About the hate exhibited toward Shu, I think this quote from a certain Vampire Slayer series is quite appropriate:
But you didn't earn it. You didn't work for it. You've never had anybody come up to you and say you deserve these things more than anyone else. They were just handed to you. So that doesn't make you better than us. It makes you luckier than us.
But that's only
half the reason. There are many other stories where the protagonist started as "normal", and only got story-changing powers at the end of the first act/chapter/level/episode. Thing is, those characters do not
stay helpless, unmotivated and unworthy - eventually, for some reason or another they'll start to become more motivated and takes a more
proactive role in the story instead of just following where the wind goes and become everybody else's gofer.
And don't start telling me that his reaction was "realistic"; none in this story is grounded in realism or even just plain sensibility, ranging from the cops not doing a body search on Shu when the didn't find the Void Genome
to Gai not immediately taking the vial from Shu when he had the chance (and then Brilliant Fearless Leader blamed
others for this?)
to a foot soldier beating a mech with just a handgun
to all those ridiculous body outfits
to the whole "pilot experiences excruciating pain when
remote-operated mech receives damage" ordeal...the list goes on and on and on and on.
Heck, one reason why I'm not too hard on Shu is the stupid, unrealistic, not sensible way
Funeral Parlor treated him. What, no propaganda, no pamphlets, no heart-to-heart dialogue on
how and
why Shu's doing a great and noble thing, no grand speech on how eeeeviiiil the heathen oppressors are and why they must kick the invaders out?
Yes, Shu has already seen GHQ committing mas murder, but from the apathetic and uninterested stance he took afterwards that it is clear that more convincing arguments are required. Remember that the only reason he joined was for the girl.
What's that? Their response to him is typical to one towards new recruits? Well that's understandable I guess...
had Shu been a normal recruit. But he's not. He's not some random shmuck on the street, he's the wielder of a power with vast capabilities, a versatile force multiplier the world has never seen - Doraemon in the form of a teenager. Mind you, that capability includes widespread destruction.
Considering his potential value,
they should be the one trying to win his trust, not the other way around.
And yet they treated their Person of Mass Destruction, one who is constantly doubting whether joining is the right thing to do, like shit?
Hah! Even Shinji ikari, prime example of spineless protagonist, finally snapped after all his ordeal and gave everybody else the middle finger. Keep it up guys, I'm sure Shu will never go "Screw all this, I'm leaving!!!" or go on a rampage.
@Cosmic Eagle: Loved the C&C comparison. Gai has nothing on Kane though
