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Macross Frontier Movie 2 thread - Now available on Blu-ray/DVD


Tochiro

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Saw the subbed version of the second this evening while rewatching the first one yesterday. In one word: excellent. The movie(s) present us with an alternate take on the events of the TV-series much like DYRL. Difference this time is that the movie also improves the main storyline. In my opinion the plot of the movie, while similar, makes a more sense then the TV-series and much less time is wasted on filler. Also the characters have been significantly altered in a positive way. Alto is really likable now, which I previously considered impossible, Sheryl more cmplex, vulnerable and cute, the whiny side of Ranka was removed and she's a lot less clueless.

Some nifty little changes in the side cast, Grace not going Palpetine route and the shota (keep forgetting his name) was actually usefull. Captain Wilder and the bridge crew got a bit more screen time, would have been a waste not to given the top voice actors. Ozma continues being the man of the outfit.

Action was excellent. The Quarter novel approach to atmospheric re-entry really deserves to be called epic.

Fortunately it's not deadly serious. Plenty of comedic scenes and shout outs. It keeps events from getting too dark and helps the transition to phases where reality has to take a back seat to realism. Sometimes it takes further then Macross 7 ever did.

I agree about doing the characters much better. Sheryl was always my favourite MacF character, but the movie did her even better.

Though I do wish that they hadn't slashed Cathy's role to the extended cameo that she had in the movies.

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So I finally got mine in the mail today after waiting impatiently for it. I could understand some of the finer dialogue from my rudimentary ability to understand Japanese. Anyways, who else is on the same page when it comes to saying that this is what Frontier should have always been? Also, who else thinks the YF-19 and the transmission from it was the ultimate fan service ever in the history of Macross? I sure do.

Guess we all know what happened to the YF-19 and Isamu, hehe.

I let out a w00t in glee, also, the beginning parts of the movie with all the fancy poppy animation is a delight to toddlers who then fall asleep and stay asleep during the high pitched musical notes and loud explosions that a home theater system can provide. I really dug the 5.1 DTS Master Audio track and it looks amazing on a 55" LED. I can only imagine what it would look like on a 60-70" set.

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Have you upgraded your codecs for 10bit?

Ok, so I downloaded the commie [not 1080p] subbed version, but for some reason, I am only getting audio? It downloaded as an .mka file, and with VLC player, I only seem to be getting audio :(

Have you upgraded your codecs for 10bit?

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I agree about doing the characters much better. Sheryl was always my favourite MacF character, but the movie did her even better.

Though I do wish that they hadn't slashed Cathy's role to the extended cameo that she had in the movies.

Yeah, they sure did tone her role down.

It was all very Macross Zero-esque besides the ending which was quite fitting.  Besides Isamu showing up, it would have been awesome if Basara showed up as well with his own song.  The movie did keep me guessing a bit seeing how the trailers before its release spelled doom on the major players, although I wished that Klan died like Nora with or sans Michel. It was a bit over the top in a few parts although it served well as some have noted, quite epic when the Quarter air-surfed.

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Saw the subbed version of the second this evening while rewatching the first one yesterday. In one word: excellent. The movie(s) present us with an alternate take on the events of the TV-series much like DYRL. Difference this time is that the movie also improves the main storyline. In my opinion the plot of the movie, while similar, makes a more sense then the TV-series and much less time is wasted on filler. Also the characters have been significantly altered in a positive way. Alto is really likable now, which I previously considered impossible, Sheryl more cmplex, vulnerable and cute, the whiny side of Ranka was removed and she's a lot less clueless.

Some nifty little changes in the side cast, Grace not going Palpetine route and the shota (keep forgetting his name) was actually usefull. Captain Wilder and the bridge crew got a bit more screen time, would have been a waste not to given the top voice actors. Ozma continues being the man of the outfit.

Action was excellent. The Quarter novel approach to atmospheric re-entry really deserves to be called epic.

Fortunately it's not deadly serious. Plenty of comedic scenes and shout outs. It keeps events from getting too dark and helps the transition to phases where reality has to take a back seat to realism. Sometimes it takes further then Macross 7 ever did.

Yeah that sky surfing move was the coolest thing I ever saw a ship do. The captain was a genius.

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We'll keep the spoiler policy up until tomorrow (October 29) 9AM PST/12PM EST. Many people were waiting for a subbed version to appear. Now that one has, this should hopefully give people enough time to download it and watch it.

After this time, if you don't want to be spoiled, do not be reading or posting in this thread.

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So is it okay to talk about the film without using the spoiler tag?

Not everyone watches a subbed file the day it comes out. I know I won't be watching it anytime soon since I want to see it on the family plasma instead of the cheap laptop. I also need to watch the first one actually subbed. ^_^ There's already plenty of mild spoilers floating around here though, so it's fast becoming an avoidable thread.

Ok, so I downloaded the commie [not 1080p] subbed version, but for some reason, I am only getting audio? It downloaded as an .mka file, and with VLC player, I only seem to be getting audio :(

MKA is an audio file. You downloaded the alternate lossless audio stream. I take it is says "FLAC"? If you grabbed it from their website it's JUST the audio.

Edited by Mercurial Morpheus
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Not everyone watches a subbed file the day it comes out. I know I won't be watching it anytime soon since I want to see it on the family plasma instead of the cheap laptop. I also need to watch the first one actually subbed. ^_^ There's already plenty of mild spoilers floating around here though, so it's fast becoming an avoidable thread.

MKA is an audio file. You downloaded the alternate lossless audio stream. I take it is says "FLAC"? If you grabbed it from their website it's JUST the audio.

We'll keep the spoiler policy up until tomorrow (October 29) 9AM PST/12PM EST. Many people were waiting for a subbed version to appear. Now that one has, this should hopefully give people enough time to download it and watch it.

After this time, if you don't want to be spoiled, do not be reading or posting in this thread.

Alright, I can hold on.

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Woke up this morning after watching, and yet I still have this nice buzz.

It really helps to see it again, to catch the little details that I missed on the first viewing. Yeah, again I can't say much but I'm more happier with the conclusion, now that I finally understood.

We'll keep the spoiler policy up until tomorrow (October 29) 9AM PST/12PM EST. Many people were waiting for a subbed version to appear. Now that one has, this should hopefully give people enough time to download it and watch it.

After this time, if you don't want to be spoiled, do not be reading or posting in this thread.

Roger that! :)

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I just saw it (after fixing that darn .mka issue) and WOW, I agree with everyone, what an amazing conclusion to what has been arguably the greatest revitalization of macross since the original series aired. So many battles, amazing graphics, great plot, good pacing, unseen and comical throwbacks to previous series, what else is there to say?!!

I agree with some of the others here though. I think that it should have been some VF-25F armor variant in the final battle rather than the sham that is the YF-29. That fighter did nothing for me past simply *being* there to sell toys.

Has anyone confirmed whether Brera is dead or not? It sure looks like he was, considering there was an explosion in the vicinity of his cockpit and his *final* words, but can never be too sure about these things. Either that, or he is chilling with Alto, wherever they happened to go at the end. And on that note, does anyone think that there will be some random future Macross sequel that involves Alto, (maybe Brera), Shin, and Sara? Cuz they all took it on themselves to dissappear randomly into the stars lol :p .

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And on that note, does anyone think that there will be some random future Macross sequel that involves Alto, (maybe Brera), Shin, and Sara? Cuz they all took it on themselves to dissappear randomly into the stars lol :p .

Nope. Like the previous sequels, they'll be referenced in the vaguest possible way. That's the story and I'm sticking to it :p

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I agree with some of the others here though. I think that it should have been some VF-25F armor variant in the final battle rather than the sham that is the YF-29. That fighter did nothing for me past simply *being* there to sell toys.

Interestingly, if you look at that battle, everyone is using different armor packs/planes.

Alto: YF-29

Michel: VF-25 with Tornado Pack

Luca: VF-25 with FAST Packs

Ozma: VF-25 with Armored Pack

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Has anyone confirmed whether Brera is dead or not? It sure looks like he was, considering there was an explosion in the vicinity of his cockpit and his *final* words, but can never be too sure about these things. Either that, or he is chilling with Alto, wherever they happened to go at the end. And on that note, does anyone think that there will be some random future Macross sequel that involves Alto, (maybe Brera), Shin, and Sara? Cuz they all took it on themselves to dissappear randomly into the stars lol :p .

I'd say that the ending strongly implied Alto's return.

Edited by Solidus Snake
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What is the difference between these two? How are these subs are they any good?

One's the 1080p 5.1 AAC fansub, the other an alternate quality audio file for said sub.

As for quality, I mostly know Commie for crunchyroll stuff, so I'm not sure how their translations are. It just came out too, so I doubt anyone's gone over it with a finetoothed comb. We'll get plenty more subs to choose from, I'm sure.

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What is the difference between these two? How are these subs are they any good?

If you just want the movie + subs, click on the 1st link. If you want a 5.1 surround sound, lossless audio track, click on the 2nd link and then mux it, by yourself, into the 1st link.

As for quality, I mostly know Commie for crunchyroll stuff, so I'm not sure how their translations are. It just came out too, so I doubt anyone's gone over it with a finetoothed comb. We'll get plenty more subs to choose from, I'm sure.

Random spot checking shows me they missed a few lines in there and missed Grace's actual surname.

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Hi guys! Been gone for a while, but figured that now that the second movie was out it would be a great time to come back. I'll see if I can do some more thoughts tomorrow once the spoiler embargo is gone.

Quick thoughts though.

This movie is truly almost equal parts awesome and awful, and almost none of it is in between.

Character work is often amazing, Alto, Ranka and Sheryl build on the great work of the first film, and Grace has some added depth (though she loses a lot of villain points.)

The overall plot is awful, I mean Macross II awful. Maybe even worse. Dramatic timing is nonexistent.

At least the final battle is the best in series history. Wait no, it was disappointing as all hell save for one amazing cameo.

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I noticed that too--I don't think they ever actually said "O'Connor" despite being transcribed as such every time.

Yea, just noticed that. Btw, is her name spelled Godunuwa or Godunova? I've seen both, but mostly the former.

グレイス・ゴドゥヌワ

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All in all now that I've seen it I'm really impressed with the movies. They're different enough to have their own personality from the TV show, and while they're not as stunning a visual upgrade over the TV show as DYRL was over SDFM, Frontier TV needed less upgrading, and beyond that having two movies meant the plot and character development didn't have to suffer as much as for DYRL. This isn't a "never watching the TV series again" sort of movie set, but it had a lot of strengths and brought a lot new to the story.

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Hi guys! Been gone for a while, but figured that now that the second movie was out it would be a great time to come back. I'll see if I can do some more thoughts tomorrow once the spoiler embargo is gone.

Quick thoughts though.

This movie is truly almost equal parts awesome and awful, and almost none of it is in between.

Character work is often amazing, Alto, Ranka and Sheryl build on the great work of the first film, and Grace has some added depth (though she loses a lot of villain points.)

The overall plot is awful, I mean Macross II awful. Maybe even worse. Dramatic timing is nonexistent.

At least the final battle is the best in series history. Wait no, it was disappointing as all hell save for one amazing cameo.

So it's 50/50 or a 5/10. I'll not be surprised if you kept on your rose-tinted lenses while saying DYRL was one true masterpiece of the whole franchise.

Edited by soul.assassin
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I've been enjoying my copy of the Blu-ray that arrived last week. Having a fansub to go along with the retail copy will make it more than a visual experience! I was very impressed with the packaging. I do not import much in the way of media or toys at the moment, so this was a treat. I've been limiting myself to Japanese and U.K. imports that I can't pass up. Macross is just one of those things.

Speaking of subs...

I noticed that the sweep to Hi10p came with the fall season. I was a little confounded by the whole thing myself, but I found a tutorial that explains how to set up Media Player Classic - Home Cinema with the necessary codecs. Here is the link, in case anyone needs help like I did:

http://haruhichan.com/wpblog/?p=205

David

Thanks for linking to this, I was having issues watching the new 10 bit 1080 stuff =)

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So I only have 2.0 audio, is it a bad idea to choose one with 5.1?

The 1080p version already has 5.1 audio, but in AAC. If you want 5.1 FLAC, that's what that .mka file is for.

If you're lazy, there's a torrent with the 5.1 FLAC audio track already mux'd in that you can download. If you have the Blu-ray/DVD, I'd pass and just grab the non-FLAC 1080p or the 720p copy.

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OT: Claiming for quality reasons, most of them stepped up to 10-bit encoding (Personally, I find it confounding that I had to deal with the rigmarole of codecs, players, settings, system requirements and whatnot, like trying to overhaul a car on my own, when I simply wanted to watch a little anime movie on my free time).

Ontopic: Some think the YF-29 exists primarily for marketing, but then Ozma told us what that bird could really do.

He said it: with a highly-skilled pilot on the controls, it's built to dance with the Vajra on equal footing, and it clearly shows, even with a full-on orbital blockade and insanely thick amount of flack.

And damn :lol: The Vajra couldn't get a clear shot on him!

Edited by soul.assassin
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The 1080p version already has 5.1 audio, but in AAC. If you want 5.1 FLAC, that's what that .mka file is for.

If you're lazy, there's a torrent with the 5.1 FLAC audio track already mux'd in that you can download. If you have the Blu-ray/DVD, I'd pass and just grab the non-FLAC 1080p or the 720p copy.

No, what I mean is that I don't have 5.1 system. If I play 5.1 with 2.0 system will the sound quality compromised? Like muffed sound or lack of bass.

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Okay, to answer an earlier comment, there was a good handful of recycled CGI combat footage, but it was hard to catch them all the first time I viewed the movie. They're there, but it wasn't too bad.

Obviously, I have a lot to say about this movie, but it's 3-effin'-30 in the morning where I'm at and I want to get some sleep. Had myself a busy evening, but managed to get two views in. One full-length, the second a quick skimming of the best parts. I'll probably sit down tomorrow and scan through the movie once more while writing my overall impressions here.

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So it's 50/50 or a 5/10. I'll not be surprised if you kept on your rose-tinted lenses while saying DYRL was one true masterpiece of the whole franchise.

?

Nah, SDFM is probably the best the series has ever done, though Mac+ and at times MacF have come close. DYRL, well, I have come to appreciate over time. It's story was a bit of a mess as well, though the updated visuals and it's eventual movie within a movie status have helped me appreciate it. Great direction, and the final battle was epic as all hell. Plus, y'know, gorgeous.

As for Wings, yeah, I think I might kick it to 6/10 but it wasn't as good as the False Diva. If I rated it on fan service, I think it would have gotten a 9/10.

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One thing's for sure: this flick ain't no Pearl Harbor. :lol:

Meaning to say, I'm not a cineaste expecting everything perfect and almost close to a Miyazaki, but just a mere guy who likes to watch for the sake of entertainment, being pulled in by the lapels and then strapped into the seat, before blasting off to the blue yonder.

The thing that really works for the movie, I believe (and Xard had experienced first-hand at watching SnT in a real Japanese cinema), is emotional participation more than narrative craftsmanship or cinematographic perfection: you laugh, you cry, you're boiling mad at Leon, or you yell at Alto to blow those SOBs out of the sky, and sometimes you feel your heart pounding. You want a great closure to tie up all loose ends, you want to see some mistakes addressed and rectified, and a sweeping grand finale to top something like Independence Day or Armageddon.

This film has it all, even if by necessity had to be packed in almost two hours instead of three.

Now if you took away the emotional underpinnings that made this film effective, a cineaste would've been horrified to see it's all been jammed and cut up and then mashed in, wondering what happened between the gaps, wondering where the heck are the details (unless one has to pick up the light novel adaptations which gives more detail and information).

Me, while watching I'd rather fill in the empty blanks with the experience I had with the MF TV series, and then try to connect the dots.

Edited by soul.assassin
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Still excited after watching the film late last night. Now with a bit less irish coffee in me I can say that while not perfect, it was great. I loved the battles, the concerts (the animation and CGI in the concerts was amazing) and I agree with those who say that the main characters were more likeable. I always liked Sheryl and Ranka, but Alto had never really appealed to me as a character. In this film he does. He's more decisive, more direct and takes more risks than before. It's a shame that some other characters had so little screen time, but I guess it couldn't be avoided in a 2 hour movie.

One thing I ask myself though, is how this film will be received by people who have not seen Macross stuff previously. I mean some of the stuff that had me fistpumping

like Isamu showing up for a second, must be somewhat meh if you've just watched Frontier. Another example of this would be the concert in Alcatraz. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the SMS' crew dressed up and playing like Fire Bomber, did that do anything for the viewing experience of Macross newbies?

In any case, I suppose that most of the people who will watch this movie are fans anyway.

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