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Seto Kaiba

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  1. Seto Kaiba
    Yeah, they have... 8km x 3km, IIRC.
  2. Seto Kaiba
    Uh... what? As Talos pointed out a few posts back, there is no VF-19C in this movie. Isamu's VF-19 from his brief cameo in Sayonara no Tsubasa is never referred to as a "VF-19C". It's never referred to any more specifically than "VF-19" in the movie's Official Complete Book, and the blurb about it in Great Mechanics DX.17 refers to it as a "VF-19 S.M.S. Isamu [Version/Spec]". The novelization refers to it as the VF-19ADVANCE Excalibur Advance. To date, the only VF-19C's we've seen are the one in Master File (not official setting) and the Macross Galaxy fleet-specific model in Macross the Ride.
  3. Seto Kaiba
    The VF-24? The YF-24's the one all the information's about... which comes from a variety of sources, incl. Great Mechanics DX, Chronicle, and some magazine articles. I don't think there's been any hard data on a production model of same except what's in Variable Fighter Master File: VF-25 Messiah. Master File mentions up thru a VF-24A, but that's not canon. In part... it's mostly to do with the New UN Gov't not wanting to let the best toys fall into the hands of the colonies. That's why they were given a partial YF-24 Evolution spec and told to run with it, resulting in the VF-25 and VF-27. IIRC, that info comes from Great Mechanics DX.9 and/or Otona Anime #9.
  4. Seto Kaiba
    Eh... it's actually a lot clearer than folks here are making it out to be. Kawamori's notoriously evasive on the subject of the whole Series vs DYRL thing, but the official publications do a lot to offset his reluctance. In the past, his general position has been that the "truth" of Space War 1 is somewhere between the two versions we see... tho the timeline published in Macross Chronicle indicates, for the most part, that the series version is "correct" at least for continuity purposes. There are explanations in-universe for why some of the DYRL designs supplanted their TV series versions, such as the Macross w/ ARMDs being the result of a repair/retrofit operation (and later, the mass production type), or the VF-1s from the series and movie being the early and late production block versions of the same aircraft. When it comes to the design aesthetics, both versions are typically "correct" and can even be seen side-by-side in the animation in Macross 7 and Macross Frontier. Macross as a whole takes a fairly flexible approach to continuity and canon, but there's usually a good deal of overlap or some kind of explanation when there are multiple versions of a particular story. (As a side note, Macross II: Lovers Again and the other titles of its "parallel world" continuity are the exception to the rule. Theirs is, appropriately enough, a more Gundam-like approach to defining continuity with no ambiguity as to which version of the Space War 1 events is the right one.)
  5. Seto Kaiba
    That's a very important point, because HG has really been taking advantage of this and people generally don't care about the differences. Yeah, that's an ongoing problem with Robotech... and it's a misconception that Harmony Gold has put a fair amount of time and effort into cultivating, partly because it gets them kudos they don't deserve and partly because it discourages the people who're unaware of the truth from exploring real Macross. It just goes to show that ignorance is about the only thing that kept Robotech limping along since 1987 or so...
  6. Seto Kaiba
    Kind of... that's how it was back in the 90's, back before there was anything like official information on Robotech. Lots of fans (mistakenly) treated the Robotech RPG as a sort of encyclopedia and technical manual for the series, mainly because back in those days it was pretty much the only publication providing any level of detail about the Robotech setting, characters, mecha, etc. It wasn't until the Robotech fandom went online that they started to get alternatives... the uRRG and, later, the Infopedia. Nowadays, the "mainstream" fandom doesn't see the Palladium RPG as a valid source of information at all... even though the new books have supposedly been vetted for accuracy by Tommy. Most fans adhere to the popular position that the only stuff that counts in the rebooted Robotech continuity are the "original" series, the Shadow Chronicles movie (and related material), and the Wildstorm comics. They've cottoned onto the uRRG's stance that the RPG is nice, but completely unreliable when it comes to what's what because of all the liberties taken with the material in the name of game balance... if not because of the contradictions that crop up between even the new, vetted version and the official materials published around the same time.
  7. Seto Kaiba
    But they already have Palladium Books. Ugh... no, the problem with Palladium Books isn't as simple or straightforward as being a creatively and/or ethically bankrupt outfit trying to keep a decades-old bad idea limping along on life support in an industry they don't understand. Based on my experiences with them, Palladium Books isn't a bad company by any means. IMO, their main problem is a mixture of laziness, overestimating their capabilities, and phenomenally bad luck. QFT. Odd coincidence, I was actually having a discussion about exactly this with Talos just the other day. I've never been a fan of Battletech and/or Mechwarrior, mostly because the fecking awful mechanical designs put me off the prospect. The designs I remember were uniformly awful. Like the kind of thing a middle school kid with a surfeit of graph paper might draw if he were really bored and short of artistic merit.
  8. Seto Kaiba
    Hm... I think you've got the right idea, but rather the wrong culprit. As miles316 pointed out, the old man was a geneticist who studied the people of Mayan. The defector with all the VF know-how was Roy's mentor, D.D. Ivanov. Totally... esp. since Macross Chronicle teased us a little by throwing several of the Advanced Valkyrie designs into the Variable Fighter "genealogy" chart, incl. the VF-X-7. I'd prefer it to be in a canon source, but I'll cheerfully take something like Master File if they do it first.
  9. Seto Kaiba
    IIRC, it only talks about the specific development, capabilities, and service history of the SV-51 itself... Which is all well and good, but doesn't address the actual point of contention... namely, the circumstances under which the UN acquired the variable system. Nora isn't saying that they developed a working VF before the UN did. She's saying that the UN "obtained" the technology that makes the transformation possible and/or the design concept from some company or group with ties to the AUN. Nothing you've quoted there renders that assertion impossible.
  10. Seto Kaiba
    Eh... I don't think we can definitively say that Nora was lying or twisting the truth here. Granted, OTEC was the agency responsible for researching the alien technology from the Macross... they just weren't the only ones developing practical applications of their discoveries. It's entirely possible that she's telling the truth, and that the variable system was developed by a company either in her homeland or one of the companies involved in the development of the AUN's mecha, and was legitimately appropriated by the UN for its weapons development programme. As a national separatist, Nora'd definitely be inclined to see it as theft because she's opposed to the UN and thus any technology-sharing initiatives it may have initiated.
  11. Seto Kaiba
    Well, duh... drop a bombshell like that in a place like this, and it's pretty much inevitable someone'll call you a madman. Still, in all seriousness, the plot outline for Shadow Rising and the eventual conclusion of what we'll call "the Shadow saga" isn't a particularly enlightening read. A lot of what's in it is just facepalm-worthy, in all the worst ways. (I particularly love how the freshly reincarnated Zor's solution to the whole plot is "I'll build a big damn gun!".)
  12. Seto Kaiba
    Blew your mind, did I? D.D. and Nora say otherwise in Macross Zero... in one of their conversations in the OVA, they say something to the effect that the UN didn't develop the variable system on its own, but rather acquired it from its original creators. I'd have to dig out my M0 Blu-Rays to be sure of the exact line, but that's probably what Kurisama is talking about. No problem.
  13. Seto Kaiba
    Eh... really, calling that leaked document a "script" for Shadow Rising is obscenely generous. It's actually nothing but an outline of the story for "Shadow Chronicles Part II" that covers and conveys the salient bits of the story. The leaked document also had some brainstormed plot points for the conclusion of the OVA (Part III and/or IV), which gives the impression that they were trying damn hard to imitate Macross. The whole affair is only like five and a quarter pages long. Buddy, that alone makes you certifiable.
  14. Seto Kaiba
    Yes, both Macross 2036 and Macross: Eternal Love Song take place only in the Macross II "parallel world" continuity. Yes. Yeah, there's a fair amount of activity in the periods between the various titles of Macross II's universe. It's mostly outlined in a series of articles that were run in Newtype, Animage, and B-Club to promote the series. The Zentradi and Meltrandi remain the big threat on the horizon, with a lot of minor skirmishes in the aftermath of Space War 1 and a fair few large-scale attacks which occurred in 2036, 2037, 2054, and 2082. The war in 2054 was a real big mess, which pulverized a lot of the UN Spacy's forces during a massive sustained engagement at Pluto's orbit, but the aftermath of the war led to major advancements in technology that eventually manifested in all of the new ships and mecha seen in Macross II. The 2082 invasion, which Sylvie alludes to in the OVA, was an overwhelming victory for the UN Spacy thanks to their new toys and a refined Minmay Defense... and also is kind of a thinly-veiled reference to Macross II being the 10th Anniversary show. Among the other points of interest are having dedicated civilian Valkyries appear in 2051, the use of both Macross- and Megaroad-class ships for space colonization, etc. EDIT: Typo'd the date of civilian VF introduction, the first model came out in 2051.
  15. Seto Kaiba
    You missed one... the advancements in overtechnology that made the VF-2SS, etc. possible in Macross II: Lovers Again came from reverse engineering (copying) the overtechnology from captured Zentradi factory satellites.
  16. Seto Kaiba
    No, why would there be? Harmony Gold's Robotech "creative team" is more or less just a collection of ethically and intellectually bankrupt fanboys who, like their idol Carl Macek, haven't a clue that the industry has moved on in the past 25+ years and looks back at shows like Robotech as examples of bad, obsolete business practices. As >EXO< noted, if the people in charge of the Robotech franchise acknowledged how dire things are, it'd be tantamount to telling their bosses that there's no reason to keep any of them on payroll anymore. Really, who would? I mean, why would any sane investor want to sink his or her money into a project run by people who have going on thirty years of nothing but abject failure to their names? Robotech has virtually zero name recognition and a frankly lousy reputation, so making a surprise comeback isn't exactly a likely prospect. Just on that basis, it's already not exactly the most tempting prospect for a prospective investor... and the mother of all red flags goes up once you've noted that even the Robotech franchise's owners are unwilling put more than the bare minimum amount of money behind it. Who would want it? It'd be a nice change of pace, but that's assuming he actually cares. He's kept a non-performing asset like Robotech around for decades now... I'd call that a pretty serious case of "couldn't be arsed". Robotech's owners seem to be content with the current status quo and the feeble trickle of revenue that Robotech generates by preying on the nostalgia-blinded. Agrama is probably rather more interested in his properties that actually make decent bank, which pretty well means that Robotech isn't even on the fiscal radar. Very likely... either him or Maverick_LSC. Near as I can tell, Steve doesn't actually give a damn about the day-to-day running of Robotech.com. He only gets involved when someone (usually a mod) forcibly redirects his attention to the ever-increasingly dismal activities on the boards. MEMO and Maverick are both keen to suck up to their respective heroes (Tommy and Kevin respectively) in the hopes of getting insider status, so they're the most likely candidates... seeking favor by eliminating fans in the community who have misgivings about the way things are run. I think every sane Robotech fan reaches that point eventually... being a fan just isn't worth the frustration, since the Harmony Gold company line dictates everything and admits no realistic viewpoints, and the absence of actual releases means that the fanbase has nothing to do but bicker and turn on itself. Lies! We all know that you learned everything you ever needed to know about sex in the 80's was taught to you by the Waltrip Sentinels series and the Swimsuit Spectacular!
  17. Seto Kaiba
    Unlikely... the management at Harmony Gold is unwilling to invest more than a pittance in a title that has guaranteed sales to the gullible fanboys, and by their own admission outside investors in Robotech are hard to come by. Rebooting the series sounds like a good idea right up to the point where you realize that they'd end up doing it on an even smaller budget than what they're already working with, there being essentially no reason to expect a return on investment from people who can and frequently do screw up what ought to be a sure thing.
  18. Seto Kaiba
    Further to my last, I checked... this is in fact the case. As far as Robotech's swiss cheese-canon is concerned, "Lunk" is only his nickname. His real name is listed as "Jim Austin" on his Infopedia page.
  19. Seto Kaiba
    Huh... score one for me, I predicted they'd eventually do something like this way back in '07. Over the years since Shadow Chronicles, it's been getting progressively more obvious that "the powers that be" at Harmony Gold are determined to avoid anything that might provide Macross's owners with even a flimsy reason to take them to court. It almost feels like they're afraid Big West is keeping an eye on them and just waiting for them to slip-up, though it's a safe bet they're worried that a legal battle over Macross could destroy the Robotech franchise... either by costing so much that the higher-ups pull the plug on Robotech, or by further limiting their rights to the most only profitable segment of Robotech. Their avoidance of anything which might invite unwanted attention from Macross's owners has been pretty blatant ever since Prelude, when Tommy took every Macross holdover who wasn't critical to the plot and either killed them or put them on a bus.
  20. Seto Kaiba
    Dunno... IIRC, the official position is that "Lunk" is just an unflattering nickname for him, and his real name is Jim.
  21. Seto Kaiba
    Yeah, my take on him is similarly mixed. Really, I think most of what he does probably isn't intended to be trollish. I don't know if he still does it, but back before I got the boot for "causing pain and suffering" his main problem was that he was annoying the piss out of people with his wanna-be mod routine. The thing about him that always annoyed me was the way he often tried (unsuccessfully) to pass himself off an expert through a mixture of rephrasing the posts of knowledgeable fans (invariably introducing errors along the way) and making sh*t up. IIRC, he was the one who started the rumor that Sayonara no Tsubasa was going to be the last Macross show ever. Bah, Pizza the Hutt wasn't my fault either... I didn't invite him here, all I did was expose him to some proper Macross to see if eroding his ignorance would make him less of a belligerent tit. To a certain extent, it actually worked. What got him kicked on these forums wasn't being a crazy Robotech zealot, it was an incredibly offensive joke he'd told to bash the very same zealots he'd been supporting a month or so before. The only crazy Robotech zealots who ever followed me here to make trouble are perennial idiots MEMO1DOMINION, Maverick_LSC, and dougbendo.
  22. Seto Kaiba
    Oh, that mook... yeah, I remember him. I think my first run-in with him was when a friend of mine who was still crazy enough to be reading the Robotech.com forums tried to sic me on him over some crazy comparison he was making between the "new" destroid models in Robotech II: the Sentinels and the destroids in Macross II: Lovers Again based on, IIRC, the wildly-inaccurate stats the Palladium RPG gave for both. Just an exercise in giving me a headache, really... since last time I tried to count the errors in the Palladium Macross II RPG, I gave up out of boredom with three books remaining after the count exceeded 200. Other than that, I think the only times I've seen his posts and/or heard his name come up in conversation was when he started freaking out and screaming at people after someone in a debate pointed out that, in WH40K setting, the Emperor is thought to have been many of the famous historical religious figures (e.g. Jesus) before he ended up as a permanent fixture on his huge bling-y toilet back on Earth. He went completely apesh*t over that and started blathering on about how it was blasphemy. After that, I can't say it surprises me in the least that he's a multiply-banned mega-troll even on Robotech.com. I wonder what made him come here? Is he just missing a healthy sense of self-preservation, or what? Heh... if renegadeleader1 is right, and that's really RiverJack, I suspect "banning" will be his ultimate fate in fairly short order. You have no idea... If you want to hear a funny story, dig this: About a week and a half ago, I got an e-mail from Rhade over at Robotech.com informing me of his intention to appeal my ban and get me reinstated on the forums there.. It seems that things have gotten so bad over there that they're hoping that getting me to come back will bring people back to the forums and revive the place a little. I told him to go ahead, mostly because I was completely unable to tell if he was serious or just taking the piss... but I later found out that he actually meant it. No luck on that front so far (not that any of us would seriously expect there to be)...
  23. Seto Kaiba
    "How" they can be so ignorant in this day in age is probably the wrong question to ask here... being ignorant isn't just something endemic to Robotech fandom in general, their ignorance is something that Harmony Gold has been carefully cultivating for years now. Keeping the fanbase as ignorant as possible when it comes to Robotech's origins and actual standing in the industry is the second biggest factor keeping the franchise limping along, right behind the nostalgia of their aging fans. Without the fanbase's willful ignorance, the Robotech fandom would've dried up and died long ago. Apt! It's a good comparison... one that works well with their ignorance and their general belligerence towards anyone who isn't singing from the same psalter they are.
  24. Seto Kaiba
    Oh ho... So, when Harmony Gold was faced with a choice between two really bad ideas - redubbing Love Live Alive or slapping together another "original" piece of Shadow Chronicles-grade suck - they decided to up the ante by doing both, thus making twice their usual number of phenomenally bad decisions! I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted.
  25. Seto Kaiba
    You left out the part where the "DVD extra" in question is a heavily revisionist and biased version of a story that most of them already own a more honest version of. Essentially, the Robotech fans attending this "premiere" are dressing up and heading over to Harmony Gold to watch the addition of a few more colorful distortions the heavily rose-tinted "company line" on Carl's contribution to one of the most embarrassing chapters in anime history. Oh, it's inevitable... in their desperate attempts to have their show and their company taken seriously, Harmony Gold managed to alienate not only the greater portion of the Robotech fandom, but also significant portions of Macross and Battletech's fan bases as well. In a very real way, they're running out of people they haven't pissed off yet.
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