Shameful Otaku Secret!

I’ve heard that Santa often brings War in the Pocket to you /m/en out there, so here’s my penultimate (that is, uh, 11th) Moment of Anime 2009.

Yesterday I mentioned one of the going theories about Bakemonogatari: that either in Nisoisin’s original story or in the mind of Wackiyuki Shinbo, protagonist Ararararararagi became a parody and an indictment of the spineless nice-guy semi-lolicon tendencies of the viewer. It’s potent stuff; after all, we love to be talked to directly, don’t we? And most movies, books, and anime would just as soon preach at you or humor your worst qualities, so it’s almost refreshing to be sneakily made fun of.

But Bakemonogatari isn’t the first time people have thought about this. IKnight, despite claiming to reach no definite conclusion, ruined pretty much anyone’s ability to write about Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket with his breakdown of the typical “war sucks” standard that most Gundam (supposedly) carries. But despite the excellent case he makes that it’s not always as simple as that, what little Gundam I’ve seen and enjoyed is at its best when it’s making that point. War does suck, especially in a world where even the basic movement of the military devices creates huge collateral damage. And while 0080’s Al might have managed to float through a lot of serious events without grasping the full weight of that, one moment stopped him cold, and probably did the same for you.

I’m talking of course about the harrowing scene after Bernie and Chris’s battle, in which Al finally realizes who’s inside that mean old Feddie mobile suit — and what she’s done to his friend. Al’s temporary catatonia paired nicely with my own shock at the brutality of execution of that scene. It was coming since the moment Chris first entered the Gundam, but I just didn’t expect it to be so intense when it happened.

You can say what you want about war-machine fanatics making the Gundam “war sucks” experience a big ourobouros of irony, and you’d be right. But in moments like this, it’s still the king of hammering home its grim message.

Pretty sure three years is a tradition, but I couldn’t think of 12 great blogging moments for CCY’s ongoing 12 days of Christmas project this year. Fortunately, ghostlightning gave me an out by suggesting I do what he’s doing, with moments in anime instead. Even more fortunately, CCY decided to make his 12 moments this year about pretty much whatever.

The question is, can I find 12 awesome things that my true love, cartoons, gave to me this year?

Well, here’s one, and it just about makes up for any shortcomings anywhere else.

That's not the only thing amazing about this.

This year, since my own 30th anniversary of life coincided with Gundam’s, I finally took in the original, in movie form. While I’d failed at the series, and hated most of the modern Gundam creations, this one slew me. There really are a lot of moments here, and many have had their meaning memefied into oblivion. But while “mistakes of youth” and the Don Johnson suit cement Char’s place in the Pantheon of Awesome Villains, and the Brightslap sums up the “grimdark + hilarity” recipe that makes Gundam, Char on a covered wagon is an unstoppable force of madness. It’s a universe of its own, a confusing singularity of ridiculousness that should have offended me (Planet Texas? Really?) but really just had me on the rewind button for a good ten minutes.

Double Oh Nineteen hundred seventy-nine AD. The One Year War begins. Char Aznable, the Red Comet, meets the Federation’s ultimate weapon, the Gundam, for the first time. And White Base begins its long journey.

At least, that’s what happened in the animated world.

In the third dimension, something somewhat less earth-shattering happened: I was born.

Fast forward thirty years. Gundam celebrates its anniversary with a new series announcement, international Tomino appearances, and of course a giant life-size Gundam in Tokyo, while my birthday goes by without so much as an whining post.

I have, however, set out to celebrate my thirtieth year in a truly Gundam-tastic way by finally starting my journey into the grandaddy real robot franchise. I am beginning, appropriately, with the 0079 movies.

Fifty episodes for the series is a bit of a stretch for me these days, and besides — mechafetish and ghostlightning pointed me to the movies with their helpful Gateway Gundam Chooser®.

I’m partially through the second movie, but rather than keep waiting to post, I thought I’d get out my impressions of the first.

(more…)