Renato

Hey there. I'm back from limbo. OK, so you got up to the checkout part... You know, this bit of the story will remain in my nightmares for years to come. Although I must say I am used to "japanese fun" at checkouts or reception areas and such places, so I was willing to let it all go, and that's what I would have done had I been alone (not that I would have ever wondered near that particular area alone), so I admire these guys' relentlessness. I've had "japanese fun" when dealing with the City Hall, the bank, my own relations office, and most recently the mobile phone shop (for the third time)... Dear god, it's like talking to a brick wall. As Rob put it -- "A broken record". We'll need to go into particular detail if the story is going to be told well, so I'll be back later when I have more time.

Take note that while there are holes in Meister's shoulders for the launcher, they are microscopically smaller than the ones on Smokescreen, so the rocket launcher doesn't actually fit perfectly. What's cooler than that is, if you notice his right arm in the photo, I found that you can actually place the handgun on his forearm, in either "stowed away" or "ready to fire" position. A bit like a VF-1.

My BT collection. Meister is the best so far, in my opinion.

Here's another pic to show what I mean.

I always thought the extra white piece from the FP set looks a bit like the pilot seat when it is raised to provide an exit in Battroid mode like in the TV show and movie.

I was watching Yamato repeats recently, I can't get into it at all... I don't know what it is... nothing really happens. Maybe it's still early episodes..? I think we're up to 10 or 12 or so now (of the Iscandar series).

What was the formula, in Escaflowne? FV Right there. I didn't think it was that formulaic, I love the show -- the way all the characters have complex backgrounds and their relations make for exciting viewing, and the pacing is spot-on, much better than Macross 7 which drags on forever and SDF Macross which skips around because of the way it got screwed around with (first 50-odd episodes, then 26, then 36, etc.). Maybe I don't think it's formulaic because I really haven't seen that much TV anime from start to finish, but in the very least I don't think you can apply the "Macross formula" to Esca. As a side note, the Esca movie was interesting in the way it changed a lot of the TV elements around, and I like it to an extent, but as a movie in itself it's no good -- too short with a very shallow story and characters.

Didn't Kawamori conceive and direct Escaflowne? IMO that anime was a "hit" or at the very least a minor success. The music and animation were great and the story was really enjoyable. There was a love triangle as usual, a big brother mentor character (Folken), and even the lead Zaibach guy reminded me of Bodolza with his body consisting of huge machinery and being long lived. Kawamori co-created Escaflowne with Hajime Yatate (of Cowboy Bebop fame), and also wrote a few scripts and storyboards for some of the episodes (along with Shinichiro Watanabe, trivia fans). He did not direct it, that was done by Akane... something. I forget.

I grew up with the 80s one so I don't really care much for this Tetsujin. Although the original does have that certain "meanness" about it... However, I'm guessing they'll never re-release the old 80s version SOC toy. That thing was huge and packed with features.

How about "Get Bent, Pinochet"? Or: I think this thread has expired its usefulness....

I just saw a TV ad (I say "ad", I mean "rapid flash of random images which an oldschool kid like me doesnIt understand) for episode 5 of M0 a couple of days ago while watching some other crappy anime. Yeah, that monster will be cel-shaded only, no CG. Though in my opinion, the cel-shaded mecha in the show hasn't been done badly at all. So why the hell can't they put that much effort into animating the characters in the same way. So far what I hate the most about Zero are the characters. Even if the designs are basically bad, they can still look good if they move nicely, but no, it looks as though actual "animation" has not evolved in general since the days of Space Cruiser Yamato. And that was thirty years ago.

Good-Bye, Pal. *BOOM*

how much you pay for it? 8,000 yen, plus shipping - I felt that was a reasonable amount (it even had the original batteries!). They don't appear to be all that common; I've only ever seen one missing some of its parts in Tokyo. I also liked the manga; I wish Viz would re-consider publishing it. Its just seems to be Patlabors fate in life, that it seems to be rather ignored by the Western anime fan community (other than the movies). I saw one of those recently, and for much less than 8000 yen. It was in the box, so I don't know if it had parts missing or what, though.

In some other older Macross PC games Hikaru is played by another actor, too.

KN is right. If it seems like the Macross "hype" is dying down, that is probably true, since this golden age can't go on forever. But be aware that Macross World was born at around the time that Yamato released its first toy -- the YF-19 -- thus kickstarting the current situation. Ever since then we've been in a second Macross boom. What about all those years that went by without anything happening at all, rejoicing when one finally tracked down something like a Joons (at the time -- Fools Gold: just as good as the real thing)? Well, it has to end sometime. But I don't think we'll see the end of Macross itself, there'll probably be another boom in a few years' time, who knows? Looking at the 1/48 line, I wonder if this design could ever be improved upon. But you never know, maybe we'll get 1/48 Fire Valkyries and Stealth Valkyries by Yamato once the M7 generation become full-time salarymen. As for the series, I guess what we really need is a new TV series. But the reason Kawamori doesn't seem to want to go down that route is probably because to get good ratings you have to compromise a lot these days....

That and when he wasn't He-man he wore a pink shirt with bright purple tights and fluffy boots. Holy Jesus. No wonder he called himself He-Man. Where else would he get his self-assurance?

I was feeling the same way, but it looks like it is getting better with Grimlock and Windcharger. The way I see it there are three major transformation types that have been shown. Each has a couple of variations... Type 1: Hood For A Chest Variation 1: Silverstreak, Smokescreen & Meister Variation 2: Hound (the feet, front tires and seats are different than above) Type 2: Set the Car on its Nose Variation 1: Sideswipe, Deadend & Windcharger(?) Variation 2: Tracks (the doors and rear end are different than above) Type 3: Set the Car on its Tail Variation 1: Grimlock I would like to see a truck like a Dodge Ram or a Jeep SUV. i think its a little bit more simple but you've got the right idea. i'd put it like this. Type 1: Hood For A Chest Variation 1: Silverstreak, Smokescreen & Meister Variation 1.5: Grimlock (legs are different, but upper body is the same) Variation 2: Hound (the legs/feet, arms, front tires, torso, and seats are different than above) Type 2: Set the Car on its Nose Variation 1: Sideswipe and Deadend Variation 2: Tracks (Ravage?) (the legs, shoulders, doors, and torso different than above) Variation 2.5: Windcharger (transformation is a mixture of elements from variants 1 and 2) grimlocks upper torso is pretty much the same as smokescreen and the others, but the legs are new. hound is totally different from smokescreen and the others, despite a very similar end result. windcharger seems to have sideswipe's legs and tracks' upper body, but without the G1 corvette torso bits, and a couple elements from sideswipe. I'd label Meister as Variation 1.25 for the "Hoods", as the arms and legs are slightly different.

You should make this your signature Done. I think this was already somebody's signature...

First I've heard that tidbit. Can anyone confirm this and/or provide a source? Actually, all anime is aimed at kids. Just which part of the kid-spectrum are we talking about? 4-9 or 10-16? I think Ewilen was actually questioning the comment about Macross 7 originally intending to be about Hikaru and Misa. But yeah, the vast majority of anime is aimed at kids. The simple reason is because kids buy toys and merchandise, and merchandise and toys get anime funded. Sponsors want to be able to sell merchandise based on a series, which is why Gundam has so many frickin' mobile suits and Macross has transforming Valkyrie: it's a gimmick to get kids to buy more toys. In the 80's when OVA's were first catching on they were appealing to creators because they didn't require the gobs of money that a TV series or movie did, and thus they could be made with fewer sponsors. Fewer sponsors equals less requirements for merchandise from the creators and gives them more freedom, which is why you see weird anime like Genocyber and M.D. Geist which wouldn't have been able to be produced in other forms. Agreed. Remember that Macross Plus had virtually no merchandise when it was released other than the soundtracks and some rare SHE kits. It is only recently that Yamato and Hasegawa turned up.

all that hype waiting for the supposed "Macross 7 Guru" to speak.... AND THAT'S ALL YOU SAY!?? ..... perhaps you are not as strong as the emperor thought.... What's the point? It's all been said before.

I thought it was "It rained again in Southern California.."?

The cover art is new. That is definitely Mikimoto, but it's 2004 Mikimoto.

If Harmony Gold think they're so great and mighty I'd love to see them try and put a stop to this.

Funny... The opposite is true if you are talking about the rail privatisation in the UK.

Yeah those are tee's next to Basara. Haven't touched my clubs in so long my clubfaces are growing its own grass on em (should clean em)! Rather than the tees, its the "baSARA" that caught my eye. That and the coccooned Alphonse.