Mark Nguyen

Maybe more like the VF-17 vs. the VF-11. The 25 (and I'm STILL hesitant to call it "Messiah" as an official name) is arguably to be used as the next-generation mainline fighter. The 27 may be analogous to a special forces or special missions fighter that does all the stuff BESIDES main combat - surgical strikes, black ops, etc. It's tough to say due to the very little footage we've seen, but so far front line fighting seems to be far from what the 27 is designed to do. Mark

Yep, you see the red panels flip open right before they launch. Mark

Okay, this is killing me. What's the answer? Mark

Indeed, some folks were wondering why ships were moving when coming out of a fold, instead of just disappearing and reappearing. Truth be told, while in M7 most ships simply popped in and out, in SDFM most of the time they WERE moving. Macross herself popped out of a fold in the very first episode moving incredibly fast, resulting in her plowing into South Ataria Island. When Britai's fleet showed up later that same episode, they were similarly moving, albeit more controlled. Kamjin's introduction later on further reinforced the movement idea, with his squadron defolding in the middle of and sideswiping several of Britai's ships. When Bodolza's fleet moves around though, it seems very point-to-point, with the factory satellite being a further example, as was Macross's ill fated first fold. In Macross II, Plus and 7, most space folding seemed of the blink in and out variety. But I think that movement into and out of a fold is an optional thing. Mark

I'm still wrestling with the SDF-01's main gun's power... Sure, in the first episode she destroyed two ships close together on approach from space; but the NMC cannon did just that after landing on Rax in the middle of Macross 7, destroying many more ships in a dazzling array of stock footage. The SDF-01's gun was fired at least twice within the space of a few minutes, but there's little evidence that multiple firings of other main guns would not be restricted - Battle 7 fired/folded several shots of spiritia blast energy before it overloaded, and in general when Battle 7 fired its Macross cannon, the battle was over shortly after that. Can we have an episode reference where the original Macross destroyed multiple ships? It's not like the main gun was fired all that often... Mark

I question the actual power of the original Macross' cannon versus that of the New Macross carriers and now Macross Quarter. Visual evidence varies, but when Battle 7 opened up, it had a tendency to wipe out at LEAST several Varauta ships in formation, with the potential to destroy several dozen. SDF-01 usually took out one at a time, usually emphasizing the destruction of many squadrons of enemy fighters instead. Finally, we know that Macross Quarter can easily take out at LEAST one ship with one shot, with no other evidence of its power thus far. Mark

So in the opening sequence, Alto's super-packed 25 launches a spread of ten missiles. Two each come from the back-mounted packs, but the other six apparently launch from the leg packs. Thoughts? Mark

Remember though, in Macross Plus Millard described that project Super Nova fighter to be flying deep-range tactical missions, surgical strikes, hostage rescue, etc. This implies smaller numbers of independent fighters in the first place. While this seems anomolous for a "main fighter", remember that the new F-22s for the USAF are considered the premier fighter in the USAF - despite being far fewer in number than the F-15s it is replacing, and the F-16s that it will complement. The logic is that the F-22 is simply so far superior to anything else out there, that you don't NEED hundreds of planes to maintain air superiority in the post Cold War political climate. Therefore, my view is that the 19 is (or was) indeed the front-line fighter in the UN Spacy and arguably for NUNS as well, BUT ONLY FOR CERTAIN JOBS. It was only ever produced in limited numbers to do just what Super Nova wanted. If a UNS or NUNS fleet was ever pressed into full-scale war, even then you wouldn't see multiple squadrons fly out from the decks of your typical Guantanamo class carrier. You would continue to see the venerable VF-11 and then the VF-171 head out, while the smaller number of VF-19s and VF-22s would do all the FUN stuff like blow up an enemy base, cut off supply lines, assasinate the rogue Zentradi commander, etc. In the US Navy (the closest analog to the Spacy's mobile fleets), in the broad strokes you had two major kinds of aircraft through to the 1990s: attack and defense. The attack craft would do out and do just that against ground targets, while the defense planes (the fighters) would defend those craft and the mother ship. Attack planes evolved into a strike role that could do both (A-7 Corsairs traded in for F/A-18 Hornets), while the defense planes adapted into attacking ground targets (F-4s carrying bombs, F-14D "Bombcat" variants, etc.). Ulimately, the Navy ended up with just one plane that can do any job (the F/A-18E and F Super Hornet) performing almost as well as the more mission specific predecessors but at a lower operating cost that justifies ditching the older planes instead of building more or better designs. The Navy is now operating just two varieties of Hornets for attack and defense on their carriers (C/D and E/F, with the former eventually slated to be replaced by the F-35C). Even the EA-6B Prowler EW planes are being replaced by an EW variant of the Super Hornet, the F-18G Growler. I think this is why we ended up with the VF-171, to become NUNS' go-to fighter for any use. The VF-19s may still be around, but not in numbers large enough to be a major visible force, and some fleets (like Frontier) won't even bother to have them in their garrison. Mark

KLAN KLAN KLAN GOES THE TROLLEY..!!!

Including, but not limited to Code Geass, which is where I know 'em from. Here's hoping they were just as sick of no one else doing the series and picking it up themselves. Long weekends rock - but gg rocks too! Mark

Mao Nome was 11 in 2008-2009. Sheryl is 17 in 2059. Thus, *IF* Mao was her mother, she would have been 41-42 in 2042 when she gave birth to Sheryl. Mothers that old are not uncommon these days... Of course, Mao would have somehow survived the Zentradi assault on Earth despite being a simple civilian. One wonders where she, and all the other Islanders, were when that all happened... Would the big beams o' death missed their tiny island home? How did Mao end up on Macross Galaxy, if Sheryl was born there? Where is she now, and if she wasn't on Galaxy, how did Sheryl end up there? Mark

Where is this "Random Curiosity" site that is oh-so-full of Macross goodness? Mark

Like that nick. While we desperately await screencaps, I'd like to note just how Metran-inspired I find the Galaxy ships. Purple like Lap Lamiz's ship, Green like the original Q-Rau power armor, orange like... Uh, orange... And reagarding Macross Quarter's maneuverability, just remember how fast Britai's ship 180-ed at the end of DYRL. If that has a remote basis in the Macross "fact", then other ships can pull such maneuvers if they're careful about it. Mark

Screencap request! -Destroids! -Macross Galaxy! -VF-27! -Bridge of Battle 25! -KONIG MONSTER!!! This one will keep us talking for WEEKS. Mark

Looks like Macross Quarter has hands. STILL don't know what they're good for, but now at least it can hold a cannon and carrier like a sword and shield... >.> Well, it does seem like modularity is the name of the game with the SMS machines... Mark

But the graphic on the Miss Macross Frontier contest implies that it was the 20th contest (Cathy Glass apparently won the contest 12 years ago). So, a launch date of 2039, no? Mark

That's not really likely. Glass is the local president, analogous to Mayor Miria but with more "Presidential" power. Unlike Miria, Glass seems to be a "Commander in Chief" like the US President, with at least the colony's NUNS answering to him. In Macross 7, anything remotely military fell to Max, excluding colony defense (which was sorely lacking in City 7). In Frontier, Glass declares an emergency and suddenly both NUNS and SMS are jumping at his call for a rescue mission. In Macross 7, Max would have been in charge of the rescue, and would have told Miria to mind her own damn business. Mark

No information as yet. However, we'll have our answers within hours! Note that in episode 6: -Luca's (or a green) RVF-25 was seen in battroid mode against a wall, whilst right after we see him in a VF-25 cockpit in fighter mode -He is earlier seen polishing the sensor blister of a Ghost, calling it "Johann" Also, lineart of a green Super VF-25 similar to Alto's fighter has been released, suggesting that Luca is either piloting that or his standard RVF-25 this week. I'm thinking he is actually flying the more combat oriented fighter in episode 7, controlling the Ghosts with some specialized equipment and still staying mostly out of the fight. The Ghosts themselves are very similar to the X-9 design from Macross Plus, down to the FAST packs; it's definitely derived from ol' red. Hopefully we'll see them used more effectively this time out! Mark

I think it might be better to break it down to the top 2 or 3 battles per series in the franchise, and have people vote on that. Here's my picks: SDFM: -The whole damn episode of Ep. 27 -Max vs. Miria, their first encounter -The ground combat scenes & Roy's rescue of Hikaru and Minmay, episode 2 DYRL: -The inital battle of Skull squadron -Max vs. Miria, duh -The finale battle! Macross Plus: -Isamu's skirmish in his VF-11, episode 1 -Isamu vs. Guld, episode 2 -Isamu vs. Guld, episode 4 Macross 7: -The first use of the SES to repel Gigil's first appearance, episode 27 -Operation Stargazer, episode 45 -Deathmatch over Lux, episode 26 Macross Zero: -Shin's F-14 vs. mysterious flying robots, episode 1 -Roy's grand entrance in his VF-0, episode 1 -The climatic dogfights in episode 5 Macross II: -The whole battle in the second half of episode 5 -And that's it, really...

I'm not talking about M7 (which, technically was well over a decade ago). I refer to the more metaphysical works Kawamori has done, such as Arjuna, Aquarion, and (to a lesser degree) Escaflowne. Mark

Yes, but will he turn THIS anime series into another quasi-mystical, thinly veiled environmental diatribe about spirituality, monotheism (through protoculture), and general wierdness about the transcendance of the human condition? Most of his works in the last decade were about that. He KNOWS fans didn't like it. But WE know he's in charge and will do what he damn well pleases as long as it sells toys & DVDs. Dare we ask for what we want? Mark

Picking up on an earlier post, I believe Luca has switched from his RVF-25 to a standard VF-25 with his same signature green paint scheme. We've seen it in the recently-releaseed lineart: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?act=...st&id=52900 It's also been mentioned that Luca's fighter has the capacity to control a trio of Ghost fighters. Well, take a closer look at what he's polishing at about 18:07. It ain't a VF-25, and it ain't a fold booster, and he calls it "Johann". Mark

Gotta agree. Anyone complaining about animation quality is really splitting hairs IMO. It was just fine IMO, while it WAS clearly done by a different studio than the first batch. It's not an Animefriend debacle in my view. If this is the B-game animation, we really don't have much to worry about. Mark

Who knows... OTOH, Macross 7 was routinely drawn out of scale with other ships. Not so easy when it's all done in CGI with this series. Even Miyatake's City 7 designs showed buildings within that didn't match anything we saw on the ground floor, and at wierd sizes too. Some of those buidlings would ahve had floors the size of football fields! Anyway, Even with the larger Island 1, Battle 25 still looks smaller proportionately than Battle 7 did. I'd not hesitate to say that Battle 25 is supposed to be a "standard" New Macross ship that was simply tagged to a larger city ship than City 7. Macross Frontier has wisely stayed away from really showing Battle 25 so we wouldn't worry about it; but I'm hoping with everyone else that she'll kick some ass with her Macross Cannon later in the show. Mark

Willing to be my second last Yoshinol that Klan Klan and Mikhail get together, but that he'll get giant to accomodate their needs. He seems part Zentran anyway. And about love triangles? How about this - at the end of the series, Sheryl ends up with RANKA. We live in a modern world, don't we? Mark