Newbie Questions on Macross

[Smut Peddler]

I'm looking to purchase a complete set of Macross 7 on DVD, the complete series plus the 3 specials. There are so many out there. I was wondering if anyone could tell which version with English subtitles is the best to purchase. Thanks in advance.

[nexxstrait]

I'm looking to purchase a complete set of Macross 7 on DVD, the complete series plus the 3 specials. There are so many out there. I was wondering if anyone could tell which version with English subtitles is the best to purchase. Thanks in advance.

If you're talking about "unofficial" dvds, none of them is worth the trouble (not nowadays). If you search carefully you will find downloadable remastered episodes with Central Anime subtitles (the best you can find).

[Freiflug88]

I'm looking to purchase a complete set of Macross 7 on DVD, the complete series plus the 3 specials. There are so many out there. I was wondering if anyone could tell which version with English subtitles is the best to purchase. Thanks in advance.

I can get you an Official Macross 7 Remastered Boxset (16 DVDs), only thing is they don't have English subtitles and they would be very expensive at 1200 USD + Shipping. I also have progrommaning guides to unlock the region codes of practically any DVD player, so you can easily modifiy any NTSC DVD player to play them.

[Smut Peddler]

Thanks for the info

[Hikuro]

Okay how about this one, any good Frontier DVD's with subs on them? The kind that are understandable? I've checked Ebay, seemed to of found 3 different types of covers. Found reviews to 1 of those which says the picture quality is rather medicore and the subbing isn't horrible, some spelling and grammar issues, along with missed timing. But still understandable.

The other 2 I don't know anything about.

So, just thought I'd research a bit.

[CheeseKing]

I there a difference between the QF-2001A & QF-2001B besides the paint scheme? Just wondering.

[Seto Kaiba]

I there a difference between the QF-2001A & QF-2001B besides the paint scheme? Just wondering.

Unless I'm misremembering something, there's only the one variant of QF-2001. Did you perhaps mean the QF-2200? If so, the QF-2200D-A is a long-range reconnaissance variant fitted with extra sensors in the nose, whereas the QF-2200D-B is the version fitted with a high-thrust turbofan jet engine to serve as an ad hoc booster system for the VF-0. The base model (QF-2200D) is a long-range low-fuel-consumption high-altitude recon unit.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[CheeseKing]

Unless I'm misremembering something, there's only the one variant of QF-2001. Did you perhaps mean the QF-2200? If so, the QF-2200D-A is a long-range reconnaissance variant fitted with extra sensors in the nose, whereas the QF-2200D-B is the version fitted with a high-thrust turbofan jet engine to serve as an ad hoc booster system for the VF-0. The base model (QF-2200D) is a long-range low-fuel-consumption high-altitude recon unit.

Oops! I miss typed the #'s. The 2 that you mentioned are correct. Thanks for explaining the differences.

[pondo]

I'm looking for the original version, not the ranka version

anyone know where I can find this?

thanks!

[thegunny]

You can get it here: gendou

Or you can listen to this version: Momoi Halko

Edited June 14, 2010 by thegunny

[frothymug]

I've been looking for a bit of a breakdown of the different evolutionary stages of Vajra. Can someone point me in the right direction or just describe each stage here?

[Seto Kaiba]

I've been looking for a bit of a breakdown of the different evolutionary stages of Vajra. Can someone point me in the right direction or just describe each stage here?

Sure, I can try... though it's not something that was ever explained very thoroughly, so I'm resorting to skimming Macross Chronicle WorldGuide sheet 08B, which has a little bit about the Vajra maturation process. The chart provided shows roughly eight phases in the Vajra lifecycle... or at least the life cycle leading up to the khaki-colored hammerhead Vajra drones that seem to make up the bulk of the swarm. The chart doesn't cover how the big red ones, queens, or ships grow and develop.

In the diagram, the Vajra lifecycle is depicted as starting with the queen laying lots of eggs in a hive, which we saw going on in Macross Frontier ep.13. From there, they hatch into those green legless squirrels like Ai-Kun, which eventually grow into the big version that looks kinda like an overlarge green hooded cobra (the kind that Ai-kun was when he tackled Ranka right before she left Island-1 with Brera). They then go into some phase I don't recall seeing that looks like a chrysalis, before becoming what Ai-kun was at the end of the series... a creature that looks like a miniature organic Big Zam with antennae. From there, they mature to the slightly larger versions of that form with the top-mounted beam gun (like the ones that were swarming all over the Islands and killed Michael Blanc), and then from there they grow into the big hammerhead ones we saw in the very first episode.

If anyone cares to weigh in with an actual translation of the sheet, feel free... it's in Macross Chronicle issue #49 (pp23-24).

Edited July 6, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[network19]

This year at the AX Anime Convention I went to the May'n panel but before they started they announce that they weren't answering any questions about Unleashed or was it Unleash. Just want to know exactly what is Unleashed/Unleash . Does it have to with Macross or does it have to do with May'n.

[frothymug]

Alright, so I just had a thought hit me earlier today. Are Klan and Nene actually biological sisters? I know that Nene has referred to Klan as "one-sama" on a couple of occasions in the series, but they have different last names.

Initially, I figured they were either half-sisters, or it was just some kind of Zentraedi naming convention that gave them different surnames. I began to wonder this morning, whether it was just how Nene refers to Klan, in that Klan is the leader of Pixie Squadron. That would make her somewhat of a senior-classman status, like how "sempai" is used. I used to think that sempai was used only for male figures, but one of the episodes of MacF had Lam refer to Mena as a "Mena-sempai". ANYWAY, I looked around for some clarification on this matter and came up empty. Little help?

[azrael]

Alright, so I just had a thought hit me earlier today. Are Klan and Nene actually biological sisters? I know that Nene has referred to Klan as "one-sama" on a couple of occasions in the series, but they have different last names.

Initially, I figured they were either half-sisters, or it was just some kind of Zentraedi naming convention that gave them different surnames. I began to wonder this morning, whether it was just how Nene refers to Klan, in that Klan is the leader of Pixie Squadron. That would make her somewhat of a senior-classman status, like how "sempai" is used. I used to think that sempai was used only for male figures, but one of the episodes of MacF had Lam refer to Mena as a "Mena-sempai". ANYWAY, I looked around for some clarification on this matter and came up empty. Little help?

I've seen no text that says they are biological sisters in any way. So I would consider it that Nene is referring to Klan as the superior person of their group. Much like in some circles, calling your superior, "aniki"/｢兄貴｣ out of respect is acceptable.

[frothymug]

Right, I thought I had seen somewhere that they are biological, but maybe that was just my assumption in the first place. I guess it could go either way. Just like how they never actually confirm that Michael had some Zentraedi lineage, even though his ears are slightly pointed. I'll continue to assume that they're half-sisters or whatever...

[Seto Kaiba]

I guess it could go either way.

Eh... there's no indication that they are, so the safest assumption is that they're not. I would

Just like how they never actually confirm that Michael had some Zentraedi lineage, even though his ears are slightly pointed.

In the show, perhaps... it's not the case in the supplementary publications. I've heard that 2059:Memories indicates he's half-Zentradi, and he's featured with several of the other half-Zentradi characters in an Extra Report in Macross Chronicle as well...

[Kronnang Dunn]

Eh... there's no indication that they are, so the safest assumption is that they're not. I would

In the show, perhaps... it's not the case in the supplementary publications. I've heard that 2059:Memories indicates he's half-Zentradi, and he's featured with several of the other half-Zentradi characters in an Extra Report in Macross Chronicle as well...

I remember some people said he was half-Zolan, not Zentradi. Btw... Clan-Clang ears look waaay more Zolan than Zentradi to me...

[Seto Kaiba]

I remember some people said he was half-Zolan, not Zentradi. Btw... Clan-Clang ears look waaay more Zolan than Zentradi to me...

Yeah, apparently the novelization says he's half-Zolan, while 2059:Memories labels him as half-Zentradi. Macross Chronicle appears to favor the latter.

[frothymug]

Damn our cultural differences!

[Talos]

I've seen no text that says they are biological sisters in any way. So I would consider it that Nene is referring to Klan as the superior person of their group. Much like in some circles, calling your superior, "aniki"/｢兄貴｣ out of respect is acceptable.

Now I can't get the mental picture of Klan as a sukeban/スケ番 out of my head! Thanks.

(I actually find it a hilarious thought.)

But yeah, I agree that the references Nene is using are for Klan being the leader of the group, not any biological relation.

[Gubaba]

Yeah, apparently the novelization says he's half-Zolan, while 2059:Memories labels him as half-Zentradi. Macross Chronicle appears to favor the latter.

Nah. EVERYTHING says he's part-Zentradi with some Zolan blood mixed in somewhere in his heritage.

[Vepariga]

I just been watching some clips of the ADV dub of SDFM TV ...Since when did Zentradi battecruisers become 'Super Dreadnoughts'? Did this studio just think they would make up ship classes as they went along?

[Seto Kaiba]

I just been watching some clips of the ADV dub of SDFM TV ...Since when did Zentradi battecruisers become 'Super Dreadnoughts'? Did this studio just think they would make up ship classes as they went along?

It's a project where ADV Films and Harmony Gold are both involved... you expected accuracy WHY?

[Vepariga]

It's a project where ADV Films and Harmony Gold are both involved... you expected accuracy WHY?

dunno,some misplaced sense of hope i suppose lol.

[Zinjo]

dunno,some misplaced sense of hope i suppose lol.

You will learn grasshoppa, you will learn...

[Boxer]

Here's a quick question- anyone have a diagram of how exactly full-sized Zentreadi fit into their power armors? Things seem to make sense around the chest, but I'm having difficulty visualizing how the torso and leg sections articulate when the unit is moving with a pilot inside. Epically when I see some of the leg connections on the Queadlunn-Rau don't look like they can fit a normal leg in there.

[Seto Kaiba]

Here's a quick question- anyone have a diagram of how exactly full-sized Zentradi fit into their power armors?

Unfortunately, if such a diagram does exist then I'm not aware of it. The best I could find on perusal of the Macross: Do You Remember Love? Data Bank book (the "Gold Book") and Macross: Perfect Memory is the art we already have available on the Macross Mecha Manual. I'll check Entertainment Bible 27 and Macross Chronicle in just a second though.

EDIT @ 05:10: No, neither Entertainment Bible 27 nor Macross Chronicle offers a better view of the cockpit than what was already available. Sorry.

Things seem to make sense around the chest, but I'm having difficulty visualizing how the torso and leg sections articulate when the unit is moving with a pilot inside. Especially when I see some of the leg connections on the Queadlunn-Rau don't look like they can fit a normal leg in there.

From what I've been able to discern based on this and this, it looks like the way it's handled is exactly the way you've visualized it... improbable as it seems.

It looks, for all the world, like the pilot is situated with their shoulders roughly level with the center of the mecha's shoulders, and control both the arms and general flight maneuvers using the control banks inside the torso. The leg articulations look to be controlled by the movements of the pilot's legs inside them. I doubt the leg of the pilot goes all the way down, but it looks the hip and knee articulations ought to be controlled by the corresponding joints on the pilot's body, though the foot obviously will not reach all the way down to the mecha's foot, and is in all likelihood either operated automatically or on a pedal of some kind manipulated by the operator's own foot.

To get a good picture of how the pilot shapes up compared to his craft in size, here is a size comparison for the DYRL versions of the Nosjadeul-Ger, Queadluun-Rau, VF-1S Strike Valkyrie, Zentradi, Meltrandi, and human pilots (also courtesy of the Macross Mecha Manual): GO.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[anime52k8]

these arn't official but they're pretty accurate scale wise and jive with how seto explained it.

[Boxer]

these arn't official but they're pretty accurate scale wise and jive with how seto explained it.

I've seen those diagrams actually. They help, but I wondered if there was any ultra-rare illustrations out there somewhere that clarified the issue. I was wondering specifically about the hip/knee connections and was wondering how they matched up with those of the pilot. Some images of the Q-Rau throw me for a loop like this one of the Queadluun-Rea. See the leg joints? How is a pilot's leg supposed to fit through that? It looks like an inverted T where the legs swivel on the joint without any upper-leg-limb connection to the pilot.

Some of the older drawings of the Q-Rau don't seem to have that problem though (like the ones kaiba linked). Klan's is the most obvious example I could find.

[Seto Kaiba]

these arn't official but they're pretty accurate scale wise and jive with how seto explained it.

Neat graphic... I've never seen that one before. The scale on the pilots is a little bit off, but on the whole it does seem to fit rather well. Where'd you find that one, if you don't mind telling me?

I've seen those diagrams actually. They help, but I wondered if there was any ultra-rare illustrations out there somewhere that clarified the issue.

None that I'm aware of, I'm afraid... were such a piece to exist, it would most likely be found in a comprehensive publication like Perfect Memory, the Gold Book, or the art book that came with the remastered edition of DYRL. I've checked a few of my more obscure old books and found nothing like what you're looking for. I'll do a bit more digging after I get done with breakfast, but I don't expect to find anything.

I was wondering specifically about the hip/knee connections and was wondering how they matched up with those of the pilot. Some images of the Q-Rau throw me for a loop like this one of the Queadluun-Rea. See the leg joints? How is a pilot's leg supposed to fit through that? It looks like an inverted T where the legs swivel on the joint without any upper-leg-limb connection to the pilot.

Ah, now THAT has a straightforward explanation... you're right to think that the legs on the apparently U.N.-designed Queadluun-Rhea are incapable of fitting the operator's legs in the fashion the Queadluun-Rau appears to. What little we see of the Queadluun-Rhea's interior in the animation seems to suggest that the Queadluun-Rhea's cockpit is modeled on that of the Regult, and located entirely inside the mecha's torso with the operator in a sort of hunched-forward sitting position similar to the one seen here. This is presumably one of the design changes made to improve operator survivability (along with beefing up the armor around the cockpit).

The Rhea's a whole different creature from the Rau.

Edited July 31, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[hulagu]

Has an upgraded/reverse engineered workhorse Regult tactical pod ever appeared anywhere in the main continuity?

I know some variants appear in VFX=1, but assume they don't actually look like jaggity wireframe polygon models as per the game art.

Is the whole lineage considered obsolete? Zentran forces, even renegades, seem to use just mostly Queadlunn variants out of the original Zentradi arsenal anymore.

Edited July 31, 2010 by hulagu

[frothymug]

Yeah, if you check on Macross F ep 4, when Klan gets out of her Rhea, you see that she's in a squatting position with her knees forward.

[Boxer]

I wondered if that was the case, though I wasn't sure if there was room in the torso for a meltran to scrunch her legs in there.

I dunno if this is a robotech source or not, but I seem to have the notion that only the Gnerl and Queadluun-Rau were adopted by the UN Spacy. You might count the Glaug as well, since a Variable version was created around the time of VF:X (though whether it persisted or not is another question... what do full-sized Zentradi male forces use for combat?)

Though that's a thing about the V-Glaug... The Macross mecha manual states accommodation for a child Zentradi? Wouldn't it be issued to full-sized adults instead?

[Robelwell202]

Yeah, if you check on Macross F ep 4, when Klan gets out of her Rhea, you see that she's in a squatting position with her knees forward.

Sure, but that's when she's dismounting. I took a look at 'Friendly Fire', where more shots of Klan's cockpit interior are shown, and she seems to be in a full 'standing' position. The shots of her damaged Q-Rea seem to add to this, albeint you only see her head.

Admittedly, this isn't conclusive in the slightest, but just some offhand observations.