Gyges

I can see why you'd get that from the advertising, but I can assure you the exhibit is not like that at all. The tone is, if anything, scholarly throughout.

Hi, all. I went to the Vacnouver Art Gallery yesterday; they have an exhibit on the art of graphic novels, comics, manga, anime and video games. What did I see at the entrance of the anime section but a clip from episode 27 of SDF: Macross on a loop! There was some accompanying text, mostly on Itano (in point of fact, falsely attributing mechanical design of the VF-1 to him). They also have a great theatre, where they were showing some episodes of SDF: Macross. What can I say, as a Macross fan it was a thrill. The exhibit in general was very nicely done, so I can recommend a visit to anyone in the area.

I shudder to ask, given Japan's lamentable habit of sexualizing children in anime--but does anyone know how old the three main characters are? I am particularly curious about Ranka Lee, obviously. Thanks in advance, and sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere.

Regarding people's concern over the cat, let's not forget that Mikimoto drew several pictures of Misa with a cat. If they had shown up as design sketches...

Yeah, actually, so would I. Macross has always been a soap opera with mecha. I just hope that if this new series is set in high school (a big if), it avoids all things super-robot.

Hi, all. Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere--I couldn't find mention of it. Does anyone know when in June the YF-19 packs/booster are going to be available? I want to make an order from HLJ, but only if they'll arive before I leave town. Tamim (at tmpanime.com) lists an availability date of July 29th, so that doesn't inspire confidence. Anyone have an idea for a more precise date?

Thanks again, Hurin. I'll try it again sometime, and when I do I'll let you know about the punctuation.

Thanks a million for the excellent work, Hurin! I have a question, though. Whenever I change some of the subtitles in DVD-Lab (minor changes for personal preference, as well as one tiny, tiny instance of missing punctuation), the new subtitle stream becomes WAY off near the end of the movie. Has anyone else encountered this? Is there any way to fiddle with the text of the subs without messing up the timing? Thanks in advance...

In terms of sheer piloting ability--be it from natural aptitude or training--I think it's pretty clear that Max was better than Hikaru. I think it's also clear thatr Hikaru was excellent in his own right. What I find a more telling issue is their overall status as comabt pilots, i.e. soldiers. In that domain, I feel there's enough evidence to suggest that Hikaru was better than Max. All we ever see Max doing is flying off on his own--shooting down lots of enemies, yes, but with less regard for his wingmen and the overall battle than Hikaru. I have little evidence for this other than a few anecdotes, but that's my two cents.

LePoseur is exactly right. Some episodes have good mecha action, and overall I personally enjoy the show, but I sincerely doubt you'd be satisfied watching it just for the action.

My girlfriend and I are poor students, so her gifts aren't nearly as lavish but she did give me my favourite valkyrie: For Valentine's Day, she bought me a Banpresto CF and rigged it such that the battroid was holding flowers in the box. Beat that. I too have been blessed with a partner who is my best friend, and we share interests; she enjoys Macross, we watch all kinds of anime, and we play lots of videogames together. Her incredible beauty and striking intelligence aren't unnappreciated, either.

I would echo all the comments made heretofore about the limited mass-market appeal of anime in general, but I would especially underscore the comments made about DYRL? in particular; namely, qua feature film, it stands extrememly poorly on its own. The characterizations are shallow, the plotline thin, and far too many deus ex machina in rapid succession. Make no mistake, I absolutely adore DYRL?. But DYRL? is primarily intended to preach to the choir, as it were, and be seen and appreciated by those who have already seen the series. It would never do as well as GitS or Appleseed unless it were made as accessible as those latter works, which would necessitate the developments Radd outlined.

Thanks for the help, guys. Much appreciated.

What sound driver are you using? I can't seem to get the cinematics to have any sound for VF-X2 at all on ePSXe.

Many thanks for the advice, fellows. I suspected that I was trying something impossible...

I've downloaded the VF-X2 .BIN from iMacross; any advice on how to burn it such that I can play it on my PS2 with Swapmagic 3.3? My efforts thus far have produced unreadable discs. Is what I'm attempting impossible? Thanks in advance...

Thanks, Ido. I was just a bit worried about mission briefings and such.

How daunting is the game for a non-Japanese speaker? Can you follow the general drift of what's going on, or are the missions sufficiently complex that you need to translate some of the instructions? And, if the latter, is there enough info on the net to clear up any language barriers? Thanks alot...

Why do bootleggers mangle perfectly good designs? I mean, why do they bother altering a design that they're already ripping off? If you make a valkyrie fugly, do you then myteriously abide by copyright rules?

Join me in the dream, brother. I prefer to dream about realistic stuff, like transmuting nitrogen into solid gold via the power of my mind. But, oh what a wonderful dream a Yamato VF-17 is... Then again, if we're seeing cool, hyper-obscure mecha from VF-X2 being relased, who knows?

Actually, Nightbat, you've got me convinced.

Yeah, that's what I wanted to know.

That looks like a ventral exhaust, to me.

I would simply wager that the arm-mounted FAST packs used the leftover space for structural reinforcement, i.e., armour. After all, the only time (that I recall) we ever see a Valkyrie use the NP-AR-01 is when Hikaru used them to parry a helluva lot of missiles. Sure, his arms were blown off, but the common designation of the FAST packs as "armour" seemed to be appropriate in that instance at least.

Excellent point. Things are becoming mysteriouser and mysteriouser. And I agree with TenScaryonkeys; I never understood all the hoopla over an absent GBP-1S until now. I might actually plunk down the cash for this one, expecially if they offer it separately from the -1J.