Noriko Takaya

Well, I finally got around to watching my R1 set today and the training scene does bug me quite a bit. Yeah, I know I'm complaining, but as the resident Top! lunatic here I find it disconcerting to say the least. It bugs me to no end. The copyright issue makes no sense to me regarding the Chariots of Fire-like music. Why are the Japanese worried about American copyright issues when the film was made by the British? Not to mention also the British are selling the DVD with the scene unaltered through the Kiseki label. I don't see the British making a fuss. I'm going to add both scenes to my site under the heading of The Japanese Butchering of a Classic Anime Series for the American Market. I sound really bitter, I know, but now that I have seen the episode in question, I really resent what the Japanese have done to a show I love to death. I have officially now reached the level of manic fanboy. Where's my Zoloft? Edit: I did like the rest of the release though. I just wish they'd (GAINAX/Bandai) put it back the way it was supposed to be.

Well, seeing as how popular this thread is, I figured I'd try to increase our fanbase by starting a group over at My Space. I'd like for all you guys to join, thinking that maybe we can get a little extra leeway for posting videos and songs from both series as well as artwork and toys and such. I'm not saying close this thread down, as this is our little personal space here on Macross World, but I figured maybe we can get some wider exposure sharing a series we all know and love. I've proposed the same thing to the fans on Yahoo's Gunbuster club. Hopefully I'll see you guys there as well as here. Please join! http://groups.myspace.com/gunbuster

Well, Best Buy must be slow on the pick-up. I got one of their lackeys to punch Gunbuster into their computer and their release date is March 3rd.

Track 11, "Start Of Military Operations M-13" is what they used? They used battle music for Noriko's training scene?

For you maybe, but I'm still pissed off.

Well, I searched high and low for it also ands found it nowhere. I checked 4 Best Buys in my area, plus a Saturday Matinee, FYE, and 2 Circuit Cities which I know carry anime and no one had it. There's an anime specialty shop in Baltimore which doesn't have it either. So, I asked a guy at Best Buy in Annapolis who seemed to have some sense and he told me the DVD release has been pushed back to the end of March. I do not know if this is true or not, but it is the only answer I have gotten for the moment. And if it is true, it sucks.

Well, today's the day we masses who have not yet bought the R1 DVD can get it. I'll probably be one of those people, even though I am mad at the music change. I'll let you know my opinion of the music later on when I've had a chance to watch it.

F*ckin' A! Love that song! Love that anime series as well! What a way to resurrect an old thread!

For those of you out there who have not seen the unedited version of the 1st episode's training scene, I've added it to my My Space page (<cough>Loser!</cough>). You can also find a higher quality version of it at The Gunbuster Index by clicking on Episode 3 at the content page.

Yes, I meant uncropped. How forgetful of me. Then again, I've been up all night and day with the flu and can't sleep. Go figure. Now to go watch my R2 set which I burnt to some dual layered discs to make it R0...

The unmatted sixth episode is nothing more than a cropped version of that episode. The episode was shot in its original 35mm context, but the producers felt that they could convey a vastly more dramatic effect by giving it a 'letterboxed' feel. This is also why the episode was done in black and white. The producers were trying to emulate the period feeling of past war movies as they remembered them growing up. If you were to watch the two episodes side by side, you would actually see how much more the emotional effect of the story is given by this faked cinematic feel.

I was one of those unknowns who voted for you by the way. Sorry to see you didn't win.

Yeah, go ahead, by all means.

Great stuff! By the way, I've included a link to the scene we've all been battying about, unedited. Here it is: The Way It Was Meant To Be Seen!!!

Actually, your are quite wrong there. When Evangelion was originally released on DVD, they screwed a lot of things up by removing the Japanese text from signs and such, and implementing their own captions therefore altering the original artwork. They also did this to the original release of Nadessico. There was such a roar from the fan base as to what had been done that ADV Films was forced to rework EVA's first disc as well as all of Nadessico and re-release them. Letters do work as a way of letting companies know what their customers are thinking. They can actually make or break a company, depending on how they are implemented. Why can't we have it the way it was? It was for sale in the US unaltered by two other companies originally. I think it reasonable that Bandai should have done the same with their DVD release. As for laying off, I don't think we will, and I do not intend to just live with it as you state above.

Well, Merc ol' buddy, I agree with you wholeheartedly. And, the thread is in good hands. Sorry I've been away lately, but I've been recently diagnosed with depression and my life was fracked up beyond belief. Now that my medication is working, I'm back. The talking to the shrink is helping too. Edit* By the way, there has got to be a way of sending this reply with the rude comment Keith got back to someone over in Bandai's customer service. That remark was totally inexcusable. If I had said something similar to that where I work, I would have been reprimanded or fired.

I stopped posting at AOD a while back ago because some of those guys are trolls. As for the issue with Gunbuster's soundtrack, I sent an email to Bandai Visual USA noting my displeasure in a very polite manner. I suggest that those of you out there who are true Top! fans do the same thing. If I recall correctly, it was a massive out pouring of the fan base which got ADV Films to re-release disc one of Neon Genesis Evangelion when they had tinkered with it. If someone could start an on-line petition or something like that, maybe we can get Bandai, Gainax, or whoever to release the first episode the way it was meant to be watched. After all the years of listening to Manga Entertainment's lies about releasing the series on DVD, we finally get some closure from Bandai, only to be bent over to receive the proverbial shaft up our derriere. And without warning also. Shame on you, Bandai! Yeah, I realize I'm being a purist, but just imagine if George Lucas changed the music to the climactic Battle of Yavin in Star Wars. You'd be pissed too. The fans deserve better, especially those of us who have been waiting patiently for this since DVD became available.

NO! How could they do this to me?! They took out some of my music. Being the resident Top! lunatic, I find this distressing to say the least, but at least the series is coming out on DVD.

Dragging up the dead horse again. The double barrelled guns used by the good guys were actually weapons stolen from destroyed Sentry robots. If you recall, Reinhart destroyed the weapons belonging to the Palomino's crew. If you go and watch the movie, you will also see that the Sentry commander STAR is using them also. As for toy manufacturer Mego, glad they're gone.

I haven't seen anyone mention this previously, so I am letting those who are fans of the original Densha Otoko miniseries know that another special has been released. Without giving too much away, Yamada-san is in the process of trying to propose to Saori, only to have things fouled up by a previous rival making a bet with a potential business partner. Hijinks ensue. You can find the torrent for the episode over at TV-Nihon or just click here http://tvnihon.dragoneye.ca/ and select the URL for the show on the page.

Here you go. Sorry she's naked. Only image of her I had.

We already have a weapons banter thread. Even though it mostly devoted to real firearms at the moment, the thread is also for sci-fi and fantasy weapons. Go here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=18567

Hey, that's the same clip I uploaded when I started my own account there!

God, I wish I could be as hardcore as you about getting someone fired from their job. Sheesh...

I would love a transforming Dangaioh, but I will not pay the price on a Studio HalfEye model again after having dealt with the Gunbuster. Just too expensive for such a small and fragile model. Now, if they could design one just like the Gunbuster was built, I'd buy it. I can almost hear the theme song "Cross Fight! Cross Fight!"