Series/movies since Robotech/Macross

Some of you may be wondering why I haven’t written about other Macross series/movies yet.  That’s because in my opinion, Robotech and Macross (the movie was based on the Robotech TV series) that came out in 1982-1984 are untouchable classics.  The latest Macross Frontier borrows so many elements from Macross and Macross Zero, that it borders on being unoriginal, except for the advanced animation because of the use of computers.

The Wikipedia article on Macross has a very nice table that summarizes the chronology of Macross series and movies.

1. 1992:  Macross II: Lovers Again is a movie with a different set of characters.  The primary protagonist is a reporter who happens to befriend Ishtar, a songstress from the enemy race called the Marduk.  When Ishtar experiences Earth’s culture, she has some pretty strong reactions.  This parallels what we saw in Robotech, in which the three Zentradi soldiers become enamored with Earth’s culture.
2. 1994-1995: Macross Plus centers around 2 military test pilots who have a history with Myung, who is the producer of a computer-generated songstress Sharon Apple.  Sharon Apple is driven by artificial intelligence, and things go crazy when she takes control.
3. 1994:  Macross 7 is set in a world where people battle by performing music.  It totally reminds me of the current-day Bakugan TV series, which kids are totally crazy about, but I just don’t get it.  Music is a powerful force in the Macross series, but battling with music?!
4. 2002:  Macross Zero is a supposed prequel to the original Macross series.  It centers around fighter pilot Shin Kudo and an island priestess, Sara Nome.  Sara has some strange powers, such as being able to make objects around her levitate.  That’s just a little too unbelievable for me.  The big plus of this prequel are the fighter battle sequences, which totally remind me of the cinematography in Top Gun.
5. 2007:  Macross Frontier centers around an unlikely love triangle among Saotome Alto, Ranka Lee, and Sheryl Nome.  I’m shocked to find out that these characters are all around 17 years old, from this Wikipedia article.  Saotome Alto and Sheryl Nome just feel so much older than Ranka Lee.  The songs/music in Macross Frontier have a lot more energy than the songs in the original Macross.  Ranka even sings “Do You Remember Love?”, performed by Minmay in the original Macross.  Two movies are planned based on the Macross Frontier TV series.

Variable Fighter Master File: VF-1 Valkyrie

Just got this book from a local Japanese bookstore:

128 pages of VF-1 goodness!  If you like looking at schematics of the Valkyrie and some very nice computer-generated pictures of the fighter, this book is for you!

Schematic of the VF-1's gunpod

For example, in this schematic above of the VF-1’s gunpod, we see that it’s actually a Gatling gun with three barrels.

Finally, here’s a beautiful picture of the VF-1S (red) in flight:

Red VF-1S in flight

and a blue VF-1S in the sky:

Blue VF-1S in the sky