Zinjo

I said earlier it had a different head, but I was wrong, it has a standard "A" type head, like Michel's.

Equally plausible...

It is iconic, however until BW gets off the pot and actually asserts its IP rights, we may never see it again....

I suspect it's just because Japan and France have had such a good relationship over the years with respect to anime.

I don't mind it at all. Kinda reminds me how ADV subbed the openning of Evangelion. One ep was English the next Japanese. That's cool. I prefer to enjoy the episodes on a bigger screen than a computer monitor. I fully intend to purchase any Western release of the show and if BV does an English sub track on their Japanese Blurays, I'll be buying them first... As for story elements, I am still on the fence as to who the Varja actually are. At first I thought they must be a PC remnant, but with the Lobster and the Hammerhead mecha's reaction to Lanca's screem, I am no longer so sure. If a PC remnant were looking for an Anima Spiritia, why run? If this is an SA remnant, that would track. However, the Lobsters have what appear to be (possibly) stellar republic insignia (if the Birdman's insignia is that of the PC republic). I suspect this story is going to get much more complicated before it's over.

Where did you find this is the first question that needs an answer?

I agree, the head of Michel's fighter is definitely reminiscent of an "A" style, however I think Luca is flying an "E" since one of the mag scans shows a different head for his green fighter. Makes one wonder if Alto get's Gilliam's F, if that might cause a bit of friction between him and Michel?

The only thing the ADV release is good for is the extras, the rest of it is an expensive coaster...

I always like to pose the question to those who dismiss the Mac II story as a rehash of DYRL to prove it... As for remakes, as much as i'd love to see what Mac 7 would be like with Kawamori in direct control of the production, I'm satisfied with Frontier so far and am glad he didn't do a re-make.

Yes particularly the dates and the captions next to them. They mention the various series, but there are more dates like 2030 & 2038 that do not correlate to known series. I'm curious if those are the dates from game titles and if they are being officially brought into the continuity?

Well currently BW and HG are at a Mexican standoff, with HG having an empty gun and BW a full one. HG got it's last shot off my successfully trademarking the "Macross" name in NA, but it was only a flesh wound to BW who is still too timid to fire a shot. Now with Bandai USA doing quite well selling the Gundam lines, if they want to extend their market for Frontier merchandise they will need to step up and stand behind BW with respect to any HG challenges. Zero had the original kite and a variable fighter that still resembled the VF-1, so I can see how a timid foreign corporation (though BW's pocket's are far deeper than HG's) not fighting for that, however Frontier looks nothing like SDFM, right down to the NUNS insignia. All the capital ships are from Mac 7, the fighters are new, etc... The naming of the ships from Macross class to "M" class can easily be done (assuming they don't have such footage already). Both parent companies are backing away from the street so to speak, with SC being based on Mospeada and the REF insignia no longer being a distinctive kite like SDFM and Frontier having a totally different look to the universe to NA eyes. It all comes down to "will" and how much "more" the franchise can earn. Anime is a small niche market in Japan. Here there is a different market where the label "Otaku" is celebrated not a term of ridicule. Where fans of all ages buy merchandise, not just school kids. It appears that the series is being groomed for international release, by all the distinctive changes, however only time will tell. Though I must admit this is the first anime show I've been a fan of that released the DVDs while the series was still running. The last show I remember doing that here was BSG season 2.5. Why? It's already in the Bluray format. Converting a 1080p image down to 720p or 480p is easy. It's the other way around that's far more difficult and expensive. The DYRL remaster was done by people who didn't know what they were doing. I think they were trying for the same effect Animeigo did with SDFM, but because they didn't farm it out to Animeigo or get technical advise from that company, the results were incredibly disappointing. We are well versed in restoring old film in NA since we've been doing for years now, I doubt the Japanese are versed in it at all.

I enjoyed it. Granted the truncated story has always been a source of frustration for me. Far too many dangling ends by the time it ended. The mecha designs of the VF-2 series were pretty sweet considering they were based off the VF-1 and the VF-4, the only SK designed mecha at the time. The Metal Siren is one Fugly variable IMO, the weapons package it carried was innovative, but as a space based fighter it could have been so much better than what was designed. There was no Kawamori inspiration in it at all... Comparatively, the VF-17, being a similar type of space based fighter (and I am not a drooling fan of it) was a better design. Anyway, for its time and what the producers had to work with, it turned out not too badly. Unfortunately it's weak story structure and the apparent lack of funding for decent animation by the end, didn't help it either. Although the idea of using a song defence that ultimately fails and facing a foe who uses song for war instead of peace was a nice turn about from the original series. It posed the "what if" question and then explored what could happen next. It was the first production with the Macross label that didn't have a hero who was a Valkyrie pilot... It may have given the fanbase more credit than it deserved at the time. The things that killed it's possibility of inclusion into canon (as it currently is) was the setting (Earth) and the era (2070's), both of which severely limited future productions in the universe. Studio Nue had no choice but to relegate it Alternate Universe status if Mac Plus and Mac 7 were to see the light of day, since both take place in the 2040's. BigWest and Bandai still treat is as a Macross property since one owns it and the other Sponsored and merchandises the title. Personally I harbour the belief that SK has seen it and has used ideas from it in canon productions (though no recorded evidence exists to support my personal belief).

Regarding MP4 vs MKV or Divx, personally I'd prefer the AiA releases to come out on MKV for the following reasons: - Mpeg 4 has superior compression vs quality for the container, but has issues with playback on lower end systems and some vid players. - MKV can accomodate just about any multimedia file type, is typically the same size as an AVI and is easily converted to DivX for those who's systems cannot run the H264 codec. MKV and AVI containers also provide an easy way to convert these episodes to DVD for viewing in our hometheater systems while we wait for them the come out on commercial DVD. I have no issues with Mp4 playback but conversion to DVD is not as straight forward with that container. Just my thoughts.

Frontier and Zero would transfer very well to HD as well as DYRL (35mm film is a higher resolution than HD) and possibly even Mac Plus, depending on what film stock was used.

On the contrary. Bandai Visual has always been the home video partner for BigWest's Macross productions and if there are indeed plans for North American releases then all that is required is for the franchise to the change the name for here or simply add the subtitles and export the Bluray discs directly (no law can stop them, dispite what HG tried to pull several years back). HG only trademarked the name "Macross", unless BW is willing to fight to regain their rightful ownership of the name, they'll have to change the Macross name to something else or pay HG a licensing fee for use of the name (which ain't gonna happen). With Bandai Visual USA in existence, there is a way for them to distribute Frontier here, without an outside distributor possibly butchering the scripts under the guise of, "well American fans wouldn't understand basic communication without cussing and slang..." Keep in mind that Bandai Visual USA is still owned by Bandai Visual Japan and repeated e-mails to them asking if Frontier will be released here and if not would their Japanese parent be willing to add English subs to the Bluray releases, will go a long way in convincing them that it is a viable marketing strategy here.

I think it's awesome that you have such enthusiasm, however the Robotech live action movie is not a popular subject on these forums, since HG is not very highly regarded here, at all! We hope to see a Macross live action film someday, with the intimate involvement of the same minds that created the original Macross series from Japan and who, with their legally owned intellectual property rights, continue to make Macross shows to this day. It is a legal fact that Harmony Gold only controls the SDF Macross animation and has trademarked the name "Macross" in North America, that is ALL that they own, despite their empty claims to more. Any discussions regarding the original Japanese SDF Macross show, Macross Plus, Macross 7, Macross Zero or Macross Frontier are always welcome as well as new fans to these shows. However, my new friend, you will find little love for Robotech here. Most tolerate its existence, some lothe the fact that it ever existed, and others have some appreciation for the show. Just so long as you are aware of the enviroment that exists here, welcome and enjoy the forums.

Wow if this is official there wasn't a civil war, but the colonial alliance (for want of an official term) did split after the events of VF-X2, either directly or indirectly. I wonder how that will affect Frontier, if at all?

AGREED!

Thank God there isn't a window in your head, all the squirrels running in different directions would be hillarious. The "fact" IS this, read slowly so you don't miss anything.... The events of Zero were classified for at least 5 decades. This was written 4 years ago and has yet to be changed, and thus to everyone here but you, has some historical relevance to the franchise, regardless of the era. Now at no point did I say that a declassification was a "fact", however, I did fail to add any qualifiers to the statement so I can see how some ( ) might take a drop of water and try to make an accusation of creating an ocean. Now on to some interesting conversation....

Sktechley believes this could be the latest model of New Macross Carrier we saw in Attacker mode in the beginning credits. He could be right, it's too early to tell at the moment.

That's what makes her so appealing. The animators are not going for cutesy, but cute.

Kinda like going through the same with you a couple of days ago... The fact I am stating is that it was secret for at least 50 years, which where I "got the information from", a question you apparently already forgot. When it was written is irrelevant and a weak basis to support your argument. Until otherwise retconned, it stands. You may want to carefully read my posts before shooting off your keyboard... I will, I am referring to the initial reaction to the code Victor, maybe I missed Ozuma's smirk. We'll just have to agree to disagree about the NUNS preparedness. The Presidential aide definitely seems to have a hidden agenda, whether he is a puppet master or otherwise, we'll have to see.

Bandai....

The VF-25 is designed for mission specific bolt on ordinance. The apparent default pack for space is the FAST Pack that Gilliam/Gideon was using, but we've seen an Armor, Elint and Sharpshooter packs now too. As for the sharpshooter encountering a close combat situation, essentially he would need to get out of there, like a sniper would if their location is compromised. The sniper.sharpshooter role is for long range engagement, while the FAST Pack and Armor Packs are better suited for close combat.

According to the Manga the SMS are a civilian paramilitary force tasked with testing and evaluating new military hardware for NUNS & the UNG. That is why they have all the latest toys that the NUNS don't yet have. It appears they report directly to the Colonial President, not the military chain of command.