mr.chogokin

Saw some really nice Votoms Zippos in Yahoo Japan via Rinkya, is it true that they don't ship Zippos overseas? Cuz I dun wanna fap at the monitor no more.

wrong post. misread the hinge colour. no more whites.

The DMZ Strikedogs are bound to disappear sooner or later too. That's a damn well-made toy there. It's HUGE, it's menacing... design-wise I prefer that one over the Rabidlydog. Damn you Takaratomy for abandoning this toyline, they all rocked!

Fair enough, my contention was with how well the original show & movie seem to tie together so much better, and how the sequels are not as good imo. IF Ishiguro was brought in to convince the suits at the TV network to let a bunch of young'uns run wild with this show they created, they obviously went berserk with the sequels without this check and balance.

I have read your 3 questions. While they may point to Kawamori but that is beside the point because if that alone enough, why did they need to bring in Ishiguro? As I said, all I care for is the result. What came from Ishiguro and Kawamori as directors in terms for result, are vastly different.

No worries, as harsh as I sounded, he is definitely still one of the good guys in my book. I wished that the sequels would come close if not exceed the original. Was Aquarion OVA a success? I find it weak. Love the mecha design though.

FACT: SDF & DYRL had the benefit of experience. The sequels did not.

I did. I'm telling you, SDF & DYRL that we love is not completely "created" by Kawamori himself. And having watched the sequels, I'm even more convinced that it's not.

Ok, according to ANN, Ishiguro was the Chief Director and according wikipedia, Kawamori is the writer (co-creator). I see what you're getting at with your SW example. It's just not a good example because Lucas was obviously appealing to different demographics, or he's really lost his edge. With SDF Macross, you can't overide what the chief director wants even though it's all Kawamori's vision. For all you know SDF & DYRL could have been like Macross 7 or plus or zero or frontier. All I'm saying is Ishiguro threw away the things that made the original series and movie, unkawamori-sequel-like.

Maybe for you but what I care about is the result. I didn't the "Eh, WTF is this?" moments from SDF & DYRL that I got from the sequels. That's very telling on which master has the higher hand.

I already did pointed them out - story, character design, character development, the charm etc... But then as you have also pointed out, the same people who also worked for both directors, I'd say Ishiguro imo is better at distilling what great and what's mediocre than Kawamori. Some directors just do not settle for what's on the menu. Just a personal opinion is all. Also to quote Azrael from page 1: "Co-creator. While Kawamori wasn't involved in the minute details of Macross, the original concepts did come from him (i.e. the Valks and setting). He mainly focuses on mecha design, he has written episodes, directed episodes, and directed series. Others have developed Macross into its current form, but the original concept began with Kawamori and matured through other people, hence, co-creator. A more effective title for his role these days is probably "Show Runner" or "Executive Producer"... I don't know if he's unhappy with how things turned out in the end, I'm glad Ishiguro rode him for what we got in the original tv series.

It's okay, with the wealth of Kawamori-directed anime out there, I'm sure you'll see the light that he's not meant for the director's chair. But happily, we can both agree with what VF5SS said.

Why blame Kawamori... come on man, he IS the go-to guy as far as what gets shipped in Macross or not. I would have given him the benefit of doubt if it weren't for the many other non-Macross productions with him in the lead that missed rather than hit. The only titles in the Macross franchise itself than I can't pin the blame on him for the missing magic in the sequels, are the original TV series and the movie because he weren't entirely in charge. The originals aren't perfect mind you, but as far as story, character design, character development, the charm etc... are what magic I can't find in the sequels. Btw, by "fruit" I meant the needless things that gets put into the sequels by way of indecision, bad decision making or quite simply poorer taste. For example, it's like compiling objects for a still-life drawing, you can't get any interesting composition... so fruit is added. And when you still can't get any interesting result, more fruits are added again; but that is not going anywhere unless you have the "eye" to make thing interesting. As a fan, I felt that Ishiguro had the "eye" for direction more than Kawamori. Maybe I should use "fluff", but it's not constructive either.

Yeah by all means defer to Kawamori if in doing so improves the overall package quality... but here we get stuff that makes you go "eh wth?" like: Mplus - where Guld lost his memory, but not after feasting his eyes on the most magnificent pair of boobies. And Isamu dejected for not being able to see them before Guld, ran away. M7 - At an attempt to be more original than SDF Macross, explores sound further as a form of deterrent / passive weapon, but ultimately fails when the concept is married to a glam rock band whose headman is a self-indulging prick. As if that isn't bad enough, in order for Basara to be the messiah in the show, the entire UN Spacy is made the pariah. Mzero - Er, were they trying to explain the origins of the aliens but failed miserably or what? Why do they need to explain the aliens through the eyes of the Mayan culture? Mflontier - A renewal of SDF Macross, maybe? I failed to see that. Primarily, because I cannot stand the character designs - to me it was bad in Macross plus, it got worse in the subsequent sequels and frontier has manage to top all of them for supremely bad. Alto Saotome, are ya fvcking kidding me??? Notice that all that is mentioned above are but the little bad things that I dislike about the sequels, but plays a big part in turning me off. There is too much emphasis on window-dressing more than actually telling a good story. Maybe they didn't defer to Kawamori on the story in SDF Macross or DYRL. That's why it is till today, fruit-free.

Yeah, this is the set you are talking about. http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.php?gid=1098

Here ya go... http://www.toysdaily.com/discuz/thread-12285-268-3.html

I'm not too happy with the 1/60 YF 19's gullet; it looks like an unhappy pen1s but the VF19's looks even more unhappier. The sculpt looks like a c0ck that not only didn't age well, it's overdue for some chronic depression counseling. You can't win. Yamato hates you. Oh, and as if that issue that bothers you isn't bad enough, both have other issues that could've made you overlook the gullet problem but worsen the overall package instead.

Hey Area88, thanks for your effort! I really dig the stuff you post everytime. Please keep up the good work!

All the klanging has finally jar some fatty tissues loose.

I don't know about you guys, but I thank God for Ishiguro's leadership in both SDF and DYRL. Till today, those two are FRUIT-FREE. After having the privilege to watch both, I was ready to die. Although I'm thankful I'm still alive today, I can't say I appreciate watching Mac II, Plus, 7, Zero or Frontier. They should've continued with Ishiguro's leadership. He's the reason why the original tv series and movie are FRUIT-FREE.

That's odd you know, if you have one locked down on your open orders that means you are in for one. I received confirmation of order and a second email that my paypal has been billed, and a third email saying my order has been shipped. Better check with HLJ quick.

We're talking about Yamato here and yet we're so surprised when things like these happen.

Nah, there is no logic to it. All I'm saying is it doesn't pay to be an early adopter for the Yamato stuff. Same goes for their exclusives.

You meant the ones in Japan (without an internet connection) buy from resellers, right? The Yamato's bending of rules is BS, no offense. This is more like acquiescing to the fact that their exclusivity compounded by another stupid hassle that can only be acquire via web, and that too is only if you have a japanese address is undersubscribed. This exclusivity is only in name unless collectors thinks so and trip over themselves to buy them upon announcement. But that didn't happen, did it?

Wow, VF-X is now discontinued at HLJ. Also received a paypal charge email from them yesterday... Did anyone get billed by HLJ yet?