VFTF1

That is an awesome set up you got there! My bedroom is full of books and some Revoltechs, while the rest of the collection is kept in two seperate closets (one in the bedroom and the other in...for lack of a better term...my toy room...which is also full of boxes and stuff)... But certainly no mini-bar or cute girl sitting around Congrats! Pete

You guys don't nuderstand anything! My cousin was a law school student before droping out and going into the fast food business where he now MANAGES a Wendys, and he says that anything HG put on TV in America is the pervperrty of Americans not of Japanese people who bootleg everything from China anyways. ANd the animation errors in Shadow Chronicles ARE due to koreans and their horny animation techniques because it is a stated fact stated factually by Tommy during a Q & A at the last WonderFest that the whole problem resulted from a miscommunication and the exchange rate crash. So instead of bad mouthing the greatest movie since Citizen Kane, you might as well just accept that Robotech is th best So there you guys. Pete

Yeah... I wasn't suggesting that Haruhi wanted actual physical harm to come to Kyon. I'm sure that when she was about to destroy the universe before Kyon kissed her, she also didn't want actual physical harm to come to people either...and on the deserted island, she didn't reall want anyone to be murdered. The problem is - she is unconscious of the effects of her power. Her wanting to "get back" at Kyon for berating her over Mikuru-chan could have unintentionally become a deadly shot by a laser, just like there WAS a shadowy, murderous presence on the island...and it is still there. As for Haruhi-chan... my favorite is naturally the crucifixion of Mikuru-chan and the creation of God using a pumpkin, some bats, candles and pickled whatever that was. A great homage to Evangelion if there ever was one, not to mention a delightful scene Pete

Not sure that the comparison is valid because Bandai's DX only covers Macross Frontier. People might chose Yamato simply because they prefer earlier Macross series and designs and not because they don't like the DX per se. Same goes the other way - and vice versa. One can only imagine what Yamato would have done had they been given the chance to produce a Frontier valkyrie; they weren't...so... not sure how to answer this. Pete

Are there two episodes called Bamboo Leaf Rapsody (sic) ? And what is the Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya? Is that the manga or are these other episodes I haven't seen? EDIT: O-o-o..ok.... I.... take back the latter question...I...know ...now...and... I ... need to...um...go get some...opium... or... something... Edit 2: O...ok...I.. I have always wondered what was behind the talking cat in the Adventures of Asahina Mikuru... Is... is that cat an artificial life form that started as a ballon? Pete

I finished watching Sighs II and III yesterday, and also watched "Episode 18," which I guess I missed along the way. Impressions: 1. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that the reality of the Mikuru Beam was not just a result of Haruhi wanting Mikuru to be able to fire lasers, but rather, also the result of Haruhi wanting someone (possibly also Mikuru?) to fire a laser at Kyon, who only recently was pretty rough on her, chided her, pulled her off of Mikuru, and basically told her she was an idiot? I got the feeling that this would be the perfect revenge: having Mikuru fire a laser at Kyon, thereby hopefully turning Kyon against her (at least in the crazy world of Haruhi's mind?). 2. The more Yuki there is, the more I find myself head over heels in love with the girl. She is truly the perfect woman. She's beautiful. She's quiet. She's faithful. Obedient. Sensitive to others' needs. She's very protective. She never gets in the way of your desires and hopes. Asahina is great, as is Haruhi (and that one wild girl as well, come to think of it), but if I had to choose, I think I'd be inclined to settle down with Yuki. 3. Episode 18 was indeed a welcome relief, but to my mind it hasn't solved the problem yet, just brought it out into the open. I like how it did so by playing with our confusion with the phenomena of deja vu. In fact, this is one thing I really enjoy about Haruhi Suzumiya; namely the story's ucanny ability of taking every day, common "strange" occurances that each of us has likely experienced and making them integral parts of a far deeper mystery. 4. Sighs is kind of "the making of" the Adventures of Asahina Mikuru, and in that it's fun. It's also a wonderful commentary to the entire series, since it is basically Haruhi's fictional vision of a world that she has already subconsciously created and inhabited (albeit unknowingly). What is truly interesting about The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru, though, is the fact that while Haruhi does place the Esper boy, the alien magician and the time traveler in it...there is no Haruhi figure - or, rather - the Haruhi figure is the director, which I guess corresponds to her "role" in "reality" (the reality of the series). And Kyon? Well... meager underling, off camera grunt...I guess that sort of corresponds to his role as well... But there are some differences which are key; namely in the film, the director is (for the most part) invisible to us - we see Haruhi's vision, but not her involvement (except when she goes to chide Yuki for pouncing on Asahina). Kyon is totally invisible...unless it's as the narrator...which...I guess he does in "real life" as well... 5. Speaking of Kyon the narrator. Can someone please explain to me how it is that Haruhi can read Kyon's mind? I understand Koyzumi being able to do it, since he's an Esper, and possibly Yuki too, since she's all powerful, but Haruhi? How? And is Haruhi really that jealous of Kyon's fondness for Mikuru? Does Haruhi really like Kyon that much? hm... I think that's it for now. This series is turning into my favorite anime ...calm anime...hm...I dunno. I still think Gurren Lagann is the best thing in the universe, but you really can't compare them because that is a super robot epic and this is more like a good mystery story with lots of religious and philosophical elements thrown in for good measure. Super Driver! Pete

I will be watching Sighs 2 and 3 tonight; which I am very much looking forward to! I also need to find a new girlfriend since it looks like me and my Misa broke up AGAIN!! Arrgh This time it was all because I told her my mom had a severe case of the flu, so she goes into panic mode and proclaims that she won't see me for a month because I might have the flu too and I got mad and reminded her that when SHE had the flu AND had her apartment painted and it smelled of chemicals and had particles in the air from some kind of rennovation and she called me begging to bring her medicine and take care of her, I drank two liter of orange juice, ignored my allergies and came over and took care of her and SHE won't even see me even though I'm healthy but have been in the danged vicinity of someone with a flu... and it all went downhill from there. She wouldn't talk to me yesterday and today she's talking to me - in order to turn down all my "dinner?" "movie?" "fitness club?" invitations... Grumble grumble... so I guess I get "stuck" watching Haruhi Suzumiya tonight. Dzendzen Baka! Pete

As the old saying goes -the best defense is a good offense. Let me put this in perspective: Imagine if instead of producing Macross Frontier and having Bandai and Yamato churn out Macross figures/toys/models, Shoji Kawamorii and a bunch of guys from Big West did nothing else but sit on Macrossworld.com, in THIS thread, arguing over and over and over that SDF Macross and DYRL were the greatest achievements of human culture in a thousand years, and proclaiming that "very soon" there will be a new Macross series and movie, it's "just around the corner" it's "all in pre-production" and Robotech sucks and Toynami sucks, and Gubaba - you get banned from this discussion for stating the obvious, and hey aren't Misa and Minmay just the bomb? My point? The guys at HG, Tommy Yune, Kevin McKeever and everybody else could really be spending their time more constructively. Don't have enough money to make a good series? Fine - write some good science fiction. Robotech novels were not half bad from a pure writing stand point, and writing science fiction novels is sure cheaper than making a live action movie. Heck - the one does not cancel out the other. Oh - and all those fantastic artists they have on board? Maybe they could go about designing some new mecha? Heck - maybe they could go ahead and make some fanart portraying what the "veritech" fighters could look like in the live action movie? I mean - on numerous Transformers boards, there was tons of fanfiction and fanart all the time. But it seems that all the Robotech community is good at is banning people and proclaiming they own the rights to something fewer and fewer people care about. Ultimately, what is really keeping Robotech down - and I say this not as a fan, but just as a casual observer - is the LACK of creative, interesting material coming out of that fandom. There are no interesting toys - the "masterpiece" line was a joke, basically a fairly decent re-deco/knock off of Bandai's original Valkyrie design. The Alpha fighters were interesting, but it's been how long since they came out? Yamato has managed to do three versions of the vf-1 in that time, improving on the sculpt, the design and the transforation technology in the process. Toynami has done what? Made a cheap mould and milked it for the last...what?...FIVE years now? Again - I am not ragging on them for having few funds or financial trouble. I am ragging on their marketing strategy. I run a small business built from scratch so I know something about how hard it is to get an enterprise moving when you don't have a large cash flow, and lying to people, banning people, and failing to turn out good product/services in favor of vague promises of the Garden Of Eden to come around the corner aren't the way that you go about it. I might eat my own words in the future when it suddenly turns out that Brad Pitt as Rick Hunter and Britney Spears (in her big comeback) as Lyn Minmey and Michelle Pfieffer as Lisa Hayes and Jack Nicholson as Captain Global and Arnold Schwarzenegger (in his big comeback) as Britai break all box office records with Robotech: The Live Action Movie. But somehow, I doubt it. Pete

I think no new Macross series for ten years would be good. The stuff that is available now is very very high quality. I would be more fearful that they ruin the quality of the series by trying to come up with something new so fast than that there would be no "new" Macross for ten more years. Maybe an OVA could come somewhere in there. But certainly no completely new characters or mecha for a while. UNLESS of course they want to do "Macross: The Basara chronicles - A Singing Tribute to Galactic Whales part 1 of a 12 part, 48 hour documentary with special apperances by Spinal Tap, and surviving cast members of the Brady Bunch" - and it would have to have that title. Pete

I personally don't see much sense in bad mouthing people at HG as "opportunistic" or anything along those lines, because to be "opportunistic" you first need - you know - an opportunity. And really - these guys don't have that. Their biggest opportunity happened back in the 80s when they got the US rights for great anime and they had a golden chance not just to do something cool with it, but more importantly to forge a lasting relationship with Japanese anime companies that could have translated into a very fruitful relationship right now. Independent of what we think of Robotech, I would remind everyone that for the time it was concieved, it seemed like a pretty good compromise with the necessities of TV syndication. Now - the problem is that HG are pretending Macross wasn't and isn't still its' own seperate entity and fighting to protect something arcane and fake, and making it more and more mediocre as they go along. Really - they could have, if they actually tried to nurture a good business relationship, tried to bring over new Macross shows AS Macross. They could have tried to build themselves as the conduit of Japanese anime to the western market. Instead of focusing on building a lasting business relationship with Japanese anime industry, they took the fanwank route and decided to masturbate to Robotech for the next twenty five years. I don't really see anything "opportunistic" about this approach. More like "Lost Opportunity." Pete

I read a Jack MicKinney novel, the Zendradi Rebellion, where Rick is just promoted to command and that's it. Also, in the Robotech Sentinels that was finished, Rick is grappling with being given command of everything. All in all, they basically take "Rick" and "Lisa's" relationship and turn it into a bloody soap opera. In Macross, we had a love story, a romantic story, and it knew when to end. Robotech transforms this love story into Days of Our Lives. Pete

I think the valkyrie are great. Given how well Yamato has done making some VFM figures, I'd really love it if they expanded their Macross line with poseable VFM Macross characters. I see little point in discussing the valkyrie as such since we pretty much know everything there is to know. Yeah, some people might be looking forward to some future variants, but the basic design is there and either you like it or you don't for any number of reasons. What is sorely lacking on the market is Macross poseable figures. Bandai giving us Alto in armor is going to be a treat; but that's a big expensive figure. It would be nice to have smaller...well...ok...VFM is also expensive... Err... but... anyways...nice poseable figures a la Fraulein or Figma would be nice. Pete

Not just contrast, but a self-awareness and dristance towards the whole notion of fanservice and t&a in anime. I mean, the Miss Macross episode was pretty laced with sarcasm and kind of making fun of the tendency in anime to use all of these big boobed girls. On the other hand, there is nothing per se WRONG in using beautiful women. The problem with the women in Robotech is that they ARE NOT BEAUTIFUL! See, take that red shirt in the above screen grab, the one who "works the pole" (supposedly). Look at her. Ok - so her tits can rival Pam Anderson. But then what? Her hair can rival Tom Seleck. Her face has about as much grace and femininity in it as Colombo. And her outfit? Compare what these people wear to what uniforms SMS has? Also - compare the intelligence of having SMS be a private military provider and getting into the whole notion of the UN Spacey/government run military being less efficient then private providers (which, as I noted elsewhere, shows a consciousness of the times, just like SDF Macross had rationing in war time and it was shown that starting the restaurant in war, under those circumstances, was an unorthodox move that proved more beneficial than rationing and central control). Robotech doesn't ever deal with that. Politics in Robotech is always static. Because once Rick Hunter becomes Big Leader, then politics doesn't have to happen. There don't need to be any complexities. Rick Hunter is the heroic leader and that's that. Yeah - there is some rather decent stuff with General Edwards. But that happens in the books. Doesn't take place in Shadow Chronicles where it's just a bunch of people flying around in big ships. Pete

Ah, yes. Janice and that other fellow. Janice was the only interesting character in the whole movie. That doesn't speak well of the movie... pete

I have both, and think they are worth it, especially Luca. But there are some downsides to be aware of which people have pointed out in the DX threads: Luca apparently has some paint app issues, although not on every piece. Still there's some lack of symetry with lines painted on the figure or something like that... at least that's what I think I remember reading. As for Mikhael - the only big draw back is that the sniper rifle can't be on the plane when you extend the landing gear. But in general fish around in the DX thread - there's lots of people who write about their impressions and lots of pics. I am very happy with my DXs. Pete

Yes, but you fail to take into account my present herpes condition. Nobody really wants to do a Robotech porn movie with me, even if I promise not to actually be IN it. Life is not fair. Kevin

Dancouga looks nice. But I have the Soul of Chogokin, and really don't see the need for a little Revoltech that isn't capable of transforming and all that... Besides...I still need to open my v.2 Evas... :0 Pete

Hi Jenius, It's me, Kevin - again. If you read my last post a couple of posts back, you'll know it's me. I actually banned you on RT.com because you kept disagreeing with my analysis of the global financial crisis, so I waited for a pretext, any pretext whatsoever to get back at you. I do agree with you that it is a pretty flimsy reason to ban somebody, but hey - my herpes are really itchy today and I just ran into Tobey Macguire and when I asked him about how Robotech was going he said "Robo-what? Who are you? What are you talking about? I was in SPIDERMAN! SPIDERMAN DAMN IT! What good is it to be type cast if nobody can remember the one hit movie you became famous for?! What is it with you people and those freakin' robots!? Do I look like Michael Bay?! Did I rape your childhood!?" and then he stormed away. Needless to say, I was in a foul mood. Thanks for keeping my secret safe. Kev

I wish somebody would email ME about how I can meet hot slurms for free :-( Some people have all the luck...great web hosting deals and free hot slurms. Life is just not fair. As for Love Drifts Away. The Macross Music compilation that I have on my computer, which I torrented, titles the song Love Drifts Away. The version of SDF Macross TV that I watched/have also uses Drifts. I've seen "flows" used as well, but I guess this is a case where for me, "flow" and "drift" being synonymous pretty much, and go being the most neutral term of the same meaning to use, I guess I personally just developed a soft spot for drifts Pete

My translation says "Love Drifts Away." But are you saying that in the original Japanese it just goes away? 'Cause that would be a cryin' shame. Up till now I had this feeling that Love drifted away, which gave me these romantic visions of a slow, somber, melancholic, nostalgic parting of way due to the cruel reality of time and human nature. But if it's just "love goes away" it's like...just so banal wOW! I'm totallyi interested. My credit card number is 4345530543059. Pin number: 12345. Please charge me right now so I too can enjoy these incredible deals! Pete

Honestly - and I coul be all wrong here - but my gutt feeling is that it's crazy to think that Robotech, starring Tobey Maguire (or however you spell his name), is ever going to be made, let alone that it can compete with Bay's Transformers. Let me count the ways: 1) From a cheesy general audience point of view- why would a movie with one transforming airplane compete with a movie with lots of Transforming cars and planes? 2) Wasn't Independence Day already done once? 3) Toby Maguire (sic) is a good actor, and he did a good job as Peter Parker - although even then he SOMETIMES came across as LOOKING too old for the part. See, especially in Spiderman II, there are some scenes where it just looks like Tobey is a short old bald guy. This is actually kind of ok for Spiderman, since he's supposed to look "nerdy" and "regular." But "Rick Hunter" is not a "regular" guy in the Peter Parker sense. He's a regular guy in the Tom Cruise Top Gun sense. You need a lead who is going to be handsome and young. Tobey is a great actor, but as Rick Hunter? I just don't see it. 4) The majority of people who this movie will be marketed to don't know who Rick Hunter is and won't find out until they see this movie. Expectations will be low. Unlike with Transformers, where lots of people had certain character templates carved into their memories about what to expect from someone named "Megatron" or "Starscream" or "Bumblebee" or "Optimus Prime" - that's not going to be the case here. So the studios will therefore look at the story and not feel any pressure to "stick with the original" - especially when you consider that the "original" is...NOT ORIGINAL. 5) More important than Tobey and Rick Hunter is the music. Or at least it should be. But of course, in classic Robotech fashion, nobody cares about the music and who would play the Minmey character, and once studio execs listen to "We can win!" they will probably decide to CUT the music/singing theme altogether and just make it a love triangle between a military officer and a "regular girl" 6) Who cares about the aliens? Without music and the predominance of culture - and the whole notion that the aliens are lacking culture and can be swayed by it - then who cares about them? They could just as well be bug looking four eyed slimes. And they just might end up being that. 7) What's my point? Well - my point is that this movie is never going to be made, and if it does get made, it will be something along the lines of Battlefield Earth or that Super Octopus vs Megashark or whatever it was called... In which case I would personally just prefer that they did a Robotech porn movie. I could live without good CGI. Put them in fourth rate jumpsuits. Just make the chicks hot. Pete

I was in college. It was spring break or something, and I was staying at a friend's place. There was a video store nearby where we'd go to rent movies. One of the movies I saw was something called "Macross Plus." I think this was the movie, not the episode-by-episode thingy. Anyways, at that point in time (1997 or so), my orientation regarding Macross and Robotech was kind of foggy. And I have never actually WATCHED Robotech, just read about it in the Palladium books and in Robotech Art 3. So, I vaguely remembered the Macross; hence when I saw "Macross Plus" I figured...well...ok... oh...it's the SDF-1... but...what is that wierd white airplane with the v-shaped wings? Where is Rick Hunter and that lady? That blue plane looks kind of like those pod things that the alien people flew around in. I'm confused... Anyways - took it home and watched it. For the majority of the film, I sat there thinking- oh. This has nothing to do with Robotech. It therefore must be a completely different show. It's not even the original Macross, because it doesn't have any familiar faces or mecha in it. Then towards the end the SDF-1 showed up. I wondered to myself why it was sitting in a crater with a city built around it. I started considering that maybe the people who made this movie ripped off Robotech or whatever the original Japanese version was called? Or maybe this was like an homage to the original series that had nothing to do with it? I couldn't know for sure, since I hadn't watched the original shows. I did remember, however, reading that Jack Mickinney book when I was a kid, and there was nothing about this stuff in it. I was so confused. Add to that the demure mood of Macross Plus. I enjoyed the dark theme running throughout, but given how subdued this film was, and combined with my confusion, I wasn't "hooked" or "thrilled." That would only come later. With Macross Zero and then watching the original SDF Macross television series. Pete

What is this about Misa having three hands? Is there an animation error in DYRL that I didn't notice? Pete

Yeah, but Pete only did that because Pete had built himself a second Unicorn Gundam, with titanium coating, and so felt that it would be cool to take the armor off of his old one and display the inner frame Not because it "kept falling apart." Besides, it actually doesn't fall apart at all if built properly. When I first built the Unicorn, I could have said the same thing as you. But when I built the second one, I discovered that in several areas I totally screwed up. It's kind of amazing, actually, because you think you're doing something right, following the picture instructions...and then you get mad because things "fall apart." Amazingly, if you build another one from scratch you catch yourself and realize 'hey - I did this wrong the last time.' It's just part of modeling. As for ROTF Optimus Prime... I just would like to point out that it appears they spent all their R and D on that one toy, because the remainder of the line is kinda lame IMO... But maybe we shouldn't make this into a "TFs suck more!" or "Gundams suck more" thread. Every toy and model line has its' ups and downs. With Transformers, I have decided some time ago to chuck everything except G1 reissues and to have pristine editions with nice boxes because I'm just tired of all the various series I don't care about and realized all I really cared about were the Marvel comics, the original cartoon and the original characters and the original toys. No Henkei for me either. Nor Masterpiece. With Gundams, I'm mainly into Mastergrade although I sometimes build the occasional HG... I think Gundam is pretty cool. Macross I love the shows, the music and the Valkyrie. I think both Yamato and Bandai are doing fine. The YF-21 is actually one of the better Valkyrie Yamato has made (v.2/ 1/60). I have the 1/72 and it was ok too, but kind of a pain in the but and not as awesome in terms of transformation. I dunno. I don't complain. And I have a mazda Not a BMW... In the end - if Yamato is not for you - it's not the end of the world. Pete

I would root for the Protectobots as well. Alongside the Combaticons, they are the best of the best Gestalt teams in terms of personalities, alt modes, and overall looks. I would love to have them. The worst gestalt IMO was Superion - very skinny and gangly looking. Menasor, Bruticus and Defensor are ace though. So yeah... Protectobots would be nice. But since we got Metroplex and Bruticus, and we've had a lot of the 84 cars and planes released, it would make somewhat sense to focus on the Scramble city line. Although at some point this piecemeel thing is going to wear thin. I would prefer if they just issued the whole blody 1984 range one year, then the 85 range, then 86, then 87 and so on. On a rotational basis. Bring back those entire toy catalogue and just issue the whole line for one year and next year next and so on. And while they're at it, they could also transport me back to 1986 just so I could enjoy my wonderful childhood a bit longer... Pete