October 31, 2002

Remember 16 by Chris 10:42 A.M. EST
Today it's another Macross 7 update. Now up in the mecha section are profiles for all the ships of the Macross 7 fleet. Pictures are again courtesy of Jameson Leaser. Also, I've restored the VF-14 Vampire to its original pic, as it turns out the 'corrected' pic I uploaded is from the game Macross M3. You'll see it again when I get around to that section.

October 27, 2002

Even More SEED by Chris 1:10 A.M. EST
As always, here's my first impressions of episode 4 of Gundam SEED, 'Silent Run'. After being sucked out into space, Kira retrieves one of Heliopolis' escape pods back to the ship. Nataru objects, but Mariyu gives him permission. Inside the pod is Frey, who is happy to see Kira and Sai. Mariyu discusses her next move with Muu and Nataru, and they decide to head for a place called Artemis. Rau figures out where they are going and decides to follow. All of Kira's friends decide to join the crew, and he is called to battle when the Vesalius approaches. Muu launches in his repaired Mobius Zero, followed by Kira in the Aile type Strike Gundam. Nearby, the other four Gundams launch from Rau's ship.

This was a pretty boring episode that ends with a battle instead of actually featuring one. I'm surprised there wasn't a single battle in this episode. I don't know what this Artemis place is yet, but it sounds suspiciously like Gundam's Luna II. Perhaps next time there will be some excitement with the first battle between the five Gundams. On a related note, I've gone and updated the SEED mecha section and anime reviews based on information from this episode.

October 26, 2002

Chat Stats by Lore 11:26 P.M. EST
The chat stats for the week are now up in the Chat section.

Collapsing Homeland by Chris 2:11 P.M. EST
Now up is my full review (with screenshots) for episode 3 of Gundam SEED. Also, I've gone and deleted the information archive that existed on the series. Now that I've written a couple of reviews for the series, the archive was redundant.

October 25, 2002

Listen to My Song!! by Chris 11:42 A.M EST
For today's update, check out the new mecha section for Macross 7. Thanks go out to Jameson Leaser for providing all the pics in the section. Update: thanks also go out to reader Joshua McClellan for pointing out some incorrect pictures and providing the correct ones.

October 22, 2002

SEED Episode 3 Impressions by Chris 9:35 P.M. EST
Though it's a few days late, here's my initial thoughts on episode 3 of Gundam SEED, "Collapsing Homeland." The episode picks up immediately after episode 2's end with the Archangel interrupting the fight between Muu and Rau. Kira uses the Strike Gundam's high-energy cannon to shoot at Rau, but he blasts a hole in Heliopolis. Rau's CGUE is damaged, and he returns to the Vesalius. After the Archangel lands, the crew has some trouble with the fact that Kira is a Coordinator, but Mariyu vouches for him. In the meantime, supplies are loaded and repairs are made to the Zero. Miguel launches in another GINN, outfitted with a high energy gun. He is joined by Aslan as they attack Heliopolis. The Strike Gundam is outfitted with the Sword type equipment, and Kira goes out into battle. As Kira and Miguel fight, Miguel's careless shots cause severe damage to Heliopolis' central support module. Kira uses the anti-ship sword to kill Miguel. When the Archangel blows away a GINN, stray missiles hit the damaged core and cause Heliopolis to blow up. At this time Kira was speaking with Aslan, but the Strike Gundam gets sucked into space.

Well, this episode continues the trend for mediocrity the series has established so far. Kira and Miguel fight again, and luckily Miguel is killed. He was quite possibly one of the worst pilots I've ever seen in any series. With the slow pacing of the series so far, I figured that the Archangel would linger in Heliopolis as the Argama did in Gundam ZZ, but the result of this battle proves that won't happen. It seems to me that the slow pacing here is quite deliberate. Less happens in these 3 episodes than does in the first 3 episodes of the original series. It looks like the staff is slowing down the story of the original series and dragging it out to fill out 52 episodes. If that's the case, then it will make this series totally redundant. On a related note, the mecha profiles have been updated with new information from this episode.

October 21, 2002

Macross Zero by Chris 11:30 P.M. EST
There's a few updates with regards to the new Macross Zero OVA. The anime page has been updated with newer details. The mecha section also has two new profiles for the F-14 and MIG-29, along with all new pics for the VF-0.

Chat Stats by Lore 12:52 A.M. EST
Although they are a bit late, the chat stats for the previous week are now up in the Chat section.

October 19, 2002

Its Name is Gundam by Chris 3:30 P.M. EST
Check out my full review (with screenshots) for episode 2 of Gundam SEED. I'll have my initial thoughts on episode 3 up soon.

October 17, 2002

Fast as Lightning by Chris 12:45 P.M. EST
Well, G Gundam successfully completed its run yesterday on Cartoon Network. Now that the series is over, it's time to finish the mecha profiles for that section. With the exception of the old Shuffle Alliance (coming next week), all main mobile fighters have now been profiled. Today's update includes profiles for the God Gundam, Gundam Spiegel, the Four Heavenly Kings, Fuunsaiki, the Devil & Ultimate Gundams, the Grand Master Gundam, and finally a basic profile for the Shogun Gundam. Special thanks go out to Trent Bowser for the new color pic of the Gundam Heaven's Sword.

October 14, 2002

Stop the Pop-up Madness! Lore 11:46 P.M. EST
We are well aware of the problem with pop-ups. We highly recommend you download a free tool called Pop-Up Stopper to cure the problem of having to close dozens of unwanted windows.

October 14, 2002

Dunbine by Chris 9:25 P.M. EST
Today I'm happy to present something new: the first ever profiles for a non-Gundam mecha series. As the update title implies, it's for Dunbine. I'm now introducing 'Burke's All the World's Aura Battlers', along with profiles for hero Sho Zama's Dunbine and Billbine. Also, most of the other profiles in the section have been updated with pilot information.

October 12, 2002

SEED, episode 2 by Chris 11:37 P.M. EST
Episode 2 of Gundam SEED aired today. As last week, I'll post my first impressions here and then have a full review as soon as the episode is subtitled. The episode picks up right where episode 1 left off with Kira and Mariyu getting into the Strike Gundam. Kira takes over the Strike Gundam to save his friends from an attacking GINN. Meanwhile, Rau launches in a CGUE and attacks Muu's Zero. Kira and his friends tend to Mariyu's wounds, but she then holds them at gunpoint and forces them to help her with the Strike Gundam. The battle between Muu and Rau moves inside the colony, and Rau spots the Strike Gundam. Kira's friends find a truck that contain the parts for the Strike's Launcher type. Also, the remaining crew of the Archangel launch the ship and break into the colony, interrupting the battle.

Basically, I thought this episode was like the first: not bad, but not that good either. I found the battle between Kira and the GINN to be incredibly boring. Most of it was Kira modifying the Strike's OS, while the GINN pilot stood there like a moron just cursing and flying around. However, the battle between Muu and Rau was pretty interesting. They also called each other by their names, so it seems that they know each other. I really hope that after the story gets off the ground it doesn't become the clone of the original series that it seems to be. In related news, I've updated the mecha profiles for the Strike Gundam and Archangel based on information from this episode. In unrelated news, Lore mentions that there will be no chat statistics update this week due to an error in tracking.

October 10, 2002

Planting the SEED by Chris 10:45 A.M. EST
This is probably the last time I'll have some lame update title involving 'SEED'. Why's that? Well, you can check out my full review (with screenshots) for episode 1 of Gundam SEED. Also, I asked before that people not e-mail me about where to download episodes. You cannot watch SEED online unless you are a Flet's DSL customer in Japan. Don't e-mail about this, or your message will be ignored.

October 7, 2002

Chat Stats by Lore 12:41 A.M. EST
Although they are a bit late, the chat stats for the previous week are now up in the Chat section.

October 5, 2002

The SEED Sprouts by Chris 11:35 P.M. EST
Well, the first episode of Gundam SEED aired today in Japan. My full review will follow as soon as I get a subtitled version, but here's some of my thoughts on the raw version I watched. The episode opens with a brief summary of the war so far between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, much like the original Gundam series. The story then picks up in CE 71 on the colony Heliopolis, where Kira Yamato is visiting a friend who experiments with robotic exoskeletons. At the same time, ZAFT soldiers infiltrate Heliopolis and plant bombs around the hangar where the Archangel is docked. In space, masked man Rau Ru Cruize sends out a squad of GINNs from his Vesalius, which is hidden behind another asteroid. As the GINNs attack, the Alliance sends out several Mistral and Moebius units to retaliate, but they all get trashed.

The only one who does well is Muu La Fraga, the pilot of the mobile armor Zero. Inside Heliopolis, Kira and his friends try to escape the fierce battle that is being waged inside. ZAFT pilots Diakka Estleman, Issac Joule and Nichol Amalfi steal the Duel Gundam, Buster Gundam and Blitz Gundam. Kira accidentally runs into the hangar where the Strike Gundam is, and he saves Mariyu Ramias' life in a gun fight. His old friend Aslan Zara shoots Mariyu, but he backs off when he sees Kira. Mariyu then knocks Kira into the Strike Gundam's cockpit and gets it to stand up. Basically, this episode plays out pretty much like the first episode from the original series and Zeta Gundam. Only time will tell if it shows some more originality. On the plus side, the battle inside Heliopolis is pretty exciting, and the animation is very crisp. However, I'm not sure if I like seeing so much CGI in Gundam. I'll have more detailed thoughts when my review is ready.

October 4, 2002

More Battling by Chris 8:43 A.M. EST
For today's update, check out the next 5 chapters in Neoguy23's Dragon Ball fanfic "The Next Battle."

October 3, 2002

Catching Up by Chris 12:45 A.M. EST
As I mentioned in a previous update, I was behind in doing the daily mecha profiles for G Gundam. That's no longer the case, as I've just finished 14 new profiles, which catches up nearly everything. Beware, some profiles contain minor spoilers. The list is too large to place here, so check out the "Burke's Mobile Weapons" page to see what is new. Also, I've made updates to the the Char's Deleted Affair section thanks to new scans by Hi_Nu Gundam and information by RGZ-91. Also, the Gundam video games listings have been updated with new publication information and split off by console, as suggested by Corben. Finally, the FAQ has been updated again with another new question. I've been getting a lot of asking me if I know where Gundam SEED can be downloaded, or if I can put up the episodes for download here. The answer to both questions is no, so please don't send me any more mail on that subject.

October 2, 2002

SEED Mecha, Akitaka Follow-up by Lore 4:38 P.M. EST
I have replaced several of the images in the SEED Mecha section with higher quality versions. The profiles affected include the Strike Gundam, Duel Gundam, Aegis Gundam, Moebius, Mistral, and Gamow.

I also got an e-mail back from Mika Akitaka thanking us for correcting the mistakes in the Mecha section so quickly. He mentioned that he does design work for Sakura Wars and would like to see it on MAHQ. We are obviously quite flattered that Mr. Akitaka has taken such an interest in the site. Many people have been asking for Mr. Akitaka's e-mail address. I cannot provide this as it would be a breach of confidentiality. To flood his inbox with fan questions would discourage any other mecha designer from ever contacting MAHQ. I also cannot forward artwork to him for much the same reason. The FAQ has been updated with this question.

Finally, by popular demand from the chat room patrons, Haro is now the mascot for the Chat section.

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