Tochiro

Oops, I forgot to mention....schwaaaaag! :-)

Its definitely a big sucka....

Soooo much goodness all in one box :-)

Will double check the exact year when I next drop by Parco. Having said that, I find it strange that they would announce 20th anniversary events so early. Its also strange that none of the Japanese sites I follow have reported on this. But more Fire Bomber concerts can only be a good thing :-)

Good point. Could've sworn it said 15th. But regardless.....BOMBER!!!!!

Ok, I'm going to dump a bunch of pics here. I have to head straight back out (hey, it IS Golden Week after all!) so these will be full size pics with no explanations. Once the events are over, I'll collaborate with others on the boards who went and put together a proper gallery/report. Without further ado, here we go.

Another 30th anniversary gallery exhibit announced for this August. http://www.macross-gengaten.com/

A promotional video playing at the Macross THE DESIGN exhibit at Shibuya Parco has revealed a few details about the upcoming 15th anniversary of Macross 7. 1) Macross 7 bluray release (previously announced. No new details) 2) A Fire Bomber concert (details tba) 3) Ozuma Meets Fire Bomber - Macross FB 7 (tentative title. No details announced yet so we don't know if this is a manga, anime, event or something else entirely)

The Macross Fanclub just announced that an event will be held in September to commemorate the launch of the Megaroad-01. Details tba.

Cool. Looks like I'll be at the signing too. You do realize that you need to win a 2nd ticket on Sun to attend the Megumi talk right?

http://www.macrossworld.com/1666/30th-anniversary-event-merchandise-update/ .....…........

Ever wanted Sheryl in your pants? Well, now you can thanks to three varieties of Macross F Underwaer that were just announced and can be yours for only 2,940 each! 1．Boxer pants「Sheryl Nome Devil Denim ver.」 2．Boxer pants「Sheryl Nome Sweets-holic ver.」 3．Boxer pants「Ranka Lee oosanshouuo-san ver.」

Its never ever been reported as 8. Was announced as a 6 episode OVA from the start. The only thing that is unclear atm is whether the final episode will be regular (50min) length or extented to theatrical-length.

Speaking of Zomboobies.... http://twitchfilm.com/news/2012/04/try-to-resist-the-urge-to-watch-this-at-work-zomboobies-teaser.php

Latest news update: http://www.macrossworld.com/1666/30th-anniversary-event-merchandise-update/

Anyone else catch ep 1? I really enjoyed it- they've nailed the character relationships (so far) and the period in a very enjoyable way IMO.

Saw the trailer on the big screen when I went to see Yamato2199. Looks soooo puhrty. Have preordered the blu but a bunch of guys at work want to see it at the cinema as well f(

My ticket to see the Valk just arrived! Hurrah! :-)

While its not for a Macross game per se, it's still nice to see Basara representing on the charts in this weeks Famitsu.

Haruhiko Mikimoto's first new artwork book in 9 years has been announced and comes out in just a few days time: http://www.amazon.co...m=AN1VRQENFRJN5 No Macross art but, if his exhibit back in Feb was anything to go by, there should be some gorgeous pieces included. Also, fingers crossed that now that this is done the potential Macross illustration collection tht he mentioned was being discussed will become a reality sooner rather than later. There will also be a signing event for the book on May 20th.

In a word, yes. It worked for Evangelion and then it worked again with Gundam. And thats not counting all the non-anime magazine series Deagnostini has republished. Its their standard business model. The issue (or 80 of them - HA!) here imo is that they miscalculated the amount of fans who would double dip due to the recent Frontier boom.

RANT ON! Ok, this is a thread that I’ve refrained from commenting in because I honestly find its premise to be a little redundant. Has Macross changed over the past THIRTY YEARS? Of course it has. So has music, film, and pretty much any type of media or entertainment that one might enjoy. I wouldn’t expect kids today to enjoy the exact same thing that I enjoyed when I was a kid – heck if the creative momentum of any IP showed such creative stagnation that it kept making the same sort of show for three decades then I’d be content with my nostalgic memories and wouldn’t be as interested in following newer installments and developments. One issue that annoys me to no end however is the claim that all modern anime is otaku pandering moe bait. Similarly, I’ve heard friends in the US complain that all modern anime is nothing but loli pandering and that Japan hasn’t made a good series since Cowboy Bebop. Really? I mean, REALLY?!?!?! 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 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 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, 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. This year alone see’s us get shows such as Yamato 2199, Lupin the 3rd: A Woman called Fujiko Mine, Kids on the Slope (Watanabe + Kanno + Jazz!), Space Brothers, 3 Berserk movies, Leiji Matsumoto’s Ozuma, 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 (the final one of which is rumoured to be a theatrical length feature) and a new adaptation of one of Kenji Miyazawa’s works The Life of Guskou Budori. And looking ahead to 2013 there’s already (supposedly) Gundam The origin, the (still in production) 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 while making my morning coffee at work today 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. 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.

The newest issue of Newtype Ace is out. Bundled in with it is an 18 page 'Document of Macross Haruhiko Mikimoto Special' booklet. Interestingly, the booklet is labelled '001' and has binder holes .... As for Newtype Ace, this issue FINALLY sees the return of the manga we have all been waiting for! Unfortunately this installment of FIRST is criminally short at 11 pages. Also included is the final installment of MACROSS PLUS, a 1-page tribute to Ishiguro, a 'Flashback in Divas' 4 page piece on Ranka and several pages of news about the upcoming 30th Anniversary events, Blurays, Ace Combat DLC, etc. No Macross insert poster this issue - theres a Yamato 2199 one instead.

The limited edition comes with a book of storyboards and a cardboard sleve with special artwork. It want on sale last weekend but is exclusive to cinemas. There is no actual on-disc content differences between it and the regular version which drops in May.

Well, I saw the first 2 episodes at the cinema yesterday and WOW...just....wow. The sheer amount of quality, attention to detail and heart and soul that the staff are pouring into this show just amazes. Got to hear a talk by the director and see some more Yuki girls too :-) Should have a full report up over at Starblazers.com sometime in the near future. Some raws have already popped up online but I urge everyone to order the regular edition of the BD once it's released. I really hope that manage to get all 26 eps completed at the same level of quality. for those wondering, its estimated that it will take approx. 1yr for the series to be finished and all 7 compilations to have played at the cinema. EDIT: Pics of said Yukis can be found here: http://animeanime.jp/article/img/2012/04/08/9831/459.html