The Newbie and Short Questions thread

[sketchley]

Only canonical ones are the A(?), F, G, S, and RVF-25.

Macross Chronicle indicates the VF-25A appears in both the TV series and movies. The YF-25 is also appears in the movies.

[Scream Man]

Im sure this has been answered before but:

In Macross Plus when Isamu and Guld fight in the training ground in Episode 2, Guld Shoots Isamu wounding him. From what I understand he loaded Isamus gunpod with real bullets, and then picks it up somehow and fires it.

i have several questions:

1 - Why Isamus Gunpod? Or am I misunderstanding and it was Gulds?

2 - If it WAS Isamu's, wasn't Isamu out of ammo? He says something to that effect then flips the pod around to use as a club

3 - When it HAD Ammo, its clearly firing paintballs

4 - Guld uses the Battroids right arm... which has been destroyed earlier... hadn't it?

[Seto Kaiba]

From what I understand he loaded Isamus gunpod with real bullets, and then picks it up somehow and fires it.

IIRC, he hacked the ammo-loading system to have it put live rounds into one of Isamu's magazines... to sabotage the test and/or Isamu's standing with the program, since they could then point the finger at Shinsei's Jan Neumann, who's shown to be a hacker of respectable skill.

i have several questions:

1 - Why Isamus Gunpod? Or am I misunderstanding and it was Gulds?

2 - If it WAS Isamu's, wasn't Isamu out of ammo? He says something to that effect then flips the pod around to use as a club

3 - When it HAD Ammo, its clearly firing paintballs

4 - Guld uses the Battroids right arm... which has been destroyed earlier... hadn't it?

1. To frame Isamu for trying to sabotage the project... and get him kicked off said project.

2. The YF-19/VF-19's got three magazines for its gunpod at the best of times... one in the gun itself, and then two more carried behind its antiprojectile shield.

3. One or more of the magazines may have contained the standard test load.

4. Now that I don't recall if it was or not.

[Scream Man]

1. To frame Isamu for trying to sabotage the project... and get him kicked off said project.

2. The YF-19/VF-19's got three magazines for its gunpod at the best of times... one in the gun itself, and then two more carried behind its antiprojectile shield.

3. One or more of the magazines may have contained the standard test load.

4. Now that I don't recall if it was or not.

1 - OK, that makes sense, but...

2 - ...not in the Gunpod. Isamu runs out of Ammo, flips it into a club, and then forces it against the 21's arm. He punches the 21 into a building and starts curb stomping him. He never replaces the magazine

3 - maybe, but it was never loaded.

4 - Upon rewatch it definitely is.

And if Gulds plan is to get Isamu (Or Yuan) kicked out, it was a risky move. If Isamu had fired at him and killed him (Not out of the realm of possibility) then that would have been a costly error.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Scream Man

[VF5SS]

I think the idea is that the gun pod had both paint rounds and live rounds loaded into it so when he ran out of one, it would switch to the other. When he thought he was out of ammo there might have just been a gap of empty slots in the belt feed.

Granted the plan is still really convoluted and stupid which is probably why they reworked the accident in the movie edition.

[Renato]

Yeah, that whole sequence makes absolutely no sense and I'm glad they removed it for the movie. It's best not to rack you brains over it.

At least the animation in that scene is nice, though.

[Scream Man]

OK, so it isn't just me then, good. I've never understood it at all really.

[Mr March]

Regarding the Macross Plus battle sequence and Scream Man's point 4, I think too much is being assumed and/or forgotten about what actually happens in that sequence. We never see the YF-21 actually grasp and fire the GU-15 gun pod. We also never see if the arm that's holding the GU-15 gun pod is still attached to the YF-21. So we can't be sure it WASN'T the left arm of the YF-21 that ultimately used the gun pod. Also, if you look closely at the sequence just before the final bout of fighting you'll note when the YF-21's right arm is ripped off it remains gripped to the GU-15 gun pod. That's why the dismembered arm is still gripping the gun when Guld notices it on the ground.

IMO, the most nonsensical part of that sequence is not the hand/arm or the loadout but how the GU-15 Gun Pod actually ended up anywhere near the Battroids when the YF-21 was felled by the YF-19. After the gun pod falls, the two battroids clearly move dozens of meters away from the area of the "arm wrestle" battle (possibly as much as half a block away). So unless the GU-15 gun pod and the YF-21's death grip bounced like a giant rubber ball, it's hard to see how both ended up anywhere near Guld's YF-21

Edited April 4, 2014 by Mr March

[DuelGundam2099]

I don't suppose anyone could translate a little bit of the mechanics in this picture. I know the one at the bottom is Hound Type Vajra, all I'm looking for is the names of the two vajra ships above it.

[Seto Kaiba]

I don't suppose anyone could translate a little bit of the mechanics in this picture. I know the one at the bottom is Hound Type Vajra, all I'm looking for is the names of the two vajra ships above it.

Sure thing... the khaki one is a "Vajra Destroyer" (バジュラ駆逐艦), the purple one is a "Vajra Battleship" (バジュラ戦艦). Edited April 6, 2014 by Seto Kaiba

[DuelGundam2099]

Ah, thank you! Apparently I got those two mixed up when looking up info on Super Robot Wars UX.

[sketchley]

I don't suppose anyone could translate a little bit of the mechanics in this picture. I know the one at the bottom is Hound Type Vajra, all I'm looking for is the names of the two vajra ships above it.

Pretty sure I've translated that page...

yup, right here: http://sketchleytranslation.host-ed.me/OTnewtype/FalseDivaFactFile.php#29

Note: the Newtype magazine insert was published either before the Hound name was decided, or officially revealed (if memory serves, it wasn't until the 2nd movie that a name for it was revealed).

Poke around my translations site. You might find other pages that you were curious about, already translated.

http://sketchleytranslation.host-ed.me/

Edited April 7, 2014 by sketchley

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

i got a noob question. i watched the plus ova's last weekend to get ready for the yf-19 being delivered. one part of the ova, Myung meets Kate and they talk about guess who Kate got married to out of isamu , guld and morgan.

Myung has a flashback where there's a voice of a little girl crying, presumable Myung's, and little boy's voices of isamu and guld swearing to protect her no matter what. the scene pictured three trails of smoke in the air. Was that pictured scene from past when she was a child? did her parents ditch her and leave for the skies? or was that a scene from seven years ago when isamu ditched her and the children's voices remind her that their promise was broken?

Edited April 7, 2014 by davidwhangchoi

[Scream Man]

Ive always assumed it was from the incident discussed later where Guld shot the snake or whatever in the swamp. When isamu and Myung are out of the hospital and talking.

[DuelGundam2099]

Note: the Newtype magazine insert was published either before the Hound name was decided, or officially revealed (if memory serves, it wasn't until the 2nd movie that a name for it was revealed).

I think it was one of those Frontier games from the PSP (Triangular maybe?). Thank you too, Sketchley.

[Saruta]

Has the Macross FB7 movie been placed on the timeline in the Frontier series and/or movie continuity? I'm having trouble fitting the ending (Sheryl and Ranka doing a Fire Bomber tribute concert) into either, as Sheryl seems to be ill by the time Ranka has her first public concert?

[Gubaba]

Has the Macross FB7 movie been placed on the timeline in the Frontier series and/or movie continuity? I'm having trouble fitting the ending (Sheryl and Ranka doing a Fire Bomber tribute concert) into either, as Sheryl seems to be ill by the time Ranka has her first public concert?

No, it doesn't make any sense. Note also that Ranka in the movie is still wearing the uniform from the elite girls' school that she was expelled from after the Miss Macross contest.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Gubaba

[Tochiro]

Everyone knows that's because FB7 ISNT a movie ....it's a ROCKSHOW!

(Straight outta the directors own mouth)

[Saruta]

OK, makes sense. So Luca Angeloni having something to do with an electronic antiquity shop is not canon either then?

And a different question. How fanservice-y is Macross 7? After watching FB7, I thought that perhaps 7 might be the Macross sequel I could show to my nearly-9 year old son. Sivil's look is not a problem, but I need to know how much explicitly "young-adult" material is there - you know, like that panty chase and "mine bring people hopes and dreams" in Frontier.

(FB7 itself is way too fast-paced for him to decode; I would not be able to decode it myself if not for quite some wiki-reading re 7).

[VF5SS]

Macross 7 is pretty acceptable for children bar a handful of scenes with nudity. Sivil does get her clothes ripped off at one point and spends some time floating in a glowing ball while naked in the fetal position though for a few episodes.

Yeah that happens.

[VF-15 Banshee]

There is some fanservice. Basara sort of gives Sivil a space orgasm with his song one time. Sivil posses Lex and makes her unzip her jumpsuit and for some odd reason she's not wearing a bra. Naked Sivil curled up in a ball a few times. A few very fanservicey shots of Mylene in the ED. Nothing quite as overt as the panty chase or Sheryl and Grace fondling themselves but its still there.

By the same token, never underestimate the innocence of children. I saw Back to the Future at that age and it wasn't until years later that I realized all the subtleties to Marty's mom "having the hots" for him.

[sketchley]

By the same token, never underestimate the innocence of children. I saw Back to the Future at that age and it wasn't until years later that I realized all the subtleties to Marty's mom "having the hots" for him.

Agreed. Naked people are generally associated with bath time.

Some of the aforementioned stuff is actually fairly light (nudity, but not explicitly showing naughty bits or in lewd poses - it was a TV anime after all) and the "orgasm" is actually a cathartic experience of rejuvenation/restoration of life than anything sexual.

Out of all the Macross series, M7 may actually be one of the better ones to show - as it is all about patience, nonviolent responses, sticking to your bigger plan, and trying to communicate with people/nature/things that one is unable to communicate with via normal language.

Edited April 21, 2014 by sketchley

[Saruta]

Thanks - I'll probably go for 7. As I understand dubs don't exist and he'll have to get used to reading subtitles.

The problem with Frontier is that fanservice is so prominent it might be impossible to understand what is going on without it. As in "why is Sheryl so angry about PANTIES", etc. I don't want to end up explaining these things.

The movies, of course, are a lot worse. I know a 17 year old lady who loved the series and flat out won't watch the movies because of the fanservice scenes, notably those Sheryl concerts. And she loves the songs in those, too, when she watches them sung live by May'n, but the animation... yeah, inworld Ranka was not very happy about that either - the parallel is obvious. One should *hear* that girl sing, so I hope Elmo Kridanik finds her soon

Edited April 21, 2014 by Saruta

[Saruta]

Oh, and also - in the end credits for the movie we see Basara on a train. I hear it was mentioned somewhere else and someone met Basara on a train too? Enlightenment would be appreciated. Also - any idea what planet that train might be on?

[Seto Kaiba]

OK, makes sense. So Luca Angeloni having something to do with an electronic antiquity shop is not canon either then?

Not that I've seen, no... but he is filthy rich, so it's not outside reason.

And a different question. How fanservice-y is Macross 7? After watching FB7, I thought that perhaps 7 might be the Macross sequel I could show to my nearly-9 year old son. Sivil's look is not a problem, but I need to know how much explicitly "young-adult" material is there - you know, like that panty chase and "mine bring people hopes and dreams" in Frontier.

Um... that's a good question. Macross 7 as a whole has relatively little in terms of what you called "young adult" material, there are a few moments that you probably would find inappropriate for a 9-year old. The worst offender is probably the animation in the credits, which show Mylene naked in the shower briefly.

Apart from that, the series has a few blatant panty shots when a kid flips Mylene's skirt or flower girl stands in a breeze, and the series does have two cases where female characters possessed by Sivil make PG sexual advances on utterly oblivious Basara, and one case where a male character makes advances on an uninterested Mylene. There's a bit of nudity on Sivil's part when she ends up in a coma.

The Macross Dynamite 7 OVA has two pretty blatant bits of "young adult" material... one being Mylene being sexually assaulted by a female manager, and one where Elma Hoyly is shown naked.

[Saruta]

Thanks! From the description here I see that 7 is quite appropriate - I don't see shower scenes as a problem (there is one in SDFM too), just explicit sexual stuff that actually has to be explained, where what is going on on-screen does not make sense without the fanservice. I think Frontier does cross the threshold. Apparently 7 does not (but Dynamite does).

Still would like more information about that train.

Also I wonder - were there any shipping wars back in 7 times? Did Sivil-haters and Mylene-haters exchange fire, like Misa and Minmay haters before or Ranka and Sheryl haters after? From what I saw in FB7 I tend to think Sivil was the only one who could actually get through to Basara (not that it is necessarily a point in his favour). But FB7 might be tilted compared to the original.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Saruta

[Seto Kaiba]

Also I wonder - were there any shipping wars back in 7 times? Did Sivil-haters and Mylene-haters exchange fire, like Misa and Minmay haters before or Ranka and Sheryl haters after? From what I saw in FB7 I tend to think Sivil was the only one who could actually get through to Basara (not that it is necessarily a point in his favour). But FB7 might be tilted compared to the original.

As far as the train goes, your guess is as good as mine. I vaguely recall there was a train briefly shown in the opening theme of Macross Dynamite 7, but all we saw of it was the roof of the passenger cars.

Oh, I'm sure there were shipping wars. There are ALWAYS shipping wars. Heck, if you think about it, there's actually a bit of shipping going on by supporting characters in the show itself. Like when that tabloid journalist sister of Michael's publishes an article suggesting Basara and Mylene are an item, followed by an article suggesting Basara and Gamlin are an item, and a bit theorizing that Basara is Hikaru and Minmay's secret son. Milia's trying to marry Mylene off, first to Gamlin and later to Basara, and she also later tries to set Gamlin up with bridge bunny Miho. (Shyest. Couple. EVER.)

All told, I think Sivil was the only woman who Basara really did more than acknowledge the existence of. Basara doesn't seem interested in women (or men) in the series, just in his music. He doesn't even notice when a Sivil-possessed Akiko and Rex are coming on to him... in the former case, his attention isn't on her, he's so oblivious that with her practically throwing herself at him he's more concerned about the hot dog she made him drop.

[Gubaba]

Also I wonder - were there any shipping wars back in 7 times? Did Sivil-haters and Mylene-haters exchange fire, like Misa and Minmay haters before or Ranka and Sheryl haters after? From what I saw in FB7 I tend to think Sivil was the only one who could actually get through to Basara (not that it is necessarily a point in his favour). But FB7 might be tilted compared to the original.

Considering that the internet wasn't that much of a thing in '94, and there were few places for discussing this stuff, and that Macross 7 episodes were hard to come by (unless *ahem* you had a Japanese video rental store nearby), I kinda doubt it was widespread...

[Saruta]

Before the Internet was much of a thing, there were Usenet and Fight-o-net (aka Fidonet. Yes, I was there, flaming away about politics). But I do get your point, especially about the episodes.

After some thought (based on just FB7 for now, I am in the process of *ahem* getting access to 7) the Sivil story seems pretty tragic. I mean, she is into him, and he might well be into her, but there's that little problem where she was not in control of herself and very nearly did him in for good. And she can't be sure it won't happen again next time she's sleepy or tired or something. So she does the only honorable thing and disappears into the sunset. Kawamori's take on the ancient topic of star-crossed lovers? And that in the middle of a Big Happy Ending.

UPD. After some googling - did FB7 actually replace the main triangle? In FB7 I got the impression that the obligatory triangle was Mylene-Basara-Sivil, while in 7, according to wikis etc, it's Gamlin-Mylene-Basara?

Edited April 21, 2014 by Saruta

[Nekko Basara]

I didn't get much of an impression of a triangle from FB7, but admittedly I've only seen it once and it's a total mess. The Basara-Sivil relationship was front-and-center, but a lot of Mylene's interest in Basara was edited out.

I think that the classic M7 triangle is weak to begin with (although the show isn't harmed by this). Basara has nothing but brotherly regard for Mylene. Mylene takes an interest in Basara, as any young lady would a cool guy, but is well aware that's she's too young for anything serious (though other characters forget this). And while Gamlin seem genuinely interested in Mylene, it's with the same sense of responsibility he'd probably apply to setting up a 401k. To stay on topic, I think that's what keeps M7 so appropriate to young viewers; it has great action and music, but its romantic subplots never rise above a simmer.

For my own question - and maybe Gubaba's answer covers this - why is Ozma in FB7 so clueless about the events of the 37th expedition and the history of Fire Bomber? Was there some big post-Protodevilin cover-up? Is there no Space Wikipedia?

Edited April 21, 2014 by Nekko Basara

[Oskull]

With regard the Macross 11 fleet that is shown in Macross F series. It seems that there is no dome (like in Frontier island-01) and buildings are exposed to space. Is that the only ship that has that configuration? On the other hand, is there some explanation about the purpose of the "long wings" that seems to have?
The only info I could find on the web is the same image that appears in Frontier, no further technical explanation, and that there was a rock band called Fire Bomber (English version) that resided on it.

[Cdr Fokker]

UPD. After some googling - did FB7 actually replace the main triangle? In FB7 I got the impression that the obligatory triangle was Mylene-Basara-Sivil, while in 7, according to wikis etc, it's Gamlin-Mylene-Basara?

I consider the main triangle in 7 to be Basara-Sivil-Gigil.

[Seto Kaiba]

With regard the Macross 11 fleet that is shown in Macross F series. It seems that there is no dome (like in Frontier island-01) and buildings are exposed to space. Is that the only ship that has that configuration?

Nah, the Macross-11 has a dome over it... you can kind of see it in the screen captures.

It's just the dome on Macross-11 is a more extreme version of the City-7, what with the taller buildings actually poking through the top of the dome. Milia's office was in one of those taller towers in Macross 7.

On the other hand, is there some explanation about the purpose of the "long wings" that seems to have?

The only info I could find on the web is the same image that appears in Frontier, no further technical explanation, and that there was a rock band called Fire Bomber (English version) that resided on it.

IIRC, one of Tenjin Hidetaka's books identifies those huge sails on the Macross-11 as an energy collection system (basically solar sails).

[Oskull]

IIRC, one of Tenjin Hidetaka's books identifies those huge sails on the Macross-11 as an energy collection system (basically solar sails).

Thanks for the info!

[Saruta]

How old is Basara anyway?