Above: From Skygirls 1 The Unknown Test Pilot, Macross Plus’s YF-19 w/Fast Packs, Claus & Al from Last Exile.
Below: YF-19 w/Fast Packs and Fold Booster over Northern Virginia. Stand removed by Photoshop.
Last week I flew to California for a job interview and it was the first time in a long time that I’ve ever travelled through the States by plane. And I wrote part of this post while I was in the air and saved it for this post. What better way to do a post about anime and figures centering on flight when you’re on a plane.
First up is a recent addition to Yamato’s Macross line with the fast packs and fold booster for the YF-19, next the Limited Edition DVD with figure of Last Exile, and finally Sky Girls 1 the series. I had seen Sky Girls the OVA and enjoyed it, how did the 1st episode of the series turn out?
MACROSS: YF-19 w/Fast Packs and Fold Booster
I start out with the YF-19 with Fast Packs and Fold Booster. The fast packs are comprised of leg armor and shoulder armor, while the fold booster is that big green engine-like machine on top of the 19. Both were released about a couple of weeks ago with or without the YF-19. I got mine without the Fighter since I’ve had the YF-19 since this past December.
The YF-19’s fold booster actually lights up and changes colors similar to the effects on the Macross Plus movie.
YF-19 with Fast Packs: Shoulder and Leg Armor.
As if the YF-19 wasn’t already great looking, these additions to the mecha really enhance the look especially in jet form. Even though the shoulder and leg armor don’t seem like much in robot form, I think it looks a lot better. Every little bit helps.
As a side note, when I purchased the YF-19 in December of ‘06 it was my first mecha purchase in a very long time. I just had to have one after looking at Macross World and seeing this video of Graham transforming this thing. After that it was mecha, gundam, mecha, gundam, mecha….
Sillouhete
Close up of Fold Booster. YF evading & blasting. Back of fighter.
The YF-19 with it’s fast packs and fold booster make it look more bulkier and is a bit heavier without the packs. So much so, I underestimated the weight and you can see here the plane almost dropping at about 2500 feet, if not for my free hand. I’ve always liked the YF-19 ever since I saw the Macross Plus OVAs and I’m glad to get the YF in this form. Yamato’s done a fantastic job with the details of the packs and booster and I’m pretty happy to be adding that to the awesome designed YF-19.
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Last Exile LE DVD w/Alvis Hamilton Figure
One of the many things that I got from my recent trip to AMA 7 was a Range Murata figure. I really liked the designs of the figure and accompanying art that I looked for other works that Murata has been involved in. One of them happened to be the anime series Last Exile. It’s been out for sometime, but I’ve never been able to find any time to see it, until now. The Limited Edition Box carries the first 4 episodes, a mouse pad, a nifty box to hold all the volumes in, and my favorite extra the Alvis Hamilton figure.
The Last Exile DVD contains the early episodes which chronicle Claus and Lavie’s adventure in the floating world of Prester. Claus is the pilot and Lavie the mechanic of their ship, an aircraft called the Vanship. Both of them get an assignment to deliver a message but in turn get caught up in a battle between two warring factions.
Claus and Lavie’s Vanship from Episode 1.
Claus & Lauvie delivering a message. Vanships and a downed battleship.
The mysterious Alvis Hamilton.
These first few episodes set up the world more than anything and what an interesting world it is. It’s half Victorian and half Steam Punk. I really enjoyed the character designs by Murata and most of all the designs of the aircrafts including the various Vanships.
I really liked the story presented in these episodes from the big battles of the battle cruisers in the 1st 2 episodes to the 3rd episodes’ Vanship race to Claus and Lauvie trying to get their newly found friend, Alvis or Al, to safety. But I have to say the art and CG graphics has a bit of an edge when compared to the story.
As for the extras, I’m pretty impressed with what I got considering when this LE DVD came out. I’m already using the mouse pad that’s included and the box is terrific. But my favorite piece has to be the Alvis Hamilton figure. It comes with a stand, a small cow figure, and a heavy jacket for Alvis.
Alvis Hamilton with extra jacket. YF-19 in the background.
Last Exile Insert. Alvis figure w/out jacket. Last Exile Mouse Pad.
Last Exile DVD box.
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Sky Girls 1 (Series)
I originally saw the OVA of Sky Girls a while back. Even though it was one episode I thought it kicked major butt when it came down to the mecha’s design as well as the action in that single OVA. So I was pretty excited to hear that a series was being done. The first episode of the series doesn’t have much in terms of action and shows somes of the Sonic Divers, the name of the mecha’s, very briefly.
The episode is concentrated on how the three girls, Otoha, Aika, and Karen are picked by the military to pilot these prototype mechas. The girl that’s featured the most is Otoha who is being trained by her grandfather to one day take over the Kendo Dojo. She has the hardest time going off to the project because of her Grandfather’s expectations.
Otoha and her Sonic Diver.
Aika after being beat by a Sonic Diver. The shy but smart Karen.
Otoha fights for her future.
Not as much action or mechas as the OVA, but that’s to be expected. Each of the stories, with the exception of Aika’s, seem pretty interesting. With Aika she got very little screen time but was the only girl to have an encounter with the Sonic Diver. I’ll continue to watch this show to see where it goes and hopefully the action will be just as good as the OVA.
Posted in Anime, Last Exile, Macross, Sky Girls, YF-19
