Radd

Correct me if I'm wrong...but there was no dispute until HG started making a fuss over the Macross Plus toys, was there? DYRL, Macross II, Macross Plus? They were all licensed by Big West to north American companies with no problems. It wasn't until the debacle over the Macross Plus toys and the VF-X 2 game that HG claimed thier ownership of Macross, and Big West took Tatsunoko to court over it. Plus, company employees aren't supposed to express their opinions over legal disputes, in case their words are misused by either the press or their opponents.

I think Keith's post about the Zentradi dying off if they were constantly copying clones stems from the idea that there's new flaws introduced with every incarnation. Those flaws will build up. Eventually the flaws would build to the point that the Zentradi genetics would be so diluted that they wouldn't survive. Depending on the cloning techniques this could be compared to inbreeding. Inbreeding causes recessed flaws to come to the surface more easily.

Excel Saga is great, but I found the jokes getting stale around disc 3. Still a good show, you should definitely check it out. I can't wait for the Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu domestic release! Same wacky sense of humour as Excel Saga, but the jokes never get old, and there's an on-going story that gets really touching at times. Just watched the last episode fansubbed this past weekend. Next up, Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu DELUXE!

Was anyone able to get the sales of Yukikaze and other current OVA productions to compare with those of Macross Zero?

Bombah.

Why not? Homeworld is the best Macross game to date (thanks to One_Klump and friends!)! Looking forward to the Homeworld 2 Macross TC!

Valk-Exchange used to have them too, but they're not listed anymore, not even as 'out of stock'. Ack, and I really wanted to add three sheets of them to my FAST pack order before they shipped... Ah well.

This is why it is useless to clone yourself for immortality. Not necessarily, there is the idea of 'racial memory'. Where our memories are stored in our DNA or something like that and passed from one generation to the next, but not conciously accessible. Of course that's most likely just fodder for science fiction writers, but it is a nifty idea.

1/72 = 2 pcs. 1/60 = 1 pcs. 1/48 = 3 pcs.

Well it certainly still ranks as cutting edge, the concept itself is not all that new. I recall reading very similar theories in science magazines and even the 'science fact' sections of popular sci-fi magazines (maybe it was Asminov, or possibly Analog?) where they talked about viruses and bacteria and such from space being a catalyst for life on Earth, or the evolution of life that already existed here. This was ages ago. Between 5-10 years ago or so. It certainly is a nifty idea.

It's a misconception that a clone will hold the memories of whatever they're cloned from. A clone won't even necessarily look like the being it's cloned from, as what we look like is defined by our personalities, our environment, and how we treat our bodies. A clone is simply a being grown from the cells of another by means other than natural reproduction. Kawamori has yet to explore just how much alike Zentradi clones are to the beings they are cloned from, but it is never stated that they hold the memories of those past. Perhaps they do, but only from the original being they are cloned from and not a constantly updated genetic source that clones the new clones from the genetic material of the last clone. If they did hold all those memories, it would be impossible for Kawamori to ignore it in any of the previous Macross stories, it is just to big a factor in the Zentradi/Meltrandi character structure. More than likely each clone is 'born' mostly matured physically, but mentally they only know what was 'programmed' into them during the cloning process. I expect they would somehow be educated during the cloning process, some kind of imprinting, as I don't see any sort of Zentradi school or academy being possible, nor feasable for the mass-produced war machines that the Zentradi are supposed to be.

Babel II is Big Fire, right? I've seen the Babel II anime on store shelves, but haven't picked it up yet. I plan on getting it soon, though. Probably next month when I get three paychecks. Anyways, Tetsujin 28 is the international police force's only other giant robot, according to the translated liner notes from 'The Night the Earth Stood Still'. He'd definitely be on the side of the Experts of Justice. About Big Fire, they never actually say what his motives (if any) are. It seems that Big Fire is in some sort of hibernation and Shokatsu Komei seems to be the one who's actually running things. Komei is presented as a regent, an advisor, in the old style where such characters often mislead the rulers and ran things behind the scenes to their own motives and schemes. So who knows? Apparently the guy that put together and directed 'The Night the Earth Stood Still' really wants to make more stories in the same universe, but the original met with a lot of problems. Here's hoping...

New live action show? Interesting, but I'd still love to see a new Tetsujin 28 anime based in the 'The Night the Earth Stood Still' universe. Together! Allegiance or death! BIG FIRE!

No, they'll probably point out that it doesn't have a gas cap, so therefore it doesn't look as realistic as Hotshot!

Geez, seeing all these people demanding a sequel for Eva reminds me of all those people who wanted a direct sequel to Final Fantasy VII. Both have the epitome of the 'definative ending'. There is nothing more! Show's over folks! Go home! I'm interested in the revival, I don't have a copy of the series, so if I went out to buy one I certainly wouldn't mind a remastered copy with touched up animation. $400? Sounds unreasonable. Even if it did include the movies.

Well, yeah, the old Yamato 19 looks bad compared to what we've been getting from Yamato lately, but it still looks a lot better than what Transformers have been getting for years now.

This game is looking a lot prettier for it's time than most Macross games to date. Sure, there are much better looking games, but this seems about average for what's currently out there. I'm looking forward to it more than ever. I hope they plan to do a stateside release of the game. It'll be interesting to see how the gameplay is.

Unfortunately, Yamato seems to be planning to do their Macross Zero line in 1/72 scale, instead of the 1/60 scale that their VF-1X line is in.

part of my theory is that transformer fans of the new generation, those who buy armada and energon are not used to shelling out. Unlike most of us who are full aware that quality costs money. When a transfan see's a quality toy he will say oooooooh but be turned off by the price and his view shall be colored negativly. Look at the response to the alternators toys, the japanese Vs American. Its all about price for them, they don't understand, its not just a matter of price it is quality. Transformers new fanbase is a group from 8 to 15 who are not mature enough to truly understand the good stuff IMHO. (for all those who are also macross fans and transfans, no insult to you as you probably know a quality toy when you see one) Price never came up, though. Not once. We were simply comparing the looks of the toys. Some of the arguments I heard went something like this. "Well, because the rest of the toy looks so realistic, the screws and joints really stand out, making it look very toy-ish. While since Jetstorm looks more toyish overall, those don't stand out nearly so much so that makes him look more realistic than this YF-19 thing." "Hotshot looks more realistic than the Car Brothers because he has a gas cap, and they didn't!"

Might I remind everyone that I once posted pictures comparing Yamato's YF-19 and the Beast Machines Jetstorm and the fanboys there overwhelmingly declared that Jetstorm looked better and looked more realistic. That should tell you something about a good number of Transfans these days. This is when I was arguing that the Robots in Disguise vehicle modes for the Car Brothers looked more realistic than Hotshot and most people there disagreed with me.

Straight from the compendium, folks.

I've always wondered about that. I suspect, since the OVA was direct to video, that it was made full screen and that the movie was tv format to make use of the existing footage. This could be wrong but I don't see why Manga would take the effort to crop a widescreen show into a full screen show. They may be a bunch of screw ups, but they don't seem to make more work for themselves in the process.

Not much, here, just about $150 for each of my 1/48ths. Give or take a little. I am seriously considering that 1/60 Monster, though...

Most likely the Mac7 fleet kept the U.N. Spacey and all other nearby fleets appraised of their situation at all times. The most probably explanation is that no one expected the Protodevlin to have the power to wipe out an entire fleet so easily, especially considering the Macross5 fleet seemed to be larger than the Macross 7 fleet (I'm basing this on the fact that we see multiple colony ships in the M5 fleet, while the M7 fleet only has City 7. Plus the M7 fleet's role wasn't as a dedicated colony fleet, they were also laying a communications infrastructure).

It was close for me, I love Fire Bomber's music, but the lack of an orchestral score and both 'Ai Oboetimasuka' and 'An Angel's Paint' brought me to voting for 'DYRL?'. I still question my choice, though, wondering if I was partially influenced by nostalgia as well. I love most of the Macross soundtracks out there, but what's the point of a poll like this if everyone votes for 'I love them all!'?