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China to Make Macross 00, World Facepalms

See the newest anime to come out of China.

By GodLen   |  Jan. 10, 2010


    

People complain that in anime we get moe show after moe show with no end in sight. Complain as you will but know this, at least we are not living in China where they get cheap knock off after cheap knock off. The newest show to come out of China is Astro Plane, which is basically Macross with a tad bit of Gundam 00 thrown in to the mix.

They must have come to the conclusion that Macross F and Gundam 00 sold well in Japan, so if we combine them both and add in Communist propaganda, then this will be the next Lord of the Rings, right? Sad to say that even though I’m making fun of it, I still want to watch this; the unfortunate drawback to being a mecha fanboy.

[Via AnimeNation Blog]  
 
  
  And the worst trailer music of the year goes to...
Filed under: Macross Frontier, Macross, Mobile Suit Gundam 00
24 Comments
rocketbomberon Jan. 10, 2010 at 6:23 p.m.
Macross is a Gundam rip-off, so at least this is only a rip-off once removed.  (of course I speak historically, as Macross has taken on a life of it's own, past its origin as a Gundam ripoff.  but:  I should remind you, the SDF transforms into a freakin' robot.  Mel Brooks made fun of this is Space Balls.) 
 
Actually, I seem to have lost my point... 
 
Giant Robots, as a major story component and plot point, are a delicate thing.  Too far in any direction and they are just huge targets for ridicule and dispargement. 
 
Unless we're talking TTGL, where Over The Top is just Made of Awesome, With Drills. 
 
Anyway:  China Anime most likely equals fail, but I'll give them some credit for attempting to copy successful Robot anime... 
 
...And Macross was, originally, a Gundam ripoff.  Imitation can be a road to greatness in the full unfolding of time.   
metalsnakezeroon Jan. 10, 2010 at 6:44 p.m.
O_o WHAT!?
Large amounts of Moe > Bad Chinese anime
Sigueon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:09 p.m.
I want to watch this for the lulz.
VamptVoon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:19 p.m.
Hey, at least it can't be as bad as Taekwon V, right?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Taekwon_V 
 
@rocketbomber: Saying that Macross is a "ripoff" of Gundam is akin to saying that every robot show that came after Evangelion is an Evangelion rip-off. Sure, Macross takes a lot of cues from Gundam, but so did a lot of mecha shows in the '80s. Let's not forget that Gundam single-handedly created the real robot genre, so all real robot shows owe quite a lot of their aesthetic and tone to that series. 
 
@metalsnakezero: False. Bad Chinese anime >> Large amounts of moé (especially when those Chinese anime contain planes that turn into robots)
Black_Roseon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:24 p.m.
That purple robot looks like Eva 01. 
Slimon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:52 p.m.
@Godlen :  Sad to say that even though I’m making fun of it, I still want to watch this; the unfortunate drawback to being a mecha fanboy.
 
this.
rocketbomberon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:57 p.m.
@VamptVo:  
 
" Shoji Kawamori is definitely best known as being the man responsible for Macross [premiering in 1982]. With Mobile Suit Gundam changing the face of anime with its realistic and piloted giant robots, and wanting to return to the ever-popular space battleship concept, Kawamori, a young animator at Studio Nue, decided to combine the ideas and came up with a huge transforming battleship, hence: Superdimensional Fortress Macross. Originally not meant to be taken too seriously, the show was supposed to feature an all-female bridge crew, a male alien spy who has a love affair with the captain, and a supergenius ace pilot who, against all existing anime tradition, is not the story's main character. Some of the wacky ideas stayed, and some were ditched, but Kawamori's strange sense of humor is frequently evident in the anime he works on, including Escaflowne." 
 
link:   http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/fall97/09_20b.html 
 
Gundam didn't even create the piloted 'robot': that nod goes to Mazinger Z [1972] -- or back to Tetsujin 28 [the manga publ. in 1956 - excuse me, I forgot to add the proper emphasis:  1956] though 'Gigantor' was controlled by a remote, not directly by a pilot, so its inclusion is only for completists -- so we can call both Macross & Gundam Mazinger Z ripoffs, if one wants to go that direction. 
 
Wiki Gundam:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam  
Wiki Mecha:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecha 
 
Giant robots didn't start with Gundam nee 'Gunboy' but Gundam certainly did a lot of things right: re-writing the Mecha handbook, as it were. 
 
This also made Gundam a target for flattery and/or parody  (see the quote that starts this comment.)
BruceMcFon Jan. 10, 2010 at 7:57 p.m.
If you have a thingamajig that shoots a massive bolt of energy: why do you have to wave it around like a sword? Why not just POINT IT at the target and then shoot a massive bolt of energy? 
 
In the trailer, though, the dissonance between the giant robots and things blowing up and the music has rounded the corner on lame and is heading toward hilarious.
JJOR64on Jan. 10, 2010 at 11:24 p.m.
EPIC!
JackSukeruon Jan. 11, 2010 at 12:29 a.m.
Good thing I don't care about giant robots. 
 
I care about guys in silly plastic suits martial arting monsters to death though, which is just as ridiculous.
XChileon Jan. 11, 2010 at 1:30 a.m.
I just pulled one of my fingernails off to ease the pain.
HeeroYuyon Jan. 11, 2010 at 3:41 a.m.
@rocketbomber:@VamptVo: Oh for craps' sake, it doesn't matter who used similar themes as who in the case you guys are arguing anyways. If you want to argue semantics, then anime in general is just a warped ripoff of old as hell American cartoons and Japanese ukiyoe. The issue here isn't a matter of "ripping off" on that level. On the level you two are discussing, there's still creative design in and of it's own involved. This Chinese abomination however, is almost cut for cut an exact copy melded together purely for the sake of keeping out the originals it's taken from (because it's pretty obvious that's what China's been trying to do from the start).
 
If you must compare it to anything, try thinking of the relationship between Robotech and Macross. About the only difference between this crap and Robotech sadly is that Robotech was made with the intention of making it more enjoyable for local audiences, and not for keeping Japan from being able to compete in the American market (also, Harmony Gold paid licensing rights to make it, so it doesn't really deserve to be called "ripping off" at all).
Kelleth moderator on Jan. 11, 2010 at 4:49 a.m.
Starscream cries
Konandaon Jan. 11, 2010 at 5:11 a.m.

That trailer music is way too calm.
John_Martoneon Jan. 11, 2010 at 10:25 a.m.
So...
A) I was hoping this article would be about China making Macross units... I.E. Transforming fighter jets.
B) This is... well, surprisingly unsurprising.
C) Good discussions folks ^_^
cfatalison Jan. 11, 2010 at 10:28 a.m.
@metalsnakezero said:
" O_o WHAT!? Large amounts of Moe > Bad Chinese anime "
will agree
 @RockmanBionics said:
" Good thing I don't care about giant robots. 
 
I care about guys in silly plastic suits martial arting monsters to death though, which is just as ridiculous. "

gantz?
@BruceMcF said:
" If you have a thingamajig that shoots a massive bolt of energy: why do you have to wave it around like a sword? Why not just POINT IT at the target and then shoot a massive bolt of energy?  In the trailer, though, the dissonance between the giant robots and things blowing up and the music has rounded the corner on lame and is heading toward hilarious. "
ever watched linebarrel? they did that, and apparently the swinging is way more successful
VamptVoon Jan. 11, 2010 at 10:49 a.m.
@rocketbomber:   I never said that Gundam created the robot genre. I said the "real robot" genre. Mazinger Z was the first robot piloted from the inside, but that was what we call a "super robot." Gundam birthed the style of using giant robots as realistic military forces.
 
@HeeroYuy: That's what I was trying to say! Pointing fingers and talking about who copied whom is stupid – unless we're talking about clear rip-offs like this Chinese show, which is obviously just grabbing the Valkyrie design and running with it.
John_Martoneon Jan. 11, 2010 at 1:39 p.m.
@VamptVo said:
" @rocketbomber:   I never said that Gundam created the robot genre. I said the "real robot" genre. Mazinger Z was the first robot piloted from the inside, but that was what we call a "super robot." Gundam birthed the style of using giant robots as realistic military forces.
 
@HeeroYuy: That's what I was trying to say! Pointing fingers and talking about who copied whom is stupid – unless we're talking about clear rip-offs like this Chinese show, which is obviously just grabbing the Valkyrie design and running with it. "
Look, all I know is that if a japanese pop star starting singing right now, we'd stop fighting.
constanzadellarosaon Jan. 11, 2010 at 5:50 p.m.
I'm scared. This looks like a Mega Mecha Mash-up between Gundam, Macross and Evangelion. If I see a drill appearing from nowhere, I'll scream histerically.
Natendowiion Jan. 17, 2010 at noon
It can't be worse than Macross 7 can it?

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Macross Frontier aired from April 3, 2008 to September 25, 2008 on MBS in Japan. It consists of 25 episodes.

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