Ivan

I've never been a fan of the Starscream character or toys, but this new masterpiece does look very cool. I was originally going to pass on the figure, but after seeing the new color scheme, I am kind of falling for it now. Macross fans who complain about Yamato focusing only on the VF-1 series, here's your chance to get a different type of valkyrie P.S. Any chance Graham might fall for it too?

Super Famicom Transformers Matrix Quest game Took only 7 minutes to beat? I couldn't even figure out how to transform. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl2k37U3vcs

Graham, you mentioned that Yamato will re-design the should part. Do you know if they are going to do another run with the new design? Thanks.

Talking about Mac 7 and Agent One, what happened to him anyway? I miss his sarcasm, hehe

http://www.outpostnine.com/editorials/source.html A very funny commentary on the original TF:The Movie. (Contains obscene language) And yeah, the Classics Hot Rod and Starscream rocks!

So is the Yamato Garland released yet? Can we expect a review from Graham?

http://www.tfw2005.com/takaratomy-competit...es-and-more.htm Looks like TomyTakara is planning to keep the THS line alive. I surely hope they bring back Kawamori to design more stuff, as he's one of the best mech designer out there.

Graham, What kind of Macross goodies will there be that we haven't already seen? Will there be any surprises from Yamato? Ivan

Wow, looks cool. Does this mean Graham will finally give in and purchase a transformer?

Pictures of the prototype. Wow, the figure is tiny... http://www.tfans.com/talk/index.php?showtopic=40704

Just finished volume 9 of Gantz last night. Has anyone seen this series? Some people call it a poor excuse for lots of violence and sex, but I actually find it entertaining. At least the story is different from all the stuff out there. However, there are still a few things I don't like - mediocre CGI graphics, a lot of dumb dialogue, a lot of standing around during the middle of the series. Still, I look forward to seeing the last volume of the show. What are your thoughts?

I lived in HK till 1989 before moving to the States, but don't recall seeing any show like that on 430 Space Shuttle. Are you sure it was shown on TVB and not on ATV? Both stations had a lot of great cartoon shows during the 80's.

Does this mean Keith will have to start a thread about why Mac 7 sucks? Seriously, I think it's very brave of Kawamori to take a totally different direction with Mac 7. Not a rehash, not a continuation. New story, yet still carry the spirit of the original SDFM, and not to mention the cool valks. In a way, Kawamori is Basara, pursuing his dream despite all bashing from others. P.S. I think I'm one of the few (or the only one) who loves the Fire Valk and the Ray's VF-17.

His latest movie "Tom Yum Goong" came out couple weeks ago in Hong Kong. Has anyone seen it? Here's a link (sorry, I couldn't find any English website) http://hk.movies.yahoo.com/050711/32/1eg49.html

Millia was wearing her TV style flight suit. I thought you need to wear a special type of flight suit in order to fly the VF-22.

Wish I could attend the event. Would someone be nice enough as to identify who's who in the pics?

Nice pics! Did the con take place at someone's house?

Don't know anything about Baba Yaga and her magical hut, so can't comment on that. But the movie is based on a British novel for kids.

Just saw the movie tonight. Have mixed feelings about it. What I like: Like any other Miyazaki's films, the visuals were as usual stunning, and the attention to details was, in my opinion, better than that of Pixar (the secret garden was absolutely beautiful). Call me old-fashioned, I still prefer traditionally hand-drawn animation. I think the character design of the heroes/heroines were also more mainstream this time around. There was a sense of wonderment throughout the entire film. I was definitely not bored. What I don't like: The first half of the film was interesting, but the plot got murky in the second half. I'm sure Miyazaki had a message that the film tried to get across, but in the midst of all the things going on, the message somehow got lost. That being said, I still highly recommend the film to all Miyazaki fans. It's not your typical Japanese anime that deals with overdone themes such as artificial intelligence trying to take over the world. There were no clear villains, and best of all, it featured an 80 year old lady as your heroine. If the next Macross series features an 80 year old Minmay, would you watch it?

Have you checked this newsletter from a while ago: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/news/_news_n024.htm Also try this: http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/toys/_...yamato_yf19.htm Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info, Grand Cannon. I will probably watch it at Kendall Sq. BTW, Graham, I believe the HK version DVD's of Studio Ghibli films usually contain English subtitles, so no need to wait for US version.

The movie will have a limited release this coming weekend. Does anyone know if it will be shown in the Boston area? Official site: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/castle/

This movie will be coming out in Hong Kong in a month or so. Anyone planning to see it?

I thought Howl's Moving Castle came out in Hong Kong several months ago. Did you miss it? The Hong Kong adaptation of Initial D will also come out in July. It looks somewhat interesting.

You don't have to feel bad about missing the opening of Disney in HK. It's the smallest of them all and will be flooded with millions of people from the mainland. As for macross toys, you can always try befriending some of the toy store owners. Even if they don't have any for sale, they might still be able to hook you up with something.