*doing happy dance right now*
Given that I just underwent surgery to remove a couple infected toe bones on my left foot last Friday, I won't be so bored now.
...if you can handle [BD 1920x1080 x264 FLAC], enjoy!
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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...
Actually, I can. Just finished watching all four episodes.
Episode 7, "Farewell to the Solar System," has the Yamato cross the heliopause out of Sol's system and fly into deep space. We have a version of the "Crossing The Line" ceremony surface ships hold when they cross the Equator; this is just an excuse for the crew to throw a party, of course.
Episode 8, "Wish Upon A Star," is where the Yamato has to face a plasma weapon called the "Dessler Torpedo" that was designed to literally consume the ship. We get a chance to see Dessler's inner cabinet as they watch the "game." After Yamato escapes, Dessler is actually quite impressed.
Episode 9, "Clockwork Prisoner," allows Analyser a chance to shine. One of the Gamilas androids is reassembled and it senses the presence of a "goddess" (the special navigation system that allows Yamato to sail on to Iscandar). Analyser tries to befriend the alien robot, but the human crew overreacts and the alien effectively kills himself on the ship's forward weather-deck.
And Episode 10, "Graveyard of the Universe," is where the Yamato finds itself trapped in a dimensional rift with a Gamilas destroyer. The two ships are forced to play out the Prisoner's Dilemma to escape the rift. This is the episode where the red-haired female Gamilas first appears. Her name is Melda Ditz, an officer of the local theatre air corps; she is the "ceasefire officer" who tries to arrange for the two ships to escape the rift. Unfortunately for Melda, Commander Goer — your atypical arrogant goon who's more than happy to lay blame for failures on everyone else save himself; on seeing him in action, I thought "Shades of Cornelius Fudge!" — decides to attack the Yamato, destroying Melda's ship along the way. The story ends with Akira Yamamoto giving her the bad news after the attacking fleet has been wiped out thanks to the rift…with Goer escaping on his own ship, of course.
An aside about Melda; she's is ranked "lower storm leader"…which, given the emphasis on the similarities between Gamilas and Nazi Germany in this series, would make her the equivalent of a Navy ensign/acting sub-lieutenant, Army second lieutenant or Air Force pilot officer. Atop that, Melda is the daughter of Admiral Gul Ditz, introduced in Episode 8 as the Supreme Commander of Gamilas' Astrofleets; this makes him one of Dessler's chief advisors. She also seems very honourable.
Any links to online viewing?
Meh, I've got the bluray in my hands right now! Sides, streams of things don't always work to well with my connection.
The official Japanese release of Yamato 2199 which just happens to include English subtitles
Pyeknu Wrote:Episode 7, "Farewell to the Solar System," has the Yamato cross the heliopause out of Sol's system and fly into deep space. We have a version of the "Crossing The Line" ceremony surface ships hold when they cross the Equator; this is just an excuse for the crew to throw a party, of course.
Umm.... as a previous member of the U.S. Navy, that's NOT how the ceremony goes... (at least in my memory)
...unless they do things differently on co-ed ship commands, now....
(Must be showing my age... sorry.)
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DEATH is Certain. The hour, Uncertain...
It's been almost 200 years, I think the ceremony might change a wee bit in that time. ^.^
Do blu-ray players have region coding issues like DVDs do?
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
Of course, from a recent discovery, we're not entirely sure if there even is a heliopause.
New Observations from Voyager 1 have been radically different than our theories on the structure of the outer solar system. It looks like there's now a region where the solar wind slows, but the sun's magnetic influence continues. And we'll know how big it is once Voyager gets through it, I guess.
-- ∇×V
ECSNorway Wrote:Do blu-ray players have region coding issues like DVDs do?
I believe in theory that's supposedly the case, but all of the disks I've gotten from Japan (Yamato, Macross F & Nanoha movies) are region free, but I've seen disks from major Hollywood studios with no region or all.
Now I must watch this disc, and then probably follow up with The Dark Knight Rises if for just to hear if headphones make Bane easier to understand.
--Rod.H
"Ah mph hpmf HHPPPF" "Did he just say 'No, Mister Bond, I expect you to die'?"
Rod H Wrote:Now I must watch this disc, and then probably follow up with The Dark Knight Rises if for just to hear if headphones make Bane easier to understand.
LOL!
Pyeknu Wrote:Actually, I can. Just finished watching all four episodes.
Episode 7, "Farewell to the Solar System," has the Yamato cross the heliopause out of Sol's system and fly into deep space. We have a version of the "Crossing The Line" ceremony surface ships hold when they cross the Equator; this is just an excuse for the crew to throw a party, of course.
Episode 8, "Wish Upon A Star," is where the Yamato has to face a plasma weapon called the "Dessler Torpedo" that was designed to literally consume the ship. We get a chance to see Dessler's inner cabinet as they watch the "game." After Yamato escapes, Dessler is actually quite impressed.
On episode 7, it looks like Kodai's question to Yuki in a previous episode might be relevant.
Episode 8, it's more of a character study of Dessler, more than anything else. His court is an absolute monarchy despite the military trappings. Full of boot lickers and ass kissers. And he seems to me more bored than anything else throughout the entire episode. I wonder what it will take to shake off that expression of boredom.
__________________
Into terror!, Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell
Given his apparent and explicit willingness to send loyal and competent subordinates in against a superior foe with no backup for no better reason than his own amusement, one can devoutly hope that the eventual answer will be 'a bullet between the eyes'.
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
I did kinda approve (gleefully) of him dropping that one obnoxious drunk through the floor though.
Apparently even in the new version, Desslok suffers fools... poorly.
"I can't stand a man who laughs at his own jokes!"
It's such a classic bit. A friend of mine, however, says watching the scene today is so Austin Powers. ^_^
Also - same episode - they did something very interesting with one character. In the original series, General Talon was introduced as early as the middle part of 1st season. But he didn't do much. In the Comet Empire series though (and later in Season 3) he became Desslok's most trusted aide. And outright saved Desslok's ass TWICE.
But there was an interesting bit of discontinuity. The Talon that appeared in Season 1 and in the Comet Empire Movie version (Arrivederci Yamato or Farewell to Yamato) was in no way the same character design that was used in Season #2 onwards. FURTHER confusion was caused by the Star Blazers translation of Series #3 in which a completely different production studio and new voices were used (Including the late great Peter Fernandez (voice of Speed Racer) and the character obviously meant to be Talon from the first two seasons was mis-named Sgt Masterson! BWAH??
Needless to say, this caused a lot of fanspec and at least one attempt in one of the Comico comic book series to clear up the continuity error by saying the Masterson was Talon's son.
Now the new 2199 has gone and done something extraordinary - they've VERY clearly defined the two different character designs as being two separate characters!
As my friend and fellow "Talmudic Yamato Scholar" Jeff Blend puts it: "It’s been a long-running debate in Japan on who is the favorite Talan: the original thin mustache version or the bushy mustache type. Well, now they just made Talan two separate brothers! Verte (thin) is the big brother; Gadel (bushy) is the younger."
Once again the producers came up with a good way of retconning things from the original continuity that can please all fans. Very deftly played sirs!
EDIT: Oh - and I have say - good on Gantz for cutting Geru off like that. It's amazing that the guy is even MORE of a toe-rag here than he was in the original!
Seeing blue Earth from a distance was a wonderful touch. Adding some real world physics into the story that allows a touchingly poignant moment for the crew. THIS is what they are fighting to save!
Harada-san's maid costume at the party -- more particularly, her infuriated looking around for Ota when she found out it wasn't required -- is hilarious. It does look good on her, though.
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
All right, whoever was responsible for THAT is so utterly, world-shatteringly EVIL that I can only bow my head in admiration of a True Master. I'll probably snicker every time I think of it for the rest of the day.
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Big Brother is watching you. And damn, you are so bloody BORING.
Episode 7 - "Farewell to the Solar System"
Equivalent SBY Episode: Episode 10 - "Farewell, Solar System! From the Galaxy, With Love!"
For a rewrite, it's amazing to me how much of this episode is new material. The original's premise is the same: The Yamato is at the edge of the Solar System, and each of the crew is allowed to send 5 minutes snippets back to earth. However, that premise and the jist of Tokugawa's message back to Earth are pretty much where similarities end. The party was added, or was significantly brought forward in this. And we got to see more with the new extended cast. The fact that there's more females on the cast than just Mori means that she doesn't have to provide ALL the fanservice. Also I liked they made in this one that Kodai is not the only crewman to not have anyone to contact back on Earth. In the original, Yuki nagged him to take his five minutes and he kept putting it off until the very end, where Mori finally got him into the comm room. After a minute or two passes with Kodai just sitting in the room not placing a call, Mori comes in and asks if he needs help, and that's when he breaks it to her that he had no one TO call. Here, they just drop it casually and that was it.
It's fairly obvious now that Yuki Mori's past has been DRASTICALLY rewritten. In the original it was perfectly normal. The scene where the mother was showing one of the characters pictures of potential omai candidates was originally Mori's in SBY. Now she has no memories past last year...which is when the (nonexistant in SBY) other sister of Stasha and Sasha, now identified as Yurisha. They seem to be hinting with a hammer that Yuki is Yurisha, which is why I expect it isn't.
Also, they seem to be establishing a relationship triangle between Kodai, Yuki, and Yamamoto. The original the primary relationship triangle was between Kodai, Yuki, and Shima, so we'll wait to see if Shima is out, or if this will blow into a Takahasi-esque "love dodecahedron".
And Red Scarf is back as the Ending! YAY!
Episode 8 - "When You Wish Upon a Star"
Equivalent SBY Episode: Episode 11 - "Resolution! Break Through the Gamilons' Absolute Defense Line!" and Episode 12 - "Certain Death! The Wishing Star of Orion, Hell-star!"
This was a pretty faithful rewrite/condensation of these episodes. As far as I can remember. It did what the original did, establishing Dessler, his personality, and his court. As well as the final fate of the survivors of Pluto base. Interesting to note the two Talons here, clearing up a lot of fan speculation and hypothesis over the character redesign.
A lot more deal here is made on the "Second-class Gamilons", racial discrimination is being played up in this series. Interesting.
Sanada make a reference here to "Wave Motion Shields", something we didn't see until the penultimate episode of the original, and seen by some as a massive asspull by the writers. Now being retconned into a "Chekov's Gun" of sorts. Nice.
Episode 9 - "A Clockwork Prisoner"
Equivalent SBY Episode: Original
I don't have much to compare this too, as it's original. It's a good episode and helps to provide insight into silicon souls in this series.
In the original, they never captured a robot on Titan. In fact, they didn't capture a Gamilon, or see one until later in the series when they captured a pilot and learned the Gamilon's brainwashed their pilots prior to launching them so they could reveal info if captured. While this has the barest elements of that story, it doesn't really match up. It's more "do robots dream of electric sheep".
Episode 10 -
"The Cosmic Graveyard"
Equivalent SBY Episode: Episode 15
- "Desperate Escape! The Galaxy's Different Dimension"
This episode is FAR FAR superior to the original. It starts the same, with the Yamato being mired in a "Sargasso Sea" in subspace, along with a Gamilon ship. However, the episode varies strongly starting there. Whereas the original they wound up fighting, they truce here and cooperate together. The resolution is better, too, since in the original, Starsha somehow magically sent them a signal they could follow out. This, in my opinion worked much better, and established a new Gamilon Officer, Storm Leader Ditz. With her coming on board, we get some of the reactions that we got in the original when the recovered the aforementioned pilot; namely, disbelief that the enemy is human....er, humanoid at least. We also see that some Gamilon Officer have honor, while others just seem to be butchers. And typically, it's the "Superior" blue Gamilons that are the butchers.
Also what is up the Yamato's Astro Navigation? Is it the afore mentioned Yurisha? Or something more sinister. Hmm...
More to come as more episodes are posted.