Gundam Seed 26-32
Mar. 11th, 2005 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petronia(Because for once I restrained myself and only rented one DVD, meaning that at the end of episode 30 we went "Aaaarrrgh!" and resorted to fansubs with creative spelling that won't play on Tania's computer without the video lagging the audio. Next time it's back to risking the late fees.)
I think only Natarle "The Badger" Badgiruel had a shower scene this time around? But it was two recap episodes followed by two episodes of gruesome death followed by two episodes of nervous breakdowns. It's starting to hit that point in a 50-ep series where one can't discuss the plot without massive spoilers, and I sort of hate that, even with the lj-cut. So instead I will make spurious comments. :P
Tania's favorite character is Flay. Because Flay is the Snake Woman, the bad girl who makes the men she entangles miserable, the bitchy one in the soap opera dynamic. Actually I'm at a loss to understand why she always sympathises with these characters, because I would assume they're the ones the viewer is supposed to love to hate. XD Not that I hate Flay; I don't excuse her, exactly, but people have lashed out at the universe in less considerate ways after, oh, seeing their parent blown up in front of their eyes. These kids aren't even trained child soldiers, they're civilians who got themselves swept up, and are left to sort out their trauma and personal issues between themselves. I suppose the key is that Flay's lashing out in a particularly female way.
The series doesn't give Cagalli a pass for her personal heroism, which is interesting, given that I used to sit there and argue with the TV screen over Gundam Wing's definition of "honourable warfare". Cagalli's natural response to a bad situation is to extend help; by "extending help" she means "kicking the ass of somebody who appears to be somewhat responsible"; and by "kicking ass" she means "personally blowing shit up with a bazooka and getting shot at in return," which has Dubya beat at least. I mean, you don't see Jenna Bush in camos riding a Jeep into Baghdad, that's how you know Gundam is a fantasy universe. Instead the series (in the person of her father) whaps her over the head and tells her she needs to stop with the cheap adolescent theatrics and think about root causes for a while, which is absolutely true.
Nevertheless Cagalli is an adolescent, and as much a born soldier as anyone else in the series. She'll make a stateswoman with sufficient experience and polish, and even a diplomat at a pinch, but a policy wonk or paper-pusher she never will be.
Also, SECRET GENETIC SIBLINGS OMG WHAT. XD XD XD It's a sad commentary on this series that I expect it to be more dorama-like than it already is: I totally thought Flay was going to get pregnant, and Kira was going to wake up amnesiac with Lacus. But then they go and do something like Secret Siblings, not to mention Athrun and Kira gazing soulfully at each other from opposite sides of a Just Possibly Symbolic Fence. My god, who's playing the violin? Where did all that sakura blossom come from all of a sudden!? etc. If it were a dorama for reals, Athrun and Kira would have to play the schmaltzy main couple who have been together since earliest childhood but whose Twue Luv was foiled by all manner of external obstacles and general stupidity. Whereas Athrun and Cagalli would be the slash pairing. I find this incredibly hilarious.
(It's kind of obvious at this point that Kira goes for women who mother him, whereas Athrun is more for a woman whorapes him at gunpoint shows some fighting spirit. Were he to marry Lacus they would have to annul it in mutual embarrassment after a week. Just as well, someone needs to have a firm hand in raising the kids, if it were left up to Athrun the little brats would be utterly spoilt and incapable of forming peer relationships with anything other than homemade robots.)
I think Athrun should have said "A little birdy told me" when Yzak asked him how he knew the Archangel was still in ORB, just to make Yzak blow his top. Of course he couldn't, because Yzak is not actually dumb and would've figured it out. I would have been so tempted though. XD
I think only Natarle "The Badger" Badgiruel had a shower scene this time around? But it was two recap episodes followed by two episodes of gruesome death followed by two episodes of nervous breakdowns. It's starting to hit that point in a 50-ep series where one can't discuss the plot without massive spoilers, and I sort of hate that, even with the lj-cut. So instead I will make spurious comments. :P
Tania's favorite character is Flay. Because Flay is the Snake Woman, the bad girl who makes the men she entangles miserable, the bitchy one in the soap opera dynamic. Actually I'm at a loss to understand why she always sympathises with these characters, because I would assume they're the ones the viewer is supposed to love to hate. XD Not that I hate Flay; I don't excuse her, exactly, but people have lashed out at the universe in less considerate ways after, oh, seeing their parent blown up in front of their eyes. These kids aren't even trained child soldiers, they're civilians who got themselves swept up, and are left to sort out their trauma and personal issues between themselves. I suppose the key is that Flay's lashing out in a particularly female way.
The series doesn't give Cagalli a pass for her personal heroism, which is interesting, given that I used to sit there and argue with the TV screen over Gundam Wing's definition of "honourable warfare". Cagalli's natural response to a bad situation is to extend help; by "extending help" she means "kicking the ass of somebody who appears to be somewhat responsible"; and by "kicking ass" she means "personally blowing shit up with a bazooka and getting shot at in return," which has Dubya beat at least. I mean, you don't see Jenna Bush in camos riding a Jeep into Baghdad, that's how you know Gundam is a fantasy universe. Instead the series (in the person of her father) whaps her over the head and tells her she needs to stop with the cheap adolescent theatrics and think about root causes for a while, which is absolutely true.
Nevertheless Cagalli is an adolescent, and as much a born soldier as anyone else in the series. She'll make a stateswoman with sufficient experience and polish, and even a diplomat at a pinch, but a policy wonk or paper-pusher she never will be.
Also, SECRET GENETIC SIBLINGS OMG WHAT. XD XD XD It's a sad commentary on this series that I expect it to be more dorama-like than it already is: I totally thought Flay was going to get pregnant, and Kira was going to wake up amnesiac with Lacus. But then they go and do something like Secret Siblings, not to mention Athrun and Kira gazing soulfully at each other from opposite sides of a Just Possibly Symbolic Fence. My god, who's playing the violin? Where did all that sakura blossom come from all of a sudden!? etc. If it were a dorama for reals, Athrun and Kira would have to play the schmaltzy main couple who have been together since earliest childhood but whose Twue Luv was foiled by all manner of external obstacles and general stupidity. Whereas Athrun and Cagalli would be the slash pairing. I find this incredibly hilarious.
(It's kind of obvious at this point that Kira goes for women who mother him, whereas Athrun is more for a woman who
I think Athrun should have said "A little birdy told me" when Yzak asked him how he knew the Archangel was still in ORB, just to make Yzak blow his top. Of course he couldn't, because Yzak is not actually dumb and would've figured it out. I would have been so tempted though. XD
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Date: 2005-03-12 12:24 am (UTC)I still find the Asuran-Lacus-Kira-Cagalli quadrangle terribly amusing. Talk about playing it close to home. XD
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Date: 2005-03-13 05:04 am (UTC)Asuran-Lacus-Kira-Cagalli quadrangle: I want to make a joke about genetic diversity but it just won't gel. XD
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Date: 2005-03-13 12:02 pm (UTC)But the series makes it so easy to make jokes of questionable taste. XD
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Date: 2005-03-12 07:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-13 05:01 am (UTC)