Gubaba

Respectfully, I think you're missing March's point: that most anime is of the same intellectual level of Pixar film, not that they're aimed at the same audience. Yes, there are subtle touches, innovative filmmaking and storytelling work on occasion, but most anime is something that any smart ten-year-old could follow (even the ones no ten-year-old should ever be allowed to watch). Most anime (every Macross series included) is sophisticated for a cartoon, but not much more. Most of the stories are relatively simple, most of the characters are not fully rounded, and they can usually be watched and comprehended by anyone, regardless of what frames of reference you have. Yes, sometimes an anime can be surprisingly clever or deep, but that's the exception. To paraphrase Samuel Johnson: "A mature anime is like a dog's walking on its hind legs. It is not done well; but you're surprised to find it done at all." All that said, I see nothing wrong with any of us enjoying an anime. I loved Wall-E, too, although I wasn't its target audience. But I doubt there's a six-year-old who would enjoy, say, La Dolce Vita, which is probably my favorite film. Variety's a good thing, right?

So, if the Vajra had been as hot as Millia, everyone would've accepted the ending, eh? I agree with both you and Murcurial Morpheus. Ranka leaving Frontier never seemed to me like a traitorous act, rather a very heroic gesture on her part to take matters into her own hands and try to resolve the conflict. If she had said, "I'm leaving Frontier and going to Planet Banipal. Enjoy the tasty, lobster-cannon death that awaits you, suckers!" then yeah...it would've been running away. But she was going off the face the Vajra, not try to get away from them...and she had recovered enough of her memory to know the connection she had with them. On the other hand, I do think Sheryl's story was handled better than Ranka's, mostly because Sheryl got all the really good scenes...hell, her generosity of spirit almost overshadowed Michael's death, and that was one of the best scenes in the show. Ranka's absence in the last few episodes also benefitted Sheryl in a way that Sheryl's infirmity didn't benefit Ranka earlier in the series. But that's Sheryl. She's a real star, and it's part of her character that he has to overwhelm anything around her. As I said, I don't think Ranka's growth was handled as well, but I agree with you that it IS there. But hey, why pay attention to subtle touches when I can get myself all hot and bothered by shouting about how the green-haired little wanko gets everything handed to her, and how Kawamori is a no-talent hack (and a 49-year-old virgin!) for liking her...?

My problem with this thread (and the reason I haven't made any real picks for it) is that I draw a strong line between what I LIKE the best and what actually IS the best. Stuff I like may be objectively good or it may not be. Likewise, I may see something as objectively good, but not enjoy watching it very often. For me, criteria for "best anime" would have to be: 1. Major influence on the medium. 2. Story and characters that feel true, and are interesting and worthwhile to contemplate. 3. A strongly developed world that is fascinating in and of itself. In terms of influence, there are really only a handful of directors who count: Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, Yoshiyuki Tomino, Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, and Hideaki Anno. All of them have had their ups and downs, though. Miyazaki has probably has the most worldwide influence, so let's go with him. For points 2 and 3, Nausicaa has everything except the characters (there is only really one fully developed character in the anime), so perhaps Princess Mononoke (which in many ways seems like a reworking of Nausicaa) miht be better. Spirited Away is of course the most internationally influential, but I think Mononoke is a better film. As for stuff I like, while I enjoy deep, resonant stories, they're not necessary. As long as the anime doesn't treat me me like an idiot, I'm usually reasonably happy. If it has giant robots, even better. If it's really long and epic, I'm VERY happy. Macross fits the bill nicely. So does Yamato. And the original Gundam saga (MSG, Z, ZZ, and CCA, although the whiplash-generating shift from tragedy to comedy between Zeta and Double Zeta is almost a deal-breaker). And Legend of the Galactic Heroes. And Cowboy Bebop. None of them are flawless, but I enjoy them all hugely. But I think, overall, I'm gong have to go for Evangelion (both the series, the movies, and - so far - the new movies) as my all-time favorite. It's not perfect, but it's the show I find myself going back to most often, and getting more out of it than mere nostalgia. The religious symbolism goes nowhere, of course, but since I like that kind of stuff, it pushes it past the others for me.

It's not really for lack of desire, it's lack of time...SDFM is eating up all my anime watching and translation time.

Hmmm...I did it in about six or seven weeks, but that was two episodes (or a movie) a night, every night. I take it your friend is enjoying the ride...? Isn't finished yet is right...the third book came out (IIRC) in the early '90s. Something tells me "abandoned" a better word for the novels. But who knows? Maybe he'll finish the series because of the show.

I thought it was pretty darn cool. And the VERY least, you've gotta admit the designs are inventive... Not sure if I'm going to follow it week by week, though...we'll see how the next episode is.

Funimation has the license: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...st&p=700690 And HOLY SOCKS, does this thing look awesome!!!

Look on the bright side...you rarely see anyone uSiNg MiXeD cApItAlS aNd LoWeR cAsE aNyMoRe. AND PEOPLE TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS FROWNED UPON AND DISCOURAGED IN ANY SITUATION. Anyway, my anime would be one of those in-jokey otaku-centric stories, but half the in-jokes would be about anime, the other half would be about Post-WWI European Modernist Literature, and the third half would be about sixties garage rock. Probably about a guy on a starship (headed for the galactic center, of course) trying to chat up cute girls by getting them into deep discussions about Marcel Proust and James Joyce, or burning Velvet Underground CDs for them. The Japanese title would be 宇宙文学戦士トマスマン, but the English version would be wackily retitled "You Put Your Gundam in My Kafka!"

Ah, that. It's not a fansub, and it's not the newly remastered version. It's just a rip of the AnimEigo DVDs. *whew* You had me worried there for a moment!

Nope.

Yeah, "Tell me do you still remember" is quite good, but my problem with making the English lyrics fit the melody is that too often, the Japanese has more syllables than a direct English translation, and so a lot of small words get added plump it out...the result often sounds flabby and verbose.

That's...that's hard to argue with. As far as manga goes, Appleseed is WAY up there for me...or at least, it would be if he'd actually FINISHED THE DAMN STORY!!! (Hell, even resolving the cliffhanger ending of Volume Two would've been nice...)

No one's mentioned Studio Ghibli yet? FOR SHAME!! Although I have a touch time picked among Nausicaa, Laputa, Totoro, and Grave of the Fireflies.

I'll be a one-man conga line, sir.

Here are the ones I just got a couple of weeks ago. Nothing particularly new or rare...but they will form a good chunk of my Macross Translation Project.

Always the optimist, eh, Seto?

Well...considering that they've already done the Tomahawk and the Monster, that seems unlikely...unless it's, like, Macross Zero or Frontier Destroids or something. Frontier's were relatively unexciting, and probably could be joined together on a single sheet.

In Issue 20: Mechanic Sheet * YF-19 [w00t!] * CVN-99 Asuka II * Destroid [Just "Destroid"...? Destroid WHAT? Phalanx, Defender, Cheyenne? Work?] * Macross Frontier Vehicles Character Sheet * Isamu Dyson * Macross 7 Media People * Varauta Soldiers Timeline Sheet * The Defense of Macross City History Sheet * City 7 Wandering World Guide Sheet * Inside the Macross Song Sheet * TRY AGAIN / LIGHT THE LIGHT Goods Sheet * Visual Media Blu-Ray/DVD

Don't even contemplate that! They're really too big to fail... As Harmony Gold goes, so goes the world... Or am I thinking of Citigroup...?

That's what weirds me out, too. I believe it all, I just wish I could find some verification. Anyway, thanks for checking it out and getting some answers!

Now this is an April Fool's Joke!! http://www.tokyotosho.com/index20090401.php

"This little one's not worth the effort. Come now, let me get you something..."

Yeah, there have been three Macross F related radio shows. First there was RADIO MACROSS, with Kenta Miyake and Megumi Nakajima, which ran from January 2008 until the debut of Frontier in April. Then there was the one you mention, Macross Ｆ○※△, with the voice actors for Alto and Michael, as well as Megumi. It ran all through Frontier's run. After Frontier ended, it was replaced by Macross Ｆ○x△ (note the small difference in the form of the "x"), which is currently running, and is pretty much the same as the previous show. Anyway, back to the topic...I'm going to feel pretty damn stupid if there's a simple explanation for all this.

You have fansubs of the remastered SDFM...? Who did them? Where did you find them? Damn...I thought we were doing something that hadn't been done before... Anyway, yeah...multiple batches, at least at first. And I'm trying to do it logically: Six batches of six episodes each for SDFM; seven batches of seven for M7; and five batches of five for MF.

I dunno. What anime magazine would be best, and how much do they charge for a full-page ad?