New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Frozen Teardrop (2010 Novel)

[Aldaeus]

Originally Posted by Kitsoru

Welp, I'm back home now, which means full-access to the last 3 Gundam ACE's

If there's any illustration stuff I find in them that hasn't been posted yet, I will do so sometime this week.

EDIT: Info tidbits that haven't been mentioned/images not yet scanned, broken up by issue:
JUNE (Vol 6):
-Includes the 2 Wing fanart posters
-Shenlong Ka is featured on the Gundam Concierge page, that was never scanned so I'll try to do that
-As an aside, I noted Relena seems to be featured somehow in the new Gundam Extreme VS game? There appears to be a mobile scan square about her (along with Cecily Fairchild! *fangirls this teamup*) There's the same feature in July's issue as well.
-Rankings: Heero stays at #4, Duo is at 13, Relena's at 13, Wing ZERO is up to 7 from 9, D-Hell is at 18. The special ranking this month is Char and his clones, and Zechs came in 3rd after Char himself (twice, since he's #1 and him as Quattro is #2).

Everything for JULY (Vol 7) has been scanned already, as far as I can tell.
-Rankings: Heero stays at #4, Duo moves up to 11, Relena drops off the chart, Wing ZERO drops to 10, D-Hell drops off the chart.

AUGUST (Vol 8): (I'll scan the unposted images)
-FT cover is Heero in his pilotsuit (unf) and Zechs in his White Fang trench with Wing ZERO and Epyon's faces. The rest of the illustrations have been posted. I can note from the english text that it starts out with bits from the Eve Wars with Zechs and Noin, and Zechs and Heero.
-Glory is the Victoria Nightmare episode (lol sword tapping is the cover page) up to the point where Wufei runs to get Shenlong. It includes a flashback to Wufei's Episode ZERO, and Meilan/Nataku! Yay (Master O has a mustache? lol)
-MG Heavyarms and Sandrock Ka both featured in the Gundam Goods article, but I don't see a date for their release other than '2011'. Same for SD Wing Ka.
-As mentioned, MS Girl is Epyon Ka, I'll scan it if no one else has by the time I do.
-Rankings: Heero stays at #4, Relena leaps back to #11, Wing ZERO up to #8
-There's also a small feature on the G-Selection Endless Waltz boxset.

That's all! I have my hands full this week with Otakon prep but hopefully I'll have some time to get the missing pics up.

EDIT2: And as an aside, some goodies from REI:
http://pixiv.cc/usabiba/archives/2924683.html Sister Hilde sketches
http://pixiv.cc/usabiba/archives/2921637.html Young Naina sketches
http://pixiv.cc/usabiba/archives/2925771.html And OT but a blog post that appears to be discussing Duo's jacket mysteriously transferring to Heero in BOP lmfao

Master O with a mustache!?!? This I gotta see, he was the ripped Asian martial artist with the bald head how much more awesome can he get!?!? Why not add a mustache? Sword tapping on the front cover of Glory... kinky...

[Kitsoru]

Originally Posted by Aldaeus

Master O with a mustache!?!? This I gotta see, he was the ripped Asian martial artist with the bald head how much more awesome can he get!?!

It looks like a fumanchu minus the long beard part of it.. just the stache

[IkuzeMinna]

I'm guessing you guys haven't seen the concept art. Here:

Spoiler for Master Mustache:

So yeah, Master O's mustache isn't really new. By the way, I have the entire concept art stuff so if anyone wants it, drop me a note and I'll upload it somewhere. It seems a lot of people haven't seen it yet.

[Omnicat]

It seems I don't have much to contribute to this thread besides nitpicking, but...

Originally Posted by Leave The Pieces

Really? I thought that was the only time he was shown being affectionate, actually. And that was the only time I remember being disappointed in Relena. Uhh, dude, HUG YOUR BROTHER BACK...? It just killed the drama (the good kind) of that scene. Honestly, how couldn't she? They haven't seen each other in... forever. They could share a friggin' hug! She OBVIOUSLY wanted to hug him back, but she didn't. She just forced herself not to cuz she was like, "You've been a bad, bad boy, Milliardo. Bad! No hug for you!" But still. I wish she hugged him back. XD

I really hope you just momentarily forgot that just a few scenes before this, Zechs fired Libra's cannon onto Earth, thereby committing genocide* and very nearly - and very deliberately - almost killing Relena herself too. Because otherwise... are you serious?!

I... am going to sit here and glare suspiciously at you until you realise exactly what's wrong with expecting Relena to be happy being hugged in such circumstances by the brother who couldn't even be assed to pay her a visit in the past thirteen years**, not even when he dumped the responsiblility of a kingdom into her hands without the slightest consideration of her wishes***, only to force her to publicly denounce him because he was using the family name she was trying to put to good use (and which, at first, was the ONLY thing she had going for in the political arena) to be a two-faced hypocrit in space, and then threw a "let's become a dictator and start yet another war with no motive but hatred and complete annihalation" sized hissy fit JUST as she was starting to get somewhere in her fight for peace. Oh, and that's not even taking into consideration the stunt he pulled in Antarctica.

Not to hate on Zechs too much, but he was NOT a nice big brother, and Relena has absolutely no reason to be happy to have him grabbing at her in that scene.


* For reference. Also note that one of the first shots of the devastation caused by the canon was of the obliteration of a landmass surrounded on several sides by water. So aside from the already pretty horrific size of the direct impact site and the inevitable effects on the atmosphere, hello monster tsunamis!
** EW doesn't count because those were circumstances outside of his control.
*** Seriously, that she just happened to be willing to LEAD A COUNTRY at age FIFTEEN is incredibly lucky for him. And the plot. What would he have done with that forcibly liberated kingdom of his if she had told Noin no?

[Kitsoru]

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

I'm guessing you guys haven't seen the concept art. Here:

Spoiler for Master Mustache:

So yeah, Master O's mustache isn't really new. By the way, I have the entire concept art stuff so if anyone wants it, drop me a note and I'll upload it somewhere. It seems a lot of people haven't seen it yet.

Said art is available here: http://aboutgundamwing.com/pending.htm
(And a few other places I've been across that had several Wing artbooks uploaded but don't have the links handy to anymore.)
And yeah I'd seen the concept but they nixed it in the series, so... it was just a bit surprising, lol.

@Omnicat by EW I assume you mean Ep0 in your **?

And in addition to your points, let's not forget that just because she discovered she had a long lost brother, a sibling relationship (or ANY relationship) doesn't just magically appear out of thin air. She still pretty much didn't know Zechs at all.

[Omnicat]

Originally Posted by Kitsoru

@Omnicat by EW I assume you mean Ep0 in your **?

And in addition to your points, let's not forget that just because she discovered she had a long lost brother, a sibling relationship (or ANY relationship) doesn't just magically appear out of thin air. She still pretty much didn't know Zechs at all.

Ack! Yes, I did. XD;

Also that, yes. Relena seems like the kind of person who would try to make the best of it now that she CAN, but... yeah, still no. Zechs has been too busy playing the world's biggest boogyman to let that happen.



EDIT: Now that I'm here anyway, I remember somewhere way back, someone wondered who "Bruno" is. He was mentioned in a list of... comparative ranks within the OZ/Alliance/Romefeller, or something? Anyway, I was just reading a translation of part of the original series novelisation, and Bruno is the name given to the third person in Zechs's shuttle in episode one, beside him and Otto.

Aaaand even farther back someone wondered where this image came from. I found it on one of the "Remix" pages in Blind Target, and I might have forgotten about it if it weren't for this other Remix image - which, ROFL. And this one: is the sleeping boy Duo, or could this be the fabled Solo? (Please forgive the awkward photographs. As ever, when you need the scanner to work, it doesn't.)

[gordol]

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kouryakuka ... 9866e6f8f0c78b70409

●新機動戦記ガンダムW 　フローズンティアドロップ
P215-
今月のタイトルは「悲嘆の夜想曲Ⅰ」
カラー表紙はサブリナとカテリナ。どう見てもリリーナが2人。

※P206-207に掲載されている見開き描きおろしのMSはトールギス。
原画はMOGURAさん。

本編はサブリナがドーリアン邸に引き取られたころから。
そのころコロニーでは上流階級に富の再配分が通達されて
ドーリアン家も急激に凋落した。
家庭教師であったヒイロも解雇されることになった。

ヒイロの大学の同窓には「ジェイ・ヌル」※若かりしドクターJ
ほか「ZEROシステム」を開発したトマス・カラント(※カーンズの兄)がいた。
ヒイロはジェイにサブリナの衣服に付いていたサムの毛から
クローン猫を作ることを依頼するが、2日後にジェイがドーリアン邸に
連れて来たのは17メートルはある白い「ワイバーン」。
それにはZEROシステムの初号機が組み込まれていた。
(このワイバーンは後のガンダムエピオンのMA形態によく似ている)
ZEROシステムを使ってモニター上に猫のサムが再現され、サブリナと
カテリナはデータ上の猫を可愛がる。

その夜、ヒイロが通う大学の地下講堂で地下活動集会があった。
サンカント・クシュリナーダも参加したその集会が解散して数分後、
地球圏統一連合の工作員が設置した時限爆弾が爆発し
ジェイは左手を失い、ヒイロも火傷を負う。
そして「P.P.P.P」を開発していたカラントは出血多量で死亡した。

爆破事件はL-1コロニー過激派によるものと報道されヒイロも思想犯として
投獄されてしまう。
そんなある日ヒイロは唐突に釈放された。
サンカント・クシュリナーダがヒイロの保釈金を払ったのだ。

その後大学に戻ったヒイロとジェイはサンクキングダムが核攻撃されることを知る。
同じころカテリナとサブリナもをワイバーンに搭載されたサム
(ZEROシステム)により核攻撃を知った。

サブリナにヒイロへの恋心を託す代わりにサブリナの心の支え
(データ上の猫・サム)をもらいワイバーンで出撃するカテリナ。
ジェイのハッキングとサム(ZEROシステム)の助けで
攻撃衛星「ジェミナMW」を攻撃し破壊する。
今月号はガンダムエピオンに酷似した「ワイバーン」に搭乗した
カテリナがサンクキングダムの反乱軍に王政復古を宣言するところで
以下次号。

とりあえず今月のまとめ。
カラント…「P.P.P.P」およびZEROシステムを作った男。カーンズの兄。
ジェイ・ヌル…後のドクターJ。

今月のモノクロ挿絵。
・若き日のヒイロ(初代)とジェイ(ドクターJ)
・コクピットのノーマルスーツのカテリナ
・ダンスするカテリナとヒイロ

この他の情報としてMGサンドロックの原型公開。

[Leave The Pieces]

Originally Posted by Omnicat

I really hope you just momentarily forgot that just a few scenes before this, Zechs fired Libra's cannon onto Earth, thereby committing genocide* and very nearly - and very deliberately - almost killing Relena herself too. Because otherwise... are you serious?!

I... am going to sit here and glare suspiciously at you until you realise exactly what's wrong with expecting Relena to be happy being hugged in such circumstances by the brother who couldn't even be assed to pay her a visit in the past thirteen years**, not even when he dumped the responsiblility of a kingdom into her hands without the slightest consideration of her wishes***, only to force her to publicly denounce him because he was using the family name she was trying to put to good use (and which, at first, was the ONLY thing she had going for in the political arena) to be a two-faced hypocrit in space, and then threw a "let's become a dictator and start yet another war with no motive but hatred and complete annihalation" sized hissy fit JUST as she was starting to get somewhere in her fight for peace. Oh, and that's not even taking into consideration the stunt he pulled in Antarctica.

Okay, dude. Calm down...?

In no way was I criticising Relena on this. The way I said it may have sounded that way, but that's because I was trying to be short... because I had a lot of other things to type. Which was lazy and so, I admit, that was my bad. BUT I NEVER said she should be happy Zechs hugged her. I NEVER said I was expecting her to, either...?

SHE HAD EVERY RIGHT NOT TO HUG HIM BACK. If you read my post again, hopefully you'd see that I ANSWERED MY OWN QUESTION: "How couldn't she?". I remember what Zechs did, I remember what he was like. Hence, the "quoted" spoofed version of Relena's train of thoughts that time he hugged her. I was justifying her actions, or rather, inactions to myself. It was more of a personal preference thing. I was just voicing out a thought. I, personally, simply wanted the two to have a sweet moment together (like Iria and Quatre), and that could've only happened if Relena hugged him back.

I'm not hating on Relena cuz she didn't reciprocate. I guess I just wanted her to give in to her emotions that time, because it was obvious she wanted to hug him back. Weren't her arms shown restraining themselves or something from doing so? I just wanted her, for a minute or two, to let her emotions get to her and be like 'After all, I haven't seen him in ages.' *hug back* "Kk, now can we talk, Milliardo? Maybe somewhere private? I have a feeling I can talk you out of this." -- which is an act that's a bit Mary Sue-ish (which Relena obviously isn't, never was and never will). But one that I would like. And perhaps the ONLY one that I would ever like. She loves Earth and he was going to erase it off the face of the solar system. A righteous person like herself would obviously be too disgusted by the person that Zechs was that she wouldn't think it's appropriate to hug him back, just cuz they're blood, given the circumstances then. And so, she didn't. Because she always does what she thinks is right. So yes, the right thing to do then was to not hug him back. But like I just said, it was just a personal thing. Although it wasn't appropriate to hug him back, personally, I just wish she did. No need to bite my head off...?

Also, I wasn't even making a big deal out of it. Because the main focuses of that discussion were Zechs and the times he was shown being "affectionate" to someone. Had I known it would offend you, a Wing fan big on Relena-love like myself, I wouldn't have voiced my thoughts out. I guess I wasn't thinking. Got a bit too comfortable in the thread for my own good, you know? Don't worry, won't happen again.

Not to hate on Zechs too much, but he was NOT a nice big brother.

Zechs wasn't, but Milliardo was. We saw their childhood photos. Look at the way he looked at Relena as he held her in his arms on one of them. Awww that was love. But when he became Zechs, well... he was just hopeless. But he did show some sister complex that one time in Siberia(?). He told Noin to "allow him to protect Relena this once" or something. And I also remember Noin saying to him (albeit, not directly) "Relena's the most important person to you..."? Or maybe I was just hearing things... *shrugs*

[mirei]

It seems there's no sparkling Tallgeese Heaven and dashing Wind of Cyrene for the next chapter *sniffs*

At least we got some badass Relena? (her predecessor/s I mean)

Originally Posted by gordol

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kouryakuka ... 9866e6f8f0c78b70409

●新機動戦記ガンダムW 　フローズンティアドロップ
P215-
今月のタイトルは「悲嘆の夜想曲Ⅰ」
カラー表紙はサブリナとカテリナ。どう見てもリリーナが2人。

※P206-207に掲載されている見開き描きおろしのMSはトールギス。
原画はMOGURAさん。

本編はサブリナがドーリアン邸に引き取られたころから。
そのころコロニーでは上流階級に富の再配分が通達されて
ドーリアン家も急激に凋落した。
家庭教師であったヒイロも解雇されることになった。

ヒイロの大学の同窓には「ジェイ・ヌル」※若かりしドクターJ
ほか「ZEROシステム」を開発したトマス・カラント(※カーンズの兄)がいた。
ヒイロはジェイにサブリナの衣服に付いていたサムの毛から
クローン猫を作ることを依頼するが、2日後にジェイがドーリアン邸に
連れて来たのは17メートルはある白い「ワイバーン」。
それにはZEROシステムの初号機が組み込まれていた。
(このワイバーンは後のガンダムエピオンのMA形態によく似ている)
ZEROシステムを使ってモニター上に猫のサムが再現され、サブリナと
カテリナはデータ上の猫を可愛がる。

その夜、ヒイロが通う大学の地下講堂で地下活動集会があった。
サンカント・クシュリナーダも参加したその集会が解散して数分後、
地球圏統一連合の工作員が設置した時限爆弾が爆発し
ジェイは左手を失い、ヒイロも火傷を負う。
そして「P.P.P.P」を開発していたカラントは出血多量で死亡した。

爆破事件はL-1コロニー過激派によるものと報道されヒイロも思想犯として
投獄されてしまう。
そんなある日ヒイロは唐突に釈放された。
サンカント・クシュリナーダがヒイロの保釈金を払ったのだ。

その後大学に戻ったヒイロとジェイはサンクキングダムが核攻撃されることを知る。
同じころカテリナとサブリナもをワイバーンに搭載されたサム
(ZEROシステム)により核攻撃を知った。

サブリナにヒイロへの恋心を託す代わりにサブリナの心の支え
(データ上の猫・サム)をもらいワイバーンで出撃するカテリナ。
ジェイのハッキングとサム(ZEROシステム)の助けで
攻撃衛星「ジェミナMW」を攻撃し破壊する。
今月号はガンダムエピオンに酷似した「ワイバーン」に搭乗した
カテリナがサンクキングダムの反乱軍に王政復古を宣言するところで
以下次号。

とりあえず今月のまとめ。
カラント…「P.P.P.P」およびZEROシステムを作った男。カーンズの兄。
ジェイ・ヌル…後のドクターJ。

今月のモノクロ挿絵。
・若き日のヒイロ(初代)とジェイ(ドクターJ)
・コクピットのノーマルスーツのカテリナ
・ダンスするカテリナとヒイロ

この他の情報としてMGサンドロックの原型公開。

● Shinkidousenki Gundam W Frozen Teardrop

p. 215
This month's title is "Nocturne of Grief"

On the colored cover are Sabrina and Katrina. There are two Relenas no matter how you look at them.

※p. 206-207 - MS Tallgeese spread
by Mogura-san

This chapter is from the time when Sabrina left the Darlian Estates. During that period, the Darlian family suddenly fell when the upper classes of the society were notified to redistribute their wealth in that colony. Even Heero, who was a tutor, was dismissed.

Attending the same university with Heero were Jay Null (young Dr. J) and Tomas Quarant (Quinze's brother). Heero requested Jay to create a clone of the cat 'Sam' out of its hair that was stuck on Sabrina's clothes, but what came out 2 days later was a 17-meter white "Wyvern". That was the first suit equipped with ZERO system. (This Wyvern resembles Gundam Epyon MA form)


At that night, there was an assembly in the basement auditorium of the university that Heero attended. Sancant (?) Kushrenada also participated in that assembly, which dissolved few minutes later.
When a time bomb, which was installed by an ESUN spy exploded, Jay lost his left arm and Heero suffered from a burnt scar. And, Quarant, who developed the 'P.P.P.P' died from massive hemorrhage.

Heero was also imprisoned for the 'white-collar crime'.
Heero was suddenly released on that day.
Sancant Kushrenada paid for his bail.

Upon returning to the university afterwards, Heero and Jay learned about the nuclear attack on the Sanc Kingdom.
Both Katrina and Sabrina, from Sam (zero system) that boarded Wyvern, learned of the attack.

In exchange for entrusting her love for Heero to Sabrina, Katrina received Sabrina's support (Sam) and set out with Wyvern. With Jay's hacking and Sam (Zero System) they were able to destroy the attack satellite "Gemina MW".
This month, "Wyvern", which resembles Gundam Epyon, set out.
Next issue will follow Katrina's proclamation of Sanc Kingdom's imperial rule restoration.

That's this month's summary for now.

Quarant...the one who made a zero system called the "P.P.P.P"; Quinze's brother
Jay Tal...Dr. J

for the B&W illustration:
-young Heero and J
-Katrina wearing a normal suit in the cockpit
-Katrina and Heero dancing


**
Interesting that they came up with how Dr. J lost his arm. And two Relenas for one Heero

There are still some things that are quite questionable in this block of text, but I'll reserve that till I read the next chapters.

[Omnicat]

@Leave the Pieces

I am calm! No worries, and sorry if I came off a little heated. I was actually trying to add a lighthearted note with the "suspicious glare" thing, but I guess I'm not as funny as I sometimes think I am. :P

Note to self: next time, skip straight to "squint".

I guess I just can't imagine hugging someone back unless you're "happy", in some form or another, to be hugged in the first place. So "why wouldn't she hug him back?" is synonymous to "why wouldn't she be happy to be hugged?" in my mind. I also never thought she looked like she was holding herself back - if anything, I'd think she's holding back from freeing herself from his grasp - so I guess that's why I got such a strange impression of your view on the hugging scene. It gave me the feeling that your spoof thoughts were almost as serious as the rest of the paragraph. XD;; Like, "okay, he fired a big giant space laser, so what? he may have joined the bad guys, but he's just pretending, he didn't REALLY hurt anyone!" - which, unfortunately, is kind of the impression the anime gives by never mentioning the massive devastation he caused again after the episode it happened in. >:| Bad anime. I can't count the number of times I've had to remind people that Zechs committed GENOCIDE when the subject of his involvement with and actions as the leader of White Fang comes up and everybody jumps to defend his reasoning. And the last time the topic of Relena refusing to hug him back came up in a discussion I was part of, it involved the words "ungrateful bitch". <.<

BUT, whatever, it's all cleared up now. No hard feelings? I can totally sympathise with wanting that scene to be a bit more juicy. (Though I admit, I would have preferred a slap and something along the lines of "I no longer recognize you as my brother, begone from my sight!" ) A lot of the characters are always so restrained, or don't meet often enough or in the right times, or GW's style of execution and focus on the philosophical-political aspects rather than the emotional ones just dimmed the effect so much, that I'm left craving confrontations and developments between a whole bunch of characters. Just imagine if Relena and Zechs had actually gotten to know each other. It would've been SO emotionally charged, whereas now, whenever they clash, directly or indirectly, it's more like "oh, right, we happen to be related too". *sigh*

Originally Posted by Leave The Pieces

Zechs wasn't, but Milliardo was. We saw their childhood photos. Look at the way he looked at Relena as he held her in his arms on one of them. Awww that was love. But when he became Zechs, well... he was just hopeless. But he did show some sister complex that one time in Siberia(?). He told Noin to "allow him to protect Relena this once" or something. And I also remember Noin saying to him (albeit, not directly) "Relena's the most important person to you..."? Or maybe I was just hearing things... *shrugs*

Nope, Noin definitely said Relena was the most important person in Zechs's life. I have no doubt that he loved her, but BOY was he ever hopeless. Some of it was intentional, like his cruelty-as-a-lesson at Antarctica and the White Fang stuff, but even unintentionally I thought he ended up being kind of a dick. Not just to Relena, to Noin too. But let's not get into that, or my ranting will never stop.

It's funny. I think he's a great character, but as a "person" I just wanna hit him over the head with his own helmet. (Which probably contributed to the perceived tone of my previous post. My bad!)

@mirei

...longcat gundam?

[Nishiio]

*excited* Yay for all the information! Thanks so much to all of you.

Originally Posted by mirei

**
Interesting that they came up with how Dr. J lost his arm. And two Relenas for one Heero

There are still some things that are quite questionable in this block of text, but I'll reserve that till I read the next chapters.

Thanks for the translation!
...I'm a bit of an idiot though. Which Heero are we talking about? The AC 195 dude or the one that got assassinated?

Originally Posted by Omnicat

@Leave the Pieces

@mirei

...longcat gundam?

LMAO

[Aldaeus]

Yes the one that knew Sabrina/Katrina Peacecraft is the Politician Heero Yuy that was assassinated by Odin Lowe. That's the one that the section is talking about.

Now seeing this its making me wonder... when the hell are they going to get back to the Heero Yuy we know (AKA Odin Lowe Jr.) I mean I'm all for learning more info on the Early AC knowing that they had Mobile Armors back then has me interested... but I want to see more on the "Current" not the past...

But ZOMG we have a full name for Dr. J!?!? Probably some of my favorite characters out of all of the AC have to be the "Mad Five" and Howard...

[IkuzeMinna]

I'm mostly answering to stuff Nishiio, LTP and SkullFaerie said, so everyone else, feel free to skip this post.

Spoiler for my novel-sized rambling:

Originally Posted by Leave The Pieces

It was merely an example, you know, one of the many reasons why I think producers do know girls like to watch shounen/seinen as much as guys. Forgive me, it's just that... well, it was the easiest example to cite at the time.

Well, it's partly true, so apologizing isn't really necessary. Some people truly are so shallow that if a character looks good, it doesn't matter what else he does. He can even get away with murder. Seriously. A friend and I were watching Death Note when he complained to me that every girl he knows only comments about Light's good looks and totally ignores that he's a complete bastard. Just when I told him that there are exceptions my cousin comes up behind us and goes "wow, that guy is cute". We tell her the guy is a killer and what does she say? "He's still cute." *facepalm*

Sometimes good looks are all you need. That goes for anime as well as for real life. As far as GW is concerned, back then when it was at its height half the "fandom" hadn't even watched a single episode, yet they were all happily writing fanfics and bashing Relena. All because they thought Heero and Duo looked cute and that Relena was "obviously getting in the way of HeeroxDuo!" hubbawubwhat

I think you misunderstood my point of citing those examples lol. It has nothing to do with Quatre or his personality/habits or anyone else's for that matter.

Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood indeed. The confused me.

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

Relena was way ahead of her time though, hence the hate.

This is so true. And yet not.
You know, some people are just stupid. There's no other way to call it. Here are some reasons people state for not liking her, taken from an anti-Relena site:

"Because shes annoing, she wears pink, she looks like a man, she tries to break up HeeroxDuo!!!!!!!!"

"While Relena was important in this general Gundam storyline, she could've been completely deleted from the plot, or killed in the middle of the series and the storyline would've remained in tact."
(bonus points for contradicting yourself in the same sentence)

"She a goddamed bitch who is obbessed with pink and Heero. She claimes time and time again that she help win the war but besides be a figure head what other things did she do? Mess up missions for everyone and put Noin's, Milliardo and other peoples lives in danger."

"poor me has the same hair color as her...(WHY GOD?! WHY?!)"

"I hate Ririna for many, many reasons. Oh, you know the usual ones like she's ugly, she's selfish, stalker, pacifist ... and didn't she try to unify the entire Earth Sphere into one nation? I'm sure everyone with a brain can tell ya how well THAT will work out. I hate it when females are portrayed as Damsel-in-Distress, clingy stalker obsessive spoiled princesses. (: pantpant: out of breath!) But I hate her most because she hurts my baby Duo's feelings. I'm very protective of him, and IMHO, Duo's in love with Hiiro-kun. So I'll do anything to protect him from Ririna, because she's in their way! And she almost always gets Hiiro killed, because he ALWAYS has to come rescue her to save Peace! ;_; Poor Hiiro..."

And my absolute favorite: "She also DARES to call herself a PRINCESS!"

We can deduce three things from all this idiocy. Firstly, a lot of people didn't get GW's plot. Secondly, a lot of people are shallow. And thirdly and most importantly, a lot of people have bloody double standards. Putting the ridiculous accusations of Relena being rude or spoiled aside, how many of those "fans" have ever accused Heero of being rude? I'm pretty sure none. Which is surprising because at first he was a friggin' jerk. But as I said above, because he's male and looks good (subjective) he gets away with it. And this stance is pissing me off.

On a side note, where did this pink hating mob disappear to when Lacus entered the spotlight?

Thing about Seed is, neither of them are bad characters per se. I like the idea of Lacus. The execution sucks, but...
She isn't completely bad imo, just what IS bad is SO bad that we can't see past it without really ignoring a lot of key plot points.

lol Of course you can't see past it. She's being pretty much shoved in your face nonstop. The openings, the endings, the advertisement, everywhere but the series itself.
You know, my problem with Lacus is that she was touted to be a main character. Say what you want, I can't view a character with less screen time than Miriallia and thus less character depth than Andrew Waltfeld (definitely two minor characters) as a main character. Sorry but that's not how you do it.

Her role in Seed is somehow similar to Dorothy's in Wing, what with taking action in the second half of the show and commanding fleets and stuff. But unlike Lacus, Dorothy was never made more important than the others. Even though she was in charge of the MDs and second-in-command on Libra, she was never treated specially. Meaning, I didn't see her go into PMS SEED mode like the protagonist to ...give a speech.
No, Dorothy was written as a minor character and also portrayed as one. A very badass one at that. Lacus on the other hand was written as a minor albeit important character but treated like a main. And that, ladies and gentlemen, doesn't work.
----

Now for the truly interesting part.

Originally Posted by Nishiio

I don't want to get too much into the Japan vs. North America debate either but how much does culture factor in? [...]
But why do Japanese audiences just prefer girls who aren't tough? x___x Is it because of the society they're raised in? Or am I just WAY overthinking this and the reason is because the fangirls just want to be like the damsel-in-distress so they can get rescued by Prince Charming?

Nishiio, you got a knack for making me feel like I'm in school again, having to turn in a paper. Well, I did some research on this matter and here are my two cents.

First, let's take a look at the cultural differences. I'm not even going to pretend to know a thing about Japanese or North American culture but I think a woman from the U.S. living and working in Japan should know what she's talking about. Here's a very interesting video I found in which said person illustrates the differences in gender roles from her personal experience.
(love the distinction she makes between "independent" and "self-sufficient" btw)

Basically what LTP said. The man works and the woman cooks. Japanese conception of gender roles doesn't seem all that different from other countries'. But it's interesting to note that although it's more pronounced, Japanese women don't mind it. They seem okay with becoming a housewife (it's supposed to be the pinnacle for a woman) and taking care of their kids and husband. That in itself isn't bad if it weren't for society expecting it from them.

What's also interesting is that being polite, soft-spoken, dainty, calm, graceful, delicate, tender, all those "girly" things is far more encouraged in Japan than in, say, the States or Europe (because Japanese seem obsessed with marrying and no one wants to marry a b!tch). Thus leading me to assume that "girly" (I'm reluctant to use the word feminine) women are held in higher regards by Japanese society than say, tomboys. (duh)

We can relate, actually. The West used to have the same views, after all. Look at fairy tales, or better yet, Disney princesses. In 1937 Snow White (and I don't mean the MS xD) was cleaning the dwarves' house and being rescued by her Prince Charming. Also note her immaculate appearance. 61 years later, in 1998 Mulan was kicking Hun butt while being covered in grime. See the progress?
But Japanese society is possibly in the same process of changing, as SkullFaerie noted. GW actually felt very Western to me.


But you know, this is all secondary. I believe the main reason why characters like Lacus are popular in Japan is actually this: Japanese are obsessed with cuteness. And tough women aren't cute. That simple. Or would you call Noin, Sally or even Dorothy cute?

One thing about the "Ares" part in names though. I think Duo's engine was called a Hornet Ares or something, so perhaps "Ares" is added to names just as a technical specification that it is for Mars use?

[Deacon Blues]

Man... in translating this chapter I've noticed that Sumisawa really crams in a bunch of useless details... :/

[Rising Dragon]

Originally Posted by Deacon Blues

Man... in translating this chapter I've noticed that Sumisawa really crams in a bunch of useless details... :/

But how else will Sumisawa connect everyone to everyone and everything? D:

[Leave The Pieces]

Spoiler for Response to Omnicat and IkuzeMinna :):

Originally Posted by Omnicat

I was actually trying to add a lighthearted note with the "suspicious glare" thing, but I guess I'm not as funny as I sometimes think I am. :P

Oooohhhh. Ahahahah!! Okay. *facepalm* Yeah, I guess I misinterpreted your tone. Woopsie.

I also never thought she looked like she was holding herself back - if anything, I'd think she's holding back from freeing herself from his grasp - so I guess that's why I got such a strange impression of your view on the hugging scene.

The thing about Wing and its dynamics is that they can be interpreted in so many different ways. An anime trait that's both a blessing and a curse. Blessing, cuz then there's so many legit discussions "good" fans can derive from it. Curse because haters and fantards convince themselves THEIR off-the-wall interpretation is NOT an interpretation but rather an established fact in the series and use it as their ammo to bash or ship cracklings.

"okay, he fired a big giant space laser, so what? he may have joined the bad guys, but he's just pretending, he didn't REALLY hurt anyone!" - which, unfortunately, is kind of the impression the anime gives by never mentioning the massive devastation he caused again after the episode it happened in. >:| Bad anime.

Yes, yes, I'm with you. GW, you naughty. Tsk, tsk.

can't count the number of times I've had to remind people that Zechs committed GENOCIDE when the subject of his involvement with and actions as the leader of White Fang comes up and everybody jumps to defend his reasoning. And the last time the topic of Relena refusing to hug him back came up in a discussion I was part of, it involved the words "ungrateful bitch". <.<

This.

I'm on your side, sista.

It's inappropriate to hug him back, really. Because of what he's done, like you just said. Thing is, for me, there are three "realistic" ways she could've dealt with that hug.

1) What she did in canon.
2) Hug him back like I wanted her to.
3) Show him who's THE Boss like you wanted her to.

1 is the MOST appropriate way to deal with it. Polite and professional. Which is why it's the one we saw her did. Because polite and professional is developed!Relena's middle name.

3 is the... gangsta way to deal with it (still appropriate, he soooo deserves it)

and 2... 2 is inarguably "inappropriate" cuz it's being TOO soft. And that's an understatement. *sigh*
But I can see someone doing it, especially a teenage orphaned girl, both because and despite of the given circumstances. But yeah, it's wrong. Given Relena's personality, if, theoretically, she had a son and the father was even Heero Yuy himself, but because of a cruel twist of fate, she was required to sacrifice the kid to save mankind, I have no doubt she won't think twice and just do it like Nike. If it's for the greater good, my homegirl NEVER disappoints. She's sooo good!) Which is why not hugging Zechs back can NEVER be a criticism on Relena's part. It's a criticism on the viewer's part if that's what he/she wanted Relena to do. Which, in this case, IS ME. But like I said, the ONLY reason why I wanted her to do it is because the siblings are just too deprived of mushy scenes.

Anyway, if I were in that discussion with you and people called her names like that, I would've exploded like a bomb and went off at every single one of those bullies.

A lot of the characters are always so restrained, or don't meet often enough or in the right times, or GW's style of execution and focus on the philosophical-political aspects rather than the emotional ones just dimmed the effect so much, that I'm left craving confrontations and developments between a whole bunch of characters. Just imagine if Relena and Zechs had actually gotten to know each other. It would've been SO emotionally charged, whereas now, whenever they clash, directly or indirectly, it's more like "oh, right, we happen to be related too". *sigh*

Agreed. ^_^

It's funny. I think he's a great character, but as a "person" I just wanna hit him over the head with his own helmet.

Agreed here as well. Zechs just takes the cake, doesn't he. And no, Zechs, that is soo not a good thing. Next in line is Heero. Poor Relena. I can't imagine having a brother and a boyfriend like those two lol.

@ IkuzeMinna

You know, some people are just stupid. There's no other way to call it. Here are some reasons people state for not liking her, taken from an anti-Relena site: [snip]

Oh sweet baby J. Those aren't stupid. Now, now.

THOSE ARE RETARDED. Unbelievable. Made my blood boil arrggghh. I thought ALL of mankind have evolved. Guess not.

lol Of course you can't see past it. She's being pretty much shoved in your face nonstop. The openings, the endings, the advertisement, everywhere but the series itself.
You know, my problem with Lacus is that she was touted to be a main character. Say what you want, I can't view a character with less screen time than Miriallia and thus less character depth than Andrew Waltfeld (definitely two minor characters) as a main character. Sorry but that's not how you do it.

Her role in Seed is somehow similar to Dorothy's in Wing, what with taking action in the second half of the show and commanding fleets and stuff. But unlike Lacus, Dorothy was never made more important than the others. Even though she was in charge of the MDs and second-in-command on Libra, she was never treated specially. Meaning, I didn't see her go into PMS SEED mode like the protagonist to ...give a speech.
No, Dorothy was written as a minor character and also portrayed as one. A very badass one at that. Lacus on the other hand was written as a minor albeit important character but treated like a main. And that, ladies and gentlemen, doesn't work.

You = epic. ILY.

Thank you, mirei!

Lol I have this silly feeling Relena is cloned from Katrina and Heero from Heero. And so their romance was also "cloned".

[Deacon Blues]

Originally Posted by Rising Dragon

But how else will Sumisawa connect everyone to everyone and everything? D:

True... but it's a bitch rewriting all of it into sensible and coherent English. :/

[Nishiio]

Directed to IkuzeMinna and anyone else who's participating on this topic. =P

Spoiler for Long reply~:

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

We can deduce three things from all this idiocy. Firstly, a lot of people didn't get GW's plot. Secondly, a lot of people are shallow. And thirdly and most importantly, a lot of people have bloody double standards. Putting the ridiculous accusations of Relena being rude or spoiled aside, how many of those "fans" have ever accused Heero of being rude? I'm pretty sure none. Which is surprising because at first he was a friggin' jerk. But as I said above, because he's male and looks good (subjective) he gets away with it. And this stance is pissing me off.

On a side note, where did this pink hating mob disappear to when Lacus entered the spotlight?

Haha. HAHA. HAHAHAHAHA. Oh my God. Shaking and crying and laughing and banging my head into a wall here. I've definitely read similar "Relena complaints" before but the ones you chose were just gold.
Relena didn't even wear pink that much...wasn't she wearing her white dress or the reddish school uniform/dress thing? Hell, when was it appropriate to hate someone based on the what they wore or the colours they like? XDD I mean, I love Heero to death but his tank top and spandex shorts aren't exactly fashionable (even if he did rock them like the boss he is).
LOL Yeah...if you wanna accuse anyone for "loving pink too much", Lacus would be the one. >>
If they think Relena is rude, what about Heero's one-word answers and Trowa's monotone dismissals? The words I bolded from your last post really hit the nail on the head.

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

Nishiio, you got a knack for making me feel like I'm in school again, having to turn in a paper. Well, I did some research on this matter and here are my two cents.

@___@;; I'm sorry I'm sorry. It's summer right now and I don't want you to feel like you're in school XD

Thank you for the video link though. It's very interesting to learn about the experience of a person raised in the west working in the east. Again, I don't want to cross a line and start comparing cultures but...I don't think I'd be very happy working in Japan as a woman lol.

Originally Posted by IkuzeMinna

What's also interesting is that being polite, soft-spoken, dainty, calm, graceful, delicate, tender, all those "girly" things is far more encouraged in Japan than in, say, the States or Europe (because Japanese seem obsessed with marrying and no one wants to marry a b!tch). Thus leading me to assume that "girly" (I'm reluctant to use the word feminine) women are held in higher regards by Japanese society than say, tomboys. (duh)

We can relate, actually. The West used to have the same views, after all. Look at fairy tales, or better yet, Disney princesses. In 1937 Snow White (and I don't mean the MS xD) was cleaning the dwarfs' house and being rescued by her Prince Charming. Also note her immaculate appearance. 61 years later, in 1998 Mulan was kicking Hun butt while being covered in grime. See the progress?
But Japanese society is possibly in the same process of changing, as SkullFairie noted. GW actually felt very Western to me.


But you know, this is all secondary. I believe the main reason why characters like Lacus are popular in Japan is actually this: Japanese are obsessed with cuteness. And tough women aren't cute. That simple. Or would you call Noin, Sally or even Dorothy cute?

*nods* I come from a Chinese background so I do look at Chinese (and other Asian) entertainment and I do visit China every few years or so. I DID notice the whole "girly" thing and frankly, it really pissed me off XD I know it's not my place to say but whenever I saw couples walking together, the girl would always be latching onto the guy, talking in a cutesy voice, using cute hand gestures...*vomit* I guess I should be asking WHY guys even like that in the first place.

YES. *fist pump* Mulan is my favourite Disney Princess-- who actually isn't a princess. OH WELL.

Gundam Wing DID feel very western. And global. 8D When have you had such a multicultural team? *swells with pride*

Aww, I think Sally's cute haha. Just maybe not in combat clothing. x)

Okay...gonna end it here before I get banned for culture-bashing and talking off-topic lol. But I love reading your posts. Always so informative and entertaining. =)

[Kitsoru]

Originally Posted by Nishiio

...I'm a bit of an idiot though. Which Heero are we talking about? The AC 195 dude or the one that got assassinated?

The one which was assassinated.

And.. wow. Just wow. Peacecraft-Yuy love triangle. At least it sounds like we get to see (not)Relena piloting finally...? I still have a feeling they're gonna end up hooking up.. hmmm.

I'll wait to poke at J's wiki page until we have the chapter, but.. I'm curious to see how he looked when he was younger.

(PS thank you guys for sticking that discussion under spoilertags ;P)

[Leave The Pieces]

@ Nishiio

Spoiler for Participating in Nishiio and Ikuze's discussion:

Originally Posted by Nishiio

Relena didn't even wear pink that much...

Actually... she kind of did. Didn't bother me, though. I love pink. Until Lacus. Lol

Anyway, yeah she kind of did. Her school uniforms (St. Gabriel and Sanq ones), were dark pink... or maroon or yeah whatever, APPARENTLY it's in the pink "family". Her winter clothes + Safari outfit were "pink" too. And well, that limousine. Which Lacus also used in SEED Destiny (and Meer also had one). I could've sworn their plate numbers were the same. Lol jk. peacecraft made a very interesting analysis on Relena and Dorothy's limousines in her Relena shrine, btw.

Now that I think about it, two props from Wing were reused in SEED and SEED Destiny! The pink limo and the bear. XD Btw, am I the only one who noticed that Heero, Kira and Setsuna have a thing for yellow flowers and protecting the girls who "gave" it to them? (In Setsuna's mention, I'm not talking about Feldt. I'm talking about Marina, thanks.)

So anyway, yeah... she did wear pink a lot. What I don't understand is the fans' hatred on it and their saying that ALL she wore was pink. Umm... no? She wore whites a lot of times, too. When she went Bond girl on Une, she wore white. The (Audrey Hepburn) dress she wore on her crowning glory was white. Her aristocrat uniform was white. Her picnic dress in the ending credits was white.

Which reminds me, how come Relena doesn't have the "Friend To All Living Things" entry in TV Tropes? Heero, Quatre and Trowa were given it. Relena in the ending credits trumps the scenes of them three boys, imo. Seriously, Trowa just petted A lion. Relena carried TWO. XD

If they think Relena is rude...

Relena (even her early self) was never "rude". She was just moody. I hate how the fans always notice the way she talked to Sally when the lady held Heero "captive", her nagging at Duo for shooting Heero when he just saved her life from the d-bag (sorry), etc. and don't even get me started on their effing "She's so evil" accusations when she told "her crush" to kill "her own brother" in Siberia(?) or wherever that snowy place was. SHE HAD LEGIT REASONS TO BEHAVE THAT WAY DURING THOSE TIMES, PEOPLE. AND I WILL GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IN A HEARTBEAT, JUST SAY THE WORD!!!!!

AND YET they never notice the face that she put on for her highschool admirers (who, deep down, she knew never really tried to reach to her like the rest of the world, being the poor-rich lonely girl that she always thought she was) and the military blokes who stole VFM Darlian from her just moments after they landed on Earth, her attempts to make Heero feel welcome at the school by inviting him to her birthday party despite the fact that she was suspicious of him (YES, SHE WAS SUSPICIOUS OF HIM), her apologising for her recent odd behaviours whilst politely dismissing herself from her own birthday party... and after her character development: the way she put up with Dorothy and her taunts, her pleading to Noin to let the remnants of the Treize Faction find sanctuary in her kingdom, the way she put up with Dermail's yelling at her face, need I say more?! But nnnooooo, they don't notice that, at all. No, actually, they do. They just... won't acknowledge it.

*nods* I come from a Chinese background so I do look at Chinese (and other Asian) entertainment and I do visit China every few years or so.

Me too! Not Chinese, though, but other Asian. Won't reveal what it is specifically to avoid further racial/cultural prejudice and stuff. But yeah, an Asian living in a western country here, as well. Even where I'm from, our culture just tells us that the women should be the subservient gender. Although, I did notice that our women are getting more and more assertive lately and start complaining more and more about the sexism. XD