I got the idea for this post while reading John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War, but knowledge thereof isn’t required, and I’ll try not to spoil it too badly. Suffice to say that I’ll mostly deal with that Japanese stuff I’m always on about, as it’s full of counterexamples to things Scalzi does that I don’t especially like.
Archive for the ‘Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam’ Category
Complex feelings about moral complexity (or, A paean to Paptimus-sama)
Posted 20 May 2010Zeta Gundam in the history of violence
Posted 18 January 2010I’m twelve episodes into Zeta Gundam (which is in turn the fifth series in my project to acquaint myself, finally, with UC Gundam), and I suppose it’s about time that I started collecting my thoughts. I’d probably misplace them otherwise, and that wouldn’t do.
What strikes me (lolpun) about Zeta is the willingness of its characters to slap the hell out of each other. As in 0079, much of the non-mecha physical violence we see in Zeta occurs between people on the same side — and, as in 0079, it serves as a reminder that people on the same side don’t always or even typically get along, that “sides” are deceptively arbitrary. But Zeta takes it to the limit. Here, physical violence between allies is an institution.
