Elektrix

Pretty sure she isn't a dog-girl; she clearly has human ears (usually in anime where there's a dog or catgirl, they actually have animal ears, not animal ears in addition to human ears). Personally, I also like the made-up languages Yoko Kanno uses in some of her songs, including "Wanna Be An Angel" especially from Macross Plus.

VF-117 would sort of make sense I guess given the relation to the F-117 Nighthawk.

Agreed. It's totally bizarre but I'd love one... Or maybe a squishy frog mp3 player.

Yeah - normally that would actually be my instinct in seeing that bit with her "hair" perking up like a big dog ear - that it was more of an animation joke, as opposed to something that should be taken as a literal ability. I guess the only reason I don't is that there isn't anything else particularly in Episode 1 of Macross F that hints at those kind of comedy anime animation jokes.

I'm not sure I see the flaps there in those screenshots - although I guess I see what you mean if you're saying that they are completely covered by her hair. Strictly speaking, it wouldn't make much sense for her to have dog ear flaps in addition to regular human ears though. I still think somehow she has some sort of telekinetic control over her hair (or more things perhaps).

Wasn't it also the name of the Chinese restaurant Minmei worked at?

Ahh, I missed that. I was thinking she had some sort of telekinetic control over her hair or something.

I think it is WAY too early to tell how original the story is or not; just because the first episode comes across largely as as a tribute to DYRL and Macross 7 doesn't mean anything beyond that this series is very closely linked to both. But I don't see how you could tell how original the entire Macross F story is from one episode or not. I don't see anything to indicate this is like the countless Gundam retreads, for example, where it is just the same story re-told. -Elektrix

Makes sense actually. I do get more of a Minmei/Mylene vibe from Ranka, while I get a Sharon Apple vibe from Sheryl (granted, this is more just because so much of how she is presented in episode 1 is reminiscent of Sharon Apple; the door opening to the photographers and the way she looks out at them seemed straight out of the Macross Plus scene where Sharon Apple arrives, the Sharon Apple-esque aspects of her performance, etc.).

Well, not a Minmay Attack specifically, but I wonder what lasting impact Basara has had on the rest of the Macross universe, etc. I guess my main point is, is Sheryl here JUST for her tour, or did they also want her there to help in some way in the fight against the enemy? And of course, Sheryl isn't Basara - but I wonder if her presence is part of their strategy.

I've been thinking about a few points people have raised here, and it does seem to explain what is being set up here: 1) The "president" seems to be aware of the enemy and isn't surprised to hear they are "here". 2) Sheryl's visit to Macross Frontier does not seem to be a coincidence. 3) Sheryl might seemingly have some connection to Macross Zero, given the Nome name. 4) The enemy might specifically be attracted/drawn to Sheryl and seemingly Ranka as well (one a singer, the other we know wants to be a singer). Shades of protodeviln? It doesn't seem like a coincidence that the bug zeroes in on Ranka. The big thing I wonder is this: At this point in time, especially after Macross 7, are they more inclined to use music against enemies? Is this part of why Sheryl is here? They mention how it would be very bad if something happened to her, but are they speaking about more than the obvious (it wouldn't be good publicity for a celebrity to be hurt/killed on her tour)? -Elektrix

From watching the subbed version, I didn't get the impression it was necessarily anything specific about her - more that he was angry that she was getting special treatment to escape while the people who came to see her were left to fend for themselves (although I'm not completely sure what he expected her to do anyway; not to mention that it seems like she wanted to keep on singing anyway). He might just generally not like pop stars/celebrities though. -Elektrix

Indeed. It actually reminds me a lot of that flying bicycle plane thing that Isamu and Guld made in Macross Plus; the idea of something like this that makes the pilot closer to the plane seems sort of natural. Actually, to some degree it reminds me of some of the animation sequences of Guld in the YF-21 too, where it intercuts animation of him moving his arms and legs with the parts of the plane. It seems like these exo suits are sort of a natural extension of that - giving you maybe some of the benefits of a tighter connection with the plane without maybe the downsides of an actual mind-machine interface. -Elektrix

You're not the only one. -Elektrix

Very cool; I've been wanting an easy way to show one of my friends some of the battle scenes/etc. and the third part uploaded to youtube is at just the right spot.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page...5267&Page=1 and http://www.ussx.com/news/carmichaeltoracein2007.asp

Cool, thank you. Well, hopefully if it is 26 episodes, it's 26 solid episodes - I'll take that over a 50 episode series where half the eps are filler/etc. I wonder though, if it is successful, if we're more likely to see a follow up series sooner (that is, sooner than 12 years).

I hope these aren't dumb questions, but I don't think I've seen it mentioned on the Macross F info page or any of the stuff I've read so far: 1) Is there any word on episode count? 26 episodes? 48? 50? 2) Is there a specific air date for the premiere next year? I've seen people mention varying dates.

Why is it shocking or surprising that a galactic pop idol comes across as a prima donna? Wouldn't it be more shocking if she didn't?

I see Sheryl as more of a Sharon Apple analogue, if anything, and certainly by those standards, she seems pretty tame on the b*tchiness scale.

Hikaru was barely out of school at least in Macross, and Minmei was pretty clearly a schoolgirl as well - either way, why can't characters who are still in school be in Macross? Also, clearly Alto has some sort of training - it seems like the techniques used for those X-Gear exosuits are related to piloting Valkyries, and it seems safe to assume he must have trained on simulators/etc. (since he clearly states his dream is to fly real Valkyries, not the "toys", referring to the X Gears, which also I think emphasizes the idea that they must relate to training in them in some way). It doesn't seem any more hard to believe than Hikaru's ability to pilot a Valkyrie given that his only previous experience was in acrobatic flying - I'd argue that Alto probably has more specific Valkyrie knowledge. -Elektrix

Fair enough; but those are not issues that inherently exist by touching on philosophical issues or even ecological issues as you seem to be reffering to with "ecobabble". If these have happened in previous works, I would judge it as a weakness of the storytelling, not necessarily a sign that you can't touch on those issues and still have a well-done story (as it is, I have enjoyed Kawamori's stories that touch on these issues, so it might be a good example of something where the audience's judgement of the work does depend to some degree on their reaction to the content of it). You also used the word "preachy"; I wonder if the issue is more just that you disagree with some of the points raised, so label them as preachy and ecobabble. Is the issue that you disagree with him on ecological issues, for example, and thus find it too preachy, or do you agree with the points but just disagree with the particular storytelling methods used to convey them?

I'm not sure why going deep into the "philosophical stuff" and a good, solid story are mutually exclusive.