Radd

My take on how people can hate M7 and love M0 is simply that Kawamori directed Zero, while someone else directed 7 (I forget his name), and both directors had a very different style of directing. Sure the themes of the two shows are the same, and they share some of the same elements when it comes to the energy of the human spirit and whatnot, but they're portrayed in a very different style from one show to the other. It seems to me that many people dislike the directing style of M7, and not neccessarily the story or the premise. How a story is presented is just as important as to how good the story itself is. Final Fantasy the Spirits Within has a fantastic story premise, and one that is very similar in tone and storytelling to those of the Final Fantasy games, however it was handed over to an incompetant screenplay writer and director, both of whom shared fault in butchering what could have been a great movie. Now, I'm not going to say that the directing style in M7 is bad, that is entirely based on the opinion of the viewer, however what I am trying to say is that it is different from the directing style shown in Zero. Different enough that those who despised Macross 7 and curse it's existance could come into Zero, see a lot of the same themes and elements in a similar context, but presented in a different way, and absolutely love the show. Grok?

Max and Millia in the red and blue VF-22s was most excellent.

I won't rehash the same arguments we've all been over time and again, but I thought I would point out that it's simply amazing at the difference of opinions each new Macross seems to get, and it's not like it's the same people taking the same sides, either.

Out of this latest season I have not seen much, but the new Tetsujin 28 Go tv series stands foremost in my mind, both for the opening and ending.

I really don't know what to say, but I thought I should share this with you guys anyways. I was at the girlfriend's parent's house, the morning after Thanksgiving as we were packing up to head back home. The radio was on, her dad had been listening to it before he went outside to check a problem she had been having with her car. We're snagging some left overs to bring home, when suddenly I hear voices playing very clearly in the background of what was either a talk show or a commercial. I must have missed what the commercial was actually for, in my shock at hearing Macross Plus music on the radio, and we rushed out the door soon afterwards (we both worked that night and so we had to get home in time to get a decent amount of sleep), so neither of us remember what station it was on, but that's my story. So if any of you live in Illinois, especially within an hour or so of Chicago, you might want to keep your radio on and see if you can catch it, too.

I didn't see any conflicting motivations, considering the timetable he had for them. I mean, it's not like he wanted to do them all at once. When he was young he wanted to simply be a super hero. Being brushed off my Mr. Incredible eventually put him on a revenge trip. He wanted to both get even with heroes everywhere and replace them. He wanted to be a superhero for the wrong reasons, to be in the spotlight, adored by millions, and basically to be a big show-off, and he didn't care who got hurt or killed on his way there. He was already rich selling his inventions to various countries. He only wanted to sell his inventions to everyone after he had had his fun, and was ready to retire. One would assume that again he would still keep the best to himself. Where's the conflicting motivations here?

I don't actually mind the full armour VF-11, being simply the natural progression of the GBP armour for the VF-1. Also, it's not like the huge gun made it invincible or anything, and it remained in the realm of the realistic in that the missles in the armour were basically a one-shot deal, after wich the armour was usually jettisoned in favour of maneuverability.

Actually, Boba Fett died in the Sarlacc pit in the canon continuity. That goes against a LOT of material that is accepted in the Extended Universe.

I kinda agree with whytewolf, but not entirely. I am not opposed to heavily armed craft, and I don't think Valkyries need be limited to sleek strike craft. However, both the Stampede and the Star Crusader lack a certain class I expect from Kawamori's designs. That perfect place between the realistic and the fantastic, the utilitarian and the stylish, the functional and the impressive. I despise a lot of Gundam designs, especially the AU Gundams from Wing and G Gundam because they have absolutely no regard for class and style, the Wing mecha especially as they throw guns all over these neigh invincible robots that appeal to the average 14 year old psyche, but lose their luster to those of us that want something more in our mecha designs that giant guns everywhere and crass symbolism such as cloaks and giant angel wings aimed at sparking the excitement of those easily moved by such blunt, yet shallow imagery. I see the Stampede, and most especially the Star Crusader, fitting right in with the Zero and Deathscythe in that regard. I see these two as curiosities, an abnormal departure from the mecha style we've come to know and love from Kawamori. I'm also rather glad the mecha designs never seriously went that way, leaving behind the roots of the VF-1 and the VF-4.

The only thing 'canon' in the Star Wars universe are the movies. The books, games, and whatnot may be official, but only the movies are considered canon.

The sooner the better for me! I've been dying to get a new Macross toy, and now I've got both this and the 1/48th scale GBP armour to look forward to! Now if only Yamato would get around to a 1/48th scale perfect variable no parts removed VF-4 Lightning III!

Most excellent! Now I don't need to worry about finding a VF-1J before then!

I'm sorry if I was not clear, I did not mean to say that sound was literally heard in space in Macross 7, what I meant was that in M7 along with nearly every single series or movie set in space takes liberties and makes embellishments with the story to present effects where none, realisticly, would be. Sound in space. We hear it all the time in plenty of shows, but by no means do we take this to mean that the film's creators want us to believe that somehow sound is actually being heard in a vaccuum. That is quite simply how I see the glowing lights and other manifestations of spiritua in M7, when the effects are nothing more than what we see in reality and what we've seen in previous Macross shows. The "energy" or whatever you want to call it that we feel when listening to music, playing videogames, getting into fights, watching an entertaining show, writing a book, drawing a picture, or whatever it is that really motivates you, makes you feel alive, it's something the Protodevlin need to survive. Yet the concept of creating it themselves is completely alien to them, along with the cultural aspects. Macplus, you are welcome to your opinion, but keep in mind that it is your opinion. It is not fact, no matter how much you keep telling yourself and others that it is. I even agree with you on some things on how the show was presented. In my case, however, the merits of the story, the strong character developement, the themes of the show, and how it played out in it's entirety outweighed my own grievances with some of the mech designs, and the early story progression. In conversations such was the one I was having with Ewilen, I was simply explaining how I interpreted what was shown in the actual series. There was no mention as to the merits or flaws of the series, no comments on what either of us felt about the series. I don't expect anything I say in that regard to influence how anyone else feels towards the show, I am just offering an alternative view to what was presented.

What about them? What about clearly heard sounds in space? There's similar real world theories. Lots of people say various kinds of music help us learn, help us concentrate, give us energy, motivate us, demoralize us, help plants grow, etcetera. The show is actually fairly vague when it comes to the specifics of just what Dr. Chiba's theories are, delivering the premise in broad, general terms. The sound detection system could either be taken quite literally, in wich the explanation would be very easy and I don't imagine I need to explain further, or it could be related to the energy music gives us, and he somehow developed a technology that could measure that. In the latter case the technology to measure such energy would be "hypertechnological" by our standards, just as much as giant transforming robots, but still based on the not so far out idea that music can energize us. I think I recall the episode you're talking about, did he actually see the triangle with his bare eyes, or was he looking into a monitor or something that was most likely augmented with his own equipment?

Thus the quotes. If anyone can come up with a better term than "magic" which concisely expresses the concept of "freaky stuff that looks like magic but can be (and sometimes is) explained as scientific phenomena based on principles that current science can barely guess at", it would be helpful. Because the debates clearly fracture along the lines of a) Is the "stuff" we see in MZero and M7 "magic", "supernatural", "hypertechnological", or what? b) Does that "stuff" appear in SDF Macross/DYRL/M+ ? You forgot a choice, at least in the case of M7 d) None of the above, we simply see music doing what music does all around us every day. The glowing lights and whatnot being simply embellishments just like hearing sound in space.

Now I just have the mental image of Prowl acting a lot like Dib, always uncovering Decepticon plots and nobody believes him. "My head's not big!"

I picked up the Droids DVD, seeing it going for 10 bucks at Walmart. I loved this show back in the day, even though I was well aware it was pure cheese. I loved the drawing style, the voice acting, and especially the music. You can imagine my dismay upon popping the DVD into my computer and immeadiately seeing that they cut out the opening title sequence entirely. Furthermore, to my absolute horror, it appears that the entire soundtrack has been removed and replaced with a horribly generic, wretched sounding replacement. Now, you don't need to remind me that the original music was an absolute cheese-fest, but it was quirky and fun, and I have fond memories of it. This trash it's been replaced with is much worse sounding, incredibly subdued for the tone of the cartoon, and lacks any and all trace of personality. I will never understand why anyone would go through extra trouble, cost, and effort to make a product worse. Unless you absolutely must own all things Star Wars, I highly reccomend avoiding this DVD at all costs.

Actually, the price I saw for the PSP was $150, just like the DS. nope... in Japan, basic PSP package is 19,800 Yen, the complete PSP package is 24,800 Yen and NDS is only 15,000 Yen. The complete PSP package is about $250US. That's the Japanese price, word in...EGM I think it was said that they'd be taking more of a hit on the price for the US release to get it out at $150. I'll have to look again to be sure, though.

I had my first encounter with the DS today. Shame, shame, shame on all of you who said it was bulky and large, it's about the same size as a regular GBA! Also, while I still don't like the DS Metroid game, I must say that using the stylus to look around was not nearly as awkward as I'd imagined. This system has definitely jumped up a lot on my Christmas wishlist!

Actually, the price I saw for the PSP was $150, just like the DS.

If it does not come with a Valk, this will be my excuse to buy a 1/48th VF-1J.

I'd say "magic" in both Macross 7 and Macross Zero is debatable as well.

My thing is, Macross Zero features writing and designs by the creator of Macross, a major character from the original Macross, it takes place in the Macross universe, it has all the major themes of Macross and even gives a bit more backstory on some of the elements of Macross (a lot about the Protoculture, and even a more developed reason as to how Roy goes from womanizer to pretty much ready to settle down), how can anyone say it has nothing to do with Macross?

I really do not get these statements.

I'm actually a lot more excited about the DS now that I've heard that there's an Advance Wars game coming to it. The screenshots looked great, I love how they're using the two screens.