Macross World Podcast - feedback & comments

[Renato]

It's an "Orguss" toy from 1983, designed by Studio Nue master Kazutaka Miyatake, and manufactured by transformation engineering geniuses Takatoku (who made the Macross toys).

http://toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/takatoku2/images/orguss/orgroid140green.jpg

More info here:

http://toyboxdx.com/datafiles/data/takatoku2/orguss1.php

And here:

http://orguss.freeservers.com/toys.html

[shinobi-wan]

Thank you! (n_n)

[VF-15 Banshee]

Hey, would you guys mind terribly if I advertised your podcast on mine?

[Pterobat]

Cool stuff as always: it's lots of fun to see how the media franchise has grown and changed over the decades, as well as the sheer *breadth* of marketing for Macross.

--Macross Zero was one of those things that you enjoy while you're watching it, and then just don't have much to say about it. What I remember the most are the beautiful underwater backgrounds.

--As for myself, I really *wanted* to like Frontier, but somehow I ended up forgetting most of it. I want to rewatch it in the near future, since I really got into the movies, so I figured I'll give MF another shot soon.

--I really don't get the impression that Kawamori was deliberately trying to subvert viewer expectations with events in <i>Macross Frontier</i>, just that he happened to produce something that seemed that way. Most creators of fiction have better things to do than "troll" an audience. It's like when people assume Gurren Lagann was deliberately concieved to be an atidote to Evangelion, instead of just the creators making what they wanted to.

--I'm surprised more women prefer Ranka, because I'm a chica who prefers Sheryl and finds Ranka a little bit irritating. You could come up with reasons for either gender to prefer either character, though.

--I had absolutely no idea <i>Macross 7</i> was supposed to have a Mylene/Basara/Gamlin love triangle. I honestly did not pick up on that, especially since Basara was rocking that "shounen hero beyond sex" thing.

--When it comes to shipping, well, I just think it's aggravating if people get crazy obsessive over it, but the fact that it happens isn't surprising or weird especially the mild, "Will these characters whose relationship was a part of the official material get together or not?" version of shipping.

--Speaking for myself, my very mild problem with "Universal Bunny" was the way Sheryl's stage performance suggested a virgin/whore split with her personas, though it's probably more the character playing to the crowd rather than expressing her view of herself. I've never thought of the character as truly self-centered, just that she's in control of herself.

--The first time I started getting interested in "Wings of Farewell" when first hearing about Sheryl and Ranka's concert sequences earlier in the film. The costumes and art design looked amazing.

--I thought "Bromance" was a way of saying "these guys are close, but it's totally not gay".

--When it comes to the ending of Wings of Farewell I went with the same assumption I did at the end of the <i>Saint Seiya</i> manga: You don't *actually* know that the main characters made it through okay, but you just assume they did, based on the hints and the tone of the story, so you don't have to see everything.

--"The Musiculture" sounds like something to see; no matter what the quality it's going to be a must-see for the sheer weird novelty of it. Having a completely new story and cast also increases the draw. I wouldn't miss the Valks, and also thought it was neat that one character has the last name "Dosel", though we're probably gonig to get nothing on whether or not she's Vanessa and Rori's granddaughter.

[Tochiro]

Hey, would you guys mind terribly if I advertised your podcast on mine?

Not at all! All that the guys and I on the podcast ask is that (a) you provide information on your podcast so we can cross promote :-) and (b) that any information or quotes used or referred to from the cast are given due credit as having come from the podcast. Theres people out there who have ripped stories from us without referencing where said stories/information came from and some of on the cast have been none to happy with this, given the amount of effort everyone puts into it. Anyways, TL;DR - PM me!

Hey there Pterobat! Some great feedback, thanks!

--Macross Zero was one of those things that you enjoy while you're watching it, and then just don't have much to say about it. What I remember the most are the beautiful underwater backgrounds.

Oh, thats because you are watching it wrong. The one thing you should remember about it is Fokker.

As well as...well, you know... Fokker.

Did I mention Fokker?

--Speaking for myself, my very mild problem with "Universal Bunny" was the way Sheryl's stage performance suggested a virgin/whore split with her personas, though it's probably more the character playing to the crowd rather than expressing her view of herself. I've never thought of the character as truly self-centered, just that she's in control of herself.

I interpreted this being less to do with Sheyls personality and more of a comment on idol culture. After all, this is an industry where underage girls are often made up to look much sexier than they normally would, and yet get booted from the group the moment theres so much of a rumour of them having a boyfriend. So the virgin/whore split is very much an integral part of the industry machine that keeps the fantasy going.

[Pterobat]

Focker? Eh, I don't find Roy that interesting, really. If you want to talk manly Macross characters, I prefer Britai.

I don't know if the makers of the Frontier movie thought far enough ahead for Universal Bunny to be a commentary on the expectations of "purity" placed on idol singers. What I do figure is that it wasn't meant to show how Sheryl sees herself. She wouldn't be self-conscious enough to buy into that false division.

Edited August 30, 2012 by Pterobat

[VF5SS]

Never forget the Apple Genki.

[Tochiro]

I don't know if the makers of the Frontier movie thought far enough ahead for Universal Bunny to be a commentary on the expectations of "purity" placed on idol singers. What I do figure is that it wasn't meant to show how Sheryl sees herself. She wouldn't be self-conscious enough to buy into that false division.

Oh theres no 'thinking ahead' at all. Those expectations have been around since the first idols in the late 70s and the emergence of large groups in the 80's. They are just more public/harder to hide now. Kawamori has been a huge idol fan since they were originally commercially conceived. Theres always been a lot of commentary on the industry in Macross. Even in the Frontier movies, the way they show Ranka's rise to fame via minor promotional events through to commercials pretty much mirrors the actual process I see idols go through year after year and added a great layer of reality to Ranka as a character imo.

[Pterobat]

Okay, I forgot there was a thread for the music podcasts. Am reposting my 2000s post there, leaving the original text here.

Ranka "rising" with odd jobs I get, but with Universal Bunny, I just assumed that whoever was in charge of the sequence pulled its motif out of the "things a female performer could do" hat.

[VF-15 Banshee]

OK, I had to get this episode rushed out so the commercial for the SpeakerCast isn't my best work, so next time will be better.

http://reignofchaos.podbean.com/

[VF-15 Banshee]

Just wanted to let you guys know, you're getting a lot of free press in the Gundamn!@MAHQ podcast courtesy of me quoting your articles. Starting in episode 110.

[Tochiro]

After far too long a wait, Episode 6 is up! Hmmm... any ideas as to what we can call this ep?

http://www.macrossworld.com/3562/macross-speakerpodcast-episode-6/

And sorry again for the delay on this one - we recorded back in September but events conspired against me when I tried to get it edited quickly. A new computer and new software later and its all good! The next ep will be recorded soon so I should have it up by early Dec.

[Gubaba]

Hmmm... any ideas as to what we can call this ep?

It could be any one of the quotes from the Lemon Angel book...

[Renato]

It could be any one of the quotes from the Lemon Angel book...

"Teach me tonight"?

[EXO]

Awesome job guys! And next one you're gonna have antibiotictab? getting crowded in there? Where's Howard? Bariaburu Faita?

Gubaba whats the name of that movie again?

Also I had a bunch of those 3" cd American singles. I think I still have some just lying around in my glove box.

[Gubaba]

Gubaba whats the name of that movie again?

"White Rose Campus: And Then...Everybody Gets Raped."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0288217/

Also celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

EDIT:

Edited November 15, 2012 by Gubaba

[VF5SS]

I couldn't help but think during your clips of the Megaroad ceremony that Sho Hayami's Captain Max voice is quite similar to his Gavlet Gablae voice (L-Gaim) and Gardi (Machine Robo) voice :3

[Renato]

In the next exciting episode:

(Yes, that is a giant Fire Valkyrie in the background)

[Gubaba]

In the next exciting episode:

(Yes, that is a giant Fire Valkyrie in the background)

Thighs.

[Tochiro]

Aaaaaand....Episode 7 is UP!

http://www.macrosswo...7-bag-of-orgus/

Musicalture, FB7, Macross 30, concerts, the VF-4G... this end of year spectacular was so big that we needed an entire Firebomber-themed ROOM to record it in.

Of course, none of this answers the question of just what exactly Renato got up to....

[Gubaba]

That was fast. We need to send you back to Australia more often...

[VF5SS]

It's heartbreaking to hear Renato's voice in such dire straights ;w;

[Gubaba]

Best picture. Mostly because I'm holding the VF-11B.

[Renato]

Aaaaaand....Episode 7 is UP!

Of course, none of this answers the question of just what exactly Renato got up to....

I was trying to figure out how the anatomy works in that picture.

By the way, I took the liberty of adding to the blogpost the trailer that Antibiotictab put together for us. You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=go_OOR4c8lw

[VF-15 Banshee]

Of course, none of this answers the question of just what exactly Renato got up to....

This is starting to become a bad habit with you guys.

Edited January 7, 2013 by VF-15 Banshee

[EXO]

Just finished it. Nice that you guys got the room, I even mentioned hoping you'd do that here:

http://www.macrossworld.com/3581/macross-karaoke-rooms-in-ikebukuro/

[Pterobat]

Fun stuff as always.

I can't comment on the divide between western and eastern Macross fans when it comes to what they prefer, having not had much interaction with the latter. Personally, I'm torn on the SDFM "aftermath" episodes--no parts of them are truly necessary, but there's a value in having a story just take some time to explore things. Problem is, some parts of the aftermath episodes work, some parts don't, and they do feel VERY rushed. They also drove me to hate Hikaru, but that's no big problem.

(It's also annoying when some fans use the events from these episodes as proof that SDFM really is a vicious, ironic show that elevated its characters only to tell us love and culture are useless, y'all.)

I skipped past the EVA Q spoilers, since I haven't seen the movie yet, and what I've heard has actually got me excited again. I was neutral about the first two films, and sad to admit that fan reaction pushed me into knee-jerk dislike, but I'm hoping to be wrong this time.

I've been fascinated by the story of "The Musicalture" ever since the summaries came down. I also thought a Macross musical would be goofy and awful, and was pleasantly surprised to hear how interesting it was. And somehow the storyline doesn't strike me as being all that derivative. There are common Macross elements, yes, but it sounded to me like it all shines as a distinct production while using Macross "beats". The other Macross materials are at least as derivative, but most of them felt less...satisfying to me than this story sounds.

Unfortunately, I'll likely never know for sure if the actual performance would work for me. Alas.

[Tochiro]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, as always

We are always looking for ways to improve and refine the cast (Renato's anatomical adventures not withstanding) so its great to hear imput from everyone. Of course, if theres any sites/forums that you frequent or friends that might be interested please dont hesitate to introduce them to the cast!

EXO - oh we noticed your original post alright I think more alcohol was probably called for though. Too many of us were either sick or losing our voices.

Pterobat - The later episodes of SDFM tv are one of the few things about the original which fairly consistently separate/polarize Western and Japanese fans. As for hating Hikaru though, even as kid I always presumed he was just thinking with his head...the wrong head, unfortunately. Then again, from what I've been told by Japanese fans, there really was no team-Minmay vs team-Misa back in the day. Since most people watching it were relatively young, Misa really did come off as an 'old sourpuss' and most people preferred Minmay, despite her treatment of Hikaru. This is a big reason behind the ending (pairing) being all the more surprising to a lot of people. (Again, this is all anecdotal, so take it for what you will).

I really wish we could get a cover album out of the Musiculture at the very least....sigh.

At this stage, seeing as theres been no announcements, that seems about as likely as an official release (not the bootleg thats floating around) of Yoko Kanno's Tanabata Sonic Concert ...double sigh. :(

Moving forward with the cast, there will probably be some changes over this year as things calm down a bit. While the 30th Anniversary isnt technically over (since it really started in October, despite all the events that preceded that month, and if Banprestos toy commercials are anything to go by, we are still smack-bang in the middle of the 30th) there havent been any new events announced yet and things are winding down until the announcement of whatever the next animated incarnation of the franchise will be (with a small spike in interest at the end of this month due to Macross 30).

TL:DR - there will be less for us to report on.

We are, however, going to be doing more vox pops, more interviews, retrospectives and (finally) getting more into discussing the various entries into the series to date.

If theres any topics you would like to suggest or questions you'd like to have answered, please post them here. It may be another episode or two until we get around to them, but we will eventually and new ideas are always welcome!

Edited January 24, 2013 by Tochiro

[Gubaba]

Moving forward with the cast, there will probably be some changes over this year as things calm down a bit. While the 30th Anniversary isnt technically over (since it really started in October, despite all the events that preceded that month, and if Banprestos toy commercials are anything to go by, we are still smack-bang in the middle of the 30th) there havent been any new events announced yet and things are winding down until the announcement of whatever the next animated incarnation of the franchise will be (with a small spike in interest at the end of this month due to Macross 30).

TL:DR - there will be less for us to report on.

We are, however, going to be doing more vox pops, more interviews, retrospectives and (finally) getting more into discussing the various entries into the series to date.

If theres any topics you would like to suggest or questions you'd like to have answered, please post them here. It may be another episode or two until we get around to them, but we will eventually and new ideas are always welcome!

That said... I still think about five or six podcasts per year is a good schedule.

[VF-15 Banshee]

On The latest episode of Gundamn!@MAHQ, they did a segment on the Macross 30th Anniversary and FB7. While they didn't mention the SpeakerCast directly, they did mention the reviews you guys wrote for FB7 and gave some shout-outs to MacrossWorld. Maybe you guys could get together and form a Super Group?

http://gundamnmahq.blogspot.com/2013/01/gundamn-mahq-ep-118-apocalypse-cancelled.html

[Gubaba]

On The latest episode of Gundamn!@MAHQ, they did a segment on the Macross 30th Anniversary and FB7. While they didn't mention the SpeakerCast directly, they did mention the reviews you guys wrote for FB7 and gave some shout-outs to MacrossWorld. Maybe you guys could get together and form a Super Group?

http://gundamnmahq.b...-cancelled.html

That would require co-ordinating with different time zones... we have enough trouble getting together as it is, and we all live in the same city!

(Although, admittedly, most of that trouble is due to the fact that I work weekends and holidays, and no one else does...)

[Renato]

We are, however, going to be doing more vox pops, more interviews, retrospectives and (finally) getting more into discussing the various entries into the series to date.

If theres any topics you would like to suggest or questions you'd like to have answered, please post them here. It may be another episode or two until we get around to them, but we will eventually and new ideas are always welcome!

Having been watching these shows on Bluray recently, several aspects of them are fresh on my mind. I thus have a couple of topics worth discussing which I will be in touch with you about.

[Gubaba]

Having been watching these shows on Bluray recently, several aspects of them are fresh on my mind. I thus have a couple of topics worth discussing which I will be in touch with you about.

I WANNA HEAR!!

[Pterobat]

Pterobat - The later episodes of SDFM tv are one of the few things about the original which fairly consistently separate/polarize Western and Japanese fans. As for hating Hikaru though, even as kid I always presumed he was just thinking with his head...the wrong head, unfortunately. Then again, from what I've been told by Japanese fans, there really was no team-Minmay vs team-Misa back in the day. Since most people watching it were relatively young, Misa really did come off as an 'old sourpuss' and most people preferred Minmay, despite her treatment of Hikaru. This is a big reason behind the ending (pairing) being all the more surprising to a lot of people. (Again, this is all anecdotal, so take it for what you will).

Well, "thinking with the wrong head" isn't a justification for anything. The problem is amplified by the aftermath episodes re-opening a love triangle that, traditionally, would have been decisively solved in episode 27. The moment when HIkaru returns to the base to find Misa has such power that it's only natural to assume it would be the end of the whole mess.

Re-opening the triangle alone would agitate viewers, but Hikaru also has to act like a cad to keep stretching the love triangle out that far. While he's made bad choices before, the entire thing, once you get past a knee-jerk dislike of Hikaru for his actions, feels just a tad unnatural, like this wasn't where the series was meant to go.

Which is why I take the aftermath episodes with a huge grain of salt, while others imply that their events are perfectly in keeping with SDFM's former story, and reveal a fundamental negativity in the show's universe.

It might go back to the conventional wisdom that a happy couple means a boring story, but I don't believe that's true. Hikaru and MIsa could have remained stable and there would still be stories for the aftermath arc to tell.

[EXO]

I didn't really see it as resolved in Episode 27. In fact right before he got in his valkyrie, Hikaru professes his love to Minmay and Misa was as good as gone when she left the Macross for Earth. It was by chance that he re-entered atmosphere and picked up her signal or else she was a goner for sure. On the valkyrie when they were flying towards the SDF-1 Misa touched Hikaru's hand but as far as we knew Hikaru's heart was still pining for Minmay. I never really saw any of them as annoying as they were pretty much all experiencing first love, except for misa who pretty much given up on it since HER first love died. During the Reconstruction, the love triangle picked up where it left off but the rest of it had a different feeling. But for me it was this "what's next?" for the Macross, not for the three. I believe the some audience would have been agitated either way, some people would have that "that's it?" reaction if it finished at 27 or the different overall atmosphere of the world after the big face off with Bodolza's fleet.