Hurin

You know, seriously, I think more than half these guys are all talk. "Take them back?" Sure. . . just reach down and say: "Screw you kid. You get nothing!" Right in front of his dad. Speaking of his dad. . . Yell at the plumber to get the f' out in front of the landlord who always uses him and is paying the bill? Sure. Smack the kid? Right. You guys are too funny. Real tough guys. H

I agree with everything you just said. . . except for that I never intended this thread to take such a serious turn. The kid was an brat. But I'm a sucker, and he got a toy. I expected him to be grateful, but he wasn't. I then gave him the DVDs. He still didn't change much. So I gave up on him. I'll never see him again. Case closed. Yes, there are many bad parents. But I'm not going to feel guilty about introducing anyone to anime. H

Guys, you really all need to chill. I wrote this out because of the sheer absurdity of the situation. I thought it was funny. I gave him a freakin' Super-Poseable ($5. . . please note I was practically giving them away in the For Sale section and nobody wanted them). . . and some DVDs that I was never going to watch again. I'm not this kid's parent. And I really don't think my actions are going to make that child either better or worse. Really, this was all meant to be funny. But listening to the violent tendencies (especially towards kids!) could be read as being more disturbing than me rewarding a spoiled kid. If I were to take this thread too seriously. H P.S. The plumber was only there to inspect the problem yesterday. He fixed the problem today and my neighbor reports that there was no kid present.

I'll give him this too: He never actually touched anything. He pointed, and came close. . . but he never touched. If he had even nudged one of my valks, it would have been Game Over. H

Been 30 now for a couple of weeks. It's odd though. Once the kid saw my collection, he just suddenly started talking to me (and treating me) like I was just another kid his age. Maybe he treats other adults differently. Hehe, I still have trouble thinking of myself as an "elder" as in "respect your elders." H

No, no, no. I gave him Robotech stuff. Hehe. I know, I know. Like I said, I was more shocked than anything else. . . and amused. It was bizarre. Really though, he caught me in a really good mood. . . and the whole event lasted less than ten minutes. The plumber is coming back tomorrow with the parts to fix my neighbor's tub drain. Gotta say, I wouldn't be comfortable if I had the feeling the landlord might let him (with his kid) back into my apartment while I'm not there. I get the feeling that the plumber may not actually be around the kid that much. He tried to get the kid to say "please" and "thank you" quite few times. But the kid acted like he wasn't there. He was too busy just talking to me like I was any other kid. H

That was just the thing. . . the kid didn't even seem happy to get what I was giving him. He just kept wanting "one that transforms" and kept looking all disappointed as I handed him free stuff! I said (and his dad said): "You should be happy that you're getting a free toy!" Well, I guess when I gave him the DVDs he seemed to actually want them. . . but still just kept asking for more. It was really amazing. I realized he was rude at the time, however, I was more in shock and amused by such an attitude. It was a sight to behold. He really wanted my matchbox Warhammer actually, even though he didn't transform. He offered to trade the CF super-poseable for it several times. Then he wanted to know how to get the Super-Poseable to stand up straight. He seemed disappointed when I told him that it wouldn't. That's when it struck me to give him the DVDs, cuz I started to explain to him how those poses are what anime is sorta known for. . . To his credit, his dad said: "You sure I can't give you anything for those?" as his kid just wandered off. . . But it's the landlord's dime for the repairs. So, what was he gonna give me? And to answer someone else's question: Luckily, mostly what I had in there was empty boxes for my home theater stuff. Those were wrecked (no big whoop). Somehow, I managed to put the "valuable" stuff over to the right away from where the water dripped down. ("flooded" may have been too strong a word. More like "saturated"). But even the "valuable" stuff was only some nostalgic stuff like my Battletech Technical Readout books (the only books I kept from my BT collection). And those are fine. Man. . . I started a strange thread. Just a little diary entry here. Heh. I really should have just taken the time to recollect all the amusing parts about this story and put them in the first post lest you all think I'm just making this up. But anyways, the kid actually only needed to come into my place to use the bathroom (the leak is below my neighbor's tub. . . which drips down into our car-ports. . . where we have wooden "storage lockers" made out of wood built into the walls). Anyways, the kid asks if I "have a bathroom". . . and I said uh, yes. Then he just barrells on in and was just spinning around in my little apartment like a dervish looking at all that stuff. . . I mean, almost immediately, he acted like he owned the place. Something else also troubled me. He didn't respect people's "bubble" or "social space" He just had no "shyness" that you would expect from a kid in a stranger's apartment. Just in your face. Picture a fat little red-headed kid (no foolin') with an attitude like one of the brats from Willie Wonka and the Chocoloate Factory (which I recently watched). Anyways. . . I assumed he was going to do a #1. But then he was in there for a while. Dude. . . what do kids eat nowadays? Because after he left. . . and I had seen his dad and my landlord off. . . I went in there and. . . SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP. . . I haven't smelled anything like that in a long time. It defies explanation or verbal description. I swear the wallpaper was about to peel. Okay, enough toilet humor. This is just one of those stories that seems surreal as it happens. I wish I had it video taped. H

One other thing. I found this odd. The kid kept asking: "When will you be giving them away". . . as though it was a foregone conclusion that I would be doing so in the near future. It went like this: "So, when will you be giving them away?" "Never, I like them. I'm still collecting them." "Yeah, but when will you stop." "I don't think I'll ever get rid of them." "Yeah, but you have to some day." "Why?" "You know. . ." "What?" "When you. . ." "Die? I'm 30. I got about fifty years left!" "Well, I was trying to be polite. . ." Holy crap. . . I had no idea that kids talked like that. What a precocious little demon! That's being polite?!? The kid didn't have a polite bone in his body! At this point, I just laughed my ass off and thanked God he wasn't my kid. Reading this, I realize it sounds far-fetched. . . but that's the actual conversation I just had with an 11(?)-year old. Oh, then he asked if I would be giving them to my kids. Does this kid wanna be on a waiting list or something? H

I think he was around 11 or so. I'm terrible at judging the age of kids. Yeah. Truth be told, the kid was quite a brat. If he were my kid. . . well, let's just say I wouldn't have a kid like that. Anyways. . . while he lacked manners and was quite demanding, I also had to respect him for his taste in toys. Also, keep in mind that I don't think he realized that he was talking about expensive toys. I mentioned that they were imported from Japan. But I didn't want to quote a price to shut up the "gimmes" 'cuz my landlord was right there. . . and it's best not to advertise that you have that much disposable income around lest she decide I'm not paying quite enough in rent. The kid was a brat. But he liked the toys. I was torn. H

My storage cabinet was flooded today because of a leak under my neighbor's apartment. The plumber came by to check on things and had his son with him since today is a holiday. The kid came in and saw all my Yamato 1/48s and other Macross stuff and started just f'ing asking me to give him stuff. Now, I at once thought, "what an arrogant little jerk". . . but at the same time, I can't say no to kids who express interest in the same stuff I like. So, I went into my closet and grabbed a CF Super-Poseable and gave him that. He was disappointed to not get a transformable one. . . but hey. . . ya can't win 'em all. He started asking what they were from. . . so I suddenly thought: What the heck do I need these Robotech DVDs for other than to remind me how annoying the voice acting was? So. . . I sent the kid off with them as well. But I warned him. . . "Kid, these will seem cool now at your age. But as you get older, and they start to get cheezier and more embarassing to watch, remember that the original Japanese versions of this stuff is much cooler and made more for adults. So as you get older, remember to look up "Macross" on the internet." Maybe I set the kid on the right path. Regardless, I needed to get rid of some stuff to make room for my girlfriend who's moving in next month. So, everyone's a winner. H

This again? Hell, I might as well just put this in my signature. . . But to expand a bit on this: The kids of yesterday who had to depend on their frugal parents to shell out $10 for a toy are now the (proudly) geeky adults of today with, in many cases, a lot of disposable income. We now see toys that we would have killed for as children. . . but we now have our own paychecks. . . and no parents to say no. That leads to expensive "collectible toys" like the Yamato 1/48s. It's a free market, people. And a free market is both very simple and infinitely complex. And, in my opinion, no amount of secrecy, collusion, or censorship is going to keep sellers from figuring out what to charge us for these toys.

Radd, you didn't have to answer each of those questions! Look, the point is that many who watch DYRL are overwhelmed at the beginning. I'm not pulling that out of my $@%. It's a common reaction and I doubt many people would debate it. Hell, even some people who have already seen the TV series are confused! Yes, you are correct, many of the basic questions are answered as the film goes along. But the narrative of DYRL is such that there is a lot of "wtf" towards the beginning ("What the hell is a miclone? Who is that. . . and why should I give a crap what happens to her?") that is only alleviated towards the end. Before it starts making sense, a lot of us are already begging our girlfriends to please just hang in there for ten more minutes, because "I promise babe, it starts getting good now!" Essentially, you seem to dismiss all the dropped elements as unimportant. So, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to address that since we obviously just disagree on what is important and what compromises a compelling and well-delivered narrative. I've said all along, there are indeed people who saw DYRL first, and loved it. That doesn't change the fact that there are also a lot of people who see it and are completely confused. And I don't think it would be fair to just dismiss them as being dense. At this point, I'll just refer everyone back to ewilen's post. He said it all perfectly. I'm just mucking it up. H

Is this directed at me in particular? I'll try. . . Just watching it with friends, I'm bombarded with the following questions: Who are these guys? (The Zentraedi) Why are they attacking us? (Because they followed the Macross to us) What is the Macross? (The big ship we have) Why do we have it? (It crashed on earth) <A few minutes pass> What planet is that? (Jupiter) Why Jupiter? (They are on their way back from a bad fold operation) What is a "fold operation?" (blah blah blah. . .) <A few minutes pass> What the hell is Misa's problem? And so on. . . Yes, you are correct that the core of the story is there. But so much else is left there with no explanation that those unfamiliar with the TV series are just wondering wtf is going on. H

Yes. That is true. Now it's really just about the debate regarding whether DYRL depends on familiarity with the TV series for more than just plot background. . . but also emotional depth, character motivation, and a sense of narrative consistency. But that's where I think many here will just have to agree to disagree.

Yes, but I'd urge you to compare how each begins: The series has a nice voice-over setting the stage. The world situation is described and the origins of the Macross are detailed. The characters are introduced. . . and then the Zentraedi arrive and we witness the beginning of the war. As the series goes on, we discover more and more about them. The movie begins with the Zentran discussing "miclones" and other things that we have no clue about (unless you've seen the TV series). We enter the movie with the Macross already halfway across the solar system and doing battle with an enemy which just simply is. There's a city inside the ship. Supposedly, the earth has already been at least "heavily damaged." There is no expostion setting the scene, explaining who the players are, or just how things got to this point. Now, that's not to say that DYRL doesn't have its reasons for being less readily understandable. It obviously had only two hours to work with instead of 36 (?)episodes. But, in my opinion, you can't really say that they are equally confusing. SDF Macross makes a great deal of sense if watched from the beginning. And, of course, the confusion engendered in making the transition between Robotech and either SDF or DYRL isn't quite the same thing as there being a confusing or unclear narrative. One is the result of a script and time constraints. The other can be generously termed "fanboy dysphoria." Really, I think DYRL is just meant to "wash over you" and you're not supposed to think about it too much ("Hey, why can Misa read that language when even the Zentran and Meltran can't?"). It's beautiful, and entertaining, but doesn't bear as much critical scrutiny as the TV series.

Gotta disagree there. DYRL can be an utterly confusing movie to someone who isn't already familiar with the overall story. At least, it has been to many. Obviously, for me this is at the point of "agree to disagree". . . but I would humbly suggest that those who prefer DYRL aren't giving the TV series enough credit for "priming" them for DYRL, thereby making DYRL as effective and enjoyable as it is for them. Again, however, I know there are some who saw DYRL first and just plain loved it from the start. And, I'm sure there are just people who enjoy brevity, beautiful visuals, whiz-bang action, and a more direct story. To each their own. Both are wonderful in their own way. I just think one wouldn't be so good without the other.

It could be argued that those choosing the tv series are choosing quantity over quality. It could also be argued (as it already has) that the quality of the movie depends on fore-knowledge of the series. With a few rare exceptions, I don't think many people would find the movie nearly as enjoyable if they weren't bringing over the emotional/nostalgic attachments that they already formed while watching the TV series. But, again, there are exceptions. I wouldn't be suprised if there were a correlation between those who prefer the movie, and those who would prefer action films to drama films. Neither side is right or wrong since this is about entertainment preferences. But those who are more into visceral, pulse-pounding, fast-paced entertainment will probably prefer DYRL. But those who aren't as "action-oriented" will probably see more to love in the TV Series. I prefer the TV Series. But if I need a quick Macross fix, it's a lot easier to just put in DYRL and enjoy what I consider to be the "highlight reel" of the TV series. DRL looks better and has many of the same themes and events. But none of those themes or events would really mean a damn to me if they weren't, in my mind, thoroughly (though subconsciously) entwined with the more carefully developed and intimately told story of the TV series.

Here are some pictures of a Max 1J. If that helps. H

That musta been cool. Though I hope you had permission to actually start digging through another guy's belongings before you did so! As others have said, you should probably get the final OK from the bro. Moms are notorious for screwing over their sons by giving away things that aren't theirs to give. Though, from mom's perspective, if you really wanted it, you probably would have come and gotten over the last fifteen years. H

Ewilen said it all.

Stopped reading about halfway through. So if this is redundant, sorry. First step in cleansing yourself of the Robotech taint is to buy/rent the Animeigo DVDs of SDF Macross. Watching the original series without the bad voice acting, mangled plots, and kid-ified subject matter is the first (and, imho, most important) step in starting to truly appreciate Macross and divesting yourself of all the preconceived RT notions. Just my 2 cents. H

Had 'em all. Sold 'em all.

No FP: First, "stick" the arms together. There is a peg and hole designed to do this. Only then place the arms (still stuck together) between the legs. The legs should be straightened completely and make sure there is no twisting at the knee swivel points. There are pegs and holes that then hold the arms up between the legs. With FP: I don't have quite as much problem as some. . . but generally, this arrangement doesn't work so well with FAST Packs. Regarding the gunpod and the TV FAST Packs. There is just the tiniest little bit of plastic that has to be scraped/cut way on the TV FAST Packs so that the gunpod will mount on them. Five seconds with a sharp xacto blade should be all it'll take. H

Hehe, did anyone else notice that they dubbed in the sounds of an AT-AT (Star Wars) walking for the RC robot playing with the soccer ball (at the very end).

Can't confirm or deny. Don't think I've ever used that sticker. H