#ISN'T GUNDAM ABOUT HOW WAR IS TERRIBLE?

[aliasl]

ok, I've been tagged in this enough times that i've finally read everything and feel like responding

FIRST, I admire your passion, @osakanone. But I'd advise you redirect that passion to enjoyment and not competition.

I DON'T want to insult you, but I'll just say: you seem young. The demographic you are counting as "shippers," and thus the units you are measuring popularity of the aforementioned ships by, are fanfic writers. It gives you numbers to work with, but it's not fair to say that the number of fics directly relates to number of fans of a ship. Writing is a huge undertaking that not every ship enjoyer undertakes, and not only that, it's a strange metric to focus on - what about fan art? What about DOUJINSHI???

Gundam, as a Japanese property, has its own unique fandom ecosystem. I'm an American who's been an anime fan a loooooong time, and I don't know all the ins and outs, but fanfiction doesn't seem to be a popular medium there. Rather, doujin is king.

And let's talk about fan works... Why do they exist? Because, despite how much you enjoy a piece of media, you see something missing. You don't transcribe a show when you write fanfic. It's a creative process. Talking about doujin - a visible, money-making part of fandom - that's an easy way for a mangaka/creator to see the popularity of their work; rather than a census (like Shonen Jump will do a weekly popularity quiz), you have Comiket. And so, Yoshiyuki Tomino rightly points out the fujos as the true, passionate fanbase - the fellow creators, not just the consumers who buy toys. But why do "fujoshi" exist? These "rotten women"? Because they see gay love where a homophobic, majority straight audience (by which I mean society) refuse to. And we won't get into a conversation about "fetishizing homosexuality" and "authorial intent." Maybe Tomino would have included explicit gay representation in his shows if he could, but... we all know that Gundam is not that.

Thus all the gay fanworks, in which fans make up for what canon lacks. And you probably don't all ship the same ships. Or agree on characterization. And anyway, "The work of many artists, designers, writers, even videos of events are just lost media because we didn't have the archival mentality adults develop" ....... When I was a teenager, I was saving jpegs of my fav yaois to my PC en masse. Archival ain't just an adult mindset; shipping isn't majority teenagers. If even the creators of fan works aren't holding onto their work and reuploading on modern, supported sites... that speaks to a lack of care, not just a lack of foresight.

FFN went to adult fanfiction.net or live journal or ao3, and it was up to the authors to transfer their works themselves (you DO NOT reupload someone else's work FOR THEM). So if they didn't... it was they who moved on. REITERATING AGAIN: the number of fanfics does not equal the number of shippers (and not just because one author could be uploading a hundred fics of the same pair - it's just not a direct measurement), but it was an easy number to point to when *checks notes ... can't find it, has to Google* "Sulemio" was pitted against Destiel.

Gundam Witch Mercury premiered in 2022!! Destiel became a ship in 2008!!!!!! With all due respect, it was not a fair fight nor is a Tumblr poll an accurate census. "urgh this is just a trend tumblr will get over it and go back to supernatural" I certainly have. I never got around to watching this Gundam show, though I've heard a bit about it - only great things. Meanwhile, I am still obsessing over Supernatural (and particularly Destiel) four years after the show ended, and over a decade since I started watching the show. I don't expect everyone to share my obsession. Tumblr may be the destiel site, but no one is enforcing ship supremacy.

It was a bad idea to start a fight over ships to begin with! Again, "Sulemio" has existed 2 years; Destiel has existed 16!!! It's just basic respect for legacy. You think I ship Spirk?? No. I never got into Star Trek. I don't find Shatner and Nemoy attractive or compelling, personally. But do I go kick the hornet's nest? No. This has transformed two molehills into an ugly mountain. Now, you're casting aspersions like Destiel shippers are "waspy Americans." As though it isn't also a global phenomenon (which just isn't impressive these days, with the internet. What ISN'T a global phenomenon?). Spn also has a female majority audience. We are not so different. Only in size.

So can we not make this about race? Or ethnicity? Or country? Or men vs women? Let's just not insult entire fanbases! You don't make yourself big by trying to make others feel small.

P.S. I never heard of Yukio Mishima before, but reading the Wikipedia page on his Forbidden Color book, without much context... why are we upholding misogynist, infidelious gays as great gay storytelling? You know the root of homophobia is male misogyny. All my homies hate gay misogynists.

tldr; nature is NOT healing. same shit, different day. there'll be peace when we are done, which is how you know we ain't done yet 🙄 😒

UPDATE: The Destiel/Supernats aren't taking this well -- explaining my reasoning for the history I gave, and why Destiel is not the big bitch of shipping that it thinks it is

An update to THIS:

"This is just a marketing thing, Gundam is a giant robot show, only men watch it!"

Gundam's fandom is silent majoratively feminine:

"But its not gay, its about giant robots!"

Gundam is very gay. The entire climax of the first story is a riff of Yukio Mishima lmao

The climax of the Amuro/Char arc of Universal Century Gundam (expounding from first Gundam circa 1979), Char's Counterattack is somewhat on the history of Japanese disillusion with liberalism which notably climaxed with the life and history of Yukio Mishima.

You know. THAT Yukio Mishima.

The one who wrote FORBIDDEN COLOURS.

It was so gay that the fanfiction inspired by it became its own damn anime:

And that's just Charmuro, let alone Charma or a billion other ships just in OG Gundam alone.

We've got This is before we get to Guin Sard Lineford and Yamagi Glimerton (both verrrrry gay), Tieria Erde (a genderqueer trans-coded character who transcends gender entirely in their arc) and a bunch of others.

Gundam was always gay.

"I don't see the numbers"

"That doesn't seem like much, Supernat is at least 2x this"

Sooooo the amount of content you do see isn't representative of how much even got written, given FFN had a huge content purge.

First, let's start with the relative proportion of users: If we're analysing the concept of fandom, we first have to look at who had access to the internet in the first place to publish works.

Yeah that's a pretty sizable difference.

Wing's fandom actually exploded in 2000, but got capped VERY early, distributing itself to fansites when FFN fragmented and collapsed.

Why?

Content purges!

"Isn't there some sort of online archive of this stuff?"

Sure, if you wanna dig through tons and tons of Angelfire and Geocities pages which have mostly disappeared. Otherwise, no! There is no archive of this stuff?

"Why?"

They've since rolled back on this but it means there's a massive amount of lost media out there, including the discussions on it and thus there's an entire history you didn't get to experience.

Its actually very difficult to reach people who've been involved, since it was so long ago that very few people remember, and a sizable proportion of that population have actually died.

"But what about SF fandoms? We have ancient records of stuff like Spirk!"

See unlike physical media like zines, when a server goes offline or there's a data-loss, or something like that there is no surviving copy of the thing in question.

The net result is we have this weird hole where content just vanished, and its now considered lost media. The work of many artists, designers, writers, even videos of events are just lost media because we didn't have the archival mentality adults develop.

You're not gonna hear about all the X-Files stuff or Frasier fanfictions or GW stuff because of these purges and the lack of physical media. FFN users were teens, not adults with resources like US/EU/JP SF fans, who had archival tendencies due to their long history.

So there is this supermassive black-hole in the history of fanfiction running between 1998, and 2008 and some of the only evidence of it are worksafe works and fansites which the owners have long since forgotten about because folks moved on. Moving on is a normal part of fandom.

So to those of you just saying "supernatural is losing to a pair of dumb anime girls" or "urgh this is just a trend tumblr will get over it and go back to supernatural"...

Uhhhhh no they won't, actually?

Supernat's fans mostly seem to be waspy Americans. Gundam is kind of a global phenomenon, one which has traditionally had a silent majority female audience, a vocal minority male audience -- and every time that majority has spoken up, its coincided with a content purge, or a TOS change that mysteriously biases American derived fiction over Japanese derived fiction.

Funny that.

tl;dr:

NATURE IS HEALING

[reneelovesrobots]

God this fucking episode GQuuuuuux is COOKING goddamn

Pacing's still nuts and I still have no idea how they're gonna land this thing but until it crashes and burns we are Experiencing Gundam 11/10

There are so many scenes that are so cool or imply so much I could write like thirty essays on this episode. But one thing is sticking with me above and beyond everything else:

During this episode both Machu and Nyaan are entrusted with life advice and a gift that means something deeply personal to the one who gives it. In both cases, it is a gun.

Challia tells Machu the tale of how his trip to Jupiter went terribly wrong, leaving them stranded and without hope or will to live until the ship miraculously rebooted while he had his gun to his own head, only for them to return to an Earthsphere ravaged by the war he had believed in before they left. Then he gives Machu that same pistol. Kycilia gives Nyaan the same pistol her own father gave her when she joined the military and tells her strength is all that matters and that true strength is the will to live itself.

Both of them are taking parental roles this episode, dispensing life advice and relating deeply personal details about themselves to the young charges both seem to have placed a great deal of faith in. And yet, if you boil it down, the legacy the older generation is passing to the younger is just violence, killing weapons meant to perpetuate the violent world that has traumatized Nyaan and Machu both.

If that isn't like half of Gundam's themes distilled into a few minutes of screentime I don't know what is.

[master-thief-gray-shadow]

It's been a while since I've been in the right headspace to make a post after finishing a show, but not only is the warmer weather clearing my head up nicely, but I liked G Gundam enough to have something to say about it!

It's different. Like, I knew going in that it was gonna be different, but wow is it different. I got into Gundam via G-Witch and since then I've seen several UC series, and both of those continuities have a generally grounded, modestly hard approach to sci-fi. Not this. This is a 50s pulp novel approach to science fiction, with a generous dose of 90s battle shounen insanity that doesn't care how anything in its setting works, and doesn't want you, the viewer, to care about that either. That's not important. What's important Domon kicking ass in a kungfu robot.

Gundam is considered a pioneering series for real robot mecha, but this isn't real robot at all. It's a super robot series all the way down. The mechs aren't regarded as complex, precisely-engineered war machines, but rather as extensions of the pilots themselves. Hell, the word "pilot" isn't even used in the series - a person who operates a gundam in the Future Century timeline is a "fighter!" Battles aren't fought with bullets or missiles or lasers, but with whatever impractical doohickey was somehow installed onto these already impractical looking mechs, and if the fighter inside knows kungfu or ninjutsu or whatever other kind of martial art you can think of, they can just do that! Inside the robot! Half the time the direction and framing wholly ignores that the characters are even in mechs. Not a shred of technowank, but plenty of heartfelt conversations among manly men in skintight suits beating the shit out of each other!

The plot is completely ridiculous, and simultaneously extremely predictable and littered with bizarre swerves. It's full of national stereotypes that at times veer into being kind of offensive. The protagonist is an adult chuunibyou. There is an eldritch abomination robot that is defeated with the power of true love. This show is incredibly, unbelievably stupid, and seeing as it was a first shaky step into AU Gundam as a concept, that's not terribly surprising. I completely understand why they immediately went back to a more traditional "WAR IS BAD" type of story and setting for subsequent AU Gundam series. But I think because of that, G Gundam remains something special. Something unique. My understanding is that Tomino himself gave it his seal of approval because it dared to be different. And with its earnest, heartfelt presentation, and its sincere belief in the power of friendship, it's hard to hate.

I really did find this show riveting in spite of its...everything. I don't think I've enjoyed a Gundam series this much since 0079 (not counting G-Witch here even though it's my favorite because I watched it as it aired, so the experience was a little different). It was certainly a nice palate cleanser after Victory Gundam. And while we're definitely never getting anything like this ever again, the idea of mecha bloodsport is one the franchise seems intent on further exploring, so I'm very glad to have sat down to watch it!

[the-eeveekins]

Time to get some things off my chest I've been holding onto for a while, especially with regards to the Gundam community and G-Witch.

A solid chunk of the complaints I see about the show boil down to: person/place/thing wasn't as developed or given as much screentime as it would have if the show was 50 episodes, and it's potential was wasted as a result. And it just feels like a chunk of Gundam fans cannot get over a show NOT being 50 episodes, and that things can only reach their full potential if they are 50 episodes.

There's almost no adjustment of expectations for what the level of development, detail and screentime would be for a 24-25 episode length series. Just the belief that because it's less than the amount you'd find in a 50 episode series, it's automatically inferior.

And the way some people describe what they expected out of certain things, you can absolutely tell that they've been spoiled by the UC and don't have even remotely realistic expectations for a fresh AU without any sequels or supplemental content. The UC has been around for 40+ years with so much content to the point that nearly every minute detail has been explained and even over-explained. And certain fans have gotten so used to having every little detail spoonfed to them about a series that anything less is lacking or a plot hole.

Like, I seriously recall someone complaining that G-Witch didn't explain the treaty or agreement that banned the use of physical ammunition in space and that it was a plot hole! Or that the show didn't explain where Peil was getting it's doubles from? Or what characters like Guel and Shaddiq were like growing up?

Yes, G-Witch undercooked some of it's elements, probably because they expected to get more episodes than they did and added enough side and background content to give them 50 episodes worth of stuff if it got extended. But wanting the show to explore the detailed background of every side character, faction and location isn't something you're going to get in most AUs. Especially one that was only 25 episodes and more focused on telling a Shakespearean tale of two families than a large political war drama like most series.

And lastly, most of the complaints about the character development can be boiled down to one thing: most anime fans are used to having a character's thoughts and emotions spoonfed to them. G-Witch never once gets into the heads of it's characters and lets your hear their thoughts or feelings, leaving up to the viewer to interpret them based on their actions, reactions and knowledge of the character. And in a medium dominated by battle shounen, where characters constantly explain their every action and you constantly see every thought, I think a lot of people have gotten terrible at understanding character development that doesn't rely on it.

It's why there's so many complaints about Suletta not developing at all until late S2 despite developing a TON over the course of the show, because the show doesn't slap you in the face explaining it to you. Her personality doesn't go through a major change in the show because it doesn't need to, and S1 clearly shows her gaining more confidence and stuttering less around others as the season progresses. It's honestly not that subtle at all, the show just doesn't spend time explaining to you that it's happening, it just shows it happening. And that goes for a LOT of elements in the show people claim were too subtle or not explained well enough.

It's also why so many people claim Guel has the most development in the show, because his personality has to change drastically due to how awful he was (and tbf, he still ends the series as a pretty awful guy), and since it's such a major change, people claim he has the most developed character arc in the show because it's not subtle in any way.

It's not like G-Witch is a perfect show or free from criticism, but holy shit so many of the complaints I see boil down to unrealistic expectations of a two cour series or poor media comprehension/literacy. And that's not even getting into the people just hating on the show because they're sexist or homophobic.

[by-ethan-fox]

So I saw Gundam Seed FREEDOM...

... and honestly it defies analysis.

I will avoid spoilers for major plot elements in this write-up.

I'm a huge Gundam fan. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has followed my work for a long time, as I frequently bring it up, even in entirely inapplicable situations.

But even though I've been a fan since the late 90s, I'd never had a chance to see any of it in the cinema - so when AllTheAnime organised a special short run of the movie for UK theatres, I jumped at the chance.

What I saw surprised me.

To clarify, I'm not one of those Gundam fans who hates SEED. Sure, I love the UC, but I'm not gonna lie, Wing was my genesis within the fandom so I'm as likely to watch G-Gundam as 08th MS Team, though I do lean towards the grittier side of the franchise, with War in the Pocket being my favourite entry.

But most relevant to this is that while I enjoyed SEED, I've always been critical of Destiny for some really bizarre plotting that, frankly, kinda left the CE timeline in a mess. Like many fans, with the show having been off the air for nearly two decades, I gave up on the idea the movie might exist literally years ago.

With all that out of the way...

The movie does exist. Finally. And is it good? Bad?

The weird thing is I don't know what to say, and that's weird for a writer.

It's awesome. It's terrible. It's goofy. It's clever. It's idiotic. It's bizarre.

But it's over 2 hours long and, honestly, I was never bored, which I guess is a success?

Perhaps most surprisingly, the movie expends ZERO ENERGY on helping you if you haven't seen the near-100-episodes of CE anime which came before this. Like, if you haven't seen SEED and or Destiny, you are just utterly fucked. The show wheels characters and plot-beats from the prior material in-and-out in a manner I could best call aggressive. I last watched Destiny about ~7 years ago, and I'm a self-admitted Gundam nerd; but even I had to look up a few things on my phone afterwards.

Then, fan-service. Of both kinds. All sorts of things get pulled out of cold storage for the movie... But it works. Though that also stands as a testament to how this is, in the truest sense, a 2004 anime throwback. I actually heard some people in the cinema groaning at some of the Gainax Bouncing going on; but then given the jiggly silhouette in EVERY OPENING TO SEED, frankly it would've been stranger if it had been absent.

I think the movie has loads of problems. Even by CE standards, some of the storytelling was really goofy and dare-I-say-it, "cringe". It recycles probably too much and certainly doesn't stand on its own as a piece of media (though that's not so much a failing as a clear, conscious choice).

Also... It has that "anime movie" thing where the plot feels a bit filler. The first time you have this new guy on the scene with shock-white hair, being all edgelord as he talks about war and destiny and fencing or some other weird metaphor you kinda see the entire movie unfurl before you. If you're a longtime anime fan this isn't so much your first rodeo as your daily commute.

From there, the story takes numerous predictable turns, dips liberally into melodrama, sets up some great Mobile Suit fights, with relatively few surprises (note, however, I'm not saying "no surprises", as there are some, and also, I'm not suggesting it's tedious).

And yet...

It's fun.

It's really, really fun.

That's the crux of all this. That's what really matters. And honestly, when that new theme comes out of the speakers, sounding in perfect key with the types of music that ran through SEED's run, and Kira's onscreen, and he's locking onto a dozen targets and beams are spamming everywhere and everything's exploding in that weird pink way that things in SEED explode...

Have you ever tried to play a videogame from the 90s that you haven't played in years? And do you know how touch-and-go that is?

Gundam Seed FREEDOM is, if I'm to compare it to anything, like that.

But thankfully, it's one of the times when your memories might have been optimistic, but they're not wrong. That game may be a bit crude, a bit rough around the edges, and have more boob and ass jiggle than you recall... But it's good. So good that you find yourself sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of your console, grinning like an absolute loon, until it's 2am and you can no longer feel your feet.

If you have fond memories of the SEED era of the Gundam franchise, don't miss it.

[justatalkingface]

The Dabi Benchmark of Insanity: A Helpful Guide

What is it? Why won't I shut up about it whenever I talk about villains?

Yeah; this is largely a reference post, for the people who haven't seen this term before... which makes sense, since I made it the fuck up awhile ago and then never really clarified it again, even though I kept using it. I do that a lot whenever I feel the need, but I think this is the only term I've kept using consistently, and I usually explain what I mean in those posts when I make something up, so the DBI is a bit of an anomaly in that sense. I like to think it's self explanatory, really, so it probably doesn't need explanation, but... eh. I talk a lot. One more post won't hurt.

Fundamentally, the DBI is the idea that there's a... limit to how crazy a character can be and still be sympathetic; after a certain point, it doesn't matter how bad their backstory was, no one is going to like the guy eating babies. Authors can (and often do) try to make a truly fucked up character sympathetic anyways, but once they pass that point the response generally isn't sympathy but, 'JFC, can this guy shut up about how we should all like The Masked Baby-Eater already? That guy's an asshole'.

I say 'crazy' for a reason, BTW. The sheer factual amount of evil deeds a character does only has a limited effect on how readers will consider them; how the character is presented, and how they act as they do these deeds effect that reception as well. An easy example is how in something like Gundam, a character who does something objectively horrible (kill someone, start a war, etc etc), but because of how they're developed, and way they act as they do it, we will still sympathize with them. Meanwhile, if there's a school story, a character who is just rude and cruel can be absolutely loathed, by everyone, even if what they did can't possibly be compared to the Gundam character.

It's not that you can't make a good character if you go beyond this point, it's the opposite really: there's plenty of good, memorable characters who are festering shitholes devoid of positive character traits, but we're not expected to find them sympathetic, just really cool or iconic in some way. Making them sympathetic imposes limits on how out there that character can be.

I call it the 'Dabi' benchmark because I feel like Dabi is the perfect example of an edge case, a person who is horrific and broken, but you can still just feel for him why he's like this. It's core to his fundamental design as a character, from his traumatic backstory, to how he's broken and scarred and barely held together by his sheer will, so that while he's an objectively terrible person, cruel, sadistic, who kills easily and wants only to destroy, the reason he's like that is something intrinsically understandable and thus easy to sympathize with.

(Of course, the problem with Dabi is that, as MHA went on, Hori kept changing Endeavour to try and make him sympathetic, while at times intentionally making Dabi seem more at fault for his situation to mitigate Endeavour's blame, which damaged Dabi's characterization on a fundamental level and makes him less sympathetic... but that's not Dabi's fault, that's inconsistent writing)

At the same time, though, I must repeat that he is a terrible human being who does horrible things, and which puts him at that very edge of sympathy, only being accepted by people by how good his backstory is, how fucked up yet human is motivations ultimately are. If his actions had pushed beyond that point, if, for example, instead of just killing people he cold bloodedly tortured them for no real reason, his reception would have been less positive than it was.

In short? The farther a character goes past the Dabi Benchmark of Insanity, that is to say, the more a character is crazier than Dabi, the more people are going to look at you like you're crazy when you try to make them seem sympathetic to the audience.

[billveusay]

I watched The 8th MS Team and...

I said in another post that I love my mechas somewhat grounded, with tangible mechanical parts, rust and bolts. So it probably won't surprise you to hear that 8th MS Team was the show I was most hyped for. It's literally part of why I started Gundam when a friend showed the opening to me, and when I planned the watch order of my first marathon, I put it at the end to save the best for last.

So how did it live-up to the hype?

Weeeeeell... I liked it, some parts of it I loved, but I probably had too high expectations.

The first thing I was kind of disappointed by is the pacing. It goes for a more episodic vibe in the first half, which on principle I don't mind, but it did make me think "you only have this much time and you're spending it on this?". I'd say it was a case of unfortunate middle-ground between a linear plot-line like Stardust Memory and a fully episodic one like say... Cowboy Bebop, which starts with an established status quo and has mostly disconnected episodes. And in the latter case it's okay, because you know the standalone adventures are what you're here for, they're the main course. In 8th MS Team, because they start off with the main plot and regularly cut back to it, they remind you that you're getting the sides. But the second half is much better.

Now for the protagonist. Shiro is... okay? He's likable enough, but his arc felt rushed and messy unlikethearcofanotherOVAprotagonistcough. Theoretically, he starts off as a hate-driven soldier and grows to become a pacifist but... well at the beginning, he seems more enthusiastic and generally chill than hate-driven. So I thought he was gonna be the young rookie soldier archetype with dreams of glory and a clean, idealized vision of war (think "I wanna be in the cavalry") who then gets smacked with its brutality and ugliness (think "I wanna be in the cavalry reprise"). But no actually, cause he's a very competent fighter from the get go and has little trouble adjusting to the reality of war. And he saves a Zeon pilot minute one too, so he also has a nuanced enough view of the conflict.

Then his development centers mostly on getting the respect of his team, which isn't that much of a hurdle, but this is also the part of the story that focuses on the side characters so I don't mind. Then he meets up with Aina again, tells her he loves her (Add it to your Gundam Bingo card: they've known each other for like five minutes!), they share a night together and suddenly, Shiro has a nightmare about his colony getting gassed and wakes up with a vengeful "ZEOOOON!". So I guess he was supposed to be driven by hate and revenge, but establishing that with a 30 seconds flashback, minutes before the turning point where he has a change of heart and becomes a pacifist is a tad wonky. Especially when nothing in his character seemed to indicate that before.

But as I said, past that point the show gets much better. We're given an end goal and every episode moves the plot towards it. Plus the episodes themselves are really good, the desperate last stand of the Kellerne troops to get to space is pretty gripping, and their demise really showcases the madness of Ginias, making him seem even more dangerous. And boy... the Norris fight. Definitely one of the best in the whole franchise. On that note, I love how they gave him a Gouf, thus officially making it the "Mobile Suit for based pilots in their late 30's who are also absolute beasts".

And the final fight was... good. As mentioned in my Stardust Memory review, I don't like Mobile Armors that are just big flying blocks because there's nothing you can do with them in terms of fight choreography, so the Apsalus is not a win for me. Also I wasn't that invested in the Shiro and Aina romance for reasons established above, but it wasn't terrible either... it has been a few months so my (stardust) memory of it is a bit hazy, but I remember liking it alright. The end of the episode was extremely sudden though.

But of course, this wasn't the end. The epilogue is... weird. Because it's extremely good. And probably the best one (unquestionably if it wasn't for the Norris fight). But it's also so tonally different that I have trouble thinking of it as a part of the rest of the OVA. This feels like it was written by a different team. But there's no denying that the show is all the better for it. It provides a very moving and satisfying conclusion to the story, and adds some depth to the Newtypes and Cyber-Newtypes stuff.

Well that's it for the meat of the story. Moving on to the potatoes.

I like the secondary cast alright. They're not my favorite characters, nor the most original, but they have decent amounts of personalities and chemistry. I especially like Sanders.

This show is also hornier that its predecessors which is... eh. Shiro spying on Kiki swimming, Eledore grabbing Karen's boob, Kellerne harassing Aina (granted, he's a bad guy. But the way he's depicted later made me feel like I was supposed to think he was a cool, Han Solo rogue type). Far from an omnipresent issue but it did occasionally make me miss Mora Boscht and her knuckles of retribution.

Small detail that made me laugh: B.Bs breakup letter is written in french. Which I am. And it is an actual letter. But it's not the one where she tells Michel she married another man, it's mostly everyday stuff, like how she tried reading in french or how it's been raining a lot recently. This isn't a critic, it's really cool that they wrote something in actual french. But it was still funny to me watching Michel read this and get all sad: "Oh no... she got rained on".

Animation wise... well obviously it's gorgeous and I still adore the 90's cell-drawn artstyle. I'd say for the majority of the runtime, it's a bit below the level of Stardust Memory but it skyrockets in the Norris fight. Design wise, it's overall pretty good too. Though I do have a pet peeve about the ground-types. What are they? Mass produced Mobile Suits based on the RX-78-2 but less powerful, right? Yeah, we have a name for those, they're called GMs. I know a Gundam show without gundams would be a hard-sell, but I'm still miffed about it. I do like the Ez-8 though. And... yup, that's about all I have to say. Despite my complaints, I still enjoyed it and it's a definite recommendation.

Coming up next, lesbian drama in robot school!

My gundam reviews :

> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative > Iron-Blooded Orphans > Gundam Wing

[eateryisafunnyword]

while we're on the subject, I kinda feel like old man rambling: I want to add on just how weirdly resistant anime fans outside of Asia are to mecha anime. like I'm hoping times are changing, but while WfM definitely made the rounds I have this weird feeling it would have been a cultural juggernaut on the level of, say, Yuri on Ice if instead of giant robots it had... idk underwater basket weaving?

maybe not, who knows, but I bring it up 'cause I notice that despite being huge on this website, I have yet to see anyone mention Evangelion when talking about queerness in mecha anime. then I remember "oh right, one of the biggest points of discussion on this site other than Shinji/Kaworu was how Evangelion isn't actually a mecha anime." maybe someone has better insight into this, I know the show creators didn't like it when people said the Evas were "mecha", but it certainly did feel like people did a bunch of mental gymnastics in an effort to avoid saying they enjoyed mecha shows. this despite Evangelion being considered a "robot anime" in Japan, and was even a huge contributor towards Gundam falling out of popularity by the late 90's.

speaking of Gundam, 1993's Victory Gundam is kind of a fairly direct predecessor to Evangelion? I haven't seen it yet, and I don't want to get too into it, but the plot is centered on a 14 year old boy who is thrust into war (and a robot), having to deal with increasingly terrible acts of violence and the occasional creepy adult situation.

it's doubly weird since show creator Hideaki Anno, like many animators of his generation, was very much influenced by Gundam and even worked on Char's Counterattack as a mechanical designer. he was one of the main authors of the CCA Fan Club doujinshi from 1994 which includes an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino where Anno tells him that CCA was a cultural heirloom for future generations (Tomino replied that he didn't think it was a big deal at all lol).

maybe I'm misremembering all of this, but I'm just kinda glad to see people (presumably not from Asia) are getting into WfM and embracing it as a mecha show and even looking into similar media instead of trying to justify their own internal logic by taking out the giant robot factor.

anyway, rant over, please watch Turn A Gundam if you can (it's from 1999 but weirdly relevant to current world events, even).

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[mechlizard]

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)

When this class mentioned that we were going to be watching Mobile Suit Gundam, I assumed we were going to be watching something relatively recent. To my surprise, we are watching the OG Gundam. The first series from 1979. The animation technology is quite clearly dated, but considering what they were working with, I feel that the anime is done fairly well. You also get some of the anti-war sentiments of people who either lived through World War II or had parents who did, which makes for a more compelling story.

As someone with little exposure to the Gundam series, I mostly know the suits and little about the story. So I can't speak for how often the series speaks about how civilians fared through a war such as this one. But I feel like it's fairly unique for a show that was marketed towards kids, with clear scenes designed to sell toys, to have fairly real scenes depicting the horrors of war. The very start of the anime tells us that half the people on each side of this war died in the several months leading up to the first episode. Then it continues to show an attack on a civilian population where an undermanned military attempts to respond. 

Of course, there are plenty of episodes that are the classic mech fights that you would expect, but it's kind of surprising what the mindset was like back then. It feels similar to how the US was back in the 80s and 90s, when toys for boys would very often include war imagery or guns. I'm sure there was positive war merchandise in Japan at the time, but in the US, I'm fairly sure it was very common to have pro-war imagery through TV, video games, and toys such as GI Joe.

Despite it being very clear which side we're supposed to support in this anime, they don't shy away from the more complex idea that there isn't necessarily a solid good guy and a bad guy. It is shown that both sides can have good people or terrible people on them. An enemy soldier is shown to go out of their way to give supplies to refugees, but the friendly soldiers can be shown to steal and harass innocent people. They're all just trying to secure a life for themselves by attempting to eliminate the threat of the opposing military. 

A woman bandaging the wound of an enemy soldier, bemoaning the fighting that is going on.

Overall, this was an interesting look into where Japan's mindset was at the time and an interesting look into the start of an incredibly long-lasting series. I might check out the newer Gundam animes to see how different they are these days.

[iblameashley]

More König stuff.

Y'all gave me another mental illness.

Headcanon W/ Civilian | Male | Gay | Mildly NSFW

Please don't roast my ass for my terrible attempt at Soaps accent. I'm Canadian and did my best, besties.

(König)

He prefers to date outside the military. He tried dating other guys within the special forces, but found it more stressful.

Everyone tends to be smaller than him, so he's leaned into his short-kings.

Loves chubbier guys.

Worried you wouldnt like him because of his facial scars. Or the bullet wounds in his arms, chest and abdomen. He was taken aback when you didnt even flinch when you first met in person.

Has a hard time verbalizing his thoughts to his partners, but will leave notes everywhere. Usually simple "I love you." or "I miss your smile." notes are left for you at the beginning.

Flexes his hands when nervous. It gives him something to focus us when he's having an anxiety attack.

Nothing calms him down faster than you putting your fingers at the base of his neck and gently caressing him.

When he does become more verbal with you - usually after several months - he will stutter and stammer when he talks. He gets so excited to tell you about his day, or how much he missed you, etc, that he cant get it out fast enough.

Giving? Receiving? Yes. He has no preference when it comes to sex. The first time he had sex with you, you were bent over a table, and it took the better part of an hour just to get him in. But he was fine to take his time, he wanted you to enjoy it as much as he did.

He is big, yes, but his cock isn't massive. He's thick, and a little over 8" uncut.

He is very much into after-care. He scooped you up in his arms after the first time and carried you to bed. He loved to give you kisses and ask you how you feel, if you're OK, what you liked, didn't like, and would like to try.

He loves to sleep with his head on your chest. He also loves how you play with his hair as he's laying there.

He does have nightmares. The first time it happened he was so embarrassed and tried to leave. You wouldn't let him. That's when you started playing with his hair to calm him down.

You tried for a while to get him to wear his Balaclava while he fucked you. He denied it every time, and said he wanted to keep that part of his life and you separate. You did manage to convince him to wear a face-mask you bought.

You cook him breakfast every-time he stays the night. He always stands behind you as you cook and wraps himself around you. "Smells great." He says. You aren't sure if he means the food, or you. Likely both.

He cleans up the kitchen after you eat. You've told him he doesn't have to, but he says he's used to it and doesn't mind.

When he has something important he wants to say or ask you, he'll pace around the room. You've had complaints from the down-stairs neighbour about stomping.

He loves to carry you. Will swoop you up in his arms randomly so he can stare into your eyes and give you a kiss. But only in private.

He has a hard time showing affection in public. It makes him anxious. But if you really want to hold hands, he will tough it out.

On particularly bad days he will go to the shower to cry. You know what he's doing, but give him that space. When he finally emerges, you always tell him you love him and give him a kiss.

He. Is. Such. A. Nerd. And he only shows that side to you. Star Trek? Star Wars? BSG? Yes. Hes watched every episode and movie and quotes them often. Also very much into old-school Gundam and model kits. Gaymer.

He once spent the whole day re-organizing your closet. It was amazing and you loved it. When you asked why, all he could say was "I just wanted to."

Need something cleaned, moved or tossed? He's your man. You barely have to get the words out and hes on it.

You only ever see him smile around you. In the few times he's interacted with other people, he always reverted to his resting-bitch-face. When he wasn't wearing the face mask. It helped his anxiety in public.

He never used to like bubble baths, but you changed his mind. He would come back from deployment tired, sweaty and sore. So you drew him a bath and washed him down. It became a habit, and something he looked forward to.

He had an unplanned coming out to his squad mates. You two were on a date around town when they happened to be passing by. When they asked who you were, you tried to come up with something on the spot, but König just blurted out "My boyfriend." In a matter-of-factly tone.

The one wearing a skeleton face mask looked at you and just gave an affirming nod. The one with the Mohawk looked like he was about to have a stroke. "Yae gay?" He asked. König nodded. "Ane yae ne'er told mae? I spenn months try'nae set yae up with women, ane yae said nottin?!" König shrugged.

You learned through his squad mates his favourite colour (Pale Blue), and foods (Mostly German, to no ones surprise) and that he actually had a bad sweet-tooth. You learned to bake for him.

When you had stuffed him (full of food!), you'd both flop down on the couch and binge-watch something. He'd lay down on your lap. Your hands would work their way up his shirt to caress his stomach.

[adracat]

G Witch 18 thoughts

Hello, gwitch. You have no idea how painful it's been without your sweet, agonizing content. I'm asking you politely to never leave us like that again. Isn't it enough that Suletta is suffering, why you gotta do us dirty like that too?? Since we cleared that up, let's begin

This is the face of pure copium. God, those wide eyes unwilling to look at anyone else. That dumpster platter of terrible food choices. That artificial smile as she rambles about inconsequential bs. Yeah, that's divorced wifeguy behavior right there.

And Schwarzette finally debuts! It was hinted previously Jeturk had dealings with Shin Sei gundams but here it's confirmed. The suit isn't complete yet but close enough and only revealed to Guel after its commission. Prospera is so shameless and unrepentant. I suspect she enjoys toying with Mio in particular.

But Mio isn't considering war profiteering and staunchly refuses to announce the Schwarzette as a joint Jeturk/GUND-ARM weapon. She wishes to follow the pacifistic ideals of the original GUND. She's come far from the Miorine we see at the start. Really proud of our girl!

I adore that they remind us of her core motivation. Overtly, keeping her promise to Prospera in exchange for Suletta's 'freedom'. But also her promise to protect Suletta just as Suletta strove to fulfill her promises to Mio. It doesn't seem enough for either of them, but this is the cope episode.

Prospera is really dipping her fingers in all the pots to see if one's a winner. It's not unexpected she wouldn't bet everything on one horse, though for now she has the most sway with Miorine's faction and therefore insurance. Humoring Shaddiq's wish for Gundams makes sense if Mio fails the vote. Prospera is a master at improvising.

This scene was a fav. Love they stated outright Mio is falling into the same trap as Delling by deciding someone else's life without their say. Mio is sympathetic and wants Suletta freed from everything, but crucially misses what Suletta herself wants.

Her shame and regret has become a malignancy in the wake of 17. The girl's confidence was already low but now it's sunk into a black hole of internalized self-loathing. Suletta convinced herself she was never good enough and it was her fault from the start. WOOF

Ok WTF LAUDA. Way to stomp a girl while she's down. Idk what even the point was on his side. Catharsis? Petty revenge? Guel is back, the holder again, and Jeturk is saved. This was just unnecessary. I felt close to neutral on him after his reunion with Guel and talk with Mio but now I wish him a merry misery again. Kinda cool he thanked Chuchu though. Very weird he still has a hateboner for Suletta still.

Love you Chuchu. It's great that she was tired of Suletta moping around and acting like nothing was wrong. She said what we were all thinking and now Earth House is going on a field trip to see Mio. I love her philosophy of 'what would Nika do?'

Shame about what's actually happening with Nika

Speaking of Nika, she's currently watching the sparks fly between our resident shitheel 5lan and Norea. She'll have to bury them both at this rate. This convo was so good though as 5lan shows a rare bit of insight and lampshades their similarities. They're both empty tools. We also learn how Peil functions and it seems to be a meritocratic system with the real Elan Ceres at the top.

Mio is showing her Relena colors once again. Even if a show of force could potentially open negotiations like Prospera suggests, Miorine is committed to pacifism. Admirable, but will it work? Aiding earth would be the accomplishment they need to prove themselves to Benerit.

As an aside, I'm very tickled Guel has become Mio's lackey. He's so bullied, even if they do marry (Doubt) he's destined to be furniture. Man just doesn't have Suletta's inherent wifeguyness

I wish we could get a peek at Prospera's thoughts here. Does she find this childish? Nostalgic? Bitter, after everything she's experienced with GUND and Vanadis? Her mentor would love Mio, but Dr. Cardo is dead along with their original dream. I've said it elsewhere, but there's a terrific irony that Mio, the daughter of her killer, would uphold Cardo's ideals where her students failed.

Quick bits, Bel was arrested by the Space Assembly League (interesting swerve) and Martin spilled his guts to a Haro with Secilia eavesdropping (hilarious) Will Bel spill the tea on Prospera? Will Secilia reveal he sold out Nika? Digging these little micro dramas.

OH HI KENANJI. Honestly, he was probably the last person I expected to escort Mio but it makes perfect sense Rajan would send Dominicus to protect her. HOOoo I want him to talk with Prospera. If she trolls him the entire time or finds time to murk him that would be peak. I like his design and lax attitude but he's still a dirty corpo cop.

Oh Suletta. Even though she can fill her list and go to school in peace, she isn't happy. It's all empty now without Mio by her side. It's hard to watch but you're still heartened by how much she values her. Gay yearning 🥺

Most of us knew it was coming but it feels so good to be vindicated. Repli-children sounds way cooler than clone. Gotta love nonsense sci-fi phrasing. That leaves HOW exactly this was done (I still sideeye Notrette personally) but that's one more mystery solved. Since they're all young and around Eri's age, you have to assume the failures wore on Elnora. This might explain her lack of significant emotional attachment to Suletta. After twelve iterations and only one success, you only have so many shits to give.

Damn, Eri. Everyone is taking the chance to suckerpunch Suletta while she's vulnerable. Still, she has the same motivations as Mio but they're giving Suletta everything but what she actually needs. Suletta craves validation and purpose. Freedom without those things is hell. Good intentions, terrible execution

Prospera is such a great character. You think you understand her but then she adds another facet to the mix. Whether this is a genuine sentiment or for Eri's benefit is unknown, but I like to think she's being truthful. It doesn't excuse her manipulation, gaslighting, or destruction of Suletta's family and sense of self but it's... something? An undoubtedly patronising sort of care and far from what she feels for Eri; all that's left of the loving Elnora we see in Prologue. But it makes her complex and not the mustache twirling villain you expect. Very good writing.

Stonecold to leave Suletta sobbing in space as everything she loves soars out of reach. I need her to wake up and smell the self-actualization coffee next episode. Mio might need it too if our intrepid peacemaker gets in over her head. But that is a tale for another week

That was certainly a GWitch episode. WE'RE BACK FOLKS

[faroreswinds]

Japanese anon, hello, I hope you’re enjoying your trip. There were a lot of unhappy responses on twitter to Houses 3 year anniversary and people blaming koei specifically. A lot of people just put down hopes after playing blue lions and went back to azure moon. An english language article discussing low sales in japan has a small comment section saying japanese have no sense of good storytelling…which was not appreciated by some japanese speakers who found it. Or for also insulting fire emblem if, which is still a beloved title. Now there is conflict with traditional musou fans (musou is a niche genre in japan and is sometimes derided as a “mowing” game, where there is no thought or effort except pressing buttons according to critics), and especially musou fans who say koei abandoned them to make nintendo spinoffs instead of paying attention to dynasty warriors and sengoku warriors.

There is also concern over the war message because especially after the fallout from the world war, many people were careful to promote stories about peace and harmony, and especially why many japanese movies show homes and cities being attacked and destroyed in war scenes. gundam is also usually quite pacifist at heart. Miyazaki-sensei is another good example. But lately there seems to be a shift with some stories trying to be casual about war, or trying to promote war as glory, like with that jsdf isekai, or the ending to attack on titan, which left many people quite stupefied. And fire emblem has always been about good characters resisting invasion and conquest by larger, stronger neighbors, so this shift is concerning. On twitter people are now raking over the coals (i really like this expression) the red route for hopes and saying nintendo and koei are playing coy and lying about edelgard and not calling her what she is: an aggressor. But fans of edelgard give the game high marks.

Thank you, Japanese anon. Truth be told, I have thrown out my back and I am now trapped to the floor mainly. My trip will improve once the muscle relaxers do their job.

Don't worry, this isn't the worst I have had. This time I am not screaming in pain and I can at least walk, I caught it early. So I'll be fine.

So anons, I do SEE your asks and I WILL get to them, but I can only focus on writing in short spurts, so please be patient. I promise to answer EVERY ask.

Also, that means my gameplay notes and my GW review is even more delayed now. Apologies, I feel frightfully guilty.

Do Japanese fans really prefer AG that much more than the others? Wow. Still, I get it though...

Bah, those comments from the English speakers should just be ignored. It's embarrassing that those comments even exist, frankly. :/

And I do feel sorry for dynasty fans but... from my understanding, the series hasn't done that great in general. The Nintendo property titles have been doing phenomenal for the series... even Hopes sold well, despite the drop in sales and the bad reviews - it sold well. So, while I feel terrible that they feel abandoned, I'm not sure how long the series would have survived without them. Still, it would be nice if a true Warriors game came out again.

Now, please correct me if I am wrong but... I was under the impression that IS themselves (and mainly, the main dev if Houses) recongizes Edelgard as an aggressor. But you are saying Nintendo and KT does not, correct? Heck, I'm pretty sure IS delayed Advance Wars due to what's happening overseas.

But I'm not surprised they don't want to call her an aggressor. She's meant to be marketable. Which sucks but it's true. I'm glad to see some people are willing to call it out. I just don't know if Nintendo or KT care. They made their money....

I can't speak to why war has become more... glorified lately, though. I guess the more time creates a separate between memories and history, ideas and virtues change. Doomed to repeat, humans are..

Still, it saddens me to hear about it.

[luminisvii]

i finally figured it out. gundam unicorn upsets me so much because most of its runtime is dedicated to explaining away every bit of nuance that UC world building has. and when it's not doing this, it is pressing your face to the screen with references to old UC shows that were way better like ZZ EYYOOO and it just. lacks any real bite to it. so much of the time with zeon characters has them bending over backwards to justify zeon's very existence and every single action they ever took and to say that it was made only with the very best of intentions and it was those damn feddies who ruined everything like! how difficult is it to just write a damn show about the space nazis being a bad organization who manipulated well meaning people into doing terrible things while enabling total bastards as well? you can keep telling me how the zeons are catholic or whatever but the amount of time wasted on constantly explaining how zeon soldiers are people too and the feddies are literal demons is bordering on insecurity. when it's not exposting about laplace's box, it's expositing about zeon. it's not just that the exposition and moral debates lack depth it's the characters too, the character with the most interesting set up is mineva, who is cashing in on older, better shows to be interesting. banagher isn't engaging or consistent, none of the characters are people i want to see succeed, and its blatant refusal to actually engage with the topic of war and trauma sincerely is ridiculous. we HAVE reasons to dislike the federation already, namely in how it handles war, how it neglects the colonies, and also the fucking titans being a thing. like instead of being like "the feddies poisoned the watering hole, salted the earth, and stole my dog" POINT OUT THE FUCKING TITANS PROBLEM GDIUOJGOIJGOIJG WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT FOR THE WRITERS TO GRASP BASIC DETAILS ABOUT THE SETTING. STARDUST MEMORY WAS BETTER THAN THIS AND THAT ONE STRAIGHT UP FAILED TO EXPLAIN WHY THE PLOT HAPPENED