11/24   I really don't understand the 3rd Robotech. Dana and her friends
        use those cool motorcycle/bot things to fight enemies and get energy
        from Protocultures (from dead enemies). But where do these enemies
        get those Protocultures?
        \_ Weren't these harvested from slave labor on Earth like in Dune?
           \_ I don't know anything about Robotech, but just what the
              fuck are you talking about about Dune?  Earth is a semi
              mythical place of the distant past in Dune.  If you're
              thinking of Arrakis, you're still wrong, since although the
              Harkonnens had slave labor on Giedi Prime, they did
              not use slave labor to harvest spice.
        \_ Dana was from the second generation, not the third.  There's not a
           lot to understand; the three Robotech series are a conglomeration
           of three totally separate anime series (Macross, Southern Cross,
           and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA respectively).  That they were strung
           together with anything resembling coherence is a feat.
           \_ Southern Cross was basically two factions fighting each other
              over a scare resource (I think it was food or something).
              It had nothing to do with Macross. At the end they were somehow
              united and made peace with each other when all the spores were
              released. Anyway, it was supposed to be a happy ending vs.
              the totally chopped up ending they presented in Robotech.
              As for MOSPEADA, it was a much simpler story, the aliens
              invade earth, enslave the remnant surviving humans, and there's
              a fleet off of Mars left who wants to retake earth. The aliens
              think that earthlings are basically virii who need to be cleared
                \_ wow that's exactly how iu feel about neocons!
              off the planet, but in the process of studying them they decide
              that it's better to just leave earth in peace.
           \_ So in the original Japanese version of Southern Cross, for
              example, Dana isn't even really the daughter of Max and Myria?
              Are they all completely separate universes?
              \_ Yup.  They mostly tied together the three series with that
                 _really_ cheesy voiceover narration to explain away serious
                 inconsistencies.  I think "protoculture" was a vague concept
                 from the second series that was back and forward propogated
                 into the others.  If this seems like an unjustifiable thing
                 to do artistically, remember that the primary motivation
                 for Robotech was to cash-in on the robot toy craze going
                 on in the States.  So the more robots, the better.
                 \_ "protoculture" was from Macross. It's similar to the seeder
                    idea the Star Trek universe uses to explain why all the
                    races are very nearly humanoid. Humans and the Zentraedi
                    are both descendants from a common sort-of-species. That
                    species's culture was the "protoculture" from which all
                    cultures developed. I don't know what the back story was
                    for Southern Cross.
                    \_ except that in the first generation, "protoculture"
                       is talked about in the narrations as something more
                       akin to a power source.  some sort of biological
                       technology.  as well as the culture of the proto-
                       human and -zentradi species.  it was hard to
                       distinguish whether the protoculture that was shipped
                       around in oil drums and fought over teeth and nail
                       was just some sort of technology salvaged from the
                       protoculture, or whether it was some energy source
                       labeled "protoculture."
                       \_ The confusion you speak of was an aspect of the
                          Robotech plot alone. The original Macross backstory
                          was quite clear and straightforward such as it
                          boys).
                          was (a robot space opera targeted at ~10-14 yr old
                          boys). Kudos to the op on the success of this
                          troll, btw.
                          \_ I don't think troll means what you think it
                             means.  The OP seems to have been asking a real
                             question that he wanted an answer to...unless
                             you ARE the OP, in which case I stand corrected.
                             It's really unfortunate that the term, which once
                             actually had a pretty specific and well defined
                             meaning, has come to mean any thread that one
                             doesn't like or agree with.  Ah well...such is
                             the nature of language, I suppose.
        \_ I hate you.
           \_ Why did Rick choose Lisa over Minmei?
              \_ In the end, a hot walking receptle gets old fast if it
                 nags as much as she did. He knew he could always get a
                 new hot chick later after doing the domestic thing for a bit.
                 \_ 'Cos when I think misogyny, I think motd.
                    \_ misogeny of the day
              \_ Because he wanted a real woman over a two dimensional
                 piece of lolita bait?  Oh, wait, they're both anime.
                 \_ But lisa wasn't underage at any point in the show....