2009-09-25, 23:40 | Link #1 |
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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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2009-09-25, 23:41 | Link #2 |
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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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2009-09-26, 02:54 | Link #3 |
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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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2009-09-26, 10:59 | Link #5 | |
Catholic = Cat addiction?
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Quote:
- Tak
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2009-09-26, 11:24 | Link #7 | ||
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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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2009-09-26, 11:57 | Link #8 | |||
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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:
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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2009-09-26, 12:35 | Link #9 |
Catholic = Cat addiction?
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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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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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2009-09-27, 11:00 | Link #13 | |
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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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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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2009-09-27, 12:20 | Link #15 | ||
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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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2009-09-27, 12:41 | Link #16 |
Absolute Haruhist!
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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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2009-09-27, 12:44 | Link #17 |
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Easily My favorite
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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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