If you think Japanese produced daikaiju movies don't have compelling characters,then you haven't seen Don "The Predator" Frye of the UFC in his debut role in Godzilla Final Wars.
"Go right into it!"
Yeah, I agree with you. The Harmony Gold ROBOTECH audio for Macross has a very 'kids only' feel. Still, Harmony Gold did not cut out many of the adult elements such as the deaths of Roy Focker/Fokker and Kanzaki/Ben, the destruction of the Earth's surface, and Kaifun/Kyle's drinking. So I guess ROBOTECH was a step towards an more adult cartoon, not an adult cartoon itself.
ROBOTECH is like the plastic pull-ups you get to wear before you're ready for tighty-whities. That should go on the DVD case. :)
I saw the most recent King Kong in the theaters. I don't know why I didn't think of it as a monster movie. Of the big-budget 'giant' movies that have worked recently (Transformers 2007, King Kong, Cloverfield), they have gone out of their way to have very compelling human characters, and sometimes humanized the giant (especially in Transformers 2007 and King Kong). It's as if they're acknowledging the emotional gap the audience normally feels with the giant and they're trying to close that gap. Especially with the facial features.
I guess Japanese audiences can emotionally connect with the giants without them being humanized. They have different tastes than we do.
Of the three MechaGodzilla, I like the second one best from the '90s, with this one [the third incarnation] coming 2nd on my list.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
haven't been much for the Vinyl scene but the Gore and Phantom versions of Sky Deviler have paved the way combined with Sanjeev's lust for the glow... This set (so I can get the glow) is next in my must get list. Damn Sanjeev! It's all his fault!
I've only recently become remotely interested in the vinyl stuff (thanks a lot to the Gore Sky Deviler for opening up a new world of junk to burn my wallet, lol), but I saw these in the newsfeed here on CDX and decided to check it out.
Well, I ordered the black one (aka Skunkwerks) first and really liked it a lot. So I decided to go back and order the whole set because, well... gotta catch 'em all... hehehe They're all cool, but the black one and the glow ones are definitely my faves.
Also, as a side note, I've noticed that in a lot of the online pics, the black one looks kinda... brown. Well it's not. It's an awesome matte black finish that isn't really done proper justice in most of the online photos. So yeah, just thought I'd mention that.
Anyway... these things are really awesome. They're big compared to most of the other vinyl figures I've seen online, and weigh quite a good bit.
In terms of being a full blown action figure, I'd say it's more of a vinyl sculpture with limited articulation, but then again, that's one of the things that makes it so cool. The beauty of the sculpt, and the simplicity of the toy. It's a nice combination, and a refreshing break from the "handle with extreme caution" side effect of modern gokins.
I think this is one vinyl most robo-fans can really appreciate, even if you're not into the whole "designer" vinyl thing. In fact, forget about vinyl... It's just a really cool toy robot. :-)
Oh, and I agree with Dave. I think the packaging rocks!
I finally found one on ebay for an affordable price, about $75 before shipping in the US. :) I am so glad I waited. Prior, it was hard to find one for under $130.
Well,I don't see how Macross broke the idea in America that cartoons have to be for kids,since it came on after school with a pretty corny dub and was being aired to support a toyline.
That's really beside the fact,because I like Macross,and I also like Destroy all Monsters. I just fail to see how a cartoon about transformable robots and an idol singer who defeats war through the power of Jpop is an alltime classic thought provoking adult drama,but a dinosaur fighting aliens should be ridiculed.
Again,I like Macross,but an objective observer would be just as likely to say it's stupid.
As far as that hypothesis about Americans not liking "giant" monsters,(what about King Kong and Cloverfield?) I'd have to say it may have some truth,but I think it's mostly due to the stupid kneejerk "LOL RUBBAR SUTE" reaction.
Macross is a cartoon/animated piece of material. It has a a very engaging story, mind-blowing mechanical designs, and a metric ton of J-pop. It's one of the first series that we Americans saw that broke the old idea that cartoons were just for kids. And more good anime followed to keep breaking that idea.
It is possible that monster movies can also be quality films. However, my exposure to monster movies has always been the really bad 1960s/1970s movies with campy plots and even campier special effects, the ones you see as a local UHF station Saturday afternoon movie. I am not currently aware of any quality monster movies. If I saw one, I'd probably change my mind about short dancing men in rubber suits.
Did you pick up the Appleseed Ex Machina movie? In one of the special feature clips, a producer talks about how Japanese giant robot and giant monster movies don't usually do as well in America. This producer makes the hypothesis that the American audience usually feels emotionally disconnected from things that are much larger than human size. The Alien, the Predator, and the Terminator are all human-size or at most 2 or 3 times human size. Appleseed supposedly works in the US because the cyborgs and the Landmates are about human size.
I think there is some truth to this hypothesis, but I'm pretty sure some people here will disagree.
There "really isn't much denying" (huh?) that kaiju eiga involves actors in suits,allthough I will deny the sets are "cheap". (I doubt you've read Eiji Tsubuyara:Master of Monsters,or any other reference material.)
Of course,can you really deny that Macross is "just" a cartoon?
Sorry if I'm being a little overdramatic,but even though I'm totally used to people bashing pre-CGI movies,I never thought I'd see that kind of comment on a website about Mazinger Z action figures.
I bought that same bootleg disc, hoping it was a real DVD, and I'd recommend against buying it. Really s**t quality: I'm not about to go put the DVD in, but I think it was a fullscreen copy stretched out to widescreen? The VHS rip I've got on the computer is a lot better-looking.
Just busting your balls. I drive in a work truck all day, so podcasts are what I mostly listen to. For that reason, I like long podcasts as it gives me more to listen to in a week.
We normally keep things under 45 minutes unless we've got a real good reason to do it, like the DYRL commentary, or if it's something we are completely obsessed with, like Macross. This was ~45 minutes of clips, then like 50 minutes of Destroy All Monsters, and I think that is pushing it. I'm also trying to trim down the DAM stuff, because that still sounds too long but we'll see what happens when that goes up this weekend. :) You will see why the DAM part is so long when it goes up.
Actually, I like this podcast. I guess the previous post did come off a little rough. I was just pointing out they did really long shows in the past.
Even when they're really informative and entertaining (like the Fist of the North Star TV one was), I find that really long podcasts are hard to listen to. I think that about an hour is a good upper-limit for a podcast.
And even though giant monster movies can be fun to watch sometimes, you know it's just grown men in rubber suits dancing on a cheap model set in-front of a camera. There really isn't much denying that.
Umm... "purist", here. While I actually don't own or like the Gao God/Animus (as far as a repaint), I do know a few things about it regarding the conversion.
None of the decals were imported over, which occupy the front of the metal on both shoulders and the front (both inside and outside) of the lower legs. On the lower legs, these were simply replaced with gold paint; though, again, no paint was added to the inside of the lower legs. Whereas on the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord red paint was added to the shoulder armor in place of the decals, none was added to Animus to replace its own.
All ABS that had a metallic finish to it on Gao God (Saw Shark's gills & the space between Brown Bison's retracted legs) was replaced with painted equivalents here.
Any ABS part that appears gold was originally painted gold as well on Gao God (mostly the detachable bow & Brown Bison's horns)
These changes were identical to the ones on the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord. All molds on the Black Lion and Leopard Ancient Wild Zords are identical to the Red Lion and White Tiger Wild Zords; though I'm not sure about changes in paint apps though, since it's kinda hard finding good clear pictures of the Japanese ver. online
Oh, BTW, despite what appears on the front of Animus' box, Gao God never used Gao SawShark's tail as a weapon; depending instead on his long saw-like nose for close-range use. And when his nose was paired with the bow from his head (which neither toy can recreate), you got the Tenchu Power Arrow finisher.
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CollectionDX Staff
I agree with you to what you said to Mr. Kidnicky this past January. Ideon is not crap...at all. I am a die-hard fan of anything Ideon. I love your review of the SOC version, and I've bought it last year. I love the freaking toy so much, I've bought another one.
You're absolutely right, Ideon isn't crap and neither is the anime. I've noticed you haven't seen the TV series in whole when I last saw your video review of it. If you still haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you to watch the anime. You won't be disappointed.
Oh, and the 80 minute show about Macross TV or the 90 minute show about Fist of the North Star TV wasn't too long? Or is the rubber-suit monster movie review gonna be a whole hour?
Just picked this guy up and I must admit, I'm a little disappointed. The fact that the panels on the shoulder blades/fins/whatever they are are very loose and tend to pop off with very little prompting.
While I realize that this is probably not a problem with each and every figure I can't help but feel that this problem isn't at all uncommon with this figure.
Other than that it's a solid little figure. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the Rebuild of Evangelion figures look like.
If you think Japanese produced daikaiju movies don't have compelling characters,then you haven't seen Don "The Predator" Frye of the UFC in his debut role in Godzilla Final Wars.
"Go right into it!"
Yeah, I agree with you. The Harmony Gold ROBOTECH audio for Macross has a very 'kids only' feel. Still, Harmony Gold did not cut out many of the adult elements such as the deaths of Roy Focker/Fokker and Kanzaki/Ben, the destruction of the Earth's surface, and Kaifun/Kyle's drinking. So I guess ROBOTECH was a step towards an more adult cartoon, not an adult cartoon itself.
ROBOTECH is like the plastic pull-ups you get to wear before you're ready for tighty-whities. That should go on the DVD case. :)
I saw the most recent King Kong in the theaters. I don't know why I didn't think of it as a monster movie. Of the big-budget 'giant' movies that have worked recently (Transformers 2007, King Kong, Cloverfield), they have gone out of their way to have very compelling human characters, and sometimes humanized the giant (especially in Transformers 2007 and King Kong). It's as if they're acknowledging the emotional gap the audience normally feels with the giant and they're trying to close that gap. Especially with the facial features.
I guess Japanese audiences can emotionally connect with the giants without them being humanized. They have different tastes than we do.
Of the three MechaGodzilla, I like the second one best from the '90s, with this one [the third incarnation] coming 2nd on my list.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
That's why he's "teh Jerk"!
"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High
haven't been much for the Vinyl scene but the Gore and Phantom versions of Sky Deviler have paved the way combined with Sanjeev's lust for the glow... This set (so I can get the glow) is next in my must get list. Damn Sanjeev! It's all his fault!
___________________
CollectionDX Writer
Great review Sanjeev!
I've only recently become remotely interested in the vinyl stuff (thanks a lot to the Gore Sky Deviler for opening up a new world of junk to burn my wallet, lol), but I saw these in the newsfeed here on CDX and decided to check it out.
Well, I ordered the black one (aka Skunkwerks) first and really liked it a lot. So I decided to go back and order the whole set because, well... gotta catch 'em all... hehehe They're all cool, but the black one and the glow ones are definitely my faves.
Also, as a side note, I've noticed that in a lot of the online pics, the black one looks kinda... brown. Well it's not. It's an awesome matte black finish that isn't really done proper justice in most of the online photos. So yeah, just thought I'd mention that.
Anyway... these things are really awesome. They're big compared to most of the other vinyl figures I've seen online, and weigh quite a good bit.
In terms of being a full blown action figure, I'd say it's more of a vinyl sculpture with limited articulation, but then again, that's one of the things that makes it so cool. The beauty of the sculpt, and the simplicity of the toy. It's a nice combination, and a refreshing break from the "handle with extreme caution" side effect of modern gokins.
I think this is one vinyl most robo-fans can really appreciate, even if you're not into the whole "designer" vinyl thing. In fact, forget about vinyl... It's just a really cool toy robot. :-)
Oh, and I agree with Dave. I think the packaging rocks!
I finally found one on ebay for an affordable price, about $75 before shipping in the US. :) I am so glad I waited. Prior, it was hard to find one for under $130.
I should've waited for this instead of getting the 6.5 version of this exact same suit. Oh well,I might still get Kiryu.
Well,I don't see how Macross broke the idea in America that cartoons have to be for kids,since it came on after school with a pretty corny dub and was being aired to support a toyline.
That's really beside the fact,because I like Macross,and I also like Destroy all Monsters. I just fail to see how a cartoon about transformable robots and an idol singer who defeats war through the power of Jpop is an alltime classic thought provoking adult drama,but a dinosaur fighting aliens should be ridiculed.
Again,I like Macross,but an objective observer would be just as likely to say it's stupid.
As far as that hypothesis about Americans not liking "giant" monsters,(what about King Kong and Cloverfield?) I'd have to say it may have some truth,but I think it's mostly due to the stupid kneejerk "LOL RUBBAR SUTE" reaction.
Macross is a cartoon/animated piece of material. It has a a very engaging story, mind-blowing mechanical designs, and a metric ton of J-pop. It's one of the first series that we Americans saw that broke the old idea that cartoons were just for kids. And more good anime followed to keep breaking that idea.
It is possible that monster movies can also be quality films. However, my exposure to monster movies has always been the really bad 1960s/1970s movies with campy plots and even campier special effects, the ones you see as a local UHF station Saturday afternoon movie. I am not currently aware of any quality monster movies. If I saw one, I'd probably change my mind about short dancing men in rubber suits.
Did you pick up the Appleseed Ex Machina movie? In one of the special feature clips, a producer talks about how Japanese giant robot and giant monster movies don't usually do as well in America. This producer makes the hypothesis that the American audience usually feels emotionally disconnected from things that are much larger than human size. The Alien, the Predator, and the Terminator are all human-size or at most 2 or 3 times human size. Appleseed supposedly works in the US because the cyborgs and the Landmates are about human size.
I think there is some truth to this hypothesis, but I'm pretty sure some people here will disagree.
There "really isn't much denying" (huh?) that kaiju eiga involves actors in suits,allthough I will deny the sets are "cheap". (I doubt you've read Eiji Tsubuyara:Master of Monsters,or any other reference material.)
Of course,can you really deny that Macross is "just" a cartoon?
Sorry if I'm being a little overdramatic,but even though I'm totally used to people bashing pre-CGI movies,I never thought I'd see that kind of comment on a website about Mazinger Z action figures.
I bought that same bootleg disc, hoping it was a real DVD, and I'd recommend against buying it. Really s**t quality: I'm not about to go put the DVD in, but I think it was a fullscreen copy stretched out to widescreen? The VHS rip I've got on the computer is a lot better-looking.
mine tilts forward very easily at the torso joint, anyone else have that problem and how to fix??
Just busting your balls. I drive in a work truck all day, so podcasts are what I mostly listen to. For that reason, I like long podcasts as it gives me more to listen to in a week.
We normally keep things under 45 minutes unless we've got a real good reason to do it, like the DYRL commentary, or if it's something we are completely obsessed with, like Macross. This was ~45 minutes of clips, then like 50 minutes of Destroy All Monsters, and I think that is pushing it. I'm also trying to trim down the DAM stuff, because that still sounds too long but we'll see what happens when that goes up this weekend. :) You will see why the DAM part is so long when it goes up.
-Jeremy
Actually, I like this podcast. I guess the previous post did come off a little rough. I was just pointing out they did really long shows in the past.
Even when they're really informative and entertaining (like the Fist of the North Star TV one was), I find that really long podcasts are hard to listen to. I think that about an hour is a good upper-limit for a podcast.
And even though giant monster movies can be fun to watch sometimes, you know it's just grown men in rubber suits dancing on a cheap model set in-front of a camera. There really isn't much denying that.
(*raises hand*)
Umm... "purist", here. While I actually don't own or like the Gao God/Animus (as far as a repaint), I do know a few things about it regarding the conversion.
These changes were identical to the ones on the Deluxe Wild Force Megazord. All molds on the Black Lion and Leopard Ancient Wild Zords are identical to the Red Lion and White Tiger Wild Zords; though I'm not sure about changes in paint apps though, since it's kinda hard finding good clear pictures of the Japanese ver. online
Oh, BTW, despite what appears on the front of Animus' box, Gao God never used Gao SawShark's tail as a weapon; depending instead on his long saw-like nose for close-range use. And when his nose was paired with the bow from his head (which neither toy can recreate), you got the Tenchu Power Arrow finisher.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
Dear Josh,
I agree with you to what you said to Mr. Kidnicky this past January. Ideon is not crap...at all. I am a die-hard fan of anything Ideon. I love your review of the SOC version, and I've bought it last year. I love the freaking toy so much, I've bought another one.
You're absolutely right, Ideon isn't crap and neither is the anime. I've noticed you haven't seen the TV series in whole when I last saw your video review of it. If you still haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you to watch the anime. You won't be disappointed.
Thanks again sir, you're the man.
-Rodimus
Hater hater hater hater hater hater.
Oh, and the 80 minute show about Macross TV or the 90 minute show about Fist of the North Star TV wasn't too long? Or is the rubber-suit monster movie review gonna be a whole hour?
Rad.
Long podcasts are always good, when you have the time, that is.
Just picked this guy up and I must admit, I'm a little disappointed. The fact that the panels on the shoulder blades/fins/whatever they are are very loose and tend to pop off with very little prompting.
While I realize that this is probably not a problem with each and every figure I can't help but feel that this problem isn't at all uncommon with this figure.
Other than that it's a solid little figure. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the Rebuild of Evangelion figures look like.
well... i got it through blackmarket connections.
perhaps every honest toy collectors should've done that.
life needs to be bittersweet;
you work the sweet side, and i'll manage to embitter it.
this one kicks @$5!!!!!!
though i can't pose it to rip off daitetsujin's chestplate, it still worths my $23
life needs to be bittersweet;
you work the sweet side, and i'll manage to embitter it.
for some reasons, i like the flight type better. it looks much more menacing than the aqua type. must be because of the wing.
life needs to be bittersweet;
you work the sweet side, and i'll manage to embitter it.