Prime

I picked mine up at the Satelite booth at the HK C3 show a few weeks back and got it autographed there by both Tenjin and Kawamori

Graham

Curse you and a pox on your house!

For some reason I never realized that the VF-9 could turn it's "head" in GERWALK.

Clone Wars has come a long way from season 1.

So guys, now that some time has passed Im presuming that some more people have gotten their copies? Any thoughts? favourite illustrations?

I don't even know where to start. They are all brilliant, and this book is an absolute Macross fan must. I guess my particular favs are:

VF-19A SVF-569 Lightnings - More for the background than the fighter itself. Cool looking carrier with flightdeck filled with -11s and -19s.

VF-0C - Always liked the D, cool to see a single seat version. Love the lowvis scheme in the background.

VF-1J Strike - Great detailed shot of an ARMD launch.

VF-0A/S with Ghost - As sketchley mentioned. They just look super deadly.

VF-0A/S Battroid - Just really captures the grace and power of Macross VFs to me.

Tomahawk and Defender destroids - Awesome amount of realism and weight. Always liked ground crew scenes.

VF-0S Gerwalk - Just an outstanding shot.

VF-25F Anime Fair - Unlike sketchley I really dig this one. I agree it looks a bit off accuracy-wise, but it looks so menacing.

I really want to see this "ULTRA SPACE-TIME FORTRESS, MACROSS"!

Unless Macross the First gets animated and/or Kawamori says specifically "This is what everything will be based on in the future", it's not the official setting. It's just a non-canon side story/alternate retelling. No more canon then Lost War Chronicles, Ecole du Ciel, or For the Barrel are for Gundam.

I don't know a lot about Ride, but is there anything in there so far that would contradict existing, established canon?

I always took the approach if the material was created with official creators involvement and wasn't explicitly stated as non-canon or contradicts current canon it is a part of the official story.

Preordered from HLJ with some other items and currently have the "wait till everything is available" option for shipping. Now I'm wondering if I can wait that long!

I guess this would make complete sense, since there are so many discrepancies when compared to the "Gold Book" and "Perfect Memory".

And the general comments by Kawamori about the canon of the saga itself...

You might also try HMV or check with some of the sellers here on MW.

If you are still looking, Wm, I just got mine from HMV Japan and shipped to Canada (Ottawa) for a total of 4,280 yen (2,600 + 1,680 shipping).

Got my preorder in!

Just got my pre-order in. Now we'll see how long I have to wait...

This looks like such a massive must buy.

The only way the devices would be possible, is if they were already made by the Protoculture as general "prosthetics", items that could be used for Zentraedi that were injured in combat, and later used to fix defects. Like how a prosthetic arm will help someone who loses their arm in a battle, accident, or is born with the defect, the same prosthetic could work work for both. The idea of integrating commanders into their ships does seem more plausible, but perhaps there's more than one answer to this discussion.

Good point.

I suppose there could be automated "medical" systems that could provide injured zentrans with customized prosthetics.

Yes, thanks so much for doing these translations!

Maybe I missed it, but has there been a time frame given for the termination of the cloning program? Are we only given a starting point of around 2010?

OK, that was gonna be my other theory. As it seems most of the Zentraedi ships have an organic type of look to them, and you see Bodolza is, for the most part, fully integrated into his ship, perhaps the higher up you rank, the more integrated modifications need to be made to the commanders to be in control of their respective fleets.

To me this seems most likely based on what we have seen.

I think that could be just as viable as a genetic defect that eventually gets an enhancement due to the fact that Zentraedi seem to not know much of genetics, as they were made for war. Could be whatever genetic mistakes were made after the Protoculture disappeared, the cloning process would just replicate it over and over, and they would just have to install implants and the sort to correct the problems.

The thing I can't reconcile about the defect theory is that if it appeared while the Protoculture were still around, presumably they would fix the genetic code directly. If the defect started occurring after the Protoculture's disappearance my understanding is that the Zentradi would be unable to design and construct, or even modify, the device we see.

Blah. He is not even a real man.

Well, the poll doesn't say the pilot has to be a human...

Uh... well, part of the reason for your confusion is that you're mixing traits from two different versions of Britai. The DYRL designs have supplanted the TV series designs in many respects, and Britai's is one of them (as shown in Macross 7 and Macross Frontier).

Oh, I'm well aware that DYRL designs are now largely the canon versions. I should have been more clear and indicated I was referring to DYRL Vrlitwhai in particular.

By the opposite token, the version of Britai from Macross: Do You Remember Love? sports a faceplate that appears to be a functional cybernetic prosthetic. The movie shows it with a few flickering lights, and something that is clearly a lens under the protective cover. Other commanders we see sport similar modifications (Boddole Zer, Ogotai, etc.)

I agree it is made to appear as functional hardware, even if that doesn't provide any insight to the reason for the replacement/addition.

Whether commanders like Britai are fitted with them before they go into active service is unclear

That answers my question. One of the mysteries of Macross, I guess.

I wonder if it is in part an interface with their command ship, almost a "evolutionary" midway point between a standard soldier and being fully integrated a la Boddole Zer...

For whatever reason I always thought that Vrlitwhai wore a faceplate as a result of some sort of injury (perhaps I got that from Robotech in times past). But after seeing Ogotai using something similar in Frontier I figure I've missed something. Was there ever an explanation given for Vrlitwhai's faceplate, and if it isn't for an injury what is it exactly?

Yeah! Damn right, suck on that Basara.

Before there was Basara willing to die for his music there was Roy!

Prime, you just made my day

Roy did always like to one-up people!

Thanks, that's very helpful.

The new remastered box set is much more affordable, plus the visuals of the show itself look like they are "supposed to".

What specifically is this new remastered HD set? I'm looking to get the original series on DVD, and I'm trying to get a sense of what my options are...

Roy for me. Awesome flawed character. Went out in a blaze of glory in two different ways: an actual blaze of glory and playing guitar while bleeding to death. And it seems he totally has women figured out. I think we can all learn a lot from Roy on how to live our lives.

Roy is followed closely by Ozma (doesn't tolerate teenage nonsense) and Max.

Should there be any issues ordering from HMV Japan? I'm shipping to Canada...

Added myself, representing Ottawa, Canada!

Great to see the -19 line extended with some new variants. I like these more than the M7 versions (but I still like the VF-19A the best). My impression was that the -19 didn't gain as wide an acceptance as was originally intended due to costs. Is that wrong? It seems that the -19 has had a pretty good service run.

And awesome shot in the race track picture of the VF-1A kicking -19 ass!