brouken

nah... these vajra are obviously not fully grown yet, so i'd expect the baby or kiddy vajra to be much weaker than adult types, and so they would probably have weaker armor and weapons.

seems like there could more more than one variation of this second evolutionary type vajra?

wings: white wings, green wings, no wings

legs: 2 legged, 6-legged

tailed and non-tailed

granted they have more or less similar shapes esp the main body, so maybe they can chose to "retract" those parts, or perhaps they are slightly different in stages of growth.

Condiment King said it: what about the "fully evolved" lobster Vajras that folded in?

But something struck me though: The Vajra are continuously evolving creatures correct? What if the trigger for their evolution is not simply due to their reaction to weapons, but to emotions in general?

For example, when Ranka was dreaming, she was dreaming about how she missed her mother. Aimo felt that emotion and was forced to evolve...into something (that we haven't seen yet). When Ranka sings, she also sends out her emotions through the fold waves incorporated into her singing (through the fold crystals in her stomach or whatever that is), and the Vajra are affected by it. Hence, when she sang the Aimo OC in this episode with pain in her heart, the Vajra used that pain to evolve into a different form/s reflecting that emotion.

You might ask: so how come the Vajra were affected differently before during the earlier times she sang Aimo OC?

Well, Ranka was more or less confused at this time. Aimo OC was certainly a huge departure from the original tone of her song. So it makes sense that the emotions she feels when singing it is that of confusion and doubt: something that the Vajra exhibited during Ranka Attack.

But then later on, Ranka sang with more conviction, with a desire to protect her friends and Frontier in general. Again you see here the different reaction of the Vajra. While most of them were still confused, this particular one red lobster latched on to Canaria's Koenig. What was it doing? It certainly didn't look to be trying to destroy the Koenig. Was it trying to protect Ranka inside?

I've been getting the vibe since the earlier episodes that the key to "defeating" the Vajra is through emotions, particularly peaceful and happy ones. It certainly fits Kawamori-san's themes of peaceful resolutions of conflict.

How do we resolve conflicts that are borne out of hatred? The people of Macross Frontier who have lost loved ones will certainly feel a lot of hatred towards the Vajra. But this hate would only make the Vajra stronger, and would make the conflict last longer.

I wouldn't be surprised that this is the ultimate message being sent to us by Kawamori-san and is certainly in keeping with the issues that we have in real life.

Hate begets hate. Love begets love.

And what better medium to convey the emotion of love than through singing?

Elmo perhaps, said it best: "If only we could have reconciled through song from the start, rather than through the violence of the First Interstellar War."

So yes, singing will once again save the day in Macross F.

There's something bothering me about this episode though.

If the Vajra had already become impervious to conventional weapons, how come we still see them being blown to bits by Alto, Michel, Quarter, Canaria, et al? Shouldn't the Macross fleet be massacred by now?

Unless...the Vajra that they're fighting now are from a different hive altogether. A hive that hasn't been updated of the battle data that the Vajra of previous encounters had accumulated.

But then, what about those that just folded in? Where did THEY come from if not from the main hives? THEY were still being blown to bits.

I smell plot devices at work here...

Grace 2.0 was reconstructed in Frontier, so It would be safe to say that such facilities are available in Frontier.

Can we stop arguing whether Michel will be back or not and just accept that he's in GARhalla now

I got Starship Trooper vibes when I watch Frontier troops fighting the bugs and got hugged/crushed by it.

I believe that was an EXTRA body, not a reconstructed one. Grace could've packed a whole bunch of them when they arrived from Galaxy.

And even if personas could be downloaded, Michel IS a frontier citizen, meaning he could not have a personality stored in some database somewhere, since you would need to have some sort of implant for that to be possible.

I agree once again that we should put this discussion to rest. Talking about how it would be possible to bring Michel back is just plain geeking out.

We should recognize his death for what it is: a heroic sacrifice that would forever immortalize him in MF fans' minds.

And yeah, even the MF infantry uniforms and gear look like those from Starship troopers.

btw guys... I am not saying that michael will come back. it is possible, but highly unlikely - and if he does you can fully expect him to be a cyborg, because they would have had to replace his lungs at the very least. depending on how long he was exposed to vacuum, if he survived he might have varying degrees of brain damage up to and including serious motor function issues or amnesia, and there is no telling if he would ever be himself again. if he does come back that way, it might be doubly tragic in that klan might end up having to kill him a second time - highly likely if Grace gets her claws on him.

Hmm, possible. However, but we have to consider that Frontier is a Bioplant/city. Cyborg and implants are NOT allowed, hence we can assume there is a lack of facilities for such onboard.

Of course we can assume that Michel's body might be found by Galaxy who is just lurking somewhere.

And yes Windrider, we Pinoys love Macross! And yes, Polidread is THE Polidread of DeviantArt fame, cosplayer extraordinaire, Gundam and Macross alike.

Do you know what they said about the dead SMS woman at the entry of the miclonization chamber? Does anybody has a pic of her?

I agree that she looks a lot like Lalamia. Michel was saying:

"Nande konna koto ni...Tatakau no mo, shinu no mo... Hetai(?) dake de jyuubun darou? Nande, nande dayo!"

Why has it come to this...fighting, dying...(I don't understand the word "Hetai") is enough isn't it? Why! Why!!

That's how far I understood it with my nihongo. There was no reference as to who she is in that scene's dialogue.

I also agree that bringing back Michel in the next or following episodes would ruin the emotional impact this episode just made. At the very least, he'll probably come back in spirit form right beside Klan during a fight, or during the last episode.

The Japanese like their sweets with bitter. Its this sharp contrast that gives life to the other.

And here I thought that Macross F was too lighthearted. Way to bring back the show Kawamori-san!

For the first time ever, I WATCHED A RAW! "gasp!"

My Japanese paid off however, and I understood most of the episode.

The shizz hath hitteth the fan indeed.

Godspeed Michel....

While I'm also looking forward to this game, I'm a bit skeptical as to the flight mechanics. While I liked the VFX series, the only Macross game that comes close to the flight dynamics inherent to Macross in my opinion is the SDFM Game from Sega-AMD.

Now if this game were being developed by the Namco guys who brought us Ace Combat, that would be a different story!

Ever since Namco merged with Bandai, I've been dreaming of a Macross game that uses the flight model of Ace Combat. I REALLY hope that they've got an "Ultimate Valkyrie Simulator" in the works for the PS3!

Just finished watching last night! Had to convert gg's mkv to MP4 so that the missus and I could watch it on our PS3 on 32" Bravia LCD setup (though I don't have problems watching the mkv on my 2.8 Ghz P4, 1 GB Ram and Radeon X1950 GT PC). My gratitude once again goes to Sergorn for teaching me how to properly covert soft subbed files using Xvid2PSP!

BTW, I also have all of the episodes so far on my PSP, so I can watch and review them anywhere, anytime! Resolution is top notch and infinitely better than Sony PSP Media Manager's output.

This is a very character-driven episode. No mecha porn whatsoever (unless the Destroid Cheyenne's ceremonial gun salute qualify). Not to say that I didn't enjoy it, though. Quite the contrary.

Just like the other's opinions, I feel that the plot has been significantly pushed forward this time round. To sum it up simply, this episode is a "shizz about to hit the fan" moment.

I like how they paid homage to the DYRL scene where Hikaru was running up the stairs to meet with Minmay, only this time, they used Ranka and under different conditions. That moment where she catches Sheryl and Alto hugging is also in homage to the DYRL scene where Misa, upon discovering the lyrics to the DYRL song, rushes to share her discovery with Hikaru, only to find him in Minmay's embrace.

And is that Vajra watching the concert an evovled Ai-kun? So he's not a red lobster after all?

A Coup-d-etat? Man! How could I have not seen that one coming! I always thought that Leon felt perfectly satisfied running the show from the shadows. But now he's about to take it to the next step. I'm wondering now how he's going to convince the populace of his fitness to rule, not to mention how he's going to explain how the president died (assuming he DOES get assassinated). Martial Law anyone? (Winks at the Filipinos in this forum).

And they brought back Maaya! Hehe, must've heard the clamor for Triangler here in MW! The episode IS called "Triangler" after all.

I'm willing to bet another $100 that they use "Diamond Crevasse" for the next episode's ending.

haha...nope, those are Hasegawa's vf-22s... something else...

I spy VF-4. Hasegawa?

If Fold Quartz is unique to the Vajra then how does Bilra know anything about it? Does he have a relationship to the 117th also? Is it possible Fold Quartz has other origins as well (although likely not nearly as plentiful)? It seems definite at this point that the V-type infection is related to the Vajra (hence the earlier issues with quarantines). We know that Grace and Mao worked together on some scientific project. I'm guessing Sheryl was one experiment: she was infected with the V-type virus and then given inhibitors to control its development. Ranka was a second type of experiment probably done more under Mao's supervision (perhaps a fusing of Vajra DNA which helps negate the effects of the V-type infection and also causes Ranka to develop fold crystals internally like a Vajra queen).

We also know that, as evil as Grace is, she really is working toward accomplishing a feat so grandiose that the Protoculture themselves were unable to accomplish it. It would appear that this feat is timeless/flawless folds and fold communication which would shrink the universe down from infinite vastness to a tiny neighborhood. I would suspect that Grace's sin is hubris and we will eventually learn that there's a reason the Protoculture never got to the place Grace is striving for. In the meantime, is it possible that Grace just needs a huge enough Vajra body count so that she can harvest enough Fold Quartz to make her vision a reality and that's why she keeps spurring all these battles? Is she just trying to make it appear that destroying all the Vajra is the only way humanity will be safe so that she can ensure herself enough crystals?

You talk about Grace as if she's the single responsible person for all of this. Grace is no longer a singular consciousness, but part of a greater collection of consciousnesses. So I doubt if Grace the individual is the sole perpetrator of these events.

But I do agree with you that whoever Grace is working for/with does want to harvest fold crystals quickly, and possibly for a different purpose than Mr. Birla. Maybe Galaxy Corp. is just interested in monopolizing the market for fold crystals, with Mr. Birla as one of their well paying clients.

And indeed, what faster method of harvesting than by causing an endless slaughter of Vajra, using the Frontier to do their dirty work.

Sneaky corporations. Always out to make a profit.

I agree that the Vajra are biologically engineered WMDs.

I believe that their true form are microscopic organisms responsible for the V-type infection which increases aggression in their hosts (Hydra, Sheryl), except for one: Ranka.

I believe that the huge bio-mechanical "Vajra" that the Frontier people are fighting now are merely hosts, whose original forms were those of Ai-kun. After being infected by the V-type infection, which is the "true" form of the Vajra, these creatures then evolve into their present form.

Perhaps the V-type infection/Vajra, changes the biological structure of their hosts, forcing them to evolve into mindless killing machines that are controlled by the Vajra microorganisms on the cellular level. Which explains why they have no brain (host brain is eliminated to ensure full control by the Vajra organism).

Maybe the 117th engineers chose Ai-kun's race for their subjects because they have simple brains and biology (i.e. easily controlled and manipulated by the Vajra organisms). Whereas humans, because of their complex thought processes/sentience are not so easily manipulated, hence the varying manifestations of the disease (Sheryl=agressive, Ranka=meek).

Or, maybe the 117th were simply experimenting on how the Vajra organisms affect different hosts, and accidentally caused Ai-kun's race to evolve into what they are now, with disastrous results for them.

A penny for your thoughts.

Right. So after reading the past "walls of text", I have an interesting theory to float into the discussion (with corresponding wall of text of my own) :

Sheryl is infected by the V-type infection correct? What do we know of this disease that has been more or less revealed so far?

1) That it is somehow related to the Vajra: Man-grace says to Leon in "Legend of Zero" - "Izure ni wakaru, Varja no hontou no ozoroshiisa wa..." (You'll soon understand how truly terrifying the Vajra are) after saying that they've transplanted a Eden raised Hydra into Frontier. We now know in ep. 18 that that Hydra was infected with the V-type infection.

2) That one of the V-type infection's known symptoms is, get ready...AGGRESSION.

Sooo, if Sheryl is suffering from V-type sickness, and all that Grace was doing was to inhibit the virus not cure it, what conclusions can we draw from this?

Is Sheryl's so called "aggressiveness" truly part of her personality? Or is it merely a byproduct of the V-type virus in her system, modulated as it is with the "receptor blocker" pills that Grace was secretly feeding her? Remember, Klan said that "It cannot cure the illness, but it mitigates the symptoms."

Of course one can argue that it is entirely possible that Sheryl already had a "strong personality" by virtue of her having lived in the slums. Poverty hardens you after all. But judging from the scenes of her during this time in her life, as revealed in ep 18, she seemed more frightened and lost to me rather than being strong and streetwise.

Now that Sheryl is NO LONGER taking the receptor blocker/inhibitor pills, can we reasonably expect her aggressiveness to increase dramatically? More interestingly, what happens to her once she is CURED of the disease?

What is V-type sickness? Leon and co. have been quite thorough in screening everyone who has come into close contact with the Vajra for this disease.

Point of interest would be his comments on Ranka, whom he had also screened. Ranka, as we know, first came into contact with the Varja during the 117th research expedition. So it is entirely possible that she is already carrying the V-type infection prior to her coming to Frontier.

But instead of exhibiting the aggression now associated with the disease, Ranka is generally meek and insecure. What is preventing the V-type infection, assuming that she is infected by it, from manifesting itself in this manner?

V-type. V. Vajra.

I forgot which episode that was (possibly in "Memories of Global") that there was a very brief scene of some microscopic creatures being affected by Ranka's singing. Is this the V-type disease? Or are these the true nature of the Vajra? Maybe both?

Which begs the question, are these things that the Frontier been fighting all this time not the true form of the Vajra themselves, but rather shells to house their true microscopic forms?

Sheryl. Ranka. Vajra. Triangular...

Good episode! (Took me long enough to get it, and quickly enough to go through it.)

Sheryl - How the mighty have fallen

Grace - My how you've grown since we first saw you!

Ranka - Still hasn't grown enough, even though she's being billeted as the new Lynn Minmei. (Looks at the Koenig noseart and screencap of Minmei's chest in DYRL) Yep. Long way to go.

Alto - Ore ga otoko nandayo! O-TO-KO!

Ozma - How come you're still in bed? Pineapple cake THAT bad? Or maybe too little Basara?

Bobby - In a catfight with the Quarter ladies over discounted linen = priceless

Overall, again, good episode despite some of the recycled mecha and battle scenes.

No .avi file for episode 18 yet?

Oh yeah, any of you guys know what converter I can used to convert video files into PSP .mp4 files? I'm going to Nagano for conference next month and I want to bring my PSP so I can watched frontier on the trip.

Download Xvid2PSP and follow Sergorn's instructions above for soft subbed episodes!

We've got a lot of votes for the locker scene so far.

To those who voted: there's one thing bugging me though...did Sheryl...you know...ever...reached her peak in there?

If she did, then that makes the locker scene WAAAAY hotter!

Girls getting the big "O" is always is huge turn on for me!

"Good Luck Finding Out!"

What happened to them that is.

The scene with Sheyrl and Alto in the locker with the vibrating phone.

Graham

Second this.

But then for me, Macross in general IS erotica.

Nothing says sexy than the VF-1 battroid's big cock...pit.

Yo Sergorn!!!

You da man! I did exactly as you instructed, and it all worked! IT WORKED! I now have two episodes of gg's subs in mp4 version, WITH ALMOST NO QUALITY LOSS! COMPLETELY PLAYABLE ON PS3! I'll be encoding more episodes from here on out!

After splitting hairs searching around video forums, downloading almost every video encoder, subtitle encoder and muxer out there, yours was the solution that worked! No more MKV problems for me! W00T!

Let me say it again for you: YOU DA MAN!!!

Funny, I just stump across Xvid4PSP a few days ago. I wanted to make a Full 1080p HD hardsub of the Yack Deculture of Ep01 to read on my PS3 - and it actually worked very well.

It's actually quite simple. All you need is the "ffdshow video decoder"

First you need to extract the .ass file from the mkv file using MKVExtract.

Then you launch XVid4PSP, and open the video you want to encode.

In the bottom right of your screen there should be the ffdshow icon, double click on it, the goes to "Subtible" and be sure to check the box.

Under subtitle : choose "File" then select your .ass file. Now ffdshow will automatically add the subtitles to any video you play. You can check your video under XviD4PSP, you should see the subs in it.

Now you simple choose the codecs/format you want and encore the Video... and voilà ! You should have a beautiful video with hardsubs ! Don't forget to uncheck the subtitle box in the ffdshow filter after this

-Sergorn

Hey thanks! I'll try this right now!

Ah---despite the name, xvid4PSP works perfect for what I need. It also seems that it can do "almost anything". It'll take Divx, AVI, MKV, OGG, Xvid etc, and convert it so that a PS3/360/Ipod can read it. It's by far the fastest way to hard encode subs onto a file. Frontier on an Ipod...

Now to convert more episodes.

I've done a bit of research and I've come up with Xvid4PSP too! But here's the thing: it cannot read the ASS subs from MKV. At least, not in my experience.

Can you share how you managed to encode your Frontier episodes using this? Are you using the mkv-coded episodes? Which ones?

Thanks a lot!

That's all I've found, too...I got Lunar for 12 and 13, and I'm getting all of Kei for good measure. Thank goodness for my brand-new, only 1/5 full 500GB hard drive...

Thanks!

I've got a question for the Lunar guys here (if they're here, that is): why is it that the PS3 cannot recognize your Xvid encodes? Is it because you encode them at 24 bit rates? That's the only difference I see between your encodes and Shinsen's.

Again, any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

Go back a couple of pages...one of the guys from Shinsen said that Frontier is currently on hiatus...

I hope they get back to it, but I'm currently downloading any XviD version that I come across.

I know I'm not supposed to ask for links, but I'd like to ask how many gg-reencodes to Xvid are out there? I've found only episodes 14 to 16 so far (downloading them as I type this).

I've downloaded all of gg's mkv files. I made the mistake of watching them on GOB player, so the subs weren't displayed properly (I also saw that comment about Ranka in Episode 17). But I took one of the gg members' advice on this thread and watched it using Classic Media Player with the CCCP and the subtitles were a huge improvement.

My other question is, is there a way to convert gg's mkv's into avi format without losing the intended formatting for the subs? I've tried using MKV2VOB, but while the video conversion is okay, the subs are not (the formatting of the subs are wrong).

I want the avi format because my wife and I watch MF on our PS3. (Shinsen Sub's avi's look phenomenal on the PS3 by the way! Thank God Sony didn't block out upscaling of video files!).

Appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks!

That would be ep 10, after the credits of the Birdman movie, when Ranka was introduced to the stage as the actor for Mao Nome. Ozma, watching from home, said something about it "being fate that Ranka plays Dr. Mao."

Hey, thanks for that!

Didn't Sheryl mention she was "all-natural" in episode 3 when they were trapped in the shelter? But then again, maybe she's been led to believe that.

Does she ever make mention of her parents? I seem to recall Grace or some other character saying something about it. Or is that my overactive imagination at work?

hmmm... how is Sherlyn & Ranka linked with Macross Zero story? am i missing something...

I was wondering that myself too. Until I realized that Sarah and Mao have "Nome" as their last name. Which makes Sheryl Nome their...

I'm rewatching the past episodes to see if I've missed a mention of a "Dr. Mao Nome" somewhere.

I use a small flat head screwdriver to get those intakes open, as well as getting the landing gear out.

Thanks! I'll try that one out!

No scratches inside the intake for you then?