VFTF1

I think it might boil down to childhood memories. When I was a kid, I DID NOT EVER see Robotech - any of it. It just was not on TV in Cambridge Mass - and if somebody here lived in Cambridge Mass in the 80s and remembers watching Robotech - then for the life of me - I never saw it on any channel that I watched my cartoons on...and I was pretty keen on watching my cartoons. At one point, Transformers were on at 6:30 in the morning and I'd get up to watch them. Dennis the Mennis and Inspector Gadget came next - but so did the school bus so...bullocks... Later in life, there was the afternoon cartoons which came on a 2 pm and finished around 5. This was when TMNT was showing. Saturdays I remember watching Photon.... But no Robotech. And I imagine that since I never saw Robotech, I have no latent memories of the characters written in my heart - meanwhile, since I've seen Macross in its' totality - than just seeing the pictures...I don't care what the dubs are saying - in my mind I can "hear" the original Japanese and remember what the subtitles said at each point in the story pretty well. And that's not going to change. So in fairness - I can see how some people who grew up on Robotech just can't shake those characters being impressed on their minds. Pete

I spent some of today reading over various threads on RT.com. First of all - there's not a whole lot going on over there. Mainly either newbies asking things about Robotech without much awareness of Macross at all, or a thread dedicated to the rights question, and Memo threatening to ban people if they don't accept his version of events. It doesn't look like a fun place to hang out at all. And there's no dedicated toy threads either. If I were Harmony Gold, I'd change the moderator and focus more on toys and the story. Also - since they've gone and put the series up for free on Youtube and Hulu - they could open a dedicated thread to discuss it episode by episode like we did with Frontier. You CAN actually do that with old series as well - you know, go back and rewatch them and discuss it together as you do. I dunno. There's a zillion fun things they could be doing, but MEMO seems not to realize that his assanine answers to the rights questions are actually fueling the very conversation he wants to go away. Notice how - in all the pages of THIS thread NONE of us have really reached any definitive conclusion - or even if some of us think we have...so what? It's not like anybody is going to act on it. It's not like BW or Bandai is going to charge in tomorrow with Macross Frontier or BBTS is going to read one of our posts and stop selling Yamatos... In other words - this is just a discussion - and as with all discussions - if you let them run their course, eventually emotions and passions cool down and the topic becomes kind of boring. MEMO seems to be keeping the subject alive, ironically, because his discussion style basically looks like this: FAN: Hi. I love Robotech and I have a question. MEMO: IF QUESTION ABOUT RIGHTS YOU BAN!!! FAN:I...I ...I just wanted to know because I heard that there was an issue with what HG could use in the LAM?... MEMO: HERE LINE NOT CROSSING YOU BANNING!!! FAN: I...I don't...what...what are you saying? I really don't want to offend anybody, but I don't understand what you're saying right now? MEMO: COME HERE OFFEND YOU BANING LIKE SCUM SETO TO! FAN: I assure you; I just wanted to ask a question. What's up with the rights issue? MEMO: TOMMY SAY HERE WWW.TOMYSAYHERE.COM IS ALL HG RIGHT END NOT LINE YOU CROSSING BANNING WILL COME!!!! FAN: But what about when Tommy says "I'm not sure about this"...? MEMO: TROLLING AGAIN YOU WILL NOW I BANNING YOU!! Seriously - I read the latest "rights" thread and that's what it looks like in a nutshell. I actually am surprised that HG have made this guy a mod. He can't write a coherent sentence worth squat. Now - personally - I don't mind this. Not every member is cut out to be a mod. I'm certainly not - precisely because I'm far to talkative and meek and whimpy about telling other people what to do. Being a mod is a thankless job. One of the requirements for being a mod ought to be - or at least so common sense would seem to dictate - the ability to communicate calmly and clearly in proper english (if the website/forum is in english mainly). This really helps avoid confusion. Memo doesn't do this. Much is made of RT.com being a corporate site...but...that's all the more reason why this is so bizarre... Can you imagine going to...I dunno...McDonalds, and seeing everything in capslock with texts like "BURGERKING YOU WILL EATING AND NOT ALLOWING IN TO US YOU WILL BE! BLACK LIST!!!" and "RONALD MACDONALD IS SAYING MCNUGGEST IS BESTING YOU EAT NOW!" Corporations don't usually allow complete ignoramuses to moderate their public domains. Or, at the very least, the corporations would trains them. Usually, the worse you get with corporate dolts is standardized answers to questions - like with telemarketing... But this is totally different - this doesn't even reach the level of lack of diplomatic sounding standardized answers... this is just wierd It's kind of funny though - that's for sure. But then again - I guess I really am a "Macross Purist" - I read the thread on RT.com where the subject was "Why did the SDF-1 crash on Earth?" and they immediately ran into trouble with theories like "Because Zor wanted to plant the flower of life somewhere" etc etc ..and I'm just sitting there thinking... "there's no such person as Zor. The SDF-1 is a Supervision Army ship that was being chased by the Zendradi for its' catch of reaction weapons" .... I just...CAN'T accept the dubs. I mean - it's like...imagine if I dubbed the opening to A New Hope and called it "Quest for Toilet Paper." "This is a consular ship...we have no toilet paper....we're on a diplomatic mission..." "If this is a consular ship with no toilet paper, then how does the ambassador whipe his ass!?" If I wanted to - I could dub over all of Star Wars and make it all about toilet paper. And then I'd get websites going up dedicated to Quest for Toilet paper with dedicated topics such as "Is Darth Vader Mean Because His Automatic Ass Cleaning Suit does not function properly?" I dunno... There's just nothing about Robotech I like I guess... EXCEPT as a fixed part of history... like a stepping stone... like...I dunno...like a prototype of an airplane. You look at it - with the bycicle thing with the bedsheets for wings and you think - yes, I understand that this was a step in evolution... but you don't really want to actually try to fly in it... do you? Pete

And I do hope that someone here has already mentioned that an older Haruhi episode made reference to Firebomber? Pete

I continue to watch Turn-A-Gundam and...oh...ohh ...ooohhhh how painful. The plot is just non-existent at this point. I watched episodes 21 and 22 and I really don't remember what they were about or why or... whatever... All the main characters seem to be operating in a void and their reasons for doing things change with no explanation given. The Moonrace has superior technology - but they don't know how to farm or produce food or trade for food so more people defect to the milita who has food? Weak. So weak. Those two "comedy characters" just put me to sleep. Mainly because other than looking funny - they're not funny. Diana-as-Sochie...what is she doing? I understand the whole "getting to know Earth life" - but has she basically just left her position as Queen? Was her plan to just switch places with Kiel and never worry about her duties ever again? I don't get it... Harry must bring her back...oh...but he can't bring her back. Poe disobeys orders again - or at least acts on her own - but nobody is ever disciplined. And I just don't understand anything anymore. I have no clue what's going on or why. I totally don't get it. I'm lost. I'm so lost, I can't even properly criticize Turn-A-Gundam anymore... I think I like Tomino better when he's just having everybody killed. It's still boring, but at least there is artistic merit to it. Turn-A-Gundam is transforming into Transformers or your general run of the mill kid's show - where the status quo always returns at the end of the episode. No matter what zanny twists and turns occur -everything is back to where it was before hand. Boooring. None of the battles are decisive. Nobody ever dies. All the mecha do is stand around shooting at eachother. MSG at least had melee attacks mixed in with attacks with different weapons and lots of interesting strategic turns (like Amuro deciding to make the attack on the moon from the side where the sun was shining to hide their approach with Riu or the silence/sound of breathing in oxygen tubes when the Zaku team lands on the colony to spy)... I dunno... There is just no advance whatsoever in the plot and the situations that we see don't merit it. There's nothing compelling here. Oh - and why did Diana suddenly stop being a nurse and start roasting chesnuts in a sexy blue dress? I understand wanting to try different things, but then they could just avoid giving the impression that she's becoming a nurse... she just checked it out... I dunno... Lost. Lost. Totally lost. Bad batch of episodes one after the other. Things need to pick up. Pete

Well, lots of interesting points to address. First, NugundamII is right about one thing, "hate/rant/hate" aside - but it IS true that the fandom brought Transformers back to life just prior to 1996, when the Beast Wars aired. I mean - I remember that. That was a dark time for TF fans because the G2 comics were a flop, there hadn't been a new cartoon since 88, and the Internet was just getting started, so often times a fellow felt alone. But the fandom organized, came together, produced some great fanfiction and fanzines, and Botcon and got the ball rolling and Beast Wars was born - to varying fan reaction but... I certainly believe the driving force was the fandom, and not the "mass market" - although at that time "enviro-animal-warm-fuzzy-crap" was kind of more in and the industrial gas guzzling was out, so maybe that influenced why Hasbro went with animals? I dunno... In any event - Eugimon is on the other hand right that fans (and I participated in this sadly) let the franchise go to hell by supporting every stupid line Hasbro managed to puke out. I should never have bought Armada, Energon and Cybertron toys by the bucket loads. I did it ONLY because they "were Transformers" and without thinking.... I happily sold the stuff long ago - but really - the series were aweful, the toys were craptastic... and the franchise basically went down the toilet because of it. Not right away - not immediately - but slowly - ever so slowly the life was sapped out of it and the whole thing just became poo. As for Meghan Fox and hating on cute girls: I don't resent her stardom and sure I'd love to have sex with her. I also think she did fine for her role in Transformers. My problem with Transformers the Movie has very little to do with Meghan Fox - or any of the other human characters for that matter. My main gripe - as I've always made clear - are the aweful toys. Yawn... anyways...maybe one day I'll get around to watching ROTF.... Pete

Would this be a good time for me to repeat that my first edition v.2 1/60 Roy has perfect shoulders and no problems whatsoever ? Too bad about the flash light Pete

This thread inspired me to re-watch Braveheart last night, because I love the movie and it always made me cry. Well - I got stuck with the "watched this too many times" syndrome and started looking at all the details... and I noticed some things that I shouldn't have... 1. First - I guess it's a testimony to realism or something, but it still just looks hilarious. After the first big battle with the English, when Mel Gibson is roaring like a lion and we pan to his followers roaring back, you can see a bunch of wounded guys gasping, and suffering at their feet - and they aren't English soldiers. This is just funny because it totally deflates the "we won!" elation of the scene...because there are all these guys with no legs and arms lying around... I found it funny anyways... 2. When Mel Gibson is being carted in to get torchered, when he passes the stone gate entrance...I swear to God the gate has the words "SET 1 PRODUCTION" or something like that spray painted in yellow on it. It's like somebody marked the props and the camera man and everybody forgot about it How hilarious! I could be wrong - but there was something scrawled in yellow there and that's the impression I got... Err.. Anyways - needless to say I wasn't crying this time around Although it's still a good movie. But not anime. Pete

I listen to Ai Oboeteimasuka at least once a day in the car - if not more. It's a very touching song, and it really really makes for a tremendous finale to DYRL. RIP song composer dude and thank you for the happiness. Pete

A truly inspiring thread. There are some pieces in here I'd really like....not all of them anime girls. That SOC Gunbuster, for example? Man...I would love to get my hands on one finally. In the same pic was Yoko in green bikini - I like it. Keep posting guys - lots of good stuff I still need to up and take some pictures of my Minmey and Yoko... Pete

I think in order for the rule to be effective, Memo needs to also make using google a bannable offense, because what if a Robotech fan googles Robotech and gets a link to this thread? It COULD happen! The internet is a dangerous place. I think HG should perhaps just shut down RT.com altogether, because if the only way to access RT.com is to go through the internet, then the risk is that while logged onto the internet, Robotech fans MIGHT find information or websites with contrary opinions - and isn't THAT also a violation of the terms of use? I mean - since HG has the right to ALL of Macross, then how can a website that makes this claim (RT.com) share the same eather-space with websites that make contrary claims? Somebody needst to send a C&D to ...well...to the Internet, really. To life on Earth itself. We need to just ban the internet out right and HG can communicate with its' membership via direct snail mail. It can be like mail from a Congressman. One general letter written by a staffer with names from a mailing list punched in to give it that extra personal feel. Dear _____, Thank you for your continuted support of Robotech. As promised in our last letter - in this letter we shall now reveal the exact date when the upcoming LAM movie will be out. The date can be known to you if you are home at 3 o'clock, on Thursday the 13th of next Month to recieve it! We'll be mailing out the date in a special envelope to ONLY those fans who will be home at the designated time. It's a special delivery and if you don't sign for it - you won't know it. We know you don't want to miss out! You're probably the only person on your block who gets these super secret awesome communiques from HG anyways - now you can be the only one on the block to know the exact date when the LAM comes out! This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Yours, HG ----------- In the words of Galvatron: "This is bad comedy!" Pete

Two problems here: 1) He TOLD you in private - or is this a public rule? Does it say, anywhere in the terms of use "No Links to Macross World" - kind of like here on MW in the rules it uses the word "Robotech" and explains how we can talk about Robotech and where we can't? 2) Would it not be a logical inference to make that since no links to MW are allowed on RT.com, then correspondingly MW and its' members are persona non grata? And since MEMO is a member of MW - then Memo should be banned from RT.com? This is really tempting I think I'd like to convert to a Robotech Fanatical Fan Purist for one day and lobby RT.com to ban Memo. Memo's crime? Memo is a card carrying member of MW.com! Memo posted in a thread dedicated to "debating" the "issue" of how much rights HG has - when we know full well it has the rights to all of Robotech and can do whatever it wants - so "debating" it just means conceeding to the crazy pedophiles at Macrossworld. In any event - if linking to MW is a bannable offence, then surely POSTING at MW should also be bannable? What really needs to happen is HG needs to quickly require all RT.com members to install software on their computers that allows HG to monitor what they're doing on the internet. Any entries into MW.com or any downloading of Macross anime or watching it on Youtube or googling it and...BAN! Pete

Hi. I'm a Robotech Fan. I believe in Memo. Memo is always right. For proof, just go to MACROSSWORLD.COM where he posted a brilliant defense of his point of view in this thread: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...mp;#entry797065 So - I can't link that? Because you know, Memo DID post here, and he did write his arguments for why he's right here. Does that mean that on RT.com it's against the rules to post to a link of the Moderator presenting the reasons for why HG is right and good? I'm confused. Pete

That's awesome I laughed Thanks ! Why not? Women make us do stuff that destroys our health and sanity all the time. The least they could do for us is look good! Besides, if you take care of your hair and use good hair products (including proper hair dye etc), then it actually doesn't do that much damage to your hair. Trust me, my buddy handles girls who dye their hair all the time and I've never heard women in his salon complaining about their hair being destroyed. Also, I remember when I lived with my ex girlfriend - she would usually spend about three hours in the morning in front of a mirror applying various creams, make up, this that and the other thing - and combing her hair. It's insane how long women take to "get ready" - but that's because when they're doing their thing, it's not only with a view to the immediate moment (aka "going out now" or "going to work now") but also it's a long term thing. They take care of their skin and hair and body on a daily basis to look good in the long run. It's all a matter of habit. If a woman can get into the habit of making herself look good on a daily basis, she won't see it as a burden. Pete

I really like the Love Rectangle from a couple posts up. As for Meltan panties - I'm not really into those because, seen from a human perspective, they look like a large bedsheet. In fact, if you really think about it, Meltlan's can only be sexy if the camera doesn't show them to you from a pure human POV but gives us the equivalent of wide pans Runs away fast before the Klan-Lovers-Brigade (or whatever that thing was called) tars and feathers him Pete

But using the asteroid made more sense than any of the alternatives. I mean - what is he going to do? Just stay motionless in the void of space and fire? You do realize that doing so would send him spiraling backwards uncontrolably with the same force as the round he just shot out? It's called the laws of thermo-dynamics. Michael HAS TO latch on to an object, preferably a MOVING object (like an asteroid) which will counter-act the force of his rifle's shot so that he doesn't go hurling backwards at breakneck speeds. I'm sure there's a million things wrong with my explanation here - but it's pretty much as plausible as this Itano guys'. And I totally agree with the sarcastic posts like Eugimon et al regarding the sexuality and moe in SDFM. I would just add one thing: For those who like to use the "yeah but in SDFM/DYRL the sexuality was short, to the point, done with taste, not so over the top" etc etc argument... For the day and age it was done - I'm sure it was just as radical and "over the top" as some people consider what's seen in MF to be. Personally, I think Macross Frontier is just less inhibited and that's good. I'm not sure which portions of MF were tasteless? These was a lot of erotic humor, which is kind of funny, but .... I'm not sure I see MF going overboard. Pete

That would be poetic justice, but I kind of got the feeling she had already accepted it? Pete

No no ... the Minmey is good - the problem is the camera work sucks. We need to see her legs and we need an angle that makes her curves more visible. Ok - the hair is kinda "fake" - but it's obviously a wig. Personally - I'm totally against wigs. Can't these people be assed to go to a stylist? My buddy is a hair stylist and I've seen him do wonders with women's hair. How hard is it to find a decent stylist and just do your real hair like the person your cosplaying? Dye it dark blue and have him do your hair like Minmey... But other than the hair - I think the angle is all wrong - and her pose is wrong too. On the other hand - there are unfortunately SO FEW (aka ZERO) Minmey cosplays out there that it's encouraging just seeing this one. Pete

Must dump her. My ex-girlfriend never dared refuse special requests. Anyways... I really wanted to write something in this thread for the longest time, but truth be told...I feel so average insofar as being a Macross fan goes... Let me explain: 1) Spend Massive Amounts of Money on Macross ? Yes, but... I also spend massive amounts of money on Gundam, Transformers, Soul of Chogokin, Gurren Lagann and Haruhi Suzumiya figures and stuff...so...financially, my Macross fanatical spending is on par with fanatical spending on other anime I like - ergo, I don't feel it's anything special or indicative of being an 'addict' (a term I don't like anyways ...damn am I being picky tonight!) 2) Having a zillion Giga-bites of Macross stuff on my laptop? Yeah - I have all the series and the soundtrack to SDFM and Firebomber music.... But I also have the entire soundtrack to Gurren Lagann, and my favorite song is Mikuru Chan singing to her faux "movie" The Adventures of Mikuru-Asahina. Liking that song is potentially "worse" than being a fan of Fire Bomber, so I'm really screwed on that count. In any event - again...Macross doesn't stand out here... 3) Connecting Macross to everything? Yeah but...I also imagine myself as Danchou of SOS brigade, and yesterday I got a loli chick to agree to dress up for me as Tohsaka-Rhin - the only point of discussion is whether she will wear low-"cut" brown shoes like on the Revoltech Fraulein figure or high boots (since, apparently, Rhin wore those too). My point here is that my whole life from morning till night revolves around anime in one way, shape or form.... so again...Macross doesn't stick out here.... 4) hmm... AH! GOT IT! I know I'm a Macross addict when I check Macrossworld.com more often than any other website, and spend hours composing seventy million word posts on arcane subjects having to do with Macross. There. Found one. I don't visit any other anime fan sights beyond this one - so that's gotta be it. Pete

Well, I appreciate the clarification, and trust me - I'm on your side here. And yes - in that very very narrow context, you can find an analogy between the political repression of dissident voices in the USSR and the opression of dissident voices by a mod on a website. Agreed. The thing is - well... I'm sorry if sounds a little riske - and I will remind everyone that I defended Memo's right to speak his mind when he came here and EVEN defended his right to write in CAPSLOCK... But just on a stylistic and personal level... IF YOU TELLS ME A WEBSIGHTS BEEN RUNS BY GUYS RITE LIKE THIS AND SAY LIKE HG HAVE RIGHT WHERE PROOF NOT IMPORTANT BUT JUST LISTEN TO LAME ARGUMENT MINE AND GO TO WESBITE ANIME-LOVER.COM IT ALL THERE WHAT YOU WANT .... then I get the feeling that the Trolls are running the website rather than being run off the website. It's like - now...to be clear again - I have NOTHING against trolls having their own place to hang out on the Internet.... But maybe this will help ease some of the confusion and suffering... Just think of RT.com as Bizzaroo World. You know Bizzaro World? Where up is down and left is right and red is yellow and white is black? Originally it was an alternative universe in a Superman comic, but I think nowadays it's kind of the popculture equivalent of "Orwellian".. Well - think of RT.com as being a website where TROLLS ARE NORMAL and NORMAL PEOPLE GET BANNED. If you spell correctly, use punctuation, refrain from personal insults and make rational arguments - you get banned. IF YOU RITING AND NOT EVER ANSWERING OTHER PEOPLE SAYINGS BUT JUST SOMETIMES MAKE STATING THAT YOU WRIGHT AND GOING AWAY... you get to be a moderator. That's what it's more like to me than the USSR. I don't see Memo and the RT.com crew as being evil, ruthless or tyranical. You give them too much credit by making that comparisson. It's just a place on the internet where Trolls rule and Regular Folks get the book thrown at them. Trolls need love too, so obviously God gave us RT.com Pete

Sorry, I'm gonna disagree with that too My first thought when reading that is: "Capitalism HAS a bad side?" Unless, that is, your complaint is synonymous with "it's just the bad side of life" - because yes, "life" has a bad side. Sometimes we get headaches, tooth aches, the weather sucks, we catch a cold, go to an expensive restaurant where the waitress hits us in the head by accident with a bottle of wine (happened to me!), cops pull us over for speeding, people give us dirty looks etc etc etc - and yeah, ok - in that sense it's "the bad side" of life. But to blame capitalism (which I define as just being equal freedom/voluntary exchange between individuals) for some individuals not agreeing about everything and, in this case, some people banning some other people from a website is kind of (IMO) like blaming life itself when somebody's but itches at the exact moment when they have to stand up and deliver an important speech that will make or break their future career - and all they can think of is "damn I really wanna scratch my butt." We CAN "blame" life itself for creating such situations - but I don't think we should, because I think "blame" only makes sense when dealing with causational factors that were a) conscious and b) had alternatives open to them. See - this is why I think that you can only really blame PEOPLE - not systems as such, and particularly not the natural order. You can think it a bad system or a bad natural order, but to change it, you need to first understand how it works and perhaps try to manipulate/control it to your advantage... but blaming it... I get visions of people standing and shouting "I HATE YOU RAIN!" instead of just finding shelter or thinking up umbrellas... But I'm probably just thinking too much about this. I know what the dude meant - I think at least... He probably just meant to make a general analogy that the RT.com website was behaving as if it were Communist Russia and alternative views needed to be censored. I guess that's a fair analogy to make if you keep the context in mind... I just sometimes find the argumentation odd... It's kind of like going into a store and - say you see a TV you like, but the price is - in your opinion - too high... How many people go up to the store manager and say "hey - I like that TV, but your price sucks. Lower it!" Most people would just go to a different store... I dunno.. I had too much coffee and chocolate today. Pete

Well, I respectfully disagree with the guy. 1) The Astroid/Sniper "problem" - You know... when you're talking about sci-fi anime, the one thing you DON'T do is take the science stuff that seriously. Like he said "they tried" - and guess what? That's ALL they could do because ultimately there are way too many variables to do a perfect job when you're not only dealing with stuff that doesn't exist, but with animation of it at that, and so stylistic elements of art sometimes overshadow "realism." I'm not saying he's wrong about the astroid/sniper connundrum but... you know, in the real world, fighter jets (which are moving) are able to fire precicion missiles which "find" targets far away. Predator drones (which are also "moving") are also able to fire things or themselves be a weapon... So...I don't get it. What's the point? Hell- in real time combat, even frickin' snipers are "moving." I mean - come on - if you're a sniper during a fire fight, then chances are that you're moving. There's explosions going off shaking the ground, there's airplanes flying around. The tree you're in can move. And EVEN if you're far far away, perched on some cliff or rock, then chances are your target is moving too. So - while it's ok to bring this kind of stuff up as a "I wonder about this" point - it's just kind of lame to bring it up as if it were something that could sink Macross Frontier. I mean - come on. SDFM TV had Hikaru's FAN JET function perfectly well in OUT SPACE. Minmey and Hikaru should have been crushed or frozen to death. Then, as if that wasn't enough. Hikaru effectively wrapped a scarf around his neck to seal a flight helment, held his breath, and went out into space and DIDN'T freeze to death or die from other causes. He even caught a tuna. I don't know much about science - but my hunch is it's not as easy as that, and that it's a stretch. But do you see me condemning Macross as stupid for those scenes? No. next... 2. Moe instead of 1/3 cute girls, 1/3 robots/ 1/3 songs --- Um... I don't know what series he watched, but Macross Frontier had all three elements mixed together very well, thank you. The mecha action was great, the mecha designs were complex and interesting, and the music/songs were awesome. And every episode had all three elements present in good proportions. He can think otherwise... but I just don't see it. This part I totally don't understand. What is he trying to say here? The relationships were half-assed? How so? I thought they were very compelling and well thought out. And what does this mean that last time we had Minmei become a human failure but this time it was the main character? Huh? This time the main character became a human failure instead of Minmei/the singer? And how exactly did Minmei become a human failure? Minmei ends SDFM TV on a high note - namely she accepts her fate to be a singer - that's a mature, positive note. It might not be extatic - but it's certainly not "failure." If by "human failure" the guy means that her relationship to Hikaru falls through...well...does that make her a human failure? I think that's too harsh. I dunno. Guy can believe what he wants but I don't agree with him, and I don't care how many anime he's made or what his vast amazing experience is. I just don't agree with his opinions in this interview, with all due respect. Pete Rabid MF fan apparently...

Just as an aside - because I do think these are important distinctions to be made... This has nothing to do with Communism and Capitalism, let alone "Communist Russia." I understand the temptation to draw a parallel between Communist Russia supressing free thinking, free thought and opposition view points that go against the "official" line with what Memo and Mav are doing on HG's website - but the comparisson is completely baseless. RT.com is a private website that is generally open to the public, but, like any other website, has its' terms of use. It's like a hotel or a house where there is an open-door policy. Generally anybody can come in and be a guest. But every house and hotel sets down its' own guidelines that guests must follow. Some people do not like these guidelines - that is their right. They can go somewhere else. Meanwhile, Communist Russia, particularly during its' more opressive years, had a monopoly on what was and what wasn't permissible, and what could and could not be said. There was nothing private about it, and their "terms of use" so to speak, were not something you could disagree with and just go somewhere else to do your own thing. In this sense, the comparisson falls flat on its' face and whenever I see people crying about their freedom of speech being infringed on the internet by mods, or suggesting it, as in the case of the "Communist Russia" comments, I kind of shake my head and think "muddled thinking, muddled concepts..." That said, I DO of course generally AGREE that a private website, just like a private hotel or a private house needs to be as open and welcoming and broadminded as possible if it wants to attract intelligent, active and fun guests. Whenever any place becomes too closed minded, narrow and prefers to use its' privilage of asking you to leave rather than talking to you reasonably, that place is going to generally look bad. But looking bad, just like being dumb, is not against the law and it shouldn't be. People have a right to be idiots. Remember when Memo came on these boards and people started to sort of cross a line attacking him, suggesting he can't say certain things? I suggested that Memo could say what he wants - it's his right. Memo thanked me for defending his right to speak, but when I asked Memo if he could maybe defend the same right of people who disagree with him over at RT.com - silence. Silence is also a right. Technically, I could open a website called HappyFunLand.com and randomly ban members every hour by lottery. I could one day decide to Ban everybody whose name starts with the letter M. I could decide to ask every member to paypal me 5 USD under the threat of being banned if they didn't. I could do a lot of crazy and generally stupid things on my own website and scare people away by doing it...or maybe, ironically...it would attract a following? Who knows? Either way - guys... there's no point in getting all worked up over the policies at RT.com and comparing them to Communist Russia or any other political system that took away people's right to choose and to privacy. RT.com doesn't take anybody's rights away - it just has a policy that could be considered annoying and counter-productive. It is amusing to watch as they seem to whiddle away at their dwindling fan base. It is also obviously very emotional for people who grew up with Robotech and have a fondness for it to find themselves getting banned for being open minded rather than RT drones. Nevertheless - the Communist Russia comparisson is just plain wrong IMO. Naturally, if I were a mod at RT.com, or a mod anywhere, I would never advocate banning people with different views. This is because I generally hold the arrogant opinion that I can beat most folks in an honest argument - and even if they don't end up being convinced, I'm satisfied if both sides can just present their differing views. I think banning people with opposite views is childish and it's akin to trying to pretend that other views don't exist - because if you admitted that they do, it would threaten your isolated happy little fantasy world where you're just right. Nevertheless - people have the right to live in such fantasy worlds. I'd say just let 'em be. Obviously those guys have no love for Robotech. Seriously - the whole site is dedicated to two things: strange upper-case diatriabes about HG's legal rights and banning people who write in coherent english and end their sentences with question marks. If that's what gives them the jollies - fine. Pete

So. I have had a vision regarding the next Macross series. Inspired by Renato and Moderator Fokker... here it is: PREFACE Macross 7 was a radical departure from previous Macross installments, but its' radicalism was literal, in so far as the latin root of the word radical is...well...'root.' And Macross 7 looked to the essential root of Macross; namely the power of song as a means of changing the hearts of other beings and opening them to love - and took this concept and made it the basis for everything in the series - for better or worse. Now, Macross isn't just about music. Of equal importance are panties and lingerie in general. Macross Frontier took a bold step in the direction of giving more screen time to panties with episode 8. Now...here's something that hasn't been done, and that certainly should be done: A Macross OVA focused on PANTIES. Imagine if episode 8 lasted two hours and was a mystery/detective story - just WHERE are Sheryl's panties? WHO took them? First - we'd need a protagonist. It would be a young girl who dreams of becoming a super star idol singer - at this point, she can't sing very well and has no prospects, but she does have great taste in panties, and lots of boys in her high school lust after her panties. One day, while showering after gym class, the girl reaches for her panties - and they are gone! She and her two friends try to seek out what happened to the panties. It'll be a mystery full of twists and turns as first they suspect the boys from school and follow one home even. At home, the boy turns out to have a father who pilots a Destroid. And as the Destroid pulls in to park, the girls see that there are some panties that look the same as the missing panties in the Destroid cockpit. The detective-high schoolers set up a surveillance of the dad, only to discover that the panties belong to the dad's girlfriend, who visits him with lunch and kisses in his Destroid while he's patroling the colony. They are NOT the missing panties. This is just one example of how the plot will generally go. We can discover the colony ship and all of its' unique quirks as the high schoolers seek out the missing panties, exploring more and more arcane leads. In the end, it turns out that and alien being took the panties and is intent on destroying them. But, the high school girl puts all her heart into a love song that convinces the alien to give back the panties and live in peace with the universe. The end. Win OVA! Pete

I liked the Panty Episode in Macross Frontier because I have a fetish for panties. Besides, lingerie has a fine tradition in Macross. Frontier just expanded it from one short scene with Misa checking out some panties to an entire episode starring panties. One of the best episodes in the entire Macross saga IMO. In fact, I think I should venture into the "Future Macross series" topic now because I suddenly got a wonderful vision for a future OVA - and yes, it involves panties and two hours. Pete

Well, it's way too early for me to definitively not like Tomino - I mean, I've only seen ONE series by him from start to finish - namely MSG. Ideon I just saw the compilation movie and Be Invoked, but not the series. Turn-A I'm just reaching the half way point. There is plenty of stuff this guy did and it wouldn't be right for me to establish an opinion based on such a scant offering... Also, didn't he do Zambot 3? I watched only the first couple of episodes but I absolutely loved it. Anyways - my comments should be taken as no more than thoughts-in-progress as I make my way through Tomino. Pete