TheLoneWolf

I just checked Entertainment Bible 51 and I believe it might have a slightly different name in that book. I use the words "I believe" because my Japanese is pretty bad, but I can at least make out "Mardook new ... mecha" in the name. The EB 51 name for it has two more kanji characters that the TIAS name, and I don't know what they translate to. Zinjo, I forgot to mention this, but I think you (and Palladium) were right about "Squires" being the name for the automated attack drones. EB 51 has that katakana name for it and the romanization is pretty darn close to "squire."

Heh, I hear it everywhere! Though I can see why the rumor is so persistant, the first half of the series moves along at a casual pace, then it becomes harried in episodes 5-6 while the animation quality drops off faster than Wall St. Since most american macross fans are familiar with the premature demise of Souther Cross, I think it's easy for them to apply that same scenario to MII. One particular internet rumor that I found interesting was that Bandai was going to cancel the series early leaving MII incomplete, but US Renditions agreed to provide additional funding to make sure that all six episodes got completed. I doubt it's true and I've yet to find any concrete evidence supporting it. edit: Oh yeah, thanks for linking MII and Roman Holiday! I've never seen the movie before, but it explains why Ishtar's hair was inexplicably cut short.

Superb work, as usual. I really like the orange Strike armor, cool nod to the Ostrich armor.

Nope. The vol.1 Japanese laserdisc shows the release schedule for the rest of MII, only 6 episodes are named as well as their future release dates. Also, LA Hero stated in an interview that the series was planned as six episodes from the get go.

Both of you are wrong. Kawamori retconned DYRL so that Minmay can now read gibberish. Though I'm inclined to agree with lord_breetai, the lyrics were probably written in English solely for the cool factor.

1/60 VF-4

Considering how old Gunbuster is, I wonder how it will look on BD.

While I was watching the show I just assumed they were in their early 20's; except for Minmay, no other ages are mentioned. I also remember scratching my head wondering why an older guy like Hikaru (whose age I wrongly assumed) was interested in a girl as young as Minmay. When I was finished with the show I looked up Macross online and was shocked when the Compendium listed their true ages.

I first saw SDFM when I was 15 and I found it pretty unbelievable that most of the SDFM characters were only 17 or 18. Out of all my friends who were 17 and 18 at that time, I said to myself that there's no way in hell that I could ever see any of them displaying the amount of leadership and courage that the SDFM characters did. And I'm not just saying this in retrospect, this is actually what I was thinking back then. Of course you have to take into consideration that I was a Western teen watching a show that was geared towards Japanese teens.

For $20 you could replace that arm armor piece, it's a fair price. I'd suggest putting a post in the Wanted section of these forums offering the $20 for someone's arm armor piece. I wouldn't recommend using reissue armor on your Strike. It's a very very loose fit, the reissue arm armor will basically dangle off the arm of your Strike. Plus, they're completely different colors. The strike armor is charcoal gray and the reissue armor is blue-ish green.

That's a slick VF-1D canopy! Bravo, Spiff. By the way, do you have any profile shots? They would be a very welcome addition to the Gallery.

That's why I used "fairly popular" as a qualifier. Both releases of the 1/60 YF-19 sold out pretty quickly, so I think it's safe to say that it's fairly popular. Both examples you cited, the 1/60 Q-Rau's and 1/72 VF-11B w/Fast Packs, were busts and languished on retailers shelves for a while and could easily be found a year later at 50% off. Yamato's not going to reissue a toy that sold poorly, but they will reissue one that sells out (just as long as it's not designated as a limited edition). The 1/60 Q-rau probably received a reprieve since Frontier made extensive use of new Q-rau's.

Unless Yamato hates money, they'll reissue the YF-19 w/Fast Packs in another year or two (or sooner). The YF-19 is still fairly popular and reissues are a cheap & easy way to make money; you can either wait it out or pay a premium the next time one shows up on e-bay or yahoo japan.

He's probably referring to the variable Mardook mecha, but I can't remember what it's supposed to be called. No rush with the MII section. Even as a fan of MII mecha, I agree that there are far bigger fish to fry. Hmm, did you get a hold of that VF-4 lineart that came with the resin kit?

Already mentioned here, but thanks anyway.

Haha, from that picture it looks like Minmay's sitting on a high-chair.

I hear you. But magazine covers are meant to sell the magazines, and from I understand Frontier is very popular in Japan right now, so I expect Chronicles to reflect that. As for the mecha covers, I think sketchley's post summed it up pretty well. Maybe when (or if) Frontier fades from the spotlight we'll begin to see classic characters on the covers.

I love the the design on the Bandai boxes. The customer is clearly shown what mecha they're getting, the mecha's primary modes are in focus, there's some nifty artwork of its pilot, and the whole layout is designed to grab the customers attention without seeming too busy.

I love the black and red color scheme. Black looks so natural on 21, great work!

Agreed. Nearly all the Zentradi mecha are double the size of the Tomahawk. If Yamato's going to charge $87 for the small Tomahawk, it stands to reason that a mecha double the Tomahawk's size and detail is also going to cost around double its price. So I'd expect a $150 - $180 pricetag by Yamato's price-gouging standards. edit: Actually, Yamato could offer affordable Zentradi mecha through its GN-U line. The toys would be small, lacking detail, and non-scale; but I still think it would receive a warm welcome.

Sigh... After the episode 1 credits roll on the 1992 laserdisc, the screen displays (roughly translated from Japanese): ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II Release Schedule [1] Available Now (Contact) [2] June 21 (Ishtar) [3] August 21 (Festival) [4] September 24 (Mardook Disorder) [5] October 22 (Station Break) [6] November 21 (Sing Along) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Again, I'm looking at my TV screen as I'm translating this. This text appears right after the credits roll. That's it, nothing else. There is no mention of any further episodes. I don't know how much more official it can get. Also corroborating this, in a 1993 issue of Animerica a fan wrote in: "Also, why is Macross II only six episodes long? That sounds way to short." The editor's response: "According to L.A. Hero, the length of the Macross II series reflects the current trend in the Japanese anime industry towards shorter OAV series." So can we now please bury this "Macross II was cut short!" urban legend along with the "Cursed Mummy onboard the Titanic" myth on snopes.com?

Sorry, I have no idea where to get Amaray DVD cases from. But if you're looking to keep your DVD cases from getting scuffed up, try these DVD sleeves out. I use them with all my import games and R2 DVDs, just in case I plan on selling them in the future. The sleeves contain a reusable adhesive right where the top flap folds down, so you don't need to use any tape to keep the sleeves closed. The sleeves are also made of some sort of material that creates a slight abrasion when two seperate sleeves are touching. I'm not sure if this intentional or not, but it comes in real handy if you're moving stacks of DVD's and don't want the cases slip-sliding all over the place. Otherwise, you're not going to feel any abrasion if you're just holding it in your hand or it's lying on a table. Oh yeah, you can also buy DVD cases (not Amaray) from the site I posted, but I've never actually purchased any from there. Though I can say that their customer service is top-notch, so you don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

The sliding sensor eye is a very cool gimmick, it's nice to see that Yamato is trying to make the Defender live up to its exorbitant pricetag.

I've shopped with robotech.com and have never had any problems. I don't recall anyone else having problems with their store either.

Macross II was always planned as a 6 episode OVA. The debut release of vol.1 (1992) on laserdisc shows the upcoming release dates for the remaining 5 episodes. There is no "Episode 7 - TBA" or "Episode 8 - TBA." Also, LA Hero confirmed that MII was supposed to be 6 episodes since it was believed that short OVA's were the trend in 1992. If the story seems rushed, then it's due to the writing.