Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

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Soul Bro Ryu
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Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Gundamn! @ MAHQ Ep. 072 - "Starblazing Saddles!"
- Download Now!: 64 kbps - 153 min., 17 sec. (2:33:17) - 70.2 MB

Special Guest Host: Tim Eldred (Extended Segment)

Segment Breakdown for this Episode:

01. PETCO (Commercial)
Runtime: 0:00:00 - 0:00:43

02. Intro: "Neo's News & the Gundamn Mailbag!"
Runtime: 0:00:43 - 0:36:55 (Duration: 0:36:12)

03. Champs Sports (Commercial)
Runtime: 0:36:55 - 0:37:47 (Duration: 0:00:52)

04. Anime Addicts Anonymous (Podcast)
Runtime: 0:37:47 - 0:39:16 (Duration: 0:01:29)

05. Extended Segment: "An Evening with Tim Eldred" (Interview)
Runtime: 0:39:16 - 2:23:53 (Duration: 1:44:37)

06. GoDaddy (Commercial)
Runtime: 2:23:53 - 2:24:46 (Duration: 0:00:53)

07. Mobile Suit Gundam Abridged by Gutted Wren Studios (YouTube Channel)
Runtime: 2:24:46 - 2:25:47 (Duration: 0:01:01)

08. Outro: "Closing/Peep the Websites!"
Runtime: 2:25:47 - 2:33:17 (Duration: 0:07:30)

Guest host and anime industry pioneer Tim Eldred joins us to discuss his involvement in the domestic production of Armored Trooper VOTOMS, being the webmaster of Starblazers.com and working in the animation & comic industry, not to mention his other awesome endeavors! Major thanks go out to Tim for taking time to participate in this episode, as well as to all the fantastic listeners that sent in questions! Make sure to visit and bookmark his websites -

- Starblazers.com
The Official English Website of the anime classic, Space Battleship Yamoto, and it's American localization, Star Blazers!

- GreaseMonkeyBook.com
An original sci-fi novel series written & illustrated by the man himself!

Want to have your Gundamn-centric works featured in the next episode? Then, send in your creative entries for the next "Gundamnation Spotlight" to [email protected]!

After listening to this episode, make sure to check out the gang at the "I Thought The Smelled Bad On The Outside" podcast! Your neighborhood podcasting whore, Soul Bro Ryu, recently recorded with show hosts and MechaTalk.net regulars, The Fowl Sorcerous and Jabman025! That right, your neighborhood Defender of Destiny! The episode, which was about "Current Trends in Anime we Love & Loathe", will soon be posted, but until check out their stable of previous eps at the links featured below:

I Thought The Smelled Bad On The Outside
Main Website: http://sbopodcast.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SBOpodcast
Also available on iTunes!

Thanks for having me on the show, gentlemen, and for all who listen, don't forget to subscribe to them on iTunes, follow them on Twitter, and peep their main site on the regular for updates and new episodes!

Over on Gundamn.net, Chris recently posted his review of the first 2 volumes of the classic anime new to American shores, "Raijin-Oh"! To learn more about this Sunrise mecha anime series (brought our way by St. Louis-based Anime Midstream), click on the link below for Chris's review:

Otaku Obsession: Matchless Raijin-Oh DVD vols 1-2 review

Also, the Chaos Theater is live with no jive, gang! Join Pedro "Pedobear South" Cortes (of Tomopop.com & Tomocast) and MAHQ & Gundamn's own Chris Guanche in their new podcast - one that focuses on many other facets of Otakudom! Video Games, Comics/Manga, Merchandise, Books, Movies, TV & every other genre of Anime (sans Mecha) will be conversed about over a couple of cold ones by Chris & Pedro and they invite you to join 'em! (NSFW for younger ears!)

Peep the links below for the latest episode & more info:

- Chaos Theater (Main Website)

- Chaos Theater, Ep. 002 - "One Piece" - MP3 (Right-click & Save!)

- Chaos Theater MechaTalk.net Official Forum:
http://www.mechatalk.net/viewforum.php?f=32

- Chaos Theater, Ep. 002 - "One Piece" - Feedback Thread
http://www.mechatalk.net/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=13735

- Feedback Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @CTCast

Many thanks for listening & enjoy!
Soul Bro Ryu
[email protected]

Music & Drops Featured in this Episode

- Cold Open Drop
* "The Rock Returns!" from WWE Monday Night Raw - Feb. 14th, 2011

- Intro Segment, Opening Song
"Mizu No Hoshi He Ai Wo Komete (From an Aqueous Star with Love)" (Reprise) by MIO
* from "Super Robot Taisen, Super Vocal Collection"

- Intro Segment, Closing BGM
"Itsumo Anata ga" (Karaoke Version) by Tetsuro Oda
* ED from "Armored Trooper VOTOMS"

- Champs Sports Commercial BGM
"la sadness" by aRTIST oF tHE yEAR
* from the album "vELOUR bRIGADE"

- Extended Segment, Opening BGM
"Honoo no Sadame" (Karaoke Version) by Tetsuro Oda
* OP from "Armored Trooper VOTOMS"

- Extended Segment, Closing BGM - 1st Selection
"Stardust Serenade ~ M13" by Hiroki Inui
* from the "Armored Trooper VOTOMS" OST

- Extended Segment, Closing BGM - 2nd Selection
"Space Battleship Yamato" by Isao Sasaki
* OP from "Space Battleship Yamato" (Anime Series)

- GoDaddy Commercial BGM
"sexy me, sexy you" by aRTIST oF tHE yEAR
* from the album "vELOUR bRIGADE"

- Outro BGM
"Funk For Nerds" by Forss
* from the album "Soulhack"

- Outro Drop
* "NYPD Band playing Space Battleship Yamato theme in Macy's Parade (25 Nov 2010)" by DocSane (YouTube Channel)

- Shinjuku Station & MAHQ Signoff
"Mizu No Hoshi He Ai Wo Komete (From an Aqueous Star with Love)" (Reprise) by MIO
* from "Super Robot Taisen, Super Vocal Collection"

- Stinger Drop
* "Oscar Talk with Mike Tyson & Leonard Maltin" by FunnyorDie (YouTube Channel)

Peep the Websites!:
MAHQ.net - Gundamn.net - Gundamn! @ MechaTalk Forum - Chaos Theater - Chaos Theater @ Mechatalk Forum - Level Nine - @MAHQDotNet - @GundamnAtMAHQ - Digg - MySpace - FaceBook Profile - FaceBook Group - Spill - Mevio - iTunes - Main RSS Feed - Shinjuku Station Fight Tube!

Podcasts & Links We're Fond Of:
Unpopular Kulture - Solar Radio Wave - Pretentious Internet Theatre - Row Row Fight Da Powah! - The Reverse Thieves: A Blog Duet with Hisui & Narutaki - SSAA Podcast: The Ass-Backwards Anime Podcast - Anime Addicts Anonymous - Jabman025's YouTube Channel - Mobile Suit Gundam Abridged by Gutted Wren Studios - 12 Volt Revolt

Sponsors & Special Offers:
GoDaddy - PETCO - Champs Sports

Zune: zune://subscribe/?Gundamn=http://www.podshow.com/feeds/gundamntheshow.xml


Feedback:
[email protected]
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Mu La Flaga
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Ok so I just finished listening to the episode, pretty interesting discussion with Tim Eldred and all.
I would like to say thanks to Tim for his answer to 1 of my 2 questions.
My own answer is along the lines of VOTOMs could potentially push the envelope further it depends what direction they take things in, in future.
I think he is right in reguards to not being able to do much more with AT themselves.
Gasaraki is one of those series I've watched and I do kind of see what he meant by not much to them, where as the ATs have a little personnality to them.
But I could see other things maybe.

Kind of surprised my mailbag questions got glossed over, ah well, I can always recycle them for later, otherwise mailbag will be rather low on topics or entries :P
timeldred
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

I'm happy to answer any extra questions here.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

I have one. Have you heard of the Super Robot Wars franchise of SRPGs, and if so what's your opinion of VOTOMS being in that kind of setting and teaming up with the likes of the Gundams, the Mazingers, the Getter Robos and so forth?

(Note: VOTOMS is making its debut entry into the franchise with the upcoming Z2 game. Specifically the TV series, The Last Red Shoulder, Roots of Ambition, and Pailsen Files. A full series list can be found here.)
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

I haven't played SRW games per se, but I've lost many hours to their PS1 equivalents and three editions of Another Century's Episode on the PS2. They're fun in a kind of dream-team way, but they have little or nothing to contribute to the source stories. As far as the ATs mixing it up with other mecha, they probably couldn't do much against a mobile suit, but they definitely fit into some tighter spaces. Depends entirely on the mission.
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yazi88
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

If Chris talks out of his ass with Soul Bro and Neo being his worthless lackeys/minions would that make Chris the Mighty Monarch with Soul Bro and Neo being henchmen 21 and 24 respectively?

Although 21 would suit Soul Bro pretty well with archaic TV knowledge and 24 for Neo for being misinformed/clueless. :D
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Leave it to Neo to butcher another forum members name. I feel your pain TakaTahuNuva. It's pronounced "mech tun gee emm", there is no R in there I'm not part of 'merca f**k yeah!!!.
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Mu La Flaga
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

As I've said before, Neo will have to issue out more Gundamn apologies :P
Probably be going through them faster then printing presses make money notes heh.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Mekton GM wrote:Leave it to Neo to butcher another forum members name. I feel your pain TakaTahuNuva.
They've actually pronounced it fine lately, but I don't mind either way - it's really my own fault for choosing such a long and confusing username. :P

Anyway this was the most enjoyable Gundamn episode I've listened to in months! Thanks Tim for answering my VOTOMS/Yamato questions! (and to the hosts for my mailbag question - I'm already at the halfway point in Brain Powered, and yeah, it is quite a mess. In terms of script and direction, you could say it's like a 26-episodes version of Wings of Rean.)

I do have one more for Tim - did the Roots of ambition novelization give any more details regarding the test-tube baby Pailsen saw? I thought Phantom Arc will involve it in some way, since you could see it in the opening, but alas that fell flat (though I did enjoy it very much).

Oh, and another one - I noticed you mentioned Panzer World Galient a couple of times, I've always been meaning to check that series out (if I could find it). How is it compared to other Takahashi shows such as VOTOMS or Gasaraki?
ohhhh snap
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

I didn't get any more of the novel translated other than that one key moment, since I knew it was the most important. There is a *little* more about the space-baby-Chirico flashback in Pailsen Files and Phantom Arc, at least enough to piece together what Pailsen actually saw. The only detail we don't have is where he originally found the space baby or what he did with it. (Now THAT was a story worth telling.)

Galient is the show Takahashi did between Votoms and Layzner, when he was at his creative peak. I'll just describe it to you this way: Star Wars by way of Lord of the Rings with giant robots. If you like all three of those things, Galient is made for you. Also, here's some good news: the superhuman fansubber who calls himself "Crinn Cashim" (who previously did all of Dougram for us) is currently halfway through Galient.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Thanks for answering my Votoms side story questions, Tim, especially by adding in info for Commando Vorct! I do want to ask though, since I just saw Case; IRVINE raw: The ATs in that show are done in 2D, which look absolutely gorgeous, but it seems that in the Takahashi directed pieces (Pailsen Files, Phantom Arc, Alone Again), he seems to insist on using CGI to render the ATs. Any insight as to why that may be the case, especially considering he's an old industry regular. Thanks agian in advance!
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Congratulations for an entertaining and very informative episode. Tim did provide some useful insight into the history of Votoms, both as a property and in terms of its fandom, that helps put a number of things in their proper context. Not to mention that the additional trivia about his involvement in recent animated productions and with respect to the entertainment business in general was also rather welcome.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Space Battleship Yamato in any of its incarnations but I'll get around to it sooner or later. While I am relatively familiar with other Leiji Matsumoto works, it's clear Yamato deserves to be appreciated in its own right.

I suppose it wouldn't be unfair to say that Takahashi was at his best when trying to tell completely new stories instead of attempting to extend old ones way past their expiration date? As fans we all want to see more of Chirico but at some point that overly restricted approach was bound to hit a wall. For better or for worse, it's nice to see Sunrise is trying to move in a different direction by now.

And curiously enough, I've just finished watching Case ; Irvine too. :lol:

I thought it was a decent self-contained story, if nothing particularly innovative or unusual. Even without knowing the language the visual narrative was straightforward enough to follow. Perhaps a little too much though, in terms of general predictability. The new character designs really aren't going for nostalgia at all but at the very least the mecha themselves seem like they would fit in easily enough within the established Votoms universe. I'd say the battles were fairly enjoyable too, even if the last one was slightly over-the-top.

Granted, the contrast between characters and mecha indicates that they were obviously trying to appeal to a younger audience and not just preexisting fans, but I don't think the staff did a bad job. With the possible exception of one character in particular (Dona), the cast didn't get on my nerves and pretty much did what they had to do. I would have liked to see a little more elaboration regarding Irvine's past though but presumably the limited running time ended up being an obstacle.

On a completely unrelated note, one of my favorite Takahashi works didn't even involve him as the original creator but instead just happened to be his TV adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

The Strike Dog didn't take out the Marshydog. They both fell down a pit! It was a draw! :P
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Thanks again guys for asking my question, maybe the "sex robot" question will go into the topic submissions page at some point! ^_^

Joking aside, I'm not sure about the whole "charisma" answer. I can appreciate that a charismatic person will make you want to follow them, but Reccoa seemed to totally change her morality when she joined the Titans.

No one can be made to do what they don't want to do, and what normally happens with charismatic people is they eventually show their true nature, making the follower realises their mistake in following that person. Reccoa on the other hand, followed Scirocco's orders to her eventual demise.

I've been gaining an interest in Votoms recently thanks to you guys, and have seen some of the episodes of Phantom Arc. I love the "old skool" ground and pound style of it, and I definitely plan to see the original series and the new spinoffs at some point!
Last edited by raijinz on Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Swordbits: The way I heard it, the CG ATs were not Takahashi's idea, but rather a commandment from Bandai during the making of Pailsen Files. The animation staff didn't want to do it--like us, they believed 2D would have much better results. But Bandai went CG with Gundam to make the making of toys and models easier, and they insisted on the same production model for Votoms.

I haven't built any of my 1/20 AT models from Bandai yet, so I can't say for sure if they were a result of this process.

Personally, I don't object to the use of CG in Votoms. If anything, it was further proof of how brilliantly functional the AT design is. But it opened up a Pandora's box in terms of creative license and (as I described in the interview) lead to some unfortunate creative choices.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

raijinz wrote:Joking aside, I'm not sure about the whole "charisma" answer. I can appreciate that a charismatic person will make you want to follow them, but Reccoa seemed to totally change her morality when she joined the Titans.

No one can be made to do what they don't want to do, and what normally happens with charismatic people is they eventually show their true nature, making the follower realises their mistake in following that person. Reccoa on the other hand, followed Sirrocco's orders to her eventual demise.
Reccoa falling for Scirocco's charms and doing the things she does with the Titans are two totally separate things. I've spoken at length in the past here and on Gundamn about Reccoa's motivations, so I'm not going to repeat any of that. If you want to hear more, dig into the archives.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

TakaTahuNuva wrote:
Mekton GM wrote:Leave it to Neo to butcher another forum members name. I feel your pain TakaTahuNuva.
They've actually pronounced it fine lately, but I don't mind either way - it's really my own fault for choosing such a long and confusing username. :P
It's been bugging me for some strange reason since the first time I heard your username, Mister Taka.
Is it inspired by anything in particular?? It does sound like someone's name on Bionicle, the LEGO franchise. Am I wrong?? Because being fairly young on this forum, I know this stuff from my childhood. I'm only asking because maybe, one day, Neo will just sort get your name and maybe more people will understand it. XD

BTW: Again, sorry for my butchering of the english language.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

Chris wrote:Reccoa falling for Scirocco's charms and doing the things she does with the Titans are two totally separate things. I've spoken at length in the past here and on Gundamn about Reccoa's motivations, so I'm not going to repeat any of that. If you want to hear more, dig into the archives.
I think I'll do that, I'm rewatching Zeta now, so maybe It'll make more sense second time round.
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

What a fantastic episode! The interview was extremely informative; I was surprised how the crew ended up asking a lot of questions that I wanted asked, but didn't think of at the time. Great showing by all three of you as well as Mr Eldred.

Thanks for taking the time to go into the new upcoming Votoms OVAS too! Based on Mr Eldred's comments, I'm actually excited now (instead of fearful) of what's coming up!

What's everyone's take on the direction of the franchise? Is it a bright future for Votoms (I hope so)?
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Re: Ep. 072 - Starblazing Saddles!

They're finally doing what they should have done after the series ended, so it seems plenty bright to me. My only worry is that the original writing staff doesn't seem to be around any more, so new stories will be written by others with less real-world experience. That can make a huge difference.

As I said in the interview, they very best thing they could do now is bring Blue Knight to anime. Blue Knight toys have been produced within the last 10 years, so I don't believe it's been forgotten.
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