Gundam Thread

[Skull]

*Sniff sniff*

Ah, I love the smell of hamburgers in the morning.

[pinetree]

Brutal.

[Mattias]

My biggest problem with WitP is that a tragedy only effects you when you like the characters, but I really don't like anyone in there. Especially not the MC, it actually might have been better if he'd been cut out entirely. It felt like watching Kamille and Four through Katz's eyes.

[pinetree]

Yeah, there's not enough time or substance to make me care about Bernie or Chris or any of the side characters, but I also don't think it matters. The entire tragedy was centered around Al, he's the heart of this story and the tragedy of the other characters matter only in relation to him.

The moment that got me most emotional in the series was when he meets his friends again after the battle. The way he just can't relate to them anymore is tough enough, but then he's so distraught that even the other two kids notice (and try to console him instead of making fun of him like before). This child has to swallow up his tears and pretend everything is ok.
The feeling of "A child shouldn't have to do that" is pretty common in this kind of story, but it's usually on some heavy handed scene with the kid surrounded by dead people or whatever. There's just something more cruel about it when it happens in a calm and casual scene instead of a battlefield full of dead bodies. Not to mention the fact that he keeps that going in the end, he's probably going to carry this unresolved trauma to his grave.

[Mattias]

I'd agree about Al, if he didn't spend a good portion of the show cheering for the people attacking his home. If he was an innocent bystander caught up in something way beyond him, sure I'd feel bad for him, but he was actively aiding these people and then gets surprised when violence happens? It's a "be careful what you wish for" story, but fells like it's missing parts. The draw to those stories is things being amazing for a while, then slowly spinning out of control, but War in the Pocket is more like a house of cards, that all comes down in an instant.

[pinetree]

He's like 9 or 10 though, he thinks all the pilots and mechs are cool and that's that. They even made sure to set it up by having him and his classmates discussing how both sides of the war have nothing to do with them. Things only change after the attack, when they start talking shit about Zeon on TV and kids start parroting it.

This is different from Kamille betraying his country because someone called him girly, Al is appropriately naïve for it to work.

The draw to those stories is things being amazing for a while, then slowly spinning out of control, but War in the Pocket is more like a house of cards, that all comes down in an instant.

I think it works better though. Both are valid methods but Gundam just hasn't managed to do slow build-up well yet, to me.

[Mattias]

I think it works better though. Both are valid methods but Gundam just hasn't managed to do slow build-up well yet, to me.

Iron Blooded Orphans probably comes the closest to that, but it still lacks the sitting pretty at the top part.

[pinetree]

me, 8 episodes into zz

[Mattias]

Ohh, That's the moon isn't it? If it makes you feel better it's all uphill from there. (Even if the arc lasts a few episodes)

[AmADo VII]

mind broken Camille was such legend, he made one of the biggest Gundam meme.

[pinetree]

Ohh, That's the moon isn't it? If it makes you feel better it's all uphill from there. (Even if the arc lasts a few episodes)

I hope you're right.

[Spartacus]

This talks reminds me that I actually haven't finished ZZ too.

[pinetree]

This talks reminds me that I actually haven't finished ZZ too.

From the Zeta discussion I've been reading, this seems to be a common thing among Gundam fans lol

[Skull]

^ To be fair, it's not the worst thing in the world to do so since none of the characters ZZ introduced carry over to later anime whether they live or die so if you skip ahead to CCA then you won't have missed much.

[pinetree]

Eh, I'm keeping up with it. I already decided I wouldn't start dropping Gundam shows until I was done with the main UC stuff.

- - - Updated - - -

Right now it's just inexcusably boring, but I can trudge through it. Can't say I'll hold to my determination if this keeps up for much longer though. I'm putting my hopes in the "it gets better" crowd.

[Mattias]

^ To be fair, it's not the worst thing in the world to do so since none of the characters ZZ introduced carry over to later anime whether they live or die so if you skip ahead to CCA then you won't have missed much.

Not if you want to be lost when it comes to best girl in Unicorn, who is directly tied to the last half of ZZ.

[Skull]

Not if you want to be lost when it comes to best girl in Unicorn, who is directly tied to the last half of ZZ.

Oh yeah, I forgot that Unicorn retconned her to be alive. Ah well, as someone who hadn't seen ZZ before Unicorn I can't say it affected my understanding of that scene very much. ¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯

[Mattias]

Yeah, it really dosn't matter as much going in to Unicorn fresh, since you focus more on her Tragic Past ^TM, but if you watch ZZ it's probably one of the best pop offs in that series. I just love the minor character from last series is now the biggest badass trope.

[weeblord]

mind broken Camille was such legend, he made one of the biggest Gundam meme.

mfw poptimus srirachas newtype dokudenpa mindfucked kamille into a sex addict

[Skull]

Speaking of Paptimus, I really need to get back to reading Gundam Walpurgis one day. I must know how the showdown with Haman Khan went.

Sadly the situation with the world has hampered my ability to import JPN books.