dreamweaver13

hard to compare. i didn't like DBE, but i didn't despise it either. i think it's because DBE never tried to take itself too seriously. this one did.

oh man, it was awful. and i agree 100% with your comments. and then some.

why don't you just post there in english? seems like they can translate it easily anyway.

Thanks. at least no surprise there with the pop idols.

very very interesting point. people outside japan can only guess at what is "popular" in japan. likewise, i think there's a tendency for outsiders to see a huge group of fans gathering for a particular show (for example, melancholy of haruhi suzumiya), and conclude that most of japan is in on it as well. From a marketing perspective, the idea that japan is made up of countless subcultures, and that a product should be happy enough to capture at least one of these subcultures, is very fascinating to me. Can you give me an idea of something media-related in japan that is truly mainstream, other than ghibli films? a particular manga or show or movie, perhaps?

I'm not actually surprised that there's resistance to believe in MG. after all, they're already a community, and to have someone from outside the community suddenly come in and say that all the things that have been told to them by their leader (?) are false.. that's a tough pill to swallow for anyone. imagine if it were the other way around, someone from another forum says that all of gubaba's translations were false. it would certainly take a lot to convince me. and of course, there's the defense mechanism that kicks in - hey you're just attacking our forum. we don't bother you, so why bother us?? What they have to realize is that gubaba isn't attacking the forum. and most probably, if shaloom's notes stayed inside their forum, this wouldn't have happened. but shaloom's notes did make it out of their forum, and into others. and people from other sites have begun to quote it. if the people in MG realize how much damage shaloom's notes are doing to the entire macross internet community (and not just MG), they'll be much more open to gubaba's expose, since they'll realize it's not an attack on their forum.

first off, i like how you discussed the relationship between Sheryl and Ranka. While you did point out the points in the series where they seemed to grow wary of each other, i think you're right in saying that most of the anguish was not against each other. in that sense, Sheryl and Ranka seemed to genuinely like each other, without (or very minimal) hints of personal jealousy. i too never got the impression that they were directly and consciously competing with each other (well, except for ep15, of course) . But to say that they aren't aware of the triangle? hmm... i can't see that. ep 15 showed that both Sheryl and Ranka were aware of a competition going on. it was very blatant, actually. Ranka would thank alto for saving her. Sheryl, not to be defeated, likewise thanks alto for saving her life numerous times. sheryl mentions the date at the folmo mall, ranka mentions the paper plane. sheryl starts to sing along to ranka's song (which, by the way, was originally sheryl's song), and ranka draws some strength to sing along as well. battle lines were clearly being drawn already, albeit in a seemingly friendly and non-malicious way. if anything else, ranka (or sheryl) was even making a triangle sign with her hands. when sheryl asked alto to come with her to look for her earring ("Star Date"), she already teased that something was going on between Alto and Ranka. In the same episode, ranka saw that sheryl and alto were on a date. In episode 10, both Sheryl and Ranka's behaviors were, in part, influenced by what the other was doing. Nanase constantly reminds Ranka that sheryl and alto are getting too close. In summary, they know something is going on between the other two characters. but since as far as they know, there's no relationship yet, they're just doing what they can to get closer to the person they like. for ranka, it's inviting alto to celebrate her birthday. for sheryl, it's picking him for guard detail. i think they're quite aware that there's someone else that can take alto's attention, but they're not necessarily undermining the other one. they're just... for lack of a better word, just doing what they can to be with alto. well, at least until the last episode. looks like they finally came clean to each other that they're both going after the same guy. and thus, they said that "this is where it begins."

2 episodes into Tora Dora. found it hilarious! and taiga is endearing. man, that parrot is hideous...

yeah, but i think this thread puts a premium on "sucess rate", if so ataru seems out of luck.

anything is better than the MTV version. doesn't help that they ended the series with spider-man quitting. what the hell??

Bon Jovi = band boom in japan ergo Bon Jovi = Macross 7!! Bomba!!!

got a point there. triangle resolution by death is a crappy way to go.

haha. i'm also asian, but i thought that they had sex. the hint was very subtle, so much so that i think it isn't supposed to be a big deal. either you thought they did, or didn't; ultimately, it's really irrelevant as far as the plot goes. the important thing is they became a couple after that, sex or no sex. hey, I always liked misa too. but i like minmay as well. hell, that's probably why i started this thread. coz deep down, i know that if i'm suddenly placed in the situation, i would most probably be neck-deep in the same mess that Hikaru was.

Come to think of it... someone get VFTV1 a blue wig! on another matter, i just realized something else about the triangle. if the series had ended on ep27, the resolution of the triangle is: Hikaru finally confesses, but gets dumped. settles for the next best thing - misa. happily ever after. after the post-war episodes, the resolution of the triangle is: Hikaru actually makes a choice, and finally chooses misa. happily ever after. The series could have definitely ended with ep27, and the triangle would have been resolved. but then again, something feels off about a triangle resolved that way... at least in DYRL, hikaru also made a choice.

or maybe aside from the music, the perceived popularity of M7 was because it was the first true TV series that followed the original SDFM, hence it had a fanbase that was still very enthusiastic about the franchise. whether or not they still remained enthusiastic after M7... well, judging by your post, looks like it could be mixed.

haha. yeah. harsh as it may seem, he may have been ignoring it (consciously or subconsciously) coz he was in love with minmay.

Oh thank god.

DAMN IT. i remember that clearly too, but i can't remember if that's also in SDFM!! DAMIT, DAMIT, DAMIT! I remember it in RT Gloval voice, so maybe it's just there... help?

Haha. yeah, that could very well be it! maybe this is why hikaru called her oba-san the first time she met her. being all professional and strict, she could have given off that old-woman f**k-off vibe. unfortunately (or fortunately!), that was never translated into the animation design.

I have a theory. maybe misa finally found someone who's not intimidated by her. (for big-shot career women who tend to intimidate men, finding someone who isn't is usually a plus, isn't it?) and we all know how hikaru is never intimidated by her.

kakizaki? man, you're being too harsh on yourself! Kakizaki-dense = Minmay freaks out and steps back when he aggresively tries to greet her on her birthday, and he doesn't know why? Kakizaki-dense = Misa decided that she would much rather kiss someone else rather than him, and he wonders "i wonder what's going on?" can't we just call you "max"-esque? he, too, doesn't have a girl who's just a friend. he's kind of a one track-minded guy, in that sense. "hey, if i'm dating you, i'm loving you, babe."

the scene where hikaru sleeps on the couch was before the christmas kiss. if hikarfu and minmay did sleep together, the prevailing theory is that they so after the christmas dinner kiss (at the very end of the episode). After that, we never got any indication who sleeps where anymore. i never thought that hikaru and misa were shagging during the 2 year interval. their behavior towards each other all throughout the aftermath episodes doesn't give me that vibe. but maybe that's just me.

Calling Hikaru dense... hey, you'll brook no argument from me there. he's as dense as they come. but to call him an idiot and incomprehensible? i wouldn't. because, if i did, i'd be as soon calling myself one. this has happened to me before. i will befriend a girl, and we'd be very very close. but sometimes, i just don't see anything else. when you get to be good friends, even signs of affection, such as holding hands, walking late nights, or sharing feelings, can come across as BFF stuff. think harry met sally, before they became mr and mrs harry and sally. it won't be later on until someone else (usually a common friend) points out to me that it's soooo obvious that she has feelings for me. And once it's been said, i look back, and every behavior has a different color to it. I see that the common friend is telling the truth, and i berate myself for not seeing it early on. for being hikaru-dense. but why don't i see it before? well, if you don't have feelings for the girl from the start, i guess you tend to overlook things. or, even if your subconscious recognizes the signs, your mind denies these signs, because part of you is not ready to reciprocate. until someone confronts you with it head on, your mind can justify your refusal to acknowledge the possibility. or until you also begin to fall for her, and then you begin to analyse her behavior towards you. This is especially true if the guy is in love with someone else, which is the case with hikaru. it's all about color. sometimes we guys see it, sometimes we dismiss it. the generic term for it is being dense. me? i'd call it a defense mechanism. I'm not saying this is certainly why hikaru behaved that way. it's just a theory. he could also very well be a first-class idiot (his behavior in Private Time sure adds weight to that argument). of course, we can claim "how can any sane man possibly NOT fall in love at first sight with a girl as wonderful as misa". well... you can't teach the heart to feel what it feels. either the feelings are there from the start, or they aren't. we as viewers have the benefit of looking from outside the situation, but hikaru was the character in that situation, and from that perspective, he could be blind as a bat to misa's wonderful attributes -- at the start, of course. p.s. as for alto... i think the two girls were blatantly obvious in episode 15, that there's no way for any rational mind to deny it, defense mechanism or no. In that sense, i too found alto's behavior incomprehensible.

even worse, britai actually interrupted claudia and misa from their rest (and misa possibly on the verge of some kind of confession to hikaru) just to show a ship that they won't even stop to check anyway. i mean, what was the point?? what a tease!

Having watched Deathnote a few weeks before watching MF, i initially thought that "kira" was a way of ranka saying "i'm killing you with my moe-ness!"