Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

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zerogradius
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Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

I first saw Southern Cross back when it aired as part of Robotech. Of course, back then I had no idea that it was a separate show that had nothing to do with the Macross universe. After seeing Delta, I've had the urge to rewatch some of the older stuff.

What I'd like to know is whether Southern Cross is worth tracking down the original subbed version. Is it a good enough show on its own, or is the Robotech version a superior story?

On that note, is Super Dimension Century Orguss any good? I never even heard of it until a couple years ago when I looked up the history of the Super Dimension shows. And if I did watch it, is it better subbed or dubbed?
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:11 am What I'd like to know is whether Southern Cross is worth tracking down the original subbed version. Is it a good enough show on its own, or is the Robotech version a superior story?
That's... that's a REALLY tough call. Neither the original version nor the Robotech adaptation could be charitably called watchable, but it would be a real struggle to decide which one was worse.

Make no mistake, the original Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross series was an absolute train wreck of a show. It was a troubled production from an early stage, having completely changed genres to obtain sponsorship, originally being a "Science Fantasy" series called Science Fiction Sengoku Saga, which was Sengoku period dramas juxtaposed into a space sci-fi setting. Its ratings were so poor in its Japanese debut that the series was actually earmarked for premature cancellation just sixteen episodes into a planned 39 episode run, leaving its creators to scramble to jettison an enormous portion of the story[1] and wrap up the plot before their brief grace period expired. This led to the show's famously incoherent downer ending.[2] Its crash-and-burn failure contributed to the collapse of model kit makers Arii and Imai too. The show's biggest problem was its offensively idiotic main character, Jeanne Francaix. She's a "strong woman" as interpreted by a pathological misogynist, her whole military career is (by her own admission) for the purpose of finding a good husband so she can quit and become a housewife. She reads fashion magazines during briefings instead of paying attention, takes out payday loans to win catfights over expensive dresses, does all of her thinking during frequent shower nude scenes, and generally behaves like an irresponsible boycrazy teenage girl instead of the career soldier she's supposed to be as a Sergeant Major who landed a commission. So much so on the boycrazy front that a late introduction to the cast (a soldier rescued from the Zor) all but takes over as the new main character in the second half because she's entirely too busy swooning over him.

I'd say the biggest virtue of the Robotech adaptation was that it massively toned down what an utter twit Jeanne is, and made her marginally more likeable by associating her with Macross's Max and Milia Jenius and giving her a plausible excuse for her acting out (abandonment issues). On the other hand, that also ties the plot into Robotech's nonsensical macguffin quest for "protoculture", and the rewrite is a LOT less internally consistent than the original show due to the rushed production schedule involved.

For me, what made the original Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross worth buying was that ADV released the remastered Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross as part of a bundle with Genesis Climber MOSPEADA's remastered edition (a much better show), with both shows coming for roughly the price of one regular series. If you've got an Amazon Prime membership, I'd suggest watching it streaming first to see if you like it enough to buy it on DVD.



zerogradius wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:11 am On that note, is Super Dimension Century Orguss any good? I never even heard of it until a couple years ago when I looked up the history of the Super Dimension shows. And if I did watch it, is it better subbed or dubbed?
Personally, I rather liked Super Dimension Century Orguss... it's not quite as good as Macross is, and its sequel OVA is complete nonsense, but it's eminently watchable if you don't mind a spot of mood whiplash.

You're kind of stuck with the subs if you want to watch the whole series. The company doing the dub (US Renditions) folded when its parent company ceased operations in the mid-90's, leaving Orguss's dub only half-finished. The last episode to be dubbed was episode 17 (of 35). Discotek Media's release of the series does include the unfinished US Renditions dub.




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[1] Which, unfortunately, included the "big reveal" that the invading Zor were human after all... the descendants of an earlier mission to colonize Glorie that vanished en route when a warp drive accident sent their ship back in time. Its crew decided to settle Glorie as planned, and were influenced by the native protozor flowers in ways that encouraged collective thought and existence in triads, eventually turning them into the Zor. They fought a civil war that ended in nuclear winter, and abandoned Glorie to roam the stars, returning just as the nuclear winter lifted to replenish their stocks of the protozor flower that was essential to their societal stability.

[2] The Zor Lords motivation devolves into some rambling, incoherent schpiel about immortality and then the protagonists accidentally spread the protozor flower all across Glorie, turning everyone on the planet into Zor.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

i watched both Southern Cross and Orguss. and i can't for the life of me remember being awed by something from the former. i watched it mainly because it had a female as the MC. i'd like to say this was like barattack, in regards to having a female MC during the early years of mecha, but i have yet to see an episode so yeah. :D

Orguss on the other hand managed to keep my attention for the majority of its run. the emaans are an interesting race.(BUSINESS!!!) there's also the combined worlds brought about by the Dimensional Bomb. can't say much for the mechas though. the Orguss is the only design i liked.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Seto Kaiba wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 12:27 pm
zerogradius wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:11 am What I'd like to know is whether Southern Cross is worth tracking down the original subbed version. Is it a good enough show on its own, or is the Robotech version a superior story?
The show's biggest problem was its offensively idiotic main character, Jeanne Francaix. She's a "strong woman" as interpreted by a pathological misogynist, her whole military career is (by her own admission) for the purpose of finding a good husband so she can quit and become a housewife. She reads fashion magazines during briefings instead of paying attention, takes out payday loans to win catfights over expensive dresses, does all of her thinking during frequent shower nude scenes, and generally behaves like an irresponsible boycrazy teenage girl instead of the career soldier she's supposed to be as a Sergeant Major who landed a commission. So much so on the boycrazy front that a late introduction to the cast (a soldier rescued from the Zor) all but takes over as the new main character in the second half because she's entirely too busy swooning over him.
Actually, that makes me even more intrigued. I think I'll just dive right in and give Southern Cross a chance. I haven't seen Robotech in a really long time so my memory's hazy about the second season, but I figure I ought to see it's original form, just like I did for SDF MAcross, which I ended up liking a lot more than its Robotech counterpart.

Even though as a kid I saw Robotech at least ten times (probably more) I never once saw Mospeada as neither the USA Network nor Cartoon Network aired it, so I might as well give Mospeada a chance too.

And thanks for the detailed reply.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

I've never seen all of the original version of Southern Cross, but something I liked about this series structurally, regardless of whether it was a part of Robotech or not, was the squad dynamics and the use of different divisions working together (or in rivalry) with one another. It has shades of 08th MS Team in that regard, and the mecha combat feels a bit more "weighty" than Macross with its designs being a bit bulkier and more "sci-fi military" overall, IMO. The variety of design work is quite strong, I feel. Also, there is a sense of desperation and mystery to the conflict being so planetary-based. Not sure how it holds up by itself, but creatively, there's a lot to like, I think.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Personally, I don't think Southern Cross is any good at all, either in its original form or as the Robotech Masters arc. Mospeada is a far better series, and I would also give a nod to Orguss as a solid watch, although its middle is rather repetitive.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:25 pm Actually, that makes me even more intrigued. I think I'll just dive right in and give Southern Cross a chance. I haven't seen Robotech in a really long time so my memory's hazy about the second season, but I figure I ought to see it's original form, just like I did for SDF MAcross, which I ended up liking a lot more than its Robotech counterpart. [...]
All right, but don't say I didn't warn you... there's a very, VERY good reason that Southern Cross bombed SO badly in Japan that the network said "kill it with fire" barely 1/3 of the way in, and that ratings tanked when the Robotech series adapted it to the extent that some countries skipped it.


zerogradius wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:25 pm Even though as a kid I saw Robotech at least ten times (probably more) I never once saw Mospeada as neither the USA Network nor Cartoon Network aired it, so I might as well give Mospeada a chance too.
Both Genesis Climber MOSPEADA and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross were attempts made by Tatsunoko Production to make the Super Dimension Fortress Macross lightning strike twice... and both were failures both in that regard and in general. Genesis Climber MOSPEADA was definitely the better one, and not only lasted to completion but had a wrap-up music video OVA (ala Macross's Flashback 2012.



LightningCount wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 5:31 pm I've never seen all of the original version of Southern Cross, but something I liked about this series structurally, regardless of whether it was a part of Robotech or not, was the squad dynamics and the use of different divisions working together (or in rivalry) with one another. It has shades of 08th MS Team in that regard, [...]
Eh... there isn't really anything akin to an interservice rivalry in the original Southern Cross. There is some antipathy there, but it's of a more personal nature. Specifically, Alpha Tactics Armored Corps' 15th Squad is seen by the rest of the ATAC and the other branches of the Southern Cross Army as the dregs of the military, where all the insubordinate, undisciplined, unprofessional "problem children" who would otherwise have been classified as unburnable trash gather to wait out their enlistments and be discharged into the civilian population... or, rather more likely, the stockade for being AWOL. (The unit's commanding officers are some of the worst offenders... to such an extent that the military police spend most of the series stalking them, Zenigata-style, and its former CO got demoted all the way from captain to buck private in one fell swoop, leaving his moronic senior NCO to try to run the unit.) The only soldier in the entire squad who gets any respect from other units is Jeanne's second, Sgt. Slawski, the only one in the unit who realizes what a moron Jeanne is.

The ATAC 15th Squad is basically the Southern Cross Army's version of Delta House... or, if you're familiar with the series Irresponsible Captain Tylor, their reputation is basically the same as the crew of the Soyokaze.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Chris wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 6:31 pm Personally, I don't think Southern Cross is any good at all, either in its original form or as the Robotech Masters arc. Mospeada is a far better series, and I would also give a nod to Orguss as a solid watch, although its middle is rather repetitive.
Well, Southern Cross did at least have a female MC, which Gundam has yet to do thirty five years later. And it's ending was unconventional and unexpected given the tone of the series.
Seto Kaiba wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 7:31 pm All right, but don't say I didn't warn you... there's a very, VERY good reason that Southern Cross bombed SO badly in Japan that the network said "kill it with fire" barely 1/3 of the way in, and that ratings tanked when the Robotech series adapted it to the extent that some countries skipped it.
Southern Cross had no chance of surviving following one of the greatest mecha anime of all time in SDF Macross. And this does present an interesting question. Why did Harmony Gold choose to adapt Southern Cross when there were so many other mecha anime out there at the time. Even Orguss, which was better received and came out before Southern Cross, was passed up.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:55 am And this does present an interesting question. Why did Harmony Gold choose to adapt Southern Cross when there were so many other mecha anime out there at the time. Even Orguss, which was better received and came out before Southern Cross, was passed up.
I think the amount of transforming vehicular mecha and some of the set pieces and music concepts helped Southern Cross be the choice. IIRC, Orguss was considered for a future Robotech entry after Sentinels called The Odyssey. But it never got beyond the theoretical stage. Then again, it may just be that it was considered for adaptation. I forget the details after all these years.

As for Southern Cross, as I said earlier, I'm not too familiar with its original version, but I largely enjoyed the Robotech version of it, despite a few annoyances. I actually like it a good deal more than the MOSPEADA stuff. As an aside, some of the themes from at least the Robotech version of Southern Cross felt like they were adopted into Macross II--the song control, the masters of the Zentraedi, the importance of the site of the SDF-1/Macross, the more upfront female ace pilot angle, etc.

(Ironically, the Robotech novels' "Thinking Cap" technology also pops up in the much later Macross Plus with Guld's craft.)
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

All I will say is that Orguss did not impress me. I got a bit tired of seeing Chirams destroy themselves. Frankly, my memories of it have aged worse and worse with time. Oh, those lost hours that cannot be redeemed. . .
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:55 am Southern Cross had no chance of surviving following one of the greatest mecha anime of all time in SDF Macross. [...]
Oh, in more ways than one... both MOSPEADA (1983) and Southern Cross (1984) are generally acknowledged as fairly weak attempts to get a piece of the action Macross was enjoying in the toy market with Takatoku's line of VF-1 Valkyrie transformable toys. It's not even an open secret, it's something both shows publicly acknowledged after the fact, as in Macross's 10 year anniversary piece in B-Club Magazine. Macross is a tough act to follow and a harder act to rip off, as Robotech's creators have discovered in 35 years of abject failure.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:55 am And this does present an interesting question. Why did Harmony Gold choose to adapt Southern Cross when there were so many other mecha anime out there at the time. Even Orguss, which was better received and came out before Southern Cross, was passed up.
The explanation there is fairly straightforward.

Y'see, Harmony Gold USA was doing Robotech on the cheap after their equally-on-the-cheap plans to dub Super Dimension Fortress Macross for direct-to-video release in the west were ruined by Revell's Transformers ripoff toyline "Robotech", which was made up of rebranded kits for Macross, Orguss, and Dougram. Revell had assented to support HG's release of Macross on the condition that it be made long enough for broadcast in a first run syndication style and that it adopt the brand name of Revell's failed venture.

To comply with those demands, Harmony Gold needed enough additional animation to extend Macross's run from 36 episodes to at least 65... and they needed to do it cheaply. What they did could colorfully be described as shopping the Tatsunoko Production license bargain bin. They'd already licensed SDF Macross from Tatsunoko, so getting a couple other shows from them - especially shows that performed poorly in Japan like MOSPEADA and Southern Cross - would be a lot cheaper than trying to obtain new licenses from other companies. Those two shows were all Tatsunoko had in the field of "Tatsunoko-owned mecha series contemporaries of Macross". To get Orguss or another mecha show, they'd have to open relations with a different studio, which would be more expensive and would not guarantee they'd get the same or similar terms.

The fact that Tatsunoko owns those two shows, where it only has limited distribution and merchandising rights to the original SDF Macross series, is why Harmony Gold has used those two much-less-popular shows as the basis for every attempt to continue the Robotech story save one (Robotech 3000's botched effort a clean break).
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:11 am
What I'd like to know is whether Southern Cross is worth tracking down the original subbed version. Is it a good enough show on its own
Go for it. As was told, the show was cut but it was worth the ride when I finished it. Even the ending came off complete.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

zerogradius wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:25 pm Actually, that makes me even more intrigued. I think I'll just dive right in and give Southern Cross a chance. I haven't seen Robotech in a really long time so my memory's hazy about the second season, but I figure I ought to see it's original form, just like I did for SDF MAcross, which I ended up liking a lot more than its Robotech counterpart.

Even though as a kid I saw Robotech at least ten times (probably more) I never once saw Mospeada as neither the USA Network nor Cartoon Network aired it, so I might as well give Mospeada a chance too.
That's a good attitude for most mecha anime. Give it a go and see what you like about it. Super Dimension Southern Cross isn't top-grade stuff, but it is not bottom-grade stuff either. I must confess here that it was my favorite segment of Robotech for a while, and only lost out to Macross & New Generation after discovering the Macross movie and the original Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. It was mainly the Spartas hovertank and the goofy Squad 15 but I liked it. Now, moving from the Robotech to the original SDCC story. Wow, what a difference the change made! :o
1. Jeanne no baka. Girl is a walking blonde joke, even if she does fight well. Fortunately she has some squad mates who have her back. She does grow up some in the final episodes of the story, but probably too late to have saved the show.
2. Lana (Nova) is not Jeanne's enemy. She is more of a long-suffering friend who doesn't want to see Jeanne waste her potential.
3. Bowie's last name is Emerson, which makes his relationship dynamic with General Emerson even more interesting.
4. The anime has done well with female fans in Japan. The romance story does seem like a draw, but to my mind the female characters were better written and were more relevant to the story overall. Even if Jeanne was a total ditz, she was still the main heroine and was the focus of the story. That was a rare thing for much of classic mecha anime, and even today is still rare in mecha anime with integrated male and female organizations. (I'm looking at you, Sunrise.)
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Okay, so I've finally seen all of Southern Cross and I'm ready to share my thoughts on it.

First of all, I think you guys really over sold this show. I went expecting a 'so bad it's good' experience, but what I found was just a mediocre 80s anime. The animation wasn't very good. Even though it's the third Super Dimension show, it looks worse than the first one. Certain scenes were repeated over and over again, sometimes less than a minute apart. I also didn't care much for the transformed Spartas. They looked too much like toys rather than war machines. The other mechs were okay.

There wasn't much to talk about when it came to the music, outside of a couple tracks. The OP, ED and the track, Falcon Fighter, were the only ones I really cared for. Speaking of which, I found out that the latter track was actually a rip off of a song by The Police.

One area I have to break with you guys is your opinion of Jeanne. I didn't find her to be that bad. She seemed to me to be the female equivalent of the male, hotshot pilot we see in movies and anime. The type of person who goes against the grain, doesn't always follow the rules, is brash, frank, confident and assertive. All of that can describe Jeanne perfectly. Of course, she does have her issues. Joining the army to find a husband is just dumb, though she doesn't dwell on it as much as you guys seemed to suggest. Fighting with her counterparts over a dress makes not just her, but the whole female cast look petty, especially when you consider the alien invasion going on. She also blatantly disregards orders and goes off on tangents without sufficient censure for her actions. In fact, her promotion to command the 15th squad made no sense. Charles was demoted for insubordination, so the army decides to promote Jeanne, who was just released from isolation...for insubordination? What sense does that make? She treats Bowie like a youngster even though she is only a year older than he is. Yeah, Bowie is immature. He hates his father for reasons that are never made clear (which is all the more bizarre considering he is one of the nicest characters in the entire series) and he falls in love with an alien girl a first sight. But who si Jeanne to be doling advice when she fell in love with Seifrit almost as quickly. And of course there was her fawning over Seifirt to an almost unbearable level. For all her faults, at least she was a capable commander, unlike most of the army.

In fact, the whole Southern Cross Army is incompetent, save for a hand full of people. Supreme Commander Leon has to be one of the most incompetent leaders I have ever seen. His whole plan to deal with the Zor is to blindly attack them. That's it. He sends waves upon waves of soldiers into battle after battle, most of the time ending in almost all of them being wiped out, and he never learns from this. General Rolf was the only one keeping the army together. From the beginning, he was the one stressing learning about the enemy, trying to discover their reasons for attacking them, trying to negotiate, and if talks break down, discovering their weaknesses to aid them in battle. But this all was just too nonsensical for Leon, whose master plan of 'ATTACK!' was all that he wanted to hear. It was only until near the end of the series that he came up with an actual strategy of setting up a base on the moon and using a pincer attack on the Zor with forces from the moon and Gloire, which wasn't half bad. Of course, being Leon, he had to mess it up. He sent Rolf and those who supported anything other than blindly attacking to the moon for the sole purpose of using the Zor to kill them off. Gloire didn't have infinite resources, so why send Rolf and Marie, their most competent pilot, to their deaths just because you didn't like someone having a contrary opinion? Even when Rolf survived and the pincer attack was supposed to commence, he held his forces on Gloire back and allowed them to be near annihilated. And how did that turn out for Leon? His entire force on Gloire was destroyed and he was killed. What a master planner he was. I sure see why they made him Supreme Commander :lol:

As for the story itself, I could tell that there were issues with its progression. I wish we knew what led up to the Zor's internal conflict that led to them abandoning their own planet. Also, how long was it abandoned? Seeing that humans settled the planet, it must have been a pretty long time, so how were they able to keep their bio energy levels up for so long without replenishing them? Towards the end, all of a sudden, the Zor were in a rush to enter the planet to take back the flowers even though previously they were taking their cool time. How did they not know their bio energy levels were near critical? And what happened to saving the Bioroids? Jeanne and Bowie spent so much time conflicted over how they could fight them, yet in the end, the only ones they saved were the Zor. I guess all their comrades who were being used as weapons just didn't matter anymore.

I know that's a lot of complaints, but I really didn't mind it all enough for me to not like the series, though I am heavily biased toward mecha anime and it takes a lot for me to not like one. My sights are now on Mospeada which I have half way completed and it has been an interesting ride. I know the prevailing wisdom is that Mospeada is better than Souther Cross, but from what I have seen so far, well...let's just say I'll save my final thoughts for when I've seen it all the way through.
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Re: Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

Zeonista wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2017 2:17 am 4. The anime has done well with female fans in Japan.
... in what universe was this? The show's ratings were atrocious across the board, its merchandise line was an unqualified disaster with the few character goods for the female characters being rather sexist, and the show's owners - Tatsunoko Production - barely remember the show exists.




zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm First of all, I think you guys really over sold this show. I went expecting a 'so bad it's good' experience, but what I found was just a mediocre 80s anime.
Pretty sure we sold it as a "so bad it's awful" show.

zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm The animation wasn't very good. Even though it's the third Super Dimension show, it looks worse than the first one. Certain scenes were repeated over and over again, sometimes less than a minute apart.
As I noted previously, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross was a VERY troubled production. The show wasn't a particularly well thought-out or well-funded project, it was a quick and dirty attempt to get Tatsunoko a piece of the transforming robot action at the toy store and it emphatically DID NOT WORK.

zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm I also didn't care much for the transformed Spartas. They looked too much like toys rather than war machines. The other mechs were okay.
Kind of surprised you didn't bring up that the Spartas is a transparent knockoff of the RGM-79 GM and the Bioroid a knockoff MS-06 Zaku II complete with the same sound effects.

zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm One area I have to break with you guys is your opinion of Jeanne. I didn't find her to be that bad. She seemed to me to be the female equivalent of the male, hotshot pilot we see in movies and anime. The type of person who goes against the grain, doesn't always follow the rules, is brash, frank, confident and assertive. All of that can describe Jeanne perfectly.
I think you might be attributing more positive motivations to her behavior than most, including the show's other characters, do. If I thought they were doing it ironically I'd call her a parody of the "strong career-focused woman" type, but there's a fair amount of evidence the writers of the series just plain didn't like career-oriented women and brought that across in Jeanne's imbecilic, boycrazy, unprofessional behavior.

She's brash and frank, but only because she's a boy-crazy ditz who sees her entire job as a doss. She's confident, but only because she spends the entire war in blithe ignorance of the stakes because she won't pay attention in briefings. She goes against the grain because she doesn't care about keeping her job as she intends to quit anyway. She's so obsessed with finding a hot boyfriend she almost loses the main character role to Seifreit Weisse in the show's second half. Her successes come more from blind luck than judgement.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm In fact, her promotion to command the 15th squad made no sense. Charles was demoted for insubordination, so the army decides to promote Jeanne, who was just released from isolation...for insubordination? What sense does that make?
This actually makes slightly more sense if you have the supplemental materials in the official artbook... as senior NCO of Squad Fifteen, Jeanne was next in the chain of command after Charles so she got the job by simple protocol. Mind you, this was helped by two other factors:
  • The Alpha Tactics Armored Corps was such a small organization, consisting of just fifteen tank squads, that there just weren't any unattached officers available to replace Charles on short notice. (This helped Jeanne keep her job despite her many, MANY priors for insubordination.)
  • Fifteenth Squad was basically the ATAC's Delta House and EVERYBODY KNEW IT. Jeanne got command because nobody else was stupid enough to take the position. Accepting responsibility for a squad that the brass regarded as a dumping ground for unburnable trash was what you'd call a career-limiting move.

zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm She treats Bowie like a youngster even though she is only a year older than he is. Yeah, Bowie is immature. He hates his father for reasons that are never made clear (which is all the more bizarre considering he is one of the nicest characters in the entire series) [...]
Not sure if this just didn't translate well due to cultural context, but Bowie's motives for hating his father were actually pretty clear. Bowie's dream is to become a famous jazz pianist. Bowie's father didn't think much of his son's aspirations, and forced him to join the Southern Cross Army instead. That's why Bowie's resentful of his father.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm In fact, the whole Southern Cross Army is incompetent, save for a hand full of people. Supreme Commander Leon has to be one of the most incompetent leaders I have ever seen. His whole plan to deal with the Zor is to blindly attack them. That's it. [...]
The whole Southern Cross Army is arguably more about flash than substance, since they're the descendants of the survivors of the unrestricted nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare that rendered Earth a totally uninhabitable mess and forced the surviving humans to emigrate to Liberte and Glorie. The last thing that they wanted was more "efficient" war.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm As for the story itself, I could tell that there were issues with its progression. I wish we knew what led up to the Zor's internal conflict that led to them abandoning their own planet. Also, how long was it abandoned? [...]
We have a pretty good idea, via the Japanese liner notes that detail what would've happened in the series had it not been canceled.

The Zor are actually the mutated descendants of the first group of colonial pioneers dispatched to survey Glorie for future colonization. The survey ship was lost in a warp accident which sent it back in time, its crew settled on Glorie and were mutated by exposure to the protozor flowers, becoming the Zor. Having formed their own civilization on Glorie while the humans on Earth were still beating each other's heads in with sharp bits of metal from horseback, they were forced to abandon the planet sometime around 1620 when the damage caused by their own internal conflicts over resources caused a nuclear winter that left them with no choice but to abandon the planet and emigrated to a neighboring system only to discover it was impossible to grow the protozor there.

The planet was abandoned about 500 years before settlers coming from Liberte landed on it just as that nuclear winter was starting to lift, and accelerated the process via terraforming.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm Seeing that humans settled the planet, it must have been a pretty long time, so how were they able to keep their bio energy levels up for so long without replenishing them? Towards the end, all of a sudden, the Zor were in a rush to enter the planet to take back the flowers even though previously they were taking their cool time. How did they not know their bio energy levels were near critical?
They took a large stock of protozor with them on their colony ships.

As to why they were suddenly in such a hurry to recapture the protozor stocks on the planet... that's the amazing narrative power of the network cancelling the show and telling the studio it had a few weeks of grace period to wrap their shit up before being replaced in the weekly lineup. Southern Cross was supposed to be 39 episodes long, but the ratings were so lousy that the show was on life support almost from the get-go (possibly resulting in Jeanne's many nude scenes) and by episode sixteen the network had decided the time had come to pull the plug and it was a mad scramble to have an ending in time for their last episode.


zerogradius wrote: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:13 pm And what happened to saving the Bioroids? Jeanne and Bowie spent so much time conflicted over how they could fight them, yet in the end, the only ones they saved were the Zor. I guess all their comrades who were being used as weapons just didn't matter anymore.
The big reveal was supposed to be that the Zor literally ARE human... but since that got left on the cutting room floor by the show's abrupt cancellation, there was never any payoff to that particular arc. Mind you, since Seifreit's big sacrifice and Jeanne's screwup leaving the protozor spreading unchecked across Glorie, everyone will be Zor shortly.
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