Mecha Talk 2.0

Gundamn! @ MAHQ Ep. 027 - "The Face of Post-Racial Gundam"
- Unplugged Version (Ver. 2*): 64 kbps - 112 min., 42 sec. (1:52:42) - 51.5 MB
- Remastered Version: Coming Soon!

Segment Breakdown for this Episode:

01. Intro: "Neo News!"
Runtime: 0:00:00 - 0:12:58

02. Epic Sugar Works (Commercial)
Runtime: 0:12:58 - 0:13:33

03. 1st Segment: "Gundam Round-up!: Turn-A Gundam"
Runtime: 0:13:33 - 1:01:11

04. Preview: Next Time on Gundamn! - "G-Saviour" (w/ Destiny Gundam)
Runtime: 1:01:11 - 1:04:22

05. 2nd Segment: "Hyper-Critical Mass: The Ripple Effects of Internet Opinions on the Anime Industry"
Runtime: 1:04:22 - 1:44:21

06. Florida Oriental Trading (Commercial)
Runtime: 1:44:21 - 1:46:02

07. Outro: "Closing/Roses of Gundamn!/Peep the Websites"
Runtime: 1:46:02 - 1:52:42

Although it's slightly longer than the last ep, this latest edition of "Gundamn! @ MAHQ" is lighter on segments but jammed-packed with discussion! Kicking off the first segment, we rap about the final television series helmed by Yoshiyuki Tomino - "Turn-A Gundam". Afterwards, inspired by an article submitted by Flame-X, we explore an interview with Gundam 00 director, Seiji Mizushima, detailing how recent, passionate opinions of dislike about the series online have affected the staff. The conversation continues into the effects premature, unproven, and negative comments and have upon the development of currently airing series. Mad props to Flame-X for bringing this to our attention!

Also for those that don't know:

For your listening pleasure, episode 26 of Gundamn! was released several days ago. Also, I'm happy to announce what will hopefully be the first of several live call-in sessions on the show. It will take place this Sunday, January 18th at 2:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. If you didn't join us for the first call-in, get a mic/headset, download and install Skype, and add the user "Shinjuku-Station" to your friends list. Like the last time, the call-in will be an open forum, so anything goes as far as topics and questions.

Hope you can join us and enjoy this episode! Thanks for listening,

Soul Bro Ryu
SBRmahq@gmail.com

Peep the Websites!:
MAHQ.net - Gundamn.net - MechaTalk Forum - Level Nine - MySpace - FaceBook - Spill - Mevio - iTunes - Main RSS Feed

Zune: zune://subscribe/?Gundamn=http://www.po ... heshow.xml

Feedback:
GundamnMAHQ@gmail.com

_________________
"Coffee & milk foam is not a meal. No offense Mr Chino. I'm not a fan of your beverages but I sure do love your pants. Thank you & good morning."
Some Dude, "Denny's Commercial"

Soul Bro Ryu
www.Gundamn.net
www.Twitter.com/SoulBroRyu

Wow, 10 days from recording to release. A good start to your editing in 2009, Soul Bro! Was that your New Years resolution? It was more than 10 days, wasn't it?

Seeing as I'm snowed in at the moment, I might as well hunker down and listen. Your timing is masterful.

As per usual, great show. I think you guys covered everything on Turn A Gundam, except for the one death in Gundam comparable to "hamburgers."

Can't wait for the G Savior segment, despite never seeing the movie.

_________________
Cyclone...Jokaaaaa!

http://nihonreview.com/ Latest Reviews:
Kadian1364: Porco Rosso
Buttercup: Liar Game (Live Action)

Thanks to all who participated.

Yes, look forward to that G-Saviour segment, where we bitch at each other for about an hour and I get totally ass raped by Chris and Neo.

Good times.

_________________
Brightening your day, one cute girl at a time.

Current army: 146 lolis strong.

You've got the wrong guy, I swear!

Another great show, you kind of did the internet hatred segment a couple of shows back but it was great to hear it with references to stuff like Transformers and Star Trek.

I couldn't agree more with the people hating on stuff just because it's not a 'niche' thing anymore. I wouldn't call out Naruto as the best example, I think DBZ has gotten the most crap. People rip on Dragonball Z on the internet so much it's disgusting, you can't mention you even like it without some wise-ass saying 'dude I didn't know 5-year olds could use the internet!'

These people gravitate to whatever seems the most obscure barely-downloaded, watch the raw and pretend to know what's going on, only to get pissed when the show is licensed a month later. The thing that is going to snuff out that crowd is when companies pick up stuff as the show is airing in Japan, like 00 was. To disregard something as trash just because you've seen it before and got over the super fanboy-mode you were in while watching it is asinine.

On Turn A, I suppose I was something of an exception in the sense that I wasn't initially put off by the first episode, but then I had the fortune of seeing almost everything else Gundam beforehand. I liked the characters in this show, and I thought that the characters made the show enthralling on a level that wouldn't be possible with even copious amounts of skill/attraction in areas such as mecha design and combat, much like X. I present to Chris an especially large Kudos bar for being the one to wax eloquent on Diana, who I thought was far-and-away the most interesting character, and definitely among the best characters the entirety of Gundam has to offer.

Hyper critical... Yeah, I don't think I could contribute anything new to what has already been said without my own words morphing into the vitriolic acid we all agree to hate, so I'll pass. Suffice it to say, from the word "go" I was wondering which of you would point out the hypocrisy of slamming 00 for changing while the great progenitor, MSG itself, suffered a shortened lifespan due (in part) to such unreserved kneejerk, neo/cainotophobic reactions, so another Kudos bar to Neo. An excellent segment, gentlemen!

EDIT: Oh, and Soul Bro gets a Kudos bar for the conveniently-timed release of this episode. It was quite pleasant to come in from shoveling several thousand pounds of fluffy white dihydrogen monoxide to see "Episode 27".

The Straight Talk Express needs a mechanic, eh? I enthusiastically volunteer for the position!

Another great episode!

I like G-Saviour for what it is, so hopefully it isn't quite that bad. From the clip in this episode, it sounded like you managed to hold some ground, which is no small feat against that tag-team. ...Still, this has piqued my sometimes-sadistic curiosity.

After reading this article, it got both mine and Chris' blood boiling. So, we felt it was time to declare jihad on this type of internet behavior.

_________________
Lelouch is and always will be dead.

B.A., M.A., PhD,
The Yoshiyuki Tomino School of Film.
"You draw'em, we kill'em!"

neomahq@gmail.com

PSN/XBOX Live: NeoLorroke

*First time posting feedback*
Hey guys, I've loved the show but I really love this new episode. Your talk about fandom is great and I really appreciated and enjoyed your analysis of fandom. Especially the "it was better fansubed" angle. I totally agree and I give you guys kudos for your willingness to address the issues I really feel like a lot of people would gloss over.

Keep up the great work. I was listening since episode 3, and I really look forward to each episode. Great work.

_________________
I AM A MAN!!! *PUNCH*

There's a fairly well-known rumor about Turn A that I'm surprised you didn't address (of course, like all rumors, take it with a grain of salt): That Tomino wanted Loran to be a girl, but was overruled by Sunrise.

How likely do you think this is to be true? And how would the show have been different if the main character were a girl?

_________________
Vent Noir

"Excessive Scale: For when that galaxy absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight."
- Mekton Zeta Plus

I don't really put too much stock in rumors, especially anything about Tomino or Turn A. As an industry veteran, I think he would know that you can't have a female lead in a Gundam series. These shows are designed to have heroes that the audience can identify with, and that's teenage boys. Which is why it will sadly always be teenage boys as the stars of the TV series, with only a couple of exceptions, Domon and season 2 Setsuna.

_________________
PSN: amuromsz006

I really wish that weren't true, but when reflecting on the franchise's past history, all we've ever had a primary Gundam Female pilot was Christina "Formula One Normal Suit" Mackenzie. And she wasn't even the lead ~_~

(BTW, Crissie Mac was one of the most underused Gundam pilots ever. Too bad she didn't have more screen time...)

I think the best we'll get for a female lead is either in an OVA Spin-off for a popular series or a one-shot story/movie, at least for the time being. Looking at Turn-A, there is a part of me that does think that Tomino might have intended Loran to be a chick and the "Laura Rolla"-elements is probably remnants of that, but just think about how radically different that show would have been is Loran was really a "Laura".

Not to mention how controversial ^_-

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the day we'll actually get a lead female Gundam pilot. I know that I have a better chance of winning the Powerball, but I can dream, can't I?

BTW, thanks for the props, Areku!

_________________
"Coffee & milk foam is not a meal. No offense Mr Chino. I'm not a fan of your beverages but I sure do love your pants. Thank you & good morning."
Some Dude, "Denny's Commercial"

Soul Bro Ryu
www.Gundamn.net
www.Twitter.com/SoulBroRyu

Any word on Ecole Du Ciel's popularity in Japan? That could be a measure of how receptive Gundam fans would be to a female lead.

Anyways, Tomino didn't give into Sunrise's pressure about the un-toyetic mech designs. I doubt he'd give in to pressure about the protagonist's gender either.

_________________
Brightening your day, one cute girl at a time.

Current army: 146 lolis strong.

You've got the wrong guy, I swear!

Ecole is a niche product as a manga, so it doesn't have to try to appeal to the same broad audience as a TV series. Also, for CCA, Tomino was overridden on having Amuro shacked up with Beltorchika, so even for an uncommercial series like Turn A, there were probably limits to what he could do with certain aspects. Maybe he did want Loran to be a girl, and the constant use/mention of Laura Rolla was a way to stick it in Sunrise's face. Anything is possible.

_________________
PSN: amuromsz006

For some reason Loran sounds like a mix-up of "Roland" to me.

I haven't listened to the episode yet, but I'll be on it today. Worse yet, I'm like four episodes behind on comments. Forgive me for that. I'll try to get them in within the next few days.

_________________
"The controls were like trying to get a horse to wipe its ass on an eagle!" -avgn
GW: The Sword . Sera's Art . Gameplay . The Lost Citadel

Thanks for the POV on the Loran rumor.

I've gotten around to hearing the segment on fandom/trolling now, and yeah... it does get pretty ridiculous sometimes. Hate and snark has gotten so prominent in internet fandom. I don't mind snark if it's funny (Zero Punctuation comes to mind), but... well, the silliest instance I can think of was when a DC Comics podcast was accused of taking payment because they gave good reviews to some widely-unpopular comics.

It's doubtful that anyone will accuse Gundamn! of getting paid off by Bandai Japan, but I guess not beyond the realm of possiblilty...

_________________
Vent Noir

"Excessive Scale: For when that galaxy absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight."
- Mekton Zeta Plus

Don't be surprised if those accusations come. To accuse someone of being paid off is the most tired/lame weapon in the angry fanboy arsenal. I've been accused before of being paid off. Heck, just recently some troll on 4chan accused me being paid to give good reviews to Code Geass R2 and DESTINY (don't know where he got the idea I gave DESTINY good reviews; he must not have read them). Saying someone must've been paid for liking something you didn't is the easiest way to position yourself as some self-righteous fanboy who is pure of heart because he doesn't take money from the man for dishing out opinions.

_________________
PSN: amuromsz006

I only wish. I could use another source of cash flow ^_^

Just kidding. I'd like to think I have some integrity. Too bad my wallet doesn't agree...

_________________
"Coffee & milk foam is not a meal. No offense Mr Chino. I'm not a fan of your beverages but I sure do love your pants. Thank you & good morning."
Some Dude, "Denny's Commercial"

Soul Bro Ryu
www.Gundamn.net
www.Twitter.com/SoulBroRyu

Popularity does not equal good storytelling,
yet,
good storytelling does not equal popularity.

The role of a reviewer is to show the pros and cons of a story in an objective. I believe we are fair in all of our reviews no matter the show. Unfortuately now, too many people live in the world of absolutes, meaning this show is the absolute best or this one is the absolute worst. Nothing is perfect and for the most part nothing is the compete worst(except G-savior).

_________________
Lelouch is and always will be dead.

B.A., M.A., PhD,
The Yoshiyuki Tomino School of Film.
"You draw'em, we kill'em!"

neomahq@gmail.com

PSN/XBOX Live: NeoLorroke

EDIT: Ah, never mind...

Anyways, thanks for the head's up on that interview. It was really bizarre to hear that from the director after the earlier GUNOTA-posted interviews way back when where he was confidently laying out what 00 was all about. ...I wonder if he's generalizing too much and letting reactions get to him more than he should.

Of course, there have been instances of people in the media being paid-off (an infamous incident down here in Australia was when two big-name radio pundits accepted payment to provide positive comment on the major banks), but I don't know of any genuine cases in fandom circles.

Tow other, closely-related pet peeves of mine are "You're not a true fan if you like X" (I was subjected to this on another board where one poster regaded me as a stupid Gundam noob because I liked SEED, even though I'd seen a lot of other Gundam beforehand), and "You can't be a fan of both X and Y" (when I was first getting on the internet in the mid-late 90s, there was a big rivalry between Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans, and it seemed that if you liked one you had to hate the other)

_________________
Vent Noir

"Excessive Scale: For when that galaxy absolutely, positively has to be destroyed overnight."
- Mekton Zeta Plus