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Everything posted by Seto Kaiba
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What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
This really has been a rather disappointing season... there have been a number of new shows I've had to force myself to marathon just to get through them. -
Well those are some unexpectedly specific questions... I'll do my best to help. Approximately 23,300 square feet, I believe... probably slightly more. https://arts.torranceca.gov/venues/meeting-rooms-and-banquet-facilities Assuming the layout won't be changing this year, SDCon is spread out across three areas of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center: the Toyota Meeting Hall, Torino Festival Plaza, and Ken Miller Recreation Center. Check-in is in the Toyota Meeting Hall lobby, and the Meeting Hall itself is the vendor hall and artist booths. The Torino Festival Plaza is where they do the group events like the art contest, karaoke, and the auctions, as well as where the concession stands and cosplay cafe set up. The Ken Miller Recreation Center auditorium holds the panels, cosplay contest, and concert, with autograph sessions with the convention guests being held in the lobby and the memorabilia museum in the adjoining assembly room. It's a smallish convention, usually a couple hundred people. I have some photos from previous years I can share, though I believe the con's facebook page has some good pics from previous years taken with cameras better than my humble POS cell phone camera. Well, that's up to you isn't it? Speaking as a fellow Michigander, that flight from Detroit Metro to Los Angeles International can be a bit of a bear if you're not used to long flights. It's approximately 5 hours if you fly direct. More like 7 if you take a connection through Salt Lake City or Minneapolis/St. Paul. That said, I've found the con enjoyable enough to fly out for the last four years and I'm planning to do it again this year. I usually try to take a few extra days and do some tourist-y stuff in the area to get the most out of the airfare... side trips to places like the USS Iowa, the Aquarium of the Pacific, or the La Brea Tar Pits Museum. (It's pretty easy to game the system to get cheap airfare, though the hotels are on the expensive side since the venue is near the fashion district and the hotel restaurants are on the expensive side too.) It's a smallish con, so I'm not sure I'd say it's a "big deal". There's usually at least one high profile guest like Mari Iijima (Minmay), Run Sasaki (Vanessa Laird), or last year's coup double-feature of Tsutomu Takeyama (Hibiki Kanzaki) and Takumi Yamazaki (Isamu Dyson). One year they got the US Renditions crew who did Macross II's dub, including several of the key voice actors. Usually most of the "big name" fans who run the major English-language fansites are there, like MW's Shawn, the Speakerpodcast guys, Richard from Gubabablog, etc. (not sure if I count in that, for M3?) and the auctions invariably have one-of-a-kind collectibles like original sketches from Tenjin Hidetaka or other artists. The "party scene" is pretty laid-back. The afterparty was made an official event last year, and it was a pretty relaxed event in one of the Torrance Marriott's ballrooms. Light social drinking, music, that kind of thing. Nothing I'd characterize as a wild party, TBH.
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Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
... I have it. The most perfect way to Macross-ize MOSPEADA. The Mars forces defeat the Invid by blasting Crab Rave at them and they all start dancing. It's so horrible, this comic might actually DO it!- 1934 replies
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Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Alternatively, this entire series is just Sela gaslighting Picard for yuks... the Zhat Vash doesn't exist, Dahj and her sister are paid actors, and the whole thing's just a sham.- 2171 replies
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Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Bah, who cares... all that matters is whether or not you've brought enough melted butter and a robust enough hammer.- 1934 replies
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What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru is... interesting. It's kind of depressing, really, given how perversely proud Hachiman is of being socially withdrawn and how much hate he seems to have for his classmates. -
Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Eh, maybe... but none of them ever approached the level of animosity towards artificial lifeforms that's on display in Star Trek: Picard. They were also pretty much invariably the ONLY person present who didn't regard Data as an equal when they appeared and everyone else was visibly a little put out by their attitude. True to Star Trek form, Hobson, Haftel, Maddox, and Pulaski all changed their tune fairly quickly and all but Pulaski pulled their respective 180s in the space of a single episode. Odds are he'd probably be pretty disappointed in his future self for leaving Starfleet and his ideals for such a petty reason instead of trying to reform the organization and live up to the ideals he espouses.- 2171 replies
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Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
We don't have to look back very far... because they're still using it. The last time someone called me a "Macross purist" and meant it as an insult was barely two months ago. It was always most popular among the Robotech fans who thought the Masters Saga was actually watchable.- 1934 replies
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Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
One of my coworkers pointed this out to me, and I can't un-realize it... Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard is a space boomer. He's acting like exactly the kind of person "OK Boomer" was intended for. He's out of touch, he doesn't realize things no longer work the way they did when he was younger, and he's absolutely convinced he knows better than everyone else and that his moral code was superior to the modern one. (Sadly, "space boomer" was actually a term used in Star Trek before for Travis Mayweather's generation so it's unlikely to have come around again.) It's this ridiculous era of social media outrage and virtue signaling fake social justice advocacy. Ironically, it's basically a product of trying to create a Roddenberry-esque better world. We've started to internalize the idea that we ought to be celebrating differences and treating everyone with equal human dignity, but we haven't quite reached that point where it's been normalized to the extent where we don't have to be afraid of hurting people with words. We'll get it figured out eventually. I have faith. (Not of the heart tho, the regular kind... because that song was awful.)- 2171 replies
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Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
That'd be what I'm dreading most about Star Trek: Picard. Patrick Stewart has been fairly open about seeing Star Trek: Picard as his personal political soapbox and he has a voice in the production planning. I dread the prospect that, since Jean-Luc Picard is now a sockpuppet for Patrick Stewart's political views, he won't allow the writers to depict his character as being wrong or in the wrong no matter what... regardless of how hypocritical or contradictory his in-universe viewpoint may become. Basically, I'm dreading another Michael Burnham. Another character who the writers are so utterly determined has to be in the right that the universe itself has to bend over backwards to make it so, at the expense of common sense, logic, and a coherent narrative. We've already seen the start of it too. Admiral Clancey flatly declines to even consider that Jean-Luc Picard may have witnessed covert Romulan activity on Earth, and the commodore she consults about it is...- 2171 replies
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What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Starting Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru today... sounds like it should be a fun ride. -
Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Your computer doesn't soliloquize on the nature of being and what it means to be human, does it? I mean, it's harder to see something like an android as a dumb machine when it exhibits humanlike behavior and even curiosity. We anthropomorphize everything... so it's kind of weird that such a humanlike android would be the object of such naked animosity. Yeah, I'm not sure if the writers realized that Admiral Clancey drew a line under one of the biggest plot holes in Star Trek: Picard. Jean-Luc Picard's narrative about Starfleet having done NOTHING to help the Romulans doesn't scan, even within the context of his own remarks. Starfleet bent over backwards to try to help the Romulans, over the objections of a number of Federation member worlds, and was left unable to render significant assistance despite their intentions to do so because they were attacked and the aid fleet destroyed. Star Trek: Picard's writers clearly want the audience to see Jean-Luc Picard as the One Sane Man, but his take on events doesn't seem to fit with objective reality even in the context of the series itself. To me, he comes off more as a self-righteous, entitled, slightly egotistical old man who views the entire world as wrong when it doesn't comply with his narrow views of what is right and true. Kind of the opposite, really... as heavily lampshaded by Captain Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise's "Dear Doctor". The Prime Directive exists to prevent Starfleet from playing god with less advanced civilizations. Their more advanced technology could dramatically change the course of civilizations that are still developing, accelerating or hindering their progression, causing wars and paranoia, and changing the very direction of their evolution. It's a rule that exists to prevent Starfleet officers from making decisions about what (lesser) civilizations are worthy to continue existing. That principle doesn't apply to other warp-capable civilizations, which are generally viewed as mature enough to be the masters of their own destiny, though it still prohibits Starfleet from interfering in the internal affairs of other warp-capable civilizations unless their involvement is specifically requested by an appropriate authority. So, the Admiral is kind of off-base there when she said that Starfleet can decide who lives or dies. That's very much against the spirit and letter of the Prime Directive.- 2171 replies
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Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Yeah, Star Trek: the Next Generation seems to have set the tone there with "Measure of a Man" and a half dozen other episodes that determinedly explored whether AIs dream of electric sheep. Voyager was probably the one that flogged it the hardest, what with all the Doctor-heavy episodes stealing the bloody show late in the series. Deep Space Nine was the only one that didn't really play with the idea at all, outside of its one episode where Bariel died. This is an unusually heavy-handed take though, what with the seemingly universal sneering disdain people treat androids with and the whole... You're not alone. Isn't this only ten episodes long per season or something like that? Two episodes on, and Jean-Luc Picard is still trying to get his travel papers together, find his shoes, and let LifeAlert know he's going to be out of town for a bit. That was one guy... and the attitude he copped evaporated by the end of the episode.- 2171 replies
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rpg Macross/Robotech RPG by Strange Machine Games
Seto Kaiba replied to Macross GURU's topic in Games
Eh... I gave the Strange Machine Games Robotech RPG open beta a whirl a while back and found it pretty unremarkable. I remember thinking it was a pretty poor effort even for a Robotech product. It's not a bad system, but IMO it was even less suitable for replicting the feel of the Macross (or Robotech) setting than Palladium Books's old system is... and that' system wasn't any prize either. Most people who buy it will probably end up using it to run Macross games, though, so if you want to put in the effort then I would say it's safe to say it won't go to waste. Personally, I'm not going to buy a copy because it's Robotech-branded and supports Harmony Gold's efforts to block Macross from markets worldwide. Even if those efforts aren't as fruitful as they used to be, I'm not about to give them any money that they could spend on lawsuits or on trying to hold on their license a little longer. The sooner they fold, the better. -
Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access)
Seto Kaiba replied to UN Spacy's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
*sigh* Barely halfway into Star Trek: Picard's second episode and from the sound of it they're ALREADY setting up Patrick Stewart's exit from the series. I'm vaguely bothered by how poorly tailored the new Starfleet uniforms look on the extras in this episode. So far, the best moment in this episode has been the quietly snarky Romulan safety supervisor aboard the salvaged Borg cube. He dispenses a lot of quiet snark while giving his very boring sounding safety briefing that Dahj's sister talks over. It's a shame that she doesn't realize this nameless background character is far more interesting than she will ever be. Romulan Science Guy, whose name I have already forgotten because he is boring cliche, seems to be trying really hard to channel Spock from Star Trek: Discovery season two. BIG mistake. There is literally a moment in this episode where Patrick Stewart is basically explaining to his Romulan housekeeper that the show can't afford to bring back the TNG cast for more than cameos. So Picard's ragtag crew here are apparently going to be a crew of outcast privateers on a personally-owned ship. What little we see of the ship, it's pretty ugly and generic... it really feels a bit like they're trying to make this Star Trek: Firefly or knock off Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon.- 2171 replies
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Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Responsible readers remember to wrap the comic in an asbestos blanket and safely dispose of it in a nuclear waste storage facility after reading... or before, ideally.- 1934 replies
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Super Macross Mecha Fun Time Discussion Thread!
Seto Kaiba replied to Valkyrie Driver's topic in Movies and TV Series
Messer did a lot of Battroid mode and GERWALK mode stuff during the space battles... but from the sound of it, even Hayate's handling in fighter mode was pushing his VF-31J well beyond its normal limits and causing damage. Yup, there's no mention of them finding any alien crew aboard the wrecked ship in the Super Dimension Fortress Macross series or Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie, and I don't recall any mention of finding crew in Macross the First either. I'd imagine a lot of the ship's fixtures would have kind of given the game away... like the gigantic, completely recognizable-at-a-glance toilets. I can just imagine the first work crews exploring the ship... "Golly, I wonder what kind of amazing alien lifeforms inhabited this mysterious ship from beyond the stars?" "Oh damnit, that's a giant toilet. We're on some Gulliver's Travels bullsh*t now." "Don't get so down, at least we're not doing that one TAS episode with the giant Spock and the plant people." -
Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Well... if nothing else, you have to applaud Titan's efforts to make the covers awful enough to be a representative sample of the contents. They're working hard to ensure that you CAN judge a book by its cover.- 1934 replies
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Robotech and REMIX by Titan Comics
Seto Kaiba replied to Old_Nash's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I get the feeling that for most of us this isn't in "guilty pleasure" territory so much as "ironic punishment from the greco-roman gods" territory...- 1934 replies
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What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Finished Demi-chan wa Kataritai a few minutes ago... great show, too short. I want 13 more episodes, stat. This was just plain well-written. The story made me care about the characters with surprising swiftness and without resorting to cheats like fanservice. This is exactly the kind of character-driven drama that should be 26 or 50 episodes, not 13. This was good enough that I am seriously looking at getting the official licensed US release. -
Super Macross Mecha Fun Time Discussion Thread!
Seto Kaiba replied to Valkyrie Driver's topic in Movies and TV Series
Yeah, the so-called "Immelmann Dance" kind of fell by the wayside after just a few episodes... one has to wonder if it was because the maintenance team made him stop doing it, as the series had at least one bit of dialog from Makina acknowledging that the Immelmann Dance was rough as hell on Hayate's VF-31J and, compared to Messer's style, it was coming back all beat-up just from his style of flying. There was a really nice bit a few episodes on where Hayate and Freyja went for a night flight in his VF-31J and had a whole dancing segment before Messer rained on their parade and threatened them with charges for AWOL. That line from Makina about how Hayate's handling of his VF-31J was so rough that it was incurring extra repair time between sorties was one of the odder things we've had in terms of technical remarks. How many G's was Hayate putting on that airframe that it needed more repair between sorties than someone aggressively dogfighting like Messer? VFs are stressed for dozens of G's above and beyond the almost-30G buffering limit of the ISC. Hayate was either astonishingly rough on his VF-31, or the performance enhancements in the Xaos VF-31 customs already overloaded the airframe in normal operation. -
Super Macross Mecha Fun Time Discussion Thread!
Seto Kaiba replied to Valkyrie Driver's topic in Movies and TV Series
When the designers start messing with the core concept of VF transformation, one of the most common outcomes is that they end up removing GERWALK mode altogether. We saw this a couple times in the 90's, like the VF-XX Zentradi Valkyrie from the Macross II: Lovers Again OVA and the VF-X3 Medusa from Macross: Remember Me. The logic is usually that GERWALK mode doesn't have a lot of utility in space besides deceleration and that Battroid can do that just as easily. I've often thought that Macross Frontier neglected GERWALK mode too much, and one of the few things Macross Delta did right in the TV series was to make fairly extensive use of GERWALK mode. There was, of course, that one memorable time that a designer decided to add a fourth mode instead and we got the Metal Siren's Gundroid mode in Macross II, which was explained as a GERWALK-like mode meant for space dogfighting. That same designer is also responsible for the "poor man's VF" that had JUST a GERWALK mode (the GERWALKroid, also from Macross II). -
What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I am torn between the dullahan, Machi, and the succubus teacher Satou. Demi-chan wa Kataritai is so damn pure... it's a feel-good series that really deserves the title. -
What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I'll say this much, this series is RELENTLESSLY wholesome. A largely fanservice-free character drama is right where I'm at right now, so I'm enjoying the hell out of it. -
What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0
Seto Kaiba replied to wolfx's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I have heard nothing but good of it, and it seems that trend is destined to continue here.