tsurara

So I picked up an issue of PASH! against my own better judgement. In spite of it having a Code Geass cover, the lead story actually is on Gundam 00. Read it last night before bed...

Some background-- PASH! is an anime magazine for women. When I say "women", I mean incredibly lonely unmarried doujinshi authors who eat instant ramen for dinner every night and wear the same socks for weeks at a time. Taking that into account, perhaps this information is "biased"... but Gundam 00 is shaping out to be pretty... well... fanservicey.

Exhibit A:

Character designs by Kouga Yun.

Kouga Yun is the shoujo/Boy's Love artist responsible for Loveless (BL), Eathian (BL), Genji (shoujo/BL), Gestalt (shoujo, w/gender swapping), Crown (shoujo). She also began her career as a member of a Boy's Love doujinshi circle that slashed mainly Naruto (Kakashi/Iruka), Neon Gensis Evangelion (Kaworu/Shinji), and Yu Yu Hakusho (Kurama/Hiei, Karasu/Kurama).


Exhibit B:

This:



larger version in the gallery here: http://www.animeonline.net/gallery/s...9/limit/recent

Follow the eyelines... pairings are already implied

The promotion material nearly always shows Setsuna and Rockon next to one another and Tieria and Areruya are always together too... Ages and heights match the "rule of BL" (meaning that one partner is older/taller and is dominant)

Even their colors are complimentary: Blue/Green and Orange/Purple


Exhibit C:

Setsuna = stoic, raised within a constantly warring society, desensitized to violence, short, arabic, the "shotacon" character, messy black hair (ie. Heero + Quatre)

Lockon = always smiling, open, from a Western country, longish brunette hair, blue-eyed, "brother"-figure (ie. Duo)

Areruya = stoic, muscular, tall, quiet, spikey bangs completely obscuring one eye (ie. Trowa)

Tieria = "femenine", mysterious, stoic, quiet, "beautiful"... (we'll call him Wufei, though he's actually probably just another concession to fangirls... from the way he's being described and promoted and lack of an appropriate corresponding female character, he may ACTUALLY turn out to be gay)

There are obvious love-interests in the cast for two of the four, but that's never stopped the fangirls before:

Feruto is obviously meant for Setsuna, since they're the only two similarly-aged characters and seem intentionally designed to look pretty together.

Christina is likely for Lockon but doesn't seem "iconic" enough to end up being a main love interest. Maybe Sumeragi or Marina? (Whichever doesn't end up with Lockon will likely end up with Patrick)

That leaves Wan Lu Min for one of the boys who's left... and one boy out in the cold...

Just like Quatre in Wing.

Final male to Female ratio - 11:7

Wing's "friendly" sort of racism is also present with Chinese characters who wear traditional chinese clothing around for no explicable reason and wear hairstyles that actual Chinese people haven't used for over a hundred years. They'll probably also have ridiculous accents.

I'm more certain than ever that this is the 2nd shot at "shoujo Gundam", Wing being the first. My friend Matt is squirming in his seat, convinced that this is going to implode into a giant cascade of "emo girly bullshit"... October is very far away.


Predictions -

Who's going to die: Lockon (the big snuffly death, near the end), Patrick, one or all of the "Japan" high school students (since they seem like perfectly well, adjusted and happy children... just the sort who are easily used to illustrate the horrors of war), Graham, 2 of the following - Christina, Rasse, Rihitendaaru (cockpit fodder)

The big doujinshi pairings: Lock/Set, Al/Ti, Mariana/Feruto, faceless gangs/Sumeragi (the "boob" character)

Speaking of breasts... Feruto is only 14 and she's a D-cup >_< argh!

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Ochi Gate

oh my god......

i totally see what youre sayng about pairings judging my theire eyes. god, please don't be "emo girly bullshit"good line, that one...

ahhh, i really really REALLY hope you are overthinking all this, but you probably arent. i guess i paid too much attention to the mecha and not enough on the characters....

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Kenshinzen

As long as we don't end up with a damned love story thrown in, and just get onto the decent bits. Like mecha. And explosions. And hot robot-on-robot action (you all know what I mean). The I'll be happy.
Just please tell me this thread is meant as a wind up, because if this actually turns into a 'gundam for girls' I'll just have to leave the entire thing alone for a long, long time. And return to Eva. Again.

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Ochi Gate

nicely put, well done. and especially the EVA part.
all the gundam stories had a little bit of love story, but i just hope it doesnt run the story.

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Kenshinzen

I agree there should be some love interest-thingy going on. It makes the characters more human, and easier to connect to. But enough is enough.
Mind you, if we get a 'gundam for girls' can I have a 'gundam for guys'. Would be the following (don't read if you have a sensitive nature. You have been warned!)


And if you read that, I hope you have the same sense of humour as myself. And can understand my opinion about this sort of thing.
Have fun!

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tsurara

It exists :P it's called "Simone"

And I would actually appreciate lesbians in Gundam very much

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ketaro

Dude, lesbians in a Gundam series would be the coolest thing ever. Though, they wouldn't show any lesbian hand to hand combat (if you get what i am saying).

Kenshinzen

Unless your trained in self defence, never, ever ever get involved in hand-to-hand combat with a lass. You may not survive with your eyes intact.

And never mind about the women, the point still stands about my views on a 'Gundam for Girls'.

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ketaro

It sounds like you had a bad experience with a lass.

Well, Gundam for girls doesn't sound bad. I mean, all Gundam series are for the most part oriented towards male audience. So, it wouldn't hurt having one for chicks.

Kenshinzen

First point: I didn't have a bad experience with a lass. I just happen to like one that can break my arm in three places as a hobby. She's still fun though.

Second point: how many lasses do you know that are interested in giant robots smashing the lights out of each other? Yes, I know there are some, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. And if we have a serious thats trying to get lasses into 'mecha' in general: good. But don't make it so that its so abviously designed for that role.

And I probably made no sense there. Oh well, back to eating something. Maybe cards...

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ketaro

It made sense man.

Aside from the lesbian issue. What i find interesting about this new Gundam series is the fact that one of the pilots has middle eastern roots.