[noodle]

It wasn't new though, it was already over a decade old in 1974. Also Macross and especially Sailor Moon both came much later. I can't say it enough, you really are stretching it trying to find some kind of subtext about WW2 in Yamato.

[Flaser]

Yeah, Macross was made in the '80 and in some parts is a reflection on Gundam, but also on Space Battleship Yamato. The later is somewhat even more important, as it's the civilians aboard the megaship and the culture they embody that saves the day instead the blazing guns as it happened in Yamato.

Yes, there are nationalistic elements in the cartoons, but compare them with American stuff from the '60. However what strikes me even more is how the conflict between the crew of the Yamato and the Gamilans is portrayed - while you might feel the Yamato is too "Japanese" and acts as a standby and apology for earlier nationalistic Japan, when compared with the Gamilans they fight there are some *very* startling diffrences:

-The Gamilans fight for victory above all
-To them death is the only way to absolve your honor it you failed
-They don't negotiate, don't surrender
-They don't show pity or hesitate to destroy their opponent

Contrast this with the crew of Yamato:
-Although conflicted, as the Gamilans haven't pulled their punches, in the end the crew lets their prisoners live and finally comes to the conclusion that they should also treat them humanely. (There is also a nasty incident with torture, but the show portrays it in bad light and does not justify it!)
-The crew constantly tries to negotiate and understand their foes
-They also frequently try to think about the greater implications of their actions. Once they learn how destructive their main gun is, Captain Okita refrains from using it when it could have dire consequences for non-combatants.
-When the ship finally wins the war, Kodai - then Captain - breaks down in tears, as they've just learned that they've inevitably destroyed the Gamilans. He exclaims bewildered, why the Gamilans have gone so far, why they couldn't have just asked for help? "We could have been brothers!" - he exlaims.

This is corny and overacted, but a far cry from WWII Japanese gang-ho attitudes... and very tolerant and liberal compared to even some current sentiments. By comparison the Gamilans are acting in accordance with traditional Bushido rules and could be poster boys for the WWII Japanese sentiment. One could even say, that the franchise is a parallel about a battle between the old and new Japan.

[Liberator]

For that matter, Micheal Bey and the Transformers movies ain't US moviemaking.

Aside from the end of RoTF, it's entirely American.  WTF are you talking about?

[General Battuta]

For that matter, Micheal Bey and the Transformers movies ain't US moviemaking.

Aside from the end of RoTF, it's entirely American.  WTF are you talking about?

American filmmaking isn't terrible. American filmmaking actually has a history of being very good!

[Liberator]

I wasn't implying American film making was or is bad.  It's arguably in the toilet right now as far quality releases go, but that's another topic, as far as the skill and talent of the folk involved it's generally decent, not great, there's no equivalent to Jimmy Stewart or Gable or any of the Golden Age stars.  Hell, there's not even a John Wayne analogue.

[SpardaSon21]

We still have Clint Eastwood, for now.

[Mika]

sort of like who Dr Who is always stopping aliens from eating London, and rarely anywhere else more than once.

Yeah, noted that one too. Irritated me first as it seems that London is the center of the world, but then I realized it is just a TV show that needs to be made somewhere. And space Titanic crashing to Buckingham Palace is more awesome than anything what could happen to White House.

I know you maybe haven't watched an anime in a long time or something, but maybe you didn't notice how Macross or the like specifically went out of their way to make the cast look multicultural? I grant, at the time, the medium was new and mistakes would be made, but they're much better than this about at least looking different. Christ, Sailor Moon had more ethnic diversity in the cast's appearance, and it didn't even have a reason to. We've got like one European-looking person on the Yamato in total.

So that you know, I have never watched anything anime related. The question is, why would it matter how many Ur-a-pean looking guys are in that movie? It is only a movie, and pretty clearly fiction too!

For that matter, Micheal Bey and the Transformers movies ain't US moviemaking.  Shocking, I know. Or maybe you like to ignore the setting of the work, and just assume that because they set it somewhere familar that's a great conspiracy on my part. I dunno.

I haven't watched Transformers either - or pretty much anything coming from US nowadays... The notable exception being the Gran Torino, which happens to be a Clint's movie. But I don't see you guys complaining about American centric views of the documents coming from US. So before crucifying a fictional Japanese movie for being Japanese centric, I would suggest cleaning up your own yard first.

EDIT: I've had it with those broken image links!

[Nemesis6]

Hey, it just occurred to me - Gamilans are the enemies in this movie. In the universe of Derek Smart's games, the enemies are called "Gamulans"... 

[Swifty]

So that you know, I have never watched anything anime related. The question is, why would it matter how many Ur-a-pean looking guys are in that movie? It is only a movie, and pretty clearly fiction too!

Suspension of disbelief. If someone in the script claims that this crew or organization is part of multinational initiative, it looks kinda weird when everybody looks entirely Asian or white. That may be not the case for Yamato as they can lampshade it by saying that everybody's military and industries but Japan's were decimated.

But for something like Macross where the military is indeed a multinational defense force, it's pretty vital to the story to have a multiethnic/national cast. Claudia LaSaulle is French of African descent. Roy Focker is American. Captain Global is Italian. Minmei is Chinese. And I think Max Jenius is German. What's interesting is that in Macross Do You Remember Love, the entire bridge crew speaks American English (Aside from the main characters who are voiced by Japanese actors) implying that English is spoken universally in Macross, just translated to Japanese for Japanese audiences. My theory is that the UNS mandated that English be used for military comms to prevent confusion. Or it could be the United States, having contributed the most to the UNS (UNS Headquarters is in Alaska, most if not all the mil hardware is based off of American designs, some of the hardware still has "US Army" or "US Navy" stamped on them), simply dominated the organizational culture and structure.

Macross went a lot out of its way to convey an international influence, not just a Japanese one. I would definitely be confused if they had made a Macross live action movie and had a cast exclusively comprised of Asians. I'm Asian by the way.

[Liberator]

Captain Global is Italian.

In the books(which are superior to the show), Gloval is Russian.

[Flaser]

Captain Global is Italian.

In the books(which are superior to the show), Gloval is Russian.

What books? You must refer to Robotech and I have to point out that Robotech != Macross. The former used the later, but thanks to some Macekre the two are not quite the same.

[Liberator]

Well, if they're different why did Harmony Gold dump all over the author(s)(Jack McKinney is two people) and not use any of The End of the Circle in they're wrap up movie they did a while back?  Even barring the metaphysical stuff, it's a much more coherent tale.

[noodle]

Please don't confuse Robotech (which is what the books you're referring to are based on) with Macross. Macross is a Japanese anime, Robotech is an American construct made by editing together and re-dubbing Macross and two other, unrelated anime, into a single, much longer show. They changed some characters names (Global become Gloval and Russian, in Macross he's Italian, Minmay became Minmei).

I could also go on a long rant about how Robotech is a piece of worthless cancer and how Macek was one of the worst things to ever happen to the anime import industry, but I won't.