Tochiro

Damn!! 1hr b4 the concert starts and I'm nowhere near the head of the merch line. At least 2 types of shirts are sold out already thanks to some sashays buying 4 or 5 shirts each. Thought the would have limited this stuff like at the kanno concert, sigh.

Am planning on getting there about 4:30ish since I dont think there will be a huge line for merch (its a smaller concert after all). Dunno how many white guys will be there but Id guess not many so I'm probably pretty easy to spot. If anyone sees the tired lookin gaijin with the camera and the PSP, itll be me, lol.

So who is going to the Revival concert tonight? According to Fukuyama's site, there will be hoodies and tshirts available :-). I really hope they get the sound mix right this time. I dont think I could deal with another scowling Kajiura for 2 or 3 hours ^^;

Good eyes Save! One thing I neglected to mention (not really a spoiler ..... the Ranka Natto Bukake scene! Oh, dear oh dear oh dear.... Kawamori has gotten so hentai in his old age..... This movie definitely ramps up the fan service imo.

Grabbed these myself yesterday. To anyone else who is thinking of doing the same, each volume includes 2 of the old Tankobons, so they are pretty darn huge!

Wow, sounds like it was a pretty good performance guys. And that version of Diamond Crevasse was Singapore only - so it was a special 1-off that only you will ever get to hear! Anyone else take any pics?

1) Good but was all at the beginning (space) or end (in the Mac F) 2) Yes 3) Do you even need to ask? Actually, the shoulder cannons werent as powerful as I had hoped but they werent bad. 4) Uhm... dont remember sorry 5) No huge differences that I noticed but then again I wasnt paying attention to those kind of details sorry. Will pay better attention when I see it again next week. 6) As in within the Macross F? If so, see answer (1) Overall it was loud, large and fun although a little poorly paced (all the action at the beginning or the ending). Also, being far shorter than the series, a lot of character motivations are simplified or else not explained. Yet somehow some of the details that are hinted at in the series are made clear right from the beginning of the movie. Way, way more new animation than I had been lead to believe. Somewhere between 40%-60% is new. And the final battle was pretty damn cool. They also rerecorded ALL of the voice work for the movie - so Ranka sounds a little more....sure of herself. In short, think less Gundam Seed clip movie and more of something between Eva 1.0 and 2.0. Or maybe one of the New Translation movies for Zeta Gundam.

Its 100-110 mins

Just got out of the cinema but am doing this from my phone because I'm currently in line for a final fantasy tactics concert. Actually, grace has a huge amount of screentime. It's also revealed that .... and I'm totally serious!!

Did anyone get this months Newtype? While the double cover (Sherryl on the front and Ranka on the back) which was posted here earlier, it comes with a CD with a special recording of the Mac F radio show to commemorate the movie. Am going through it over my morning coffee and its pretty damn funny. Personally Im loving the skits where Alto supposedly "borrows" Rankas Newtype and she wont stop pestering him about it. "I dont remember you being such an annoying character,' he says. 'Maybe I should check with KAWAMORI, HMMM?' lol Other highlights include Klan wanting Michele to take her to tha Macross movie - oh and people giving poo to Kawamori's eyebrows, hehehe. In one interview Nakamura claims that Alto sings the ending theme song for the movie....but at the end it turns out he was just screwing with everyone...doh^^; Reminded me that need to pick up the drama CDs one of these days.

Theres a good 15 issues to go. It will all be covered eventually. Try to think of it less on a per issue bassis and more like 1 complete overall set (binders). I went through a similar stage with the Gundam Fact Files - and that went for 150 issues! But the set at the end of almost 3 years was well worth it :-D

And now for something completely different ... Pizza Hut will be holding a Macross Frontier promotional campaign to tie in with the new theatrical release. Theres a range of goods for those buying one medium size pizza or more including a special Macross Frontier pizza box, codes to download character voice samples, original PC and mobile phone wallpapers, etc. 20 special customers will also be chosen for a special prize. 5 people will win a poster signed by Kawamori. 5 people will win a Sherryl cap signed by Risa Ebata 10 people will win a 2010 calendar signed by Yuichi Nakamura, Aya Endo and Megumi Nakajima. The campaign will run from November 9 to December 13. Glad to see a Macross series (well, movie) getting such a mainstream promotion! Pizza boxes though...eeeew?

Nope, I'm definately not Japanese although I can fool the odd local on the phone every now and then, lol. Originally from Australia, but have been in Japan for about 8 years now (honestly, I've kinda lost track ^^; ) And yes, I feel EXTREMELY lucky to be here during this point in time. A few years ago when Mac 0 came out it had minimal promotion and was not even on the radar of most casual anime fans. At that time I could never have predicted the sort of renewal and surge in popularity that Macross in general is getting now. Its a great time to be in Japan, but more than that its just a great time to be a Macross fan imo. Having said that, those are some pretty awesome experiences you've listed there. The thing about Japan is that, although we get all the BIG events, theres hardly ever and meet and greets, signings or anything like that. So to be able to actually meet someone involved with Macross is a dream that will forever go unrealised for the vast majority of Japanese fans. Sounds like you have some great memories from those events. Treasure them :-) Its a shame that, with the way the bulk of 'anime fandom' seems to be heading in the west, there is probably almost no chance of getting Macross-related guests at conventions anymore (at least, not like in the 90's). If there was a signing session with Kanno or Mikimoto or Kawamori involved, Id be heading straight over to the US for a week! Anyways, next up will be a FireBomber concert review at the end of the month! Keep an eye out for it ;-)

No, games arent usually exclusive to any one chain (that wouldnt be in the manufacturers best interests unless maybe they owned the stores in question) so you should be able to play the new Macross game pretty much at any parlour. Having said that, a FEW parlours 'specialize' completely in one or two titles - ie, theres a few Hokuto no Ken only parlours because its one of the best performing machines of all time. Also, some of the smaller local stores might not necessarily upgrade to newer machines as quickly or often as the bigger chain-parlours do. @Jasonc - Getting one isnt totally out of the question but now would not be the best time to do so. Wait a year or two until the next big game comes along and there will be hundreds of Macross machines being sold off 2nd hand. An average machine costs approx. US$500 2nd hand. Then theres shipping, etc (as someone who has carried demo units to trade shows before I can tell ya that these things aint light!). Getting one shipped overseas isnt impossible (Ive heard of people doing it) but keep in mind that you would have a LOT of gaming regulation forms etc to overcome since, by US standards, these could be used as gambling machines. That can make things decidedly more tricky. Within Japan its pretty easy though - a friend of mine is a bit of a Stallone fan - and has THREE Rocky/Rambo themed machines in his apartment, lol.

Oops, sorry. Looks like only Ftama members can access the set list. Sorry guys ^^;

Japanese concert report and track listing are up if anyone is interested Track list https://www.finn.ne.jp/contents/03368/event...over/index.html Report (good pic on page 6) https://www.finn.ne.jp/contents/03368/event.../report_01.html

Glad I could be of some assistance. Unfortunately I know far more about the topic than I want to. Thats what happens when you are in the industry

Actually, that is EXACTLY what happens. Pachinko/pachislot machines are relatively cheap to make and pretty much EVERYTHING gets thrown at the wall to see what sticks. You probably just dont notice because new titles come and go so quickly. Case in point - NADESICO and BATTLE ATHLETES recently got their own machines. I mean heck, NANASE AIKAWA just got her own machine! I'm the only person in my office who remembers who she is! (was a fan in university). Gundam? Gundam already had THREE Pachinko machines, one for each movie! hahahaha. In the case of Macross, Im not saying that the popularity/recognition isnt there, but its the nostalgia factor that Sankyo wants to use to get people in intitially. Then, if the math behind the game is good, word of mouth woll spread. Look at one of the most popular Pachinko machines ever - Evangelion. What was the biggest demographic playing the game? 40y/o+ females. I guarantee you this was not the market the game was originally pitched at. But word spread and a new market was created. This is what Sankyo is trying to do with Macross as well.

Ahahaha, many thanks - it's really just that I was lucky to stick around in Japan for this long. The past 12 months have been full of AMAZING events: Mac F Concert, Yoko Kanno Concert, Macross Crossover, Gundam Soul G, and Firebomber Reunion in Nov. I dont expect any period to ever come close to 2009 again in terms of events, so I feel really fortunate to be here during this time. Fingers crossed I'll still be in Japan when 2012 rolls around ;-) FYI, Sakurai looked good! Wish she was doing more regular mainstream anime these days.

You know its funny, compared to most of the prizes found in UFO Catchers - body pillows, moe themed bedsheets, etc, these Macross ones seemed positively normal to me. Hadnt thought of the whole loli angle. Eegads, maybe Ive been here too long! ^^;

Actually, it doesnt have anything to do with Macross' popularity really. It works the other way around. Ie, if the Pachinko is popular, a LOT of that money gets pumped back into Macross. This could have a really positive effect on getting some sort of new goods/anime made - I mean, Pachislot pretty much funded both the new Fist of the North Star movies (AND Raoh's funeral, lol), as well as the Evangelion rebuilds. Sankyo is going all out for 2 reasons that I can see - to cash in on the greater general awareness of Macross that has resulted from Frontier's success; and to hit that sweet nostalgia spot with potential players who are now in their mid-late 30's. Also, this is their big successor to Aquarion, which was huge for a while but then sunk without a trace. With the industry being in a slump ever since the new regulations on Unit 5 machines in 2007, it will be interesting if this can pull in a new audience for parlour operators.

wow, thats pretty impressive! I grabbed a starter set back when they came out but am not much of a card game fan. Got them more as a Macross collectible. (Need to get me some of the posters that are up in most card shops for it) But its great that others can now understand the game too! Kudos!

You beat me to it! Yeah thats niiiiice. Damn I wish I knew that there was an event on!

Was in Akihabara today for the first time in a few weeks and couldnt help but notice the (relatively) huge amount of Macross F prizes in the UFO catchers. Unfortunatey. despite blowing 1000yen or so, I didnt manage to win any. I did snag an Eva 2.0 Mari figure tho:-)

Thanks for the kind words guys. I honestly didnt mean to rant for so long, but it seems that no one reviews concerts online anymore. Normally all I can find is a half-legible fanboi blog filled with lulz. That 15th Anniversary review at (the now defunct EX.ORG) blew me away when I read it a decade ago. Noone does stuff like that anymore so I try to make a point of posting impressions that are as detailed as possible. Now if only I could start remembering set lists ^^;