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VFTF1

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  1. VFTF1
    Thanks for all the info. For better or for worse, I'm going to check out Turn-A-Gundam next :-) Pete
  2. VFTF1
    Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I guess I had assumed his dad died.... and forgotten the whole incident until suddenly Dad showed up in that bookstore and then I was like...why is he so kooky?... So...was the gizmo that Dad gave to Amuro really just a piece of junk? Basically the guy couldn't work anymore and was nutts? Too bad :-( Pete
  3. VFTF1
    Man... I am seriously tempted to post on Robotech.com and offer my latest super product: The GG-7 Five Hundred. The GG-7 Fire Hundred is a super conductor poli-optic neural net fabrication unit micro-processor that has the amazing ability to rid your computer of unwanted viruses without ever blocking you from accessing your favorite websites. It's the perfect product for computer users and I developed it all by myself, along with my cousin from Trinidad who has worked as an IT man at Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Bell, Smell and Schmell simultaneously. It was he who pioneered such common household wonders like the R.A.T. (a new take on the mouse pad that Bill Gates himself called "Out of this world awesome" in an interview for Time magazine). Anyways, because I'm such a big fan of Robotech, I wanted to let my fellow fans get the jump! So now anybody who is a member at RT.com can have this product for a WHOPPING 50% off! Yes, that's right! RT.com members get this amazing do-dad for 50% off! That means you pay only one thousand six hundreed and fourty five dollars! That's 1645 dollars! And - for the first seven buyers (since seven is a lucky number - particularly for Rem and Cabal, as all you protoculture addicts remember from episode 25 "Rem and Cabal get Lucky") - you get a FREE BRIDGE IN BROOKLYN that I'm trying to sell on ebay. Oh - and no need to worry about my credibility. After all - I'm the founde and CEO of Harmony Gold! :-) Computers and hanging out with Bill Gates are just my hobby. Well, now me, Shaloom (my Robotech fan buddy from Greece who runs the biggest Asian website in Canada!), and Memo are off to St. Petersburg where we'll be ferried to one of thos Russian rocket sites where they let space tourists launch for only a million dollars each. If you'd like to join me next time we head out on a Russian space ship - you can email me your bank account number, your home phone number, your credit card number + credit card security code and the pin number to your bank account. All this information will be filtered into a random numbers generator which - at 12 pm on Weds the 30th of December 2009 will be activated - generating the lucky winner's name and address using a revolutionary reverse technology that my brother, who works for Bill Gates, has developed. Well - as they say in Vietnam: Ciao! Pete
  4. VFTF1
    I guess that's what I get for making Ideon: Be Invoked the first Tomino movie I ever saw. I just kind of expected it to be darker than it was... I dunno. Maybe I'll skip to the end now and watch Turn-A-Gundam? As for the movie trilogy - for the life of me I can't find those. Every time I try to download it - it turns out to be Gundam SEED. It's like somebody's playing a cruel joke on me. "Here - this is MSG the movie part 1".....[the next day after downloading - clicks play]....pow, wham boom! Oh - sacreblu! Monsieur Tulipan! Is that you riding that GMRXT-500? Mon Dieu!" "Oh?! Count Degrufus?! Yes - it is I! I remember you from pre-school! It was there I fell in love with Madamoiselle LaFruitloop and you took her away from me! Now I shall have my vengeance! Engard!" And my eyes roll and I can't bear to watch any more (although the animation is nice). As for the G-fighter and all that stuff - I actually like it, along with the other "silly" mecha. I just think its' use is kindo f counter-productive... but the mecha don't bother me. Oh - and did Amuro's dad go crazy? Did he lose his job? Or was he always that way? Pete
  5. VFTF1
    Yes, it does. And it is for the better that anime doesn't explain it all away - they have so much to explain and focus on anyways.. Moving on: I have watched the last episode of Mobile Suit Gundam. I am underwhelmed. 1. What ever happened to kill 'em all Tomino? Really, other than Ryu, all of the heros survive. The other ones that die along the way (like Steggler chewie and Matilda) seem to have been introduced so they could die without having to kill off more of the main heros. A strangely "happy" ending.... 2. So...initially, at the conclusion of Mobile Suit Gundam - Charr is presumed dead? Not that we saw him die, but given that that Zanzibar class ship fell on his position and blew up, it would be a technically safe conclusion? 3. The "resolution" of Amuro and Charr's fight by Sayla's entrance was...I dunno... I think it would have helped if, as in Char's Counter Attack, they spent some time explaining what Newtypes are and how they evolved. Now I'm glad I watched CCA because I would have been scratching my head thinking "but where did these Newtypes come from?" 4. Overall - the ending is choppy. Strangely, I read Gubaba say that fans love the ending. I think it sucks. I prefer the middle, which if I understand correctly lots of people don't like? The ending is just way to "Star Wars." Too many explosions and things blowing up and the hero's Gundam getting trashed and hand-to-hand combat.... but there's ultimately no meaning to it since everybody gets out ok and the main points of the show are not resolved.... In any event - this show definitely needed a sequal.... On to Zeta...if I can find it. Pete
  6. VFTF1
    You mean winning an democratic election after about 10 years of campaigning as a fringe candidate and getting recommended for Chancellor by a majority of the Parliament three times? I don't see the parallel. No burning Reichstagg parallel either, since Giren didn't go to the trouble of blaming the Federation for blowing away his father either. And that's exactly what I find so impossible to believe. I mean - there have been very very very few successful states or principalities where executive power has not been unitary. Seperation of powers is one thing, but to seperate the executive power from itself is suicidal. The only ancient case of it that I can recall to mind is Romulus and Remis - and one killed the other so executive power was made unitary in that case. Modern cases seem to abound, what with many countries having both a President and a Prime Minister, but in most cases, the President is just a figure head - merely the ceremonial head of State, while true executive power resides in the chancellor or Prime Minister. There are exceptions (Poland being a sad exception where executive power is de facto split and the President and Prime Minister keep claiming to be in charge and no one can say for sure which of them is the executive and which isn't). I get the feeling - if anything - that Zeon really is more like a loose dynasty where there is no law, but rather the will of a family who are held in prestige, in accordance with conventions which hold the eldest to be the wisest. This is not a bad scheme on the face of it - until you realize that when a family is the executive, then the executive is conflicted against itself and there is no way to know who is in charge of what or when. I don't know anything about Japanese feudal society or Samurai customs - at least nothing as compared to what I do know about Nazi Germany, so I'd rather not venture anything more than a question on this note but --- The way they (the zabi family) act and rule kind of reminds me of a stereotype that is apparently in my head with regard to how clans functioned in Japan. Clans who had the unwavering obediance of Samurais who served them. I note that Zeon soldiers are unwavering in their obediance to the Zabi family - but the family itself is full of back stabbers. Of course - this is a recipe for civil war because what if one brother turns a part of the legions of Zeon on another sibling or family member? How are the Zeon soldiers to decide who to serve? Whose orders will they listen to? If we're going to make comparissons to Germany, I would pre-date WWII and nazism and compare what happened to the German...or specifically Prussian military ethos that was a big part of Germany's defeat in WWI. In the 19th century, when the Franco-Prussian was were fought and Germany was constituted following a swift series of successful campaigns, the new dogma was rooted in the belief that field Generals, making decisions on their onw without waiting for orders from higher ups, were responsible for much of the victories, and thus a heavily decentralized command structure was adopted and encouraged. In fact, German officers were taught a romanticized view of war wherein the field commander could change the tide of history by making bold decisions in the thick of the action (remember this was before GPS, satellites, and modern communication - so generally if you saw some opportunity to change the tide of battle, the Germans taught you should sieze it. Of course - the risk was that you didn't have the whole picture and might inadvertantly be leading to a catastrophe down the road.) Anyways - my point is - Zeon seems to be ruled more in accordance with this romantic Prussian principle than in accordance to Hitler's more modern conception of the unitary executive. If anything, it seems like Ghiren hit upon the idea that it would be better for Zeon to have one executive rather than a family of them. He just miscalculated, thinking that just because he was the eldest, then upon killing his father, everyone else would accept him rather than follow his example of killing off the eldest. I dunno - clearly the Zabi family had issues. But that doesn't answer the main point of contention: how is it possible for weapons so powerful as that solar ray beam thing to be used without the consent of the supreme leader? How is it possible for all command centers NOT to know that the Supreme Leader's ship is in enemy territory for peace negotiations? I just don't believe it. The only way it would have been possible is if Giren did not act alone, but was part of a coup. Yet - where were his co-conspirators when his sister blew his brains out? Wouldn't they have then moved to kill Kcylia and take power themselves? I dunno. I guess I was just slightly bothered by that because it seemed a bit too convenient a way. The tragedy of the son killing the father to take power was overshadowed by the fact that I just couldn't understand how the thing could have been fired without the consent of the commander of the armed forces... Beats me. But it did kind of ruin the moment. I think that was careless thinking on Tomino's part plotwise. But...I'm probably just nagging. It's usually so sellective - but for some reason people sometimes cling to some point in the plot and won't let go... guess this is the one I'm clinging to Still not watched the last episode. I'm trying to build anticipation Pete
  7. VFTF1
    Yes, I knew that. I just forgot their names and the family name - thus "dude she shoots in the head." A dubious explanation. There are many logical fallacies inherent in this - 1) "power comparable with his father" is not the same as "power that is exactly the same as his father." By your own statement you seem willing to admit that Giren's power, though comparable to his father, is still not perfectly equal with that of his father. I maintain that those realms wherein the power is not equal (in favor of the father) are realms such as who gets final say about firing the Solar Ray. It is near to impossible that the execution of such an act is not regulated by strict military protocol, the use of codes - and that the codes would be in the safe keeping of the Prime Minister, who is the commander of the Armed Forces. 2) If power in the Zeon hierarchy is indeed distributed according to age, then Kyclia, being younger than Giren, should have been arrested for shooting him in the head. Or are you suggesting that there is no unitary executive of Zeon, but rather that the family as such rules- and that Zeon is at the mercy of family squabbles and inter-familial bickering is the means by which decisions are made rather than laws, regulations or at the very least the orders of the executive? I guess that's concievable - and it would go a long way to explaining the weakness of Zeon if it were true... But I guess I'm too much of a Gundam newbie to be sure Pete
  8. VFTF1
    Yeah but that's because Warwithin was written by Simon Furman, who actually has a clue about Transformers and G1... See... my problem is I'm still really waiting and wanting a continuation of THOSE stories. And you know...I don't mean "continuation" in a linear sense. I understand the time line - if I can even use such a term with regard to TF - is screwed majorly. But there is still much that can be done. There are some great great characters that were built up with interesting character arcs that could concievably be continued. But instead of characters with rich histories and a broadening panorama - we just get more and more servings of the basic Transformers premise served up over and over and over.. You know what I want? I want a cartoon that spoofs Bogart films and stars Nightbeat as the main hero. Have Optimus Prime be some distant icon that we see on somebody's wall as a framed poster. Have some of those great characters that Bob Budiansky wrote... oh... there I go again... I used to be a lot more open minded towards new series. Seriously. I wasn't a G1 purist until pretty much ROTF rolled around at which point I just said forget it. That's the last time I'm going on the "reboot" ride... not that I saw that movie...that's probably the only movie whose trailer made me think "No. I'd rather spend the money on kitty litter." The toys helped... oh..but...whatever...I'm ranting again I didn't mean to go all negative. I try to say positive things only... I know people like ROTF...somewhere...hm... But yeah...so... There's much they could do with the line... I'm curious to see which way it goes. But as far as I'm concerned - the only thing that excites me anymore are reissues, reprints of old comics and re-editions of old DVDs... I'm old. Pete
  9. VFTF1
    So... Continuing along with my random questions about Transformers... next one... What do you think the future holds for Transformers outside of the movie franchise? I don't want this to address whether there will be a TFIII or what it will be about (there's a whole thread dedicated to that). This is sort of like...what will the next animated series be? What would you like it to be? Will it be a movie tie in? Should it? Will it be another reboot? I'm kinda dead on Transformers nowadays. I never thought the day would come. BUT It's not that I'm burned out with them - nope. I'm just feeling like ...I'm still waiting to find out what happened to all the heros from the last series... I guess what I'm really bummed about is the amount of reboots. Independent of which of them were better and which worse - just the fact that there is no longer a straight continuity bothers me. Yeah, I understand abstractions like the whole "multi-verse" theory... I guess... but... still... I dunno. What else can they do here? I wish there were some character driven Transformers stories. Recently they've been totally focused on the archetype - on Transformers as a theme, and on archetypical characters who keep "doing their thing" - sometimes better sometimes worse - over and over and over. I miss the days when Transformers had some in continuity traction. Meaning I miss Marvel comics Pete the equivalent in the TF Fandom of the old man sitting on the porch saying "I remember when..."
  10. VFTF1
    That and it would help if someone explained what a marcupial pouch is? First off Agent1 - have no fear that you will be assailed for starting anything because I'll always back you up. Second - there is zero substance in the entire show - that's sort of part of the point. Let me put it this way: there are generally two ways to look at things: through emotions and through reason. The majority of people look at things through a combination of both - because all of us feel a little and all of us reason a little. Some people sometimes tend to reason more and feel less, other people feel more and reason less. Nekki Bassara doesn't reason. He's totally unreasonable - and therefore there is no substance to him. There's nothing reasonable. Sounds convey emotions. Language is the rationalization of sound in order to convey reason. Another way to put this: "um-um...mm..." muttered while rubbing your stomach might convey the feeling of hunger. "Could I please have a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese?" is an example where sounds have been rationalized into a language which attempts to signify very definitive things or actions in order that people can better understand their true desires and be able to interact with a view to the fulfillment of those desires. However - sometimes - it is possible to use sounds which have been rationalized into language to reach back to the irrational roots of language: sounds. Huh? Well - lemme put it this way: the more words we come up with to define our world, the more those definitions trap us in conventions. Words like "monster" or "transsexual vampire" or "gremlin with a lolipop in his hair and cotton candy as pants" seem to explain the Protodevilin to us - but in fact they make it more difficult to understand the protodevilin. In the extreme, language, which is a rationalization of sounds meant to help us rule the world and live better can end up ruling us by closing the world off from us - making it impossible for us to experience the world without the filter of language which, rather than signifying something meaningful, suddenly takes up a meaning all its' own and blinds us to the thing it is attempting to grasp. This is where the urge to rebel against language comes in - the urge to return to a more primordial experience between man and the universe. Yet since we are trapped in history and most of us have been throw school and nurtured in a culture where thoughts and emotions are all expressed in language - we even cannot help but use this tool when we think to ourselves. So we seek out the pre-lingual even though we are trapped in language. What do we find then? Music, art, theatre, movies, books, video games, anime - generally what is called culture. This is nothing short of the attempt to restore a healthy emotionalism to our lives and free us from the confines of language which traps us in conventions. So - Look at it this way - the whole point of Bassara is to attempt to channel into something that is common for all sentient beings - sentient meaning they are conscious of their existence and feel anxiety in a primordial sense about who they are, where they came from and where they are going. Basara uses music to evoke the emotions that language has covered up and break through the stereotypes and conventions that language has created. He does so by turning language against itself - by speaking words in melodies which strike the heart and by composing lyrics and accompanying music in such a way as to move people's hearts. And move the hearts of the Protodevilin. Maybe a good analogy would be this: Bassara is like a body builder in a room full of coach potatos. People who do nothing but sit around all day, play nintendo and eat pizza are bound to eventualy develop heartache, their joints stiffen up, they feel lethargic. They are unable to feel good about themselves because they lack physical fitness. So what do they do? They turn on the TV and watch Ahnold or some other show about people who move around, have girlfriends, cars and muscles. All of this because they feel that they cannot have these things. In comes Basara - body builder. He puts on some music, and starts jumping around encouraging people to get off the coach and do some aerobics, lift some weights - to develop a routine that will restore their physical strength and potential. In the end - Basara the bodybuilder proves to the coach potatos that they don't need to live out their fantasies by proxy. That TV shows can be inspiring and nice - but they are no substitute for finding a girlfriend, getting a car, lifting weights, jogging, winning basketball games and generally making your own life interesting. That's exactly what Bassara teaches the Protodevilin and exactly what Macross 7 teaches us Pete
  11. VFTF1
    A normal man would look at that post and respond: "Well - I guess I'm just going to have to go watch Code Geass then. But I say - I'M GONNA GO WATCH GURREN LAGANN FOR THE ONE THOUSAND AND ONE-TH TIME! Strangely enough, I LOVED those bleak middle episodes - they were the best that the series had to offer, and something I find sorely missing in the other Gundam offerings I've seen. I loved when they detoured to go look for salt. I loved the grind of the episodes - how they had to fight for every inch, and how things went at such a snails pace and how there was so much uncertainty. And while I didn't exactly love Ramble Rah and Hamon, they weren't the worse antagonists in the world either. The final episodes, in contrast, are too predictable. It's just a big battle. The White Base is no longer solo - but just part of a bigger group, and the focus is less on the individuals and more on the overall histoy and the Newtypes. This is stuff that actually could be completed in one episode. Bang bang. Boom boom. Fight fight. The only reason it's remotely interesting is that I hope the last episode resolves Charr/Saylia's arc. Amuro is boring - I agree. But that is consistent about him in all of the episodes. And besides, Sayla herself says towards the end that Amuro is "pretty conservative and sentimental" - aka boring. So at least Tomino is consistent in terms of giving us a character who is explicitly this way. Oh - and remember -Amuro also doesn't shower regularly and tends not to use deodorant. He's only interested in his Gundam. Seeing Matilda was probably the first time he considered that maybe it would help to shower once in a while - but then she died and the thought of showering perished. Rossiu is not easy to like - but if he'd been shot and treated as a traitor - then Simon would just have done what all revolutionaries (including Rossiu) end up doing - becoming part of the establishment in essence - changing only the outer decorations/forms but essentially just becoming another typical government. The path Simon chose was to remain true to himself - which is a path that is anti-political and actually much easier because it is more natural. Rossiu's path is less natural and more a necessity - and a very difficult one. I have sympathy for Rossiu because, like his father the Priest, he chose a path that is the most dangerous and sad one possible. I agree that it wasn't the right path - but I understand his motives.... Good thing for him he had a pal like Simon to help him get on the right path That's so not true. There were like FOUR seasons of Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles. Wait. What are you talking about again? Pete
  12. VFTF1
    I asked the exact same question in the Plamodel thread and you know what they said? Don't ask. Hm...what is it with me and Terminator quotes swimming around my head today. But seriously - most people said "yeah, that's why some fans don't like Titanium coating - because you can't do anything to remove that." Great Pete
  13. VFTF1
    You and Killer Robot are probably right. But my theory was a lot more interesting than what is probably the truth - oh well Pete
  14. VFTF1
    Always treat these kinds of problems as similar to the question of what position it would be best to have sex with Pamela Anderson in - and then the answer becomes obvious. To quote Ahnold at the gun shop in Terminator...: "All." Pete
  15. VFTF1
    Double Post again - with more oblivious, ignorant yammering about Mobile Suit Gundam from me - again... I have now watched every single episode in the original series except... the last episode :-) And no - I didn't watch the "trailer" for the last episode either...I never watch those. So... keeping in mind I don't know anything about how this series ultimately ends, I'll share some thoughts with you: 1) Mobile Suit Gundam has the BEST theme song of any Japanese anime But I need to qualify what I mean by "best" here. By "best" theme song, I mean one that is EASY for non-Japanese speakers to sing along to. Most theme songs are kareoke subbed, which is great, but they are also really really difficult. How many times have I tried and completely failed to sing along to Haurhi Suzumiya or Neon Genesis Evangelion? How many times have I utterly failed to sing along to May'n and Megumi. The phonics are just mind numbingly insanely different from what my mouth is used to. Not so with Mobile Suit Gundam. This theme song is slow, sung in a deep voice not requiring too much musical capacity as is. It's a fun melody to sing along with. It's really neato. I of course find it amusing that the theme song can roughly be translated to "Kill,Gundam! Kill all your enemies! Blow them to pieces! Scatter their blood everywhere! Kill! Kill! Kill Gundam! Get really angry and let your hatred flow and kill kill kill Gundam!" But - other than the lyrics, which seem to suggest that getting angry and firing lasers and missiles at people to blow them up is a good idea, the song sounds fun And it's easy to sing along to. And the tune stays in your head. And it's so retro I'm hooked. Favorite anime opening song - no doubt. 2) Yaaaawn. Newtypes. Meh. I am beginning to think that Newtypes, and the explanation for exactly what they are is going to be the "shocking conclusion" to MSG rather than a theme that is exoterically present in the series (esoterically, it is now obvious that it's been there for quite some time). I guess I can live with that. I guess this is the part where watching Char's Counter Attack has spoiled all the fun. I had heard of New types before in relation to Gundam - but I never knew what it meant. I assumed it was in reference to Mobile armor... like a "new type" of technology or a "new type" of mobile suit armor that was err...better...or something. Also - nowhere in Gundam OO's five episodes that I watched were Newtypes mentioned so... nice to finally sort of know what it's about... 3) Now I'm kind of scared for Kai. Anybody who survives ALL of the episodes of a Tomino series up until the very end and ISN'T a main character...I get scared for. And let's face it - Kai isnt a main character in the fundamental sense of the term. He's more of a shadow - the humorous one when everyone is dour, the cynical one when everyone is full of hope, the frightened one when everyone is chasing into action... But for reasons written about earlier - he's my favorite male character in the series... and since I didn't see him in Char's Counter Attack... I have a bad feeling about what awaits him. 4) I'm more curious about the resolution of the Char-Sayla arc than about any resolution of Char and Amuro's arc. Amuro remains one of the most boring, predictable and uninteresting characters I've ever encountered. 5) Does anyone else think it's impossible that a weapon of mass destruction like the Solar Ray could be fired WITHOUT the ok of the Prime Minister of Zeon? That's just a bit convenient. I can't imagine that he would allow for a system to be set up where decisions like that aren't made by the supreme leader of the armed forces. Unless this was a coup planned by more people than just that big dude who Kcylia shoots in the head - it's kind of a bummer of a plot point. I understand the whole tragic aspect of it - but still...not ...er..."realistic"... while...everything else is...just...umm...very plausible ...really... Hm... What else? Ah - I dunno. Lots of mobile suits being bandied about on the Zeon side. Lots of nice touches too, like the young student patriots flying the mobile suits and that one kid shouting for his mother as he burned to death. Oh - almost forgot: Is this the only "cartoon" to have so explicitly and romantically referenced Hitler and the Third Reich? I think it is. Many cartoons loosely base their "bad guys" on Nazism or some aspects of the Nazis - but this is the only one where Hitler's name is spoken and where Hitler is part of acknowledged history. I of course find it very interesting how Hitler is treated as a historical figure. He is looked upon as well tend to look upon the less likeable Roman Emperors. A maniac, a lunatic, a visionary, a fanatic - but someone that can be reasonably assessed, rather than someone who possesses no humanity, and no reasons or motives beyond being "evil" (with pinky finger at the lips!)... I like how he is discussed and assessed here by the Zabis. And of course, I like how we live in the Middle Ages now Pete
  16. VFTF1
    I voted for the VF-19 Kai. I hope Yamato also gets the comments, not just the poll results, because I for one try to put some thought into my choice that goes beyond just "cause I want it and it's cool" - I'm sure others do too. I hope that Yamato does the VF-19 kai. Technically, the mold is not "milkable" - but then again neither is the YF-19 as such, unless you remould the head and some of the parts for Diamond Force. Also, some people have voiced concerns about how the 1/60 YF-19 mould is now somewhat outdated. I do not want to get into that debate here - the point is that a significant portion of the fans who posted on the subject have a view that while the new YF-21 is super advanced - the YF-19 has many faults. Maybe remoulding the YF-19 to make a VF-19S from Daimond force and a VF-19 Kai for Bassara could address these issues? It would be an opportunity to "update" the mould and make it more marketable as such. The VF-OD is a great candidate - as are all of these. But truth be told - OVA based and Macross 7 based fighters don't really lend themselves to massive milking anyways. Yamato has pretty much covered the basis insofar as milking goes. I really think it's time they did something unique. Yeah...even the Lighting would be unique. Unique - unmilkable - one and only - something like Basara's VF-19 Kai. I think it would be popular because it would be unique and unmilkable, one of a kind. Then again - I'm a Basara fanboy...probably just trying to rationalize it Pete
  17. VFTF1
    I've noted another amazing result in this poll. Notice that the most popular and well loved male protagonist in Macross is...Gamlin! Now - clearly this means people don't dislike Macross 7 - they just hate Basara. But - why would people also hate Mylene, who happens to be tied in (4th?) place with Minmey, Mao and Sara? Usually, when you like a protagonist, you also like what that protagonist likes... but in the case of Gamlin - his apparent popularity isn't enough to give Mylene a boost. I have my theories on this - but... I wonder what you all think? Pete
  18. VFTF1
    Yeah - sorry about that. I did notice it right away, but when I went to edit, my internet connnection decided to take a work break and I couldn't. Then I decided to take a shower. Then I remembered I forgot to feed the cats last night, so I had to make them some grub. Then I needed to throw out last night's pizza box before the flies started to gather. Then I decided I need some coffee. Then I called my girlfriend to see how she was doing (she called me at 4 in the morning because she has a tooth ache). Only now have I sat back down to the computer and I see it is TOO LATE! TOO LATE!!!! NOOOOOOO! Ahem. Carry on. Pete
  19. VFTF1
    Just so everyone knows - Kieth is my official spokesperson. When I'm too busy to type something, and everyone is wondering what I'd say about a subject - just go read Kieth. Pete
  20. VFTF1
    I think that fundamentally - this debate goes deeper than just Robotech vs. Macross. And I'm going to try to extrapolate certain key issues that might go a long way to explaining the divides we're seeing... I hope. 1) "Bringing Anime to America" This argument comes up sometimes, in the sense of "if only" HG and BW could set aside their differences, then Macross would be legally available in the USA and so forth, and so on. However - I wonder if the people who make this argument don't also happen to be people who prefer dubs to subs? I don't know - but I ask because I get the feeling that it's actually becoming more and more superfluous to do things like 'bringing' anime anywhere. Hasbro has become smart to this with their Transformers shows which they just...guess what?... show for free on their website. It saves them money not having to syndicate it all over the world. Sometimes, naturally, tv stations in different countries will approach them about it because it's a popular cartoon (or so the thinking goes), but generally Hasbro itself has been showing Transformers shows on the internet for a while now. This is smart. People would be downloading it anyways - why not just bring them to the company website and give it to them? Especially since the show is ultimately a vehicle to drive the sale of Transformers products? BW doesn't have Macross available on the net - but they don't run around cracking down on fansubs either. I believe that we're witnessing a fundamental change in how anime is marketed - you can see it with the collapse of a company like ADV. People are cutting costs amidst this depression, and no company that produces anime (and therefore also is looking to cash in on merchandise) is ever going to risk upsetting people and hurting themselves by going after fansubbers on a mass scale. Why? Because it will cost the company MORE to "legally" distribute the show - and besides - given that the international market is a niche - why would they go to the trouble of financing the shows on a more broadly available television station, which would cost more, and would likely only end up with the show being on TV at...6 am or some other stupid hour? Remember - TV actually sucks because it invites the world to watch something a time-slot X. But the internet lets you watch it when YOU want to and can. TV is at a competitive disadvantage just like the print media are. In my opinion, in 20 years - there will be no more television. Television sets will have gone the way of VCRs. People will have integrated large screen computers in their homes where features such as DVDs and surround sound will be intergrated into the huge screen on their wall, along with a wireless keybad and tough-tone mouse pad. The system will be multi-purpose allowing you to watch a movie on the big screen, tune into whatever shows are running, the news, or use it to cruise the net. For more personalized needs (writing, work etc) people will always have their laptops. Forward looking companies are not going to spend resources to "market" anime to foriegn countries as if this was 1985. Of course, if the goal is to mass market in the short term, then an in-country intermediary is useful - but by and large - if you get right down to it - even in spite of the existence of Bandai USA and other such entities - there are no major intermediaries between the original product in Japan and the consumers on the international market and the marketing strategies that companies use for international sales are no where near as wholistic and sophisticated as what they do with the Japanese market - and never will be. The international market is a self-propelling entity and always will be. The Earth is too big, and anime fans are too scattered around the planet to effectively plan the utilization of resources on a concentrated marketing campaign - it would be pointless. The product is good enough to draw interest world wide and the internet is universal enough to make it possible to bring the stuff to people's attention anyways. Niche companies can arise to offer related services - it happens and it's not like nobody wants it... but..um... I forgot what my point was... er... and now I'm bored of this subject again Carry on! Pete
  21. VFTF1
    That's no fun But seriously... I do realize that I often run my mouth off without knowing all the facts - but when I do it, I try to underline that my opinions are based on incomplete information and should just be treated as impressions. Like if you meet a girl for the first time and somebody asks "what do you think of her?" - what can you say? "Yeah she seems nice" - based on the two minute encounter you had... but you really don't know more...yet already you start developing an opinion or an impression... I try not to be rigorous when I present these - it's not like I'm making dogmatic arguments about Gundam which I think are absolutely true and would defend to the death or something Just passing reflections... And here's a few more - since I'm now reaching the end of the series: 1) Well - I have to admit that this whole Newtype thing really surprised me. Took me totally by surprise. On one level, I kind of am uncomfortable with it, because I really liked this gritty idea of the mobile suits being sort of equivalent to tanks and fighter planes, only they're robots with arms and legs... and it's just a regular war setting...intergalactic war... but I guess every robot anime has to set itself apart with some "angle" - and newtypes are the angle here. OK. fair enough... 2) I'm confused by Mirai. I got the impression she rebuffed Cameron because she was in love with Bright. But then she makes out with Steggler Chewie? I guess I kind of should take Steggler's explanation at face value - Mirai just had feelings for him and women get that way and hey - presto - it happened. As for Bright's feelings for Mirai...where'd that come from? I never got the impression he was that into her and all of a sudden it's like "hey - I want to be with you - over and out." But...ok... so be it. 3) I think the Newtype plot theme was kind of just thrust on the story out of no where - it's almost as though Tomino were like "well - I am now nearing the conclusion of the series - so in this act, I'll just introduce the Newtypes out of the blue and everyone will be surprised." I'm not necessarily saying it was badly done - but it WAS surprising - like...I saw no indication of this coming beyond that one episode where everyone on White Base has psychic reprecussions stemming from Amuro's lousy mood/going AWOL.... 4) Lala... um... I didn't catch this but...just what was Amuro doing at that house? Did he run there because he wanted shelter from the rain and stumble on Lala? As for Lala herself... I'm not sure what to make of her. I kind of get the feeling she's a plot devise... but then again...I guess she's just a young girl enamored with Char.... I'm curious to see how she develops. I of course know her fate since I've seen Char's Counter Attack and they have that flashback scene but... I'm still not sure as to her significance as such. 5) My favorite part? The way in which it is explained that Char's father points at Zabi to indicate "he is the murderer" and Zabi takes advantage of this to proclaim that he'd been pointed to and named successor. I love stuff like that. And suddenly Char's backstory becomes all the more interesting and I finally understand why he practically served up that one young Zabi kid as a token sacrifice to the White Base early on in the series. 'Cause back then I was like...huh?...why did you basically lead him to his doom? 6) Sayla .... finally getting some development. Speaking of development - why is it that the second half of the series features more and more nude/shower/bath scenes? But...um...getting back to Sayla - well.. hm... hm. I wonder how her conflict with Char will end up going? Wonder what the climax of that will be? Overall....I see Tomino seems to have a soft spot for mystical sparkly rainbows appearing towards the end of his series - kind of epy...um...how do you spell it...epyphonic moments? I was reminded a bit of Ideon as I made my way into the final episode arc of Gundam... we'll see how this ends. Oh - and Mc'quev... and his Gyn. A very interesting and funny mobile suite, to be sure. But I don't understand why all these Zeon officers and big whigs get so bent out of shape trying to upstage Char. Char was unable to defeat Gundam over and over. His one and only achievement was surviving. So...why are the Zeon big whigs so jealous of him? After all - the biggest part of his reputation isn't how many ships or enemies he's shot down - but the fact that he's alive to have a reputation rather than a dead hero. Char is pretty smart in how he is able to project this image of a truly superior pilot when in fact his superiority -at least from what we see in Gundam - rests in him knowing when to run, and when not to fight... As for the "Bandai wanted toys" explanation - I kind of figured it was that. After all - why the heck would they keep using the same pointless strategy over and over? Let's go out in G-Fighter! Let's separate and release Gundam and recombine the G-Fighter! Yeah...let's take 20 seconds to turn this into a toy commercial But that's ok It's just a staple of the genre Pete
  22. VFTF1
    You know - this issue of how "realistic" it is... I'm probably in the minority - but I find most anime to be realistic. Maybe that's because I always got really bad grades in science classes and in Math. I just couldn't get passed how science sounded like a bunch of rules that people had to follow. "This is the way it works kid" - the end. I think I instinctively rebelled against that approach. It probably helped watching and reading SCI-FI where there was a much more open, experimental and joyful approach to science than what I remembered in school.... Anyways - I have never been bothered by the idea that something is unrealstic. In fact, to me "realism" - when it is presented on screen - is just another word for "boring." Because whenever I see people trying to make something "realistic" it seems to always end up being about nothing at all. All scientific progress - real world scientific progress - came about because of people who were "unrealstic" and imagined that things could be done differently and then tried to apply their thinking to reality. In fact, science is actually all about understanding the universe in order to bend it, change it, make it more the way we want it to be - not to be its' passive bystander victims. So...what is so unrealstic about Macross 7? Music is a powerful force in our world. How many people do you know who absolutely completely never ever listen to ANY music? Do you know anybody who doesn't have a favorite song? Who isn't atuned to listening to some form of music which in some way makes them happier? There are space ships in existence - they can't go very far and they're pretty primative - but they do exist. Just like robots. There are robots in existence which convert. There are "mecha" in existence which do simple things (like cranes and stuff). There are rock musicians with character traits similar to Bassara... And there there are millions of boring, mundane, "realistic" people in the world - in other words cannon fodder. I dunno - I would defend Macross, and most anime as being a vision of what reality we could be living in if we chose to stop letting conventions define our view of what is and isn't "realistic." Pete
  23. VFTF1
    You know - I actually agree with Jenius here. I mean - when I think back to playing the Paladium roll playing games in 5th grade...heck - my Game Master came up with tons of awesome stories for us to take part in - all within the frame work of Robotech, and NONE OF THEM EVER HAD LISA, RICK OR ANY KEY ROBOTECH CHARACTER IN THEM. This was partially because none of us had seen the series and I think we didn't even know there was a Robotech cartoon. But the template that the roll playing game set up was interesting enough on its' own. But see... this would necessitate that Harmony Gold actually came up with not just a plot and characters but more fundamentally - a CONCEPT. Because - what is the CONCEPT behind Robotech? In Macross - the concept is all about music as an animating force that either preserves or reawakens what is good in humanity and tries to protect us from the darker sides of our pursuit of science. Science, if you will, is used as a tool to spread and defend culture - but sometimes we see that science can be perverted to obstruct culture or even (as in Macross Plus) that culture itself can be used for evil purposes. In any case - there's a conceptual framework there that - for better or for worse - gets explored more and more thoroughly from many angles. And it is a unique framework. No other mecha anime is built on this premise. Let's keep going. What is the conceptual framework of Gundam? I'm now discovering that it's Newtypes and the effects of space expansion on the human brain and the dilemna of cleansing humanity's evils and building a new civilization of esper like being that will be the next stage of human evolution... fine.... Gurren Lagann? The conceptual framework is the struggle against the "No" in human life and the fear that "Yes" could eventually lead to "No" in the sense of humanity's growth in power becoming the harbinger of its' own destruction. All of this takes place within the framework of Yoko's boobs which bounce this concept around this way and that. Fine. Transformers? SENTIENT living robots from an alien planet as opposed to just transforming mecha. I could go on here. Now - not everyone is going to like every anime, nor are they going to find every conceptual framework as compelling as others...but the point here is that most well known anime have a conceptual framework to start with... But... What about Robotech? What's up with that? As far as I can tell, if you had to really get down to the basics, It's about a powerful flower that can serve as a feul source and that various aliens throughout the universe fight over? And the source of this flower's power? Beats me. It just is there. Why a flower? Who knows? Because the word "protoculture" sounds like a botony project from Junior High? And...and...that's it? I think so. Is that really a concept? I mean - It's like me going to Warner brothers and saying - hey - I have an idea. These aliens attack earth and people fight back in transforming airplanes and the whole war is over a flower that gives super powerful er..super powers. It's like. Ok. Why? Where's the attraction here? It's just not enough to sustain itself as an interesting story. Everything that was interesting in Macross - Robotech kills. The true meaning of Protoculture - Dead on Arrival in the Robotech sage. The romantic traingle - KILLED by dragging it out turning Lisa and Rick into the Jetsons and Minnmey into the Intergalactic Whore of the Universe. The mecha? Yeah...I can sure see how they went from the VF-1 to the Alpha fighter. The designs overlap really well. I mean - you can see the process of evolution from the one to the other pretty clearly. And it also makes perfect sense that as soon as Robotech moved to Alphas and Betas - it stayed there and there will never ever ever be a better mecha, which is why there's no need to design new ones. Oh yeah - then there are the Zendradi. You know - the bio-genetic creations of an interstellar race who were purged of culture and made "perfect" war machines, which was a great harm to them - and who then had to re-learn and re-discover culture and we get to see them cope with this... yeah...well - that whole plot line also goes out the door. As do the Zendradi really. But - Robotech does give us Jack Baker and Karen Penn. They are interesting because he's a jock and she's blonde. Pete
  24. VFTF1
    Inasmuch as this has been a long time comming, it is still sad news. I never liked his movies, but certainly that was not on acount of him - I though he was a fine actor - just not my cup of tea in terms of the plots he usually was featured in. Though he always did a very good job. Still - will always have a strange soft spot for him. Always sad when an artist dies RIP Pete
  25. VFTF1
    On a somewhat related not... and out of blind curiosity... how would people feel about model kits for Transformers? Like Hasegawa does Macross models that are non-transformable, but just renditions of the jet. Do you think Transformers fans would be interested if Hasegawa did - I dunno...say...an ROTF Starscream's F-22 Raptor in 1/48 scale? Pete
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