Lord O' Bones Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 The love story actually works and makes sense. Hold the phone. Which one? They were all either abusive or retarded or some unrealistic version in between.The war story is tough. They killed Roy Fokker! That sort of thing just did not happen on Western shows.This however is very true. They killed Ben like, ten minutes later. In the end the surviving "main characters vs. dead ones" were about 50/50. That was really awesome when I was ten. Still kinda awesome now. It was a war, y'know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Speaking as someone who has probably watched ROBOTECH more recently than any of you (ie. the entire (first) series in the last 2 days), I feel my recent exposure qualifies me to comment here even without the years of research put in by others. Yes, for the first time ever, cos (as Wert said) it never made it to this side of the pond. So, for what it's worth...When did that happen? Seriously. She only lost her nerve when she thought he was dead.Actually Lisa was pretty unprofessional throughout with regards to Rick. Like letting him get away with disobeying orders and running off to cry, or deliberately not summoning him for missions because she was Not Talking To Him, or generally letting him get away with being an insufferable brat cos she fancied him, rather than behaving like a) a grownup and b ) his superior officer. It's true, every relationship in Series 1 was Fucked. Up. Lies and misunderstandings and abuses of power and manipulation such that even a teenage drama queen would shy away from. Although Max & Miriya seemed pretty happy after the initial let's-propose-to-the-suicidal-knife-wielding-alien-psycho moment.And I'm pleased to note that the Minmei-wins-war-by-OMGFUCKINGABYSMALOWOWMYEARS-singing was less decisive than I'd been led to believe. Actually it was mostly the super guns and that weird new shielding system that took out the bulk of the enemy, even if it took the accidental and unlamented destruction of Toronto to discover this capability. :D(Jesus, seriously though, WHY couldn't they have gotten an actress who could actually sing? Still kinda traumatised by this).And yes, despite the amount of fail, it was still awesome. I know you guys did not get Star Fleet (slightly older puppet show with similar premise, arc and death toll) but did you also have eg. Ulysses 31, which differed from regular kids' cartoons by the occasional unhappy ending? There was a reason we loved that shit as children, such a nice lack of patronising endings where the animal-sidekick makes a joke and everyone laughs. I so wish they'd imported this when I was young enough to appreciate it uncritically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Somebody has to give props to the narrator guy. He did a good job and his crisp and overly dramatic voice was awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 The narrator was so awful it verged on self-parody. No, we don't need you to explain what just happened in PORTENTIOUS TONES, thx.And Soylent Brown, do it! There's even an autoplay playlist on the Manga Entertainment channel so you don't have to track down the episodes one at a time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 The narrator was so awful it verged on self-parody. No, we don't need you to explain what just happened in PORTENTIOUS TONES, thx.That's what makes it good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Yeah, Toronto getting vapourised was always a bit random. Aside from Ontario withdrawing permission for the SDF-1 to land, there weren't any other consequences of it. Of course, compared to what happened later it as small fry, but still a bit odd.Something amusing to think on: we're currently in the Robotech timeline. The SDF-1 got transported to Pluto in late 2009, landed back on Earth in late 2010 or early 2011, Toronto was vapourised a few months later and the Rain of Death was in 2012 :) Hold the phone. Which one? They were all either abusive or retarded or some unrealistic version in between. Claudia and Roy's relationship was pretty mature and realistic. Almost everyone else's relationships were twisted, immature and fucked up.Question about the animated series:Did Minmei turn into a raging alcoholic between the Rain of Death and the destruction of the SDF-1 in the cartoon as well as the novels? That always struck me as a bit odd, or at least the harshness with which it was depicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I remember Kyle turning into an abusive alcoholic in the series, but not Minmei. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWHamel Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 (Jesus, seriously though, WHY couldn't they have gotten an actress who could actually sing? Still kinda traumatised by this).I always felt that was by intent. The bad singing stunning the Zentraedi, and in addition whipping the RDF into a murderous frenzy having to listen to that shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 3. Characters and Story. One of the biggest pulls was the serialized story. I'd never seen anything like that, beyond the occasional 2-parter. But a constantly running story? I used to race home from school everyday to try and catch the last half of the show, so I could figure out what was happening. Plus, the characters are iconic and relatable. The love story actually works and makes sense. The war story is tough. They killed Roy Fokker! That sort of thing just did not happen on Western shows.For us here, it was on at something like 6 in the morning. We'd all huddle in the corner of the school sheltered from the wind and talk about what we'd seen that morning...it was just something that had to be done. Truly one of the best aspects of the show...Did Minmei turn into a raging alcoholic between the Rain of Death and the destruction of the SDF-1 in the cartoon as well as the novels? That always struck me as a bit odd, or at least the harshness with which it was depicted.No. It was Kyle with the drinking problem in the animated series. That being said, looking back at the show now, I could see how one could speculate that there was something more going on with Minmei as well...but it's the kinda thing that would have internet message boards arguing whether the intent was there or not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Nah, there was no hint at all that Minmei had a drinking problem; I'd probably have appreciated the character more if she had. Being stuck with Kyle was bad enough; I kind of took this as her punishment by the writers for her CRUEL CRUEL neglect of Rick. She won't go out with the hero? Then let's make her actual boyfriend the biggest wanker the planet has ever seen!Rick got away with far too much IMO. Lisa should have dumped his arse and, I dunno, gone out with one of the Zentraedi spies or something. Probably only the sad lack of any other eligible bachelors saved him. <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Nah, there was no hint at all that Minmei had a drinking problem; I'd probably have appreciated the character more if she had. Being stuck with Kyle was bad enough; I kind of took this as her punishment by the writers for her CRUEL CRUEL neglect of Rick. She won't go out with the hero? Then let's make her actual boyfriend the biggest wanker the planet has ever seen!Oh I don't say I buy into it...but if there'd been internet message boards in the 80s to talk about the show, you know there'd be a faction suggesting that there might, just might, be something more to Minmei. "She's not wearing those glasses and scarf when meeting Rick because she's trying to go unrecognized. She's hungover!"...blah blah blah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephrite Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Somebody has to give props to the narrator guy. He did a good job and his crisp and overly dramatic voice was awesome.I just started re-watching yesterday, and it's like he's doing a documentary."Everything comes back to normal... as far as living inside a spaceship can be normal!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Finally got around to watching this.The Shadow Chronicles movie is completely average on all counts. Lots of sizzle and no steak. The storyline begins during yet another REF attempt to retake Earth, and the Invid leaving. Then there's this rambling plot with the Haydonities, revealing them as the next big bad, and trying to find the SDF-3. I imagine most viewers never read the Sentinels books or saw the short lived Sentinels animated series. So the Haydonites will come completely out of left field to the average viewer and probably have them wondering "who the hell are these guys?" Explanation of who they are and what they want never fully happens. It doesn't really go anywhere in its plot... It's a very un-even movie that is all over the place. Once again we are told the Haydonites are after...the Protoculture matrix. At this point even I have forgotten where the hell it is now. Basically, it is all set up for sequels...sequels which may never happen.It's also sad/funny how the look of the show has been given a more modern makeover. The styles and coloration definitely screams ANIME more than ever before. In particular, the women In the old Robotech - they were fairly normal looking and not very sexualized. Now, this time, every woman in the movie has 38 DD boobs on display and curves all over.Also, I really wasn't a fan of how all the space scenes and mecha are now CGI. Vastly prefer the animated styles of the old stuff.In conclusion, if you are desperate for some new Robotech stuff and have time to kill, it's worth a look, but otherwise stay away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord O' Bones Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 So basically, stay away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 It sucked, but it's still Robotech, so if you are really jonesing for some new material, there it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord O' Bones Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 It sucked, but it's still Robotech, so if you are really jonesing for some new material, there it is.U R 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacen Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kouran Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 The narrator was so awful it verged on self-parody. No, we don't need you to explain what just happened in PORTENTIOUS TONES, thx.And Soylent Brown, do it! There's even an autoplay playlist on the Manga Entertainment channel so you don't have to track down the episodes one at a time....Min apparently I am clueless how does one find this channel on youtube. I am having knee surgery this week so I want to have lots of mindless programing to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaine Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hold the phone. Which one? They were all either abusive or retarded or some unrealistic version in between.I thought the Rick, Minmay and Lisa story holds up as making sense. Is it a model for how relationships should all be? Of course not. But neither is Romeo & Juliet. Ultimately a standard love triangle, but with pretty memorable characters. But for a fucking cartoon that came on right after Bugs Bunny when I was 12, it had depth and meaning for days, yo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Kouran (and anyone else) - Here you go. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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