You know, i was trying to figure out why the death of a character in Gundam 00 strike me so strongly that this is my third, quickly heading for my fourth day in mourning (if mourning means that twist in the heart everytime i see something green or suddenly having the urge to whisper 'dynames' or some nonsensical action such as that). Frankly, there is nothing special that i can speak of the characters unless what i wish to mourn is the pretty face he wore.
But knowing me, and i do know myself quite well, i wouldn't be upset like my cat just kicked the bucket or something for some pretty, charming guy person thingie who doesn't even exist (just for argument's sake, Seta-sama didn't die and neither did Neji. But i don't like them for their pretty faces onii. Hah!! XD).
That's the weirdest part.
So, i'm going to tear this apart because seriously, not knowing why this touched my heart is KILLING!!!! me.
Yes. I'm a maniac. Moving on.
There is something weird about Gundam 00. Something that, heck, i probably read too many reviews so i can't keep a completely objective view of it without hearing the echoes from the words of others.
Well, the story escalated pretty much into what i expected it to in the sense that it is typically *gundam* to have two sides, the gundams, the Opposites and then, as the story progresses, for the Opposing side to be swallowed by a third Power who will most likely battle against the gundams in the end.
The gundams themselves were, after a period of supposed stability would disappear only to reappear for a battle with the third Power.
Alright. Phase One, complete.
Gundam 00 fulfilled those two aspects well enough. In the beginning, the world was ravaged by war. A point that is made by almost each review is the fact that the director chose to place it in A.D. rather than the fictional U.C. as the basis of the timeline. Thus the battles between the Tamils and the Muslims were inside along with various other settings that is very familiar to the current terrorism-threatened world.
The power within the world stood with three blocs as it is also in this world that petroleum was depleted. They depend on a solar energy that is manipulated by the three powers. The Union covers from U.S.A to Australia (which i thought was slightly weird cause i always thought Australia was allies with Britain) then you have The Advanced Europian Union (Well, they can't call it Europian Union can they?) and then, you have the last bloc which is the human Reform League stretching from Russia, China, India to... get this, Southeast Asia!! Man, M'sia is in there as well, all red and stuff. The rest of the world which consists of Japan, Sulawesi, Africa and the Arabic countries are neutral.
Heh.
Now, we shall stress that this is fiction. Honestly, if Petroleum was to be nonexistent i don't think the powers would be divided into three. At most i *believe* it would be two (and the neutrals) but, heck, i shan't speak of politics at the moment. I can play games of what ifs later.
Okay, three powers and 24th Century and all but still mankind has yet to learn their lesson!! They keep on fighting wars and stuff and after building this elevator thingie that reached into outer space, humanity was finally ready to colonize. Or are they?
Back to the reference with the Tamils and the Muslims, other terrorist attacks were made, war in the Middle East seemed to get worst with fights stretching into vast areas, involving civilians and the body count just kept increasing (ahem. a little note here of something i thought was weird as well, cause when i think Ireland, i think IRA not Kurdish rebels @_@ but heck, artist's creative license and it *is* the 24th Century).
Anyway, war, fighting, death = not good thing? Well, the fighting made a soldier of a little boy, caused a boy to lose his mother and sister, produced an enhanced child and God knows what Tieria is but i reckon he has something with the war (either to watch it, to meddle with it or simply following instuctions, it still baffles me slightly) what came out were three torn individuals (Still dunno what Tieria is) and i suppose that made them join the Celestial Beings.
Okay, origins of Celestial Beings? They were founded by a brilliant scientist and seem to have existed a few generations before our current boys were employed as Gundam Meisters. They are dedicated for change to occur. Any sort of change that would bring lesser war because though man became tired of fighting, there is something intoxicating about the scent of the battlefield thus they pick their guns up and fight once again.
The director came up with the idea of "Beating war by force". Meaning using Gundams to eradicate wars.
Okay, shameless plugging for a mo, but, this idea was first encountered by moi in Growlanser V (an excellent!! game!) when a cannon was held to the heads of two nations for them to stop fighting. It was pretty much the same with Gundam 00.
The Celestial Beings gave the governments an ultimatum: Stop War or we Will Stop it For You. Well, it is a basic lesson that by fighting fire with fire, someone is going to get burnt.
By forcing an ultimatum on the government would cause for the government to react like a cornered dog would. They lash out attempting to scar the one responsible for placing them in the situation to begin with. It isn't a pretty sight.
Relating it to here in M'sia, it's a lot like the Bersih rally and the weeks that followed. The uneasy truce, the increase in riots (because others saw results coming from the Bersih rally) and finally the government putting their hands down on the whole thing and they said, "Don't give them an ultimatum".
It's bad when you can't coerce a person into doing what you want them to but forcing them to do it will only spark resentment. Anyway, as expected, animosity peaked against the Celestial Being. They hungered change and sure enough, after attacks here and there, the rate of war induced crimes dropped 38% (if i'm not wrong).
They balanced between being called terrorists and saints. But a problem was that they attempted to appeal to public opinion. Their strategist, Sumeragi thought it was important that the public favored Celestial Beings. I can't help thinking that this is in the basis of the old form or rather the *ideal* form of power where it is the people who have the right to decide.
But, the pilots were, in a way, only human. As they fought, they struggled to find an answer to why the world was so extremely war-torn. They battled against themselves, asking themselves questions of the whys and often, they wondered what it was they were fighting for. Or fighting against because with each step forward, mankind finds a way to revert it and take a step back.
With every resolved fight in the north is another battle that emerged in the south and vice versa.
It was complicated and the pilots and the strategist made the biggest mistake of all: they began to doubt themselves. They won, yes but at what cost?
In the series, it was mentioned that the downfall of the Meisters and the strategist was that they were too human. They erred and mistakes were committed. They might be rash, too quick, too unstable, too emotional to carry the burden of humanity on their shoulders.
The world did not change, and in a final plea for a catalyst, three gundams were dispatched. They were to cause change OR ELSE. They destroyed military facilities, buildings, people and civillians for an ideal that a world with no war is finally at peace. It was the nirvana of peace that they seek but, alas, we know all is not to be.
The first Meisters were too soft. The second were too harsh.
A leak caused the military to build their own "gundam" suits with its usage of special GN(?) particles thus the clash of suits came.
Everything began to fall downhill from there for the Meisters as they attempted to grasp the last they could of hope. But 19:4 are unimaginable odds. The world, against a small faction, even if they had threatened them in the beginning was too much.
Can you guess what happened next?
They had stated one their purposes, which was to unite the world against a common enemy then to either die or whither away as little option would be given to them.
But they didn't sit around and wait to be slaughtered. They fought for their lives. Really, they didn't behave like soldiers. They were like civilians. People who fought with their hearts. Every bit a terrorist in the terrorist handbook.
I should talk about the boys now huh? Cause the story *is* centered around them.
First, you have the kid/runt. Well, that's Setsuna or his real name is something else. He's Kurdish, living in Japan. He was a child pulled into the games of war. They said "Sacrifice youself for God." thus they used religion against the boy, pressing into his beliefs until he took the gun and shot those whom he knew and loved then made his way into an army. Well, needless to say, i think they made an atheist out of him =P
One of his saviors on the battlefield was a Gundam. A comment made by another character concerning Setsuna's fighting style was that he believed himself to be invincible. It seemed like he worshipped the physical capabilities and protection given by Gundam Exia.
You know, something weird was that he fought so hard "for" God in his childhood years that God never answered on the battlefield. The war never went away though they tried so hard to fall in God's graces by battling with His name as their war cry. But it didn't work. He asked often, "Is there a God?" and in return said just as many times, "There is no God."
He one who fights with his heart. If at any moment he felt strongly for something, he just does it. Kudos to Setsuna!! =D
Next, is my personal favourite, Allelujah Haptism. Of all of them (aside from Tieria) his is the history that has barely any ties with the current world and its workings. His is the issue of child experimentation. The experiment caused his personality to split resulting in the violent half (Hallelujah) to counter the almost demure and soft spoken Allelujah.
He spoke to no one of his problems, often seperating himself from the others. I don't know why i favor him either, only that he falls into the anime cliche of the character that i like. Except that he tends to be a dunce on the battlefield (What kind of soldier doesn't know how to fight God damn it!!!!) but that's cause he doesn't use his full powers and stuff.
He's a character who's very much wrapped up in his past. Hal cared very much for Al though they share the same body or so the rumour mill seems to spin but, from what i saw, i'd say that it's relatively true. Because Al always speaks in a tone that seem to beg Hal's compulsion to kill sadistically rather than saying it with anger. Obviously there is no hatred on either side.
He was asking the reason why he fights as well, though his doesn't go deeply like Setsuna's. Neither did Tieria's for that matter.
Well, for the moment, Tieria is my least favourite character though not because he's a stick in the mud. Rather i respected him when others broke rules by being enflamed by passion but he stuck his ground by saying that they are not fit to be Meisters. Because, a soldier who doesn't follow orders is a liability on the battlefield.
He changed his tune soon enough. He's suppose to be inhuman or summat but he began to understand his comrades better.
But then, he did one thing that i could not forgive. There was a battle where it was 19:4. When the people were doubting themselves, doubting their sources of information and trust was incomplete save to each other. The gundams were linked to a system known as Veda but, the trust for that system had deteriorated. Save Tieria's. Due to his dependence on Veda because of his inhumanity, when their systems were to be seperated and running independently to continue the fight (Cause the Veda system also controls their power sources. No Veda system, no battery for the energizer bunny).
But he couldn't sever himself from Veda. He failed to react at that moment, being a large immobile target in the middle of the battlefield and he had nothing to protect himself. He just spaced out inside the cockpit. And when the enemy approached, it was Lockon who took the burnt of the hit. Lockon sacrificed himself for his comrade who was so stupid that he doesn't realize that he's in battle!!!!
I realize that i'm being a little unfair because Allelujah had fainted before and damn i feel like slapping him too cause he's such a softie who couldn't do what it takes to bring down the opponent but thank God Hal comes on time and massacres the opponent (at times).
Okay, i really hate it when soldiers don't understand their function on the battlefield. That's my thoughts when i play my games anyway. Don't you hate it when the characters you control don't listen to you? Well, the problem on the battlefield is, you don't know what will happen if you break rank and attempt to rally on your own.
So yea, i don't mind even if he mates with Lockon for the Lockon x Tieria pairing thingie (though i suspect this is an underlying reason why i hate him XD) but it was that one act of weakness in the battlefield, that caused him to be marked lower in my book. Although, a question did just surface just now... maybe it's because i expect him to move at all cost, to react at all cost, to be able to fight at all cost that when he couldn't... my respect for him dwindled. It's the same with real life isn't it?
And the last but not least, Lockon. He reminds me a little of Krious from Growlanser V. You know, he's the thread in the Meisters. I won't exactly say in Celestial Beings cause, those who work in the operating room seem closer to Allelujah than Lockon but, he's like the brother that's always there.
He seems to be at peace with the world, willing to listen and his empathy was so thorough that he understood those around him so easily. He was my favourite to watch on the battlefield (because Allelujah's an ass on the battlefield) in the way that he just supports the other Gundam Meisters so easily. He could complete his mission and still aid those who needed him. In terms of being a soldier, he was the best of them all.
Gundam Dynames is GORGEOUS!!! And nothing short of that. He's a sharpshooter and he's quick on the trigger as well. OMG!!
Ah, i think now i know why i mourn over his death.
It is the death of an amazing soldier. Of a kind-hearted man who saw so easily through his peers. He was an excellent subordinate that he would request for orders even in moments that he probably wished to follow his heart. He wasn't like the other pilots who would rush off recklessly on their own.
He was reckless, yes, but only in the last moment. In the very last moment did he follow his heart.
And somehow, i found him a more amazing man for doing so than any other character.
I think i enjoy Allelujah because he was a gentle soul but i like Lockon for his capabilities.
He was an amazing soldier till the end though.
Okay, anyone alive?
Heh... heh....
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