Macross Vs. Other Popular Anime

[Isoquant]

This will be my last post in this because I feel really stupid for explaining anymore to someone that's finds anime as an difficult medium to enjoy.

"Isoquant"  Yes, you can hate EVA,, you can love EVA,, all that is up to you.  But please don't label something as overblown or overated just because you don't like it.

380549[/snapback]

This first comment smacks of elitism, much in the same way that your original post did.

My opinion of NGE has nothing to do with anime in general, and nothing to do with concepts that I find difficult to grasp. Contrary to what you're implying, I don't need some guru like yourself to enlighten me so I can enjoy it more.

Overblown and overrated? Yes, that's MY opinion and I will continue to express it. Live with it. So what if that implies what others think of it. Are you telling me you've never publicly declared something popular to be overrated?

You want more of my opinion?

I think the creators were so focused on religious iconography, metaphysical concepts, and psycho babble that they forgot to actually make a complete story, start to finish (or maybe they just didn't know how to begin with). My immediate thought was that they were trying too hard, much like the Wachowski bros. with the later Matrix movies, or Ang Lee with the dreadful Hulk motion picture.

In other words, I found NGE to be a heap load of style, with the throwing around of alot of heady concepts, but with only a smidgeon of substance to show for it. And I'm sorry, but I've experienced too many other quality works to know the difference.

FYI: After discussing this more with others, I'm finding I'm far from alone in having this opinion. The term "overrated" seems to pop up rather frequently.

[Rocket Punch]

This can only be settled with a duel. Iso and F360 meet me in Weehawken, NJ. I'll bring pistols.

[VF5SS]

Psh psh.

Edited March 18, 2006 by VF5SS

[Fortress_Maximus]

I've watched and owned a lot of anime in the past 20 years, but Macross and all it's sequels (especially DYRL, Plus & 7) will always be the number one anime franchise for me. The story, mecha designs, fight scenes, characters, background music and songs all seem to gel together for me much better than in any other anime.

I generally tend to watch mecha anime over other genres and prefer anime with a more serious tone to it. That's not to say I don't watch other types of anime, I do, but 'Real Robot' type mecha anime will always my favourite.

Here's a list of my non-Macross personal all-time  favorites: -

• Blue Gender, TV series.
  
• Bubble Gum Crisis OVA.
  
• Megazone 23 Part 1, Movie.
  
• Borgman, TV Sevies.
  
• AD Police, OVA.
  
• Beserk, TV series.
  
• Wicked City, Movie.
  
• Jin-Roh, Movie.
  
• Perfect Blue, Movie.
  
• Char's Counter Attack, Movie.
  
• 0080 War in the Pocket OVA.
  
• 08th MS Team, OVA.
  
• Laputa, Movie.
  
• Nausica, Movie.
  
• Guyver, OVA.
  
• Ledgend of the Galactic Heros, TV series.
  
• Akira, Movie.
  
• Combatter V, TV series (the only super robot anime I like).
  

A few animes that nearly, but don't quite make my all-time favourites list include: -

• Orguss, TV Series.
  
• Mospeada, TV series.
  
• Gall Force (various OVAs).
  
• VOTOMS, TV series.
  

While I've also enjoyed other more recent hit series such as GITS SAC 1 & 2 & Cowboy Bebop I wouldn't count them amongst my favorites.

Certain fan-favourites that seem to be popular with the masses, such as Evangelion & Zeta Gundam, I think are way over-rated.

Graham

379685[/snapback]

Damn Graham, your list is almost the same as mine!

The only animes I would add are:

Mecha series:

GunBuster OVAs

Dangaioh OVAs

Iczer-1 OVAs

Gundam 0083 OVAs

Orguss02 OVAs

Patlabor tv, OVAs, & movies 1&2 (yes mecha is not the focus I know, but the Ingram is cool)

Escaflowne tv series & movie (also not mecha focused but the Guymelfs and Escaflowne are cool)

Full Metal Panic OVAs & movie (enjoyed the mecha)

Non-mecha series & movies:

Nadia tv series

Mahoromatic tv series

Maison Ikkoku tv series

City Hunter tv series, OVAs

Urusei Yatsura tv series, OVAs & moviess 1-3, & 5

Kimagure Orange Road tv, OVAs & movies 1&2

Full Metal Alchemist tv series

Street Fighter II movie

Perfect Blue movie

Millenium Actress movie

GITS tv series and movies 1&2

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Well there is an old saying: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think one of the things I liked about eva was how it broke from the usual mechanical robot to a more organic one and made the characters themselves the focus of the story. The demons/angels were just the commercial half to make it cool, and it was as much about the neglected kid with the shyness problem as it was about the fighting in the show.

I think that is one of the reasons I can like RahXephon because it goes into depth about why the characters/people are the way they are, and you can't wait to see what happens to them in the next episode.

Sure the execution wasn't perfect (but I actually understood the show from first viewing unlike akira which I had to watch 3 times) but like all good things money might be why a show can't live up to expectations.

If you were to show a new anime fan macross and they criticise how crap the animation looks and laugh at you for hyping this series up so much to them, what difference is there here? (and people criticising fans of eva?) Maybe this is a question we should all ask ourselves?

As a fan of macross I can readily admit it is not perfect even though I gravitate to that type of show and have my own bias. So like with music I just let people see the beauty in things for themselves.

To me Eva introduced enough change in the robot genre to make mass audience pay attention to a normally tired genre. Love it or hate it, I can see why people would talk about it so much as if it was the only thing they watched at the time. Although I prefer my yamato and macross, eva gets points for originality. I kind of think BGC were "cooler" though (the organic boomers, and thier sheer brutality and the horror of some of them like the dobermans) because I grew up in the 80s and can apreciate all the themes in scifi/horror they were using at the time. (blade runner, aliens, terminator etc. Maybe eva is like the newer generations' BGC? ie it started out as just small hardcore audience, then gradually became popular through word of mouth and then into the mainstream? Then the antihype people came along ten years later to attack it.)

This happens alot in game recommendations. I like a certain type of game like Daggerfall/morrowind/oblivion and post my thoughts and create an apreciation thread about it to nonfans, and then the crtitics who play it and don't like it, (or don't like the hype associated with it) start to attack and scrutinise it with a magnifying glass. Even though it started out small with only a few people acting as a dedicated vocal minority who play it, it then entered the minds of masses and somehow became overhyped to increase its profile so that the only way was for it to come back down again. (so then the really anal critics will focus only on how crap the graphic engine was, the bad animation, sounds, bugs, but forget the good things that were the reason it was a cult classic like freedom to move around anywhere, open ended gameplay, the original skill-based level up system that seperated it from other RPGs at the time.. etc)

Edited March 17, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Them_Bonez]

Howdy Folks, im new on here and such. But I watch a shitload of anime and I am especially interested in Older Anime. Personally I feel the animation hasnt really improved at all from the early 1990's. The production is alot better so everything looks crisp and smooth and such but the actual animation was sometimes better.

I just watched 1993's Genocyber and I was extreing mely impressed at the animation. Probably the most graphically violent and disturbing anime ive seen, but nothing is cooler than seeing that Genocyber rip through layers of robotics and flesh. Certainly an anime like Akira has BETTER animation than most of todays animations. Everything is so much like manga now, sometimes it seems like they just slap a bunch of still shots and just animate the mouths and small body movements.

I really love old school anime's like Genocyber & Akira, Angel Cop, Berserk, Devil Man & Devil Lady, Record of Lodoss Wars, as well as Macross and such.

Some of the newer ones I really like are Bleach, Gantz, School Rumble, Gungrave, Elfen Lied & Cromartie High School to name a few.

[Pervataru]

Ranma 1/2 that is all you need to know, that boy kicks ass he would take out the whole Zentrody armada in one move. lol just got abd watched the whole 161 eps 12 OAV and 2 movie set, thats a whole lot of cross dress'n, gender confusing, speices befuddled madness. now I can sleep

[DJ Loe Kee]

i can watch other anime series. i just have a habit watchin' ep. 1 of one series and then movin' one to something else.

some series that i like are:

vampire hunter d

megazone 23

full metal panic!

patlabor

golgo 13: the professional

death note

ninja scroll

ghost in the shell

akira

super dimension century orguss

d.gray-man (it got borin' so i'm behind in this series)

rurouni kenshin (i've never finished this series so i'll get back to you on this one)

tenchi muyo (i've never finished this series so i'll get back to you on this one)

legendary armor samurai warriors (ronin warriors) (i've never finished this series so i'll get back to you on this one)

mobile suit gundam (1979, i just started this series yesterday)

neon genesis evangelion (this show is too depressin' me for my watch a 2nd time)

naruto and bleach (these are shows where you have to watch 20-40 episodes back to back to get an appreciation for them. waitin' the latest episode to be fansubbed will have you sayin' "i hate this show")

i know that i left something off of my list...

as you can see, i prefer the giant robots anime shows but i still like to branch out to other genres. i've only bothered to watch about 1% of the series that i have on hand to watch (and i've watch my dvd's of ninja scroll, akira and ghost in the shell to death).

Edited October 7, 2008 by DJ Loe Kee

[Morpheus]

Hmm, Macross vs other, let see now, my fav MECHA anime so far is (besides Macross and its sequel):

- LoGH

- Zeta Gundam

- Gundam 0083

- V Gundam

- Banner of the Star and its sequel

- Getter Robo and its sequel

- Evangelion

- Escaflowne

- Mospeada

- Heroic Age

- GunBuster

- Nadesico

- Gao Gai Gar

- RahXephon

- Eureka 7

Argento Soma come close since it got some weird transformable mecha.

There's other but I forgot which one.

Few mecha anime could successfully blend mecha action with music and love story but Macross did it.

[Macross_Fanboy]

For me, anime has always been a difficult medium to enjoy, mostly due to the fact that I despise childrens entertainment, even years ago when I was a child. Since most anime is geared towards children or adolescents, I find it hard to suffer the inherent limitations of such sheltered productions. The anime I really like is the more serious, maturely themed films or series which are sadly in the minority. Sometimes, I'll find a childrens anime production so amazing that I'll embrace it, but this is rare (such cases would be Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke).

I have the same kind of notion, the only non-mecha anime I have would have to be GitS SAC even if it has the Tachikomas. All of its themes reflect today's world, and even more to the atmosphere in Japan. That is an anime I have to watch more than twice, not out of enjoyment, but to further my understanding on some of the things. It's easier to feel a future like that coming sooner rather than later. I tried telling my friends and even my coworkers about it, but in all their ignorance they can't accept a form of adult animation that isn't South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, etc. Worse yet is that its from Japan and their view of it is that it's all like Pokemon or some other children's show. I like Macross much more than Gundam for the fact that the ending with SDFM seems a little better paced in that we see the aftermath rather than what you get with Gundam ending at the One Year War and then picking the story up 7 years later with Zeta. With SDFM you see the hardships humanity endured with Kamjin's rebellion. All you ever got with Gundam was the same guys(Zeon/Char/Amuro/Newtypes) fighting a bunch of colony dropping people. Later iterations proved worse by severely straying from its original roots. At least Macross stayed true to it's roots better than any other franchise in the same genre.

[wolfx]

Wow thread necromancy!

Let's see, i'll say that Macross has stood the test of the time as one of the pioneers to mecha anime that remains timeless as to this day. Frontier brought a whole new generation of fans and we can see from the new members who joined alot are newbs to the macross universe but went and watch the old stuff after coming to know about Frontier.

As for the topic Vs. Other Popular Anime....Macross is still something very cult-status but I'm not sure if Frontier will carry it to new heights.

[Isamu Starkiller]

Wow thread necromancy!

Let's see, i'll say that Macross has stood the test of the time as one of the pioneers to mecha anime that remains timeless as to this day. Frontier brought a whole new generation of fans and we can see from the new members who joined alot are newbs to the macross universe but went and watch the old stuff after coming to know about Frontier.

As for the topic Vs. Other Popular Anime....Macross is still something very cult-status but I'm not sure if Frontier will carry it to new heights.

That brings up a great question to the old school fans, how do you feel about the Macross franchise going mainstream? I started out with Robotech then when I learned about M+ I researched Macross and "reeducated" myself. I discovered I actually was a fan of a classic anime that had a very cultish following.

I've grown up with videogames (owned a atari 5200) and have seen that industry go from niche to mainstream, and I dispise Johnny gamers' lack of knowledge of videogames beyond Madden 03,04,05,06,07,08,09 and NBA2k3,2k4 etc.

I think I'd prefer Macross to remain out of the mainstream as it would eventually become Capitalism Fodder, "Macross Alpha Gold 2" FTL

[daflip702]

That brings up a great question to the old school fans, how do you feel about the Macross franchise going mainstream? I started out with Robotech then when I learned about M+ I researched Macross and "reeducated" myself. I discovered I actually was a fan of a classic anime that had a very cultish following.

I've grown up with videogames (owned a atari 5200) and have seen that industry go from niche to mainstream, and I dispise Johnny gamers' lack of knowledge of videogames beyond Madden 03,04,05,06,07,08,09 and NBA2k3,2k4 etc.

I think I'd prefer Macross to remain out of the mainstream as it would eventually become Capitalism Fodder, "Macross Alpha Gold 2" FTL

Hmmm...IMO, Mac 7 was kinda mainstream.

at least Macross ain't corny and distastefull like um.....Strike Witches or Sky Girls....damnit what they put on nowadays.

I like the older mech animes out there.....IMO, BubbleGum Crisis(original) would be the closest to Macross....

Hot Chicks in hard suits + Transforming Mech Motoslave Porn + Pop Idol/CyberPunk Soundtrack = BCG

Too bad it had no real definite conclusion.

[sucker4meltrans]

.

Edited October 7, 2008 by sucker4meltrans

[sucker4meltrans]

Macross will always be my favorite.

but i also like

Gundam as long as its UC gundam not not any of that angsty alternate universe junk or /spit gundam wing.

Patlabor

Ghost in the shell

Any thing Rumiko Takahashi

Any thing Clamp

Any thing Ken Akamatsu

Outlaw star

Cowboy Bebop

I exetremly dislike any popular animes that instead of telling a story and then ending keep going and going and going to make more money.

Naruto

Dragon Ball

[DHX]

liked(as in from begining to end):

tenchi muyo ryo'oki (the OAV)

tekkaman

eschaflowne

outlaw star

ghost in the shell

liked(as in what i was able to see)

legend of the 4 kings

crying freeman

ninja scroll

hated

naruto(post time skip)

evangeligon

[sharky]

There are many movies and OVAs that I really enjoy as much as Macross. As far as a series goes I have found only a few that managed to hold my attention only because I don't have so much free time to search out and try new ones. So, a series has to be enjoyable on many levels for me to continue to watch it.

The only other TV series, not Macross related, that I have watched to completion are:

Neon Genesis Evangelion

R.O.D. the TV (I started this series after enjoying the OVA so much)

Basilisk

Other anime(OVAs and movies) of note that I really like in no particular order:

Gunbuster, Gunbuster2

Ghost in the Shell

Appleseed

Akira

Patlabor I & II

Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories

Wings of Honneamise

Nausicaa

Metal Skin Panic Madox-01

Bubblegum Crisis

Lupin III

Steamboy

Project A-ko

Memories

Spirited Away

Howl's Moving Castle

Porco Rosso

Yukikaze

Blood:The Last Vampire

Ninja Scroll

R.O.D (OVA)

Metropolis

Blue Submarine No. 6

A good method to seek out new stuff is to research the studios or individual creators who did the stuff you enjoy already. I tend to enjoy most things from studios such as Gainax, Studio Ghibli, Studio Nue(obviously ), Gonzo, Production IG. You could also go by creators/directors/writers such as Shoji Kawamori, Masamune Shirow, Hayao Miyazaki, etc.

Obviously, there is still much out there that is probably very good IMO, but I just haven't watched it yet. I've probably even neglected to mention some others that I have watched and enjoyed.

Edited October 10, 2008 by sharky

[MisaForever]

No other anime will ever have the impact and feeling that Macross has given us. Not Code Geass, not Gundam, not Pokemon, not Eva

[Mr March]

No other anime will ever have the impact and feeling that Macross has given us. Not Code Geass, not Gundam, not Pokemon, not Eva

Oh my gawd...

*groan*

(though I tend to agree)

[sucker4meltrans]

ah SDF Macross no other thing in this world can make a combat vet in this late 20s get all weepy. sniff

[MisaForever]

Oh my gawd...

*groan*

(though I tend to agree)

What? What did I say? Did I leave some out?

[RichterX]

Macross Franchise superior, other anime inferior

[MisaForever]

Macross Franchise superior, other anime inferior

Transformers was good in the day Still not terrible.

[rusted180]

1. macross dyrl/sdf/plus/frontier!!!!!!

2. great mazinger

3. voltes v

4. daimos

5. combattler v

6. akira

7. golgo 13 (professional)

[ntsan]

Well like the few post above I also watch more adult themed (or cyberpunk style) anime rather than childrens (like Nadesico.. can't get through it)

Some of the odd one I liked

Chevalier D'Eon

Claymore

Battle Angel

Armitage III

GITS

Patlabor

Akira

Heavy Metal (not anime)

Edited October 8, 2008 by ntsan

[Valkyrie addict]

not a big fan of anime here, but I enjoy a good story and good animation when it is

only anime I care in my life

1. Macross

2. Doraemon

3. Rorouni Kenshin

4. Death Note

[RichterX]

Transformers was good in the day Still not terrible.

It is funny I don't consider Transformers an Anime at least not the G1 that was shown outside Japan.

But i do consider all the Japanese continuations of G1 sins against nature... along with Beast Machines.

[Macross_Fanboy]

It is funny I don't consider Transformers an Anime at least not the G1 that was shown outside Japan.

But i do consider all the Japanese continuations of G1 sins against nature... along with Beast Machines.

Oh god, Beast Machines was gay! Beast Wars was good though! I loved it when I was growing up since I couldn't watch the original Transformers back when I was 5.

[d3v]

There a certain set of anime from a certain period before the it's popularity in the west that I will always enjoy (including Macross). However, I'm not too keen on most of the new stuff that's been coming down the wire these days.

[Morpheus]

Macross is always my favourite anime, and I also like its clone (like Mospeada, Eureka 7) but not ****tech.

[Funkenstein]

I think Macross Frontier is definitely better than To-Love-Ru.