but I think they're just decoration. They are his 'I'm a cool rockstar' blue tinted sun glasses. You might be right. However, as Michael or Alto (can't remember which) said: "He's so country!" Ozma would fly into battle and sing country music. It might work, but most likely only on women like Cathy Pete

Thanks. I find it very much a coincidence that they couldn't find ANY other way to achieve that... because I'm sure it's not the entire O Raiser which allows for the OO Gundam to achieve that. I mean - is ALL of the O raiser necessary for it? I don't believe it - there must be something else. Then again - it basically sounds just as cheesy as G Armor and all the crap Gundam started to get towards the end of MSG. So I guess it's a tradition I am more than happy to leave Sheryl to you and keep Ranka all to myself Pete

Well... I tend to agree, which is why I stay away from the Gundam SEED backpack of doom Gundams - although sometimes there are reasons...cannons, air combat vehicles ... It's just that the O Raiser is - I think - the BIGGEST Gundam airplane EVER proportional to the Gundam itself. I mean, the Core Fighters in all of the assorted series were tiny and fit either in the Gundam or on its' back (Force Impulse). And even when they had backpacks like in SEED Destiny which dis-attached to form some kind of flying gizmos - they were comparatively smaller. The OO Raiser is literally a huge as jet hanging off a Gundam's back. The "escape pod" theory doesn't fly with me - it's way to big to be simply an escape pod. Has anybody who's watched the show discovered its' function or the reason given for it being like that? I'm not exactly demanding the reason to be super logical. I mean, in Macross, Roy says that the battloid modes are there to fight 50 foot people from space. THAT was the reason for the transformation and the robot mode. The SDF-1 transforms ONLY because it's the only way to fire the main cannons. So reasons can be zanny - I just would like to know the reason behind this OO Raiser. Pete

Ah yes - but please wait until we get to the appropriate episode where that shows up to rant about it However- good point - we can also discuss customized civilian Valkyrie. I agree that it IS pretty stupid- except it also makes a perverse amount of sense because how would you expect someone who dresses like Mylene does in concert to stylize her Valkyrie? The customized Valkyrie at least fit their pilots insofar as they dress wierd AND they fly wierd. But maybe we should try to look at it from the point of view of alien soul-sucking vampires and space whales? To them, the Fire Bomber valkyrie are not more or less esthetically whacko than the VF-22S Sturmvogel II (which itself is based on the Quedlen Rau). But - yeah good point. It's just that technically since we haven't gotten there yet, let's wait with getting deeper into it. But yes - we should definitely consider the Valk designs for Fire Bomber's squadron. Pete

I see through the lies of the Spoiler proof. I do not fear the spoilers as you do! I will become the most powerful spoiler sponge the galaxy has every seen! Don't make me destroy you. Agreed. Apparently the model they used was one of the nowadays trendy skeleton girls. I personally don't find that attractive and am happy that Macross girls like Sheryl actually have curves Anyways... Eventually I will see this movie. Someday... Pete

Yeah... but I guess for me, if I cosplayed, it would be with friends, and it would be fun to just go out and do regular stuff while cosplaying Like going to a kung fu movie. If...there were kung fu movies in the cinemas in Poland... which there usually aren't... um... yeah Pete

Here's another thought: Remember that the reason behind the construction of a variable aircraft was ONE - as Roy Fokker told us in SDFM TV - to fight giant men from out space. Given that, I think it would be improper to think that all aircaft in the arsenal of a Macross colony ship or in the Macross universe must necessarily be variable. The Destroids aren't variable- and good; they don't need to be. Just the same as bombers and other specialized jets. A bomber's function is to BOMB things from high above, potentially to do it at stealth speed - but in general WHY would a bomber plane need to be variable? What? After it chucks its' payload it's going to transform and engage in hand to hand combat? That's silly. It could have Variable fighters as escorts - but making it variable is kind of pointless, and I'm not surprised that the VAB hasn't been used in anime - because really...why would you use it? Where? The variable koening monster is already a bit of a stretch insofar as the original Monster was sufficient. I guess I can SORT of see the point of a variable Koening insofar as you might want heavy artilery that was mobile WITHOUT having to lug it on a star ship - but rather it can fly at the same speed as a squadron of VFs and go on special missions. Although even then it doesn't really HAVE to be variable- they could have just constructed it for space flight. It doesn't really need to become a shuttle because in space there's not air and therefore no need for an aerodynamic shape to the thing - but whatever... My point is Macross needs to resist making everything variable. The intitial rational for variable fighters was crazy - but it had to be, since there is little military use in a real variable fighter if you think about it. There actually is more utility out of a robot that can just fly and shoot various weapons (Gundam) and if it really needs an Aerodynamic airframe it can link up with a jet like thing (G fighter) or release its' core fighter. This isn't as amazing as a variable fighter - but it's more realistic given just how complex making a variable fighter would be. From Macross Zero we also learned that aside from the battloid mode being there to fight giant men from space in hand to hand combat, the variable fighter was kind of meant to be all purpose since the UN Spacey was predicting that it would need forces capable of fighting in the air, in space, on land - everywhere - and it needed ONE design to do all these things because it didn't have the resources or ability to have a zillion different robots, aircraft etc etc - it just made sense to make a VF-1 to do it all. And this, along with staying within the frame work of a certain design tradition is all that needs to guide future Valkyrie. It should not just be "I saw this cool Navy jet and want a transforming toy made from it" Pete