The Newbie and Short Questions thread

[VF5SS]

Ozma Armored VF-25 couldn't fly conventionally with its packs on though. It could only hover around in Gerwalk mode where the wings don't matter.

[Mr March]

Wasn't the Armored VF-25S shown flying inside the Island 1 in GERWALK mode only? It would make much more sense that it could fly in that mode with armor than it would flying the thing in fighter mode. Although as azrael already pointed out, the Island 1 colony only produced 0.75 gravity, which would place less restriction upon non-aerodynamic flight.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Thanks Azrael, Veef, and Mr, March for the helpful answers

The Tornado pack mounted on Alto's VF-25 is designed to enter atmosphere. In fact, it's a feature of the pack. And Ozma used the Armored pack within the colony in the TV series too. And the colony; that's technically not a gravity environment.

Thanks azrael for explaining the the features of the Tornado packs, i clicked on the link above the post i made and read up on it.

i was referring to the armored vf-25s in the ending of false songstress. but since you raised that point i think the tornado packs do look heavier than the super packs... but notice he loses the wing boosters when he needs a bit more maneuverability in gerwalk mode)

Ozma Armored VF-25 couldn't fly conventionally with its packs on though. It could only hover around in Gerwalk mode where the wings don't matter.

i saw the armored vf-25s in the series and it looked and moved slower with heavy physics like a destroid/vf-1j armored.

i didn't observe the vf-25s armor in gerwalk only, thanks for pointing that out.

watching the clip below from the 10:25 mark, ozma kind of flew in the scene in cockpit view so fast so i thought he was in fighter mode and then changes quickly to battroid in front of Sheryl.

but i took another look after your post and pasted the clip below) yeah i only see battroid and gerwalk. but it just seemed very fast.

Wasn't the Armored VF-25S shown flying inside the Island 1 in GERWALK mode only? It would make much more sense that it could fly in that mode with armor than it would flying the thing in fighter mode. Although as azrael already pointed out, the Island 1 colony only produced 0.75 gravity, which would place less restriction upon non-aerodynamic flight.

Mr. March, ty for that info, i didn't know about the 0.75 gravity on the colony tidbit.

on the gravity issue:

if the colony gravity is less then an earth type planet condition, it still mimicked atmosphere conditions (colonies artificially recreating, environment for humans/zentrans, simliar to the macross SDF-1 and megaroad, ie. Hikaru detached his fast packs in DYRL to enter the sdf-1 after arguing with misa, going inside to meet minmay before the artificial gravity system malfunctions)

that the Vf-25F detached the super fast packs to fly in the colony in the series.

(I also see a section of the gravity malfunctioning in the frontier movie clip, i guess that's why alto can move more nimble in a certain section in the colony scene)

the size and physics of the tornado seem much larger

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/8810/vf25ftornadomessiahfigh.png

than the seemingly smaller in size/mass super parts that needed to be detached to enter the colony.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR6LOAItn5hLPMxtO6oTEbzW_TYZAJ8ZEilfMZaqVJm8K0uhB6e

of course this is all fiction in sci fi, but i had a hard time watching it and wanted to post here those comments. thanks for answering my questions!

i chucked up the scene in case we want to view it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtVPICHD0Rw

Edited May 16, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[VF5SS]

The wings on the Tornado pack are supposed to work like a big pair of delta wings.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

The wings on the Tornado pack are supposed to work like a big pair of delta wings.

thanks veef, i didn't know what delta wings were so i looked it up. and also saw in the wiki that the tornado parts have lower air resistance than super parts.

while looking up the tornado packs i saw another comment someone made

This tornado pack is pretty silly for atmospheric flight as extra weight would compromise aerial agility and decrease speed, not to mention the powerful recoil effect of the cannons. What more, it takes away the beauty of streamline flight.

and then the readers chastised him:P

i think they're cool enough that i will buy the pack if they release it from bandai for alto.

and the anime scene makes them look a bit slimmer in fighter mode. the wings look similar to the boosters used on ivanov's sv 51 in Zero

the yf-29-like cannons look on the heavy side. i wish they did the scene a bit better for Ozma flying in from the top to protect Sheryl

guys, thanks for taking the time to read my comments and answering my noob questions.

Edited May 17, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[Xeero]

So while poking about on M3 for info to use on a pet project I came across something I was wondering if anyone here knew the answer to:

On the Uraga carriers anything pre-Frontier is listed with a CV number (CV-565 and so forth) while the Frontier ships have a CVS designation (CVS-670 for instance). Clearly not an end of the world thing but I was hoping someone might have some insight to the differences

[Mr March]

My site follows the established nomenclature of the Macross art books, so I can't really provide any more insight than that. The ships are shown named "CV" in books like This Is Animation Series Macross 7 Animation Materials. The CV-to-CVS could be an intentional change from the Macross 7-era to the Frontier-era, but I suspect it's probably either sourcing or random; some writers bible or script from the Macross 7-era says CV, while another says CVS. Then when writers of the Macross Chronicle come into the franchise years later, no one is around to say one way or the other; to most, it's probably not even that important. So they pick one and go with it

Perhaps it might also be the tendency of the Macross Chronicle writing staff to just add letters and digits to stuff, like all the new gun pod designations

Edited May 18, 2013 by Mr March

[Xeero]

Thanks for the quick answer on that one!

Guess I'll just stick with the CV designation then. With over 40 of these suckers that need naming anything to save on some typing will be handy! XD

[Saruta]

Question: is there a clear summary of events in the Frontier movies somewhere? They are very fast-paced and hard to follow (especially the second movie). I have not watched the series yet or it probaby would be easier... except that the second movie appears to diverge wildly from (what I know about) the series anyway.

For example, what happened to the Frontier part where Mishima and Glass were? What was the one-off reference to Bodolzaa Mobile Fortress about? Was Alto simply pulled into the fold when the Vajra pulled away or was it something else? Is Michel dead at all in this version? Who controlled the network that was actually controling Grace in tis version? Etc etc. Much of this is probably in the movie if one looks very carefully. So before asking any such questions individually I'd need to find a movie summary. I am probably far from the first to his this problem so I expect something to be written up already - hopefully not only in Japanese!

[VF-15 Banshee]

Question: is there a clear summary of events in the Frontier movies somewhere? They are very fast-paced and hard to follow (especially the second movie). I have not watched the series yet or it probaby would be easier... except that the second movie appears to diverge wildly from (what I know about) the series anyway.

For example, what happened to the Frontier part where Mishima and Glass were? What was the one-off reference to Bodolzaa Mobile Fortress about? Was Alto simply pulled into the fold when the Vajra pulled away or was it something else? Is Michel dead at all in this version? Who controlled the network that was actually controling Grace in tis version? Etc etc. Much of this is probably in the movie if one looks very carefully. So before asking any such questions individually I'd need to find a movie summary. I am probably far from the first to his this problem so I expect something to be written up already - hopefully not only in Japanese!

Well you really ought to watch the TV series, that'll help. As for your points--

1. If you mean Battle Frontier, it got turned into a Vajra Queen thing and then disappeared.

2. I think they just decided to use the fortress this time instead of the SDFN-4 Global

3. I think the same thing happened to Alto that happened to Sarah and Shin. He's called Shoji Kawamori.

4. No, didn't you see him with Klan at the end of the film?

5. AFAIK they still don't make clear who exactly is behind the Galaxy conspiracy which makes it a little muddled in this version I think. It'd be nice to know what they wanted beyond ye olde domination plot.

[Saruta]

Thanks!

Your answers clear up many things, and I hope the series will clear up some more - but some stuff which is uniquee to the movie still baffles me. Notably the Battle Frontier part. As far as I could gather from the final battle (which I have now watched several times), the Battle Frontier was disconnected from the Vajra Queen (at least the cables are clearly shown disconnecting). This happens at the same time as Brera getting out of control of the Galaxy conspiracy, so perhaps he did a suicide atack on the Battle Frontier leading to the disconnection? But what next? Or were the cables actualy disconnected by the Queen herself, in which case the Battle Frontier (and Mishima and Glass and the rest of that team) were probably destroyed by a massive Vajra attack in the next instant? (In the Queen's place I'd certainly be angry at these guys and "crush them" sounds about right).

And also - apparently the SMS and NUNS fired a quantum volley at the Vajra but the Vajra folded out just in time? But that means the Vajra were not inside Island 1 and its atmosphere, as said Island 1 was not vapourized by that volley. In this case, how could Alto stand there with no helmet on and even speak? (And he must have spoken not just in his mind because Ranka and apparently Sheryl heard him?)

Yes, the Vajra can do a protective membrane with some air inside (like they did for Ranka when trying to carry her off) but no membrane is shown this time.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

hi,

i have another noob question in terms of timeline and decommissioned ships, DYRL vs TV Series.

watching the original frontier, i saw the macross designed sdf-1 class ship (where grace o conner) or ranka are from planet where the ghost ship is found...

a few questions/comments that are like questions:

1. i noticed the macross "class" ship was designed TV style as opposed to the DYRL style. given the history of the tv series, this ship crash landed on earth an was restored using primitive earth culture and it was a one of a kind ship with the Prometheus and Daedalus attached that seemed decommissioned or stayed in macross city (also seen in the launch of the megaroad class ships in flashback 2012) why would they copy or reporduce that ship to explore outer colonies? is there a timeline

2. and if it was sent out before prior to the lauch of megaroad or macross 7 style ships, wouldn't that not make sense as the technology was still not fully understood (space fold engines vanishing, etc)

anyways, any help would be appreciated from those who know the Macross mythology.

Edited May 24, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[VF-15 Banshee]

1. i noticed the macross "class" ship was designed TV style as opposed to the DYRL style. given the history of the tv series, this ship crash landed on earth an was restored using primitive earth culture and it was a one of a kind ship with the Prometheus and Daedalus attached that seemed decommissioned or stayed in macross city (also seen in the launch of the megaroad class ships in flashback 2012) why would they copy or reporduce that ship to explore outer colonies? is there a timeline.

Well in some ways they improved on the design, such as with reaction warheads and such. This is why the Zentrai wanted to capture the ship. In addition, they were already building a second Macross-type ship from scratch, the SDF-2, which was actually larger than the original. This ship then became the Megaroad-01.

The ship we see on Gallia IV is a part of the SDFN-class, 12 mass-produced versions of the Macross. Why they replicated the Macross, eh, probably for morale if nothing else. There's no info as to when they began construction, just that it was soon after the Megaroad-01 launched or around that time. We only know of three ships, SDFN-1 Hayase, unknown deployment, SDFN-4 Global, head of the 117th Research Fleet, destroyed in 2048 and the SDFN-8 Vrlitwhai, landed on planet Ouroborus sometime prior to 2060 and became the de-facto capital of the planet (or at least the only major city we know of). The only other thing we know of is that the ships were sent out ahead of emmigrant fleets. Based on three names we know so far, it can be assumed that the SDFN ships were named after famous figures of Space War 1.

2. and if it was sent out before prior to the lauch of megaroad or macross 7 style ships, wouldn't that not make sense as the technology was still not fully understood (space fold engines vanishing, etc)

anyways, any help would be appreciated from those who know the Macross mythology.

Well they did have that two-year gap before the launch of the Megaroad to work out the kinks and ten years of prior knowledge to build off of.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Well in some ways they improved on the design, such as with reaction warheads and such. This is why the Zentrai wanted to capture the ship. In addition, they were already building a second Macross-type ship from scratch, the SDF-2, which was actually larger than the original.

The ship we see on Gallia IV is a part of the SDFN-class, 12 mass-produced versions of the Macross. Why they replicated the Macross, eh, probably for morale if nothing else.

thanks Noriaki (vf-15 Banshee), of pointing out the sdf-2 plans... makes sense and consistent to their intentions to explore the galaxy.

why they replicated 12 mass produced Macross' ?

i think it's kawamori's version of unnecessary cameos (like lucas throwing in a noble chewbacca and meeting yoda in episode III. prior to being the muscle running scams as a local bounty hunter with han, as well as having to throw in R2 though obi wan doesn't recall owning a droid neither does vader)

eh, but why not? i just read the blu ray release of Zero adds Sheryl's fold crystal earrings to Mao,

anything that seems far fetched, i wanted to ask how it fits and makes sense in the Macross universe. and learning alot of the backstory in the process.

thanks for reading my noob comments and the help.

Edited May 24, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[sketchley]

In some ways, it's Kawamori capitalizing on existing designs and throwing in another reference to an earlier series (into MF).

However, the print back story makes it a lot more sensible (as my links aren't working right now... the condensed version): in short, the New Unified Government knew that the SDF-1 Macross class works as an emigration ship. They mass produced 12 SDFN class ships (which are fundamentally the same, but differ in details as they used parts (such as guns) recycled from Zentraadi medium battleships) and those ships departed from Earth as the initial emigration ships in the Mankind Seeding Project initiated after the First Interstellar War. In addition to searching out habitable worlds, the SDFN class also charted out fold navigation routes from Earth - which sped up the departure of the Megaroad class emigration ships when they started being produced.

So, despite the lack of comfort for the residents, the New Unified Government could produce a lot more of them (the SDFN class) in a shorter period (12 in the 1 or 2 years it took to complete the first Megaroad class), and could get them out seeding and exploring the galaxy much faster (the Megaroad class ships were produced and launched at a rate of 1 per year).

Some people may say that its a "retcon" or some similar pejorative, but in truth, the period between SDFN and M+ has always been a blank... so this information isn't replacing anything (ergo it's heretofore unexplained, not a retcon per se).

Edited May 24, 2013 by sketchley

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

In some ways, it's Kawamori capitalizing on existing designs and throwing in another reference to an earlier series (into MF).

However, the print back story makes it a lot more sensible (as my links aren't working right now... the condensed version): in short, the New Unified Government knew that the SDF-1 Macross class works as an emigration ship. They mass produced 12 SDFN class ships (which are fundamentally the same, but differ in details as they used parts (such as guns) recycled from Zentraadi medium battleships) and those ships departed from Earth as the initial emigration ships in the Mankind Seeding Project initiated after the First Interstellar War. In addition to searching out habitable worlds, the SDFN class also charted out fold navigation routes from Earth - which sped up the departure of the Megaroad class emigration ships when they started being produced.

So, despite the lack of comfort for the residents, the New Unified Government could produce a lot more of them (the SDFN class) in a shorter period (12 in the 1 or 2 years it took to complete the first Megaroad class), and could get them out seeding and exploring the galaxy much faster (the Megaroad class ships were produced and launched at a rate of 1 per year).

Some people may say that its a "retcon" or some similar pejorative, but in truth, the period between SDFN and M+ has always been a blank... so this information isn't replacing anything (ergo it's heretofore unexplained, not a retcon per se).

thanks, since there's no backstory it can't be classified as "retcon" but i think its "cramcon" as i think within those one to two years prior to megaroad, everything was jammed in.

i feel is unrealistic in terms of production speed unless the technology suddenly advanced forward very fast. i felt the megaroad was a big task and singular focus for the U.N. to build. as under the Macross timeline it took several years just to repair the SDF-1 when it crash landed on macross island and was slow to produce one ship, so producing/sending out 12 is hard to fathom and second that they were sent out to long distance galaxy ahead was i felt a little retcon/cramcon.

and saying now we have Zentradi in harmony so we had them help in technology production speed is crazy because they didn't know how to repair/maintain their own ships and didn't know anything but fighting. (britai's window is cracked througout) unless that macross factory that max and miria brought their baby too in space pumped them out...

anyways i'm looking at this all based on watching the original tv series/DYRL/Plus/7/macrossF/both F movies (and minimum knowledge on outside chronological events not mentioned in the series)

Edited May 24, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[CoreyD]

Couldn't the factory satellite have assisted in speeding the construction of additional SDFN cruisers?

[sketchley]

i think its "cramcon" as i think within those one to two years prior to megaroad, everything was jammed in.

Nope. It's filling in the blanks. Some of it is based on, and embellishes the stuff that appeared in FB2012. But as there was HARDLY anything that advanced the story, post SDFM, in that collection of music videos...

Anyhow, site's working again. Some reading for you on the SDFN (or ships of the same model as the Macross):

http://sketchleystats.webatu.com/Trans/MCRtechnology/06aMacrossClassAndItsSuccessors.php#reverse

http://nomansland.site.nfoservers.com/MRG-Active-Archive//forums/index.php?topic=2017.0

http://nomansland.site.nfoservers.com/MRG-Active-Archive//forums/index.php?topic=2017.msg43610#msg43610

Couldn't the factory satellite have assisted in speeding the construction of additional SDFN cruisers?

Correction: Factory Satellites

There are dozens in orbit around Earth within a few years after the end of the First Interstellar War (not to mention ones around other Emigrant Planets and in Emigration Fleets that are picked up over the years. E.g.: the Factory Satellite orbiting Eden that produces the Kwadarun-Rea).

Nevertheless, yes - they not only sped up the construction of the SDFN ships, they were also the ONLY means of building them after the First Interstellar War (and with the clone producing Factory Satellites, the only way to crew and populate the ships!)

[CoreyD]

Oh interesting, I had no idea there was more than one near earth. I only knew about the one factory satellite that appeared in SDFM.

[Saruta]

Retrying a question that went to the past pages: how could Alto breathe and speak when standing on the Vajra Queen, given that it was not inside Island 1,s atmosphere? Alternatively, if it was inside there, why did that blast not destroy Island 1? (Or if he only spoke in his mind, how did Ranka and Sheryl hear him?)

And new question: why was a separate speaking voice actor needed for Sheryl? May'n appears to be quite good at acting in her live performances?

Edited May 24, 2013 by Saruta

[Gubaba]

Retrying a question that went to the past pages: how could Alto breathe and speak when standing on the Vajra Queen, given that it was not inside Island 1,s atmosphere? Alternatively, if it was inside there, why did that blast not destroy Island 1? (Or if he only spoke in his mind, how did Ranka and Sheryl hear him?)

And new question: why was a separate speaking voice actor needed for Sheryl? May'n appears to be quite good at acting in her live performances?

1. He was on the Vajra planet, which has a breathable atmosphere (cf. Episode 25 of Frontier).

2. Dude... AYA ENDO. 'Nuff said (even if she DID totally spank me).

[Saruta]

Aha, thanks - but at that time the fleet was firing a quantum cannon volley at the Vajra. The Vajra folded out just in time (taking Alto with them, according to Kawamori), so the volley has hit the planet? That means the planet now (I mean, as of the movie's end) has a significant region burnt out?

Also - was Island 1 landed on the planet at the time? In the fast-paced movie progression I seem to have missed that landing. But the explosion is seen as "somewhere far on the same level" - so they were landed? Also there are holes in the dome, but the singer ladies, none of whom is a cyborg nor are they in a shelter, don't sem to have trouble breathing. So when has it landed? Or was it really NOT landed at the time?

I'm not sure exactly how Aya Endo spanked you, but I get the point about having both a great singer and a great actor (even though May'n is a good actor too). That just shows how cool Megumi Nakajima is because they did NOT need a double for her?

Edited May 24, 2013 by Saruta

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Nope. It's filling in the blanks. Some of it is based on, and embellishes the stuff that appeared in FB2012. But as there was HARDLY anything that advanced the story, post SDFM, in that collection of music videos...

Anyhow, site's working again. Some reading for you on the SDFN (or ships of the same model as the Macross):

http://sketchleystats.webatu.com/Trans/MCRtechnology/06aMacrossClassAndItsSuccessors.php#reverse

http://nomansland.site.nfoservers.com/MRG-Active-Archive//forums/index.php?topic=2017.0

http://nomansland.site.nfoservers.com/MRG-Active-Archive//forums/index.php?topic=2017.msg43610#msg43610Correction: Factory Satellites

There are dozens in orbit around Earth within a few years after the end of the First Interstellar War (not to mention ones around other Emigrant Planets and in Emigration Fleets that are picked up over the years. E.g.: the Factory Satellite orbiting Eden that produces the Kwadarun-Rea).

Nevertheless, yes - they not only sped up the construction of the SDFN ships, they were also the ONLY means of building them after the First Interstellar War (and with the clone producing Factory Satellites, the only way to crew and populate the ships!)

thanks for the links, read up on it. Looks like M&M had to take their baby around to win over alot of Factory Satellites.

[Tochiro]

Aha, thanks - but at that time the fleet was firing a quantum cannon volley at the Vajra. The Vajra folded out just in time (taking Alto with them, according to Kawamori), so the volley has hit the planet? That means the planet now (I mean, as of the movie's end) has a significant region burnt out?

Also - was Island 1 landed on the planet at the time? In the fast-paced movie progression I seem to have missed that landing. But the explosion is seen as "somewhere far on the same level" - so they were landed? Also there are holes in the dome, but the singer ladies, none of whom is a cyborg nor are they in a shelter, don't sem to have trouble breathing. So when has it landed? Or was it really NOT landed at the time?

I'm not sure exactly how Aya Endo spanked you, but I get the point about having both a great singer and a great actor (even though May'n is a good actor too). That just shows how cool Megumi Nakajima is because they did NOT need a double for her?

Yes, island one had landed. It was within the vajura planets atmosphere which, as others have pointed out, was breathable. Remember, in the TV series the planet was identified as being habitable for humans and at the end of the movies we are shown humans colonizing it without any sort of breathing apparatus.

How could Alto communicate? Very simple. Fold quartz earring. Even if all it did was convey his feelings and not his exact words, that would have been more than enough.

As for splitting VA & singer, this was also done in Macross 7 for both Mylene and Basara. I've seen May'n many many times live and while she has a wonderful singing voice, she is no voice actor and would never have been able to deliver the richness or subtleness that a trained Voice actor could. Aya Endo made Sheryl's lines LIVE just as much as May'n made the songs live.

Splitting the roles had nothing to do with how 'cool' Nakajima was and everything to do with her lack of experience. Sheryl was supposed to be a seasoned professional so an established voice actress and semi- established singer were used. Ranka was supposed to be the newcomer, the girl next door, so they held an audition/contest for a fresh new face because they wanted to capture that lack or experience in her lines (exactly as Kawamori did over a decade earlier with an unknown teenager by the name of Maaya Sakamoto ;-). Renato has mentioned on our podcast quite a few times that he doesn't like Nakajima's performance in the movies as much because she sounds like she has had too much training compared to the original. Anyways, the casting and splitting of roles was basically based on how they wanted the characters to be portrayed.

If you don't know about Gubaba getting spanked then you obviously haven't been listening to Macross SpeakerPODcast, which raises the question - WHY NOT????

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=36874&st=0

Edited May 25, 2013 by Tochiro

[Saruta]

Thanks for the loads of info! And judging by "seen May'n" you're in Japan? Judging by responses from there in several threads, this Forum seems to have more spies in Japan than the Zentradi ever had on the Macross!

Seeing as you know how the Megumi Nakajima story worked... in some blog I've seen a reference to "Megumi Nakajima = Ranka Lee" being a thing. I wonder if it ever was anything more than fanon. Sure, another mixed lineage newbie star with a somewhat similar figure could excite fan imaginations, but were there hints from "on high" or herself? In another thread I learned that Mari Iijima came to hate being seen as "Minmay" so I wonder what the story is with the new generation

I'll get to the podcasts so. I'm generally not a fan of podcasts but with the amount of info here, these ones should be good.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Saruta

[Gubaba]

I'll get to the podcasts so. I'm generally not a fan of podcasts but with the amount of info here, these ones should be good.

You can skip Episode 5. The rest are good.

[Beltane70]

Seeing as you know how the Megumi Nakajima story worked... in some blog I've seen a reference to "Megumi Nakajima = Ranka Lee" being a thing. I wonder if it ever was anything more than fanon. Sure, another mixed lineage newbie star with a somewhat similar figure could excite fan imaginations, but were there hints from "on high" or herself? In another thread I learned that Mari Iijima came to hate being seen as "Minmay" so I wonder what the story is with the new generation

I don't think that Megumi will have the same problem that Mari had since she has had more seiyuu roles besides Ranka Lee.

[Saruta]

Well to be very honest, I was initially drawn to the Macross franchise by none other than Vocaloid Gumi.

Another newbie question. There are sometimes fandom wars between Macross and Robotech - and there is a nice summary of differences on this forum - but am I understanding correctly that the actual creators are on much better terms? Those flowers in Forbidden Elixir seem like a shout out to Robotech to me (and more importantly to afriend who i sa seasoned Robotech fan).

[azrael]

Another newbie question. There are sometimes fandom wars between Macross and Robotech - and there is a nice summary of differences on this forum - but am I understanding correctly that the actual creators are on much better terms? Those flowers in Forbidden Elixir seem like a shout out to Robotech to me (and more importantly to afriend who i sa seasoned Robotech fan).

It's probably more of a coincidence.

When you say "actual creators are on much better terms", care to elaborate?

[Saruta]

It's probably more of a coincidence.

When you say "actual creators are on much better terms", care to elaborate?

That should have been "were" (Macek is dead) and refers to a rumour I heard from the Robotech fan friend - that Kawamori and Macek did meet and it was amicable. However I could not find any corroboration on the Internet.

And some more newbie questions, mostly re original series:

- Does Macross canon anywhere actually state that Global, Claudia and any others (except, obviously, Misa) have survived the crash of Kamjin's ship into the Macross? I have seen this stated in lists of Robotech and Macross differences but is it anywhere that could somehow be caled canon?

- Is there any in-canon explanation why Misa is a First Lieutenant at the start if she was fresh out of trainng and one normally becomes Second Lieutenant on graduation? She was top of her class but would that alone be a basis for instant promotion?

- At one point Zentradi had to send a recon ship to pick up TV waves from the Macross. But at a later point, following the return of the spies, Zentradi soldiers are shown to be watching that same TV station in their own quarters, using Zentradi standard equipment (the TV set was too large to have been stolen by the spies - unless they can macronize technology?). How could this be possible? I really can't explain this change except if the Macross intentionally started to emit the signal specifically in the direction of the Zentradi fleet, which could have been a reasonable decision given the report of the escaped prisoners, but is apparently not shown?

- At what point was any kind of faster-than-light communication (as opposed to flight) developed in the Macross universe? This relates to the disappearance of SDF-2 "without a trace" - but how could there even *be* a trace if there was no way for it to send word back to Earth? One could surmise that some form of communication existed between Britai's fleet and Bodolzaa's base, and that after Britai became allied Earth scientists could

reverse engineer the equipment - but does canon (or anything close) actually say whether is happened and when?

Edited May 26, 2013 by Saruta

[Gubaba]

That should have been "were" (Macek is dead) and refers to a rumour I heard from the Robotech fan friend - that Kawamori and Macek did meet and it was amicable. However I could not find any corroboration on the Internet.

And some more newbie questions, mostly re original series:

- Does Macross canon anywhere actually state that Global, Claudia and any others (except, obviously, Misa) have survived the crash of Kamjin's ship into the Macross? I have seen this stated in lists of Robotech and Macross differences but is it anywhere that could somehow be caled canon?

- Is there any in-canon explanation why Misa is a First Lieutenant at the start if she was fresh out of trainng and one normally becomes Second Lieutenant on graduation? She was top of her class but would that alone be a basis for instant promotion?

- At one point Zentradi had to send a recon ship to pick up TV waves from the Macross. But at a later point, following the return of the spies, Zentradi soldiers are shown to be watching that same TV station in their own quarters, using Zentradi standard equipment (the TV set was too large to have been stolen by the spies - unless they can macronize technology?). How could this be possible? I really can't explain this change except if the Macross intentionally started to emit the signal specifically in the direction of the Zentradi fleet, which could have been a reasonable decision given the report of the escaped prisoners, but is apparently not shown?

- At what point was any kind of faster-than-light communication (as opposed to flight) developed in the Macross universe? This relates to the disappearance of SDF-2 "without a trace" - but how could there even *be* a trace if there was no way for it to send word back to Earth? One could surmise that some form of communication existed between Britai's fleet and Bodolzaa's base, and that after Britai became allied Earth scientists could

reverse engineer the equipment - but does canon (or anything close) actually say whether is happened and when?

Huh. Never heard that Macek and Kawamori met. I'd imagine that, if they did, though, it would be amicable.

1. Yes, they survived. Most of the info comes from the drama album "Macross 7 Docking Festival" and its liner notes. Kim also shows up in one of the Frontier novels.

2. No idea.

3. Now you're going WAY too deep for a rushed series made on a VERY tight schedule to accommodate. There's no way to answer your question.

4. No answer to this question, either.

Remember, it's a TV cartoon. It was (again) made on a VERY rushed schedule. Gaps, leaps in logic, and flat-out mistakes are par for the course.

[Saruta]

Thanks - to the point and very clear.

On a completely different note - Macross Plus is next on my list, but which one? I googled for OVA vs. movie but could not work out a clear conclusion. If this matters for the choice, what I want to know is everything about Sharon Apple. (No offence to mecha fans - it's just that "robot/AI character development" is my very long term interest, triggered by Tezuka's Phoenix 2772 back in 1993 and by Asimov before that). So while it seems the OVAs have an epic dogfight that the movie omits, it is not a decider in my case.

[Tochiro]

Thanks - to the point and very clear.

On a completely different note - Macross Plus is next on my list, but which one? I googled for OVA vs. movie but could not work out a clear conclusion. If this matters for the choice, what I want to know is everything about Sharon Apple. (No offence to mecha fans - it's just that "robot/AI character development" is my very long term interest, triggered by Tezuka's Phoenix 2772 back in 1993 and by Asimov before that). So while it seems the OVAs have an epic dogfight that the movie omits, it is not a decider in my case.

Watch both? Especially since both are included in the bluray boxset that comes out next month? Having seen the remastered movie version at the cinema recently, I can attest to the fact that it cleans up nicely :-)

[Murphy]

Frontier questions..

What was the deal with the hydra going berserk? Was it just because it was close to the fold quartz?

Richard Bilier was he bad or good? I know he wanted to connected the galaxy together through the fold quartz for good reasons, but it seemed he was allied with leon.

Also was president glass leader of all of new UN government from earth to all the emigration ships or just the commander and chief of the frontier fleet?

These question are do to my so-so subtitled bootleg copy of the series. And yes I do own the officially licensed blu-ray versions as well.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Murphy

[VF-15 Banshee]

Frontier questions..

What was the deal with the hydra going berserk? Was it just because it was close to the fold quartz?

Richard Bilier was he bad or good? I know he wanted to connected the galaxy together through the fold quartz for good reasons, but it seemed he was allied with leon.

Also was president glass leader of all of new UN government from earth to all the emigration ships or just the commander and chief of the frontier fleet?

These question are do to my so-so subtitled bootleg copy of the series. And yes I do own the officially licensed blu-ray versions as well.

1. Don't know at this time.

2. Lawful Neutral?

3. I'm given to understand he was President of the New UNG.