Mr March

The Arcadia VF-1 1/60 truly is a thing of beauty. Old time members here on MW may remember my many posts proclaiming how my idea of an ultimate VF-1 transformable toy would combined the perfect transformation of a Yamato with a variation on the proportions of the Hasegawa plastic model line of the VF-1. Some model builders actually built transformable Hasegawa models and while they weren't ideal, it was the attempt I always wanted to see. I truly feel this Arcadia VF-1 1/60 is a very close realization of that dream toy. It has the most favorable design compromises between the Fighter and Battroid modes that I've ever seen in ANY VF-1 transformable toy. The Arcadia build also has so much of the articulation I always wanted. I think the Arcadia is also the best proportioned VF-1 especially for an animated mecha that uses plenty of anime magic. I also feel this 1/60 scale has hit the size sweet spot; it's large enough to command attention on display but not so large it takes up too much space. A real treat for a VF-1 fan like me.

I'm old, it's okay I just like the efficiency and availability. All this new internet film criticism means I rarely, if ever, miss a good movie I know I want to see. Between podcasts, blogs, friends and word of mouth, it's rare that something I love will escape my attention. I much prefer it this way to the dark fog of war that it was before

If I had been collecting for the years inbetween my last 1/48 scale Yamato toy and now, perhaps I wouldn't be so enamoured with these two figures. But gawd damn, there's so many improvements and refinements over the years to these Macross toys, it's just blown me away how solid and detailed these things are. I feel like I need a VF-25 now. You know, to just "round out" the collection

Very cool work. Fan service indeed

I've always understood "Macross purist" as a perjorative insult against Macross fans specifically designed so Robotech fans can dismiss the fundamental flaw that is Robotech itself; that being that Robotech is re-edited footage of another animated production named SDF Macross. The phrase "Macross purist" is deeply hypocritical because those Robotech fans that criticize the Macross fans who refuse the edit of SDF Macross are the same Robotech fans that would not stand for such editing done to ANY other franchise that they love, like say...George Lucas and his original Star Wars films to drive the point right at the jugular. Perhaps some Macross fans appropriated the "Macross purist" phrase in defiant pride against Robotech fans (much like racial or sexual insults are co-opted to fight against oppressors), but what I've stated above is how I've always understood the phrase. I've never seen any Robotech expansions on the VF-4 (VF-X-4 perhaps?) but ever since the legal ruling it's been my understanding that Harmony Gold couldn't use any of the Macross mechanical designs or derivatives in future Robotech productions. So I don't think that would work. Regardless, I agree that Harmony Gold needed something that featured a transformable fighter jet as a hero mecha to sell to the public. I would think that something like Robotech would need that as a fundamental requirement.

This is why I love the blogosphere and the new criticism of the internet generation; you don't have to waste everyone's time by forcing a single official critic for your newspaper to review movies that are from a genre of entertainment they don't like, can't like and will never like. I watch and enjoy everything from indie, to drama, to horror, to sci-fi, to foreign, to thriller, to documentary, to...you name it. If some critic likes his arty foreign flicks as his reviewing gig, he might adore "Run Lola Run" like I do, but he's not going to embrace "The Avengers" like I have. Now, we have entire film blogs staffed with folks that share similar tastes to my own and who's tendencies I can trust. I also relate well to them and so can also easily understand when we're going to differ our opinions on a film. It's a far superior system to the establishment that used to run film criticism for decades before.

I received my Arcadia YF-19 and Arcadia VF-1S Valkyrie transformables yesterday and spent a few hours to unpack, transform and examine them. Wow, things sure have changed/improved since the last time I purchased a transformable Macross toy. These things are fantastic! I think what is most impressive is how solid these figures are in all their modes. Once transformed and properly set into place, the toys stay solid and easily bear casual handling. Now the 1/48 VF-1 Yamato toys also had this, but it's great to see this is not a feature Macross toys have lost. If anything it's been refined even further. I'm noticing the VF-1S Valkyrie in particular has several newly improved stability anchors (particularly for fighter mode). I must say, it's funny going to the 1/60 scale VF-1S Valkyrie after owning 1/48 scale Yammies for so many years. It's bizarre to think of this 1/60 scale Arcadia toy as a "small" valkyrie, but that was my initial impression. However, after transforming the VF-1S into Battroid, it towers over my poor Revoltech figures I also have to say, owning both the YF-19 and the VF-1S Valkyrie is a real treat. Since they both share the same 1/60 scale, it allows you to observe the vast size difference in the two fighters. I really see how different the two craft are now, not only in style and function, but also in terms of the physical size and the different role the YF-19 assumed over the role of the original VF-1 Valkyrie. So glad I purchased both of these toys. Last but not least, I just have to praise both these Arcadia toys for their proportions and design compromises. The Arcadia VF-1S is dangerously close to the perfect ideal VF-1 transformable toy I always wanted. If Hasegawa built a transformable from their excellent VF-1 model line, this Arcadia toy might be what it would have been. Every part in every mode of the 1/60 scale Arcadia VF-1 just fits together so well and the proportions look great. The VF-1S Valkyrie Battroid mode is especially well proportioned compared to the 1/48 scale Yamato. The 1/60 Arcadia features a narrowed chest, a shorter crotch (on account of a short nose/forward fuselage), shorter biceps on the arms, a shorter proportioned gun pod, more rounded lower legs/engines and last - but certainly not least - far better proportioned manipulators (hands). There's also been several major improvements to the Battroid articulation allowing even better dramatic poses. I also have to say, I do not miss the airbrake, aerilons and removable nose cone of the old 1/48 Yamato; the Arcadia VF-1 is a less troublesome and much more enjoyable toy to handle without those "features". The Arcadia YF-19 is the first transformable YF-19 toy I've felt was worth owning. It's not perfect, but at least this toy achieves a level of proportion and cuts an imposing figure in a way the Yamato toys could never achieve. The Battroid mode is the clear triumph of this new YF-19 design. The arms finally have some bulk/length, the gun pod is perfectly proportioned, the torso properly slopes downward from back to front and the large legs fit beautifully into an imposing crotch (LOL!). Now that's not to say the other modes aren't an improvement, because they are. The fighter mode of the Arcadia YF-19 is also a major step up from the Yamato, particularly lacking the ugly "gullet" of the old Yamato nose/forward ventral fuselage. I also really appreciate the rear "thigh" covers for the legs, a little part swapping goes a long way in this case. Overall, I'm blown away by these babies. I suppose a lot of my impressions are old news to fans who have kept collecting for years, but to me this is a big jump. I won't oversell my reaction by saying hyperbole like this being as big a leap as the jump from the old Bandai 1/55s to the Yamato 1/48. However, there is no denying that my 1/48 Yammie is clearly several steps behind these new Arcadia offerings. So glad I indulged. Very worthwhile purchases. Bravo Arcadia!

I couldn't agree more. Macross sold itself on transforming mecha back in 1982 and by extention that is what Robotech must do. But Harmony Gold isn't giving fans any transforming mecha to buy into. So what's the point? I hadn't looked at the kickstarter as an opportunity to conceptualize transforming mecha, but I think you're right that this is a missed opportunity. I think most of us thought as you do when we were all children. But then Macross turned out to be so much more compelling than just transforming mecha, that just made the transforming mecha all that more interesting to me. The compelling style, drama and story of Macross are also what I came back to as an adult, while so many other interests in my youth didn't hold up to a mature critical eye. Digressing back to the mecha, lack of transforming mecha for a transforming mecha franchise has been the problem all along for Robotech, but it's a dilemma Harmony Gold won't face or even try to overcome. You need someone like Kawamori to design transforming fighter mecha. Or at the very least people like Kazumi Fujita or Shinji Aramaki that can build upon the concept of transforming fighter mecha to create at least creative variations of the original idea. It wouldn't be easy and I suppose that explains why no one at Harmony Gold has even attempted to do so for 25+ years.

Great work. Definitely don't see enough of the VF-4. A fine choice and again more amazing work from AgaveCacuts.

I think there's more reason to see the film than just one review Mommar. I've been reading some really positive first impressions and reviews from a lot of folks that share my tastes. I know very little about the source material and really only know the work of the director. I think we are in for a good movie with this one. Chekc out the slashfilm reactions post from a few weeks back. It's got a lot of good regulars from Frosty at Collider to Devin Faraci all saying this is a hit. THat's a lot of goodwill, at least to my mind.

Nice pics. THere's just enough creativity in the designs (and especially the colors) to enjoy the mecha. I'm gonna stick with this for now. See how it goes.

So many have said this kickstarter suffers from a lack of good production materials to tease, entice and inspire potential donators. Lack of transformable mecha is often rising to the top of the complaints. I don't necessarily disagree, but I'm curious; what type of transforming mecha would Robotech fans actually like? I mean, is there ANY design that would please the Robotech fans and appeal to modern audiences? I'm not being an ass here, I'm genuinely curious what fans believe that mecha would be. Are we talking a valkyrie? Are we talking Mospeada? Are we talking original? And what style would it be? The original stuff is all Japanese and all 25+ years old, so how exactly would that work? As a mecha fan beyond just Macross, I've been into a vast array of Japanese mechanical design for decades. Beyond my own tastes, Japanese mecha as a whole has gone through several generations of trends and styles since Macross (which was itself a very innovative style shift for the time). Gundam, Five Star Stories, Patlabor, Evangelion, Escaflowne, Full Metal Panic, Ghost in the Shell, Gurren Lagann, Zone of The Enders, Super Robot Wars, Another Century's Episode, etc. But Robotech has no design lineage for the past 25 years. No progression. There's retro or there's start from scratch. Nothing in between. So, where does one go? Attempt to recapture the magic of Macross without the Macross? If the design is too retro then it would be dated. How then would Robotech Academy attract modern viewers with such dated material? I suppose the answer is it wouldn't. What most modern viewers want is not dated 1985-era mecha designs. Attempt to design all new mecha with a modern aesthetic? Who does Harmony Gold have attached to Robotech Academy with qualifications even remotely approaching such a requirement? You can't design current fictional mecha if you don't even know anything about current fictional mecha design. Which I guess explains the mechanical designs Robotech Academy has released thus far. If the post-SDF Macross mecha of the Macross franchise don't appeal to Robotech fans, then what can they realistically hope for in any Robotech sequel? I mean, how do you design a mecha for a consumer base with 30-year-old tastes and still attract young audiences? I'm genuinely curious to know what Robotech fans think a good, fitting transforming mecha design would look like for something like this Robotech Academy kickstarter project. What would that be?

Sensational! I must have seen every form of car chase or movie explosion known to man by now and yet here is a trailer that somehow manages to create car chases and explosions in a way that seems to reinvent what can be done with both of them. Just floored. Only let down was there was precious little of the characters. But I do get some sense there is some work that is worth while. For a Mad Max movie, there's not much Mad Max in the trailer Yep, excited for this.

The "Nostalgist" is definitely an homage to Hikaru

The angry sex between you and Seto doesn't count. But I am jealous

Couldn't even get through a minute of the video and so skipped to the end and read the closing comments. This fella looks like just another old school Robotech fan having a knee-jerk reaction to Macross fans who are vocal about disliking Harmony Gold. I can't see how anyone reading this thread could come away thinking conspiracy theory thoughts, but I guess some folks are just that paranoid. I did think that THIS guy is the type of Robotech fan that was almost extinct, not Robotech fans themselves. From my perspective, the bitter, flame war forum invasion crap between Macross and Robotech fans is long over as is most anyone caring about any of that. Regardless, it seems a significant proportion of Robotech fans have their heads on straight regarding this kickstarter. As for the reveal at the end, I think Seinfeld's reaction to Newman's apartment best describes it; "My skin is crawling just a step inside your little rats nest"

Great list Seto. Thanks for doing all that work.

We are very fortunate to have your work touch Macross. I doubt others will stop posting their pics, your work can only serve to inspire us to do our best. But if don't mind my asking, can you tell me how you take your pictures? What kind of lighting do you use, what lenses do you use and what kind of backrops are featured? I'm a VERY amateur photographer but I do know a little. I own a decade old Canon 300D digital SLR 6.3 mp with an 18-55 mm lens and I have a manfrotto tripod and head. I've taken some photos of my Macross stuff back in the day but nothing like you've done. Might want to give it a shot again since I'll soon have three really good reasons to do so

I've had a thought about that. Typically when consumer confidence in a product or company has faltered, you can either reinvent the brand or change the brand/company name. However, I don't think that will work in the case of Robotech. Others have told us that Harmony Gold is primarily in the real estate business and their media business is mostly functioning as a reseller/distributor. It's also clear Robotech is a tiny, less significant part of the larger company. So in the Real Estate world Harmony Gold might have name recognition and goodwill. Also, Robotech wouldn't be a significant enough part of Harmony Gold to justify changing the entire corporate name. They could possibly work around changing the Harmony Gold name by creating a sub-division or child company with a different name just for Robotech. But that would require the sub-division/company to justify the expense of doing so by being economically viable. If the name "Robotech" is dropped, the animated production couldn't rely upon existing fans or industry recognition and would have to sell based on the merits of the animated show itself. Clearly, no one at Harmony Gold wants THAT to happen

Oihan I don't mind if you bring up my old posts. Your post is the kind that actually invites discussion I believe I understand where you are coming from with this, but I think at this point we're closer to a discussion of "people" rather than a discussion of entertainment. I'd also say that sequels that depart from the original is not "familiarity breeding contempt", it's the opposite; entertainment that doesn't appeal to fans of the original because it's too different. But let's get back to people and go with it. I'm glad you brought up music and bands, because for many pop music makes understanding the cycle of popular entertainment easier. I would say that bands and music are more of a broad spectrum rather than either/or. There are bands that change dramatically to work in different genres entirely. Their are bands who meld genres into their own over time. There are bands that change only slightly as they go. And there are bands that stay with their familiar sound for their entire career. To concede a point to you, I do admit some fans prefer the same thing unending ("prefer" being debateable). But these fans are in the minority and seem to be folks that choose their favorite popular culture at a young age, rigidly defining this music - and ONLY this music - as "good" for the rest of their lives. At the other end of the spectrum, you have people that must always have something new. out with the old, in with the new. Nature abhors a vacuum, and all that sorta crap. The vast majority of people fall somewhere in between the two extremes, which I'm going to assume is you and me. One need only look at sales figures of popular music, movies and other entertainment over time to see that the majority of folks leave a particular creator once familiarity has bred contempt. All things being equal, popular culture itself doesn't suck over time; it's because fans are bored of it. This will no doubt lead to your next question; if people are bored with the pop culture they consume, why don't they get into something else? Well, some folks do. But the majority of folks will not enjoy new popular culture as much as they liked the pop culture of old. They become inured as time goes on. New popular culture becomes too different than that which came before. "Why don't they make good music/movies/anime anymore?" "Kids these days like crap, they don't know good music/movies/anime." But if great pop culture is independent of the audience (objectively existing in the past, in the present and future) why do so many people - particularly older people - think like this? Because humans naturally lose the ability to adapt with age Now, bringing this all back to Macross (*phew*), yes there are some folks for who even productions like Macross Plus and Macross 7 were a bridge too far. The format was changed too much too fast and some fans found themselves left behind or alienated by the very anime franchise that they adore. No wonder tempers flared and wars erupted. But once again, most folks are moderates and will both embrace some change over time and reject some change over time. This is true even though we adapt less as we age. This is why you saw some Macross fans actually warm to Macross Plus and Macross 7 as the years have passed. At the date of release, productions like Macross Plus and Macross 7 was too much change too fast for some fans who were still in awe of the original era SDF Macross/DYRL/FB2012. As these fans aged and as more modern pop culture is perceived by them as too different, they revisited older pop culture. When viewed in the current context of popular culture, the fans that once disliked Macross Plus and Macross 7 find these productions have more in common with SDF Macross than with Macross Frontier. And so we end with you and I. Where do we sit in all this? Well, like I said above, every Macross fan is at their own speed when it comes to the pop culture they enjoy. For you, Macross 7 is as far as you ever want to see Macross go. Fair enough. For me? I'm not really sure where the line is drawn for the end of Macross just yet. I'm the kind of guy that would rather risk falling too far over that line than stay too damned close on the safe, comfortable, and dull inside of it. However, I have said and will always say this of Macross 7; better to have an interesting failure like Macross 7 than an uninteresting bore like Macross Zero. Too each their own. Nekko Basara Yes, that's a very good point. Macross is also a rather unique franchise in which it generally disappears from popular culture in the years between major productions. So much has changed in 30 years, anime itself has gone through "generations" in terms of the industry. So there are indeed rather large divides in the fan base. It wouldn't surprise me if someone told me Macross has the fewest "older fans" of most long running anime franchises. YF-29 Durandal To paraphrase Coach from Left 4 Dead; "Hell yeah, I own ALL their albums, even their new stuff that ain't no good". JBO A man after my own heart. Wanna get married?

Your amazing photographic skill is going to be a tough act to follow, Saburo. When I take photos of my incoming new toy purchases, I'll try my best to at least make the photographs look sharp and clear. Well done. Your flicker website is an amazing showcase. It's the kind of toy photographs I've always wanted to see fans create of their toys. Truly beautiful work that makes our hobby look legitmate. BRAVO!

That sounds right to me. Then I think what I'm seeing here is a company trapped in a silo of it's own making, buying into their own propaganda; a lie which it appears is finally catching up with them in cold, hard numbers for poor kickstarter. I've not been to the website, but I'd agree that as a whole, Harmony Gold should spend much more effort to take care of their brand rather than letting it wallow in squalor for the 5 years in between each failed sequel. Don't mistake me as a fan of Avatar, because I hated that movie. I was just pulling examples off the top of my head. But if flashy 3D is all it takes to get $2 billion, every summer box office movie would be making that much. I won't deny that "spectacle" is a large part of Avatar, but when every big movie is spectacle as it is today, Avatar's hook was it's story/relevance to a generation of white guilt/environmentally-conscious fans. Or perhaps that's just my own biased perception due to the large amount of insufferable way-into-Avatar fans that I have to endure in my film social circles. Forgive me if my analogy for Avatar is not quite accurate

It's not a big deal to argue about change in the next Macross series. But the subject of Macross innovation has been discussed many times in this thread and I just want to keep clarfiying what that means. Every Macross fan is at their own personal "velocity" when it comes to consuming pop culture like Macross because we're all individuals. Those of us that can't understand why some Macross fans seems to suggest the next Macross sequel be a "supposed" radical franchise-altering departure must understand there are as many other Macross fans that can't understand how some can watch essentially the same "supposed" lowest common denominator formula over and over again. No one's advocating a slippery slope that turns Macross into moe and I don't believe most are advocating they want the EXACT same Macross again and again. But if the new Macross has nothing new to offer, then we're just Robotech fans (sorry, I had to) I hate to sound like a broken record, but I keep bringing up Macross Plus in these discussions because it was the first and IMO best departure from the traditional Macross story. It's the poster child for the promise of what Macross can be. Macross Plus did feature many of the Macross "cliches" that fans either love or hate (love triangle, pop music, transforming jets). However, Macross Plus also had none of the standard Macross tropes at all. Macross Plus was not space opera, it had no grand epic scope, there was no interstellar war, no alien menace, etc. It was a small, personal side story during peace time in the Macross universe and it worked brilliantly. Personally, I don't want another Macross Plus. But what I would like to see is the next Macross production breaking the mold, in a different way than Macross Plus did it. I want to see the Macross franchise be the kind of innovative mold-breaking franchise it has proven that it can be. That's what I'm hoping for in the next Macross series when I say I want to see something different.

I think what I find interesting about this whole kickstarter is the level of effort expended to avoid producing a good and/or desired product. I suppose people more familiar with Robotech and Harmony Gold than I may not see this as revelatory. To me, I'm amazed by the lack of merit or appeal in any part of the Robotech Academy promotion. In point of fact, the only major advertising/marketing push for this kickstarter is that it features "Robotech" in the name. The biggest modern entertainment properties are sold on brands because the brand is strong enough to sell itself (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc). When the brand isn't strong enough to sell itself, selling requires a hook. You can sell a good idea, like Inception You can sell attractive style, like Mad Men You can sell social relevance, like Avatar You can sell a male power fantasy, like James Bond Now look at the Robotech brand, the brand we are told is supposed to sell. Except, it's not selling. A history of failed sequels, one finished sequel that never made mark financially or critically, a struggling kickstarter, etc. So if the brand isn't selling, what is the hook? There is no publically shared belief, passion or confidence in Robotech Academy coming from anyone in Harmony Gold. No one is selling the actual Robotech Academy idea, the Robotech Academy story, the Robotech Academy style, etc. Every marketing attempt in this kickstarter is designed to sell Robotech Academy for any reason other than Robotech Academy itself... An attempt to sell nostalgia... An attempt to sell as if it was "Carl Macek's vision"... An attempt to sell the "Enemy Spy" donation tier... An attempt to sell by begging for money from your social circles... Robotech Academy is good because it has Robotech in the name, therefore Robotech Academy is good...LOL-what? It never occurs to the folks making Robotech Academy that maybe they should sell a good idea, or sell a style people want, or sell some kind of relevance to a modern audience, or sell...something. But there's nothing there. You're meant to accept this kickstarter because, well "reasons". Because, well "Robotech". Success or fail, I'm interested to see what happens with this kickstarter just for the way it's trying to be sold.

IMO, this is just a terrible idea from start to finish. It's like a business proposal out of time with no regard for any appeal to modern audiences or any consideration for the modern entertainment landscape. Unless its Star Wars, space opera can't be made just for the sake of making space opera without some way to sell it. How many insular, geek-targeted movies have to fail before it's apparent that broad-budget niche entertainment won't appeal to a broad audience? How is it relevant in any way to modern culture? Where is the hook for a modern audience? Who even is the audience for this production? Is anyone asking for this, besides a niche of a niche of a niche fan base that barely has an online prescence compared to a thousand other fandoms? Yeah, I'm not seeing any potential for this, and this is not even considering the whole "Robotech" thing. If Pauline Kael were alive to review kickstarters, she would have called this the most emotionally manipulative screenplay she'd ever read