Elektrix

I just finished my annual rewatch of Macross 7, and this was the first time I noticed that the Mylene version of Light the Light isn't on any of the Macross 7 albums (for some reason on this rewatch I noticed a few other Macross 7 songs I somehow never really noticed - the most egregious being Kimi no Todoke, a song that is used quite frequently near the end, but for whatever reason I think I kept on assuming it was just another Mylene song like Pillow Dream or something). I'm assuming at this point in time though, will just have to live with the various song versions that haven't been released not coming out.

Wow, very cool. I check that site regularly but missed that I guess. Either way, good to know it's no longer some secret we're supposed to ignore.

Wait, I might have missed something, but did she finally acknowledge that Gabriela Robin is an alias for herself?

I think this is definitely one of those subjects that is going to depend on personal tastes, etc. I will say her work on Macross Plus was excellent (and it's what introduced me to her music; and I've seen a number of people mention that the music for Macross Plus was what really made them take notice of soundtracks in general), and it has some of my favorite works of hers; Wanna Be An Angel, Santi-U, After in the Dark/Torch Song, Information High, Voices. I also love the orchestral stuff - especially the National Anthem of Macross. But I think I'd take issue with the notion that it is specifically special in the sense that it is varying and unique, which seems to be a large part of your point. I guess arguably some of her soundtrack work has been a bit less varied (I guess I would point to Turn A Gundam as a soundtrack that has a lot of music of the same general style, or maybe Darker Than Black). But I don't think I'd say that Macross Plus is the epitome of a soundtrack representing variety and uniqueness - I think I'd probably have to point to Cowboy Bebop and/or Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I would say, to be fair, that it's hard to compare..... the Macross Plus soundtrack represents the music needed for 4 half-hour OVA episodes and a movie version of the OVA's. By comparison, the musical output for Cowboy Bebop (a 26 episode series with a heavy emphasis on music, as well as a completely new movie with a full soundtrack's worth of additional music) or Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex (representing 52 episodes and the Solid State Society movie) was much larger. So yes, I think Macross Plus is some of her best work, but do I think it is uniquely brilliant compared to her other works? No. But really, I'm not sure it matters. I have a hard time getting into the realm of trying to rank which soundtrack is best - all of them have their unique qualities, and also their own individual strengths. -Elektrix

I'm not really sure why it would come as a surprise that Yoko Kanno would turn out an excellent orchestral soundtrack, given her past work (Turn A Gundam, Macross Plus, even some of the orchestral and incidental stuff for Cowboy Bebop, Escaflowne, etc.).

"<!-- Citizens of the universe, please listen to our final songs! -->" seems fairly Macross-specific.

Just depends on the amount of music composed for a show. Cowboy Bebop got three main OST CD's (plus a 4th for the movie), as did Escaflowne, while I think Aquarion only had two. Sometimes it is longer shows that have more material (all the Gits: SAC stuff, Turn A Gundam, etc.). And I think Wolf's Rain only had two OST's as well. I guess the question with Macross F would be how much material is left to make up a third OST. -Elektrix

Btw, I've got to say, loved the finale, and seemed to wrap things up pretty well. When I first heard Macross F would only be 25 episodes, I was kind of disappointed, hoping for a Gundamesque 50-episode series at least. But having seen the finale now, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I wouldn't mind a Dynamite 7-like follow-up OVA series (I'm assuming the movie will in fact be more of a compilation movie, or at least a retelling if it is more than that).

Certainly that line can't be ignored when combined with what he said about how boundaries of both time and space would disappear or something like that. Seems like he probably might have in fact hoped to meet her, and i think the look on his face in this episode is just him realizing it wasn't going to happen.

Yeah, but he's Top Gamlin; not exactly fair to compare him to anyone.

I think Mylene had her share of beautiful songs...... Pillow Dream, Sweet Fantasy particularly stand out IMO. -Elektrix

Which episodes would you classify as "filler" episodes? Macross F has actually struck me as relatively filler-free compared to some series. As it is though, I don't think a show has to be filler-heavy to be condensed into a 2-3 hour movie.

Isn't she "behind" in the same way Minmei was around this point, when it was becoming clear that there was more going on with Hikaru and Misa? -Elektrix

You can find some credits in English here: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encycloped...ime.php?id=8586

Ummm, there's only like 2 years separating Ranka and Alto..... she's 15, Alto is 17. Sheryl is also 17. Ranka is the exact same age, 15, as Minmay was. Hikaru was 16, compared to 17 for Alto. Hardly a significant difference. The most "illegal" relationship would seemingly then be Hikaru (16) and Misa (19), if you wanted to get technical. The potential sexual chemistry between Basara (21) and Mylene (14) was much weirder (although of course there wasn't anything to that really). Hell, Gamlin (19) and the more clear sexual tension between him and Mylene was weirder. It's not like they're trying to pair her up with Ozma. And frankly, there hardly seems to be a sexual relationship between Alto and Ranka. Clearly she's got a crush on him, and both probably enjoyed their kiss, but he definitely seems to treat her more like a little sister than anything. Not sure what exactly is "lolicon" about a 17 year old and a 15 year old, or why you think this is particularly new (again, only a year's difference between Alto and Hikaru, and that relationship was back in the 80's). And as far as the "sexualization" of young girls, this is hardly a new thing, either in anime or around the world. The French, the Americans, etc. all have plenty of examples in art, literature, etc. of sexualizing young girls. I mean, think of where the "Lolita" term comes from, after all. Ultimately, I don't see that they're trying to "pair her up" with Alto any more than they were trying to "pair Minmay up with Hikaru" - which is to say, it seems like Ranka clearly has a crush on Alto (a 15 year old with a crush on a 17 year old? And as 17 year old who might be tempted by that 15 year old? God, you're right, that NEVER happens in real life.), but the direction of the show seems to indicate Alto is more destined to end up with Sheryl Nome (who happens to be the same age as him). The idea that this is somehow "new" to anime is pretty silly though; go back to Kimagure Orange Road back in the 80's........ Madoka was, I believe, about 16 years old, and was incredibly sexualized (she was modeled after Phoebe Cates for crying out loud) and that show had plenty of sexual artwork of her. Granted, she was not typically "lolicon" considering she looked more like a woman, but still, if you're going to focus on sexualizing of underage girls, she obviously fits the bill. And of course Hikaru was only 14 (or at least 2 years younger than Kyosuke and Madoka.... always been fuzzy on the timelines). -Elektrix