What Is...

[jwinges]

Definitely the recap episode #14. I loath recap episodes...especially in gundam.

[myk]

Just like anyone else I've always hated recap deals. I always tried to believe that it was the creative team's efforts at getting a slight vacation of sorts, since all they have to do is just cobble bits and pieces together...

[KingNor]

... to update new viewers who weren't watching in the first place, so who cares? 

351461[/snapback]

ugh.. i come across this line of thinking in my work all the time.

while i whole heartedly agree that recap episodes suck [edited for super graphic illigal content], any company who figures "they wern't with us from the start, so F them!" will never ever do well.

I also don't like this attitued from fans of stuff lilke shows. Not everyone is lucky enough to get on things from the start. i would assume MOST macross fans here probably didn't catch the first airing of the first episode of the first run of SDF macross. your statement is basicly telling them all to piss off.

a good show finds a way to update newbies through out the season with out beating it over the heads of consistent viewers.

recap episodes however are a unimaginative and BORING way to do it. even newbies to a show find them hard to watch most of the time because there is no depth and the editing is bad usually.

I'm not a huge fan of the Globals Report nor a fan of Virgin Road. To be honest i'm not terribly fond of any of the episodes after the Macross crashes back on earth.

From what i understand, when Misa and Hikaru see the Macross setting down, they realize humaniy managed to survive and things could rebuild, and this was originally the ending to the serise.

To me that is a much more elegant ending, and like someone elsse mentioned, it seemd like Hikaru was becoming a "sure of himself" guy at that point, he'd chosen maturity and was restarting himself. Watching the love triangle try to reassert itself again in later episodes was jarring to me.

so for me, the last couple episodes are my least favorite.

[Mr March]

... to update new viewers who weren't watching in the first place, so who cares? 

351461[/snapback]

ugh.. i come across this line of thinking in my work all the time.

*snip*

362745[/snapback]

Exposition is a part of any visual entertainment medium and I'm aware of such. Criticism of exposition alone does not preclude legitimate greivance for recap episodes in television, nor is it some slippery slope that leads to fandom elitism at my expense.

On the topic of anime, most of the series I watch last no more than a season. With so few episodes, it is a waste of precious time to commit an entire episode of material simply to inform viewers just tuning in. If you produce a quality product, the story will intrigue the viewer by default, despite a lack of story background. I don't even need to ask how many of us have begun to follow a TV series we know nothing about simply because of a quality episode we happened to catch flipping channels.

Constant brow beating for viewership and expositional pedantry to gain the lowest common denominator audience are the great offenders of quality entertainment in our society. Sadly, these factors are overlooked and the mentality to ever increase the simplicity of entertainment is only growing rather than abating.

However, I digress. The recap episode is a terrible concept that weakens entertainment value and excessive, repetitive expostition of all kinds is secondary to a quality product that will intrigue and retain the television audience tuning in mid-season. I do beleive that viewers will seek out more of a quality show whose background they lack as opposed to a weaker show utilizing recaps and exposition. Particularly in the modern market with such easy access to information about any subject via the internet, there really is no excuse.

Naturally, as a producer/marketer of such entertianment, it goes without saying that you would never insult the public by explaining this. But in a thread such as this, it helps to make my position clear.

Edited January 22, 2006 by Mr March

[jenius]

Let's not forget, in the case of Macross this was a children's cartoon. Children have precious short attention spans, a recap could be a big help to them every now-and-then. We shouldn't let our adult brains feel cheated by these episodes or even be annoyed by them. In the Tivo/DVD age they will soon become extinct anyway.

[Duke Togo]

Anything animated by Anime Friend.

[Opus]

I really like Global's report. It's action packed.

[bsu legato]

I find the worst thing about Anime Friend was not when they animated an entire episode, but rather when they'd sneak them into an otherwise normal episode just for a single scene. You'd be watching Macross and enjoying it, then suddenly..."Ahh God MY EYES!! WHY DO THEY BURN?!"

[Macross73]

I dont mind recap episodes they are good

for when your not up to date on events.

I hated the fact that it had to end. No

i didnt want to see a series of meaningless

battle after battle like other shows.

I just wanted more.

[Renato]

Forgive me if I missed something in this thread, but I don't think anyone mentioned that a possible use of the recap episodes was just to save time and money. Episodes like Goodbye Girl took a hell of a lot of work to put out and all the outsourcing in the world still couldn't help Studio Nue from missing deadline after deadline. They were already heavy on the repeats when they missed deadlines, so I think one way of meeting airdates while avoiding showing repeats is just to chop together a clip show and be done with it. Another thing is that VCRs hadn't taken off yet. Which makes the recap episodes in modern shows all the more inexcusable these days.

As for my least favourite show, other than the obvious Virgin Road (what with the dagger fight, and the Macross Wedding Cake, WTF), are Love Concert and that one where Minmay gets kidnapped by Kamjin.

Love Concert is the one where Kamjin's troops sneak on board the Macross through the Daedalus. The whole premise is ridiculous and the animation is dire. Plus there is the added melodrama of Hikaru IN HIS VALKYRIE walking down the street, the wind whistling around him as he contemplates the vision he just saw of Minmay kissing Kaifun. Macross was always schmaltzy but this was ridiculous.

And the second one, I can't even remember the name but it is the most pathetic episode for me. So much happens! It's so bad, it's good. Let's see, from memory: we open with Misa sitting on the VF1-S's shoulder as it's walking around!! Then later Kamjin grabs Minmay and Kaifun in the middle of a concert and contacts Global and the gang and it all feels like a Seinfeld episode. "Helloooo, Newman", "Hello, Jerry."

By the end of the show we have Kamjin riding a monster like a cowboy, Glaugs using their gun-arms like windmills to bash valks, and Gerwalks boxing with the best of 'em.

The final scene is inexplicably bizarre, as Misa chuckles like a mental patient while she watches SOMEBODY who wears the same clothes as Minmay run after Hikaru's valk.

[ghostryder]

And the second one, I can't even remember the name but it is the most pathetic episode for me.  So much happens!  It's so bad, it's good.  Let's see, from memory: we open with Misa sitting on the VF1-S's shoulder as it's walking around!!  Then later Kamjin grabs Minmay and Kaifun in the middle of a concert and contacts Global and the gang and it all feels like a Seinfeld episode.  "Helloooo, Newman", "Hello, Jerry."

By the end of the show we have Kamjin riding a monster like a cowboy, Glaugs using their gun-arms like windmills to bash valks, and Gerwalks boxing with the best of 'em.

The final scene is inexplicably bizarre, as Misa chuckles like a mental patient while she watches SOMEBODY who wears the same clothes as Minmay run after Hikaru's valk.

363899[/snapback]

Frackin' "Broken Heart." That was a bad one. But it did give us Kamjin's first kiss and the infamous Animefriend VF-1R very-tech . I never did understand Misa's mental episode at the end. WTF??

Edited January 25, 2006 by ghostryder

[jenius]

Ooh, isn't that also the episode that features a full-sized Zent lighting his cigar off a valk's gun? The writing is definitely more brilliant in some episodes than others....

[Renato]

My God, can't believe I forgot all that stuff. Especially the "VF-1R". All the more reason to have never animated it.

It also showed us that Hikaru keeps a mini Minmay doll hanging in his cockpit, like a rear-view mirror mascot. Where the hell is it hanging from??

For some reason, the thing I still cannot get my mind around is Misa sitting on the Valk's shoulder. Under what possible circumstance would that ever be plausible?!

I am sorry, but this thing was doomed from day one, the scripting and storyboarding stage. I mean, even if you blame all the outside studios for the crappy animation you still have idiots doing the storyboards.

Edit:

Anyway, referring to my previous post, here are some pics from Love Concert, that "Masturpiece".

Edited January 25, 2006 by Renato

[jenius]

Okay, my memory is vague here, but doesn't it also seem like Misa warps from the bridge of the SDF-1 onto the Valk's shoulder also? Maybe I was just really confused as to how she ever got on the shoulder in the first place and that's tainting my memory though. Maybe it was all just a mistake on the animators part. They didn't understand that Misa was supposed to be instructing from the bridge so they put her oh the valk shoulder.

[Renato]

Okay, my memory is vague here, but doesn't it also seem like Misa warps from the bridge of the SDF-1 onto the Valk's shoulder also? 

363942[/snapback]

Yeah, I think so! Super Dimension Warpess Misa.

[Mechamaniac]

You guys have also forgotten to mention that the Zentradi apparently (and conveniently) brought along several Zentradi sized objects with them (in their sparse battlepods) when they attacked the concert hall.

Zentradi forks and plates - To make the makeshift cell.

Zentradi sized bottles of booze and glasses

Zentradi sized chicken (or turkey) legs.

I didn't know there were Zentradi chickens...

[MicronianDevil]

Blue Wind. The animation and characters looked so horrible! I use to skip that one when I had the Animeigo DVDs.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

By the end of the show we have Kamjin riding a monster like a cowboy, Glaugs using their gun-arms like windmills to bash valks, and Gerwalks boxing with the best of 'em.

hehehe that is so funny. But I liked that monster being used as a horse. It reinforces the idea that supplies are short and reminds me of the post apoc world having to be a bit lawless and wild. The battroids were short on ammo so they had to fight with thier body.

The zentradi themselves might not know how to repair stuff that is broken so thier only way is to steal stuff like a bandit and run off with the goodies or to fight for it. The way they animated the gun arms is so funny!

The least they could have done was shown the (stolen?) spartan fighting with the baton. I really liked the hand-to-hand fight Britai had with hikaru vf. More close combat is always good. Especially if it gives a good excuse to show battle damaged stuff. (ie kamjin punching his fist in the chest of the valk in DYRL and wrecking the head turret)

Edited January 31, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[SpacyAce2012]

Least favorite episode was "Global Report". I dislike recaps for the most part, but I didn't completely hate the episode. This is due to the fact that I thought it was nice to see an episode focus on Bruno Global for a change.

They had to do something for a "filler" episode when they got their extension for the series. Recaps are the easiest and quickest to cook up.

I tend to disagree with those who feel that the episodes after "Love Drifts Away" sucks. I feel that these later episodes tended to be superior in terms of animation and it was good to see the "love triangle" heat up.

[VF-18S Hornet]

Blue Wind. The animation and characters looked so horrible! I use to skip that one when I had the Animeigo DVDs.

364488[/snapback]

And don't forget the scene of the Macross firing the Main Gun in cruiser mode I thought it couldn't do that? That was why the transformation became nessesary. That was a terriblly animated episode. Animefriend should have impaled for the horrible job they did. Glad they weren't put in charge of doing DYRL.

[SpacyAce2012]

Blue Wind. The animation and characters looked so horrible! I use to skip that one when I had the Animeigo DVDs.

364488[/snapback]

And don't forget the scene of the Macross firing the Main Gun in cruiser mode I thought it couldn't do that? That was why the transformation became nessesary. That was a terriblly animated episode. Animefriend should have impaled for the horrible job they did. Glad they weren't put in charge of doing DYRL.

369945[/snapback]

I agree that Animefriend did a fairly shoddy job in their "contribution" to the series. I suppose budget considerations mandated them being bought in on the project.

Edited February 14, 2006 by SpacyAce2012

[JB0]

You guys have also forgotten to mention that the Zentradi apparently (and conveniently) brought along several Zentradi sized objects with them (in their sparse battlepods) when they attacked the concert hall.

Zentradi forks and plates - To make the makeshift cell.

Zentradi sized bottles of booze and glasses

Zentradi sized chicken (or turkey) legs.

I didn't know there were Zentradi chickens...

364392[/snapback]

I had assumed most of those were created for non-miclone'd zentradi post-war, as they needed to eat too.

Except the chickens. I've got no idea what's up with that.

Blue Wind. The animation and characters looked so horrible! I use to skip that one when I had the Animeigo DVDs.

364488[/snapback]

And don't forget the scene of the Macross firing the Main Gun in cruiser mode I thought it couldn't do that? That was why the transformation became nessesary. That was a terriblly animated episode. Animefriend should have impaled for the horrible job they did. Glad they weren't put in charge of doing DYRL.

369945[/snapback]

I could be wrong, but I think it was a hybrid image. I remember it as being in attacker mode, but oriented in the frame so it was "lying down", and with the "arms" in cruiser position.

[evirus]

i havent seen the real macross series, dang RT, if theres an episode where its just the characters sitting around recounting the past episodes.... that will be the one, I HATE IT WHEN SHOWS DO THAT

[Jemstone]

I have some theories that may answer some questions.

My God, can't believe I forgot all that stuff.  Especially the "VF-1R".  All the more reason to have never animated it.

It also showed us that Hikaru keeps a mini Minmay doll hanging in his cockpit, like a rear-view mirror mascot.  Where the hell is it hanging from??

I'm guessing super glue but it's there for that one scene and is never seen again in his cockpit.

For some reason, the thing I still cannot get my mind around is Misa sitting on the Valk's shoulder.  Under what possible circumstance would that ever be plausible?!

Serious bad animation error just like the VF-IR. The chicken they ate his a mystery unless Zents travel with ptesaur farms on their ships....

Misa, I always thought was smiling at the end because of Minmay's little drama scene from being seperated from Hikaru. I know if she was my rival, I'd laugh at Minmay moping on the ground too.

Edited February 22, 2006 by Jemstone

[Panon]

Of the original, probably Paradise Lost (because while it's fairly important, it's not very eventful, and a little boring) or Broken Heart (because Kamjin kidnapping Minmay really isn't an interesting plot).

Worse still probably would have to go to Macross 7's "Fleet of the Strongest Women" and the second episode of Dynamite 7.

FOTSW because it's flat out THE worst episode of Macross I've ever seen. An abortion on every level, and dragging DYRL crap into which has no place in the canon timeline into M7 was most unwelcome. Thankfully it's just a non-canon bonus episode of no consequence.

Second episode of D7 partly because it's uneventful and boring episode, but mainly because of the atrocious, completely out of place and inappropriate Mylene near-rape subplot. Whichever bonehead writer though that was a good idea should have been fired.

...and I like Macross 7, so those two episodes being so bad really bugs me.

I don't see Global's Report or Phantasm as being poor episodes because I don't have the silly knee-jerk disliking of recap/clip episodes some people seem to have. GR was a rather well done recap, and Phantasm is probably one of the more inventive use of a clipshow I've seen, one that still managed to actually have some importance despite having no new animation in it.

[Hikuro]

Second episode of D7 partly because it's uneventful and boring episode, but mainly because of the atrocious, completely out of place and inappropriate Mylene near-rape subplot. Whichever bonehead writer though that was a good idea should have been fired.

...and I like Macross 7, so those two episodes being so bad really bugs me

I saw the second episode of D7 as showing the ugly side of the celeb world and music, not everyone is buddy buddy, remember, Mylene was almost raped by Bobby in the series until the Vampires came and sucked out his Spiritia.

[SpacyAce2012]

Second episode of D7 partly because it's uneventful and boring episode, but mainly because of the atrocious, completely out of place and inappropriate Mylene near-rape subplot. Whichever bonehead writer though that was a good idea should have been fired.

...and I like Macross 7, so those two episodes being so bad really bugs me

I saw the second episode of D7 as showing the ugly side of the celeb world and music, not everyone is buddy buddy, remember, Mylene was almost raped by Bobby in the series until the Vampires came and sucked out his Spiritia.

372669[/snapback]

Thing is, that attempt at "rape" was only implied and, thank God, didn't get more explicit than that. On the other hand, they took it further (and too far,IMO) in Macross 7 Dynamite.