Oihan

(Betania Base) Commander: Defend the Limbo Area at all costs! We cannot allow it to escape from Acheron!

Kaji: Blah-blah-blah... blah-blah. Blah-blah! (waves goodbye and leaves CIC)

Commander: (turns to Sub-commander) What did he say?

Sub-commander: Uh, I don't know, sir. I thought you were the one who understood him.

Commander: Me? I don't care what it says on his service record, not a thing has come out of his mouth that I recognize as any word in any language officially or unofficially spoken on this base. (turns to his staff) Has anyone here understood anything Inspector Kaji's said since he arrived here?

(Everybody looks blankly at each other)

Commander: Well, damn it, why did they send him here in the first place?!

(Ten minutes earlier...)

Guard: Sir? Excuse me, sir, what are you doing? That's the Key of Nebuchadnezzar, it's never supposed to leave this room.

Kaji: (smiling) Blah-blah-blah... blah-blah! (walks away)

Guard: Uhh... yeah, okay. Please bring it back right away when you're done with it, sir, okay?

Hahaha, that is pretty freakin' hilarious. I also got a laugh from the "f*ck you" remark in regards to the burger and fries advertisement. I just finished watching 1.11 and 2.22 and both are pretty damn epic.

The movies are definitely awesome and I am looking forward to the last two. I can only imagine what they have in store for us all. After having read this thread I'm a little bummed to learn that the last two movies will both only be 45 mins long. On a side note, I love the music in both and I cannot get enough of the ending song (Beautiful World) from 1.11. Anyone else?

I just thought I'd chime in on the whole AV thing. I used to use Norton AV exclusively till I found out about Avira's AntiVir. It's a great AV program and it's completely free. I think it even works better than Norton and a lot of the other AV programs out there. There is a catch/annoyance though - every time AntiVir goes to update it'll have an advertisement pop in regards to upgrading. That can be easily fixed however. It's just a matter of knowing which file to block from executing.

I just found out that is does, but the console automaticly downloads the emulator when you boot the disk. My brother decided to delete both files because he thought that was the reason why we kept getting booted off of XBox Live (until I found out and told him about the wireless adapter sucking, that is).

Hmm, I didn't know that it actually downloaded the emulator. I thought it was there from the get-go. Interesting stuff. And yeah...their wireless adapters sure do blow chunks. I bought a single antenna adapter a couple years back and it gave me nothing but problems. I thought I had bought a lemon but it appears it's more common than not. It's absurd that the piece of crap was $100 too. I've long given up on playing anything on my 360 wirelessly. Though, I've read that the new kinect ready 360s have a built-in IEEE 802.11n...who knows if they're any good though.

Yup, it was the episode with the multi-colored thingy. Basically, the whole Luna turning out to be a homocidal robot killing maniac just didn't seem to fit everything that lead up to it. The explanation for the ruin...also a bit random.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more there too. I think you're on to something here, Keith. The more I think about it, it does seem like it's the only logical explanation for the deviations.

It looked to me that they were going to have the little girl turn out to be the rebirth of Luna, hence the need for her original cell deally (which was completely dropped after!).

Now that you mention it, I was thinking along the exact same lines - especially in the episode where we see Casshern meet with Braiking for the first time in the show. I think it was that episode where we're lead to believe Ringo isn't your typical robot. The original cell thing that you mention, was that when the siblings of Luna gift Ringo that multicolored thing? Even though the show is relatively fresh in memory...I'm having a hard time remembering in which episode they talk about that.

My brother wants to play his XBox copies of SW: KotOR 1 and 2 on his 360. Can he still download the XBox emulator off of XBox Live?

I thought all 360s could play original Xbox games right off the bat.

I commented similarly when watching a few months ago, but the last half of Casshern really feels like it was done by a completely different group of writers, who didn't understand where the first group was going.

I was somewhat getting the same impression. I wonder....

In no way related but if you liked the animation in bakemonogatari and casshern sins, i'd recommend you Katanagatari. Light hearted and lots of character development.

In other news, i started Soredemo Machi Wa Mawatteiru .... pure slapstick fun by SHAFT if you're into those kinda stuff. Don't think its by Shinbo since the "SHAFT"-ness seems rather toned down.

I'll give it a go! Thanks for the recommendation. Any others that you'd recommend by chance? I love heartfelt, slice of life, real robot, mecha, medieval, martial arts, cyber punk, fantasy, gritty and dark, character development, "message pictures"...just about like it all

I just finished watching Casshern Sins and Bakemonogatari. I must say that both are pretty good. The animation in both is just stunning too. I like the story in both as well...especially the character development between Hitagi and Koyomi in Bakemonogatari. However, with Casshern I have a minor issue. I thought the first half of the episodes were great...and then about half way it just started to disappoint - a lot was left unexplained in the end. Although I'm sure the writers wanted to leave something for the audience to interpret/figure out for themselves...I think they could have done a better job towards the end. All in all though, the story in Casshern is decent, if not good, in my opinion. I especially loved the music in both...more so in Bakemonogatari. Though, there's one musical piece, played often in Casshern Sins, that I cannot get enough of - "Memory Past" by Kaoru Wada.

I'll keep an eye out for you.

The few times I've found one it's been pretty expensive.

I'll keep you posted!

Thank you! It's greatly appreciated! =)

I might be buying a copy here shortly depending on how things go tomorrow; however, it will be w/o the film strip. So in addition to this copy I'll be looking to buy another. Is there anyone out there looking to sell their Gold Book that has the film strip with it?

Just thought I'd chip in which strip I have. The film strip I have can be seen at 1:23:32 into the film. It's of Grace looking a little bit to her left with her head titled slightly up...after she walks in on Sheryl and Alto talking...right before Ozma walks in with Cathy. I've been having issues with my scanner...otherwise I would have provided a scan.

I just finished watching the movie and I must say it's just pure awesomeness! It would be ten times better if I only understood what exactly was said! The song selection wasn't the greatest in some parts of the movie, but it wasn't bad either by any means. The pacing of the story and scenes are just fine in my opinion. The animation is superb.... I don't see what all the fuss is about with this movie. Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy, but I think it's being over exaggerated with just how much reused footage was used in the movie. Yes, there was some...but there was a lot of new footage too. Moreover, I have no issues with any of the changes that were made...like Klan being a student for one. I think it's a great retelling thus far! I can't wait for the sequel!

Question: Would anyone know the name of the instrumental piece that's played during 1:22:34 ~ 1:23:21 in the movie? Is it even on any of the OSTs for that matter? Thanks

Edit: If I were to have a real gripe with the movie...it's with how ineffective the Macross Cannon was at first.

Think we could we possibly get rid of "the" and "edition" in the title? Maybe I'm the only one this has happened to, but when I saw "the NOT subtitled edition" I came racing into this thread thinking of the possibility that there might be more than one edition of the movie....

On NCSX's website regarding "Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime Hybrid Pack"

The hybrid Blu-Ray disc contains the False Songstress movie and a Playstation 3 game titled Macross Trial Frontier which is a remake of the PSP Macross Ultimate Frontier game. The series featured in the game include SDF Macross: Do You Remember Love?, SDF Macross Plus, SDF Macross 7, and SDF Macross Zero along with SDF Macross Frontier.

Anyone know if that statement is true about it being a remake? If that's the case then would it be safe to assume it's a full blown game?

Ami Ami's cause they're the cheapest around.

.jp ? Just want to make sure I'm going to the right site....

So just out of curiosity...where is everyone pre-ordering this from? Play-Asia, YesAsia or NCSX? Or from some place completely different?

It was once feared that the VCR would destroy the movie industry...that the cassette recorder would kill the music/record industry...and I'm sure there was a fear that the photocopier was going to kill the magazine and book industries.

I know the thread description "says" to stop asking...but...is there a release date yet? >_< *cries* I need my fix!!! It's been far too long!

...Jun Seba and now Carl Macek. Nujabes has moved me musically, and Carl Macek had introduced me to one of the very few things I'll forever be passionate about in life - Macross. R.I.P.

Again, you guys have to invent magical scenarios where people design vehicles that look like anachronistic 20th century warplanes to fight a war that not one of you has described where a 40 ft tall anything would be remotely useful.

If you have to design a magical scenario where:

- magically strong materials only get applied to transforming vehicles

- transformation necessary components weigh the same as a non transforming airframe

- transformation necessary components do not cost more to manufacture or maintain in terms of money and time

- joints and the systems necessary to run them aren't more vulnerable than armor

- do battle in some sort of terrain where their size and slow movement speed are not an issue

- have magical targeting and stabilization systems to compensate for bipedal movement that can't be applied with greater effect on an ineherently stable platform

- where non transforming vehicles have received zero upgrades in the past however many hundreds or thousands of years necessary to get to this point...

Then YOU have proven that a valkyrie is not practical.

Say for example, something like what's seen in the anime "Patlabor" comes to bear fruit. Who's to say "a 40 ft tall anything" wouldn't be remotely useful?

I never brought up anything of the sort in regards to "magically strong materials." But since you bring it up, who's to say that we won't discover something stronger than what we already have? We're constantly improving the strength of our metals and our materials...making them more durable and etc - take steel as one of many examples. As for weight, cost, money, and time...not to come across like an ass or anything but does the word "refinement" not mean anything to you? Look at the computer and the microprocessor back then compared to how they are now. As for "slow movement speed"...you don't think that by the time we actually have this technology that we wouldn't have the the ability to speed up the transformation process and or the movement of whatever it is we implement the technology in? I can't honestly imagine anyone would put out something so slow and clunky (making it like a sitting rock) with that kind of technology out in the field. It'd be like making a car with only axles and no tires or something just a stupid. It'll go...sure...but not fast...hence a reason why we have tires. ...And I never said anything about "non transforming vehicles hav[ing] received zero upgrades in the past." What I did say though (paraphrasing) was that anything that could be implemented on a dedicated fighter/tank/naval craft, to make it even better, could easily be implemented in the transforming vehicle as well.

I have NOT proven that a Valkyrie is not practical.

Moreover, I've been arguing with the thought that the OP was talking about the practicality of a Valkyrie regardless of what time period we are in. Mr. March had to remind me kindly (thank you very much) that the OP was talking about today's technology and today's world. Using today's technology in today's world...NO...a Valkyrie isn't practical - I'll agree and concede that much.

Edit: Grammar

The OP was pondering a way to make the Valkyrie practical without implying a caveat of many, many, many ad infinitum years of technological advancement (he even mentions conventional technology as a benchmark).

I obviously missed that...so I retract everything I've said.

As has been mentioned, arguing for an infinite time line for technological advancement is akin to simply accepting the caveat of magic hand-waving OverTechnology. That brings us right back to the beginning of any speculation and also removes any reason for doing so.

I'd also like to reiterate several important points made earlier which were either not understood or simply missed. Our imperfect understanding of future developments in technology is not a one way street that inevitably favors realization of our dream machines. It is equally plausible (and in fact, MORE probable) that long before the incredible technology exists to build a transforming jet fighter the very idea of using a jet fighter will have long since been abandoned. Even the popular idea of the science fiction styled space fighter is suspect as a practical war machine thanks to the realities of space. This also goes hand in hand with singularities and the totally pervasive effect they would have on the way war will be fought. The more "possible future technology" one speculates, the greater likelihood that singularities will completely alter technology and warfare far from all we understand today...that applies to our modern fiction too.

Think of it in terms of the sci-fi stories of old and their prognostications. How many actually hold up to the present? None of them do. That's because for every prediction past fiction got right, other predictions turned out wrong. We may think right now that fighters, helicopters and tanks are going to be around for a hundred years, a thousand years or ten thousand years when it's even more likely they'll become obsolete relics far sooner than we can imagine. In his 1933 The Shape of Things to Come, H.G. Wells predicted a world war that would feature the aerial bombing of cities, a technological development he found "unsporting". So too may future technology alter warfare to such a degree that the obsolescence of fighters, helicopters and tanks offends our romanticized fondness for these modern weapons.

Lastly, I'd like to just say that examining the impracticality of a Valkyrie is not being a "naysayer". I think it's more than apparent the members participating here love Valkyries, my own love being rather blatantly apparent. Being pragmatic when discussing fiction is not a fault, it's a strength. The real robot genre itself was predicated by a creator unsatisfied with the simple explanation. Thinking critically about his favorite shows, he deconstructed them and then sought to rebuild them to achieve something greater. The point of this debate is not to stick our heads in the sand in favor of Valkyries or stomp our feet and pout about the impracticality of the Valkyrie. It's the debate itself that is the reward. The discovery of why things work the way they do and the exchange of interesting ideas. That is the essence of what makes this all worthwhile and is the birth of better fiction...or at least discussion such as this breeds an appreciation for better fiction, since most of us are perhaps destined to remain consumers rather than creators.

I didn't mean to incline that the naysayers didn't love Valkyries, were heretics, or anything of the sort. I was merely arguing for the practicality of it all with the future technological advances in mind. Just as you touched on though...with the advent of certain technologies brought about from (science) fiction from the past...I have some beliefs that what was dreamt about then can be made a reality in the future. I've obviously missed the part where the OP was talking about today's technology. So I have no real ground to stand on.

Anyway, more food for thought

I'm sorry, but I have to chime back in. All of you naysayers seem to be thinking in terms of today's technology and the type of warfare today. Don't you think that by the time we are able to actually have the technology to produce things like the Valk, many...many...many....many years down the road, that they wouldn't have solved most, if not all, of these other problems you all speak of? Why is that so far fetched to think that? And I'm sure any technology that would make a dedicated aircraft all that better would be used in these Valks as well. Wouldn't it be asinine to think that they wouldn't implement the same technology in their multi-functioning machines?

Macross Zero is a great example of your dedicated aircraft vs a Valk...Nora vs Shin in episode 1, anyone? With all of the maneuvers Nora was able to pull over Shin....

I still see practical purposes.... I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I don't think I see Valkyries as an inevitable reality. In fact, it's quite possible that fighters, helicopters and tanks will be obsolete as war machines long before the technology exists to combine them all into a single transforming robot. Future singularities are bound to completely alter the dynamics of both technology and warfare in ways that we're not even capable of understanding as yet. The only thing that's inevitable is the introduction of robotics to warfare, the start of such an era is that which we are living in right now.

If we dial it back a little from far future speculation and avoid the caveat of unlimited technological advancement (which would bring us right back to the point about the magic of OverTechnology), we could ponder "Valkyrie Practicality" in between now and some time in the future BEFORE singularities change technology (and thus warfare) beyond what we can understand today. From that assumption, it's easiest to understand the likely impossibility of Valkyries just by examining the reason why we build fighters, helicopters and tanks in the first place. These vehicles serve only a single purpose...to function as the simplest, most direct way to deliver a weapon into an enemy target.

Weapon delivery systems...nothing more.

For a Valkyrie to be in any way practical, it would have to be designed in such a way that it's incredible cost, maintenance, complexity, manufacturing, logistics, reliability and all other factors somehow justifies the Valkyrie ABOVE the those very same factors for a fighter, a helicopter and a tank. Not only that, but a Valkyrie would somehow need to maintain comparable performance to each individual competing war machine. Ergo, a Valkyrie Fighter must equal or exceed operational capabilities of the closest competing dedicated fighter (multi-role or otherwise). Also, that dedicated fighter would enjoy the same technology base as the Valkyrie. Same thing for the best competing helicopter and tank. How then is the Valkyrie going to function as a superior weapon delivery system when in order to function as all three vehicles must suffer design compromises to do so? The answer is the Valkyrie couldn't compete, which is why it wouldn't be practical.

What I can see as an inevitability is some rich guy a couple hundred years from now building a Valkyrie because in his era combining transforming robots with ancient military vehicles is an anachronistic future hobby equivalent to what steam punk is to us today

Well, if we're going to be talking about the not-so-distant future with our current technology then yeah it's not practical at all. But to say that it won't be practical at all in the distant future? As for all of the other variables that you bring up...I'm sure that with time we can refine whatever is that we happen to create...just as we do now.