Tochiro

WooT! Mine came! And I have t o say....Now THIS is how you do a special edition! Copies of the script for both this and the previous movie, cinema booklets for each movie, mini reproductions of all the promotional posters, some line art, a strip of commemorative film, space to slot in the previous movie, and a bonus PS3 game. All in a sturdy box with some gorgeous YF-29 artwork by Tenjin - its a record of the movies and the phenomenon that surrounded them. VERY impressed. Most likely the best deluxe set I own. Looks great next to the box sets of the series too :-)

Oh, I have my sources :-)

Well it looks like there's been a tiny mishap with regards to one of the special items which comes with the bluray. It was supposed to come with a strip of film from the movie (much like the japanese release of the Evangelion movies did) - the last fanclub newsletter actually had an article and pictures of the people hired to sit around cutting up these enormous rolls of film. But...it seems like they got a little too eager - reports are coming in of people getting strips that have nothing to do with the movie. It looks like the anti-piracy commercials shown at the cinema were accidentally included! (scroll down for pic) http://blog.esuteru.com/archives/5161205.html

WooT, Amazon Japan shipped mine yesterday so it should be waiting for me when I get home tonight :-) Preorder discount was way better than expected - 8100yen for the deluxe edition (going for 12500yen on Amazon as of today) with free shipping :-D

It's FINALLY HERE! Episode 2 of Macross SpeakerPodCAST or, as Save has dubbed it 'Listen to us brag.' http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D5ZIBD0V This episode was actually recorded 5 months back (perhaps longer?) not too long after the earthquake. As such, there are a few news items we discuss that turned out to be completely wrong (ie, newtype Ace is monthly, not quarterly). But stick with it and I think (hope?) you'll find some interesting talk about what's been going on in the world of Macross as of late. And before anyone gets on my case about taking so long to get this done (put that gunpod DOWN Renato!) I'd like to point out that things have been so busy recently that I ended up editting the bulk of this on a PLANE! I think we have ironed a lot of the technical issues that plagued the first cast, although I still need to work on normalization and file compression a bit for future casts. I have also reposted the previous cast here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5GY37EAT With the DVD/BR of Sayonara no Tsubasa due out this week, hopefully the spoiler section wont be quite so spoilerish anymore! As always, until I have time to look into a more permanent hosting solution, the above links will only be valid for the next 30 days. Please leave any feedback, comments, requests or questions below. Enjoy!

With the DVD/Bluray release of Sayonara no Tsubasa nearly upon us, a number of smaller promotional events/exhibitions have been taking place around Tokyo this week. I just so happened to have a half-day off on Tuesday and headed out to see what was going on. First, I dropped by Shibuya to check out the new promotional posters for the 'Beauty Mist' that Sheryl is being used to promote. The area i had been directed to seemed like any old nondescript urban crosswalk...but wait what was that on the corner? Yep, there it was. featuring new artwork from Ebata, and including Ranka this time as well. I then headed over to Shinjuku where a follow-up to February's Oshare Macross event was being held. On the way, I noticed that a local Pachinko hall was promoting the Macross Frontier pachinko game. Marui One in Shinjuku must have obviously thought that the theatrical release tie-in event they did earlier in the year was a success, because they decided to hold a sequel event of sorts. The first floor was, once again, a temporary Macross-themed store. While it wasnt as large as it previously had been, it did feature several specially designed t-shirts that will apparently only ever be available during the event period. At 5000yen a pop, the shirts are rather pricey although i did pick up one - a japanese artists rendition of what a Macross Frontier American-style comic book cover would look like. I wish they would make the damn thing into a poster. It's hilarious. Other items on sale included the elusive Vol. 3 of the Macross F Creator's Magazine Nyancuretto, jewelry, and the biggest rack of PSP cases i had ever seen. The 7th floor featured another fashion collaboration with several well known designers. With staff guarding each of these, getting photo's was unfortunately impossible (even OtakUSA's Patrick Macias got jumped by security back during the February event). Behind the fashion exhibition, however, as a small corner of pencil art and some Macross related items. Of course, photograpgy was strictly prohibited.......bah, who am I kidding? I managed to sneak a couple. The first floor was also offering, once again, a Macross Frontier-themed range of deserts. On the way home I stopped by a local arcade to try to win some of the latest figures. (which i ended up picking up in Akihabara afterwards anyway) 4 of the 5 figure shops I browsed in Akihabara were playing Macross Frontier tunes - I'd say the fanbase is pretty good and hyped for the DVD/BR release! Have you seen the SIZE of the box for the collectors edition. Not only does it have some sweet Tenjin artwork on it, the thing is also freakin' huge!

The following is a mini review put up on facebook by Tim (Starblazers.com) Eldred. Text is reposted here with the authors permission. _______________________________________________________________ Just got back from the screening of "Carl Macek's Robotech Universe" at the Harmony Gold theater in L.A. First, I gotta give it up to the Harmony Gold screening room. It's a huge, opulent theater with great technical quality and real class. And it was packed full with a crowd that knew what it was there for. Always a good thing. The film itse...lf was not quite a film. By that I mean it was not made as a film; it's a series of video podcasts chained together. They add up to about an hour of interviews with people who were involved with Robotech in one way or another, mostly voice actors but also a handful of others. They all shared anecdotes about their work, showered Carl Macek with praise, and spoke with pride about what the show accomplished. There's no doubt Robotech brought an enormous audience to anime at just the right time. It fully deserves the title of groundbreaker and should be remembered that way. Anime would have taken a longer time to catch on without it. No further plaudits are necessary. But there were further plaudits, and this is where the whole enterprise always goes off the rails for me. Play a little game for a moment: pick your favorite cartoon made in your home country. Something that pushed all your buttons. Now imagine it gets exported to another country where it is repackaged by someone and does bang-up business. It helps to open the door for more exporting, and the guy who repackaged it gets well-deserved praise for his work. And, from start to finish, he is referred to as the CREATOR of the show. Wouldn't that bug you a little bit? As an anime fan and an artist working in the animation industry, it bugs me a LOT. Throughout this documentary, Carl Macek is consistently named the GENIUS VISIONARY CREATOR of Robotech. Not one moment of screen time is spent on the genesis of the original three shows. We get their titles, but never do we find out who developed, wrote, designed, directed, or produced them. If you didn't know better, this documentary would convince you that they had no life before being blessed by Carl. That's the part of the Robotech phenom that I have never been able to stomach, the flagrant hijacking of credits. It made me squirm in my seat. It's just plain dishonest. And worse, it's unnecessary. What Robotech accomplished on its own is respectable enough. It would take nothing away from it to give Carl the completely accurate title of packager, or even producer. He was only a creator on a purely technical level in that someone had to create the idea of hybridizing three unconnected shows. This documentary had the chance to put that in the proper context and get it right, but it chose not to. The cloud of dishonesty still hangs over the picnic. Others can enjoy the food, but I cannot take my eyes off that cloud. Oh, and the other thing that really, really bugged me? No mention of any anime that came to the US before Robotech, other than this dismissive phrase: bastardized programming dumbed down for 5 year olds. I have two words in response: Star Blazers. The film will be a bonus feature on the forthcoming Robotech Complete Series DVD set coming from A&E. Buy it if you feel inclined. PS: It concluded with a little taste of the next Robotech project, titled "Love Live Alive." It's the Mospeada OAV, which is being dusted off and deconstructed into another editorial plaything. If you want to know about its Japanese origins, you'll have to be content with the term "lost and found." In other words, that cloud isn't budging.

Some nice new Macross F merchandise on the way. Check out that classic style tshirt on the top right! http://www.satelight.co.jp/2011/10/post_325.html

Probably posted somewhere here before but I stumbled across this today: http://www.westcountryanime.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1814

Niiiice! I've been wanting to get one of these and maybe one of the new Macross F machines as well. I'm fairly confident both are available 2nd hand with a bit of hunting for $300-$400 each. the problem for me though is the cost of shipping them back to Australia. Then theres the customs forms (since they get mistaken as gambling machines, etc). But having one of these and a mame cab with the 3 arcade games on it are definately on my 'to do' list sometime in the future.

LOVE the logo :-D On the topic of TGS, a friend of mine took this while he was there. Gotta wonder what she is hiding in the hat..... And another one....

↑short version - it looks like theres a Macross game in development for mobile phones.

Yoshiki Fukuyama - THE PARTY! Monster 4DVD set of his 20th anniversary concert coming November 30! http://www.fukuyama-yoshiki.net/discography.html

Pic taken by a fellow Macross fan on twitter - posters for Sheryls new 'beauty water' have gone up at an undisclosed station on the Toyoko line.

Oh its totally explainable. He just wanted to get it on with Megumi Hayashibara, thats all. And in the 90's, didnt we all? (*nostalgic sigh*)

Mari Iijima will be performing at a charity event in October so if you are in Cali, be sure to check it out. I think its a pretty safe bet that you'll get a couple of Macross songs! http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-09-08/we-heart-japan-to-host-performance-for-disaster-relief

Last years Christmas concert - Macross F 'Merry Christmas Without You' is getting a DVD and Bluray release on November 23! (which reminds me I need to finish my event report from 9 months ago ^^ UPDATE: It hasnt been announced whether the footage will be from Budokan (Tokyo) or Osaka. My bet would be Osaka though. http://www.jpcul.jp/articles/view/2702.html

Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubaba pulls a well-deserved award :-D http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-09-02/macross-f-madoka-magica-hetalia-win-anime-kobe-awards

Anyone who is a member of the Macross F fanclub should have already recieved an email about this, but there is a 2nd 'Galaxy Meeting' online Macross F event for fanclub members on Sept. 25. 100 fanclub members will be chosen (from those who apply) to participate in a chat room with the guests. Announced guests so far are Aya Endo, Megumi Nakajima and Hidetaka Tenjin.

Sheryl Nome to promote beauty products in real life! http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-08-23/macross-frontier-idol-sheryl-pitches-beauty-mist

Great pictures and fantastic write-up! Many many thanks for taking the time out to do this :-)

Ah thanks for that. Am travelling on business and didnt notice it had pulled up the AU site automatically ^^;

Official translationsof some Macross F manga possibly on the way?!?!? http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/news/2011-08-17/jmanga-manga-site-launches-with-100-new-titles

Chie kajiura (Mylene) will be doing a small gig on Oct. 29 at which she will perform her best 10 songs accoustic-style, as voted for by fans. Anyone in the Tokyo area during late October - this should be a fun gig so by all means check it out!

Meh....Not bad....but I've seen better. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/daily-cosplay/2011-08-09/macross-frontier-sheryl-kimono-ver