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Old 2009-09-25, 23:40   Link #1
4Tran
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Romances in Gundam [Spoilers for all shows]

As the title suggests, the purpose of this thread is to discuss the various romances in the different Gundam shows.

You can feel free to discuss any particular romance, romance in Gundam shows in general, or compare any romances. It's also a good idea that this thread discuss things that have shown up on the shows or manga - please no discussion or speculation about possible romances in upcoming works.

Note that because of the nature of this thread, there will be spoilers for all Gundam shows. As this thread is supposed to apply to all Gundam shows, there is no requirement for spoiler tags for released works. But please be courteous about any really big spoilers, and use spoiler tags when appropriate - remember to include good labels for the tags as well.
[spoiler=title]Don't forget to use a title to let everyone know what you're spoiling![/spoiler]

Be polite to your fellow forum members and try and keep the discussion on topic and above all, enjoy.
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Old 2009-09-25, 23:41   Link #2
4Tran
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To start things off, here's the list of my favorite Gundam romances (in no particular order):

08th MS Team: Aina and Shiro

While the romance between enemies is a well-tested device, it still works decently well in 08th MS Team. The beam saber onsen is a classic scene that sets this couple in good stead.

Gundam X: Tifa and Garrod
What sells this romance is the youth of the couple and Garrod's sheer awkwardness around Tifa. Unlike a lot of male-oriented romance nowadays, there's no attempt to break away from the straightforwardness of the relationships, and while it decreases the tension, it does make the relationship stand out.

Gundam Seed: Murrue and Mwu
This is another classic-type romance where we have a womanizing pilot and his more reserved love interest. The male character is a lot more forward here, and it lends a lot of plausibility to their relationship; setting the tone of their budding romance quite nicely.

And for the Best Romance in Gundam:
Spoiler:


Notably absent choices:
Gundam Seed/Destiny: Lacus and Kira
Gundam Seed/Destiny: Cagalli and Athrun
Turn A Gundam: Dianna and Loran

I like all of these characters, and I like their relationships with their respective partners, but I don't feel that the actual romances do all that much for those relationships.

In the rest of Gundam, I generally find that the pre-existing romances (Garma and his fiance, Ramba Ral and his companion, etc.) are also the most meaningful story-wise, but they aren't all that important story-wise either. In comparison, the newtype relationships are outright uninteresting.
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Old 2009-09-26, 02:54   Link #3
Tak
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Interesting that you mentioned Fllay and Kira. Personally, I never thought that was much of a relationship in a romantic light. It was pretty much Fllay being manipulative and Kira being willingly gullible.

Of course, it had a lot to do with Kira's initial crush on the girl, and as if he won the lottery, his crush led directly to sex in one shot. Now, if I put myself in his shoes, I'd really mistaken that for actual romantic feelings from Fllay, or even forcing myself to believe such, except its anything but. After all, it was probably Kira's first time falling in love, and he never had the time to properly digest the meaning of it.

As soon as Kira's mid-season showdown ended, though, he gave it a thought, and probably realized his relationship with Fllay was not so much about love. Hell, Kira exercised almost a lack of urgency concerning Fllay's affairs after he returned to the Archangel with Freedom. But by that time, he already had his eyes set on someone else...

- Tak
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Old 2009-09-26, 08:05   Link #4
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No Domon x Rain? It's cliched, but it IS one of the few romances that a show spends quite a bit of time to develop.
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Old 2009-09-26, 10:59   Link #5
Tak
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brightman View Post
No Domon x Rain? It's cliched, but it IS one of the few romances that a show spends quite a bit of time to develop.
Well see, its his preference. Otherwise, in my previous post (not here), I mentioned that particular couple.

- Tak
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Old 2009-09-26, 11:04   Link #6
MakubeX2
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Kincado and Berah.

Those who have read Crossbone will know what is so unique (and yet very unreal) about those 2.
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Old 2009-09-26, 11:24   Link #7
aeriolewinters
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Originally Posted by MakubeX2 View Post
Kincado and Berah.

Those who have read Crossbone will know what is so unique (and yet very unreal) about those 2.
Seconding. After what those two have gone through, I'd say that it's one of the best romances in Gundam.

Quote:
As soon as Kira's mid-season showdown ended, though, he gave it a thought, and probably realized his relationship with Fllay was not so much about love.
But then again, he still went after Fllay and still cried for her. Also, I could say that Fllay's death should've been used better, Especially in Destiny.

Don't get me wrong though, it is not a knock on Lacus and Kira's relationship but, I seriously wanted for Lacus to be tested in this subject.
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Old 2009-09-26, 11:57   Link #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tak View Post
Interesting that you mentioned Fllay and Kira. Personally, I never thought that was much of a relationship in a romantic light. It was pretty much Fllay being manipulative and Kira being willingly gullible.
What's romance? It's definitely neither a conventional nor a healthy romance, but I'd say that it certainly qualifies; even if only because of the intensity of the passions (of all types) involved. Indeed, it's the very dysfunctionality that makes it interesting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tak View Post
Of course, it had a lot to do with Kira's initial crush on the girl, and as if he won the lottery, his crush led directly to sex in one shot. Now, if I put myself in his shoes, I'd really mistaken that for actual romantic feelings from Fllay, or even forcing myself to believe such, except its anything but. After all, it was probably Kira's first time falling in love, and he never had the time to properly digest the meaning of it.

As soon as Kira's mid-season showdown ended, though, he gave it a thought, and probably realized his relationship with Fllay was not so much about love. Hell, Kira exercised almost a lack of urgency concerning Fllay's affairs after he returned to the Archangel with Freedom. But by that time, he already had his eyes set on someone else...
What I feel is more important than love is that characters genuinely care for one another, and the importance they place on their partners' well-being.

For Kira, their relationship started as an infatuation turned into a dream come true. He broke it off at the end because he knew it was making him do things that he didn't want to, and because he was upset for Sai's sake. However, in the interim, Fllay was also perversely what held him together in midst of all the fighting he participated in.

For Fllay, I'm reminded of the old story where a woman was forced into a marriage she despised. She spent the first ten years fighting with her husband, the next ten years making his life miserable in little ways, and the next ten after that outright ignoring him. It was only after he died that she realized how much she missed him, and that she had been in love with him the whole time. Fllay thought that she was using Kira, and that she hated him for what he was, but it's clear that she was deluding herself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by brightman View Post
No Domon x Rain? It's cliched, but it IS one of the few romances that a show spends quite a bit of time to develop.
My rule is to never bring up G Gundam in this kind of thread.

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Originally Posted by midnightlumina View Post
Don't get me wrong though, it is not a knock on Lacus and Kira's relationship but, I seriously wanted for Lacus to be tested in this subject.
It's not really possible. The foundation of the Kira-Lacus relationship is in its steadiness - they are really each other's foundation to the point that they don't even have to discuss anything important with each other. However, this also makes the romance aspect rather uninteresting as well.
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Old 2009-09-26, 12:35   Link #9
Tak
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My rule is to never bring up G Gundam in this kind of thread.
Since my memory only lingers upon the fact that G Gundam featured Cantonese pop, then yes, it goes without saying that there is something fundamentally wrong with it. Its more of an abomination than Macross 7.

- Tak
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Old 2009-09-26, 16:33   Link #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tak View Post
Since my memory only lingers upon the fact that G Gundam featured Cantonese pop, then yes, it goes without saying that there is something fundamentally wrong with it. Its more of an abomination than Macross 7.

- Tak
To each and its own. IMO its an awesome show, and the last 10 episodes of the series were the best 10 episodes of ANY Gundam series ever. So there.
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Old 2009-09-27, 02:32   Link #11
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I've got to say Heero x Relena for me!I just love the 'I'll kill you' into 'I'll protect you' X)
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Old 2009-09-27, 07:36   Link #12
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I've only watched the SEED series all my life :P
So my preference would be Kira/Lacus... though I would think that there isn't much passion showed between them.

I guess it's awesome that they both kinda know what each other is thinking about most of the time, but in the eyes of the audience.. it can get pretty boring.
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Old 2009-09-27, 11:00   Link #13
Tak
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To each and its own. IMO its an awesome show, and the last 10 episodes of the series were the best 10 episodes of ANY Gundam series ever. So there.
The problem with G Gundam for me is that, it felt like an exercise specifically directed at parodying Hong Kong Kung Fu cinema of the time period, except with Gundams. Hell, the entire set up looks like something ripped from a typical HK Kung Fu movie, never mind the fact that Mr. Asia is known as "The East never fails" (name for an actual HK movie character) and represents Neo HK.

At first, I thought the show was silly, but fun. Unfortunately, as the show progressed, I begin to get really irritated.

As for Kira & Lacus, they probably represented the most Japanese of the relationships, which in some ways, could be the reason behind their popularity. In other words, its utterly Asian.

- Tak
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Old 2009-09-27, 11:27   Link #14
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I'm sure people know that Imagawa is a fan of Wuxia stories, or kung fu stories as the West calls it. And Hong Kong is famous for kung fu films. Sunrise entrusted it to Imagawa and Imagawa made it his way. Imagawa had fun, fans loved it, Sunrise made money.

I think Tak, you're more of a Real Robot person than Super Robot, that has always been my impression of you. Or that you do not like hotbloodedness.

Anyway I've never really cared about romance in Gundam, Gundam isn't famous for the romance.

My favourite romance should be Loran and Dianna, or actually Loran's love square, between Loran, Dianna, Sochie and Gwen lol. Character interaction is great in Turn A, I think that's the reason I like this romance.

Garrod and Tifa's romance is the cutest though. Garrod's hotblooded love for Tifa is simple but great.
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Old 2009-09-27, 12:20   Link #15
Tak
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Originally Posted by C.A. View Post
I'm sure people know that Imagawa is a fan of Wuxia stories, or kung fu stories as the West calls it. And Hong Kong is famous for kung fu films. Sunrise entrusted it to Imagawa and Imagawa made it his way. Imagawa had fun, fans loved it, Sunrise made money.
No, I had fun, but I became weary, because it was becoming repetitive. The problem here is with the show's progression. At first, it was har har hee hee, later, it became a rehearsal. For someone who seen many wuxia films, read many wuxia novels, everything in G Gundam looked utterly familiar. My biggest problem with G Gundam was actually with its lack of originality. Of course, the silliness didn't help.

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I think Tak, you're more of a Real Robot person than Super Robot, that has always been my impression of you. Or that you do not like hotbloodedness.
Well, I am

Though I do not totally reject Super Robots, no. I have SR shows I like, but I prefer the depiction of war as a popular exercise than an undercover affair handled by some secret agency.

I love Turn A and Gundam X, but I did not feel they were ... erm, super robot.

- Tak
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Old 2009-09-27, 12:41   Link #16
C.A.
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Turn A and Gundam X has always been Real Robot lol, the only Super Robot Gundam series is still G Gundam.

I'd like to discuss this further but I think it doesn't belong here lol

Back at topic, I think its quite true that you mentioned about Kira and Lacus's romance being utterly Asian. Very passive and quiet romance and somehow both of them understands each other.
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Old 2009-09-27, 12:44   Link #17
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Easily My favorite
  • The 08th MS Team - Aina and Shiro

    Cliche laced, but things don't need to be innovative as long as cliches are properly executed. Aina being suprised with Shiro helping her even though she was the enemy, learning about each other in a laser beam onsen, Shiro's desperate cries when he's fighting that Zaku guy, and them working together to save the lives of the people. The ending scene made me cry even more then I had been earlier. A good balance between Action and Romance in my book.
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Old 2009-09-27, 14:02   Link #18
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My favorite has to be Bernie and Chris from 0080. I think they were well suited to each other, and I found both of them very sympathetic characters.

Spoiler for Huge 0080 Spoiler:
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Old 2009-09-27, 16:59   Link #19
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Romances in Gundam are usually pretty terrible (SEED/Destiny being among the worst, good lord 4Tran ) but here are the few I like:

Gundam 0080: Bernie and Christina
For reasons that Scorch already posted. A cute would-be couple with a depressingly ironic ending.

08th MS Team: Shiro and Aina
Not sure why this works for me, since it's pretty schmaltzy at times, but maybe that's why I like it. Gundam relationships almost always end in tragedy, so this was a nice breath of fresh air. The show also seemed pretty self-aware of how overly romantic Shiro was, which made some otherwise cringe-worthy scenes pretty funny.

Victory Gundam: Uso and Shakti
This isn't really a romance, per se, but it's one of my favorite relationships in any Gundam series. Even though Shakti is always getting kidnapped and Uso is knee-deep in older women, the two have a definite, almost unrelenting fondess for each other, which is very cute. I give it bonus points for the fact that romances in Gundam and kids in Gundam are almost always annoying, and this one defied both.

Gundam Wing: Zechs and Noin
Again, it's hard for me to explain what it is I like about this relationship, it just works for me. It also helps that Zechs and Noin (along with Treize) are my favorite characters in Wing, and probably some of my favorite Gundam characters ever.


Honorable mentions:
Domon/Rain in G Gundam - I love the show, Domon is my favorite Gundam protagonist, and I agree that this is one of the better developed relationships in a Gundam series. But I can't say I like Rain too much, which is what brings this down for me.

Heero/Relena in Gundam Wing - Hardly a compelling romance, but it's totally hilarious how it plays out at times (especially in the first dozen or so episodes). Though I will admit that Heero and Relena's last scene together--at the end of episode 48--is a surprisingly tender moment and probably one of my favorite scenes of the whole series.


I have yet to finish X or Turn A, so I can't really echo these Garrod/Tiffa or Loran/whoever sentiments, but from what I have seen I can understand why some people hold those relationships in such high regard.
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Old 2009-09-27, 17:15   Link #20
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Long live Kira x Fllay (my favorite SEED pairing)
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