Alpha One vs Eagle One

[Sulendil Ang]

During a discussion in my recent poll, Favourite Variable Fighter Mk. II, Gubaba and me have a little "argument". He stated in his post that YF-19 had different name in both OVA and Movie version: it's Alpha One in OVA, but it's called Eagle One in Movie. I disagree at first, remembering nothing about seeing the name Eagle One in Movie version, and March's Macross Mecha Manual only served to prove my point further, as his entry of YF-19 clearly stated that its name is YF-19. (Of course, you won't see it now: the entry has being corrected to reflected both names) That is, until I found out the old mecha page of Macross Compendium that listed both names as the names of YF-19. I lost, and I have to send that Gubaba the Fire Bomber Fan(FBF) his pterosaur steak.

... Or is it? When I pointed it out on March's Macross Mecha Manual topic, he also thought that it was the callsign of Isamu, not a name of YF-19. The new Macross Compendium site also do no mention about the name(s) of YF-19, too. And without any visual proof or scripts of that particular scene, I also begin to doubt about the whole deal.

So here's a call of help to you guys: Can anyone please proof/disproof the whole myth of YF-19's name? If possible, I hope there's a sceneshoot or video that act as evidence to your point. Even a script of both version of Macross Plus is welcome. So help me guys, or I have to send that FBF his steak!

EDIT: BTW, if anyone ask why I don't go and see Macross Plus myself, the answer is simple: I don't have it, and my hard disk is almost full by this point, I don't have the desire to download it yet.

Edited July 24, 2008 by Sulendil Ang

[RedWolf]

Specifically which one? An episode of the OVA or the movie?

If it's an episode I'll just see if it is in Youtube.

[Sulendil Ang]

Red Wolf: Both, just in case. I want to see the scene where both names are used in their respective version (FYI, according to Gubaba, it's Alpha-1 in OVA, Eagle-1 in Movie), to makes comparison.

My theory is that Alpha One is the name of the plane itself, while Eagle One is the callsign of Isamu. That's what I'm trying to proof/disproof.

[RedWolf]

Red Wolf: Both, just in case. I want to see the scene where both names are used in their respective version (FYI, according to Gubaba, it's Alpha-1 in OVA, Eagle-1 in Movie), to makes comparison.

My theory is that Alpha One is the name of the plane itself, while Eagle One is the callsign of Isamu. That's what I'm trying to proof/disproof.

Exhibit A: Macross Plus OVA Episode 1

After a rouge Zentradi operation Isamu's commanding officer considers him to be transfered.

Isamu is a good pilot but not a team player. After all other places that Isamu can be transfered to Isamu he is considered persona non-grata. With exception of one place New Edwards Airforce Base, Eden. Isamu enthusiastically accepts his exile.

Upon arriving on Eden with his VF-11 he encounters the YF-21 on a test flight.

After the WTF wondering about why it didn't show on radar Isamu contacts New Edwards with the call sign Eagle 1-0-7.

[Fade Rathnik]

If I remember correctly his unit number in his squad was 107. I always thought Eagle was the squad's name, but it could be his callsign and unit number. Which could mean when he went to the YF-19 his unit number went to 1.

[jenius]

I always thought the planes were Alpha and Omega respectively.

[Master Dex]

I took screen shots from the Movie and OVA ep.2 respectively. They are not subbed by the same people from the looks so there could be discrepancy. However that is unlikely and the images seem to speak for themselves.

Image from Movie

Image from OVA ep.2

Seems pretty conclusive. Sorry Sulendil, looks like you need to start prepping that steak. For what it's worth, I thought you were right.

[Gubaba]

I probably should stay out of this thread, but I should state that my realization came from taking creating a movie script for iMacross IV by copying and pasting from the OVA srt file (where possible) and typing up the dialogue for the alternate scenes from the Manga Movie Edition subs.

In EVERY case where "Alpha One" came up in the OVA script, I had to change it to "Eagle One," and it got REALLY annoying after a while...a nuisance like that isn't something you forget easily...

(I also noticed that General Gomez is nowhere mentioned in the Movie Edition...even a throwaway line referring to him from the OVA was changed to "top brass" or something like that.)

[David Hingtgen]

12 minutes, 16 secs in of Part 2 of the OVA---they clearly say "Alpha One". (I'm going by audio, not script/sub) And every part thereafter. But when he's arriving on Eden in his VF-11, he says "Eagle". Same pilot, same DVD disc, different planes. And we KNOW the VF-11 is NOT named "Eagle".

I still say the YF-19 (and -21) have NO name at all, and that Eagle, Alpha, and Omega are all simply various callsigns of various planes/pilots in the anime, not the plane's name. (Otherwise, the VF-1 would be named "Skull" or "Vermillion")

"Skull Four" is no more a name for Alto's VF-25, than "Alpha One" is for Isamu's YF-19. Macross is pretty consistent for how radio callsigns are used, across series. And Red Five is of course Luke Skywalker.

[Gubaba]

12 minutes, 16 secs in of Part 2 of the OVA---they clearly say "Alpha One". (I'm going by audio, not script/sub) And every part thereafter. But when he's arriving on Eden in his VF-11, he says "Eagle". Same pilot, same DVD disc, different planes. And we KNOW the VF-11 is NOT named "Eagle".

I still say the YF-19 (and -21) have NO name at all, and that Eagle, Alpha, and Omega are all simply various callsigns of various planes/pilots in the anime, not the plane's name. (Otherwise, the VF-1 would be named "Skull" or "Vermillion")

"Skull Four" is no more a name for Alto's VF-25, than "Alpha One" is for Isamu's YF-19. Macross is pretty consistent for how radio callsigns are used, across series. And Red Five is of course Luke Skywalker.

I don't think anyone's arguing that "Alpha One" is the YF-19's name...at least, I'm not.

But if you prefer: Isamu's callsign in the movie is never Alpha One, always Eagle One; whereas in the OVA, he's Alpha One when he's in the YF-19.

[VFTF1]

The real answer is that there are TWO Isamus: Alpha one and Eagle One.

VFTF1

[Macross007]

The real answer is that there are TWO Isamus: Alpha one and Eagle One.

VFTF1

YEAH !!! TWO ISAMUS !!! Just imagine all the chaos and confusion on the battlefield can create TWO Isamus.

Edited July 26, 2008 by Macross007

[Kelsain]

But if you prefer: Isamu's callsign in the movie is never Alpha One, always Eagle One; whereas in the OVA, he's Alpha One when he's in the YF-19.

Perhaps it was changed to work better in the film. I've only seen the movie once, and the OVA a whole lot, so how often is Guld referred to as Omega-1? With the removal of their battle and Guld's WTF sabotage on Eden, the rivalry between the YF planes took a back seat to the emotional rivalry of the pilots. Of course, they still have the end battle; but even in the OVA, that's more of an emotional battle than hardware. So, perhaps they sought to reduce the Alpha-Omega connection and instead combined the callsigns into something symbolic of the character.

Throughout both productions, Isamu is a symbolically represented by the pterosaur. His little hand gesture, the pedal-plane, and his sky-writing. Switching him to Eagle only reinforces that in a format where you have less time to establish characters. If Guld is still Omega-1, you also remove the black and white distinction between them. Movie goers might just assume "Isamu is good b/c he's Alpha, Guld is bad b/c he's Omega." It blurs that distinction somewhat and allows the viewer to see the rivalry without jumping to conclusions too soon.

Edited July 26, 2008 by Kelsain