Seto Kaiba
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Hell, if they give us a VF-2JA cover and a better-looking Metal Siren cover, I will be OVERJOYED. (Okay, so I might be easy to please...)
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Bear in mind that my statement was, in fact, entirely accurate because I was talking about the two video game prequels from the Macross II: Lovers Again timeline, in which Kamjin is shown to be very much alive (albeit a little bit mangled). It's rather hard to argue otherwise, in light of Macross 2036 having Britai positively identify him and the fact that both games use him as the main antagonist of their respective stories. So, did you have an actual point to go with your visceral demonstration of "being misinformed"? Something actually relevant to the thread, perhaps? Oh, it's certainly possible with respect to the Macross 30 novelization. I haven't yet read it myself, the alternate designation of Aisha's VF-19E was something pointed out to me by a friend. That's why I said that it was something I was given to understand, rather than something I knew. However... the other information I cited is sound. You'll note that I did cite the source for the VF-19 having alternate wing types out of Master File. The remarks WRT the VF-19 Custom are sourced from Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B, which identifies the head from Basara's VF-19 Custom as an "exclusive" unit and a difference from the VF-19F base spec, along with the changes to the control system (guitar controller), while the Macross Compendium's VF-19 entry talks about the speakers and so on. That the VF-19EF and VF-19ACTIVE have canards and non-F/S type wings is obvious just from looking at their models and art in either Dengeki Hobby magazine or the Visual Books (I have the latter). The VF-19A differences from the YF-19 spec are listed, in brief, on ALL 01B, while the VF-19C is presented more or less identically in Master File and Macross the Ride as being the same type as the VF-19A (the only visible difference being the aforementioned pointy bits on the stabilizers on the VF-19C/MG21). The descriptions that indicate changes to airframe shape were carried out to improve stability, and the removal of some aerodynamic equipment from the -F type, are also on Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B. I think I did an OK job of sourcing what I'm saying here, all told. Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B does offer quite a few interesting insights into the VF-19's many variants... including apparently taking down the Master File concepts for the VF-19B and -E. I just wish it had included some of the ones from Macross the Ride as well. I'm quite fond of the Nothung.
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Well... crap, now I've noticed that the paintjob isn't that far off the AV-98 Ingram's either. My mind's eye and ear are going to a bad place where some hapless soul has let Ohta into the cockpit. Ah well, it ain't gonna stop me from buying one... IMO it's a fine-looking fighter. It'll be my fourth-ever Macross toy purchase.
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Well, on that front there is a potential (admittedly non-official) answer from Master File, which suggests that the VF-19's wings are modular, and that the F/S type actually has two different wing designs for various operating conditions. (See VFMF: VF-19 pg80) To me, that doesn't seem an unreasonable explanation for it, since the official line art and animation shows us that, in terms of its transformation, the VF-19's wings are only really held on at the one point. Swapping the short, stubby wings of the VF-19F/S out with the longer all-regime wing shouldn't be that arduous. Nor should installing the canards, when you consider that, while they're doing that they were also fitting the VF-19 Custom with a bunch of one-off and non-standard experimental hardware like that new, one-off monitor turret, the speaker and projector systems in the shoulders, the custom cockpit, swapping the engines, and so on. The VF-19P's not the only VF-19F/S type with canards or a non-standard wing design too... the VF-19EF and VF-19ACTIVE are both in that category as well. So? Appearances can be deceiving, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and all that rot. The VF-19A doesn't look any different from a YF-19, but there are "under the hood" changes to make the mass production type more stable and reliable. Likewise, from what we've seen of the VF-19C, that variant doesn't have much in the way of externally visible differences from the VF-19A (the VF-19C/MG21 just has some pointy bits on the stabilizers). There's little to distinguish the VF-11B from the VF-11C, or the game version VF-4G from the VF-4A. Admittedly, the description in Macross Chronicle's glossary sheets indicates that the VF-19E may not be entirely identical to a VF-19A externally... it mentions some refinements to the aerodynamics to improve control, and the VF-19F/S is mentioned as having removed/abolished some of the airframe's concessions to aerodynamics, presumably because they'd be unnecessary for what's essentially a space-optimized VF-19 variant. (I'm given to understand that the novelization of Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy identifies Aisha's VF-19E as yet another customized VF-19E variant, assigning it the name VF-19E/MF.)
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Well, that's a sticky wicket... the VF-19E is not something we've seen in an "unaltered" state, barring the two candidates for VF-19E in Variable Fighter Master File: VF-19 Excalibur and Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy. My interpretation (and it is only an interpretation) of the available evidence would be that Macross 30 has the right version of it and Master File, which was never intended to be an official resource, is wide of the mark. Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B seems like it's implying that Basara's VF-19 Custom was customized from a VF-19F (which would be consistent with some of its older stats, which originally listed it as using the same engine as the -F type) instead of a VF-19E with a pseudo-kai head (Chronicle also described the Custom's head as a one-off or "exclusive" type). Isamu's VF-19 ADVANCE is described as a VF-19E with some parts borrowed from the VF-19A and YF-19, but mostly looks like a VF-19A/YF-19. The VF-19E Monkey Model from Macross the Ride has more VF-19F/S traits, but it's also supposed to be pretty heavily modified from the basic design. Aisha's VF-19E from Macross 30 is the only time we've had a source that is (apparently) in continuity say "This is a stock VF-19E".
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As far as I am aware, having not read the Macross Frontier movie novelizations, it isn't... what Chronicle had to say about it was the underlying airframe is a VF-19E, with some (non-specific) parts exchanged for those from a VF-19A, the airframe control AI from the YF-19, and equipping the SPS-25 Super Pack booster units from the VF-25. (Source: Macross Chronicle Mechanic Sheet ALL 01B.)
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Eh... depending on what sources you look at, there's a bit of variance in where the X lands... the VF-X-# is the most common, but we've also seen VFX-# and XVF-# on occasion. Also, once, VF-X#. If it helps, Macross Chronicle has also explicitly identified Isamu's VF-19 from Sayonara no Tsubasa as the VF-19ADVANCE on the ALL 01B mechanic sheet, so it appears that the novel designation has been adopted as the official one. A shame they didn't also print it as such in the Official Complete Book, which calls it only "VF-19 SMS Ver."
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... wish I'd thought of that when I was writing that post. Oh well... we shiv and burn live and learn. Kinda reminds me of Mariafokina Barnrose making Aegis sweat by going up against him in a VF-1X.
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Sure thing... the khaki one is a "Vajra Destroyer" (バジュラ駆逐艦), the purple one is a "Vajra Battleship" (バジュラ戦艦).
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I know, I just couldn't get a letter gamma from my smart phone's keyboard. An excellent point... though it wasn't officially disclosed to the New UN Gov't, the VF-27 IS actually the only one on the OP's list which was mass produced and adopted by the military. Theoretically, the YF-30... since its fold dimension resonance system is described as being an improved version of the YF-29's fold wave system, and they're otherwise very similar technologically. The YF-30's engines are a very slight revision of the 29's, with a mere 5kN improvement in output. Well, that's debatable... Brera was shooting to kill Alto, while Alto wasn't trying to kill Brera. Is it really a fair indicator of performance if the killing intent in the fight is one-sided? The YF-30 was, yes, designed to operate on Ouroboros... but the YF-29B seems to do just fine there as well, considering it was Havamal's top of the line.
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To be blunt, there's no way to know... all three of those planes have very similar weapons and all boast performance exceeding the limits of the meatbags at the controls. They should be pretty evenly matched. Brera and Alto fought to a draw in Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa in their VF-27y and YF-29 respectively, and Rod's YF-29B did pretty good against Leon's YF-30 in Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy, though Leon ultimately won in the end. If I had to guess, I would say the YF-30 should... since its version of the fold wave system is more advanced, and it's not FUGLY.
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Well, I'd have to ask you to define "best" before I could answer... after all, "best" could mean many different things. The greatest thrust-to-weight ratio? Highest top speed? Most armament? Most operational versatility? Easiest to manufacture? Stealthiest? Highest reactor output? Most engine thrust? You see, there is no one "best"... there is only "most appropriate to a particular job". I'd also have to ask why you left the VF-25 off that list... since that one has far and away the greatest operational versatility of all the known YF-24 derivatives thanks to its diverse array of variants for general use and special purposes, and their ever-growing collection of optional equipment. In terms of the fighter that would be "most appropriate" to the widest array of potential operations, it'd probably have to be either the VF-25 or YF-30. The YF-30 can exchange its ordinance container for various other systems for different operational profiles, while the VF-25 has all manner of external optional hardware and special-purpose variants. All of them are going to be tricky to manufacture because they depend on fold quartz, though the YF-29 and YF-30 might well be the hardest due to their high requirements for fold quartz. In terms of highest top speed and thrust-to-weight ratio, it'd have to be the YF-29, that tops out at Mach 10 at 10km using its pinpoint barrier and boasts a T/W ratio of 61.164, edging out the 53.085 of the YF-30 and 46.493 of the VF-27. Reactor outputs aren't listed, but the YF-29 and YF-30 can expand theirs using fold wave or fold dimension resonance systems (respectively).
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Yes, but what he's saying is that the Blu-Ray release of Macross II is going to be to a comparatively small audience, so the small volume of sales in the US is still going to be more apparent than usual. Of course, as the usual sample size for a Macross release in the US is zero, anything more than zero is going to be enough to count as significant.
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IIRC, he hacked the ammo-loading system to have it put live rounds into one of Isamu's magazines... to sabotage the test and/or Isamu's standing with the program, since they could then point the finger at Shinsei's Jan Neumann, who's shown to be a hacker of respectable skill. 1. To frame Isamu for trying to sabotage the project... and get him kicked off said project. 2. The YF-19/VF-19's got three magazines for its gunpod at the best of times... one in the gun itself, and then two more carried behind its antiprojectile shield. 3. One or more of the magazines may have contained the standard test load. 4. Now that I don't recall if it was or not.
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http://www.macross2.net/m3/m3.html Never quite did get around to putting a redirect onto the main index page to bounce traffic to the M3 main page... you should find what you need under the SDF:M or DYRL sections.
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Well, there are some folks who do translate more than just the technical specs and that kind of thing... but they tend to focus on the old, out-of-print material either by personal inclination or in deference to that not-so-unwritten rule about books that're still in print. I haven't even considered tackling it, because I'm just not a fast enough translator to get through it in any reasonable span of time. EDIT: As far as "other stuff not covered", the non-narrative, non-mecha-stat stuff in Macross the Ride is, for the most part, just repetition of material we've had in a dozen other sources. Y'know, basic explanations of a bunch of things like the VF-25 variants or Super Packs or Destroids.
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Ranka's situation as per end of TV series
Seto Kaiba replied to Saruta's topic in Movies and TV Series
Nope, didn't miss that... but you have to consider her state of mind at the time. She'd already seen her one-sided crush locking lips with her rival/idol/mentor, been manipulated into being used as the latest weapon against the Vajra, and was living with the guilt of learning that Ai-kun was, in fact, the same type of alien who put her friend Nanase in the hospital and nearly killed her adopted brother on multiple occasions. I doubt her reasons for running away were entirely altruistic, and it probably didn't help that Alto clearly took exception to her leaving the fleet with Brera and a Vajra. You could read her motivations for leaving the fleet as an altruistic desire to stop the war, but you could also interpret them as a teenage girl running away from her problems under the cover of an attempt to do the right thing. Yeah, her agent doesn't exactly gain ground in promoting her, but Ranka demonstrates early on that she doesn't really have what it takes unless there's someone pushing her to do it. She uses Alto as her crutch for most of the series, and she has to be almost bullied into proving that she is even capable of performing in public by Michel. Elmo's efforts to promote her are, to an extent, a flop because of Grace's interference... but she never displays the professionalism we see in most other Macross idols. When she's forced to shoulder the reality of her world, she doesn't carry on and forge ahead... it breaks her completely. Ranka's character arc sort of stops prematurely... it never lets her "grow up" the way Minmay did. Contrast that with Sheryl who, with her star in decline and with the same "bum" agent Ranka had, manages to bounce back quite admirably and recaptures the spotlight without the resources that made her a megastar in the first place. When I say Ranka is a manufactured idol, I mean she's a girl who doesn't seem to really have the temperament to be an idol, who becomes one anyway because she's picked by someone with the resources to make it happen anyway, and who does everything for her to make sure she actually makes it. Sheryl was also handpicked and trained, but she shows the real spark of confidence to perform and the artistic merit to write her own material, and the determination to keep going and succeed even when she isn't being backed by a megacorporation. Eh... did she? She didn't get the role in the movie just because the director thought her song was great. She got the role because she could sing, and the girl who was supposed to play the role of Mao conveniently dies in a "freak attack" by a wild animal. It wasn't a song she came up with which got her the role either... it was one manufactured at the 117th Research Fleet by Grace and co. It probably helped that the director didn't think the song Sheryl wrote really fit the tone of the movie, but still... she didn't get it on her own merit, she lucked into it (though that may have been entirely orchestrated by Grace anyway). -
Well, it remains to be seen whether Macross Chronicle will place Macross 30 on its official timeline... but it does seem likely that will happen IMO, now that the game-exclusive YF-30 Chronos has been placed on the development "family tree" in issue 60 of Macross Chronicle. I'm not 100% clear on the mechanics of how the pre-existing characters got on Ouroboros myself, but it's some manner of fold-fault-induced space-time shenanigans stemming from the ruins on Ouroboros and the Ouroboros aurora that brought all of the previous characters there (seemingly without disrupting the timeline at all). Not anymore, I think... the villain of the piece wanted to use the unique space-time properties of Ouroboros aurora to change history, but his means for doing so seem to have been destroyed in the process of defeating him. I think Richard Bilra's bit about the fold network transcending time and space is more to do with zero-time fold essentially being lagless communication unimpeded by fold faults... which would enable him to search for Minmay without the crippling limits of a conventional fold communications system.
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As far as I'm aware (and that may not be very far!) there are no Macross 30 plot summaries anywhere (in English). There is a gameplay translation of the game available here on MW though... which my girlfriend found helpful enough that she was able to get all the way through the game without knowing a lick of Japanese. If space battles ain't your thing, no worries... there's only one at the very beginning, and it's a "supposed-to-lose" fight. At the very least, I can answer your inquiries about the characters. It's not Dr. Mao we get, it's the ~11 year old Mao as she was in Macross Zero... which does get played for a few cheap awkward moments between Sara, Mao, and Sheryl.
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Dunno if there's an official answer to that one offhand... I'm in the middle of a move, so all my art books are still packed. I'd guess that Macross Galaxy deliberately provoked a small-scale attack. The "portal" sort of effect actually goes back to the first episode of the original series... the visual used to depict fold jumps does change a bit depending on the budget. I don't recall seeing any in-series explanation for it, though the production reason is very likely a cost thing. It's cheaper to animate a ship just vanishing in a flash of light.
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Thanks Andras! I knew they'd done that before. My copy of the Squadrons Master File rolled in today... after a quick skim, I think I'm going to have fun with this.
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My guess would be (and I want to stress that it is only a guess) that they figured it out while they were researching the Vajra... that IS what the 117th was out there doing. They may have recorded it from fold transmissions while they were around the Vajra, or possibly detected an echo of it coming from another galaxy. (Or they may have pieced it together on their own after studying the Vajra distributed intelligence.)
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Huh... not the first time we've seen something like that done tho, is it? Didn't the Macross Model Hobby Handbook have some VF-1 hardware that was kitbashed out of Destroid bits?
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Ranka's situation as per end of TV series
Seto Kaiba replied to Saruta's topic in Movies and TV Series
I've always felt that Ranka sort of got shortchanged in the Macross Frontier love triangle... especially the ending, where Alto takes the "third option" of not choosing and Sheryl's reaction to being told "I won't lose to you!" is almost dismissive. To me, she just was a version of Minmay who never really got the chance to grow up and get over her typical teenage girl-ish bout of self-centered-ness. She doesn't really treat Alto like a love interest a lot of the time, he's more like the emotional crush she has for whenever she's feeling insecure or depressed. Sheryl forces Alto to come out of his shell, Ranka just forces him into a mentor role to her. Sheryl had a much better character arc, with her starting out as kind of an unpleasant, abrasive woman and gradually warming up to Alto. I think she should have gotten more character development, but I think she was always going to lose out to Sheryl in the end ("first girl wins" is a trope that applies in both versions) and she just wasn't as interesting as the more outgoing girl, so she got less attention in the story. She's sort of a subversion of Minmay too, in that she DOESN'T really meet with success through her own ability... she's a manufactured idol. -
Still waiting on mine... it's in customs. Thus far, I'm most interested in the VF-1L and the alternate FAST pack configurations.