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I'm new here; I streamed ep. 4.
It's my least favorite episode thus far from a story development standpoint. I haven't read the novels, but even then I could tell this episode was condensed and rushed. I imagine the novel went into much more detail with some of the "talkie" scenes. The only "talkie" scenes I really enjoyed was the one between Mineva and the bartender, along with the discussion between Loni and Banagher at the end.
I'm a history buff, and Unicorn is showing some interesting takes on actual historical events and social discussions. The discussion between Banagher and Loni I believe is a take on the aspect of child soldiers during various conflicts of the 20th century, especially those during World War II in Germany and Eastern Europe. In Germany at the end of the war, kids as young as 12 (both boys and girls) were being conscripted into military service, especially during the Battle in Berlin. You see, in Nazi Germany, the government essentially waged a campaign to replace parents as the symbol of moral guidance for young people. This can be seen in the Hitler Youth group, as well as the various female groups that were formed alongside it (this isn't talked about much anymore, though).
In this episode, Loni states that children have a responsibility to live up to the expectations of their parents, as they owe them for giving them life. This is a direct parallel, IMO, to Nazi Germany. As the govt. attempted to place itself in the young people's lives as their moral compass and guide, the state naturally expected these kids to fulfill their obligation as, in a sense, the govt. gave them life; through youth groups, these kids came to view the Nazis and Hitler in particular as heroes for giving them purpose in the world. As surrogate parents. This made these kids fight to the death; American soldiers often commented that the coldest, most hardened soldiers in western Germany at the end of the war were the young, 16 and below.
Loni is like one of these German kids. Her parents, especially her father, were apparently incredibly loyal to the ideals of Zeon, both the positive and the negative. She feels she is obligated to continue their struggle against the "oppressors" aka the Earth Federation. She is willing to slaughter innocent civilians and kill entire Federation divisions to live up to the expectations of her father and, indirectly, the expectations of Zeon. She only realized the gross error in this view at the end. Children should not be forced to live up to their parents; they should branch out and create their own identities. If she wants to serve the ideals of Neo Zeon/Zeonic Remnants, then that's fine. But her reasons are not really just. She's doing solely out of obligation to her father. She was essentially fighting for the freedom of the spacenoids (whether Zeonism and it's child ideology Zabism is the right path is a debate for another day) but wasn't even free to make that decision herself. When she says "it's sad" she's exactly right. Children forced into combat by parents/surrogate parents is probably the saddest thing in the world. And it happens to this day in Africa and South East Asia.
I may be looking too deep into this, though. It's just my take on it.
@ WhiteWings
I disagree, I honestly think Kamille was more emotionally balanced after the first 10 episodes of Zeta Gundam; he became pretty emotionally balanced except for a few outbursts. Once he got the Zeta Gundam, he was pretty much your average soldier dedicated to his duty. Katz replaced him at that point as the "naive" soldier, and was even scolded by Kamille himself for his unrealistic views during war. Kamille did make some stupid naive choices later in the series (such as trying to talk to ol' long blue haired girl, the one who piloted the Psycho Gundam Mk.II, not Four Murasame; I just can't think of her name right now) but overall, he's probably the most "soldier-like" of the Gundam child protagonists. Naturally, Amuro Ray was the most mature as of Char Counterattack, but he was also 29 years old at that point. Heck, post receiving Zeta Kamille was more mature about war than Shiro Amada and he was like 22 years old.
Actually, I think Riddhe in this episode is a modern interpretation for Kamille. He has idealistic views, but he's trapped in a cycle of death and war that he cannot escape. Thus, he decides to become unemotional and focus on the job of being a soldier. To follow the orders of your superiors and to detach yourself from the emotional burden of the killing you must do in battle. Banagher is still unwilling to emotionally detach himself. That's why he couldn't kill Loni, that's why he couldn't kill Marida (I love Marida to death, but had I been piloting the Unicorn I probably wouldn't have stopped due to the threat she posed to the EFF alive; personally, I'm a Zeon supporter though), and that's why he'll most likely be able to kill any other character from now on other than Full Frontal. I could see him killing Frontal, as he tried his hardest in episode 3 to kill him.
@ StikeFreedomV2
He was amazing.
I mean, it's crazy how the nameless pilots in the OVA are pure killing machines that no one can stop. Had the guy from episode 1 had a better mobile suit (the Stark Jegan wasn't bad, but the Kyshantria is probably the most powerful mobile suit developed up to that time. I can't think of another mobile suit with that kind of firepower) I honestly think he could have beat Marida even though she was a Newtype and had funnels. Say, for example he had a RX-94 Nu Gundam Mass Production Type with INCOMs, he probably would have cleaned her clock.
And this guy with the Bryalank (sp?) Custom was even more ridiculous. He was like MSG Amuro on steroids in terms of killing potential.
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"As I am now, I consider myself nothing more than a vessel; a vessel for the hopes of those abandoned in space and for the ideals of Zeon that will light all our paths to freedom." Full Frontal
"Damn you to hell... SPACE BELONGS TO THE SPACENOIDS!!!"
Last edited by OrtadragoonX; 2011-12-07 at 03:50.
Reason: Condensed to One Post
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I hope it turns out to be something like a FTL drive or something.
Double posts are against the rules, let alone three in a row. You should shore those three posts up into one and delete the other two. 
