Tochiro

http://meufer.tumblr.com/post/25065696414/valkyrie-fighter-and-gerwalk-mode-by-meufer

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hmmmm.... no complaints with the casting (alhough I must admit, despite being miscast, Stallones JAW was freaking awesome back in the day) but i think the film's biggest challenge will be rising above its obviously limited budget. Smart editing and judicious use of SFX can make this possible but we shall just have to wait and see, I guess.

You're getting predictable Veef. Now go stand in the corner and say 'More pandering than a pair of moe panties on a prepubescent pubic mound' 10 times as fast as you can. And NO PEEKING.....er, I mean cheating.

Darn it. This started off as an interesting debate about the marketing challenges in the US market and how to add value to anime as a product. Unfortunately it seems to have devolved into an 'anime was better back in my day' thread. In other words, just the same as the Macross aint what it used to be thread. You pretty much hit all the key issues here except one, imo, and thats been covered by other posters - the fact that in the 80's and 90's there was a filter on what made it to the West and what didn't. There was really no less crap being made then than now, it just wasn't visible. The internet started to remove this filter - at first with abundant information and eventually with pirated uploads (or, if you prefer, 'fan subs'). The thing is, this situation was further amplified by the anime boom in the US from the early to mid-2000's. Suddenly practically everything new was available. Looking for quality or that niche you might be into became a chore at best and a financial gamble at worst. This turned a lot of people off anime. What's interesting is that I saw the exact same phenomenon at the turn of the century - among fellow expats who had only just moved to Japan. Upon being faced with walls upon walls of crayon shinchan, dragon ball and sazae-san at their local video shop, they gave up. Claimed that modern anime was no good any more. This was while the US was still in the middle of its love affair with Cowboy Bebop and the anime bubble over there was only just beginning. Of course there was new, interesting and mature stuff coming out - they just didn't want to look for it. And to those who claim anime today is terrible, I say this - nothing has changed. Either you've changed your tastes or you don't have the time to look for the good stuff. But theres plenty of good anime out there. Heck, this year alone we have TWO series that are destined to be mech a SF/mecha classics for generations to come - Gundam Unicorn and Yamato 2199. In other genres, we have A woman called Mine Fujiko, Kids on the Slope and Space Brothers. Theres been Leiji Matsumoto’s Ozuma, and upcoming we have the final Mardock Scramble movie, a Tiger & Bunny movie, Kenji Kamiyama’s RE: Cyborg 009, Letter to Momo, Yuki to Ame (Hosoda + Sadamoto again!), the 3rd Evangelion rebuild movie, the last two installments of Gundam Unicorn and a new adaptation of one of Kenji Miyazawa’s works The Life of Guskou Budori...... No, wait, I'd actually go so far as to say the last 10-12 years has been ONE OF THE BEST DECADES FOR ANIME I HAVE EVER HAD THE FORTUNE TO ENJOY! To quote myself from that Macross aint what it used to be thread: "Below is a list of anime that’s come out since the dawn of the current century – in other words in little over a decade. I’ve chosen this time frame because I moved to Japan in 2000 and watched most of these as they were released. While personally I prefer SF, I am open to most anime that isn’t too moerrific and has a story or some other element that grabs me. (please keep in mind that I don’t claim that all of the following are ‘great’ shows per se, just that they don’t fall into the stereotypes and tropes that some members on the board assign to all anime as of late). Take a look at this list and tell me with a straight face that we got anywhere near the volume or range of anime in any 12 year period in the rose coloured past. As oldskool Macross fans, I’ll presume that most of us have watched the more hardcore mecha series like the two Gundam IGLOO OVA’s, Macross Zero, Gundam Unicorn. Certainly there were some new iterations to robot anime with a younger angle to them but still had plenty of good mecha action in them if you were willing to give them a chance – Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Gundam 00, Gundam Stargazer. Updates to classic franchises? Fist of the North Star got 3 movies, 2 OVAs and a tv series about Raoh. City Hunter got a direct sequel (Angel Heart) as did Captain Harlock (Endless Odessey) and Cobra (2 OVA’s and one TV series). Not to mention the Golgo 13 tv series or the terrific Cyborg 009-1 spin-off series. Votoms also got at least 2 OVA’s and Yamato actually got a fully-fledged sequel with Yamato Ressurection. Evangelion also got the first 2 rebuild movies. Oh and Towards the Terra received an excellent update in the form of a new TV series that outdoes (imo) the old theatrical version. Giant robots your thing? How about Rahxephon (arguably Izubuchi’s greatest work), Aquarion, Eureka 7, Mazinkaizer SKL or Reideen? Keen on Science Fiction? Ghost in the Shell Innocence (movie), 2 tv series and one movie for Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, 2 movies and one tv series for Appleseed, Trigun Badlands Rumble, Rideback, The Galaxy Railways (2 tv series & OVA), Space Symphony Maetel, Project Blue Earth SOS, Vexille, Tytania, Eden of the East (tv and movies), Mardock Scramble, Tiger and Bunny, Towanoquon (studio BONES!) and the outstanding Redline. Want more Kawajiri? Highlander: The Search for Vengeance may not be a terrific Highlander film, but it is VERY Kawajiri. Then you have US/JPN co-productions which sometimes have animation with a budget most Japanese studios can only dream of, if not necessarily the best writing. One things for sure though – they aren’t aimed at either kids or the typical moe crowd – Halo Legends, Afro Samurai, Batman Gotham Knight, Ninja Scroll TV, several Marvel collaborations. Watch Nadia as a kid and want more Action Adventure? Again anime has you covered with Black Lagoon, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Darker than Black, Witch Hunter Robin, Blood+, Michiko & Hatchin. How about Fantasy? Claymore, Production IG’s excellent Moribito, Samurai Champloo, Samurai 7 or the new Rurouni kenshin OVA? Comedy – several series of Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei (some of the best social criticism of Japanese society ever animated) or, if you like your Transformer and zombie parodies a little coarser, Panty & Stocking. As far as original productions are concerned, there was the tear-jerking Colorful, Sword of the Stranger, RIN, Summer Wars, and the larger part of the late Satoshi Kon’s filmography with Tokyo Godfathers, Millenium Actress, Paprika and Paranoia Agent. And looking ahead to 2013 there’s already (supposedly) Gundam The origin, the (still in production), a new Five Star Stories movie (Gothic Made), a Captain Harlock CG movie and Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Dreadnaught Mahoroba to look forward to as well as (hopefully) the post-humously completed Dream Machine from Satoshi Kon. Please keep in mind that the above are only what I could come up with off the top of my head so I may have missed a few titles. ;-) " One thing nearly all of the above have in common however is that they are not aimed squarely at children and are not primarily moe bait and otaku fanservice. A few titles may have one of these elements (Aquarion, I’m looking at you) but not to the extent that it defines the show. (Veef, ignore that part) And thats ignoring the great classic anime that the US is finally getting (original Lupin tv, GE999 movies, Captain Harlock tv or Shin getter robo vs neo getter robo. Or the terrific Dirty Pair and Utena remastered box sets that rightstuf put out. Nor will I mention some of the more recent, well done co-productions like Tron (animated primarily in Japan), Thundercats or even the upcoming French remake of the Mysterious Cities of Gold. Seriously, whether you like classic anime series, SF, action adventure or just anime in general the above list shows that you HAVE been catered to fairly well over the past decade by this medium that we all (at one point at least) claim(ed) to enjoy. If there’s nothing in this list that appeals to you then I think it’s only reasonable to say that it’s not anime that has changed, it’s you. And to anyone who says that Japan stopped making anime that appealed to you 10 years ago I can only say that you must have either very refined or very bizarre tastes for there to be nothing in the above list that appeals to you at all. Feel free to let your rose tinted glasses of the past restrict your ability to enjoy what is right in front of you. Me? I'm just gonna keep on lovin' lovin' this medium and all the great stuff it has for me to watch. Now, can we get back to discussing licensing, market differences and all that interesting stuff please?

Chapter 3 (eps 7-10) confirmed for October 13 theatrical release. Also, merch for Chapter 2 (eps 3-6) to go on sale this weekend with premier in cinemas: http://t.co/VxaOfAm0

Sounds like it was a great gig - mad props go out to EXO for such a terrific writeup! It's great that Mayn's US fans got to experience a performance first-hand. And yes, if you ever get a handshake or an autograph thats way more than us fans in Japan could ever hope for. Just out of curiosity, did anyone make notes of the setlist? EDIT: Does this look about right? http://ameblo.jp/coyoteugly-riot7/entry-11260354844.html

Really, really impressive stuff. Its always heartening to see the sort of stuff passionate fans can come up with :-)

That's what I'm hoping! or at least, he is going to be better by the end of the year!

Just put some new news tidbits up on the front page: http://www.macrossworld.com/2426/news-tidbits/

Official website has just gone live http://macross-fanclub.com/firebomber2012/

A few new screenshots have surfaced: http://www.macrossworld.com/2426/news-tidbits/#more-2426

Maybe because the original doesn't exist? As posted by lynn2009 in the 2nd page of this topic: http://www.macrosswo...ndpost&p=964626 "Unfortunately, the master film for Flashback 2012 doesn't exist, so it will be an upconvert from the best quality master available." Now if, on the other hand, you are suggesting they recut the footage that was used together and literally rebuild the show - thats a lot of work and it would still be missing the originally animated new stuff for obvious reasons.

Well, there doesnt appear to be any physical extras with these sets. Not that theyve announced yet at least. Content-wise, I'm not familiar with the DVD boxsets - is it the same? Doesnt necessarily mean that the boxsets will be made in any great numbers. I wouldnt leave it for too long if I were you. But hey, thats just my 2 yen.

Agreed. I think the safest assumption is that the version of FB2012 that we got is 100% upscale as was originally announced.

@Jetjockey - Uh no, no such thing has ever even been hinted at afaik. But given the popularity of the single soundtrack volumes, I cant say that such a thing would happen soon if it were to happen at all. And if you are holding off on buying some of the best Japanese music in the past decade on the outside hope that a few overlooked bits of BGM will get released later on then you are doing yourself a disservice imo. Some awesome, awesome music in there! @Benson13 - what DVD release was that? No Japanese release came with any sort of CD. And theres a lot more than 20 songs fyi :-)

Anime News Network has pocked up on the upcoming tv specials. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-06-23/macross-seminar-show-to-air-with-instructor-sheryl

As I mentioned previously, the issue doesn't come out until the 25th. Patience. The only reason that photo leaked is because issues were distributed late this week due to the weekend. The issue itself however his not officially on stands yet.

Just got word from Yamato that that issue of Hobby Japan (released on June 25) will have a bunch of VF-4 info, so hopefully there will be more than just that one page. Fingers crossed.

] Its a tv summary of the launch ceremony where they first showed episode 1 (first half of chapter 1) to the public. My report of said event can be found here: http://www.starblazers.com/html.php?page_id=679 Just scored tickets for Chapter 2 on June 30 - a special screening with a talk by cast and staff, yay! :-)

Damnit, Antibiotictab, that was fast! You beat me to it! :-) Also, in a rather random announcement, official badges of rank are going to be sent out to fanclub members - which one you get is based on whether the recipient has been in the fanclub for 1, 2, or 3 years.

Theres a seller listing these on amazon Japan again if anyone is interested. Minimal markup too. http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B007EMQQTG/ref=s9_newr_gw_d41_g21_ir02?pf_rd_m=AN1VRQENFRJN5&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0EJ4RXJYE5BSC8H5EPVQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463376756&pf_rd_i=489986

I'm often in the same boat - second hand is great for somethings but for others the limited initial pressing means that prices never drop. My original remastered Evangelion DVD Nerv boxset, that was 40,000~50,000yen from memory, is now worth more than i originally got it for on the 2nd hand market. On the other hand, the original Fist of the North Star remastered DVD boxset is now a bit cheaper than its original (whopping) 100,000yen asking price.

Am actually still stuck in the train- darn rain has messed things up. For what it's worth, I had a rather funny exchange with a colleague last year. I brought an issue of Protocultute Addicts (or maybe it was Otakusa?) to show him what was popular in th US. His comment? He was shocked at the poor quality control of the magazine publisher. 'Theres a full page advertisement for $50 box sets. Obviously someone either forgot a digit, or else they are promoting bootlegs!' Hehehe....f^_^

I'm curious- are you not familiar with what Japanese media pricing is like? Because, as has been mentioned by other posters, by Japanese standards the pricing of the Macross 7 box sets is fairly reasonable. Here we are getting pretty much every single piece of animated and recorded footage related to the series for much less than it would have originally added up to, for a cheaper price than the DVD remaster sets on a medium that is the highest quality to date and also one that many think will be the final option of buying and owning the show on a physical medium. A similar thing can be said about DYRL which, despite including FB2012 and a bunch of reprinted physical items, is less than the original VHS release of just the movie. Heck, just buying a new Fukuyama concert in DVD is 7000yen plus. A new big name PS3 game is 7800yen. So the M7 BD prices are not only in line with Japanese pricing, they are actually pretty cheap when you consider how much you are getting (presuming you get the preorder discount ). Also, please keep in mind that even in Japan, no-one actually buys these box sets at the MSRP- there's always a preorder discount (in the case of Macross tv on Amazon, this cut 12,000yen off the MSRP before applying any other discounts- quite a decent saving). Also, it needs to be noted that these releases are aimed squarely at the hardcore fans who are used to and will pay these prices. As is often said in Japan, make something with a hardcore user base of 1000 users and you can name your price and still have a sustainable business model. The flip side is that only a limited number are made- so its better to take the preorder discount and get them now than wait. Renato and I relearned this the hard way with the first pressing of the Gunbuster BD we waited a few months and the thing was so limited that now it goes for double the MRSP 2nd hand! Preordering would have gotten us a 25% discount and ensured we owned something that we both consider a classic show (as discussed on our podcast SHAMELESS PLUG!). Anyways tl:dr- the box sets are reasonable by Japanese standards. These may be different to what you are used to (although they are becoming more common in the US too- see the pricing of the Patlabor movies, Gundam Unicorn and Fate/Zero BDs as an example- and similar examples will become far more common in the future), but these discs aren't being produced with a non-Japanese audience in mind. Those who are big enough fans to want it will pay for it. Those who aren't wont. It's as simple as that really. I for one, am happy that we are getting these great looking, all encompassing remasters for less than the DVDs cost - heck much less than the 6800yen each VHS cassette cost me back in the day- and that was AFTER having to pay $800 for a multiregion VHS player that could handle NTSC tapes. Compared to those days, these prices are a comparative steal (⌒▽⌒) (sorry for any spelling mistakes, am typing this with one hand while on the packed morning subway).