Canonizing A Not-So-Canon Universe

[Cyclone Trooper]

*original post removed by author on his own recognizance...apologies to all for coming across as a troll. That was not my intention...

Edited October 9, 2009 by Cyclone Trooper

[taksraven]

This isn't a rant about Macross in general (perish the thought!), nor a bash-fest for Macross 7. Honestly, it isn't. It's mainly my observations on Shoji Kawamori intentionally wanting to keep his Macross universe deliberately ambiguous and vague as far as any kind of "definite" history goes. I realize that the handful of Macross Historians on here like sketchley, Mr. March and several others will probably pick this post apart with a fair share of disdain, but this is just one person's view of how uncanon Macross actually is when you really think about it...

I use to get annoyed about the conflicting nature of the Macross canon. Now, however, I realise that a lot of SF franchises have become "slaves" to their own continuity and fandom and the results are often not pretty. (A great example of this is ST Enterprise, a series that never should have been attempted because there were waaay too many rules imposed on the writers) This is one of the main reasons why a lot of Trek continuity was effectively and deliberately binned for the new film series.

I am also a fan of HitchHikers Guide the the Galaxy, and this is a franchise where each and every version of the story is different and often wildly conflicts with each other, but it still works and does not detract from my enjoyment of the franchise.

I think that Arthur C. Clarke had one of the best ideas. In the intro to one of the 2001 sequels (cant remember which one), he suggested that the reader consider each sequel to the original to be set in "alternate universes", where some things lined up and matched the original story whilst others did not. He had to do this inlight of the fact that real world events ended up contradicting a lot of his story elements. (collapse of the Soviet Union, etc........)

So by my reckoning, by having a fluid and flexible continuity and canon, Shoji Kawamori is actually in good company and it should help keep Macross fresh for the future.

Taksraven

[VF5SS]

Stop making Macross 7 hate threads.

[Cyclone Trooper]

*also deleted...

Edited October 9, 2009 by Cyclone Trooper

[anime52k8]

tl;dr

Stop making Macross 7 hate threads.

agreed.

[Gubaba]

Cyclone Trooper, have you read this?

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=30317

[Cyclone Trooper]

Actually I had not. That interview actually puts a whole new spin on things. I guess everyone can disregard my original post because I stand corrected on several points. All Macross series being "TV series/movies" within the Macross universe WOULD explain the liberal use of different design elements. And it also allows for the vastly different "flavors" of the varies series as well.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Cyclone Trooper

[Sketch]

Stop making Macross 7 hate threads.

Signed.

The original post is LOADED with the same typical poo I see in every other M7 troll post.

[Gubaba]

This is where Ai Oboete Imasu Ka got its major downgrade to "just a song". Granted, part of this is also attributed to Misa nonchalantly telling Claudia that it was just a song sung by the Protoculture back in the day. If this line is taken literally, then yes, it WAS just a song. But I've always taken it to be something a bit more powerful. The power of the song being downplayed by Misa's understatement, as they're standing on the SDF-1's bridge amid the shell of Bodolza's flagship. The song had caused a massive defection of Zentraedi and Meltrandi, which turned the tide of Space War I because they recognized it and it had reawakened their cultural memory. The moment seems quite a bit more poignant in that regard instead of taking the line literally.

This is, of course, a matter of opinion, so take mine for what it's worth...but I do take that line literally, and I believe it's meant to be taken literally.

There was absolutely nothing special about that song. Any sufficiently emotional song would've resonated with the Zentradi in a similar way. The fact that it was an old Protoculture song was added insurance, as it were, but I always thought that Minmay could've been up there singing "Yummy Yummy Yummy (I've Got Love in My Tummy)" and the outcome would've been more or less the same.

The fact that the song was about love was the important thing, not the song's age or place of origin.