T.V.

For one, I'm feeling somewhat fortunate during Kissdum and not during the new Macross take.. This will be a BIG lesson for Satellite: Never ever depend on a single person's brainfart alone and always have a roadmap for the story before entering principal animation.

I get the feeling we'll see the VF-1 revisited. Kinda like the VF-0 and other derivative designs. It's his most iconic design by far, and I assume he'll stay close to home, though with a twist to make it more contemporary.

The cockpit scenes, especially switching to guns, looking like a straight copy. The D features a new control column while the A+ still has the same as the A model. Thanks for the info about the F-8.

D'OH![/Homer] Anyway, I figured they used the A+ version instead of the D as a homage to Top Gun.

Never knew that. Any pics? I can't imagine it being very practical, considering the structural stresses, unwanted motions, having to deploy airbrakes to fire a rocket, etc.

Even if radar and IR signatures are supressed with active stealth methods, such as venting plasma into the airstream at the nose, the variable craft is still very much visible. So, using the EO sensor to acquire the target in the visual light wavelength spectrum wouldn't be problematic. While Shin's aircraft is called an F-14D Kai, I doubt it's a radically upgraded version. Just some small enhancements here and there. Even the cockpits are the same as the standard F-14. Edit: Though it should've had some major structural enhancements considering the manoeuvres he pulls in it.. aside from anime magic that is.

That is probably part of the NDA terms thus can't be disclosed.

What a hilarious find! US Army Red Ranger?!...

Uh.. they're actually made that complex to dispense with (obvious) cheating... The Transformers, taste nothwithstanding, are made to be visually impressive. Thus the relatively straightforward transformation schemes are dispensed with, which also helps giving the bots enough articulation and proportional freedom. I reckon a Macross adaptation would actually be served better by adhering to the less complex (and less organic looking) transformations as per the original VF designs. For one, it's about human designed and built mechas, and not sentient alien death machines.

True of course, but then again quality is never guaranteed. Wether it's animated or live-action. Then again quality - or better, entertainment value - isn't decided by faithfulness to the source material alone. Some parts simply translate better than others, but doesn't rule out a live-action adaptation being leading to an enjoyable viewing experience. An adaptation can be for the worse, or for the better. I feel the potential reward is worth the risk, because IMHO it's readily adaptable if not following the previous incarnations by the page.

A more life like viewing experience. That's the whole point about live-action features and the reason why Spider-man, Superman, Batman, Transformers, etc. being made.

The thing is, you shouldn't even try to put 36 episodes worth of story and character development in 2 hours of movie. Being a different medium you have to make sweeping changes and significant modifications. However, the essence of Macross - Valkyries, love triangles and music - can be maintained easily. How I'd do it is concentrate the story on Hikaru, Misa and Minmei as the 3 leads. The rest are just on the side, with Roy and Max being the most important supporting characters. The rest are delegated to screen filler or simply cut. As for the story, I'd do the opposite of DYRL, adapting the first episodes culminating in the launch of the SDF-1 into space, winning it's first engagement. An eventual sequel could deal with the prolonged effect of the space war on the isolated Macross and it's return to Earth, but that doesn't mean that the initial movie can't be regarded as a self contained story.

Bonecrusher. They aren't. Prime's rear wheels overlap eachother (outer wheel splits open and covers the inner wheel), giving off the appearance of a wheel with a bigger diameter than it actually has. The TFs are made alien enough to be scary alienating beings, like ALIEN, etc. However, they're also humanoid (enough) to have some human traits incorporated in them. They're trying to balance the need for alienating and familiarizing body features.

Yes, there were some talks about it between Studio Nue and an American studio in '94, I believe. If anything, the upcoming Transformers movie might pull other robot/mecha franchises into the light (again), just as X-men (2000) lead to a resurgence of comicbook hero movies. 2009 would be an excellent year for a live action Macross movie.

Sounds interesting.. *sharpens pencils*

Watch ep 23 and find out.

From the pics it seems to have the small inlet. Interesting scheme. Never saw it before. Thanks for the links, DH.

Engine stalls?.. The F-14 will probably be remembered as one of (if not the) most photogenic manned jetfighters in history. It's probably the most modelled aircraft. I've been trying to track that anime title down to no avail. Could anyone help me via PM to locate it online?

Then the Indo-Russian fighter of the future surely must be a 6th generation aircraft! Nice info all around guys. Btw, The F-86D from the '50s was the first fighter to have an internal missle bay IIRC.

The JF-17 looks a lot slimmer in those pictures than I've seen in previous images. From an aesthetical PoV that's a good thing. Anyone wanting to take bets which aircraft will fill JSDAF's F-X requirement? Hmm.. I wouldn't mind seeing 'sort of' F-15E/SMT's flying around, as Kawamori figured per Patlabor 2. Not the most likely proposition though, but I reckon an F-15E derrivative might still be a likely candidate, though the F-22 and Typhoon seem to the most favoured aircraft in terms of performance.

Decomposition would still probably happen, though somewhat differently. The afformentioned bacteria (needed for the fertilisation process) will probably also breakdown/consume a corpse, since it's organic material. An ecosystem without such a robust decomposition capacity will not function properly, because it at least needs to reprocess dead plants. P.S. I'm no biology major or eco-system expert, so I'm just reasoning based on my limited knowledge on the subject thanks to exposure to National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel.

According to Nevermore at TFArchive.org, the movie version is actually called Optimus Prime in Japan as well..

I'd hate to have the sunroof open during re-entry...

.. and you get old, etc., etc. When you've get the "been there, done that" feeling, your younger brother may have gotten his first taste of it. It's a recurring cycle of audiences of a certain age that get introduced to certain theme with which they have an age related affinity. When MSG became a success in the early '80s, most of the fans were teenagers. The same goes for Macross which came a few years later. The Sentai shows of the '70s, up to current itterations of Power Rangers are probably the most shameless about reïnventing themselves time and again to capture a new group of youngsters each time.

That's an interesting observation, which makes me think it's a distinct Kawamori influence. The Big Froating Head is an individualistic PIA who in his long carreer has often butted heads with colleagues and superiors, isn't he? I believe Kawamori has a definite affinity with that kind of characters, which may (un)consiously influence the production of the afformentioned shows. That said, the "breaking the mold" template is a fairly universal theme, even recognized in Japan. US and other western audiences may like individualistic SOB's more than Japanese people do, in general. I get the feeling that Japanese society highly regards discipline. Moreso than in the west. As for mecha driven animes and Macross in particular, I think Gundam SEED, Eureka 7, Code Geass and other similar titles give a fairly good indication of the genre inclined audience demographic, and thus what Macross; Flyer should aim for if it wants to have the widest possible reach.