double-oh gundam, episodes 1-2
5 Nov 2007 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigou
Episode 1
I posted my preliminary reaction on the fandom journal, but I'll re-summarize here for continuity. The first episode opens in the middle of city-street battle, with 10-yr old Seiei hefting a weapon against mobile suits, along with other children. And I say children, most definitely -- I'm presuming they're the few left alive to fight. Meanwhile, the suits are broadcasting, "This is a sacred war for God; we destroy all who do not follow tradition. We will never lose; we are fighting for god." [Shinsen's version is even more pointed to today's conflicts, which I suspect is the point/intention from Sunrise: "This battle is a crusade being offered to god. We shall strike down the unbelievers who ignore our traditions and defile the land of god. We must not submit to the unbelievers. By dying in battle, we shall be guided to god."]
The camera pans across dead bodies & a destroyed city, as a young Seiei is trapped in a dead-end alley hiding from the suits. He whispers, "there is no god in this world."
Just as the outlook is most bleak, the mobile suits are attacked from above. Above the city hovers a Gundam (which, I presume, is Exia, and the primary Gundam in the series since it has the standard parade colors). In this timeline (oh so aptly called the Anno Domini timeline, with -- for the first time, I believe -- a specific Western date of 2301), the Gundams are powered by something called a GN drive. As part of its mechanics, the drive gives off strong radio waves, which cause both radio/satellite interference, and visual interference, showing up as rays of light emanating from the Gundam's powerstation on its upper back. You guessed it: Seiei looks up to see Exia, with what appear to be massive wings of light spreading out from its back. (Wing Zero Custom, anyone?)
This opening segment, in some ways, sets the tone of the episodes so far, and may inform the final crux of the story: who is right, who is wrong, and does having absolute power (like to that of a god) necessarily make one right? Old questions, yes, but Sunrise (to my knowledge) has not previously questioned its own Gundam pilots' roles; they may be castigated within the story, by the enemy, but the story's overall tone itself does not also attempt to highlight the hypocrisy of bombing for peace.
The four pilots -- Seiei, Stratos, Haptism, and Erde* -- are the strongarms of the Celestial Being organization (hereafter CB). Two (including Seiei, flying the lead Gundam with its parade colors) participate in what appears to be a preemptive strike; the other two prevent a terrorist attack on a space station.
[The pilot designations are 001 for Seiei, 002 for Stratos, 003 for Haptism, and 005 for Erde. No word yet on why 004 is missing, or who it might be; there are counterpart manga running in several magazines, but I've seen no scanlations nor heard any word of whether the manga-versions have details about the missing 004. I can't help but note, though, that Stratos' role with Seiei mirrors Duo's bolstering/calling-back of Heero in the early partnering episodes of Wing, or that Haptism's hair is an updated one-eye-only Neo-Trowa. Sheesh, people.]
Shortly after this, CB broadcasts an announcement of responsibility for both events, declaring they'll fight anyone who's fighting, until war is ended. This is what I mean by allowing the story's tone to decry the gundam position: the writing/animation team gave significant screen time to a variety of people's reactions to the broadcast, and almost all are a variant of "what kind of hypocrisy is that? can they do that?"
Yes, they can, it seems, and the very first preemptive strike -- truly, nothing more an aggressive attack -- demonstrates that unquestionably. There's no background yet, though; we don't get that narration until the second episode, in which we learn the world has achieved a delicate balance between three superpowers: the American-led Allies/Americas-centered) World Economic Union (aka "the Union"), the Advanced European Union (aka "the AEU"), and the Indoasian Human Reform League (aka "the HRL").
The subtle detail just tossed out there is that this is a balance. That is, the three superpowers are not at active war, but in a sort of stalemate, though they all participate in a sort of mobile-suit arms race designed to stave off any more definitive actions by their opponents. While the three superpowers are battling it out for supremacy, based on who can come up with the most powerful alternate fuel source (mainly, solar power), the point is that they're not battling it out, directly, with full force, on a battlefield. At the story's start, it appears to be predominantly diplomatic. (And there's space elevators involved, too, but I won't get into that now.)
There are wars and unrest in certain areas of the world, yes, and some of these are manipulated by the superpowers, but it's similar to the events you see playing out on today's news, where the superpowers never truly meet head-on, but route their resources and power through secondaries into channels and battlefields with outcomes designed to benefit them -- but never requiring their full commitment to a dedicated war. Thus, an aggressive move so openly against the AEU superpower (destroying a mobile suit in the midst of a development demo), followed by defense of the HRL satellite, is bound to unbalance the scales, and increase significantly the suspicion amongst the superpowers, to boot. (Why hurt one, then aid another?, for instance.)
[I should also note again that I believe this is the first Gundam series (is it?) in which the protagonist is not of Japanese descent to some degree (or is otherwise left undefined). Heero Yuy, Kira Yamato, Amuro Ray, Domon Kasshu, etc -- instead, Setsuna is identified as Kurdish. In fact, the Middle East plays a huge role in this series, it seems; the peaceful-princess, this time around, is a 24-yr old from a destitute & war-torn Middle Eastern country (and she even has her own Dorothy, of course).]
When this broadcast is made, two of the pilots are on the space station with the mothership's crew, and listening to the broadcast. Haptism remarks he can feel earth's malice; the tactical forecaster's response is simply to say, "evil." In hindsight, I think she's referring to the broadcast itself, somehow. Meanwhile, on earth, Stratos seemed resigned when he observes that there's no stopping it now. He asks Seiei whether he's aware that his participation in the first phase means Seiei has effectively fired the first shot to begin a world war. Seiei doesn't appear to care one way or another.
Episode 2
This episode finally allows us the background narration, a Sunrise/Gundam favorite opening gambit. It's important to note that the narration designates the development of massive orbiting solar-arrays as "an infinite power source" (and, too, I believe if you replaced fossil fuels with solar power, you probably would have to have an immense number of orbiting arrays to equal the power/resources we currently use in coal, natural gas, and petroleum) -- however, the development of such arrays would be an immense investment, beyond all but either allied nations or the most powerful/wealthiest of nations. A comment made elsewhere in the episode ties into this, that upon creation of the arrays, all fossil fuels were promptly put under major embargo.
Let's make sure we've got that spelled out: first, three allied sets of wealthy nations created massive, infinitely-creating power sources. Second, those allied groups were then able to create, and enforce, an embargo on the existing resource-using forms of power. What's hiding under there, I think, is that this entirely inverts the balance of our current power-plays, in the real world: that is, the Middle East's position as the preeminent source of fossil fuels -- and its resulting ability to demand, and get, sweetheart deals with various military powers.
I doubt it's random choice to make the lead character from a region and/or cultural group that has been oppressed and disenfranchised, within the Middle East, for over a thousand years. And that disenfranchisement has been almost consistent, too, despite the fact that the Kurdish region is hugely rich with resources -- including the sixth largest oil field, only discovered this past July. (The Kurdish Autonomous Region, in Iraq, is the only section of traditional Curdistan which maintains even de facto self-rule.)
Onto the episode itself, which opens with the reactions/ramifications of CB's first strikes. In the Tokyo Autonomous Region (allied with the WEU/Union), two high school students notice the broadcasts. The self-occupied twit girl, Louise, wonders about the broadcast; her friend, Saji, doubts it, wondering whether anyone that altruistic really exists in the world, willing to take such risks without some kind of benefit to themselves. Over in the HRL, the president is reviewing the broadcast, and his advisor shows images of the Virtue, taken by the space station; it seems a fair assumption, to them, to think CB was the organization that deflected the terrorist attack.
In the AEU, a group of representatives views Exia's attack on their demostration suit. It's not just that CB's strike may have been to identify the AEU as developing military power beyond its treaties but, as one representative points out, that in AEU's defense of its suit and nearby orbital elevator (which connects to the solar arrays, from what I gather), that CB was able to also reveal that AEU maintains a military presence within its elevator. This has led AEU's fellow superpowers to doubt AEU's observance of its treaties, and now the AEU is getting heat from all sides. Another representative points out that the amount of technology and resources required for such an advanced suit -- let alone keeping the development secret -- would also require a great deal of cash (though the translation isn't that blunt, the meaning is clear), and thus CB must be allied with, or funded by, one of the other two superpowers. In the end, though, the only fact -- as one representative notes -- that is certain is that the 'Gundam' mobile suit far outranks and outflanks even the AEU's most advanced suit, the Enact.
The most pointed commentary by Sunrise's writers seems to be against the US and/or the UN, when the focus shifts over to the Union. The president says to his advisor, "The eradication of war through force... they appear to be assuming our country's duties." (World cop, anyone?) He goes on to comment, "We intervened in the wars of others to protect our citizens' safety and national interest. It was certainly not for charity." His advisor concurs/concludes that CB will, therefore, reveal its true nature soon enough, and it will fall on the Union to retaliate at that time. The final uncertainty or throwaway comment that may still have bearing (to me, at least), is the President's quiet (and perhaps even rueful in tone) observation: "Ten years have passed since the orbital elevators were activated. This happens just when the economy has finally stabilized..."
Again the emphasis on balance: the underlying global economy has stabilized, and the three superpowers may be in an arms race but it's one of a holding pattern, not (or at least so far, not appearing to be) a ramp-up to eventual domination. In fact, even the barest study of the symbiotic natures of interconnected economies would demonstrate that a single, dominating world power (such as touted in many of the previous Gundam series, or even in Star Trek's Federation notion) is actually a bad thing, not a good thing. Individual regions, with differing resources, priorities, and needs, cannot be addressed nor handled by a centralized, single, power structure; the delicate balance between superpowers may contain a potential for war, but it more often means -- by virtue of the massive but not overwhelming size of the structures/bureaucracies -- each will keep the other in check, while remaining able to answer the individual needs/issues of its internal regions. Thus, a successful if fragile symbiosis between the economies can create peace. I'm not entirely certain that to throw a fox into this henhouse is really the best method.
When the story jumps back to the on-planet Gundam pilots (Stratos and Seiei), it seems a pattern is beginning to establish itself. Stratos keeps track of the world's events, reporting casually to Seiei what's going on. Seiei, meanwhile, has little to no response, and often is staring away from Stratos, apparently lost in his own thoughts (but, I must add, staring down, not up at the sky, or at his Gundam, but seems almost downcast-while-stoic). Stratos doesn't seem to mind having to provide both parts of the conversation, and from small bits among the pilots in this episode and the next, I suspect this is because of the three, he's the only one easy-going enough, and secure enough, to deal with Seiei's loner-preference. I have a feeling Erde would just leave him behind, while Haptism would eventually get annoyed... and then leave him behind. Stratos doesn't take it personally.
I should also note that of the histories provided for the pilots, Haptism was an orphan raised in the HRL. Stratos, in contrast, lost his parents to terrorists in Ireland; in some respects, he may be the closest to the full-blown child-of-war in Seiei. I don't know if the story will internally explain Stratos' mindset (or if that will be left to the hands of fanficcers down the line), but I can't help but wonder if Stratos reaches past Seiei's walls purely from having seen others come away from frontlines with similar scars.
At this point in the story is where I think (maybe) the current director -- a non-Gundam-experienced person, as I understand from other fans' comments -- is guiding things towards what makes sense, and not necessarily the tropes that have previously existed in Gundam-series. (Or maybe it's the translation, who knows for sure!) Acre, the Union pilot who snuck into the AEU's demonstration, is meeting with his friend Katagiri, a Union consultant-engineer who'd also managed to wrangle a seat for the demo. Acre is sussing out the qualities of the unknown Gundam, and this sort of scene could go really wrong ("gee, he must be brilliant to just know all that!") or it could go right; in my opinion, he goes right.
Acre only lists what was patently observable during the demo/attack, that the Gundam is highly maneuverable with a massive amount of power, and that electronic and radar communications were interrupted as soon as the Gundam appeared. The only major, visible, difference in design between the Gundam and the AEU suit was the power-core (a sort of triangular backpack on the Gundam's upper back) which emited light; Acre concludes that light is somehow connected to both the suit's resources and the communications disruptions. I bring that up because such quick observations -- and later characterization underlines this -- illustrate that Acre is not only a good pilot, but has a sharp mind, and is an experienced pilot, as well, enough that he can easily and rapidly analyze another pilot's abilities and level based on performance. We didn't need a Noin or Treize substitute to tell us the pilot is top of his class and good at everything he does; we get to see it in action.
There are some minor (but possibly leading to major) characterization changes in the dialogue, in Shinsen's version. Up on the mothership, Haptism and Erde are heading for their ships, when Sumeragi, the ship's tactical analyst, passes them in the hallway. She compliments Erde's determination/mindset, and only Shinsen's version of Erde is inclusive. Instead of "I refuse to be weak" (or something equally defensive), Shinsen's version is "I do not believe we are weak."
It moves the gist of Erde's defensiveness (or chip on his shoulder) from whether he's strong enough/good enough to be on the team, to a sort of defensive position about the team. If that meaning is accurate, I can't help but conclude that Stratos is the one who keeps the disparate personalities from chafing, Haptism is the worrier/feeler, Seiei is the loose cannon, and Erde is the one whose pure determination will see them through or he'll take them all down trying, damn it -- but if it's really "I", then his pure determination will take them down if they're in his way, and he'll do it himself because he doesn't need to be held back, damn it. Extend that slight shift from "I" to "we" through the dynamics, and you can see how in the long-run such a minor translation issue could lead to big characterization wars.
I feel compelled to compare the four versions of this scene, and maybe someone can help me see which fansub group is getting the closest gist. The scene opens, if you're not familiar, with Haptism and Erde suited up and with helmets, ostensibly heading for the mobile suit bay. My point is outlining the entire bit is that a single shift could -- if you're a really analytical observer *cough* not that I am, of course -- alter the potentials in the dynamics.
| Conclave-Mendoi | GundamsNet | Nyoro-n | Shinsen | |
| Haptism | Testing the fuselage during a live combat mission? This is getting troublesome. | An actual fighting test. I hate this. | Is it time to test the communicator or something? Honestly, we're already going. | A unit test during real combat. What a pain. |
| Erde | To prepare for what lies ahead, we have to fully explore the Gundams' potential. | We need to know our Gundam's potential. | From here on, we have to keep the Gundams at full strength. | We need to know everything about the Gundams for what's to come. |
| Haptism | Well, that's true... | That's true, but... | You have a point. | That's true, but... |
| Sumeragi | Sorry for making you take such a risk. | Sorry for pushing you. | Sorry for giving such pointless instructions. | Sorry for pushing you so hard. |
| Haptism | Sumeragi-san. | Sumeragi-san. | Sumeragi-san. | Sumeragi-san. |
| Erde | It's not a problem. We joined this out of our free will. | No problem. It's for our readiness. | It's no problem. Even if it's pointless, it helps us prepare. | It's no problem. We committed ourselves before we began. |
| Sumeragi | You're strong. | Be strong. | Aren't you the tough one? | So strong. |
| Erde | I don't believe I'm weak. | I don't plan to be weak. | I have no intention of being weak. | I do not believe we are weak. |
ETA: Mal made a comment about seeing doubts among the pilots, and in the first two episodes, the most striking example of doubt (possibly) is from the 24-yr old tactical analyst/forecaster, Sumeragi. She shows up in the first episode drinking (and I believe it's Shinsen who adds "alcohol" as clarification to a comment made by one of the tactical operators -- "You're drinking!?" Sumeragi brushes it off, saying her work (forecasting) is done, and the mission's begun, so she's just on the maindeck to watch. Later, we see Sumeragi again, this time listening to the broadcast -- and with another bottle in her hand, even as a second (empty/dribbling) one floats past.
Also, when Erde returns from a mission in ep3, she invites him for a drink (though being all-work and no-play, he turns her down to do maintenance). If anything, she seems to have the strongest doubts about the 'rightness' of such a hardline defense, and it's her actions -- along with Haptism and Stratos -- that have me wondering whether some of them aren't in CB not because they necessarily want to be, but because they're unable to get out (or maybe have nowhere to go if they do).
Keep in mind, this is the director from FmA, so we at least know the guy has seen tight, character-controlled & -propelled storytelling. He may be minorly tied down by Sunrise's overall tropes for Gundam, but within that framework, the majority of fanficcers have often known there were ways to tell a more character-truthful story and keep much of the significant events intact. Given the strength & power of his previous outing, I retain hope that he'll find a way to kick out the Gundam-ruts and push the story into showing more of the human impact.
The departures of the four pilots are really a characterization moment, to contrast them, I think. There's Seiei and Stratos on the ground, dashing for their Gundams. Both throw themselves into the cockpit, twisting agilely to land on their backs in the seats. Belting in, Seiei's preparation is concise: "Exia, Setsuna F. Seiei, beginning mission." Stratos, however, pops his Haro into its little holder and says something like, "okay, partner, let's get this show on the road." Up in the mothership, Haptism's response to mission control (when they release the controls to him) is the more formal, "I have control," while Erde's is the abrupt but simple, "Roger."
Once away from the ship, we see more of Haptism's cautiousness when he mutters the start of a thought, about how they've done (the atmosphere-entry program) so many times in simulation, but... only to have Erde interrupt him with news that they've reached orbital altitude -- and then Erde's off like a shot, zooming into the atmosphere. (I think Haptism's earlier comments about 'testing' during mission are to underline that this entry-gambit is untested in actual flight, which both highlights Haptism's caution and what could be a level of foolhardiness -- or plain nerves of steel -- on Erde's part.)
While the Gundams are heading for intervention action on Ceylon Island (in India), the focus skips through HRL -- hoping to grab a Gundam -- and AEU, tracking the Gundam's movements, and then to Acre and Katagiri. It's here that Acre demonstrates his political savvy as well as his military/flight knowledge, pointing out that the internecine debacle in Ceylon predated the orbital elevator, but the power structure was routed through the northern end of Ceylon by the HRL, requiring a treaty with the Tamil-held area. That, in turn, meant supporting the Tamil in their racial warfare against their neighbors, but the HRL's interference has, in the long run, decimated the situation instead of stabilizing it. (I note these details because it's not simply "there's a civil war going on.")
After a moment's pause, Acre tells the ship's captain to change course and prepare a Flag. Katagiri finds this unbelieveable, and risky, but Acre only says, "of course." The implication, I gather, is that Acre's not made his successes by being cautious -- he goes after something, and this willingness/ability to assess the risk and to commit fast and hard to an action has served him well. (It's in distinct contrast to Haptism's caution/reluctance, and maybe even also Erde's blind foolhardy leaps.)
It's also the first time we see all four pilots together, as they approach Ceylon. Stratos reminds the others (and this, I believe, identifies him as the true team leader in rank, not just age/experience), that they need to perform with Sumeragi's forecast in mind; the general gist is along the lines of, "do a decent job." Haptism's response, I'm starting to figure out, is classic: "Decent?" He seems to be the one who's both cautious and yet the snarkiest (in a subtle way), in that he's slow to act, a tiny bit prickly, doesn't like to be pushed too much, may possibly be a bit lazy at heart (more than Stratos, who appears lazy in his smile/gestures but his actions bely this).
Erde's response is also quite typical, a flatly insistent "I'm going to be thorough." Stratos' reply to Erde is striking; it's pretty much a dismissive "yeah, whatever." (His tone is almost bored; Shinsen's version has him replying, "as you wish.") I get the impression that Erde's emphatic defensiveness just tires Stratos, who doesn't see the reason/need to be all fired-up about it. Stratos is also the one who recognizes that Seiei hasn't responded, and calls for him to answer.
Of course, the phrase 'racial warfare' has twigged mightily for Seiei (from the pre-mission briefing), and the long-range scanner shots of the battlefield shift in his view to become flashbacks of his own childhood. (I must admit, the music/sound production for this segment is particularly effective.) Caught up in those memories, Seiei says (mostly to himself, it seems), "I am Gundam," and then zooms off, leaving the other three behind. Stratos is caught off-guard, calling him back, while Haptism says, "you can babysit the kid," and Erde announces he's taking off as well.
Stratos is startled by their early break-aways, perhaps a bit aggravated by the babysitting comment, and clearly frustrated by the divergent and ill-matched personalities on his team that just don't seem to mesh. Haro taunts him with "unlucky! unlucky!" and Stratos' general balance seems to restore itself as he ruefully agrees. He tells Haro he's just going to focus on sniping, and leave the evasion maneuvers to Haro (another sign that this Haro is a bit more advanced than the versions in previous Gundam series, from what I understand).
This on-ground battle-scene is where the new designs/mindset of the suit-designers really shows up. For those of you reading this journal who've come from the Gundam W fandom, think of all the times in W where a Gundam is hit by a blast, topples over, and slides across tarmac. The movements may be powerful, but even Deathscythe and Nataku (the two most agile of the five) demonstrate some strongly jerky, limited maneuverbility -- especially compared to the Exia, whose graceful twisting leaping twirling motions in the midst of striking are incredibly balletic. It's what the acrobatic Trowa would have built into Heavyarms, had the series' designers not been hamstrung by the fans' reactions to Turn-A (which was the first to have remarkably humanistic movements, and bore the brunt of major fan disapproval until the series did eventually become a cult classic). I suppose as years have passed and Turn-A has become more of a favorite, the designers felt they could expand, away from the robotic stiffness of previous Gundams, and into this more graceful movement-style.
Again with the contrasts, this time within the team. If Haptism's response to Erde's foolhardy rush into the atmosphere was a resigned, "How do I put this? You've got guts," Stratos looks down on the decimated battlefield to see Seiei hasn't let up in his systematic destruction of every single mobile suit, and mutters, "you're getting too worked up, Setsuna!"
Over on the northern end of the island, Haptism does a bombing run across the military base. After his first sweep, he leans back, eyes closed, and sounds almost despondant when he tells himself, "Now I'm a murderer." (For once, he's not addressing himself in the second person, either, oddly.) He goes on to reinforce his mental/personal choices, though, adding: "but... that's what Celestial Being is." It was only upon rewatching that I realized he means: to belong to Celestial Being is to be a murderer. Not a force of good, not a warrior for peace, but a murderer, and having done this, I get the sense that his emphatic announcement is almost a warcry that now he can't go back. The reluctant child is blooded.
Meanwhile, Erde lands along the beach, takes careful aim on a ship (whose guns are firing on him continuously), and fires. In one shot, he pauses, narrows his eyes, focuses, and destroys the ship. As it goes down in flames, there's a quick shot of him, watching -- but no comment. His ruthlessness passes in silence. Neither pilot has a backup, nor does either appear to require one.
That's in direct contrast to Seiei, who -- as a close-range, mobile suit version of hand-to-hand, would naturally have major blindspot issues when fighting in close -- probably is best suited to a long-range sniper as backup, both in military sense as well as a psychological sense. Erde may be ruthless and determined, but he doesn't appear to lose himself; Seiei is passionate but his passion is warped, in some ways. As the dust settles, Stratos calls out to him (or perhaps is speaking only to himself, or perhaps is on the 'comm but Seiei can't/won't hear him for being internal-focused in the heat of battle & adrenaline), "It's over, Setsuna," in some versions, in others, it's "That's it, Setsuna," but all have the sense of Stratos saying, "okay, breathe, kid, it's done, it's over." Stratos seems more relieved that Setsuna is still standing, really, or at least that's the quality I get from the seiyuu's tone: it reminds me a lot of how my coaches used to talk us down at the end of an erg piece.
When two mobile suits come from the rear flanks to launch a surprise, final attack on Seiei -- who appears to be lost in his own thoughts over the last mobile suit he destroyed -- Stratos attempts to get his sniper rifle up in time to take them out, but they advance too fast on the Exia. (That, I think, is a logical obstacle, since exploding one mobile suit that close to Seiei would still shake the Exia up considerably, and I'm not getting the sense that Seiei's in the most balanced mindset to understand what's just happened, which could be why Stratos doesn't approach, but calls to him at a distance. Someone must've been paying attention to how soldiers react post-battle.)
Anyway, at the last minute, Seiei recognizes the danger and takes out both mobile suits with a single arcing strike, while Stratos looks on, expression somewhere between sadness, regret, and maybe relief. Seiei says (to himself? to Stratos? or what?), "this is what a Gundam meister is."
There's a bit more to the episode (which I'll address in the next post, I guess, since this got so long), but I think it's the mini-arc from Seiei's first introduction to this point that highlight where he truly begins at series-start. If the first mission -- of striking the AEU demo model -- was mostly academic for him (note that he didn't kill the other pilot, merely disabled his suit), it's this intervention that really moves Seiei from the impassive doing-my-job position to a truly passionate, almost disembodied, killing machine. He doesn't even yell, he doesn't even make any expressions -- even Erde's moment to focus and take aim is more expression than Seiei's absolute poker face. But, at the same time, it's this intervention in which Seiei seems to find a kind of truth to his role, that in becoming the Gundam, he can replay the moment in which a Gundam saved his own life.
In a sense, if the opening paradigm was that of "we are fighting a holy war as crusaders of God" that prompted the young Seiei's hollow-voiced "there is no god," the real crux under that is that the sniping Gundam revealed to Seiei that there is a god, and it is not the awkward, ravaging, faceless mobile suits that claim to fight in god's name. There is a god, and its name is Gundam -- and when Seiei declares, "I am Gundam," it's a sign he's embraced his right to play his version of that winged savior Gundam. He has become god.
These things get a bit long when I'm writing them, so I'll continue the over-thinking in another post, in the next day or two. I hope to catch up before anyone subs ep4, though. Bad enough I'm so far behind on W, but perhaps I'll start over at ep18 on that one, just to be able to compare the shifts in political views. Hrm.
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Date: 6 Nov 2007 04:56 am (UTC)I really dislike the translation of 'purity' in GW. I think it's possible the word is, technically, "pure" (that both Noin and Une use, among others), but I don't think the English word must capture the connotations of the Japanese word. Somehow. It just doesn't -- as a writer, that is -- feel like the best word choice. (Then again, I also quibble with "follow your emotions" and suspect a better version is "follow your gut" but hey.)
I think I d/led the first ep of Pumpkin Scissors and then never bothered to watch it. Oi, laziness strikes.
Don't worry, if I notice any minor facts-of-life stepping in, I'll be among the first to trumpet the news, okay?
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Date: 6 Nov 2007 05:49 am (UTC)