Engines, weapons, navigation, communications: check. Systems all green. THAT is cleared for takeoff!

Dear Friends and Readers,

After much deliberation and hard work, THAT has now moved to our own domain! From now on, join us at www.THATanimeblog.com

We’re all looking forward to having our new site operational and having you join us there. Our own domain will allow us to have more control over the technical details of our site and better serve our readers. Please update any feeds or bookmarks you may have. This AB.net site will be staying up to redirect our readers to the new one, but all new content will be on the new site. We would like to thank the AB.net crew for the home they’ve given us since we started out and we wish them and the AB.net community the best.

Additionally, the excellent and difficult work done by those who helped set up our new site must be acknowledged. Many thanks to Crusader for securing the new address, to Kabitzin from Sea Slugs Team and our own Mabdese for their work in setting up the layout and importing files, and to mercenary computer security engineer extraordinaire Agruktos for getting down into the messy, buggy depths of such a complicated undertaking and managing to resolve our most persistent issues. The journey was long and arduous, and much more technically infuriating complicated than we first suspected, but now finally it is done. In the next few days some minor tweaks will be done to the new site, but these do not relate to the main functioning or appearance of the site. Starting tomorrow I (EO) will be remaking all the ‘premium subscriber’ logins for our friends who use them, so please be patient if you regularly use one. And please let us know if you encounter any technical problems, we’ve had so many it’s hard to believe that there isn’t one last gremlin lurking somewhere. Thank you for reading THAT, and we look forward to seeing you at our new home.

The THAT team moves our precious squid plushy and other materials over to the new site.

We are Oscar Mike! Stay frosty.

As the UN personnel begin to learn more about the alien artifact found near the island, the anti-UN forces plan to take it for themselves while increasingly strange things begin happening as the fighting comes to the island in earnest. Sara tells Shin that it’s his fault that this is happening, that the UN forces are ‘weakening the bond’ between nature and the island, and somehow this relates to the Protoculture artifacts but no one is quite sure how. Now that the generator is fixed, the islanders are becoming ever more entranced by the offerings of modernity, much to Sara’s dismay. And Mao suddenly makes her move on Shin, while his reactions indicate that he might have some sort of thing for her older sister. Ah yes, it wouldn’t be Macross without a love triangle now would it?

Shin, trying to distract Aries and Edgar by…doing a witch impression?

Loved Sara’s facepalmstaff.

Mao, NO! Oh gods, the kancho has spread to even this remote island. Maybe it was occupied by the Japanese in WWII? Though after getting a wikipedia link to make the reference, apparently this happens in South Korea and the Philippines too (Koreans and Philippinos, confirm/deny that this horror lurks in your countries as well) . You learn something new terrible everyday.

For all that Macross seems to promote the virtues of pop culture, the scenes of people greedily turning the generator on during the day to watch TV certainly weren’t portraying it as a good thing.

Kind of reminds me of Qoo. Also, is this an actual language or something made up for the show? Reminds me of Thai, but I don’t know enough about what that language looks like to say.

Edgar feels like a third wheel, but hey, at least this Shin actually deserves the girls that go after him, unlike a certain Gundam pilot of the same name *cough* Shin X Lunamaria WTF *cough*

Commercialism already existed on this island!

Right after Sara notices Shin watching her and stops singing, the rocks immediately fall to the ground, all of them seemingly having runes carved into them. When he asks how it’s possible, she just replies that he has brought a Kadun to the island and that it’s weakening the bonds on the island, though I suspect something to do with anti-gravity generators similar to those aboard the Macross. Perhaps they are part of the Birdman machine buried under the island and something is causing them to malfunction…or work as designed? Sara cautions Shin not to tell anyone what he saw, but replies that no one would believe him anyway. While she agrees and tells him that he and the other UN personnel have a Kadun attached to them that only lets them believe what they see, clearly meaning it as a negative, I for one am all for reason and science. But it’s a matter of one’s point of view, and from my point of view the Jedi are evil. Aside from this, Sara is also angry at the researchers and the UN presence on the island, thinking that they’re corrupting the people by bringing them modern standards of living. Certainly the islanders are now very eager to watch TV inside instead of being out in nature, but to be honest I think this is a bias of the writers and of people who live in advanced industrialized societies in general, that being out in nature is superior and ‘purer’. If we all lived on islands, were at the mercy of weather for our food, had no antibiotics, and never saw a TV we’d probably wax poetic about progress and technology. Soon after this conversation, Mao takes Shin by the hand to show her her ‘treasure’ a site underwater that they must dive to get to. We get a long scene about the wonders of marine life, with fish, coral reefs, an octopus, and diving birds swimming along with the two humans. Just as the two are oxygenating their lungs before the deepest part of the dive, Mao asks Shin if he likes her older sister, but before he can answer in any form he dives down. Coming to a cave opening, they stand before a Protoculture artifact with an eye that opens and follows them. Shin is so surprised that he panics and loses most of his air, and Mao kisses him both for romantic reasons and to pass air to him.

Some really bright, beautiful shots of the coral reefs not far from the islands shores as Shin and Mao swim through them.

Mao swimming along with the diving sea birds, certainly suggesting the link between her (and the people of the island) and the natural world.

I saw this in a movie once…

They recreated this scene shot for shot in Macross Frontier’s ‘Tori no Hito’ movie, the only real change being that Mao/Ranka asking Shin/Alto if he loves Sara being in a voiceover during the kiss in the movie version.

You almost can’t tell the difference.

The Mao/Ranka surprise kiss attack. Oh Ranka, I really was cheering for you at the beginning, but you had to go and betray everyone.

While the two are off on their scuba dating, the Celestial Being forces are planning on seizing the Protoculture artifact from the hangar bay of the Asuka while simultaneously sending a submarine and amphibious force to the island to secure other artifacts. Sara senses a disturbance in the Force, and the UN carrier battle group seems to have some advance warning as well, scrambling Valkyries and Ghosts shortly before the enemy VFs approach the fleet. But even with this notice the UN battle group is loses a destroyer and takes damage to the Asuka II in the attack. But just when the Old Man and his wench of a sidekick Lesser Selvaria start entering the hangar deck, what at first looks like a Destroid ‘THIS IS SPARTA!!!’s the geezer’s VF out of the bay and jumps to the deck of the carrier to fight back. Lesser Selvaria is sent to the island to reinforce her allies there, while Roy Focker in an armored VF-0 fights it out on the deck, at first looking destroyed and then purging the extra armor around the VF-0 and continuing the fight. While this was happening farther from the island, Shin picked up the alert on his radio just as Mao was trying to consolidate her romantic gain with conversation. He tells her to head towards the island when Edgar shows up in their VF-0D and floats it on the surface to pick Shin up, just as a torpedo from an anti-UN submarine heads towards them. Shin quickly scoops up Mao and gets her inside the cockpit, then takes inspiration from the seabirds he saw earlier and dives the Valkyrie into the water in pursuit. A nice and realistic touch was his firing the main cannon into the point of entry for the Valkyrie, helping to break up the surface tension that could have damaged his Valkyrie. Destroying the sub in close combat and seizing an artifact it had recovered, he sees the larger amphibious force move on the island, fighting it out with the Destroids from the UN camp.

A breakdown in traditional social order caused by rapid modernization. Though I don’t think it’s quite so bad as Sara seems to think it is, at least it hasn’t gotten that bad at this point.

AHHH now I want one, possibly two VF-0 models and an arming crew model kit!

Quite possibly the coolest shot of a Destroid evar, I really liked the grainy green light from the missile exhaust.

These Destroids featured Code Geass-style wheels at the heel of each foot for added mobility.

This is Roy’s house!

The Macross team certainly likes their external, detachable armor. They even brought it to Gundam when some of them worked on 0080.

The Birdman was all YAKK DECULTCHA!

Carrying the girl to safety in the hand of your Gerwalk-mode Valkyrie: a retrospective.

The island sees a lot of destruction as Shin delivers a traumatized Mao to Sara, then jets off to try and protect the artifact from the enemy. Meanwhile Mao is MedEvac’ed to the Asuka along with Aries and a group of UN troops and about to be given a transfusion of the blood that was leaking out of the artifact, as it matches her own blood type. But just after the helicopters leave UnterSelvaria dives down on Shin, her ammo low but her fanatical determination in full supply. After a running battle she send the VF-0 down in flames, and secures the artifact, only to have Shin steer the flaming wreck INTO HER FIGHTER! Hell yeah! Ejecting just in time, he and Edgar parachute to the ground, but find themselves confronted by their rival once more. Things are going to get…interesting.

That’s some regression. Also, Mao as prototype Ranka: loli with psychological issues due to trauma.

Indiscriminate attacks on populated areas to take out a few military units? Check. And you wonder why I call them Celestial Being.

Ah, more cool cockpit sequences. I wish Gundam did first person views like this more/at all.

Tsun tsun, tsun tsun, kuroshitai hito wa pirotto!

Oh my. If only you weren’t evil.

Final Thoughts: - As I watch more Macross, it’s becoming quite clear exactly how much influence it has had over Japanese arcade flight sim games like the Ace Combat and Airforce Delta games. Two enemies in Airforce Delta: Strike look a lot like the enemy pilots in Macross Zero, for example. And then there’s the song bringing everyone together from the end of Ace Combat 5 that was very reminiscent of the final battle scene in DYRL. Along with Area 88, Macross seems to be a huge influence over the genre.

- The original series and DYRL had elements of environmental concern to them, though in DYRL it was also tied in with an anti-nuclear message. Zero seems to put more emphasis on with the coral reef scene and the generally positive portrayal of life on Mayan Island. Which I think can potentially be kind of hard to reconcile with the franchise’s love of pop/consumer culture and the way that it argues the virtues of that culture. Depending on which level the environmentalism/nature argument is made. If it’s more about just taking notice of and valuing the natural world, the feeling I got from the original series and DYRL, then it’s fairly compatible. But Zero seems to be idealizing, at least at this point in the story, a sort of goodness/virtue of pastoral life. That living in close contact with nature and actively avoiding modern technology and culture is a better way to live. Which, excuse me if I sound cynical, seems to be only the daydreams of people who have grown up in and lived in advanced societies. It’s all too easy to forget about the myriad of very bad things that people are subject to when living outside of modern societies. Low life expectancy, easily curable diseases, living one drought or storm away from starvation, lack of communication and education, the generally oppressive nature of traditional societies towards women and anyone defying the norm, etc etc. But there exists, and has existed probably since Rousseau if not earlier, this longing for a more natural and ‘purer’ way of life that’s seen as the cure-all for the ills of modern society. It just seems like human nature to want these elusive things, even opposites to what one has. The old PC adventure game The Longest Journey commented on this nicely when you were in the magic-filled world and people wished for all kinds of modern things to solve their day to day problems, while in the futuristic world people were wishing for magic and adventures while complaining about how the world has no mystery.

- Zero’s dogfights continue to be the best Macross battles I’ve yet seen. I even went back to Frontier to refresh my memory, and they just don’t compare. Zero’s fights are just more fluid, they utilize cockpit points of view more, and they focus more on the battle itself instead of one individual machine. That is not to say that I didn’t find Frontier’s dogfights and battles gorgeous, just that I find Zero’s approach much cooler and more like the original series.

Unlike that honor these do not require a beheading…

With the passing of 2009 we thought that it was time to recognize those who showed individual competence during the course of the year. While it is the habit of many to judge series here we prefer to recognize the characters that made their shows a little bit better even as their series was weighted down by anchors that exceed the weight of Big Zam. While there are many who are worthy we decided to only bestow honors to those who gallantry we have borne witness to so while air dates may vary, they are just as deserving if not more so than some of the scum that crept forth from the dirt this year. After much deliberation and table pounding we have finalized the list for those exceptional few who made 2009 so much more bearable and outright enjoyable. These are but the first in a long list of names that have scrawled their names upon the pages of history with the blood of their enemies.

The Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross

Origins: While Yang Wen-li and Reinhard have long since passed from this world there is still a need to give due recognition to exceptional commanders who rise above their respective series and demonstrate a superior grasp of strategy, operational art, and tactics that would have both Yang and Reinhard eager to recruit them into their personal staffs. Thus was created this award in the 35th Century (1982) to honor superb commanders of formations large and small who display tactical skill and outstanding leadership in times of great crisis.

Brigadier General Katie Colasour – To put it simply Katie was in the wrong series, at the wrong time, and on the fated to lose side. Surely she deserved better than to have her plans thwarted by pixie dust and havoc physics, but at least while she had screen time it felt like it was almost Macross with Patrick trying to show his undying love for her. Unlike most of the cast she had a fully functioning mind in stark contrast to her closest rival who was getting drunk and was refusing to put out for the booze she got. Still, for winning out in the end in life Katie is here by awarded the Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross for conspicuous gallantry in the face of a plot armored foe, and for refusing to surrender in the face of unbeatable odds or worse join them in a idiotic Three Ships Alliance or something to that effect. She demonstrated competent tactical thinking despite having technical inferiority that only grew more disparate with time and managed her men well, under the most horrid of story conditions considering she was saddled with Andrei. On the behalf of mein Kaiser Reinhard-sama and The Honorable Fleet Admiral Wen-li have a wonderful honeymoon, General.

Lt. Arleen Nazon – Having been betrayed by the man who supposedly loved her Nazon was condemned as a criminal for the deed of one dirty Zeke. In her quest for revenge she turned her understrength platoon from a few mechanics to top class pilots that helped make Operation Odessa a resounding success. While often the first to be sent in as cannon fodder they adapted well under the command of Major “Giggles” Colmatta whose leadership is rather suspect. Having accepted that death was a distinct possibility she turned herself and her mild mannered mechanics into berserkers with exceptional cunning that got the better of many a Zeke. While the Zekes already had the data from her beloved RTX-440 that did not deter her in the least as she punched a hole right through Zeke lines to wreak havoc upon their artillery. For demonstrating superior leadership in leading her RTX-440 platoon under the most dire of combat conditions during Operation Odessa and having destroyed 13 Zakus,  6 Magella Attack Tanks, countless Zeke infantry, two Doms, one Gouf, and two Dabudes. Sadly this honor is a posthumous one as Arleen did not live to see the end of the war though her sacrifice and that of her unit resulted in a significant loss of Zeke heavy equipment and personnel.

Grand Duke Jouslain Tytania – The clear successor for the title of Grand Duke of the House of Tytania. Gifted diplomat, generous and kind leader to his fellows, and most dangerous enemy to his foes. He began his rise to distinction with swift political action to end the crisis caused by Ariabart’s unexpected defeat by rebels. Continuing on, he incorporated brilliant minds that were dismissed by his peers into a tight knit group that could act in all manners necessary to the conduct of politics and war. Lord Ariabart, a solid commander that was sneered at by his rivals for one unforeseeable defeat; Princess Lydia, viewed by others as merely a hostage to ensure her planet’s loyalty, but in fact a valuable social asset; and Lord Bal’ami, the son of a traitor who was held in the same contempt as his father by others was turned into a valued source of ideas and shows promise as a future commander and leader. All were brought under Lord Jouslain’s influence and protection, showing his vain and impulsive rivals that it takes a team to run an empire, not just a leader.

Oberstein Order of the Velvet Glove

Origins: Created to honor all those who work indirectly, get inside the heads of their enemies, and manipulate friends and foes alike for the greater good. These skilled men and women often go unrecognized by the nature of their work, but they are often of the highest importance to their causes, whether it be galactic empire management, yuri shipping, pursuit of True Love and Friendship, or many other worthy causes.

Tsumugi – Sometimes your own side needs a little manipulation to make the most of things, and Tsumugi used her gentle facade of an oujousama to quietly steer her friends towards The Yuri. Skillful and elegant, Tsumugi secretly worked to optimize the Light Music Club without ever betraying her intent. Innocent comments such as ‘I think that’s alright’ were used to take conversations in a definite shipping direction without suggesting Tsumugi as the initiator of such thoughts. And her ability to call upon vast resources helped bring the club together and provide them with the training-vacation time necessary to BE FRIENDLY. An outstanding manipulator and schemer if there ever was one, leading to her deserved nickname ‘the Machiavelli of Moe.’

Ayane Yano – One of the best analysists in modern shoujo intelligence, Ayane is currently leading a team that has scored several successes against Ume Kurumizawa and her war on True Love and Friendship. While Sawako is out on the front lines and Chizu itches to escalate the conflict, Yano has quietly worked behind the scenes supporting the effort. She was the first among personnel in the field to warn of the threat posed by the evil Vichy-tan, and the first to take action. Adept at gathering HUMINT, she scoured the area for both friendly and hostile witnesses to Kurumi’s actions to piece together a complete picture of her methods of attack. Her recent actions including [SPECIFICS REDACTED DUE TO SENSITIVE NATURE OF ONGOING OPERATIONS] have earned her this commendation and our gratitude.

Kana Minami – Good supervisors are just as invaluable as the higher profile field agents and analysts, and Kana Minami has demonstrated great skill in managing several covert operations. The continuing Operation Mako-Cakes has been her responsibility since its inception, and she has also overseen liaison efforts with Fujioka and Tomo as well as numerous shorter duration operations and actions during her years of service. To this day Operation Mako-cakes continues with its cover intact, despite extremely difficult situations that would have compromised Makoto’s identity many times over if it had not been for her quick thinking and intimate knowledge of those she handles.

Baron Ashura – Despite being the butt of a long string of jokes Baron Ashura nevertheless got the last laugh with a single act of subtle treachery that led to the demise of Dr. Hell and made all the efforts of the titular heroes all for naught. Baron Ashura was never the strongest and despite numerous attempts at defeating Mazinger Z he inevitably failed each and every time. He was made into a traitor to his own people by Dr. Hell but his love for Mycenae was so deep that he endured every disgrace and beating just to fool his enemies into underestimating him. He fooled the smartest woman in all of Mazinger Z into taking him in and deceived Koji into thinking that he was an ally while he waited for the time to strike back decisively. Baron Ashura not only made up for his past treachery but also brought about an invasion to avenge the loss of Mycenae when the heroes thought that they had finally triumphed. For treacherously ensuring that there will be a sequel, the person we least suspected, Baron Ashura, is hereby awarded the Velvet Glove for manipulating the heroes into destroying all that Zeus had fought and died for.

Roy Focker Cross

Origins: Following the heroic sacrifice of Roy Focker in defense of the SDF Macross on 30 November 2009, UN high command designed and began to award the Roy Focker Cross for service and sacrifice. Sometimes the cause of righteousness must be watered by the blood of brave men and women, and their supreme sacrifices are honored by this most somber of awards.

Prince Ali al-Sarshes – An ace pilot who also took the initiative in rallying forces to fight the terrorist group Celestial Being for many years, he made the ultimate sacrifice for the U.N. during the final battle of the war. He served when called in the service of several of the pre-Federation armies, both in and out of uniform, was instrumental in the destruction of 2/3 of the Gundam Throne forces, and without hesitation joined the forces of the Federation and A-LAWS when they were created. While stalking known Irish Republican Army terrorist Lyle ‘Lockon Stratos’ Dylandy, Ali al-Sarshes was killed by a chance shot, no man ever able to best him in honorable combat. Despite Celestial Being remnant claims to the contrary, his fatal wounds did not match the weapons signatures of any CB weapon used by Dylandy. He is survived by his sister Alphard al-Sarshes.

Kikiyo – A unit commander, superb markswoman, and healer for many years in the fight against Naraku, she ignored her wounds to save Miroku and take the fight to the hated Naraku despite the extreme personal risk. Waging her own personal war against the terrible foe for several years, she was the first to develop the Shikon Purification Strategy and brought others into her plan. Putting aside her rival’s lack of worthiness in both combat and love, she tirelessly worked to assist all who oppose Naraku, even when they did not understand the necessity of her methods. In the end she gave her remaining life force in the operation to purify the Shikon Jewel while Naraku was attempting to inhabit it. The war continues, but her sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Herman Yandell – The age of Zeke ascendancy was a hard one for the poor soldiers who made up the EFGF, they fought against a technically superior enemy that pushed them to their limits of endurance and courage. This long and bitter fight had caused numerous wounds on Lt. Yandell, both psychological and physical, unlike those pretty boy engineers in the Zeke wasted weapons program. Despite the personal hardships, his grief, and his endless nightmares Yandell never backed down from a fight. While the Type 61 was no match for the Zakus they faced, it did not stop Herman Yandell from taking the fight to the enemy and in his final moment of supreme triumph felled the White Ogre. Sadly his victory was cut short by a Zeke RPG team, while Yandell and his beloved Type 61 have gone into the mists of time, his name will forever remain on the honor roll of the honored dead who have gave all they had and more in the fight against the vile Zekes.

Arleen Nazon, Karppi, and Kuzuwayo – Operation Odessa was a hard fought campaign that cost many a Feddie his life to expel the hated Zeke invaders from the Earth, among them were three engineers who were betrayed and had the blame thrust upon them by a traitor they once called friend. Despite having years of work undone by a base act of treachery, and despite being relegated to becoming penal troops neither Nazon, Karppi, nor Kuzuwayo cowered in some jail cell to weep of the injustice that was inflicted upon them. Instead they sallied forth with all the courage they could muster to endure the insults and get back into the fight at a most important hour. None of them had any previous combat experience yet they rose to the challenge and met it tread first and built a fearsome reputation for getting the job done. The swathes of dead and dying Zekes was a testament to their righteous fury. But it was during their first mission with the 44th Independent Composite Brigade that they met a a tragic end, but their deaths were not in vain as they successfully annihilated an entire Zeke Battalion and their supporting heavy artillery in their last charge. Even when confronted by a traitor professing love and friendship they did not heed his lies and blew him straight to hell where all Zekes go when they die. For their tenacious efforts between the time of their sentencing to the their last charge they were granted amnesty and the Focker Cross for performing above and beyond the call of duty and making the supreme sacrifice under conditions that were harder than they needed to be.

Lieutenant Colonel Barack Ginin – The war against GN Terror cost many good men their lives, but one in particular stands out for his sins were few and his conduct noble through and through. Unlike the terrorists he did battle with, Ginin was never the one to moan every other episode about how Kataron had killed his wife in a terror attack, and maintained his composure in front of his subordinates including one very lost Louise. His loyalty was first and foremost to the men who served with him and despite Louise’s lackluster performance early on spared no effort in giving her praise when she did well and never failed to bail her out when the rookie got herself in trouble. While terrorists such as Klaus and Shirin are hailed as heroes for bombing civilians, Ginin was condemned as a criminal for merely killing members of a terrorist movement. While the quality of Ginin’s beloved Federation might have been less than that of the Federation that Yandell, MacKenzie, Nazon, Burning, Monsha, Sanders, Bate, Synapse, Adel, Amada, Joshua, and many others defended, his courage and bearing were equal. To set the record straight and to honor a man who made the supreme sacrifice so that his team might live and Katie’s operation might succeed it is with great pride and sorrow that we are to award the Focker Cross to one of the few true heroes of Gundam 00.

The skirmish between the UN and enemy VFs continues about Mayan Island as the villagers take shelter and Shin goes to find Mao. But the fighting isn’t limited to the skies above the once peaceful island as Valkyries use their gerwalk and battroid modes to get close to or on the ground. Shin and Mao barely manage to dodge a crashing VF-0, while the merciless anti-UN pilot strafes the crashed UN pilot in front of them. Seeing this brings back terrible memories of a previous massacre perpetrated by anti-UN forces in Shin’s past, and doing his best Shiro Amada impression he uses the now one armed Valkyrie to fire back at the SV-51 above. But this skirmish is only a small part of the story. Sara’s words and rituals are now seeming to align with some of the archaeological facts being discovered. The Asuka anchors near the island and pulls a large alien artifact from the waters, missing its head just as in the Mayan legend. As training for the new Valkyrie pilots is overseen by Roy in the air, a research team headed by Dr. Aries lands on the island and begins looking around. After convincing the locals to provide some blood samples, Dr. Aries has found something interesting. The islander’s cells have some odd properties and start to become abnormally active at the same time that Sara is standing naked at the island’s waterfall singing a song in French of all languages.

Roy gets into a duel with a familiar face: Ivanov, apparently an old instructor of his. Why he decided to join the dastardly forces of Celestial Being is unknown, but one thing is for certain: when Roy left he was but the learner. Now he is the master.

God of Wind? I didn’t know Talim was from Mayan.

The duel continues down into the canyons of Mayan, both combatants constantly changing forms to take advantage of the terrain and evade each other’s attacks.

The way the main gun tracks with where Roy looks is really cool, kind of like the chain gun on an AH-64 Apache.

Shin is not letting that CB scum get away with mowing down a defenseless man again, though he nearly gets Mao killed in his single-minded rage.

The enemy plane takes a hit and dives down at Shin’s nearly disabled VF-0. The pilot is some woman who looks kind of like Selvaria, but without the sense of honor or duty of the ill-fated Valkyrur. Ah, Selvaria, I miss you already *runs off to replay Valkyria Chronicles for the third time.*

She can do a Char Kick too, though fortunately for Shin the Skull Squadron was still in the area and took notice.

Roy lands after driving off the Selvaria-impostor, and seems a bit more worried about Shin and Mao than one would think from he would allow to show.

After the skirmish ends due to low fuel on the part of the enemy forces the Asuka moves into the area to raise the alien artifact found by earlier scans. Shin is brought back aboard and reunited with Edgar, who apparently survived their F-14 being shot down but had to remain in sick bay for several days due to his injuries. With their carrier destroyed, the two orphaned pilots are given a new home in Skull Squadron and its compliment of early model Valkyries. Training is arranged, but for the moment the pilots have time to relax while the scientists take a better look at the artifact. Aries has a little chat with Roy after she emerges from the artifact’s isolation dome, though we’re still left to wonder about the details of their past. All that is certain now is that the two went to college together and that Aries knew Roy back before he was as cool and self-confident as he is now. They may have been a couple once too, though Roy’s ass-grab may have just been his natural lecherousness. The next day the first round of training takes place, with Shin and Edgar in some sort of different Valkyrie model while Roy in his VF-0S acts as the aggressor. After mid-air refueling the exercise takes place and it’s not a good day for Shin. He hesitates to engage gerwalk mode to slow his descent, nearly crashes, and then gets eliminated first. And when he tried to get a shot in on Roy even after being eliminated he gets his Valkyrie tripped up in close combat by Roy and handed another defeat.

The Asuka’s battlegroup begins raising the artifact for study, something that seems to have a place in the mythology of the islanders.

Adding a little Evangelion to this Macross series.

There’s no better place to be.

Roy does not care to admit the mistakes caused by his youth.

Aries is a smooth woman, definitely has to be to be Roy’s senpai.

Really cool mid-air refueling sequence. In keeping with the real world aircraft we have S-3 Vikings refueling the Valkyries.

Not off to a good start.

Despite Shin’s objections this is a new era in combat and pilots just might find themselves having fight on the ground as well as in the air.

More training is scheduled, and surely Shin needs it, but that evening the crew relaxes by watching some sparring while the mechanics get to work fixing what Shin broke by flying his Valkyrie so brashly. Nakajima is not happy with Shin making his team pull the engines and work on them all night, but he later tells Roy that he’s happy to see a pilot that’s willing to push the design to the limit. On the hangar deck Shin enters a sparring match with a tall female Marine and gets his ass handed to him every which way. She points out his weaknesses: he doesn’t understand his opponent and keeps forgetting about his center of gravity, which are the same problems he had while piloting the Valkyrie against Roy. The latter point is an interesting training tie-in with Frontier, since the pilots-in-training use their exoskeleton suits to develop a similar awareness, one that is necessary to piloting a fighter whose center of balance can change rapidly as it switches from one form to another. Afterwards Shin is feeling pretty down, but Roy joins him and cheers him up a bit by letting him know that Nakajima isn’t as upset with him as it sounded. And instead of training the next day, Roy has a special assignment for Shin and Edgar: escort Aries’ team to the island and stand guard.

Interservice rivalry.

So much for that. If Cima Garahau and her fleet taught us anything, it’s that Marines in mecha are not to be messed with.

Shin forgot to Remember Love (for his engines.)

A pretty sweet detail.

Sara greets the UN landing party coldly, refusing to allow them in with their weapons and referring to them as Kaidun, but after they agree to stay outside of the town and lower their weapons they’re allowed to stay by the other islanders. Dr. Aries begins collecting blood samples under the pretexting of checking the islanders’ health, though with all the research going on concerning the artifact and possible alien manipulation of ancient humans and their genetic structure this is likely just a cover. Sara is extremely against collecting blood and thinks that their souls will be stolen, though everyone is convinced to give a sample when Aries offers them delicious soft drinks in return. That night the scientists return to the Asuka while Shin works on finishing his repairs to the island’s generator. Mao joins him and asks why he’s working on it again, but a promise is a promise to Shin. But just as the two are about to start it up Sara stands outside the hut glowering at them. She asks if he’s there to steal the stars from them by starting the villages’s electric lights up again, her understanding of light pollution coming from an old story passed on to her. But Shin informs her that Mao wanted the lights back, and he turns the power back on. In all honesty there’s little light pollution that can be produced by the few houses on the island, but Sara is nonetheless displeased. Out at sea, a huge anti-UN submarine is also closing in on the island, the Celestial Being SV-51s stored aboard it. We get a bit of the enemy mindset from wannabe-Selvaria, who apparently thinks that sharing technology for the good of mankind in the face of possible alien invasion is theft. She must read a lot of Ayn Rand and applied the concepts to interstellar war. The next morning on the island Shin is walking near the waterfall pool when he hears singing. Approaching he sees Sara standing naked in the pool, singing. Continuing his Shiro Amada act he stands and watches, but then notices that the plants around him are spontaneously growing and the rocks around him levitating. And back on the Asuka at the same moment, Aries cell samples start acting oddly. Unbeknownst to her the alien artifact in the isolation chamber has started bleeding or leaking some sort of red liquid in response to the song.

I don’t know Sara, that sounds a little too Hitler-esque to me.

Reason 1, superstition 0! I <3 you Aries.

A variation on ‘come to the Dark Side: we have cookies.’

One thing about Macross, it’s always been pretty positive in regards to commercialism.

A nice shot visually contrasting the two worlds that each character comes from. Sara under the natural starlight but in darkness while Shin is inside with artificial lighting repairing the generator.

As much as they deserve to die I kind of hope they live long enough to witness the arrival of the Zentradi to show them how wrong they were.

So…um…do you have to sing naked for this to work?

I hope the text that was cut off says that she showed no signs of malaria and tapeworms. Parasites are kind of not moe.

Something crazy is going on on this island.

Final Thoughts: – The dogfights continue to be amazing, especially the one between Roy and Ivanov at the beginning of the episode. The VF-0 is very cool, and even the SV-51 is looking better now that I’ve seen one that’s not in ‘rival ace’ fuchsia. Though I’m wondering what’s going on with the Valkyries that Shin and his group used since they’re definitely a different model from the VF-0 Valkyries that Skull Squadron has used so far.

- Continuing on that positive approach to commercialism thing, I’m getting the feeling that it’s a running theme in the Macross series. That seemingly insignificant commercialized things like soda and pop music are a way to bring different peoples together into a larger human culture. It worked on the Zentradi in the original series, and it seems to have a lot of influence on Mao. Frontier showed it too with the full integration of humans and Zentradi aboard the colony ships. That if a globalized (or interplanetary) monoculture is established then it will be the way to lasting peace. Which might not be unusual coming from a country as monocultural and commercial as Japan (seriously, I thought we Americans were supposed to be the commercial whores, then I lived in Japan for a year.) But even if these things seem to lack substance, they’re given purpose with how they build common ground between people who share in their consumption. And in that way I think Macross tries to show us the value of seemingly artificial and ‘pop’ cultural elements, redeeming them from being dismissed on their lack of inherent content. It’s an optimistic view, but I have to say that even with ocassional backlashes against globalization I agree that moving towards some sort of Macross-like monoculture is probably the best way forward for mankind in the long run.

There’s something inherent in being a fan that compels one to want to experience the shows you love in various forms. Watching anime is the start, but the community abounds with different ways that people delve deeper into the experience of anime and the community surrounding it. Blogging, making AMVs, cosplaying, and drawing are just a few forms that fans use to further their experience. Having recently watched and retroblogged the original SDF Macross and the ‘Macross: Do You Remember Love?’ movie, I’ve been itching to get a hold of a Valkyrie model kit and build it, both to have and to get a better understanding of the fighter and the mechanical design philosophy of the franchise. So I ordered and received a ‘VF-1S Valkyrie Super Figher’ kit a few days ago, the VF-1S with FAST Pack being my favorite mechanical design from the original AD 2009-2010 time period. Over the last three days I’ve built and painted the Valkyrie, as well as building and painting a set of same-scale ground crew and a stand/background made to look like the hangar deck of the Macross.

Day Zero: Getting inspiration

While I waited for the model kit to arrive from the store on Amazon that I bought it at I went through all the screenshots I took while retroblogging Macross and DYRL to get an idea of what I wanted to do with the model. One of the things that I loved about Macross was its attention it paid to the background features of (space)naval aviation. This included the use of elevators, specialized AWACS craft, and there were plenty of scenes on the hangar deck and bases on Earth where Valkyries were being serviced and repaired. So right after I ordered the kit I also ordered a Hasegawa 1/72 scale USAF ground crew and equipment set with the intention of setting up a hangar deck or flightline scene. As far as a Google search would tell me, there was no US Navy equipment/crew set, but the USAF one would do nicely.

The series featured several scenes where Valkyries were undergoing repairs and arming, as did DYRL even given the time constraints of a movie.

Day One: Valkyrie assembly and painting, part 1

Models as they arrived.

After listening to Animetal’s cover of the series OP several times to get in the mood (thanks to Sakura at Calamitous Intent for making me aware of this 1 minute 38 seconds of awesome), I opened the boxes and got out my painting supplies. First day I set out to do all my large area painting with spray paint for the black and white areas and my airbrush for the blue ones. However, the airbrush at first had the wrong sized hose for the propellant can. And after buying an adapter I still had tons of problems getting it to work, even though it’s nicer and has more features than the old airbrush I bought in Akiba (and I couldn’t find a can or adapter that would fit the Japanese brush here in my corner of the US.) So the blue was on hold for the day, but the rest went off without a hitch. I then started the small, hand painted stuff, which I’m a lot more used to having painted a fair amount of wargaming miniatures. The cockpit of the VF-1S was a lot of fun, there were plenty of details to paint. I even tried painting Misa on the central MFD as she would look when communicating with the pilot, though this was more of a suggestion of Misa because I’m not some insane micro-portrait painter (my camera unfortunately couldn’t get a clear image of the small cockpit details though.) Put together everything but the FAST Pack sections that day and painted the ground crew.

This image was used for inspiration for the cockpit details, though with more Misa (center MFD panel) and no Minmay.

Day Two: I have to paint what?!

Second day I still couldn’t get the airbrush to work right, so I went on to details and decals on what I had already put base colors on. And it was at this point that I realized the model kits back in the 1980’s were only for the dedicated. As I got to the engines and thrusters, I realized that some of the instructions were not making sense. And I noticed on the sprue that there were gerwalk-mode parts AND heads for different Valkyrie models (VF-1A and VF-1J) as well as others that didn’t belong. The model kit was from 1985, and I guess they wanted to cut costs by making a kit that could build any Valkyrie type, with or without FAST Pack, with series or movie decals, in fighter or gerwalk mode. And then I got to the decals. In all of the instructions there were only two places marked for decals. Guess you just have to look at the picture to figure out where the rest go. Then I got to the decals themselves: there were no decals for big, important things like the stripes on the wings! I HAD TO HAND-PAINT LONG, STRAIGHT LINES. WITH A BRUSH. I’ll admit to being a bit spoiled by the few models I have done before, more modern Gundam and real life aircraft models with every decal or sticker you need and then some, but what the hell was this? So I taped off straight lines on the wings, did my best to hope that they were of even width on each side and where they should be, beseeched sacred Misa to guide my hand, and painted them on with a broad paintbrush. I was relieved to see that they turned out alright, but wow was that nervewracking. The whole model could have looked terrible if they didn’t turn out right. The model builder of the 1980’s must have been, as men who live outside a polis, “either a beast or a god.”

Painting the wing stripes using scotch tape to mask off the edges.

End results of day two. Fire extinguisher and ground crew didn’t require blue paint so I did them by hand. Went with Millia-green hair for the female ground crew member, since post-war the UN forces surely included some miclonized Zentradi.

Day Three: FAST Pack, ground equipment, and staging.

Having given up on the airbrush until I can ask a more experienced friend of mine for help, I went out and bought blue spraypaint for the FAST Pack and conformal fuel/coolant tanks. Since the maintenance equipment in the series was also blue, I used the same color as a base for those as well. For whatever reason the blue paint took forever to dry, much longer than the white, black, and gray ones. After it dried I finished assembling, detailing, and applying decals to it: the VF-1S was done! Moving on to the ground equipment, for the time being I just assembled the M32C-10 Air Conditioner and M32-A-60A Generator Set, though I’ll move on to the others later. Assembling them was a bit shaky though, the way they’re designed to fit together is not very precise. With the models ready, they needed a home. So I went over to Construction Junction, a building materials recycling place that sells used and surplus materials to look for a tile to form the base and a piece of wood to serve as the background. Along the way I also picked out a couple interesting looking pieces of metal and wire to try and make the scene look more like the inside of the Macross. Found a perfectly colored and textured tile (the texture looked like what I’ve seen in pictures of carrier flight decks and sounded like it had a similar finish to the epoxy surface described by the DoD here) and a piece of unfinished wood of the appropriate size. Total cost: $1.45. Spraypainted the background panel, used two pieces of metal to both better secure it to the tile and to look like more ’ship interior’, and then painted on a line and an ‘03′ berth number on the tile. When all this was done, it was just a matter of positioning the models and taking pictures. Needless to say I was really excited to have my first Macross model, and pretty happy about how it turned out. There’s still some gaps on the FAST Pack boosters and nosecone of the VF-1S, but otherwise I’m quite happy with it. Next project: something from Frontier, perhaps Mikhail or Luca’s VF-25.

The tile and wood background with assorted metal and wire bits. Two more metal wires would be added later.

The finished setup. Went with yellow for most of the crew as per the series and orange-brown for the operator’s clothing (for variety), as per DYRL.

VF-1A being serviced, image for comparison.

Left side of the scene, one crewman at the generator, the miclonized Zentradi checking the front landing gear.

Topdown view.

Groundcrew member attaching hose from the air conditioning unit. I really like the hoses that came with the groundcrew kit.

Operator directing the pilot (Hikaru).

Wings extended, and I have on crewmember working on the U-shaped bend in the metal strip that I painted and put decals on to make it look like something functional.

Staged rear view of the VF-1S.

The scene’s home, right next to my mecha and sci-fi manga on one of my bookshelves. Had to put it in a central place in my apartment, hehe.

The Valkyrie now has a prime location in my nerdiest of bookshelves. Full resolution of all images is here.

The year is 2008 and the Unification Wars continue to rage between the U.N. and Anti-U.N. forces. In the face of evidence of advanced alien lifeforms in the form of the crashed ship that would one day become the SDF Macross, a movement to unite the Earth under one government begins so that humanity can be prepared for what may come. But there are many on the wrong side of history, who would rather fight to defend their petty interests even in the face of interplanetary warfare, and war has been ongoing for nearly eight years. And now, both sides are deploying a revolutionary new fighter, capable of transforming from fighter to intermediate to humanoid forms. In the middle of this conflict, Shin Kudo, a U.N. carrier fighter pilot, is shot down by one of these new aircraft and washes up on an island where the people worship strangely colored statues called ‘birdmen’. Here we are at the earliest series in the Macross saga, a prequel that predates the original series events by a year and promises to reveal much about the background of Protoculture involvement in Earth’s history, the development of the first Valkyries, and something of the past of characters, their relations, and ancestors of those aboard the future human colony ships. So here comes retroblogging project #3, venturing further into the Macross saga by starting at its chronological beginning. Veterans, newbies, and fellow newly minted fans, join me for another journey into the Macross universe!

A young Shin, as the Macross crashes to Earth on South Ataria island. The way they used a bunch of still images at for the start of the war, and the young protagonist looking out at the water as an explosion happens, reminded me a lot of the first narrative video in Ace Combat 4. Maybe they borrowed from it a little (AC4 was first by a year.)

Shin explains his motivations for becoming a pilot as the Unification Wars engulf the world.

Shin’s opening monologue is set against flashes of his F-14Kai preparing to launch.

The OVA series opens up with a mix of three (technically four) different visual styles, which if I had only read that last statement would’ve sounded like it could confuse the audience. But each served a purpose in that they differentiated the kinds of events going on. The first thing we see is the regular animation/CG style, a photograph of Shin’s family stuck to the controls in the cockpit of his F-14 Tomcat. The personal experiences of his youth flash back as he narrates them, in simpler lines and soft, watercolor tones and still images. And many of the images of the wars use real photographs to give a gritty edge to them. As opening sequences go, it certainly had style and worked to set the tone for Shin’s view of events. The way that a lot of still images were used also helped to  give a sense of how Shin wandered through events hurried and confused, with only his desire to bring an end to it as his guiding principle.

After launching, Shin’s flight encounters a flight of enemy MiG-29 Fulcrums somewhere over the Pacific. The Tomcats have a slight numerical advantage, but the MiGs certainly have the edge in maneuverability (unless the fictitious ’Kai’ version of the F-14 somehow greatly improved the big fighter’s dogfighting abilities.) However Shin is a masterful pilot, and manages to outfly the more agile MiGs, downing all three and earning enough kills to add to his previous 8 and a half and make him a double ace. But just as his flight reenters formation, they’re attacked out of nowhere by a new model fighter, painted a bright purple and looking something like a Sukhoi Su-37 Flanker. But in the dogfight it changes forms, revealing itself as a Veritech fighter, downing Shin’s comrades. For a moment Shin almost manages to outfly the vastly superior craft, but even his skills are not enough when it surprises him by entering humanoid form and downing his Tomcat.

I remain impressed with Macross’s use of cockpit points of view, though I still think the original series did them the best.

Shin’s RIO, Edgar LaSalle. Related to Claudia LaSalle?

Thus begins (at least in in-universe chronology) the tradition of the nemesis in the bright purple, Flanker-esque fighter.

It’s a testament to Shin’s skill that he managed to get this close to getting a shot at the enemy Veritech.

Seems like Zeon is supplying the Anti-U.N. forces, judging from the head and machine gun. Along with Celestial Being, the three form the mecha Axis of Evil and must be dealt with preemptively.

With a gasp, Shin wakes up in some kind of wooden building built above water, with a sharpened wooden stick sitting next to him. He quickly remembers ejecting from his F-14, but he has no idea where he is or what happened to Edgar. Taking the sharpened stick he leaves the house, and eventually finds an old man and demands to know where he is. Then, out of the edge of the jungle, a woman appears with several people behind her. She’s not happy with his presence on the island, fearing that he can summon something called a Kaifun Kadun to her home. Things are confrontational until her younger sister intervenes on behalf of Shin and calms things down. He finds out that Edgar did not survive their fighter being shot down, and wreckage of his carrier washes up on shore, and in his sorrow the younger sister, Mao Nome, convinces her older sister, Sara, to let him stay. Elsewhere, on the U.N. carrier Asuka II, a briefing is being given concerning the island, an ancient alien artifact having been located in its vicinity. As Doctor Aries concludes her briefing and leaves, she runs into her old friend and ours, Roy Focker.

Shin awakes, apparently cared for by the locals while he was unconscious.

Funnier in hindsight.

Hi there Hare, I mean, Mao.

From humbles beginnings on an undeveloped island in the Pacific, the Nome bloodline would one day produce a descendant that would use her song to save a fleet and send thousands of followers of the Great Traitor, Ranka Lee, to the depths of despair at her final victory!

The Protoculture just leaves all kinds of trash lying around, doesn’t it?

Since it’s the second Asuka, I had assumed the first was an actual aircraft carrier, but after checking it seems Japan never had a CV by that name.

Roy Focker: the legend begins.

Marooned on the island with no communication available, Shin recovers and starts learning more about the place and its customs from Mao. The residents believe that the island, Mayan, was the place where the birdmen came down from the sky, turned the ‘fishmen’ into humans, and are still worshiped. Sara is their priestess, and interprets the winds and seas to determine what is to come. The sharpened stick that Shin used is apparently a symbol used for declaring one’s affection, in effect a love letter. Shin has a good laugh after he’s informed of this, having previously threatened Sara and the old man with a love letter, and he and Mao are both pleasantly surprised to see him laughing for once. Though why a stick was left next to him while he was unconscious is uncertain, since it would be a little quick for someone on the island to declare their love for him when he hadn’t yet said a word to anyone. During that time Shin also notices a communications antenna, though he is informed that the generator is broken and anyone who knew how to fix it left for the war. To repay Mao for her kindness he gets to work on fixing it, the system being his only way of contacting the U.N. forces as well. Back aboard the Asuka, Roy speaks to engineer Nakajima about new fighters that have arrived: the U.N.’s own Veritech fighters. Incorporating the most advanced systems available including a particle/energy reinforced armor system, the ability to transform, and the latest weapons, they are top of the line, however were rushed to the front without their intended reactor engines, instead replaced by highly tuned, fuel guzzling standard type engines. Soon, Roy’s team will make its first sortie, intending to intercept a patrol of enemy Veritech fighters.

Ehh, I’m not so sure about this place.

The ’secret midnight date’ is not very secret if everyone on the island knows that the sticks mean. Also, this item-based courtship reminds me a bit of the blue feather in the Harvest Moon games. Were love so easy…

The insight into the technical aspects of the Valkyrie predecessors was really cool, though my biggest question is how did the anti-U.N. forces get their hands on the same technology.

Engineer Nakajima, possibly a reference to the Nakajima Aircraft Company that produced, among others, the ‘Kate’ torpedo bomber. It wouldn’t be the first time a WWII aircraft reference was made in anime (Kai Shiden from the original Gundam.)

On the island Shin finds Sara carving the love letter sticks underneath one of the houses, and starts teasing her about having so many, first for having received so many, then switching to implying that she wanted to give out a bunch of them. And switching attacks yet again, he goes on to suggest that she’s making them to sell for a profit, as if she wasn’t tsun-tsun towards him enough! Though after he sits down and starts carving one, the two have a non-confrontational conversation for the first time as she explains to him how to carve one using the wind and sea as inspiration. But just as things are going well she cries out and seems to have a vision of both U.N. forces bringing fighting to the island and of something that looks like one of the birdmen statues flying over the island and bombing it. And not moments after this vision ends it part of it comes to pass. Roy’s flight of VF prototypes swoops in over the island in pursuit of their targets. The combat is a fierce back-and-forth, but Roy eventually proves the worth of the prototype he pilots and downs his first enemy VF. On the ground Shin runs off to bring Mao to safety while Sara goes to move the townspeople out of harm’s way, a prophecy of destruction spoken to herself as she watches the fighting.

Living on this island must suck if what you do for fun is carve sharpened sticks. No wonder Mao wants no part of its traditions.

Roy earns his daredevil reputation early on, this time nearly crashing into the ground as he chases an enemy fighter.

The new HUD has a nice way of displaying depth with those curving altitude indicators.

The new, all-digital instrument panel is a nice improvement as well. With all the complicated, multipurpose aspects of a transforming fighter I’m sure you’d need something that you can change on the fly.

Prototype Valkyrie in humanoid form for the first time. The transformation sequence was very cool, it even halfway convinced me that the way that the location of the cockpit changing could really work. Almost. The CG for the mecha is most impressive too, I think I like the style even  more than what was used in Frontier.

Just as in Sara’s vision, Roy downs and enemy over the island before jetting off to help out his teammates.

Where have I heard similar phrases to this before?

Final Thoughts: - Even with the greater historical detail in Do You Remember Love there was still a lot unanswered about the recent and distant past. Which is why I’m glad that both are being dealt with in Macross Zero, even if not everything is being explained at the moment.

- The CG is just beautiful, and the dogfights are very fluid and nicely done. The regular animation is very nice too, and as mentioned the use of various visual styles in the opening scene was very effective at establishing the mood and character of Shin.

- I’m having an interesting experience having watched Frontier first, then the original series and DYRL. Details, people, events, and technologies from the most recent series are starting to make more sense now. The pieces are starting to fall into place for me, and it’s a fun way to watch things so far. It almost feels like I’m someone from the Frontier time period, learning about history. And I love history, real and in fictitious universes.

The dream that will come true someday
(Becomes) a mere unheard whisper
That is lost within the light  shone by the night
Soon enough, her eyes will open  if it is fate
At least  yes, only now…

So with this year about to conclude it is worth mentioning what a glorious year of Yuri it was and how it was a decent year for a few select heterosexual couples. While there are cretins who chafe about the lack of quality series their numbers are few and they are stupid for having such narrow tastes. It gloriously began with Mariaholic with Kanako concocting glorious fantasies of a Yuri world and ruined Shizu for marriage though her final victory was thwarted by a most dangerous and skilled trap. Despite the lack of Best End for Kanako I do hope that one day she will mature into a powerful master of the Yuri and claim the yuri harem that her loli angel had prepared for her. Sadly it was also a winter of despair as the hateful Saji and those CB terrorists brought ruin upon Soma and Louise and forced them into tyrannous hetero pairings with loser animu males. Skip Beat! had Kyoko confess her undying love for Moko despite persistent speculation that Kyoko has even a drop of affection for Shotaro.

Spring brought K-On with Mugi-chan giving Ritsu ample opportunity to claim Mio and ruin her for marriage. But the best was yet to come as summer introduced us to a paragon of Yuri Virtue in the form of Alphardonee-sama . Even now her prowess has yet to be matched and she remains one of the more unforgettable heroines that have wielded the Yuri. Such was he grace that she has become the Gold Standard against which all heroines will be measured by. Riding along Alphard onee-sama’s side was the redoubtable Liang Qi whose yuri love for Alphard was truely great though sadly it was not to be reciprocated fully. However the union of Alphard and Liang Qi produced a glorious daughter they named Kuroko who inherited many of their best traits and combat prowess. While not as powerful or great Marin and Kanon were a delightful pair whose yuri love was sadly unconsummated because of silly rules and Kanon being bi. Also of note was the yuri baiting series Kampfer which I found to be a riot for it delivered consistent yuri despite the presence of a male whose loyalty would have been most praiseworthy had he not been so misguided. There was also Aoi Hana, Saki, Taishou Yakyuu Musume, and Sasameki but we didn’t cover them nearly as much this year though I might manage considering the horrid lack of yuri this winter. So comrades let us toast to this glorious year that will be long remembered and possibly sorely missed as 2010 reaches every corner of the globe.

Calawain’s- Traps, Nopan, and an Unstable Teleporting Lesbian

I’m a rather devout fan of yuri, giving every show with it at least a shot, and wow, there were a glut of shows with yuri content in them in 2009. One of the most anticipated yuri titles in awhile was Sasameki Koto, which was a decent enough adaptation. I found that Kazama’s seiyuu and character were pretty weak and heavy on the emo, but Murasame’s voice was perfect, and I felt that they really nailed her deadpan side as well as the delusional one. Also, can’t forget the awesomeness that was Akemiya the trap, above. They also managed to insert a heap of humor throughout, and didn’t get bogged down in Aoi Hana-like melodrama.

Railgun managed to definitely snag the best comedy yuri title of the year, with the impassioned Kuroko wholeheartedly stealing the show with her antics of Biribiri love and abuse. I came for the Biribiri, but stayed for the Kuroko. Now if only they could come up with a plot that isn’t total trash. Oh, and ditch the other two “protagonists,” Uiharu and Saten, what a glut of boredom those two manage to inspire.

By far the best yuri title of the year in my mind is Saki, whose yuri antics (among other things) I covered previously. The show featured a rather large collection of yuri pairings, and everyone had their favorite (shamefully, I’ll take the often overexposed Saki and Nodotits). What was fascinating is that even though people had their favorites, there was rarely any hate for other pairings, just an appreciation for the deliciousness of it all. My image folder for Saki is filled with more than just two characters thanks to /a/. What began, ostensibly, as a show about mahjong certainly ended up being about yuri and a lack of panties. Saying that Saki is about mahjong is kind of like saying FLCL is about robots and aliens, right?

ExecutiveOtaku’s ‘The Sound and the Yuri’

While I do not worship at the Temple of Yuri as my comrade Crusader does (i.e. I don’t specifically enjoy yuri just for the yuri), this past year has delivered a number of great shows that had high yuri content. Maria Holic was a great comedy. Evil trap roommate, Kanako’s angel song, nearly Hosaka-level daydreams, oh-so-SHAFT animation and humor elements, and that great ending song/animation. Maria Holic was definitely in my favorite comedies of the year, probably second after the newest Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and it had plenty of competition this year. Plus it had the amazing Matsurika, deadpan abusive maid commentator extraordinaire. K-On, while not explicitly yuri, definitely brought the lulz with it’s yuri undertones in several scenes. Tsumugi quickly became my favorite for her elegance and feigned ignorance while she secretly shipped her friend together. Behind those oddly cute eyebrows lurks a sharp and devious intelligence.

Moving on to action, Canaan was not my favorite show ever, but it had some great moments in it. Alphard was an amazing antagonist, at times a master of frontal assault, at others a deliciously cunning trickster. Backed up by her crazy, obsessive, failed yuri-love Liang Qi (GET SOME GET SOME), it made for some great action scenes and was a decent if not amazing show. Finally, on to more dramatic things, Aoi Hana, which I’m still working on finishing, brought us some lovely yuri romance and equally lovely visual style. As my love for Honey and Clover and Kimi ni Todoke shows, I’m a sucker for those watercolor landscape and location shots, and Aoi Hana knew just where to hook me by setting the story in Kamakura, one of my favorite places I’ve ever been to. Despite a little too much of the waterworks early on, I’m looking forward to a satisfying ending to what is so far a very nice yuri love story.

Additionally, all these series had some pretty good music. K-On centered around it, giving viewers a lot to listen to. Maria Holic’s wonderful ‘Kimi ni Mune Kyun (Kyun!)‘ ending theme was catchy and nicely executed in 16-bit style, both visually and in its audio.  Aoi Hana’s OP, Aoi Hana by Kukikodan,  started off as slow and kind of sad, but moved to a more upbeat tone, and seeing Akira and Fumi dancing around together was both cute and beautifully animated. Canaan had quite the badass OP right from the first electric guitar notes, Mind as Judgement. And that countdown featuring all the main characters was one of my favorite elements in an OP this year.

Crusader’s The Fighter, The Dreamer, and The Lover

While it was a glorious year overall I have to make special mention for Mariaholic, Canaan, and Railgun. I have never wavered in advocating love between otome as the state of animu males is generally lacking, but Mariaholic brought a good number of glorious Kanako fantasies that just SMASHED REALITY INTO ATOMS IN THE NAME OF SHINING ZEUS while poor Kanako never had a night of forever and ever with the harem that was rightfully hers it was most fun to bear witness to her flights of fancy. Having now ruined Shizu for marriage I hope that Kanako will become the mistress of yuri that we all know that she is capable of being. Alphard onee-sama simply out shone every yuri heroine of the year as she is indeed an heir of Chikane’s legacy as Alphard is indeed an ojou-sama from a distinguished family that has been continued for a thousand years, skilled in both literary and military arts, with wit and beauty, the intensity of summer, the grace of autumn, the pride of winter, and the gentleness of spring. Such is her greatness that she can outfight most of the boys that marred this season, save perhaps Prince Ali himself (it’d be a draw really since they come from the same school of CQC) and of course ALMIGHTY ZEUS (really I’d like to see someone other than Hades try, could use another instance of AWESOME TYPE ROCKET PUNCH). Alphard consummated her yuri love with Canaan producing a daughter maned Misaki who inherited the latter’s super powers and she also raised a wondrous daughter named Kuroko with Liang Qi. Thoughtful, loving, and mighty Alphard was everything that any one should aspire to be, sure she made a few mistakes, but at least she strove to correct them while liberating Canaan Mk II from the shadow of Siam. Final mention goes to Kuroko whose love of her onee-sama is almost as intense as her mother Liang Qi’s and whose martial prowess makes Alphard smile with pride. All in all it was a good year with many heroines worthy of praise, a year like this might not come again for quite some time. For the fans of yuri at least for this year anime was worth watching despite the cries of decline from the hordes of hetero harem animu infidels. So IN THE NAME OF SHINING ZEUS HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Alphard Onee-sama was most willing to pull punches when it came to women.

Poor Liang Qi did not live to see Kuroko grow up and find yuri love.

Kanako is equivalent to an Ez8 for she will marry Aina.

Also Kanako is part of the 8th Yuri Team.

I approve of public displays of Yuri Affection, religious and cultural considerations be damned!

Best Customs declaration EVAR.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas holiday, and after my week off (and the site undergoing work), it’s time for the Macross movie, Do You Remember Love. In it the series has been altered (in ways that change the story and aren’t canon) and shortened into movie format. The familiar characters and mecha have gotten a pretty impressive visual makeover too, even by today’s standards. There’s only so much you can pack into the short span of a movie, but even so DYRL was a lot of fun to watch. While I enjoyed the series much more because it included more background, character development, battles and the post-war situation, DYRL was definitely enhanced my viewing of the series as well as being sweet, sweet mecha eyecandy. Some parts of the story were very different, and some things changed a lot. For one, I actually liked DYRL Minmay through almost the entire film. Shocking, I know. Many things are different, but at it’s core it’s still the same Macross, so let’s remember love and take a look at the SDF Macross movie adaptation. Warning: this was a two hour long movie with a lot packed into that time, so there are a lot of images in this post.

Additionally, I’ve followed through on the idea I had back at near the start of blogging the series about making a Macross Meal. So after the recap/commentary on the movie, a short feature showing my culinary tribute to Macross. HAVE SOME PINEAPPLE SALAD!!!

Ugh, those are some ugly Zentradi. Have to say, I DID NOT WANT the messy, cancerous, deformed organic look for them and their ships.

The Zentradi aren’t the only ones to get a visual re-do. The Macross and it’s Valkyries are now redone in the hyper-detailed style that was popular in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Eventually I liked it, but at first it was quite a shock and hard to adjust to.

As the movie opens, Minmay is making her debut before a huge crowd onboard the Macross.

While Roy, Hikaru, Max, and Kakizaki are out on patrol in their Super Valkyries. I liked how they showed them using their smaller thrusters to change orientation.

While the cinematography is not as interesting or innovative as in the series, the movie does do a lot of cool point-of-view cockpit shots.

Max showing off right from the start.

The movie starts off with Britai and Exedol on the bridge of their command ship, speculating about what could be onboard the Macross that’s giving their forces so much trouble. Cut to the Macross where life is going on as normal for the population inside. Minmay is making her debut, but given the crowd that’s jammed into the huge stadium, she’s already much more of a superstar than she was in the series. As it has been told to me by the elder Macross fans, she’s more like a predecessor to Sheryl Nome at this point, and she acts that way too. More confident, more forward, and less arbitrary and confused than her series self. Outside Skull Squadron is on patrol and is directed towards a group of enemy battlepods inside Saturn’s system of moons. Misa calls out their location, while the four Valkyries head out, fire off a barrage of missiles, and then engage the remaining enemies. In one of many nods to the original series, they even throw in Kakizaki calling Max a genius during the fight, despite his last name or the term never being mentioned otherwise. They quickly deal with the battlepods, only to find out that they were a distraction as a Zentradi capital ship defolds and begins attacking the Macross. As the main battle commences, a few Zentradi manage to get inside the Macross and Hikaru disobeys orders and follows them in. The three enemies are dealt with, but as the Macross undergoes transformation and deals with battle damage, Hikaru spots Minmay falling down the length of the ship. Pursuing her, he manages to grab her, only to crash his Valkyrie right into the isolated engine compartment.

The Destroids get their due in the sweet new animation, and my favorite Valkyrie returns for a few shots, the Armored Valkyrie. It seems to be used only for defense, which is wise because while it has a lot of firepower, it’s probably not very maneuverable.

Hikaru disobeys Misa’s order and chases the three enemies inside. But from this confrontational beginning, great things arise.

Three Zentradi battlepods entering the Macross. Travelling down the tunnel like this and having it open to the ’sky’ of the interior was definitely a nod to the opening scene of the original Gundam.

The first YAKK DECULCCHA! I finally understand! In the movie version, the Zentradi are even more horrified and puzzled by men and women living together, because instead of just being segregated they’re at war with each other.

The classic ‘girl falling caught by Valkyrie’ scene.

Stuck inside the engine section of the ship, Hikaru and Minmay are in a similar situation to that in the series, only much more fun, lighthearted, and NOT CRAZY. Minmay is actually really likable from the get-go, her and Hikaru enjoy their time in the mostly zero-g environment and things are going pretty well. Hikaru is really shy around the pop idol he just rescued, but Minmay takes to him pretty quickly. They scavenge for food, fulfill their Coca-Cola product placement obligations, talk, and wait for someone to find them. Eventually Hikaru asks Minmay about whether Kaifun is her boyfriend, since their on-screen romance seemed so real to him, but she tells him it’s all show. And to demonstrate she starts telling Hikaru that she loves him, and eventually he either plays along or suddenly expresses his feelings, Minmay purposefully leaving him in doubt as she kisses him. The ‘just acting’ setup was definitely a Sheryl-like move, and it was both funny and odd to see Hikaru so flustered by it and Minmay so comfortable being that forward. Just as they’re kissing one of the walls opens up and a bunch of reporters have come to photograph Minmay now that she’s been found. Minmay and Hikaru are all over the tabloids afterwards, leaving Misa furious at one of her pilots making the front page in such a manner. The members of Skull Squadron are disappointed in Hikaru only for the fact that he didn’t do more with Minmay while they were trapped for a few days. Well, except for Max who actually did sound disappointed in him for starting a scandal.

Space Tuna shows another nod to the original series and those who watched it, though there was no shot of them cooking the head over a campfire. The can of soda rocketing off into the distance was a neat idea, but likely a lot messier in real life.

The famous improvised shower is back too, though this time the viewer is the one peeking in, not Hikaru.

DYRL Minmay: trolling for love.

Conduct unbecoming an officer. Misa does not approve.

Skull Squadron in their new digs. I’m loving Roy’s Titans-esque dark blue with red trim flightsuit, but I’m not so keen on the Dragon Ball Z shoulders design, especially the larger ones on the spacesuits.

Woah, Roy, woah. Your question is a little TMI.

The bridge bunnies are back! Sharing the latest gossip about Minmay and Hikaru, and teasing Shammy. Always. Though I think they looked a little better in the series.

Definitely a ‘nobody home inside’ face. Don’t worry, I still love you Shammy, even if you’re a little dense.

Later on in the evening Roy, Claudia, and Misa are having some drinks when Hikaru shows up to turn in a report. Roy insists that he stay for a drink, and even when Misa gets uncomfortable having the pilot who just caused her a bunch of problems there, he makes both of them sit down. Then he starts lecturing the both of them to be more feminine and masculine, respectively, though in the stereotyped, not-so-progressive kind of feminine/masculine (hello 1980’s Japan!). But it seems to work for him, as he demonstrates by starting to make out with Claudia in front of the two. Hikaru is spared further embarrassment when a phone-robot arrives with a call for him. He claims that a family member is sick and runs off, but in fact it was Minmay who called. They meet in a park, where a not very well disguised Minmay asks Hikaru to go out on the town for the night. One of the places they visit has holographic projectors that allow those inside to literally jump into different outfits and costumes, culminating in a moment where the two are dressed for a wedding, another reference to the original series, though in a much more lighthearted sense. After their date, Minmay says that she’d love to go outside and see some of the universe outside the ship, and Hikaru obliges her by taking out a trainer Valkyrie (without permission) and giving her a ride around the rings of Saturn. Misa and Kaifun eventually track them down in a shuttle, but before they can return home a ground of Zentradi show up intent on capturing a human for questioning. Roy shows up, drunk, to assist them, but even he’s not enough and after diving through a ship’s hatch in pursuit he ends up captured along with Hikaru, Minmay, Misa, and Kaifun.

Don’t change, Misa.

My thoughts exactly Claudia.

Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to stop ‘making culture’ inside the club.

DYRL Hikaru is apparently an idol otaku.

Very similar to Minmay’s (CRAZY) fantasy from an early episode of the series.

Making the two seater Valkyrie a trainer makes more sense than the arbitrary seating arrangements in the series.

I’m here to rescue….oh.

Inside the ship they are questioned by Britai and Exedol, who are still shocked at the concept of men and women cooperating. Misa correctly surmises that the two genders are actively hostile to each other among the Zentradi, and when their captors demand a kiss they are further shocked. Kaifun and Minmay have a short, awkward kiss, before the Zentradi get spooked and have the group taken to different cells. But as Misa, Hikaru, and Roy are being taken to their cell, an attack led by Millia rattles the ship and allows the three to escape. They find their way to the hangar, and are almost caught except that Roy tells Hikaru to kiss Misa and shock them into retreat. At first Hikaru is intent on rescuing Minmay and Kaifun, but the attack makes that increasingly difficult. Finally Roy pays the ultimate price buying them time to escape, catching a Qeadaluun Rae in his Valkyrie’s arms and shooting into it, but also into himself. Just as Hikaru and Misa’s Valkyrie is close to Minmay and Kaifun’s cell, the ships starts folding and the two in the cell are left behind while the VF-1 gets tossed back to the devastated Earth.

The Zentradi certainly brought in a good haul.

I’m not really so fond of the men and women fighting each other approach in DYRL. I though the separation was a better idea, with the Supervision Army and whatever else might be lurking out there as the Zentradi’s main enemies.

Awkward kiss is awkward. Also, I’m not sure if not enough Kaifun to hate is a good or bad thing.

Sound advice, even if it got Hikaru slapped.

Elsewhere Millia is making short work of the defending male Zentradi.

Not quite as GAR as in the series, but he had a good run given his short time in the movie. Nice Kamjin cameo as the pilot who he takes with him.

At first Hikaru and Misa don’t know what planet they’re on when they defold, and they wander a cratered desert until they come upon the wreck of the Prometheus after Misa takes momentary control of the VF-1 and crashes it rather than sit and wait as Hikaru wanted.  After raiding it for what canned food remains, Misa has Hikaru fly around to various places looking for any survivors, but they find none. Hikaru is a bit of a jerk for a moment when he sarcastically suggests going all over the world when it’s clear that nothing remains, but he chills out pretty quickly as the two find a place to set up a tent. At night the two talk, and Misa confesses that she feels powerless in her situation ever since the Earth was effectively destroyed. Both of them take some comfort from talking with the other, but Misa is momentarily shocked to see Hikaru’s handkerchief is signed by Minmay. Still, both of them manage to get themselves together a bit and get some sleep.

More cool cockpit shots, this time panning across the ruined landscape.

Ugh, I don’t blame her for refusing to eat it at first. Hikaru mentions that it’s safe to eat since it’s been through a radiation neutralizer. This was the first point that I started to see the undercurrent of anti-nuclear messages in the movie. The series never mentioned any radiation from the Zentradi weapons. Personally, I think stuff like this is kind of preachy since it wasn’t an integral part of the material, but I’ll let it slide since the movie was made during the last decade of the Cold War when nuclear weapons were still a probable threat.

Though of less consequence than the scarf in the series, Minmay’s name on something may as well be the Mark of the Beast.

The next day Hikaru and Misa are out scouting around when they notice an odd tower sticking out of the ocean. Landing on it, they find inside an ancient-looking set of computer consoles, designed for miclones. The computer starts relaying a message to them, and Misa knows enough of the Zentradi language to figure out some of what it’s saying. Apparently it was part of a colony ship that came to Earth and built a city thousands of years ago. But before she can get more answers it diverts its remaining power to raising the city. From out of the water come a huge city, built by the Protoculture. While exploring the city Misa gets a little crazy and starts playing house with the plates and cups left in one of the ruined homes. It’s very odd, but then she snaps out of it and starts crying, but is comforted by Hikaru and the two kiss. To be honest, as much as I prefer Misa to Minmay in personality, both in the series and DYRL, the way the relationship between Misa and Hikaru started felt lacking to me. If I had only ever seen the movie, I might have felt that it didn’t make sense for them to get so close without much in the way of relationship development. Some time later, in the morning, they hear a rumbling and find the Macross descending on the city. Once they’re back aboard, they make their report to Capt. Global, and inform Claudia about Roy. While I understand the writer/director’s reasons for it, I did miss Claudia in the movie and this is one of the few scenes that she’s in.

That’s a lot of time, something which, if canon, I hope is expanded upon in later series.

I need no reason to include more Misa images!

What a sight to come home to! If only it wasn’t caused by a momentary lapse in sanity.

Cute, but kind of lacked for development leading up to it. Still, MISA FOREVER!!!

Misa coming out of their shelter while zipping up her shirt? Bow chicka wow wow! Hikaru, you ladykiller you.

The battle-worn Macross descends on the ruined city. Wonder if the writers were trying to work in the Atlantis myth into the Macross universe.

EO’s ‘Daaawwww of the week movie.’

Global didn’t have much screentime in the movie version, but there was this cool camera angle when Misa and Hikaru were giving their report.

Even with few lines, Claudia managed to have presence in DYRL.

There isn’t much time to rest back onboard the Macross though. A female Zentradi cruiser defolds near the ship and launches battlepods, prompting the Macross to launch its own fightercraft. Skull Squadron leads the way for the humans, with Millia in command of the opposing forces. Kakizaki gets shot down in the opening moments of the fight, while Max engages in an amazing bit of ace combat against Millia, fighting her in the air and chasing her back to her mothership, continuing the fight as a brutal, close quarters slugfest. HELL YEAH! This is exactly the kind of epic fighter/mecha duel I was hoping for in the series. While Max had his share of great battles, none were really all that satisfying to me. This, on the other hand, was just what I was looking for. After pursuing Millia into the ship it folds as a male Zentradi fleet approaches, huge fortress in tow. The male Zentradi ask to start peace negotiations, though this is just a ruse to try and complete an old Protoculture song for use against the female Zentradi.

Another cool cockpit shot. They may not have been as creative as the series was visually, but they certainly did a good job making you feel like you were there inside a Valkyrie.

Poor guy, taken out by a stray shot, though not all deaths are glorious.

What a fight! The constantly turning and anticipating each other’s moves in the air, then the desperate close quarters fighting inside the ship, it was perfect!

Max’s first face to face meeting with his future wife, as the two emerge from their battered mecha after their duel.

The Genshiken Team makes an appearance, though bald this time.

Yes, series Minmay would know all about saying things she doesn’t mean…only to regret it later.

Now that the male Zentradi fleet is feigning peace with the Macross, Minmay and Kaifun are released back to their home. A reunion ceremony is held for her, and Hikaru and Misa are the special guests. She had apparently requested to see them after they were separated during the fold, but it turns into something other than what she expected. In the meanwhile Misa and Hikaru have become a couple, and despite past feelings Hikaru now turns towards Misa when Minmay hugs him. It’s a big shock to her, though I have to compliment DYRL Hikaru for not wavering once he made up his mind. Later on, Hikaru is visited by Minmay when he was just about to take down his Minmay poster (again, it’s a nice touch referencing all these series elements), and she hugs him from behind while he’s pouring coffee, just in time for Misa to come in having translated the lyrics for the old Protoculture song. There’s a moment that would have resulted in several episodes of confusion and hurt feelings had this been the series, but Hikaru quickly explains the misunderstanding to Misa. Minmay is understandably heartbroken to finally confront Hikaru’s feelings, and runs off. When Hikaru and Misa are alone, he explains to her that he knew as soon as he got back to the Macross and saw Minmay’s videos playing that he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, not Minmay. He more or less proposes to her, and she starts crying True Tears of happiness before embracing him. The series had to stretch the conflict out, but I really liked the quick, clear resolution to the love triangle in DYRL. It felt more real to me, and both Hikaru telling Misa how he felt and her reaction were sweet in a believable way.

The thing is, I actually feel bad for Minmay in DYRL. My allegiance to Misa is forever, but Minmay is so much more likable and a much better person in the movie version.

You put up a much better effort in DYRL, but even that pales before the power of Misa.

Misa with a surprised, but somewhat K-ON looking facial expression.

You gave it your best shot Minmay.

Though I prefer the series in most respects, DYRL really did this scene well. It also helps that it was late enough in the movie that I didn’t have to worry about Hikaru getting wishy-washy unlike the last few episodes of the series.

As before, happiness is quickly interrupted as a female Zentradi fleet with its own fortress defolds in Earth orbit and the male Zentradi decide to engage them and the Macross since the Song of Ultimate Power is still incomplete. All Valkyries are scrambled, but Hikaru must first get the lyrics to Minmay so the Zentradi can LISTEN TO HER SONG and allow the Macross to carry the day. With the battle raging outside, Hikaru runs as fast as he can with the lyrics, finding Minmay at a bench near an observation window, a place they had previously spent time together. She’s still distraught and doesn’t want to sing something translated by her victorious rival, though Hikaru tries to convince her otherwise. She does descend, briefly, into something more like series Minmay or, dare I speak the Great Traitor’s name, Ranka Lee. She starts saying that the fighting has nothing to do with her and wishes that everyone but her and Hikaru would die. So Hikaru gives her a Bright Slap to shake her of such disgustingly selfish thoughts and after recovering she comes to her senses and resolves to sing. If it were just DYRL Minmay, I’d feel bad for her put acknowledge the necessity of it during a moment of imminent danger. But knowing what Minmay was like in the series made The Superdimensional Slap enjoyable.

Girl pilot running with toast in mouth.

Female Zentradi main force, possibly reinforced by Zeon aces.

I would put the mushroom clouds up to just the size of the impacts, but given the other hints at ‘nukes are bad’ in the movie I think this was in line with the writer or director’s message. Man, I’m glad I was only alive for the last few years of the Cold War. Except for where they intersect terrorism, the threat of nuclear weapons seems almost fictional now.

So you can live to mope about it?

The world should just break, right Minmay? Wish Mirai would have gotten slapped too, oh wait, something worse and karmic happened to her!

Thank you online animated gif maker!

Post-return to sanity, Minmay decides to sing that famous song for the first time in centuries.

The fight moves to Earth orbit as the two fleets slug it out and the Macross gets caught in the middle. Bodollza even fires his fortress’ main cannon through his own fleet to attack his enemies, killing Laplamiz and destroying her fortress. But the tide turns when Minmay starts singing, with Britai the first to move to the defense of Protoculture culture. More ships join the Macross in attacking the remaining fortress, some beaching themselves on its exterior to fire point blank at it. Even Millia joins the attack, with Max in another Queadluun Rae beside her, apparently macronized to be able to pilot the craft. Both sides are taking heavy damage, but the Macross and its allied fleet presses onwards and loses no momentum as it advances. Luckily for them, the fortress’ main canon was only able to fire once due to damage it had taken earlier.

The Macross, with its main cannon disabled, heads towards the remaining fortress. Not quite the ‘last flight of the SDF Macross’ from the series, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Minmay at her finest.

Still not liking that deformed look for some of the Zentradi, but Britai remains as cool as ever.

Love and teamwork!

Pretty sweet reflection shot as Hikaru suppresses the fortress’ external defenses.

Minmay continues singing ‘Ai Oboetemasu ka’ as the preparations are completed for the final strike. Hikaru launches in a specially equipped Super Valkyrie for the heart of the fortress: Bodollza, who is hardwired directly into it. Hikaru makes a high speed run for the interior of the structure, dodging enemy fire along the way. In the central chamber, he appears before the huge screen showing Minmay’s singing, in one of those definitively Macross moments. I could definitely see the echoes of it in the last episode of Frontier, now that I’ve seen the original. Bodollza and the fortress meet a quick end once Hikaru gets to the central chamber, and as the fortress starts disintegrating Hikaru returns to the Macross, the humans and allied Zentradi victorious. On the bridge, Minmay finishes her singing and exchanges some knowing glances and nods with Misa. The bridge bunnies immediately start taking a deserved break, and Claudia asks Misa about the song. Apparently it was just an ordinary love song to the Protoculture, but its power was clearly shown, and the power of song in the Macross universe is reinforced by the last shots in the movie, of Minmay on stage preparing to sing.

I liked how they contrasted the similar shot at the beginning where the two were arguing, to this shot right as Hikaru leaves for the final mission.

There were some neat visuals near the end here, like this one showing the pilot and the singer working together.

Another cool one, this one rapidly alternating between the two characters before finally centering on Hikaru during his attack run.

Combination of boom headshot and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

War’s over, time for a nap.

Another war has come to a close. Both (at least in the movie) were worthy, but there can be only one!

In the Macross universe, songs aren’t just songs.

Final Thoughts: – What struck me the most about changes in the movie was in how the love triangle was done. Minmay was actually a likable person and didn’t act so indecisive and selfish, apart from one moment. And Misa seemed to not have been given enough time to show the audience why she should have won, just that she was also a nice, likable person. It almost seemed like the writers felt bad for making Minmay so easy to hate in the original series and wanted to rewrite her to make her a sympathetic character.

- The visual style was really great in some ways, though really not my style in others. The very detailed mecha and human characters were very nice to look at. But the mutated organic style for the Zentradi (apart from Millia) and their ships was not a good choice in my view. While I know that that was a popular style/design theme in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, they’re Zentradi not Supermutants! If the Protoculture was so good at genetic engineering they could have made it so that such abnormalities didn’t occur.

- Lots of nods to the original series was definitely welcome for someone who has watched it. The poster, the tuna, Kakizaki calling Max a genius, I really appreciated all those little bit of detail.

- All in all, it was a fun movie, and I enjoyed it as part of the Macross experience. I prefer the series by far, but DYRL did a few things even better. Max’s duel with Millia and Hikaru’s confession of his feelings to Misa were superbly done.

Special: The Macross Meal – Dishes from or inspired by Macross

Some time ago, when I was still early on in my viewing and blogging of Macross, I though about eventually making a Macross Meal to celebrate the end of the series given the amount of significant foods. Supplied with a list of popular Nyan Nyan dishes listed in My Fair Minmay by Yot-chan, I set out to make a multi-course meal worthy of the series. So here’s six dishes from or inspired by the show. Recipes can be provided upon request, just email me at executiveotaku AT yahoo DOT com. Since the Nyan Nyan dishes are Chinese style food, which I have little experience with, I had fun trying out some new things. Some of it wasn’t too different from Japanese food (indeed, Nyan Nyan is a very Japanese-style Chinese restaurant), so I used what I know from that kind of cooking as a base.

The meal (all but one dish that I forgot to put on the table before the eating started.)

Tuna sushi, for the giant frozen, floating Space Tuna. Bought this one, I don’t trust myself enough with raw stuff.

As per My Fair Minmay, Shooting Star Pork Fried Rice. Pretty much regular pork fried rice, but with a shooting  star of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce on top.

Another My Fair Minmay listed dish, Dynamite Ramen. I couldn’t think of anything that looked like a stick of dynamite and would work with ramen, so I made it extra spicy to earn the name. Toppings were fried beef (pork would work too), enoki mushrooms, and chopped scallions. Primary spices were garlic, ground cayenne pepper, goma rayu (hot sesame chili oil), and a little Sriracha sauce.

The final Nyan Nyan dish that I made, the Five Ingredient Parfait (though technically I have nine if you count the toppings, I just counted the layers.) From the bottom layer up I had: crushed chocolate cookies, vanilla ice cream, blueberries, more vanilla ice cream, lingonberries, and strawberry ice cream. Then topped it with a few strawberries, a cookie straw, a little dark chocolate syrup, and a chocolate covered cherry.

Kakizaki’s last meal, teppanyaki Pepper Lunch-style sirloin steak. Ever since seeing Kakizaki’s last meal before his tragic death, I’ve been on something of a personal quest to replicate the Pepper Lunch meals that I loved so much when I lived in Tokyo. I went out and bought the cast iron pan and began looking for ways to recreate the honey brown sauce and their distinct blend of pepper. Eventually I managed to get it right. I used two kinds of pepper on the meat and vegetables, and for the sauce I mixed worchester sauce, honey, and a little bit of soy sauce.

Speaking of tragic, I saved the best for last: the infamous Pineapple Salad! Very easy to make, and you can add whatever kind of fruit you want to it. Drizzle some honey over top if you want it extra sweet. Just don’t let your significant other make it for you, especially if you’re a pilot.

He thought someone was making fun of his weight...

With the balance of power shifting with the new era of peace it seems the Thieves that stole the bald lady have been using them gold bricks they also nabbed to get high positions in the local police. The Boone family is out hunting escapees so that they can’t finger them in court since their corrupt union with the cops has come to an end. Chirico finds himself with three aspiring managers for the battling circuit, its good to see that Chirico is already finding employment rather than going into a breadline or causing trouble. Unfortunately the Boone Family has Chirico as the last person on their hit list. Despite being out numbered Chirico and his new pals fix up a Scopedog for to face the Boone Family, and while Vanilla lacked faith the Scopedog made a glorious slaughter of biker malcontents though the police showed up for some crime fightan. The battle was brief but plenty of criminal scum were killed though the Police helicopters actually contributed a lot to the burning corpse count. Despite having minimal damage the heat seemed to be a greater hazard than in most mecha with Chrico getting roasted alive in the inferno, thankfully Rochina sends a team to put out the fires. Gotho seems to be rather surprised though since Uoodo doesn’t have a fire department, but makes no further inquiries. i really like how despite the fact that Chirico took no damage that he still felt the heat from the fires around him, it’s rare to see that even with no damage there are other ways of killing the pilot. I confess I am loving this gritty feel, even if Chirico is super human this is still very much real robot and has a more hard sci-fi feel to it than most.

Of the three new people in his life, Gotho the oldest seems to have a glimmer of wisdom when he laments how during the war they gave kids guns and only gave them skills relating to killing and now that there is peace they cut loose all the veterans to fend for themselves. I like how they are making a point to discuss the problems of the post war from time to time as Chirico is 18 and has only ever known fighting, but at least now he has an underground sport to participate in. Sadly this sport is pretty much gladiatorial combat though not every fight ends up with someone dead. I think it really says something when the spectators get all excited when one of the stands gets blown to pieces. Chirico really seems to have trouble making friends it seems the only guy who has come close so far was Carson from Roots of Ambition, though perhaps now he can have a friend in Coccona, Gotho, or Vanilla. Being poor and all with unemployment through the roof I can’t really fault them for worrying about money. Gotho seems to be ahead of the curve as he sees some inate talent in Chirico but has doubts that Chirico can take on the established VOTOMS jockeys. Chirico’s instincts seem to have sharpened enough for him to be able to detect that the he was going to fight Conin and not his original opponent. I am surprised though that even these veterans still cling to thier old rank structure and actually defer to Conin despite the fact that none of them are in the military any more. Conin put up a good fight but in the end Chirico only received a glancing blow while Coning got a BIG BANG PUNCH to the face. I have to say that it was much more satisfying than if it had been a projectile kill. Also it seems that the Bald Lady has a local name as well, but I am not sure what the Phantom Lady’s role is in all this given how she has only been rolling around in an armored limo through fire fights. I guess we shall see in good time though.

Oh ho, dealing in arms are we?

That side car could use an MG-34...

Chirico has no need for a drunk lady with Billy Baggage to tell him how to plan an operation.

I like how Chirico can do maintenance on his own machine.

...

Scopedog seems to own insolent biker gangs pretty well...

Man Rochina seems to have all the bases covered...

Even if they are just firemen they still look pretty badass.

Seems Uoodo doesn't even have a fire department.

Man the old dude is pretty wise even if he has a reputation for fleecing people.

LOL you have no idea Gotho...

The Bastard Conin.

I still have no idea how he picks out Scopedogs.

Covering her baldness I see...

Chirico finally repaid Conin for his SUGOI leadership.

Meet the vile traitors of the series, thank goodness none of them are bishie.

So with a little down time due to lack of training M1151s that the Army was willing to let us use I decided to start retroblogging Armored Trooper Votoms after having seen Roots of Ambition and Pailsen Files. I hope to blog it in chronological order instead of order of release just to see how it pans out as a whole. With the end of the 100 Year War at hand and the huge expenditure of men and machines at the end of Pailsen Files the war comes to a negotiated end, but there seems to be a few malcontents who are keen on making it big with peace on the horizon. The stealing of gold I could understand but I wonder what was special about that bald lady, though I have been spoiled as to what Chirico is I am sure that what Bald Lady is will provide enough of a mystery.  So far it seems the thieves are the being set up to be the primary antagonists with Captian Rochina playing a sort of Javert in his pursuit of Chirico. So far with Rochina he seems to pursuing the Bald Lady and the thieves through Chirico rather than simply wanting to beat the information out of him. I have to give Rochina credit for rebounding from his grand fuck up of letting Chirico escape right off the bat. I wonder how long Rochina is going to play guardian angel for Chirico, but I suppose that for now Chirico has a very efficient protector during his stay in Uoodo.

Speaking of Uoodo It is pretty much hell on earth as IKnight had described I am sure ExecutiveOtaku would have delighted in seeing a post war scenario where domestic issues come to a head when the crooks and crooked cops have to deal with the fact that it is harder to hide their crimes when the war is over. Uoodo has acid rain, biker gangs, street vendors who sell interesting sources of protien, and cops who are all in on the cut from the biker gangs. I like how that its very 1980s in that bikers are the cancer that is killing society, it reminds me of GI Joe when Zartan was rolling with a biker gang, but I digress. So far Chirico shows how much of an unnatural survivor he is by wiping out a platoon of guards, though to be fair many of them were caught completely by surprise and Chirico is a Red Shoulder after all… So far the action is plenty good and I like how Chirico is not completely useless out side of his Scopedog but at the same time is only killing off 2-3 guys at a time at most and not whole platoons like these newfangled mecha pilots. I did have a laugh or two when the Boone Family showed up, man they were some hurt ass fat mother fuckers and I could not help but cheer when Chirico turned them into a bloody mess. Despite Chirico being super human I like how he does come close to death but is saved from it by Rochina and his sniper teams. I hope that they continue to show that while Chirico is super human that he is still a mere mortal and needs someone to save his ass from time to time. Also his Unnatural Survivor ability doesn’t tangibly help him in combat, it just makes him insanely lucky like Patrick Colasour though piloting skills and personalities differ greatly. I wonder if the head of the Boone Family was a nod to LOGH since those robes reminded me of the Terraism Cult. All in all I am pretty pumped to be continuing to watch this show, it might not be as pretty and grand as Pailsen Files right now, but I like the post war scenario they have built up here. If nothing else it sure beats “everything ends at peace” theme that is more common these days, hopefully they will make good on showing how the post war period can be just as shitty as the war which preceded it if not worse.

Damn team killers…

Seems Purple Scopedogs lose out to Green Scopedogs, who in turn lose to Green Scopedogs with Red Shoulders…

Chirico smelled something rotten from the start, making him smarter than most of these n00bs who pilot Gundams.

I wonder if Chirico is going to pwn his ass later.

I guess they were keen on getting CASH FOR GOLD.

AHHHHHHH RUN FOR THE HILLS THAT BALD MAN HAS BOSOMS! WHAT HAS SCIENCE DONE?!

Man what a mess.

Chirico only lied because he was too embarrassed to admit he likes bald women.

Best part it was that it was a suppository.

OH SHI- its the Earth Cult from LOGH…

LOL putting your money where your mouth is, did he have a jijirium grill to go with that?

BOOM, headshot…

Nothing surpasses the bond between Chirico and his Scopedog.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, and I’m going to miss this series that I’ve enjoyed and come to love over the past four months or so. There was so much to enjoy in the 36 episodes, from the aerial combat to the love triangle, to the memories of those lost and the little technical touches in the background. In these last episodes we see the conclusion of the Kanjin Insurgency and of the love triangle between Misa, Hikaru, and Minmay, as well as hints of what is to come in the future of the Terrans (both human and Zentradi.) So here’s to the original Super Dimensional Fortress Macross! Following the regular recap I’ll be sending off what has become one of my favorite series with a massive image/commentary spam of my favorite moments from all the episodes. It’s my long, long goodbye to a series I’ve had tons of fun with. Thank you to everyone who’s watched along with me or remembered a favorite series alongside my posts, from the old veterans to the relative Macross newbies like myself.

A Quick Announcement: I will be out of town next Wednesday, but the week after that I will watch and blog ‘Macross: Do You Remember Love?’ and attempt to make the Macross Meal that I mentioned once way back in an earlier post to accompany it. As for future retroblogging, my plans are this: while I would love to do the entirety of the Macross series as retroblogging posts, I don’t want it to monopolize all my blogging of old series so I won’t go on and do Macross 7. However, after DYRL I will be blogging Macross Zero and Macross Plus since those are both shorter, and because I feel a responsibility to try and help my fellow mecha fans through this Winter of Our Discontent (more like year, but anyway…) I plan on watching the remaining series in the Macross saga in in-universe chronological order, so after I watch/blog those I will move on to Macross 7. Maybe I’ll make one post every few episodes or something like that, but I plan to blog a non-Macross series after the OVAs. I’m open to suggestions on what that future series should be, if you have a recommendation.

Cooking moe done right.

There can be only one!

He remembers what he should be doing, yet fails anyway.

No, it’s not.

Hikaru and Misa have a date planned, suggested by Hikaru, to go to the forest area park and have a picnic when Minmay calls Hikaru out of the blue. She wants him to come right away to see her in Highlander City, and Hikaru reluctantly agrees to go as Minmay prods him to forsake his promise to meet up with Misa. Naturally I raged at his continued spinelessness, but I calmed myself, resolute in the belief that my OTP, possessing righteousness and True Love, would eventually win the day. Nothing like trolling your audience close to the last episode, right Kawamori? RIGHT?! Once Hikaru flies out to the city he meets a disguised Minmay and the two head to a café. They talk for a while, but then Kaifun comes in, apparently sober now, and says that work for Minmay has suddenly come up and forces her to leave, though not before she gives him an extra long scarf as a gift, intending him to share it with her when it’s worn. Misa, meanwhile, is still waiting at an outdoor café for Hikaru, that indecisive son of a…

The sideline commentary continues, and this guy takes a different, but still wrong approach. You can’t win at their teasing game, same as you don’t fight the US in straight up battle and expect to win.

Everybody in the café gettin tipsy (everybody in the café getting tipsy).

Kaifun’s douchebaggery is useful, for once.

Timing man, timing. Use this line a little later in the story after they’re a confirmed couple.

Hikaru starts driving back to the airport when he finds a UN truck blocking the road. Apparently there has been a Zentradi attack at the airport, and despite the soldier’s protests Hikaru drives straight for the scene. Once there, he talks to the local forces and manages to get a Destroid for himself, leading the counterattack. Tear gas is fired into the Zentradi forces while their battlepods are disabled and the unarmored troops knocked out with fists and rifle butts. Once the incident is under control, Hikaru races back to Macross City, now in full guilt-mode for abandoning his promise with Misa. As he should be.

Making a mess of things again, though Hikaru managed to prevent his plane from being destroyed.

Hikaru cobbled together a team from the local defense forces to put an end to things, with only a few Destroids and one wayward Valkyrie.

The infamous Destroid Spank attack.

They need some giant-sized cuffs.

You’re pushing your luck with me too, Hikaru.

After arriving back and running to meet Misa, who is still waiting, Hikaru gets back and apologizes, and Misa in her nearly limitless forgiveness accepts the apology. But I did say nearly limitless, because when they’re walking together and sharing the scarf that Minmay intended for herself, a booby trap is discovered. Much as the Supervision Army booby trapped the Macross when it fell to Earth, Minmay has added a diabolical feature to the scarf: her and Hikaru’s initials embroidered into the middle of the scarf with a heart between them. Misa is rightly pissed and leaves Hikaru to stand in the falling snow, hopefully reflecting on his actions. It’s a classic mistake in romance fiction, really, trying to use the gift or object from one love interest with another. Meanwhile Minmay is about to perform a concert, but when she gets on stage she won’t sing, even as the crowd tries to cheer her up by chanting. The concert cancelled, Minmay sits on the edge of the water when Kaifun comes over and has one of I think two moments of decency in the entire series. He questions what she’s singing for and tells her that she still doesn’t care about other people’s feelings. Even he’s had enough of her in her present state, and says that he’s going to leave, at least for now.

And it would’ve been if you had just ditched that scarf.

Ah, so that’s the scarf that Der Langrisser wanted to strangle Hikaru with.

Just not in her anymore.

Minmay needs some tough love if she’s ever going to get herself together again.

Sorry Kaifun, going out on a high note in no way undoes all the BS you’ve caused.

While everyone in more northern climes is preparing for Christmas, Kamjin and his forces are preparing for their own sort of celebrations, repairing a crashed Zentradi gunboat somewhere in near Jaburo (seriously, what a homage/reference to the original Gundam, there was even the lingering shots of the wildlife.) The Genshiken Team have moved onto a more appropriate, if less profitable, job selling model kits, and on their way home they spot Minmay sitting on a swing in a park alone. They try to say hello, but she runs off, turning up later at Hikaru’s door. Even if he wasn’t so indecisive lately, he can’t be blamed for inviting her inside given how cold, snow covered, and obviously distraught she is. There they have something warm to drink while she warms up, but it bodes ill for the future.

Maybe it’s a Gaw?

Their perfect job.

These were two really nice shots, I do love the falling snow background. Also note the contrast in the colors worn. Coincidence? I think not!

It’s already bothering me.

The bridge bunnies, and Misa? How do I get invited to this party?

Christmas Eve is not all carols and celebrations though. Kamjin needs components for the engine of his ship and has found out where they’re being stored. He personally leads several ships to find and seize the parts, and adding some strategy to his usual ‘guns blazing’ way of doing things, the UN team going out to intercept them is ambushed by Laplamiz’s forces who were waiting in the wreckage of a crashed ship. Millia and Max are leading the effort and engage in aerial combat with the Queadluuns, Millia and her old CO recognizing each other in the middle of it all. Eventually Kamjin finds the parts, and to prevent his forces from being pursued he orders the detonation of several incendiary bombs that were prepositioned in the city, forcing Hikaru and the others to return and help with firefighting and evacuations.

I’m not sure how any of those insurgents managed to survive a fight with Max AND Millia fighting against them.

I wish they had done more with Laplamiz and Millia in this scene apart from just the quick recognition of each other.

YES! Make the pineapple salad of your love, for its end is at hand!

The Apsalus?

Damn Kamjin and his micloned supporters. Large areas of the city ended up being destroyed by the fires he started.

Even through all of this, the residents of the city managed to keep their spirits up through Christmas Eve night. Carolers and then masses of people began singing Christmas carols, and friends and families still spent the night together in relative calm and happiness. Minmay ambushes Hikaru this night too, preparing dinner and cake for the two at his home. By the time he returns its all ready, and he falls for her ploy, even responding to her moving in for a kiss. Unacceptable!

I NEED a Macross Christmas ornament!

Still together as the oddest couples in this show.

Cuteness.

I can’t stand it, I know she planned it!

WWHHHHYYYYYYY!?

The next day Misa is standing, looking out at the city and despairing over having overheard Minmay asking Hikaru if she could stay at his place when once again Claudia, Savior of True Love appears before her and consoles her. Also helping to turn the day around for Misa is Captain Global calling her in to offer her command of a ship that will be built as the first of many to take humanity to the stars. With the Zentradi and the Supervision Army still out there, Earth cannot be the only place where humanity exists. Even though she had been contemplating leaving the military since she is having a hard time seeing Hikaru all the time, this changes her mind. On her way home she stops at Hikaru’s and makes a confession covering pretty much everything in the love triangle. She tells Minmay that she likes her songs, and while she can’t contribute to culture like Minmay, she can at least protect it. And then she comes out and tells Hikaru that she loves him before she leaves, and Hikaru starts to chase after her even with Minmay shouting at him not to go.

Claudia will not let this outrage stand! And ‘steal’ is the correct word.

I request assignment to this ship.

“Earth is the cradle of mankind, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.

He needed it spelled out for him.

Can’t stop the love Minmay!

Just as this happens Kamjin’s repaired ship finishes sneaking its way into Macross City and launches a barrage of missiles. With explosions going on all around them, Hikaru runs after Misa with Minmay chasing him and begging him to go with her to the shelters. At this point Hikaru seems to finally shake off the remnants of his on-again-off-again thing for Minmay amid the reality of the situation and realizes that when things get real and infatuation fades, Misa is the one he really wants by his side. That she’s the one who he shares his ideals and way of thinking with, and that she’s the one who will be there for him. The two make their way to their stations, and not long after that Kamjin’s ship fires its main cannon at the Macross, scoring a direct, but not crippling, hit. Capt. Global orders the bridge crew back to the old bridge and orders the Macross up for one last flight in defense of the city.

The moment of truth.

Hikaru leaves Minmay for the good, though he tells her that she’s never alone if she has her music.

Nice, realistic aerial shot from Hikaru’s VF-1S. .

“These are the old days, the bad days, the all-or-nothing days. They’re back!”

The Macross rises once more to defend humanity and its Zentradi allies! In one of the most badass scenes possibly ever the bridge crew reunites with their Captain on the bridge of the old ship and prepares to launch. The Valkyrie squadrons too are doing their part, with Hikaru making a daring strafing run on the enemy ship. All the while the opening theme plays in the background. Words can not adequately describe the pure win of this scene. I had to turn my speakers way up and watch it twice myself.

The gang’s back together.

HELL YEAH!

Makura no sora wo tsuranuite…

MAKUROSU! MAKUROSU!!!

The main cannon is then fired after the last Valkyries get out of the line of fire, but it’s not a direct, head-on hit. The ship survives intact enough to continue heading towards the Macross, with Kamjin and Laplamiz dead set on ramming it. The two have a surprisingly touching last few moments together, at first promising each other to survive and ‘make culture’ afterwards, though knowing that they’re on a one way trip. It’s probably the best way for things to have ended for the two of them, so completely unable to adapt to a peaceful life. While they killed a lot of people and caused a lot of problems, I can’t help but feel impressed with the purity and dignity of the manner in which they went out. Their ship doesn’t hit the Macross in the center like they had hoped, but their ship takes a good portion of the upper right part of the ship out before it crashes to the ground. Kamjin and Laplamiz, you were bastards, but I still tip my hat to you.

The last word of the Macross.

Almost enough.

Going out like a badass.

As deserved as it was, it’s still kind of noble and sad.

With the threat eliminated, Hikaru lands and meets Misa and as Minmay approaches we’re given closure on the love triangle. Hikaru has chosen Misa definitively by this point, and Minmay makes her future intentions clear: she’s going to move to a city somewhere far from him to try and rediscover why she sings and for whose sake. Misa offers to take her with them when the first colony ship departs for the Earth, so that her songs can be heard wherever humanity goes, and the two shake hands and reconcile their differences. Minmay gives Hikaru a goodbye kiss on the cheek, and walks away singing, leaving my OTP victorious the happy couple to start their lives together. Minmay goes out with class and determination to make her own future, and I respect that.

Someone to come back to.

A wise decision, especially considering what happened to Minmay when she lost sight of her goals.

Misa, gracious in victory.

And thus ends one of the greatest rivalries of all time.

I’ll allow it.

SUPER DIMENSIONAL DDAAAAWWWWW!

What a satisfying ending to such a great show! I’m at a loss for words to describe how much I enjoyed this.

This verse has ended. The Macross completed its final mission, its last fiery breath securing the future of all Terrans. Many were the conflicts ended on that day. And thus did Minmay return to her passion and Hikaru and Misa begin their lives together. Let the next verse begin.

Final Thoughts: – What a ride! Macross now takes its place with a select few science fiction anime in my list of favorites. As much of a Gundam fan as I am, it was a much better viewing than the original Gundam series, only falling behind it in one or two areas. While I wouldn’t say that I’m a convert to Macross over Gundam, this show is definitely on par with my favorite Gundam series (0083 and 08^th MS Team.)

- I enjoyed the almost contradictory featuring of the idea of returning to past times in the last episodes. Minmay used the idea to try and push Hikaru into leaving the military and attempting to recapture their early days, even after so much has changed. And the theme is used differently by Misa and the other members of the Macross crew in their one last fight at the controls of the Macross. In both it was a simultaneous remembrance of what was good about the past and the futility of trying to go back to how things were. In the latter case it was acknowledged, the crew knew the Macross wouldn’t stay in the air long and stoically fought their last fight, while with Minmay it was a delusional and unrealistic attempt to revive and maintain past qualities. With the final fight of the Macross (and the idea of the last, exhausting fight in general) it’s almost a celebration of the temporary nature of reviving the past.

- My gripes about the love triangle being stretched out a few too many episodes after it probably should have been resolved, it did have a very satisfying and complete ending to it. And oh yeah: both of my favorite couples got together in the end!

- MISA INVICTUS!

- It’s interesting to see two different approaches to the technology and mechanical design between this and the original Gundam. While the level of technological detail in later Gundams certainly beats that in this series, it’s too early for me to say that one does it better than the other because I have yet to watch everything between the original series and Frontier. But Macross definitely took a more holistic approach to its technology and equipment. The Macross operated like an aircraft carrier with shuttles and radar planes in addition to its compliment of Valkyrie fighters and Destroid ground units. There was more attention paid to the ground crew and maintenance areas as well. What the original Gundam does have over Macross is the attention to mechanical detail and the explanation thereof. These things might have occurred in the background of Macross, but in Gundam things like the magnetic coating upgrade and discussion of mass production plans were told to the audience.

- Despite the series being shortened and then lengthened during its run, there were very few throw away episodes. Only two, if I remember correctly, actually felt non-relevant. Everything else fit the story and was enjoyable to watch.

- Thank you again to everyone who had read these posts and to those who have commented. Having other people go through the show with me had made it that much more enjoyable, and the comments were interesting, entertaining, and exercised excellent spoiler discipline. Thank you one and all!

SDF Macross: Favorite Moments and Shots Image-spam

Hanging out with lecherous Roy.

Hikaru’s first flight.

Misa, master of teasing from the start.

Fish heads, fish heads.

Heading off to the ambush in the ring zone.

Misa and Hikaru after the Mars Base skirmish. Simply amazing, even if the animation is old.

The new recruits.

The Armored Valkyrie, the sexiest Valkyrie without a FAST pack.

The start of Minmay’s career.

Indeed.

Max throwing Britai out into space. Probably his most badass fight.

Britai and his wrench to the head move.

The Zentradi are introduced to culture: Misa and Hikaru’s first kiss.

Showing that she cares. This moment went a  long way towards making Hikaru realize that she cares about him, and for Misa to be able to admit to caring.

The beginning of great things for her and her target.

Roy downing another enemy craft while going right into the DANGER ZONE.

A man of many talents, and GAR right till the end.

On that day a great man was lost to all, and most importantly to Claudia.

The misfortunes of war struck down veteran and rookie alike.

The Omni-Directional Barrier overload explosion above Ontario.

Returning to base after losing Kakizaki and the city below. Something about the lighting and colors just communicates the feeling of emptiness even out of context.

Another moment of win for my OTP.

My favorite of Minmay’s songs, being sung for the first time.

Memories of better times for Claudia. Though she spent her time afterwards making sure that Misa and Hikaru wouldn’t repeat the mistakes that caused her and Roy to only come together near the end.

A smart enemy is an interesting enemy.

Hikaru in berserker mode after seeing Kaifun and Minmay together after the reversed Daedalus Attack.

A great use of a visual portrayal of past events as they’re being recounted by Misa.

My favorite sequence from the series, concluding a great scene. Visually, narratively, emotionally, and thematically it was among the best I’ve ever seen.

The game of love.

Claudia speaks the truth.

Max, smooth mofo that he is, turns a fight to the death into a chance for love.

Ranks right up their with the Colasaur-Mannequin wedding.

How could I not include this one?

A kiss at the end of the world.

Misa at her reunion with and rescue by Hikaru during the climactic battle of the Earth-Zentradi Conflict.

A new day rises.

At the war’s end.

Two years later there is still hope amidst the devastation.

A Misa masterstroke.

And then she outdoes herself again with her envelope full of pictures to compete with those of Minmay.

Peace isn’t easy, nor is it the end of things.

Oh Millia…

Misa didn’t hesitate on this one, she went right in for the kill.

Another couple ‘making culture’.

Misa tells Hikaru to do his damn job, and if that helps her out, then so much the better.

One of the ground crew shots that made the whole mechanical aspect of the show so much more complete than it would have been without.

Most men wouldn’t object.

Roy’s drunken confession, remembered and retold by Claudia to Misa.

Claudia’s plan realized.

Kamjin’s insurgency makes its first coordinated attack, choosing to take hostages at a Minmay concert, and while this is significant, for most of these episodes the conflict shifts to the relationship battlefield. Hikaru and Minmay being reunited brings out some intense jealousy in Misa, but even when things appear bleak Claudia’s intervention and wise counsel helps to set things back on the right track. Despite Hikaru’s temporary bout of douchebaggery and Misa’s understandable if a bit sharp-edged jealousy, Claudia knows all and sees all in the realm of romance and really shines as a friend and confidant to Misa. And we even get to hear the story of how she and Roy met as she uses it to illustrate some important lessons to Misa.

Still lacking for arms and vehicles, Kamjin’s insurgents are a mix of mechanized and infantry forces.

Storming into the concert hall, Kamjin’s forces overpower the mostly Zentradi audience and take Minmay and Kaifun hostage.

No one would really mind if this hostage wasn’t recovered.

Kamjin holds Minmay responsible for what he sees as the degradation of his people.

Capt. Global considers Kamjin’s ransom demand of a warship while smoking his disturbing looking pipe.

Still on patrol after finding and eliminating a now abandoned insurgent base, Hikaru, Misa, and their teams are told about the kidnapping. Hikaru gets all flustered when he hears that Minmay is one of the hostages, and Misa reprimands him for acting unprofessionally about the matter, venting possibly a little too strongly in her frustration. A plan is developed to rescue the hostages, a joint operation between Hikaru’s team and the 103^rd Destroid Squadron, and before setting off Hikaru and Misa argue again about Minmay’s effect on Hikaru. It is a rather strong reaction, especially given how minor to nonexistent the interaction between Hikaru and Minmay has been lately. Fortunately his emotions don’t get in the way of his ability to do his job during the rescue itself.

Well really only one of them matters.

Get with the program Hikaru or it won’t just be that control panel that gets a Misa fist taken to it.

*takes a deep breath and counts to ten* It’s okay, it’s just the writers trying to find a way to stretch out the love triangle until the end of the series.

Seriously, this is most unprofessional Hikaru.

One of several cool ground crew shots in these episodes.

Back in the concert hall Minmay and Kaifun are being kept inside a cage made of Zentradi forks while their captors get drunk and act like the unprofessional rebel scum that they are. Kaifun tries talking once more to their captors, to predictably little effect, though it does cause Kamjin to bring up that he doesn’t need culture because he can make his own. ‘Making culture’ to him meaning kissing Laplamiz right in front of everyone. A rather long kiss is interrupted by a distress signal from what appears to be some Zentradi who wanted to join Kamjin’s uprising asking for help. Kamjin, tired of waiting, departs with most of his group, leaving behind only three guards without Regults inside the hall and three Regults outside.

Can’t really blame him for trying in this situation, but it’s true that his talk offers no solutions for anyone. Ever.

‘Making culture’

Kamjin feels like making culture.

I’ll never understand how these two got together, but they do provide the lulz.

The call to Kamjin for help is just part of a clever ruse set up by the NUN forces, the Zentradi asking for help in fact on their side. Scouts on the edge of the city observe Kamjin’s forces leaving the concert hall and alert the 103^rd, which is waiting with its large force of Destroid Monsters to ambush the insurgents. Meanwhile Hikaru’s team makes short work of three Regults left outside the building and overpowers the three unarmored Zentradi inside to rescue the hostages unharmed. The plan went off brilliantly, with only a handful of Kamjin’s men making it out of the ambush area, and the hostages were never in the line of fire. Though you wouldn’t think that if you asked Kaifun.

I love the idea of cigarettes as tall as a human.

Kamjin riding a captured Destroid Monster, trying to act like a cowboy. As we in America know well from the past administration, wannabe cowboys make terrible leaders.

Excellent use of scouts in service to a larger plan. The use of actual planning and tactics in Macross continues to impress.

Kamjin wanted to act like a cavalryman, now he gets to make the Charge of the Light Brigade. “Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell…”

Hikaru’s team easily takes down the remaining Regults. In a planetary environment the Valkyries’ agility and ability to fly gives it a huge advantage over the Regults.

After the area is secured the hostages meet up with the NUN troops outside the concert hall. Kaifun continues to be an ungrateful moron, trying to criticize Misa and her operation despite its emphasis on the hostages’ safety. Minmay, to her credit, calls him out on this and defends the NUN forces action before Hikaru lands his Valkyrie nearby. Hikaru is so excited to see Minmay after so long (half a year apparently), that he forgets himself and the two run to hug each other. Out at the ambush point, meanwhile, Kamjin is trying to fight his way out of a losing battle and crashes his way towards Laplamiz’s nearly disabled unit, and once he’s sure she’s safe, orders a retreat.

They’re just saving your worthless ass all the time.

Would he have preferred that they’d have been given a warship and use it to bombard a city full of civilians?

Oh sure a hug. What’s the kiss count now, Minmay? Misa 2, Minmay ½ (that crazy, ‘kiss me before we die’ thing only gets half credit in my book.)

Kamjin is obviously concerned for her. Though this shot shows how off the size of the different battlepods vs the size of a Zentradi outside one is just a bit off.

Kamjin’s retreating forces are still on the loose, and when Misa is informed of this she uses the chance to accomplish both legitimate military and personal jealousy ends by ordering Hikaru to get back in his Valkyrie and help hunt down the survivors. Hikaru gives her an attitude after being interrupted, and even throws down his helmet like a little child in protest. Then Misa asks him if he’s a flight leader or not and finally shames him into returning to his duty. It may have come off as a little harsh, but seriously, it’s Hikaru’s job and letting enemy forces go to fight another day just so he can hug Minmay is no good excuse. Minmay then chases his VF-1S as he takes off, Misa smiling at this as the sun rises, knowing it to be a metaphor for Minmay’s future: always chasing and never catching.

Damn right.

Pilot, get back in that Valkyrie and do your duty! I for one did not feel that this was harsh in the slightest. Hikaru has a job to do.

Your commanding officer will tell you when you’ve done enough! And as for it serving the great good of Hikaru X Misa, that’s just a happy coincidence.

Minmay, endlessly chasing under a shadowy sky, while the sun shines beautifully on Misa. I approve of this symbolism.

Some time after the operation concludes Misa is sitting alone at a table wondering if she was too harsh towards Hikaru and if she let her jealousy get in the way of her role as a leader. But just as she’s despairing of this Claudia shows up with a gift of some high quality tea, intending it to be used as a pretext to bring her together with Hikaru. Claudia once again shows how great of a friend she is, and how smart she is in figuring out those around her, and takes it upon herself to set things right between Misa and Hikaru. Hikaru returns from his mission, and is told that Misa wants to speak with him. Still in a bad mood about what happened, he throws her his report and then starts to leave just as Misa is about to apologize to him. She gets angry and defensive in return, and Hikaru responds by sinking to one of his lowest points since the start of the series when he tries to ask Vanessa out for coffee as a way to hurt Misa. She’s caught off guard at first, then recovers and tells him that this is inappropriate, especially because Misa is in love with him, which he SOMEHOW STILL DOESN’T GET.

Claudia, ever there to provide help in time of need, now descends, like compassionate Venus, to help along the love of her friends.

Another nice ground crew shot. Makes me want to get a VF-1S model and some appropriately scaled ground crew models and put them together as a scene. I wonder if I can find some 1/72 scale ground crew…?

The ends justify the means!

Hikaru, me glad that you’ve accumulated a lot of favor in my eyes, because this is pretty damn low.

He’s the only one who doesn’t realize this. Like, the only one in all the remnants of humanity.

The bridge bunnies then have a side conversation about all of this down on the floor level of the command center, kind of one of those classical theatrical elements where the minor characters provide the commentary and some comic relief to the main characters’ serious drama. Vanessa restates her disbelief as to how dense Hikaru really is, while Kim and Shammy are both generally in favor of one or both of the two to just admit their feelings openly already. And we find out who the people bullying that pathetic looking guy from last week’s episodes: the bridge bunnies! What a pathetic guy. He gets to work with three interesting, friendly, attractive, and intelligent (well, ok, maybe that last one doesn’t apply to Shammy) coworkers, and somehow always manages to annoy them. Come on man, the Genshiken Team got on their good side and you can’t?

If they could identify and replicate whatever it is that comprises Hikaru’s skull, they could use it for armor piercing rounds like they do with depleted uranium. They’d probably be even better, Hikaru must have something denser than DU lining that head of his.

Frustrating watching from the sidelines? Tell me about it!

Hey it could work. Especially if she wants to take the Miwako approach and “Belittle him. Point at him and laugh…and comfort him. [and then] I want to be appreciated.”

That’s about the oddest threat I’ve ever heard. But now that “Shammy is rip your pants off awesome” comment that was made by a commenter in one of my early posts finally makes sense!

If you’d work yourself into the conversation more naturally you wouldn’t have this problem, loser.

The rain is coming down as Misa walks back to the officers’ area of the city, and she hesitates despite the downpour outside of Hikaru’s house. But as she stands there about to give up on her chance, Claudia shows up again and hands her an umbrella. She then invites Misa in for tea, though Misa is in more of an alcohol mood after her spat with Hikaru and the two switch to wine. Though I won’t call this a violation of the Tytania Rule because she’s simply having her celebratory wine in anticipation of the victory that Claudia is planning. Plus it serves Claudia’s purposes of letting Misa open up her feelings. The two talk, and a few houses down Hikaru lays in bed, also having doubts about whether he was too harsh and contemplates his feelings in general.

Claudia the guardian angel.

All is proceeding according to Claudia’s design.

“It warms the blood, adds luster to the eyes, and wine and love have ever been allies.” – Ovid

Hikaru starts getting his act together.

While Misa sits in Claudia’s living room, Claudia imparts some of her wisdom to her about love. Firstly, Misa should be glad that the man she loves is still alive. Then she goes on to tell Misa the story of how she and Roy met, illustrating the potential misunderstandings and complications that may be involved in expressing one’s feelings. During the Unification Wars Roy and Claudia were stationed at the same out of the way base where Claudia first fell for Roy. However his cocky ways and tendency to show off cooled her feelings despite his attempts to make up. But later when they were both assigned to South Ataria Island he admitted to her one night that he would act they way he did because he was trying to cover up his fear with jovial actions, but that at the end of the day the only one he wanted to tell this truth to was her.

Smooth right from the start.

Hmmm, sounds like someone we know…

Roy used to party hard.

Yes, this is reasonable Roy…*facepalm*

The Colasour approach.

Half drunk confession on a rainy night. Very Roy.

After sitting at home considering recent events, Hikaru runs off looking for Misa, intending to apologize and make up. She is still at Claudia’s when he goes by her home, but rather than give up and have one of those excruciating cases of bad timing that’s so common in romantic drama, he does the smart thing and calls the command center and then Claudia to find out where Misa is. Claudia picks up the phone when he calls and tells him to head over. She then gracefully nudges Misa out the door when Hikaru shows up so the two can walk home together. Keikaku doori. Just as planned, the two quickly reconcile on their walk and Misa invites Hikaru to have some of Claudia’s tea together. The couple walks off into the night smiling and happy together. All is right with the world.

Fret not Misa, for benevolent Claudia watches over your love.

Claudia’s skills are great.

That’s ok, because if it was too sweet then you’d put salt in it.

Final Thoughts: – Claudia really shines in the latter of the two episodes this week. She’s incredibly insightful about the situation and turns around what could have been a major setback for Misa and Hikaru into another opportunity for them to spend time together and show their feelings for each other. It made me supremely happy for the Minmay moment in the first episode to be undone so quickly. Claudia is definitely one of my favorite supporting characters in an anime series.

- Whenever I’m about to rage at Hikaru acting dense and still acting like he’s as into Minmay as he was at the start of the show, I just have to remind myself that the writers are trying to draw out the romance aspect until the end. Though that just makes me rage at the writers a bit, since with so few episodes left there’s no reason to draw it out like this. This is probably the only time so far in the series where I’ve had a significant problem with the writing, it’s just way too forced how the love triangle is being kept on life support. Pull the plug already! There’s plenty of other things that can be resolved in the remaining episodes. Despite their interference, I remain confident in victory for my OTP.

- I’ve been warned by my readers about some poor animation quality in some episodes, but I never really noticed it much until this episode. I seriously checked to see if these episodes, especially 32, where in a lower resolution than the rest. Still, it didn’t get in the way of my enjoying the episodes.

I would want to control both Kaname and Zero like puppets.

Note: Before you proceed, this post will contain a lot, and I mean it, 90% spoilers of up till the 56th chapter of Vampire Knight. If you have not finished reading Vampire Knight up till chapter 56, I strongly suggest that you turn back and not click the Read More button. Let me assure you that:

1. This is not a hate post, like I did to Kaname. Nope, never will I do it again. I’ll do my best to be as un-biased as possible towards any characters, since I’m, going to criticize some characters that I like (Zero) and praise some characters that I don’t usually pay attention to.

2. This is a post to compare the changes made in the characters from the later chapters up till chapter 56 with the earlier chapters from chapters 1 to the Rido Arc.

3. And one more thing, I kinda gonna scrap off the 10 Worst Fathers in Animation History thing out since I’m going overseas the upcoming Tuesday on the 8th, so I’ll be back before Christmas and share my views on the Winter 2009/2010 Anime preview.

Yes, it’s been bugging me for quite some time now during the summer season after the one-year time skip into the next arc. And boy I do see quite a number of characters changed for the better (And some for the worse) and some others who do not, which I will list down below.

Okay, first off, our very own:

Yuki Kuran (Since she’s no longer Kaien’s daughter, but it’s for you to decide whether she should be either a Cross or a Kuran): Sadly to say, I have quite a hard time seeing the new, sophisticated pureblood not being herself quite most of the time. Man, I wish the old Yuki is back, but I think that would be quite impossible, since all the event which happened during Rido’s reign in Cross Academy a couple of chapters ago. But I also kind of looking forward to see her working together with Zero and not being the powerless little girl we seen in the earlier chapters, though it might be hard for Zero to cooperate since he promised Yuki that he will exterminate all purebloods and all that jazz. The new Yuki, although beautiful and mighty, I found her to be like Kaname’s lifeless doll and being a yes-girl. She’s so dead, man and that has almost made me puke 44 times.

Zero Kiryuu: It must be hard for a Zero fan to say this, but I really starting to get a little pissed and turned off on Zero’s behavior in these few later chapters. Well, he’s been very emotional and unapproachable to Yuki, but after all these complicated previous events that happened between him, Yuki and Kaname, it must be hard on him to come to reasonable terms with anyone. Angst, angst and more angst. It’s so difficult to let anyone get close to him, not to mention Kaito’s intervention into the situation. (See below later.) More appearance please, Hino-sensei?

Kaname Kuran: And it’s also hard for me to make this confession, but I’m standing a little slightly to Kaname’s side, since he doesn’t act like an arrogant masochist jerk this time that gives this silent message to fans of “Oh, I’m the king, the rare pureblood, so all of you must obey my orders or else you’ll face the consequences” in the earlier chapters. Some aspects of him might be unbearable, but in mentioning his life in his original form has made me a little sorry for him. Yup, and that’s probably the reason why I stood at Zero’s side till now (Comparing to the Kaname VS Zero situation, I find it quite similar to what the German people do when they are to vote for the Nazis or the Communists at that era. And the majority voted for the Nazis because they have no choice, since the Nazis claimed that the Communists are troublemakers and the Democratic Party is weak and stuff like that.)

God, talking about mixing fiction and factual stuff together. Ahem!

However, I still do not support Yume (Yuki X Kaname pairing, for those who aren’t familiar to the VK fandom.), Kaname treating Yuki like a doll (VK fans, you should know) and making her do things that he thinks Yuki is suited best. Geez, you want Yuki to grow up quickly, right? Put her in the outside world and let her learn a lot faster instead of ‘quarantining’ her 24/7, 365 days a year please? And one more thing: It’s difficult to paint a child like Yuki with your favorite colours. It’s neither possible nor impossible. (Up to you to debate.)

Aido Hanabusa, Kain Akatsuki and Ruka Souen: Man, I think they hardly change from their usual selves, except for Ruka who’s a little open and starting to like Yuki for the better by helping her with the party. I hope she won’t crawl up to Yuki like she did with Kaname in earlier chapters.

Rima Touya and Shiki Senri: For them, in my opinion, they changed significantly for the better. Not only they are much more open compared to the pre-Rido Arc, they are able to think for themselves rather than ‘Seeing things unfold and stand at the sidelines.’ It’s quite good news that are still quite concerned in the situation but also hope that they don’t return to their old selves again after much development.

Kaito: For those of you who don’t know or missed out the later chapters, Kaito is originally a character from the VK novels and mostly on Zero’s side of the story. So just by looking at him in the entire of chapter 44 from start to finish, I just have the impression of saying:

“Erm, why are you teaching Ethics? Geez, do all vampire hunter teachers teach Ethics in any school they go to? I think you are more suited to teach Biology instead.”

Like teaching the same subject as Yagari isn’t going to help. The first time I saw him in chapter 44, I wasn’t too impressed by his relations with Zero and himself. Shall not go further, moving on. (’cause if I move on I might turn this entire post into a Kaito-Hate post, which is not why I wrote this.)

Sara Shirabuki: Ok…the first time we saw her was around chapter 20+ (I’m too lazy to do research…have a busy week to pack my stuff for my vacation.) and with little known info about her character. Until now, I thought she was at Kaname side, but turns out that she’s at the opposite end instead. I almost went ROFL at the part when she says “I will be QUEEN~” in chapter 56. Quite stereotypical, but I leave it aside. See Rido, he’s also a stereotypical villain too, but Vampire Knight isn’t really about them. Nice development, on the contrary.

Takuma Ichijo: Nothing much to say about him, since he didn’t really changed much over the past one year aside from being a servant of Sara. Yeah, he’s still likable but maybe he’s trying to get the good side from Shiki and Rima and getting them to trust him ’cause he’s really evil inside…However I could be wrong, but let this be a food for thought for now…

Somehow, I’m getting a little frustrated at how the manga is going at this moment, particularly at Yuki Kuran. Yuki made a vow to be a stronger person in one of the chapters, but she’s still the same altogether after the one year time skip. To add to my woes, she became less herself altogether, becoming a lifeless doll for Kaname to play with (And Kaname, nice fashion sense! Thought pinheels are very comfortable to wear.) and the story being a little most angsty as before. But to look at the brighter side, at least there are 7 families of purebloods currently (Well, one of the families can be considered extinct [Hio], one of them are ‘asleep’ [Hanadangi], about 3 or 4 of them are with the Council and then we have the Kurans.) and I don’t know where this will lead us to. Need to really steer away from VK for a while, I don’t really want my anticipation for chapter 57 to be a disappointment.

I miss my old Yuki all over again. Enough of the rant, I should probably get a life once I return from my vacation.

There continue to be reasons for both hope and pessimism for the future of the Terran Zentradi with integration and alienation both continuing in their separate ways. The mission to capture the Zentradi weapons factory satellite is launched, another joint operation between humans and Terran Zentradi under the New United Nations government. But while this exemplary instance of cooperation is going on in space, back on Earth Zentradi rioters continue to spring up and are now being organized by Kamjin and Laplamiz. Further complicating the situation is the discovery by Exedol of the true origins of the Zentradi, the Supervision Army, and how humans fit into all of this. Everyone is certainly living in interesting times.

The scene reminds me very much of the Cyclop Team attack on the EFSF base in Gundam 0080. This shuttle also manages to launch without incident. (thanks Chinese subtitled version for getting around the Youtube copyright material ban.)

An excellent example of how the human-Zentradi partnership can work.

My man is back! And he’s learned  the very typical, somewhat formal Japanese greeting routine. He must have studied from JSL.

They brought their baby in a hardpoint mounted cargo container? The VF-1S does have a back seat you know.

Misa, Claudia, Exedol, Max, Hikaru, and Millia launch from Macross City and meet up with Britai’s command ship for the factory takeover operation. Happily Britai survived the final battle against Bodolzza’s fleet and transports the Valkyrie teams in his ship. Along the way the human officers assigned to the ship have a get together where Max and Millia’s child Komillia (which reminds me of the Musai/Komusai naming convention of the Zeon cruiser from the original Gundam) quickly becomes the center of attention. At first Millia is guarded when Misa asks to hold the baby, but then agrees and throws Komillia  at Misa, not worried since she’s build Zentradi tough. Max and Hikaru then have a side conversation about how Misa looks like she wants to have a baby of her own, Max once more prodding Hikaru towards her.

B-dog is back and looking cool as ever!

Ace pilot, skilled cook, cunning conversationalist. Max is truly a renaissance man.

LOL. Yes, go make one. It’s like baking a cake or building a model if you take Millia’s word for it.

It doesn’t even phase Max anymore.

I’m not even sure what to say Max. Devotion? Control by your wife? Going for a kawaii maid look?

Walking back from the party Claudia, Hikaru, and Misa talk for a bit and Misa invites them in for tea. Claudia decides to turn in for the night and like the great friend that she is gives Hikaru the heads up that she’s trying to give him and Misa some time together. Back in her own room she rests and is still missing Roy a great deal, while Hikaru awaits Misa’s return in her quarters. Apparently he’s not the only one still holding on too tightly to the past and he sees a picture of Misa and Ribal there. When she returns she notices him looking at the picture, but then goes on to the tea and chatting. But before she can tell Hikaru something important an alarm sounds. The ship has encountered a derelict Supervision Army ship. While Misa wants to investigate Britai is firmly against taking any risks while they’re en route to their objective.

How thick to Claudia and Max have to lay it on for you to get it Hikaru? At least he’s lucky to have such good friends looking out for him.

Poor Claudia, still so affected even years later.

Hikaru needs to learn from Misa’s tactics and respond to this with his own Photo Attack!

They are wretched little things.

Seriously, bad timing.

After folding again the ship defolds into the area near the factory satellite. Britai hails the commander, and the two seem to know each other from the past. While he demands the factory’s surrender, its commander scoffs at the idea until a rapid fire culture attack is unleashed upon them. First ‘Zero G Love’ is broadcast into their ships, followed by Misa ordering Hikaru to kiss her on screen for the Zentradi to see. Hikaru is reluctant for some bizarre reason but Misa goes in for the kill without hesitation. Go Misa! Following up these attacks are Max and Millia bursting into the command room of the factory and showing off their child to the soldiers, further confusing the Zentradi forces and making them unable to effectively respond. Then N.U.N. Valkyries, Battlepods, and Fighters are launched to lay waste to the fleet defending the factory. While folding the factory is tricky, the team manages to make it back to Earth with their prize.

More great teamwork.

Give up now before Britai comes over there and jumps down from the ceiling with a lead pipe to your face!

By the power vested in me by the NUN Spacy, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Hey, Captain Picard performed weddings.

Misa has a determined look to her. No hesitation this time.

Misa, you may now kiss your bride.

Oh if only Minmay could see this.

After returning to Earth with the factory, production begins but quickly encounters problems. Most of the machinery was damaged by Supervision Army attacks and even cannibalizing the broken machines doesn’t leave enough spare parts to keep the rest functional for very long. There are other Zentradi fleets out there, and the Terran Zentradi also warn of the Supervision Army as a possible threat. Internal threats exist as well in the form of continued Zentradi rioters. Not long after returning Hikaru is dispatched to stop a group of Zentradi from stealing a Miclonization/Maclonization machine. While this could just be looting, this act is part of a wider plan orchestrated by Kamjin.

Seems like it can only build Regults, but they’re better than nothing.

Word of Kaifun’s douchebaggery towards Minmay has traveled far.

Misa will not tolerate word of that wench in her command room.

You’d think that by watching modern anime series. Seriously, that guy that just spoke to her couldn’t relay information on his own?

Having commandeered several flatbed trucks a mix of miclonized and full sized Zentradi attempt to steal the miclonizing device and shoot up the town on their way out.

Even the VF-1S looks like it’s tired of this crap.

In his hideout in the disused Santa’s Workshop, Kamjin makes it a priority to seize the miclonization device that was recaptured by Hikaru’s team. His promise to other Zentradi was to allow them to return to normal size if they joined him, and his position would be undermined if he can’t deliver on that promise. His nascent insurgency is depending on this credibility, so he decides to go secure the device himself. But it appears that Laplamiz may be the real one in charge, manipulating Kamjin with words and displays of affection. Though one must wonder about the extent to which they’ve been affected by culture if physical affection is something that Laplamiz seems to be able to use to sway Kamjin. Back in that same city Hikaru and his team are trying to bring the miclonizing device to a more secure location when Kaifun shows up to ruin everything. He starts inciting the crowd behind him to resist the NUN from moving the device, saying that it’s their right to have it and that they can defend themselves. Minmay meanwhile sits in the car and doesn’t do anything, disappointed in herself for failing to act as she daydreams about Hikaru.

Escalating things is not a concern for Kamjin.

A prisoner of her own indecisiveness.

A less lenient man might have arrested him for attempting to incite a riot. That’s pretty balsy of Hikaru to stand up to the crowd like that outside his Valkyrie, things could have turned ugly very quickly.

Minmay’s wishful thinking.

Hikaru and his team leave the city since they’re so dead set on fending for themselves, but just as he told them another force, larger and better equipped, descends on the city to seize the device. It was moved underground, but that and the small amount of older Destroids only manage to slow down Kamjin’s forces. Before long the device is taken and Kamjin begins allowing miclonized Zentradi to use, swelling his ranks. At NUN HQ Exedol gathers the senior characters to tell them that he has found the link between the protoculture, the Zentradi, and the humans. Terran humans are apparently not the Protoculture, but have been affected by their genetic manipulation to some unknown degree. The Protoculture itself used genetic engineering to create the Zentradi (and apparently the Supervision Army too) for use as soldiers, denying them culture so they would not threaten their creators. It didn’t exactly work out that way. The Protoculture was destroyed by the Zentradi, beginning their untold years of constant warring against the Supervision Army and themselves. This fact is rather discouraging for the Zentradi, who have to face the fact that they were created only to be warriors.

Oh yes, look more cheerful Minmay. Your career is just on the edge of failure, Hikaru has eluded you, and Kaifun is treating you like crap. But other than that there’s plenty to be happy about.

Again, the Tytania rule: wine is for good news and victories, coffee for defeats.

As Exedol put it, the Zentradi now feel as if they are just the ‘dolls of the devil’, their very existence a manipulation.

Destroid PUNCH! The outnumbered and outclassed Destroids still put up a good fight.

The few Valkyries in the city were below ground guarding the device where their mobility was of little use. Kamjin has some impressive new units too. They look like a cross between a Valkyrie, a Queadluun Rae, and certain models of Armored Cores.

As the raid is going on Hikaru and Misa almost have another heart to heart talk and are once again interrupted by outside events. Word comes in of the attack and Hikaru rushes off to his Valkyrie and heads back to the city. There he sees the destruction and blames himself for not forcing the issue and taking the device regardless of the mob that Kaifun stirred up. Kamjin meanwhile plans his next move with Laplamiz lurking in the background. And Minmay gets a quick look at Hikaru before being driven off by Kaifun, wondering to herself why she didn’t try to help him earlier.

Only to the Minmay fans. Otherwise you’re lovely.

Let the hate flow through you Hikaru! The ignorant masses don’t know what’s best for them.

Very nice detail on the half-destroyed Destroid.

US Army? Must have been an early model left over from the Metal Gear program. Also, that’s one fugly car.

Pretty simpleminded, no wonder Laplamiz has him in the palm of her hand.

Final Thoughts: – The thought has crossed my mind before, but the more I watch this two years later arc the more parallels I keep drawing between Macross and Battlestar Galactica, specifically the last 1-2 seasons of BSG. Attempting to integrate the two sides, the remainder of the former enemy that’s not willing to change their ways, there’s a lot in common and I enjoy how it’s done in both series.

- I understand that this is anime and all, but it’s been years now and there still hasn’t been much more than tiny, incremental steps in the relationship aspect of the show, excepting Max and Millia who went the complete opposite route. Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay are still moving very, very slowly.

- Seems like in the next episodes Kamjin’s forces will start attacking. I tend to think that he has less appeal with the content Zentradi, but it could still be awkward asking them to fight their fellow Zentradi.

- I’m kind of hoping that Hikaru indulges in the Dark Side for awhile and starts punching Kaifun in the face when he stirs up trouble again. And as for the rioters, can Valkyries be equipped with rubber bullets and tear gas?

- Speaking of BSG parallels, Kaifun reminds me an awful lot of Tom Zarrick just without the political ambition (so far anyway.)

He’s my new CO I think he has aged pretty well despite being a butter bar…but he is damn good, I mean real good.

It seems that for now I will have a bit of Internet access courtesy of Uncle Sam although the training schedule looks brutal and having to share one washing machine and dryer with a bunch of mud caked sailors with no booze around means I will not have much time to loiter on the interwebs doing whatever I please. This was the first time I spent Thanksgiving away from my folks and while I have much to be thankful for there is much to be bitter about. Dealing with a bunch of whiny sailors is enough to drive me insane and I grow weary of hearing, “I am cold, when will my stuff arrive, can I trade my M-16 for an M-4, and 00bama is killing us all…” So yeah sailors bitching and moaning while in garrison is enough to make my ears bleed, I assume it only gets worse once we really go some where far far away and they’ll still complain about taxes despite paying none… At any rate this change of situation means a few changes are in store on my side of things, some might be big, some might be so small you’d never notice until I tell. So without further ado Prince Ali has called for a Jihad to liberate Kurdistan from the clutches of the insolent Jihad-kun and his Azadistani harlot. As a Crusader ally of the great Prince Ali, 00bama has called upon the Flag Fighters, AEU no Ace, Katie, and Choubu and the rest of the Federation to oppose the hated Azadistani occupiers and end their unjust occupation once and for all. Thankfully I will not be serving under Bushido Bob and Billy Goat but was assigned under a Gary Biaggi. So in preparation for the orbital drop into New Mombasa I need a few things…

So far I have at my disposal three 465 GB encrypted containers that need to be stuffed full of anime, so far I have a few things including Macross 7, VOTOMS, Gundam X, 8th MS Team, Gundam 0083, Canaan, True Tears, Skip Beat!, Shin Mazinger Z etc. I should be able to keep up with some new series but I think it is time to do a bit of retro blogging of stuff I never got around to. So seeing as how time is of the essence I will not have much time to look for stuff to bring with me, thus I need recommendations from all corners of the Federation to give me series to watch and perhaps blog about while killing me some Celestial Being and some Kataron Terrorists. Sadly due to time constraints I doubt I will have limit myself in tossing images of questionable relevance, however I hope to keep it as fun as possible for it will be the only semblance of normalcy I will have for sometime. So comrades who is up for some retro blogging, and what would you have me blindly suffer through? (Note: While I may not be able to respond in a timely manner I will be looking for recommendations periodically.)

Yeah 2LT. Biaggi isn’t one to beat around the bush.

He doesn’t bullshit much either.

He likes to be very honest…

And he so far he hasn’t killed anyone who didn’t deserve it…

2LT likes to use intimidation as well as force to carry the point.

Terrorists seem to bore Mr. Biaggi.

They made him go through the winning hearts and minds class, the results were kind of mixed…

He certainly curses like a sailor.

It’s because of him we have to spend more time at the gym.

Some time the 2LT gets a little creepy, glad he’s on my side.

Yeah I’ll be going along with these guys but at least I get a Scopedog out of the deal!

I cannot wait to start doing this.