In 2012 I am up to episode 19 of the Robotech saga. This includes all the comics, books, and episodes chronologically up to this point in the series. I am shooting for the whole series including all comics and such through the end of the year (not sure if I'm gonna make it...). I better get hustling!
This batch of six episodes is being watched a little bit differently than the previous ones. I have been watching and reading in batches of six but this time I will watch an episode, read the revelant part in the Robotech novels and read the comic book of that episode. I will still be publishing the blogs in batches of six but I will be working on all of them at the same time.
Episode #19 Bursting Point
The SDF-1 flying low over the city is awesome!
Claudia has become the martyr in this show. She has basically lost everything and has to put up with everyone's sympathy with such a brave face. It's no wonder she takes to the bottle.
When Lisa comes up to Rick their hands are resting on thin air. The animation cells didn't line up.
Kyhron is such a loose canon. Why would a warrior race obsessed with such perfection let someone like him live.
Ben's un-finished steak... what a metaphor!
This is obviously the 'A' team of animators, it looks great.
As good as Gloval is he made two GIANT mistakes, the initial fold of the SDF-1 over Macross Island and the activation of the barrier shield over Ontario. Both times he is warned not to do it and both times he takes no council.
Lisa drops the 'everyone's lives are in your hands' guilt on Rick before the barrier explodes.
When Ben dies Rick does this Catholic thing but crossing himself. I have noticed that in some 80's Anime there a few references to religion, something you don't see in US cartoons.
Rick hanging up on Minmei is sort of his movement into adulthood.
This episode is probably my favorite episode because of the whole barrier overload. This episode has some comedy, action, and lots of drama. When Rick reports Ben's death to Lisa it's heart breaking.
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Episode #20 Paradise Lost
Breetai has a smirk a mile wide while Azonia's failures are played out on the screen.
I think it's interesting that Breetai's flagship still hasn't been fixed since Max busted through the screen and bubble on the bridge.
On the SDF-1 the supply vehicles move down the Macross city streets past... Macross Nald's. Har har har.
Ben's spirit sure is short!
Lisa just walks into Gloval's office THEN asks if it's OK to come in... saucy woman.
Why did the spies battlepod jettison it's legs? It can fly just fine with them...
The Zentraedi quickly adopted the Micronian usage to the word 'Robotech'.
Exedore can balance a piano on one thumb! The pile of human artifacts shrinks and grows as the debriefing.
One of the running crowd during Gloval's broadcast disappears magically. Whoops.
Minmei's song starts before she is done talking. Lipsyncher!
Why is Kyle comforting Captain Gloval? He hates the military.
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Episode #21 A New Dawn
At the party Jan Morris makes a return. This whole first couple of scenes have a lot inter personal stuff going on. It's very interesting. Jan even mentions reading someone's palm.
Myria just waltzs into the movie in front of people who obviously have waited all day.
The pilot next to Max at the movie is Will Wheaton.
How in the world would the song 'Stagefight' be the theme to a kung-fu movie.
Rico looks a lot like Michael Jackson while he boasts to the other Zentraedi about Minmei!
I absolutely love it when Breetai sees and misunderstands the kung-fu movie.
It's also great when Rick accidentally grabs Lisa's butt.
The part of the episode where Rick and Lisa are trapped is great. This episode has no real action but is just as good as the most action packed episodes.
The appearance of the cola machine is classic.
It's strange that we never actually see any battle going on while Sammie is in command. It's like they needed to save some money.
The end of this episode is nice. Rick and Lisa hand in hand... finally.
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Episode #22 Battlehymn
The Minmei 'infection' is a great aspect to both Macross and Robotech. It is kinda strange how the Zentraedi have not encountered culture before.
The animation cells in this episode are very dirty at time. I guess the more people work on a cell or if more than one person works on it they get dirty.
Rico looks like this guy...
When Rick is thinking about stuff they show a Minmei 'Lovely Concert' poster on the wall. I think it's funny... a drawing looking at a drawing.
How many songs does Minmei have? The people of Macross never get tired of her songs.
The floating screens in the Zentraedi flag ship are neat. I am guessing that we will have that technology at some point in the future.
How are Rico Konda and Bron suddenly in Khyron's part of the fleet? I thought they were on Breetai's flagship. I could be wrong. Wait... they are on Breetai's ship. He is taking a HUGE risk letting the SDF-1 hit his ship with the Deadelus.
We finally see some more combat after a few episodes of rest.
When Minmei starts singing during the battle her mouth is moving before she actaully starts singing.
Why do Raidar X destroids start running into the Zentraedi ship?
When Minmei is tending to Kyle her eyes are black... soulless.. I knew it.
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Episode #23 Reckless
We pickup where last episode left off. Macross looks like utter crap!
"A Minmei, never heard of it. What are its ballistic capabilities?"
That one Zentraedi pilot looks like a little kid.
Ut oh, Rick sees Kyle and Minmei kissing. In our day and age of P.C. what Kyle did would have been considered rape.
Khyron is still blasting his troops all the way back to his ship.
Once again, the series has taken a very adult tone with the defection of the spies.
The animation in this episode varies from decent to down right sloppy. It reminds me of several episodes of the New Generation (but we will get to that much later).
Max looks VERY pasty at the defector meeting. Perhaps he is feeling ill at the prospect of living with aliens.
Uncle Max must be a midget... he sure is short.
Uncle Max says that they (he and Leena) both can't go and leave the restaurant but that is exactly what they were doing before Rick and Lisa showed up.
Rick cleans the damaged restaurant in his gloves. Really, who cleans in their driving gloves?
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Epsiode #24 Showdown
Who was that guy walking with Max? Max still looks pale so I guess that's just his skin color.
Rick is wearing a very early 80's Japanese fashion complete with cravat... slick!
Lisa flakes out telling Rick she is love with him.
Some of the armor animation in Lisa's shuttle goofs up.
Is Khyron just waiting in his battlepod 24/7 for a battle, sheesh.
The transformation of Max's Veritech into Battloid is awesome! Also, the Super Verictech looks cool just sitting there.
After Rick leaves Lisa's shuttle we begin the first of Myria's arcade capers (probably my favorite part of the first 36 episodes).
Oh, Max's pallor looks better when he talks Rick into going to the arcade but when they arrive he looks sickly.
Look! It's little Jason again! Man that kid never grows. I wish arcades here in the US paid out tokens! One of those games looks to me it might be Lupin.
Whent Max and Myria's game being quite the collection of strangeness surrounds the action.
I love this arcade scene!
Back on earth Admiral Hayes tells Lisa that the UEG is going to fire the Grand Cannon at the enemy before they enter peace negations. This smells of War War II and the dropping the bomb on Hiroshima.
The Zentraedi defectors come UNGLUED when Rico tells them that marriage means that the two people go away and spend all their time pressing their lips together. Lol!
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