Gundam Seed: The Good Fight
Nov. 1st, 2004 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandrootSeed presents us with some very clear distinctions between the different ways different people fight. And while war is consistently shown to be horrible, stupid and useless--both genocidal and suicidal, in the final analysis--fighting itself is presented as both necessary and effective.
At least, some kinds of fighting.
One pair that demonstrates different methods is Maryu and Natal. We might characterize this as tech vs. line. Maryu thinks a lot, and, in combat, she often thinks too much. Her hesitation to commit immediately to violence puts her ship at risk more than once. Natal is a far better war-leader. Natal does that, though, by being devoted to an extremely simplified world-view of enemy=target=fire. In an ill-defined, free floating operation such as the Archangel finds itself muddling through Natal would be a catastrophically poor ship-master, as she does not have the flexibility to act as independently as Maryu does.
Together they make an excellent command team, and I think they realize it. They may not agree until the fatal end, but they respect each other's strengths.
Another pair is, of course, Kira and Athrun, demonstrating civilian versus military mindset. Kira is invincibly (and I use that word advisedly) civilian. He does not fit into the military system, and the whole concept of military discipline rather shocks him. He consistently acts on his own, without or against orders--returning Lux to an Orb ship is a good example. And even as he returns to the Archangel from that errand, he denounces any connection to the military. Kira is very much the grit in the military gears. Athrun, however, has been through military training. He has assimilated the idea that the other side is the enemy, and the enemy is out to kill you, and therefore you must kill them first. To be sure, his mother's death lends some personal credence to that idea. Kira showing up on the other side shows that this equation is not always true, but it still takes Athrun a while to shake off his conditioning.
This brings us to what types of fighting GSeed shows to be useful.
Military style fighting, with its order of enemy, objectives and chain of command, is demonstrated not only to not work but to be actively counter-productive to the avowed goals of the fight--to protect. Everyone who attempts to fight within the military system finds themselves on course for self-destruction and own-side-destruction, as Natal demonstrates.
What does work is fighting for one's personal convictions, and with friends. This is where Kira starts, and where Athrun joins him, followed eventually by both Dyaka and Issac. Letting someone else make your choices for you, the story tells us, is deadly; that is the trap that all of our characters must deal with, and the responsibility that the successful ones take on.
Note that successful does not necessarily equal living, at the end.
Nor is successful fighting a matter of One Against The World. Individuals band together according to their common moral convictions. One of which, on the successful side, is that war, and the xenophobia that thinks only of what color someone's uniform is before shooting, are both hideous and monumentally brainless. Another of which is that those who can fight must protect non-combatants on all sides as best they can.
While war is clearly stupid, short-sighted and wrong GSeed never devalues fighting itself.
Orb holds out by having superior firepower. The Seedlings are successful because they have better equipment and an extra level of ability to call on--ability arising from what amounts to bio-weapons research. The war is halted, and the threat of mutual annihilation averted, by fighting.
I would also observe, however, that the mover behind it all, the organizer and agitator, the one who sees what's happening and takes action--that is, Lux--is not primarily a physical fighter. Her greatest weapon is her perception, and her most abiding advantage is her status as an idol. She can speak and be listened to, and speak she does. And only because she holds the center can the fighters in the suits be effective.
At least, some kinds of fighting.
Example Pairs
One pair that demonstrates different methods is Maryu and Natal. We might characterize this as tech vs. line. Maryu thinks a lot, and, in combat, she often thinks too much. Her hesitation to commit immediately to violence puts her ship at risk more than once. Natal is a far better war-leader. Natal does that, though, by being devoted to an extremely simplified world-view of enemy=target=fire. In an ill-defined, free floating operation such as the Archangel finds itself muddling through Natal would be a catastrophically poor ship-master, as she does not have the flexibility to act as independently as Maryu does.
Together they make an excellent command team, and I think they realize it. They may not agree until the fatal end, but they respect each other's strengths.
Another pair is, of course, Kira and Athrun, demonstrating civilian versus military mindset. Kira is invincibly (and I use that word advisedly) civilian. He does not fit into the military system, and the whole concept of military discipline rather shocks him. He consistently acts on his own, without or against orders--returning Lux to an Orb ship is a good example. And even as he returns to the Archangel from that errand, he denounces any connection to the military. Kira is very much the grit in the military gears. Athrun, however, has been through military training. He has assimilated the idea that the other side is the enemy, and the enemy is out to kill you, and therefore you must kill them first. To be sure, his mother's death lends some personal credence to that idea. Kira showing up on the other side shows that this equation is not always true, but it still takes Athrun a while to shake off his conditioning.
.
Useful Fighting
This brings us to what types of fighting GSeed shows to be useful.
Military style fighting, with its order of enemy, objectives and chain of command, is demonstrated not only to not work but to be actively counter-productive to the avowed goals of the fight--to protect. Everyone who attempts to fight within the military system finds themselves on course for self-destruction and own-side-destruction, as Natal demonstrates.
What does work is fighting for one's personal convictions, and with friends. This is where Kira starts, and where Athrun joins him, followed eventually by both Dyaka and Issac. Letting someone else make your choices for you, the story tells us, is deadly; that is the trap that all of our characters must deal with, and the responsibility that the successful ones take on.
Note that successful does not necessarily equal living, at the end.
Nor is successful fighting a matter of One Against The World. Individuals band together according to their common moral convictions. One of which, on the successful side, is that war, and the xenophobia that thinks only of what color someone's uniform is before shooting, are both hideous and monumentally brainless. Another of which is that those who can fight must protect non-combatants on all sides as best they can.
While war is clearly stupid, short-sighted and wrong GSeed never devalues fighting itself.
Orb holds out by having superior firepower. The Seedlings are successful because they have better equipment and an extra level of ability to call on--ability arising from what amounts to bio-weapons research. The war is halted, and the threat of mutual annihilation averted, by fighting.
I would also observe, however, that the mover behind it all, the organizer and agitator, the one who sees what's happening and takes action--that is, Lux--is not primarily a physical fighter. Her greatest weapon is her perception, and her most abiding advantage is her status as an idol. She can speak and be listened to, and speak she does. And only because she holds the center can the fighters in the suits be effective.
