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player1
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On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by player1 »

After learning the news that the latest Gundam series was a yurishit, I was disappointed. I was truly shocked by how they made a show with great prologue into a school based slice of life wokeness trash that everybody trashed on 4chan. Surely, I haven't watched a shit since prologue and left it as it is.
Time passed, I've watched some other Gundam shows and out of curiosity decided to get into Witch from Mercury since it's the shortest "mainline" Gundam title. I was amazed with how I liked it. Sure, there is a main yuri pairing, but it was written naturally, without "it just happens" vibe.
So, a lot of people bash the first 10 episodes for being prologue to THE REAL GUNDHAM SHOW and that it was all pointless shit. However, I found the first 10 episodes quite entertaining. Even though we truly look at the school life, we also see political intrigues and behind-the-school intrigues of the universe.
First of all, it establish that the space is controlled by few corporations that exploit Earth and its citizens. Though we only get a glimpse of what's going on on Earth, we see that at school, where both earthnoids and spacenoids study, there's a tension between both groups, and earthnoids having a grudge against spacenoids.
Second, they establish the tension and hostility between corporations themselves. Starting from prologue episode, where the whole facility for creating Gundams was destroyed and all personnel was dealt with, to the present day, where power struggle for fortune of Benerit group was high. This lead to an unsuccessful assassination attempt to the current director of the school grounds, that was staged by the father of one of the students, after successfully becoming the groom of the said director's daughter, to seize all his fortune after their marriage. Which also shows that the rich kids here are nothing but a pawns of their high-positioned parents.
Thirdly, as the show progresses, we see how some of the people are used as a disposable Gundam operators, since in this AU, being a Gundam operator comes with the cost of their lives because of space mumbo jumbo. Also, some of them gave up their identity to escape poverty and whatnot to become another man's body double for dirty deeds and whatnots.
Ironically enough, the mechs that appear on the school grounds are brightly coloured, which contrasts to the same models that were created as war machines that have dull green or grey colours. Even though there's this stupid "school duels" rule, that makes students duel each other in Gundams, it's simply a facade for what these robots are for - military war machines. And the kids are just testing what they're capable of doing.
Surely, the tone of the first ten episodes is contrasting the tone of the grim prologue, but I think it's not that "all funny" with some real interesting plot points here and there.
It becomes more funnier when we see what's going on on the Earth with the gang of "faceless kids" that will be used as Gundam operators. There's a scene where a kid dies and it's not "UWWAAAAAAH HE'S DEAD I'LL AVENGE YOU" but a simple the kid is dead, move on. It's just the way it is for them, I guess.
Well, the show has got a happy ending, which is unique for gundam, but whatever.

But here comes the wokeness. Aside from yuri pair, there's nothing that stands out as IT'S A SHITTY WOKE SHIT. Gundam was political since the beginning and the themes of Spacenoids vs Earthnoids, discrimination, usage of kids as a tools of war, war crimes and whatnot were here since 0079 and remain in any AU. People also said that Suletta was a dumb nigger, although the mc of Turn A Gundam was a damn nigger himself.
Overall, I enjoyed the show and hate all the fags that bashed it because them being on the left side of the IQ spectrum
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WesleySnipes
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by WesleySnipes »

the first anime and the second series were sci-fi outrages with no real drama, other than a lot of conflict because the best way to start a battle is to give one enemy a gun. one must keep in mind that Gundam is an industrial show and that is why it's so safe: the entire Gundam universe is basically the same, it's about war, fighting, self-sacrifice, children and humanity, and that's what makes it classic.

It seems to me that Gundam shows all run on the same theme, there are tons of other examples.

Therefore, my greatest hope for the new Gundam is that people can start accepting that the difference between fantasy and reality is not a cultural fact or the effect of a broad cultural context or popular anime. Instead, the difference is based on how emotionally invested the viewers are in it. It's not that the differences can't be expressed in Japanese in a light-hearted way. The real point is that fantasy and reality are not defined by the media they are consumed.

the weakest link in their messages can still break through.
The dragon breathes truth into its lips, and that is what we call our natural intelligence.
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player1
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by player1 »

WesleySnipes wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:31 pm the first anime and the second series were sci-fi outrages with no real drama, other than a lot of conflict because the best way to start a battle is to give one enemy a gun. one must keep in mind that Gundam is an industrial show and that is why it's so safe: the entire Gundam universe is basically the same, it's about war, fighting, self-sacrifice, children and humanity, and that's what makes it classic.

It seems to me that Gundam shows all run on the same theme, there are tons of other examples.

Therefore, my greatest hope for the new Gundam is that people can start accepting that the difference between fantasy and reality is not a cultural fact or the effect of a broad cultural context or popular anime. Instead, the difference is based on how emotionally invested the viewers are in it. It's not that the differences can't be expressed in Japanese in a light-hearted way. The real point is that fantasy and reality are not defined by the media they are consumed.

the weakest link in their messages can still break through.
I'm not sure that saying that there's no real drama is just to Gundam. It's more like that they didn't know how to convey the whole drama aspects until later series. In concept, the way how Side 7 was destroyed, Fraw's parents were killed, Amuro's father got sucked into the vast space sounds sad, but there's no attachment to all of them at the moment. Funnier to see Matilda's death being "important" moment fot Amuro, even though we've knew her for like 4 episodes. Although Gundam is a show made for toys promotion, movie trilogy, aside from brightly coloured Gundam, is a very enjoyable experience that feels like war drama.

However, I can't deny how stale Gundam shows feel with repeating their themes. It's not a bad thing, it makes Gundam what it is. But repeating UC all over again in other AU is what makes Gundam boring and makes all fans of the series expect the good ol' HERO GETS IN A GUNDAM AND KILLS EM ALL. Especially after Wing, which setted the trend for like 3-4 series with 4-5 main Gundams being in the show. And something like G-Reco or G-Witch being different than 79, and this making them bad, thus the need in repeating the same old shit again and again
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Adolf Hitler

Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by Adolf Hitler »

Really? Gundam being 'woke'? Seems like you're reading way too much into it. I get it, we all have our own takes on things, but labeling a giant robot anime as 'woke' feels like a stretch. Maybe it's time to take a step back and appreciate the series for what it is – an epic with massive mecha battles, engaging storylines, and cool characters.

I get that interpretations can differ, but let's not overanalyze everything. Gundam has been around for decades, and it's evolved with the times. It's got depth, sure, but it's also just good entertainment. Sometimes, it's best not to inject unnecessary politics into everything.

Why not enjoy the show for the awesome robot fights and the intricate plot? It's not a political statement; it's a piece of entertainment that's managed to captivate audiences for years. So, let's take a breather, set aside the 'woke' label, and just enjoy the mechs duking it out. After all, it's just a show, not a political manifesto. 😅
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girard

Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by girard »

LOL, you say Gundam 'woke'? that's sooo funny, man. Gundam is like big robots go kicking ass, not like political science class. why make things complicated? it's for everyone, not just woke people. And, you know, it's not like Gundam made for housewives, lol. That's crazy talk! Look at the robots – they got cool designs, not like vacuum cleaners or toasters. i saw it on a show, for real. how people who make Gundam wanted it to be for everyone, not just for the kitchen. They show clips and everything, man! /ugay

So, let's not get too deep, okay? Gundam is for fun, not for making tea or cleaning up. It's like pew-pew with robots. Let's enjoy that and not make it like homework, LOL.
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Stripes

Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by Stripes »

seen bare talk bout gundam being made for housewives just coz the mechs look like kitchen gear. allow that madness innit thats some next level paranoia ting. gundams roots are in mecha and sci fi not some kitchen appliance agenda. them suits arent some sly attempt to pull in housewives. we gotta rate the depth of gundam as a series and not get gassed over surface level connexions you get me
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WesleySnipes
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by WesleySnipes »

Stripes wrote: Fri Dec 29, 2023 1:33 pm seen bare talk bout gundam being made for housewives just coz the mechs look like kitchen gear. allow that madness innit thats some next level paranoia ting. gundams roots are in mecha and sci fi not some kitchen appliance agenda. them suits arent some sly attempt to pull in housewives. we gotta rate the depth of gundam as a series and not get gassed over surface level connexions you get me
you get me, it's just average at best
The dragon breathes truth into its lips, and that is what we call our natural intelligence.
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AngelheadedHipster
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by AngelheadedHipster »

I'm vastly more interested in the opinions of a homeless drunk lying on a park bench in a puddle of his own vomit than I'm in the opinion of people who use the word "woke".
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by gabriel »

AngelheadedHipster wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2024 6:22 am I'm vastly more interested in the opinions of a homeless drunk lying on a park bench in a puddle of his own vomit than I'm in the opinion of people who use the word "woke".
I agree, it's really obnoxious to see people constantly misuse AAVE online. I understand English may not be most people's native language, but still... it's like reading nonsense.
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Krizzx
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Re: On the "wokeness" of recent Gundam

Post by Krizzx »

WesleySnipes wrote: Mon Dec 25, 2023 12:31 pm the first anime and the second series were sci-fi outrages with no real drama, other than a lot of conflict because the best way to start a battle is to give one enemy a gun. one must keep in mind that Gundam is an industrial show and that is why it's so safe: the entire Gundam universe is basically the same, it's about war, fighting, self-sacrifice, children and humanity, and that's what makes it classic.

It seems to me that Gundam shows all run on the same theme, there are tons of other examples.

Therefore, my greatest hope for the new Gundam is that people can start accepting that the difference between fantasy and reality is not a cultural fact or the effect of a broad cultural context or popular anime. Instead, the difference is based on how emotionally invested the viewers are in it. It's not that the differences can't be expressed in Japanese in a light-hearted way. The real point is that fantasy and reality are not defined by the media they are consumed.

the weakest link in their messages can still break through.
What you just described is the opposite of Gundam. The first two Gundam anime were all about drama and character interpersonal fighting. The conflict between Char and Amuro. Char's betrayal of Garma. The love triangle between Lala Sune, Char and Amuro. Giren's ambition. The original Gundam was about a geek who got forced into conflict and turned out to be really good at piloting a mech suit, but hated war. There was also always a theme of "women shouldn't fight in armed conflict" because they are prone to hysterical behavior as well(a Tomino special)

Z Gundam was all about political intrigue, and war crimes. You had 3 factions fighting against each other with all kinds of infighting and betrayals with the Zeon remnants in the background. You have the Kamille and Four(and Fa) relationship,. The leader of the Titans forces, who's name I can't remember, and his CO. Then of course, Char and Haman. Recoa...



Don't even let me get started on V Gundam.



Gundam was originally an "anti-war" anime that focused on the brutality and evil of war. Tomino heavily based it own experiences following the end of world war 2. Zeon was literally just space Nazis. The mech combat was really technical and conflicts were brutal.



Modern Gundam anime are something else entirely compared to the original. They stopped being anti-war epics about people's personal conflicts, rivalries and romances on the battlefield to just being common anime filled with common anime tropes, big explosions and flashy super weapons. The main characters never had the most powerful suits in the originals. They were always pit against superior enemies numbers or mechs and won with skill, technique and ingenuity. That takes writing skills, though. So now, all the main character have super weapons with super powers.

Gundam Wing was the first advent of the decline of Gundam. Angsty teens with super robots, giants lasers and flashy attacks everywhere. The writing is so basic on post 2k Gundam.
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