Tochiro

Sorry to keep everyone waiting. Well, I’ve had a few days to reflect back on both performances last weekend. As I originally posted, yes both days of the concert had serious flaws. But negatives aside, the event was a very personal one for me. Emotional even. Each stage of Macross and it’s music has pretty much defined a period of my life – Macross/Robotech when I was a kid (then rediscovered in Junior High), Macross 2 and Macross Plus in Senior High and during what was to be the first of many trips to Japan, Macross 7 in university (Basara rocked many a drive home with friends), Macross Zero during my first job in Japan at the Prefectural Government, and Macross Frontier during my current job in a totally different industry. No matter where I’ve been in life there’s normally been some sort of Macross OST playing in the background. And while some have played a bigger role than others (ie, I didn’t discover a lot of the original Japanese Macross songs until I was in university and fell out of love with Firebomber for a brief period during the Macross Zero years), I never thought I’d get to see any of the music performed live. Never in my wildest dreams, not even having moved to Japan. I mean, the original Macross was 20 years old and every Macross since had only reinforced its status as a very niche title, especially in Japan which had 30 years of well publicized Gundam and a gazillion other mecha shows that audiences grew up with and could wax nostalgic about. Unfortunately I missed the 25th Anniversary Concert due to a trip back to Australia, so when I heard about the Crossover Live I knew that I had to go whatever the cost. As luck would have it, I ended up being able to attend both days. This was fortunate, since it was really necessary see both performances to get the ENTIRE experience. I’m sure that the organizers did this on purpose to get people to go twice…bastards…..although, according to the BBS set up on the official concert site, this is exactly what a large amount of people did. I’ve heard friends estimate the number of repeat attendees as high as 50% based on the BBS and other forum feedback (not that there’s any hard evidence to back this up, of course). So how was it? Overwhelmingly terrific with a few flaws which seemed to be more of an issue on Saturday than Sunday. I’ve mentioned these in a previous post, but I’ll touch on them again here briefly. For starters, the hall was stifling. I’m not sure whether the aircon was inadequate or downright broken, but even Fukuyama commented about it when talking to the audience. The sound mixing was also atrocious – but only during the Firebomber segment on both days. Perhaps it was one of Fukuyama’s roadies or maybe it was just that the sound tester didn’t account for the difference in levels between a piano accompaniment to Ai Oboete imasuka? and having FOUR electric guitars rock out for Holy Lonely Night. Poor Kajiura missed half a verse on Saturday due to not being able to hear what was going on. On Sunday she stopped the band all together mid-My Friends and demanded they start again. She constantly had one hand on her earpiece and her face in a scowl. Hang on, this is Kajiura we’re talking about here. She always scowls. That’s kind of her appeal – amazingly cute voice coming out of a goth-clad scowling Japanese girl. The juxtaposition always made me chuckle. Hehehe. Oops, there I go again. Finally, the Producer seemed to be fairly incompetent since there was much more scope for mashups and duets than the straight sets that most of the show was comprised of. But maybe I was spoiled by the Yoko Kanno Tanabata Sonic back in July. By Sunday I knew what to expect and felt that I enjoyed the lineup more as a result. Then again, the lineup was balanced better on Sunday due to the two Arai songs we got in between Iijima and Firebomber, as opposed to the single Kasahara song separating them on Saturday. Sound and pacing issues aside, the concert was yet another one of those once in a lifetime experiences. I seem to have been using that word a lot over the past 12 months. First the Macross Frontier concert, then the Yoko Kanno one. Whether its due to brilliant marketing (being 2009 and all) or coincidence, or just a side effect of Frontier’s success, this year has definitely been the BIGGEST year for Macross events ever. <u><b>The Merch</b></u> All good concerts start with hours of waiting in line to buy merch and this one was no exception. Fans were waiting in line from 8am on Saturday (when goods went on sale at 11am) and just before 7am on Sunday (1when the store opened at 10am). The goods shop featured the largest array of merchandise I’ve ever seen at an anime-related concert, period. Half of the goods were exclusive to the concert while the other half were items that had previously been released (CDs, calendars, caps, Ranka ramen and Sherryl… sausages?). I kept it simple and went with the concert brochure, t-shirt, and a set of stick posters. I also grabbed an advanced sale ticket to the theatrical release in November since it was being sold at 500yen cheaper than normal and also came with a free poster. The line was a few hundred people long and was patrolled by a pair of Macross segways! I saw people buying $300 or $400 worth of merchandise. Macross events are rare and all, but wow… actually a lot of it seems to have made its way onto Yahoo Auctions ^^; <u><b>The Venue</b></u> I’ve never been to two anime events that have really been the same in terms of pre-event atmosphere. Larger events tend to have nothing much once you enter the venue apart from drink vendors and the traditional bouquets sent to the artist/s by supporters and well-wishers. Smaller events tend to have fans singing and generally getting pumped up before the show. Mid-sized ones often have different merchandise for sale inside the venue and often a display or activity of some sort (eg, at the Macross Frontier concert there was a model display and karaoke stand). Being a mid-large scale event, the Crossover foyer featured pretty much what I head expected – product displays from its main sponsor Sankyo. This meant the new Macross pachinko game. There were 3 units on display along with a few tvs playing Macross commercials. There were also posters and Minmay cardboard stands. A lot of them! Also, a few posters for the theatrical release and a prototype for the upcoming 1/2000 SDF-1 model. No karaoke this time though, which was unfortunate…or was it? <u><b>The Concert</b></u> <b>1) Intro</b> After watching a looping set of Pachinko and Ultimate Frontier commercials, Exedore came up on the screen and introduced himself. He explained about the concert and that the facilities were only made in Miclone size, so noone was to enter unless they had been Miclonized first. Otherwise they might...well, you know...break the arena. He then introduced the audience to ... <b>2) Sherryl & Ranka</b> May’n was the first act and started off with 3 songs including the new single PINK MONSOON. I really like this song for some reason. Yes it’s very 80’s... but in a good kind of way. Then Megumi Nakajima came on-stage, opening with SOU DA YO (another new song from the theatrical release) and another two songs. We then got a couple of duets between the two (ie, TRIANGLER). All the Frontier songs were great although there was no mixing things up and no Medley - these were pretty much straight up album versions. They were all done flawlessly although personally (having seen them done a few times before) the big highlight was the new new songs. On Saturday this opening set lasted around 40 mins. On Sunday it took a bit longer because there was a break for... May’ns birthday! Yes, she was due to turn 20 later on in the week, so Sunday was her last performance as a teen. Anyone who has ever read May’ns blog knows what her favourite food in the whole world is - tai-yaki (a kind of fish-shaped waffle filled with red-bean paste) and, just as she appeared out of the stage to begin a song... Nakajima started singing happy birthday with the audience. Then Aya Endo came out on stage with a HUGE tai-yaki. She claimed it was 10 times the size of a regular one but it more like 20 times the size if you ask me. May’n was caught totally by surprise. Endo gave a little speech about how she had watched May’n grow as a professional over the past two years and how it was thanks to May’n that she was able to keep playing the role of Sherryl. Many tears were shed. <b>3) Mari Iijima/Minmay</b> While all the other acts were introduced by an animated clip, Iijima was introduced by a rather artistic animation of an oil painting. This had nothing to do with Macross because, well, her first three songs had nothing to do with Macross either. Now, Iijima’s struggle to accept her fame as Minmay as opposed to an independent artist has been a long one and is well documented elsewhere so I won’t go into it here. Similarly, I won’t go into whether or not she should’ve done non-Macross songs at a Macross event. The main thing to note is that the audience was confused and the hall went pretty silent during these songs on Saturday. By Sunday word had obviously spread and people seemed to be expecting these, so it was less of an issue. A clip of Macross was played along to a recording of WATASHI NO KARE WA PILOT, before Iijima came out again to do her Minmay songs. She started off with the 2002 techno remixes of 0-G LOVE and TENSHI NO E NO GU. These...weren’t the best. The tempo was obviously too fast for her and she had serious trouble dropping back into her Minmay voice. She was considerably more relaxed and warmed up on Sunday though. These were followed by her playing the piano while singing AI OBOETE IMASU KA while clouds of stage fog rolled across the stage. A wonderful rendition, made all the more poignant by the simple piano backing. With the suicide of AI OBOETE IMASU KA composer Kazuhiko Kato on Saturday, it was obvious that his death would come up at some point during the concert. The news didn’t hit, as far as I was aware, until after the concert on Saturday night. It turned out, however, that the staff knew about it on Saturday but conspired to keep Iijima in the dark. She didn’t find out until after the concert on Saturday night. On sunday she took about 10 mins before AI OBOETE IMASU KA to talk about the influence of Kato on her life and how she was certain it was his spirit next to her on Saturday that allowed her to play the song so well. Tears were shed before she noted that while Kato and even Hikaru (Arihiro Ayase) were dead, she was still alive and would go on. Even though she often felt that, living in the US, if she herself died the only one to find her would possibly be the postman. Rather macabre, but she gathered every ounce of Minmay she had left in her for that final song. <b>4) Ishtar (Saturday)</b> On Saturday, Iijima was followed by a completely unexpected appearance by Hiroko Kasahara, introduced by some Macross 2 clips. This was a complete surprise, since Ishtar wasn’t featured in any of the concert promotional material. She only performed one song, MOU ICHIDO LOVE YOU - since that was the only real song Ishtar ever sang. And it was an album perfect version of the song. Utterly perfect. The first Macross soundtrack I ever bought was the Macross 2 soundtrack when visiting Japan as a high school student in 1993. And hearing this song made me feel more than a little nostalgic. I never thought I’d hear it performed live, something which made it all the more special. <b>Myung (Sunday) </b> I had my suspicions going in on Sunday. The last Macross event which Kasahara had performed at was the <a href="http://www.ex.org/2.6/08-news_macrossconcert1.html" target="_blank">15th Anniversary Concert</a> - a concert notable for having both Kasahara and Akino Arai perform. So, would she show again this time? Yes, it turned out that she would. And she would be utterly amazing. I had heard Nakajima cover VOICES at Tanabata Sonic and thought she did a wonderful job. She totally owned the song - both paying homage to the original and making it her own at the same time. But after hearing Arai perform it, I have to concede that she is still the original and best. She sang possibly the best version of the song I have ever heard, accompanied by a string quartet while playing the piano. Despite being 50 (!) her voice hasn’t changed a bit. This was all the more obvious during her second song WANNA BE AN ANGEL. There were no vocal Macross Plus songs done at Tanabata Sonic other than VOICES so, once again, WANNA BE AN ANGEL was something I never imagined I’d get to hear live. And damn it was perfect. Brought the memory of listening to it on an old cassette walkman on the way to highschool back in the day flooding back. I hope that Bandai/Big Wst/Sankyo decide to cash in and release a DVD of this concert. Even at Japanese prices, having a recording of Arai performing these two songs alone would be worth it imo. <b>6) FireBomber</b> And this brings us to the final and certainly loudest act. The three screens in the hall played a bunch of Macross 7 clips, even showing the whole immigration fleet explanation that played at the beginning of the first few episodes. Then Fukuyama came out on stage - and 7000 sets of eardrums simultaneously exploded. The Firebomber set was approx. the same on both days - 75 mins or so of pure Basara and Mylene goodness - although for some reason (sound level issues aside) I thought they sounded better on the Saturday. That’s not to say that they were bad on Sunday however. Far from it. All the classic Macross 7 favourites were covered - PLANET DANCE, MY FRIENDS, HOLEY LONELY NIGHT, LIGHT THE LIGHT, MY SOUL FOR YOU, DYNAMITE EXPLOSION, etc. Some songs from the new RE:FIRE album, such as BURNING FIRE and DANGAN SOUL; the latter being a particular favourite of the crowd. Interestingly, I thought that the live versions of both sounded better than those on the album (DVD BANDAI! NOW!). Noticeably absent were GET FREE, TRY AGAIN and HEART & SOUL. Oh and TOTSUGEKI LOVE HEART. But that would come later ;-) Fukuyama took time out here and there to talk to the audience about a bunch of different things: How one of the song titles in RE:FIRE was something he thought of when he was 16 but took 30 years to get around to using; how he had originally recorded all the songs for Macross 7 using an electric guitar - until someone tapped him on the shoulder one day and said ‘You DO realise that Basara carries an ACOUSTIC guitar around with him, don’t you?’; how people had, some time over the past few years, just started to think of him entirely as Basara and were always disappointed when they actually met him - why is Basara’s hair LONG? Did Basara get a bit FAT? etc. Anyways, the Firebomber set was wrapped up by both Tomo Sakurai and Kanna Nobutoshi coming out on stage! Nobutoshi ran on with his best known line, ‘LISTEN to my song!’, at which point Sakurai ran out as well yelling ‘LISTEN to my song TOO!’ <i>Nobutoshi:</i> ......... <i>Sakurai:</i> ??? <i>Nobutoshi:</i> ‘You just MADE THAT UP didn’t you? <i>Sakurai:</i> Uhm, yes f(^^<img src="http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> All four of them then joined spiritua energy to sing LIGHT THE LIGHT together, with the audience joining in on the chorus. <b>7) Mashups & Closing</b> We then entered the encore which consisted of 3 songs: Firebomber meets Sherry Nome: TOTSUGEKI LOVE HEART Lynn Minmay meets Ranka Lee: TENSHI NO E NO GU Everyone: IKI WO SHITEIRU, KANJITEIRU May’n and Fukuyama had done TOTSUGEKI earlier in the year at her MAY’N ACT concert (I highly recommend the DVD!) and this was basically a much louder version. Remember kids, more electric guitars means more awesomeness! The Iijima/Nakajima duet was just them sitting at the piano singing together and was right up there with Iijimas AI OBOETE IMASU KA as one of the highligts of the night. The final song was nice, although I must admit I’m not the hugest fan of the new single. I was also a little surprised that Iijima and Sakurai didnt do FRIENDS: JIKUU WO KOETE. A surprising omission. After that, the spell was broken and the show was over. Khyron came up on screen to ask what the hell was going on before telling people to get the hell out because they had to prepare for the Tokyo Motor Show. Oh and that we had better not engage in any ‘culture’ with the locals on the way home! Whew. And that, was that. Sorry for the long post but I didn’t want to forget anything since this was such a special and, for me, personal event. It wasn’t perfect and there were flaws. But the overall magic of hearing all the Macross music done live on stage far made up for any shortcomings. Next up - the Soul G 30th Anniversary Gundam concert tomorrow and Firebomber in concert next month! EDIT: Here is a scan of a Crossover Live photo montage I scanned from the F-tama fanclub newsletter. Crossover.pdf

Good point! I was thinking along those lines myself. In the end it was worth it for the good songs regardless.

Well, the whole pachinko/pachislot connection has resulted in some cool new stuff for othe series on the past. Such tie ins financed 2 FOtNS ovas and 3 theatrical releases, the Aquarion theatrical cut and the new Evangelion remakes. Heck, sankyo was the main sponsor for last weekends crossover live. A series remake is e pexting a bit much, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a clip disc or maybe a ps2 power sometime. I mean, the FOtNS pachislot ps2 port launched on the same day as halo 2 here. Guess which sold more? Btw, those posters are already popping up on Japanese auction sites for anyone who is interested. Otherwise, talk to your localpachinko operator. I know that's what I'm doing. I wonder what sort of macross themed prizes they will release to go along with the game ....

Sorry, I think you've missunderstood me. I totally understand that she probably can't do Minmay anymore. That's totally understandable. My point is that she should have stuck to a single style. I would have had no problem if she had chosen to do all the songs in her natural voice- in fact that would have probably been the best way- but the fact that she tried to switch between styles hurt her performance. After two songs she warmed up and did a terrific version of Runner. But as a professional, she shouldn't be subjecting the audience to warm up songs. That just came accross as unprofessional. And as for the singing of non macross songs, I'm sorry but we are going to have to agree to disagree here. It was not the time or place for self promosion. Did Arai sing any of her orginal stuff? Kasahara? Kajiura even? No. Because this was a Macross concert. Iijima original songs completely broke the pattern and flow of the concert and confused the audience. There was no explanation of what was going in. People stopped waving their glow sticks. That's a sure fire sign that the audience is pissed. Now I'm an Iijima fan and I realize she needs all the promotion she can get. But this was neither the time nor place. Having said that, she seemed to have done more warming up on Sunday and was also a lot more relaxed onstage. Word had also gotten out that she was doing a few original songs so the audience was prepared and reacted better. Will have some impressions and pics up tomorrow after work if anyone is intersted.

Macross Pachinko - a new Macross for the 21st Century. http://mainichi.jp/enta/mantan/graph/anime/20091021/

My copy of Re:Fire FINALLY came a couple of days back. Great album overall. Its funny how Firebomber have pretty much transitioned from a fictional band to a real one. Definately awesome but also one of those only in Japan things, hahaha. While Burning Fire is by far my fave new track, I must confess that both it and Dangan Soul sound considerbly better live imo. Dangan in particular gets a much heavier rock treatment than it does on Re:Fire.

The new PINK MONSOON single is out if anyone is interested. Picked mine up today - yes its like a cheesy 80's Madonna song but I like it for some reason (maybe because Ive seen it performed live twice already? ) The lyrics are credited to Gabriella Robin, so it looks like Kanno is officially part of the Macross universe now, lol.

Yeah, I picked mine up a couple of months ago. I seem to remember asking around the forums but noone seemed interested in going so Ill be there all by my lonesome. It's funny though, I've had a lot of people ask about the concert this week - looks like the Crossover Live really rekindled peoples love of BOMBAAAAAA!

Well, May'ns dancing is pretty much standard for a Japanese singer. Remember, everything she is doing was 'choreographed' by a so-called 'professional.' And if you compare her on stage performances now to how she was a year or two ago, she has actually improved. And heck, unlike most anime-related singers who just stand there, at least she is actually trying to do something. I'm waiting until the blu-ray next month to sit down and enjoy this. Am looking forward to seeing the differences to the Yokohama show of the tour, which had some of the most awesome onstage/onscreen effects Ive ever seen :-)

Oh it was. Overall a better show than yesterday too although for different reasons. Will try to post extended impressions tomorrow. In the meantime Ill just say this. Akino Arai singing Voices and Wanna be an Angel. Am looking forward to hearing everyone elses impressions too

Really? I dont think there can be any such thing as too much merch ;-) What did you get? I kept it rather simple - the booklet, a t-shirt and some stick posters. Also (and this was unexpected) a ticket for the movie when it comes out - along with a free poster, which was very nice. What did you get? Please tell me you didnt get the Sherryl-branded sausages? Some people were buying HUNDREDS of dollars worth of stuff - pretty crazy. Gubaba - the problem is that she SHOULD have just done all of her Macross songs since thats what everyone wanted and she only ended up singng for 30mins anyway even with the original songs tacked on. It was really just another example of Iijimas Shatner-complex when it comes to her being Minmay in the eyes of her fans. Also, the original songs were deep - something I think had an effect on how long it took her to warm up on the Minmay songs. Not trying to be Mr. Negative here, but for me Iijima is THE major reason I went to the concert (having seen the Mac. F girls live 3 times already and with a FB concert coming in November). So I would have liked more of her Macross stuff. Well, fingers crossed for today!

Well gents, Im back. I won't post full impressions now because, thanks to an odd stroke of luck, I am now going on both days and I want to see both performances before formulating an opinion. Having said that, tonights show was a very mixed bag. The negatives: -Sound mixing was way way off. Poor Kajiura missed a few starts because she couldnt hear over the guitars. -The producer was an amatuer. Instead of mashups, as everyone was hoping, we got a 40min Mayn/Nakajima set, a 30min Iijima set, an 80 min Firebomber set, and 3 or 4 mashups as an encore. -Iijima insisted on doing 3 of her own original songs (totally inappropriate) and could then barely squeak out her Minmay stuff. She tried to sing the 0-G Love remix and just could NOT do it. ....but there were sone AWESOME bits too... The positives: -Iijima came good with Do You Remember Love on a piano solo - possibly one of the best songs at the concert. -Hiroko Kasahara made a surprise appearance for one song - a PERFECT version of Mou ichido. -Firebomber rocked the house! BURNING FIRE live is SO GOOD! -May'n's new song for the upcoming theatrical release, MONSOON, is great live as well. Kindof a Madonna/Sharron Apple mashup. -Nobutoshi and Sakurai Tomo turned up to join Fukuyama and Kajiura for quartet version of Light the Light. Very nice. Havent seen Sakurai for aaaages... -The few mashups that were done were all quality - Sherryl and Firebomber version of Totsugeki Love Heart, and Ranka and Monmay doing a duet of Tenshi no E no Gu with a piano accompaniment. Anyways, rumour has it that things may be a little different tomorrow. Hopefully they'll have fixed the sound problems, meaning that tonights concert was more of a dress rehearsal. Mixed bag though it was, it was still pretty damn awesome! More to come tomorrow!

Well today is the first concert! Anyone going today? Merchandise goes on sale at 11am but fans have been lining up since 8am apparently! And the concert doesn't strt until 5!!!!

Are you guys going on the Saturday I presume? Would love to join you but unfortunately Ill be in the US work for a few days and will only (at the earliest) get back on Sat night. Fingers crossed that my schedule (and jet lags) allows me time for a screening on Sunday...

Good for you Dex! I preordered mine a while back... and got an email from Amazon this morning saying it was running a few days late on the order. Sigh. Still, that rarely happens so it looks like demand for it was greater than expected - always a good thing :-)

Hey there everyone. These two tics are STILL available if anyone is interested. PM me if you are!

Sorry everyone, the ticket already got sold. My apologies to everyone who PMed me. If anyone is still after a ticket theres plenty going on auction: http://search5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/sea...=0jp&acc=jp Hope to see some of you there - representin the gaikoku power!

Hey there guys, A friend has dropped out of coming to Tokyo for the Macross Live this coming weekend. If anyone is interested in a ticket (8000yen), drop me a line.

Ahahaha, no Dex, I'm not going there this time. I made a suggestion and am leaving it at that. Even though I did import Firebomber CDs at full Japanese prices back in the day whith money from a paper route...no I wont go there. Sorry^^; I wont argue that the Mac F concert DVD is expensive even by Japanese standards. Having said that, my feelings about people torrenting this stuff are already well documented elsewhere. Fingers crossed they make a recording of next weeks Crossover Live though. I so cant wait to hear Iijima and Fukuyama Live.

No, as a general rul all recordings are strictly prohibitted and there are bag checks and metal detectors at the entrance of most concert venues. Some small bands/events openly allow recordings, but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. As far as anime events/concerts are concerned, due to licensing issues and the fact that often the venues are just tiny, DVDs/CDs usually arent released. Among the fan community in Japan this makes such events premium commodities - the hardcore go and they pay through the nose for it (most anime concert tickets being initially available only to fanclub members or through random draws) but are happy to do so because as a general rule they know they are getting an experience that no-one else will since it isnt being recorded. Theres a Mac F Concert DVD coming out on Oct 30 (or in Nov for the Bluray). If you are interested, why not actually BUY it and show some support for similar products in the future?

Hey there guys. If anyone is in Japan and interested in a great anime concert that isnt necessarily Macross, I have 2 spare tickets to the Gundam Soul G Live on Oct 24: http://www.gundam30th.net/soul-g/ I got a bit TOO lucky in the usual ticket draw - and won 4 when I only needed 2! hahaha. The seats are quite good - right in the middle! They are 8000 each. If anyone is interested, drop me a line.

Marcoss merchandise at the upcoming Crossover Live. Theyve changed the character portraits too: http://www.ftama.com/crossover/goods.html

I've actually gotten back into FB over the past couple of years after a long hiatus. They were THE band that defined my early years at university but there was always that disconnect due the Mac 7 itself - I adored the music but the story was just so damn cheesy. After Mac Plus I wanted the show to continue to mature and in that respect Mac 7 disappointed on every level. BUT goddamn the music rocked. I owned all the FB albums back when I lived in Sydney, although I dont think I ever picked up Ultra Fire. I also had the Birthday Cake - Best of Hummingbird CD - that was a pretty damn good introduction to Hummingbird and I recommend it to anyone wanting to try what the band had to offer. Unfortunately my copy was later swallowed by a renegade cd changer and never saw the light of day again (*cry*). The great thing about FB is how the artists, both Fukuyama and Kajiura, have been allowed to continue using the songs and develop and mix them in their own styles. This doesnt happen all that often in anime music circles due to the companies owning the rights to the songs, but in this case its allowed the music to far surpass the longevity of Mac 7 itself imo. Oh and more Mayn/Fukuyama WOULD be awesome. Fingers crossed we get some at the Macross Crossover Live next month ;-) One of my personal faves which sadly has never been coveres or remixed to my knowledge, is Heart & Soul - probably because Fukuyama only comes in on the song during the last verse. I would so love to hear a redone version with him and May'n or even Kajiura. I mean, the song is epic - a friend and I backed up traffic on the way home once just so we could finish listening to the song before we arrived. going at 5kph does not make fellow Aussie drivers happy! hahaha. At the very least I reckon we will see another live album come out of either the Crossover Live or the FB reunion concert in Nov., so we should have plenty more BOMBAA for some time to come. REX: Where are you at by the way? While getting originals online can be expensive its well worth it. Oh and Electric Fire is now down to 5000yen on Amazon now if you are still interested ;-)

Just out of curiosity, which control system does everyone prefer? Going into the game I was dead set on the new REAL controls, thinking it would be more like Ace Combat (since Ace Combat 3 was the best 'Macross' game of its generation imo, hahaha - got the feeling just right...but without the transformations), but have found myself going back to NORMAL controls. Its more cinematic and just fits better somehow imo. How about everyone else?

A few bits and pieces from interviews on the Ultimate Frontier bonus UMD: 1) Macross Quarter will be redesigned and an entirely different colour. 2) Reused footage is being touched up - ie, adding more detail to cockpit interiors. 3) Ranka and Altos first meeting will be completely different. 4) At least 1/3 of the footage is new (Am only 50% sure I heard this one correctly - trains were running late this morning so it was pretty noisy as I was watching).