Chronocidal

Oy, after watching Disappearance again, it's just been hitting me exactly how crazy the entire time travel mess is. I mean, it all kind of fit together already, but it just occurred to me that the trip in Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody was done specifically to set up Kyon with a means to fix things when Disappearance happened. Haruhi would have done what she did back then anyway, but putting Kyon there gave him the key to fix everything. They just love to screw with causality so much. Good to hear about the US release of Disappearance, I might have to pick that up on bluray. I've been listening to Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou too, and it took me a good while to get it, but I just realized that I think one of the tracks is actually an orchestrated version of the 8-bit computer music you hear while they're playing Day of Sagittarius. I'm not even sure why it just hit me, but I've had the orchestrated version in my head all morning. I need to get the track labels translated, so I can remember what they actually are. Plus, I need to get myself a copy of the show soundtracks at some point. After listening to the orchestrated Mikuru theme again, I'm really starting to want a special edition of that episode. Not so much a rehash.. but I want to see what it would look like in Haruhi's head. I just think that orchestrated theme deserves a fitting movie/show to go with it. Not necessarily episode length, though I don't think they'd want to devote an entire feature length movie to an inside-joke. As little sense as the plot of the club movie made (I mean, despite the crazy multi-layered metaphors for the actual story), I think you could potentially work the plot into something that could be fun in its own way, as a semi-serious sci-fi/fantasy epic. Sort of like what they did with the movie Chicken LIttle, where they made a hollywood-styled retelling of the events of the film into an actual movie (which of course was nothing like what really happened). I don't know if the plot would stand up to being taken seriously, but I would love to see the characters acting entirely in-character for the movie roles. I mean, even if everything was played completely seriously, I think it would be hilarious to see them acting their roles as Haruhi intended. It'd be worth it just to see Yuki playing some kind of cliched evil witch character, especially if they have her acting the part, complete with a massively evil laugh. Mikuru being some kind of badass actual combat character would be something to see as well. Plus, I think the voice actors could potentially have a lot of fun with it. Darn it, now I'm suddenly wanting to write a completely serious version of that story.

Was looking back at shots I took of my VF-25 kit mod to hold the legs up higher, and actually, the position of the wing glove doesn't look much different (when properly positioned). When the legs are held at the correct height, the glove does cover a good portion of where that leg stripe is. I think the change is mostly due to using thicker plastic, and not having the lower wing glove quite as beefy as it is on the model. You're right though, the shape is different. Looking at the shot of the underside that points out the gerwalk support brace, it looks as if the lower surface of the wing glove is actually not going to be flush with the leg in fighter mode, as if the inner edge was cut away some. The upper surface definitely is closer to the centerline than the lower half, but unless the leg is actually wider than it looks, there might be space left there. It just occurred to me as I was typing though... this might be to allow for a better super/armor pack integration. The super and tornado leg packs aren't too big, but this might be to give the armor packs more room. I don't think having the lower wing glove shaped this way will have much of an effect on the overall design, but I am very curious to see how they plan to lock the wing gloves down and the legs up if they don't have something similar to the tab system I added to my kit, which is what they wound up including on the VF-27 and YF-29 toys.

Yeah, I should say if anyone doesn't have them and wants them, I did manage to save the fan translations before they were licensed. I've got everything up through book 9, and various pieces of book 10 and 11. The actual translations of 1-5 are really pretty though, lots of nice artwork and such thrown in. I just wish they'd pick up the pace translating books 10 and 11. While the overall story is there, it's missing a big chunk. I'm anxious to see what this Tanabata announcement is though. Suppose I'll have to wait till either late tonight, or tomorrow. In the meantime, off to watch the last three episodes of the series to prepare for Diappearance tomorrow.

It looks like they're comparing the length of the forward fuselage, but that doesn't make much sense. It is clear how much higher the nose is above the ground though, mostly due to the forward landing gear. The second arrow is showing how much higher the legs are I think, giving a much thinner profile around the wing gloves.

I never understand why they do that. There's no way they'd end production of something that quickly, and they'll be getting more stock as it's produced. They just seem so jumpy to reach for that "discontinued" label before the company has even produced enough to pay for the molds.

I think it's kind of an offshoot of the similar things people tend to do with cars really. Macross just happens to use a lot of aircraft, so they're the most visible option for these types of decorations. I still think the Ace Combat Idolmaster schemes were the first time I saw anything like it, and it's kind of snowballed from there. If Gundam series had more characters that were idol singers, we'd probably see their faces pasted all over gundams too. Oddly it actually is pretty fitting in the Macross universe, due to the way the aircraft become associated with the musicians (either as escorts or pilots). I mean, it started with the Minmay Guard designs, and went from there. It's like a slightly unnatural progression for the nose-art you see on old planes. Really, I think by that point in time, technology would have progressed enough to render anything other than active stealth systems obsolete anyway, so I like to think that regulations dictating the ways military aircraft should be painted would get to be a little more relaxed. I mean, that, plus space is usually really really dark. That episode with Hikaru flying through Saturn's rings comes to mind. If you don't paint your stuff bright colors, it's likely you'll be just as much a hazard to your wingmen as you are to the enemy. On the other hand, there's a difference between formation lighting and turning your plane into the Goodyear Blimp.

Point 11: The feet are shiny? Very nice to see that the front landing gear is now of a reasonable design. I actually don't know which direction of retraction is actually canon though. Gear used for catapult launches generally have retractors behind the gear to hold them in place, but I guess they don't need those anymore. I like the gerwalk support, hopefully that's a preemptive measure against the weight of future super and armor packs. I love how the gunpod fits now too, nice and snug under the belly. The trick now will be to see if they can pull of the same for Michael's gun. Also, is it just me, or does the gunpod look bigger? Oh, and it looks like they went with the model design for the ventral fins. I think in the side comparison of the old and new gerwalk modes, you can see the tips of the fins poking out behind the calves. Don't know if that will cause any issues for armor down the line, but I'm happy to see them properly sized and angled for fighter mode.

I've actually lost track of the titles due to being more familiar with the series than the books, but assuming you mean book 5, it's definitely out. I should be getting my copy of that shortly. I ordered books 1-5 from amazon about a week ago now.

Agreed, I wouldn't want to fly the Demon either. But it wouldn't be the first plane in an AC game no one wanted to fly. Ditto for the Skyray though. That plane is like a work of art, and looks like some futuristic thing out of science fiction. I got up close and personal with the prototype on display a while back, but it's in pretty bad shape.

Anyone else think the placement of Ranka's face right over that circular panel is just horribly and hilariously unfortunate? Arguably, I'd say those crazy decorations are one of the worst things you can do to a plane, but they look good for what they are. I'm hoping to order a Sheryl version later to make into a Blue Angel-ish scheme, but I don't want to ship anything more to my current address, since I'm moving out in a couple weeks.

The Doctor Who thing is actually pretty funny. I'm not a huge fan of the series, but I'm familiar enough to know that the Doctor has used the pseudonym John Smith in the past. As for the voice acting, I wonder if they're planning to recast both the Japanese and English voices at the same time? I mean, Aya Hirano's retirement is still a rumor I think, but it certainly sounds like an odd coincidence. Though, given Wendee Lee has been voicing characters since the original Macross was dubbed, I wouldn't blame her for wanting to retire. In other news, my hardcovers of the first five novels should be sitting in my apartment complex's main office right now according to the USPS, but I didn't get a delivery notice in my box. Hopefully they didn't send it somewhere else by mistake. Also, I had an extremely funny conversation with a friend of mine the other day. We've been watching through the entire series (she hadn't seen season 2), and we're going to finish with the movie (hopefully on July 7th). Now, before I say what happened, I need to clarify something about our relationship. We have a pretty amusing Kyon/Haruhi-esque dynamic, with her providing the wacky ideas (mostly), and me usually facepalming (to an extent). She's also got it firmly entrenched in her mind that thinking something too much makes it true. The other day, I casually asked if she knew what day was coming up. Keep in mind, we'd just watched Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody a few days earlier. She looks at me and goes, "Your birthday?" I almost died laughing right then and there, and she looked at me like I'd snapped. I cued up the conversation from the beginning of that episode (where Haruhi asks Kyon what day is coming up, and he guesses it's her birthday), and we both couldn't stop laughing for a long time. She actually hadn't remembered the conversation, and wasn't trying to make the reference after all, but we both thought the role reversal was incredibly funny.

I just want them to find an excuse to include all those planes from history we never see. Everything between about 1950-1970 usually gets left out, with the , MiG-21, F-4 and F-5 variants in some games being rare exceptions. I really want some A-4, A-5, A-6, A-7 love, or some callbacks to the Strategic Air Command era with squadrons of Century Series interceptors stationed all over the country (F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-106). Not to mention all the various fighter types the Navy went through back then (Tigers, Skyrays, Demons, Banshees, Crusaders, etc). I kind of miss the way the aircraft companies operated back then actually. Not necessarily for the spending habits, but the way they were producing aircraft right and left (many with overlapping roles) as technology advanced, just to have the most up to date aircraft available. These days, everything is a joint forces effort, the development process is crazily complicated, and they can't keep up with the advances of technology even within a single aircraft design. Part of what makes things so difficult is that by the time an aircraft design even gets approval for a prototype, the technology they planned on using to build it is outdated, long before the thing is even built. In the end, we get planes that never seem to leave the development cycle because the designs keep getting updated for new technology before they're even built. Anywho though.. it would be fun going back to that era for a new game. Going back that far though, the gameplay would change significantly, until you got up around Vietnam, since missiles really werent reliable until later in the Vietnam era. Course, doesn't mean I wouldn't love to see Ace Combat: Mig Alley.

Oho... well, would ya look at that. Two things. 1. I don't see any spot for the shoulder packs to attach for the super parts yet, but the legs and wing prongs look like they're already prepped to accept the extra parts. So, this could mean a couple things. Either they've forgotten the shoulder attachment points (not likely), or they found a better way to attach them than with those weak snap on ball joints from the first version (hopefully). Could also be an early version of the mold, but they already have the holes cut for the back plates. 2. One more reason I'm excited. Check out the area behind the head. Not only do they already have the attachment point for Luca's dome, but look at the seam line directly behind the head. Looks like they built in a separation line there so they can swap that panel, and make it so the different heads fit correctly. If the discount is significant, I might actually pre-order one of these, possibly two. Also, while the super parts for the legs likely will not work at all, I wonder if they'll re-use the old wing booster design. There really was very little they needed to change about those.... Oh, hold up, no.. strike that, look at the prongs on the wing. They've got the original hole that the first version had, but they've also got a space cut for a tab in the back half of the prong. I can't remember if the original had those or not actually. This is shaping up to be a very nice summer and fall.

Yeah, I'd say about 90% of the stickers with the Fire Valk are more just for fun. I mean.. sure, technically they could be put on the plane, but they aren't official by any stretch of the imagination. What the sheet does include is a lot of stuff you could use to make custom VF-19 schemes, including NUNS markings from Frontier era aircraft.

Ok, I couldn't resist, and read the about the first half of book 10, and the last half of book 11, since that's what's been translated. Obviously a lot of stuff was left out, but the overall plot was still pretty much complete. One reviewer was sad that a lot of the characters recently introduced don't seem to be permanent additions to the plot, but I seriously doubt we've seen the last of them by far.

Yep, I'll be grabbing at least a few of these. Thumbs-up for a kickass gerwalk stance, and being able to see the ventral fins from directly above. Can't wait. You know though, I have to admit being really picky in this case.. but one of the most annoying features (to me) of the original? Why couldn't they let the wings sweep straight out? I hope they fix that on this release. They clearly did in the show, and I want to be able to fly my VF-25F across the window at sunset while humming "Cat's Diary" I mean, it's not a huge deal, and probably would be pretty easy to mod, but I'd like more detents in the wing sweep this time around.

If you need proof of how they have improved, look to the topics about the YF-29 and the new v.2 VF-25.

Oh, by the way, more head stripe weirdness. The one Alto crash lands near the SDF on Gallia IV? No headstripe there either. Just randomly watched that scene the other day and noticed it. Seems like the stripes tend to be missing if you get a lot of close-up shots of fighter/gerwalk, but never in battroid.

Yep, really glad I settled for the heavily discounted blue-tinted Alto the first time, and didn't spring for any websclusives. I will indeed be buying one of these, if not two, and can finally have a nicely colored and properly built VF-25. This thing looks good enough, I might not even mind buying a second one to get a bundle with super parts. Curses.. I might have to get them all this time. I just hope they have the sense not to make so much stuff exclusive this time. Alto's armor I can kind of understand, but he used super packs for most of the series. You know.. maybe they'll take a cue from the kits, and release a general super pack set with a set of color coded stickers? That would kind of go against everything they did with the first line (and actually make sense), but boy do I ever hope they will do that. They can have their exclusive bundle packs if they want, but just have the decency to release a customizable generic set that any of the VF-25s can mount. Do that, and I will probably buy each and every one. Now, bring on the fighter mode pics!

I always thought wheels were a nice thing for when you want to move things around on the ground without having to start the engines, but that's just me. Anyway, I'm just hoping to see some of these new cad images I keep hearing about. I can't wait to see what they can pull off with this design.

Still haven't seen the last Shrek movie (thought the third fell a little flat) but I thought Puss was one of the best parts of the sequels. I love actors who can poke this kind of fun at themselves. Probably won't see it in theaters because I prefer my own living room, but it looks awesome. Even awesomer they got Salma Hayek as his counterpart. Here's hoping for a sequel, "Once Upon a Time In Far Far Away." That title just fits the subject matter far too well to not make use of. Bonus points if they can get Johnny Depp to play a blind foreign cat who tries to help them.

Maybe near completion in the sense that they're approaching a kind of climax in the story, but there is still a ton left unresolved. The author has already been reported to be working on book 12. I may have to come up with a massive infographic type thing to show the timelines soon. The timeline in this story has so many loops and twists it's starting to look like someone's knitting a temporal sweater. If the whole masquerade of hiding Haruhi's powers from herself comes crashing down at the end of these books, then the end is likely pretty near. I can't see the story going on much longer without that as the motivating factor. I just can't see it working if she learns how to use her own power at will, because the series dynamic would be ruined. Gah, so much speculation. I wish they'd finish those translations already, it's been a month since the books came out. Edit: Random stupid crazy crossover aneurism moment. I keep finding more things like this. The dub voice for Emiri Kimidori? Hynden Walch, who also does the voice for Starfire, was in the movie Groundhog Day.

Ok, so I read book 9 and a translated portion of 10 last night. Hoo boy. Seems like books 9, 10, and 11 can be treated as one continuous story. Once the alpha/beta numbering in book 9 starts, it continues in sequence in book 10. Book 9 leaves off at a-6/b-6, and 10 starts with a-7/b-7. Not sure if it's entirely consistent, but it looks like each labeled section is about a single day (though the length of the sections vary based on what occurs.. one alpha section is about a paragraph long, and just tells about how Kyon wasted his sunday doing nothing in particular). Now the fun stuff. Anyway.. so yeah. My brain hurts, and I can't wait to read more of this one.

Well, the setup I keep expecting has a lot to do with the 9th novel. Anywho, I'll re-read book 9 tonight, and then go hunting for bits of 10 and 11 to see what happens.

Heheh. I bet half the wishes on that website tree are for her to get better. The site I saw didn't read anything like a rumor; apparently she announced she has a tumor on her pituitary gland, and won't be taking any more voice roles, and is halting her singing career. Now, whether "any more voice roles" means "no more than I already have" or "no more voice work at all" is up for grabs. It could potentially be rumor, but it seems rather specific. Anyway, I guess I should rephrase what I mean.. If the announcement is that the series will be ending, I hope they use Disappearance as the last hurrah, just because of what the plot does after that point. To continue for some amount of time, then just have the series die off mid-plot would be sad. On the other hand, why would they ask for fans to submit wishes just to announce the ending? Considering Disappearance ends on a sort of causality-induced cliffhanger, they can't very well leave it unresolved. The problem is, bringing about the final conclusion for Disappearance involves a story that is arguably a bigger mess than Disappearance, and introduces the overarching plot for the entire rest of the novels. Once they open the can of worms that is the it's going to be a long and crazy ride.