F-ZeroOne

Anime on UK TV is something I've pretty much given up on. I'm lucky in that I'm usually able to afford any series I'm interested in, and in this era of rapid licensing and region-free DVD players I find it a subject I can't get worked up about as much as I used to. However, I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am. ADV - whatever their other faults - do deserve some praise for rapidly ramping up their UK release schedule. Its probably going to be some time before the UK ever approaches the US as far as anime is concerned, but at least I don't automatically have to consider an import for a series I might be interested in now. And yes, I remember Johnny Destiny, Space Ninja. I haven't seen it, but had an opportunity to buy a copy several years back and have long regretted not doing so...

Funnily enough, I'm going to visit the Science Museum in London next week to meet the Honda ASIMO. If you like, I'll ask it to show mercy on us pitiful fleshy meatbags [1] when the revolution comes... [1] Just in case anyone takes this personally, its a nod to a certain character in Star Wars: KOTR...

If it helps, Graham, to the best of my knowledge. VOTOMs has never been broadcast or released on DVD or VHS in the UK.

The Harrier does have a few unusual advantages. One, its small, and in visual combat small is good, as it makes you harder to acquire by sight. Its also been stated that the Harrier is a very odd shape - its sometimes hard to tell which end you're looking at as it doesn't have a conventional engine nozzle system and has a similar profile from either the front or the rear. Also, as anyone who has seen one at an airshow can attest, it is almost ecrtainly the loudest aircraft of its size that there has ever been! It probably just sneaked up behind those F-15s and then went to full throttle, instantly making the F-15s deaf...!

OT a bit, but I'm curious, why was episode # 1 cut? I don't recall there being any 'questionable' content. Graham Possibly the main reason - as I think BFG-1 has said - is that the first episode of Escaflowne is a little misleading as to the direction it will take at first, and full of that lovey-dovey romantic stuff and boring conversation that little boys hate, because as we all know no-one else over the age of six watches cartoons... Also, IIRC, Van ends up absolutely covered in blood from the dragon he fights, though I believe other violent scenes were kept in so...

Cats Eye. Dammit, they got it in France. They got it in Germany. Can I have it in England, Mr. Anime Company? Please!!!

I've only seen the first half of the series - I bought it thinking it was something else, go figure! - and it was rather odd as a viewing experience. I think the only way I can put it is "Final Fantasy meets Platoon". The style of the animation doesn't quite seem to fit in with the mood, and I found it very hard to like a number of the characters, especially after what happened to the Sara. The army as depicted would appear to be an analogy for the Japanese "advance" - - into China in the 30s as well... Its different, definitely different, and I would like to see how it ends sometime, but not really my cup of tea in the end... OTOH, I didn't think anyone would ever top Dilandau from Escaflowne as an utter nutcase of a villain. Then I saw Hamdo...

If you're in a Gundam series, you're not going to have chance even to say "Would you like to go to dinner this evening?" before you become an expanding cloud of component molecules...

There is a paint scheme in black already. The VF-17s of Diamond Force. *points at Graham's avatar* Yes, but thats because space in Macross 7 is blue, for Kawamoris sake!!! Well, they did prove that in reality, the universe is a light beige... Good grief, does that mean my PC case is made from dark matter or something...?!

I'd love to know why the F-22 is not cleared to use it's thrust vecoring yet. First I've heard of it. Graham Another reason may be due to the fact that when NASA experimented with post-stall agility utilising thrust vectoring, they found that pilots could find some of the stunts they pulled disorientating - for example, with the proper configuration, a plane can fly in one direction while keeping its nose constantly pointed in another - in other words, it could fly alongside you in a staright line whilst shooting at you with its guns...! Such things were considered a bit much for the average squadron jock to handle...

Astro Boy has recently been revived for a new anime show in Japan, and Japan is promoting itself as a tourist destination this year. Could be related to that...

Why the heck are you all going nuts over that silly trailer when the real treasure here is the custom MB Starbird Avenger...?! You people have no taste! Just kidding, everyone! Mr Sci-Fi, great work on both! The Starbird Avenger was the toy I always wanted as a kid, and it looks great in those colours...! Edit: Eriku, more information on the gorgeous Starbird Avenger can be found here: http://www.bugeyedmonster.com/

There is a paint scheme in black already. The VF-17s of Diamond Force. *points at Graham's avatar* Yes, but thats because space in Macross 7 is blue, for Kawamoris sake!!!

The Tornado ADV. Never really had a chance to prove itself in its intended interception role. The Sea Harriers kill ratio is largely due to the Falklands War, and while it performed superbly such things do need to be taken in context a bit; if the Argentine Air Force had been operating closer to home things might have been rather different. They did a lot of damage with, in many cases, just simple bombs. Exocets just got all the attention... ( similar to the NVAF in Vietnam; if they'd fought the USAF on USAF terms, they'd have been annihilated... ) The Blackburn Buccaneer rarely gets a mention anywhere, but according to some accounts, it was the king of low level attack runs. One story has it that a US fighter that tried to chase one on an exercise once ended up inverted at zero feet, at which point the pursuing pilot decided that it was only an exercise and they weren't paying him nearly enough for this... Historically, the Hawker Hurricane. Just about anywhere in W.W. II - even in the middle of the Atlantic - you would find one shooting at aircraft, dropping bombs on tanks, or strafing in the jungle. By most accounts, a lovely, if slightly outdated aircraft, just always in the shadow of its more glamorous partner...

Illogical Koala. Called in whenever evil needs to be defeated by sitting in a tree all day chewing leaves.

Darth Todd, a lot of the answers you may be looking for can be found in the original Macross TV series. To tackle just one, the Zentraedi didn't smear the Macross all over the solar system because a) they were intrigued by Earth culture and wanted to study it further [1] and b) it would have made for a bloody short movie. I can understand how you feel - DYRL was made for an audience already familar with the original, and I liked ti a lot more after I became more familar with the TV series. ( something similar happened with me and Gunbuster. When i first saw it, I did not get it at all. Then, some time later, I saw Evangelion, and went back and re-watched Gubuster, which in many ways is kind of a proto-Evangelion, and now I love it. BUSTER BEEAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! ) However, if you still don't like it after that, thats your opinion. The best anime is the one you like the best, after all...! [1] by sending hordes of heavily armed mecha to attack it. They are villians to start with, after all...

Do you know how the Royal Navy names their ships? I don't know the origins of all Royal Navy ships - to use an example in this thread, I've no idea where Ark Royal comes from - but Royal Navy ships are prefixed "H.M.S." ( Her/His Majestys Ship ). The Royal Navy tends to name ships with classical or war-like names, though a number of modern vessels have been named after English towns or cities. A number of RN warship names go way back - Ark Royal, again, is a name thats been carried through at least three centuries. During World War I.I, British submarines sometimes took their theme from their class - the "U" class, for example, had names like Unseen. A selection of Royal Navy ships throughout time include: HMS Victory ( Nelsons flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) HMS Warspite ( famous old battleship from World War I that also saw through World War II as well ) HMS Hood ( one of perhaps the most ill-fated class of ships built - the "battlecruisers". Sometimes regarded as the most handsome warship ever built; unfortunately good looks did not help against the Bismarck... Edit: various typos. HMS Upholder ( the most successful of the "U" class submarines to operate from Malta ) HMS Dido ( anti-aircraft cruiser and popular with love-lorn pop listeners and white rap artists...! ) HMS Audacity ( a converted German merchant man; the first of the escort carriers designed to protect convoys in the Atlantic ) HMS Birmingham ( more modern vessel whose namesake cameos in Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory... ) HMS Ocean (modern amphibious landing support vessel; sometimes accused of being named by marketing consultants rather than tradition...! )

My mistake - I have a Zeta Gundam artbook which features a very stylised Bound-Doc which I thought was credited to Nagano, but having just double-checked I must have got it mixed up with another design... possibly I was thinking of the Queberley in the first place.

I have to ask - which Ark Royal...? Theres been more than a few...!

Also in case you're wondering, Mamoru Nagano, the creator of Five Star Stories - while superbly talented - may just be nuttier than an explosion in a peanut butter factory. He also did some designs for Gundam Zeta ( including, I think, the bizarre Bound-Doc ), Heavy Metal L-Gaim, Brain Powerd, and if I remember correctly, has a background in fashion design, which may well explain a lot!

I think I said - its not so much him I'm worried about, its what his mother might do to me if she catches something she doesn't approve of...! I'm not used to being a role model... How do you MWers with your own kids manage it, huh...?! Thanks for the comments, though - I've found a couple of websites ( through ToyBox DX, actually ) that hopefully will fit the bill. If not, I could always send him a Beginners Guide to Japanese...!

I considered that, but Toybox DX is really a bit too hard-core I think, and a touch too adult in tone ( not that way, but I think you'll see what I mean... )

Quick request, please! A 14 year old friend of the family wants to know web-sites where he can find out whats hot in Japan toy-wise at the moment - things like Beyblade or Yu-gi-Oh! [1] Problem is, I also know his mother and don't want to get into trouble if he clicks on the "Gainax Babes" section of HobbyLink Japan or something...! So, anyone know some relatively safe sites for anime-related merchandise I can direct him to? Thanks...! [1] Whatever those are. Back in my day, we had to be happy with Battle of the Planets and, if we were lucky, noticing that there was a Japanese animator who worked on MASK. Kids today, don't know they're born, mumblemumble...

At the time, no it wasn't obvious. At the time, however, I was 7 years old... Now, of course, its rather painful. Mind you, even at that age, being a bit of a space-cadet, even I knew there was something wrong with Jupiter having blue skies and open-air colonies on a rocky foundation...!

One word: "DARLING!" But in the background: Briareos ( Appleseed ), Max Jenius, Captain Goto ( Patlabor on TV and the absolute coolest leader under pressure of all time ), Yomiko Readman ( Read or Die - boy, do I know that "doesn't notice anything at all when reading" thing! ), and special honouary mention to Bloody Mary ( aka Commander Makara in Star Fleet/X-Bomber )...