Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour. I am still alive as you can see from a different post from today! I have been busy with a multitude of tasks but they boil down to these: research, grad school apps, writing an academic manuscript, NaNoWriMo, and a lot of anime watching. All of these tasks unfortunately prohibit me from updating regularly or actually being decent with my (possibly nonexistent) readers. The same blog ideas that I have shared will still see attention (some of them at least). However, I may widen my intended range of posts to capture the immense amount of anime I have covered.
I wanted to spare a few thoughts on Gundam 0080. After seeing Gundam 0079, I was wanting a more nuanced depiction of Mobile Suits. In my opinion, 0080 gave me that. Admittedly the first couple of episodes were alright, focusing on characters and not giving enough of an emphasis on the themes. Al and his friends - all in elementary school - were extremely immature and it was painful to watch them get so hyped on war. One of my concerns starts there - a girl in their class tries to argue about mobile suits and I felt that the OVA series swept her aside when she provided an alternative perspective. Greater effort with her character could have added nuance. However, she is receptive when Al starts crying at the assembly at the end, seemingly empathizing with his newfound feelings on war. Christina and Bernie also provide guidance to Al. Both seem fairly stereotypical at first, but I felt that both get some degree of fleshing out. By the end, you are saddened to hear about what happens to them and how things play out. Ultimately, through these characters - I suppose his parents play a role but they are portrayed as mostly distant - we see a shift in Al. He grows to hate war in a convincing manner, even if his initial motivations were super dubious.
Gundam 0080 did not focus on the fighting like 0079 but rather thought about the effects of that fighting. Here civilians were injured, millions of dollars of damage incurred, all because of the war - because of both the attacker and the defender. The setting itself was far more civilian, so the effects seem much more personal than in 0079 - we get to see a macro result of war, that of destruction and harm. I believe that this particular setting, one of peace, gives Christina an opportunity to play a role, seemingly outside of gender expectations. She is both a data analyst and a Gundam pilot, both of which seemed to be reserved for males in 0079, and can be seen to be a capable but compassionate person. Certainly a worthy role model for Al and certainly gives 0080 much more feminist points than 0079.
I would go into further depth about 0080 but I feel that such a discussion would make more sense as I progress into the series. I enjoyed how Bernie learned the horrors of war, as a rookie, before his life teaches Al these same lessons, giving thematic continuity. Never did I pause and think "gee, these messages are pretty inconsistent!" However, in that same lens, I wished that Al had gotten to talk to Chris about the Gundam and the events that occurred; that would likely be "overexplaining" but I would be interested to see how she would respond. I believe that such a scene would cement Al's growth. However, Al crying during the assembly and the girl bringing the teacher to him provided a satisfying conclusion - he is both reaching out to others and understands what was wrong with his eagerness for war. He stands as a stark contrast from his friends who are disappointed that the war is over and expect the next one to be bigger, flashier (with more mobile suits). That's why, in my opinion, the last 15 minutes of the 6-episode OVA series are really good and manage to capture the series' essence.
0079 had some instances that seemed quite sexist. For example, we never see Sayla as fully capable of fighting enemy combatants, at least from my perspective. Mirai is also seen as an object for affection not as a person, as evidenced by multiple different characters wanting to be loved by her. This normative heterosexuality surrounds her and it becomes hard to see her as a person due to this depiction. Fraw Bow was cool but she was a victim of not having anything to do. Tomino seems to enjoy putting female characters as 'nags' who do not take action. In fact, they are never given control of the Gundam, which instead rests with Amuro's hands. As far as enemy combatants go, there is Lalah, who appears to be killed off as a plot device. Lt. Matilda meets a similar fate of being killed off as a plot device. This approach is both uncreative and definitely alludes misogynistic messages: women can die as symbols, but men are allowed to be alive. (Granted, some male characters do die as well, but I felt that they made it more obvious that Lt. Matilda and Lalah were to be treated more as symbols than people.)
Furthermore, though this is a military base with some diversity, clearly in action the men take up most of the glory. For example, there is Hayato who is solely focused on fighting so that he can surpass Amuro. And Amuro himself is often moody, unwilling to engage in any communication because he was fighting; this behavior is repeated often, emphasizing his valuing fighting. Thus, the desire to fight one's enemies is emphasized through Tomino's directing. In my eyes, 0080 avoided these traps - yes, gender roles were generally followed but there were some female characters who played a heroic act, at least in my perspective.
0080 was also able to deliver impactful messages about war, where was 0079 offered no satisfying conclusion asides from the typical protagonist (Amuro) fights antagonist (Char) duel. As 0079 progressed, I felt that many ideas were stuffed in and did not organically work with each other, leading to an increasingly convoluted struggled. I could not tell why Zeon and the Federation were fighting, nor was I particulary invited to care about their outcomes. Char was cool but he may have been the only memorable Zeon figure. In 0080, again, you saw Bernie as a Zeon, Al as an in-between, and Chris as a Feddie, which really gave personal context and meaning to the conflict. The civilian setting gave further meaning - here, you were destroying people's livelihoods, not simply machines in space, or people hidden away in bases; destroying humans, civilians, and not just enemy soldiers. I hope that through roundingout the one year war experience I can gain a better understanding of why these two sides are fighting and what their motivations and ambitions are.
I hope that I can get something akin to the Empire vs Alliance as in LOTGH. LOTGH provides many similar themes, with its emphasis on space and colonization, as the Gundam series, especially 0080. Fundamentally, we see two sides fighting, each consider itself right, and we as viewers are allowed to see elements of both perspectives. Some events that occur in LOTGH could conceivably happen in Gundam. Such as the Earth Cult, which worships Earth - I sensed a strong fascination with Earth in Gundam as well. Watching these two series - 0080 and LOTGH - sure has helped me understand and appreciate what happens in an extended war and how civilians can get caught within the conflict.
If the Gundam series can deliver similar experiences to 0080, count me in. If they are more like 0079, then eh. I intend to round out the One Year War experience, which should help me appreciate the particulars of the fighting, before moving onto AGE and Build Fighters. Through this effort, I hope to work my way through a significant portion of Gundam. From there, who knows - maybe I will try and see other mecha, like Doga Kobo's Majestic Prince.
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