flayallstertorturedmind

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Been thinking about Gundam SEED lately and how i think its both simultaneously one of the greatest entries in the franchise and one of my least favorite Gundam shows.

I think what bothers me the most is how Cosmic Era has some of the most comprehensive world-building outside of UC and how it all kind of gets abandoned as the show progresses.

It’s hard to articulate, but the original SEED world is so well thought out. Artificially Enhanced Humans creates a genetic disparity which results in conflict. Humans being Humans, they throw nukes at the problem, so the Smarter (sic) Humans create a technology that renders nuclear power null and void. This in turn results in the development of battery-powered mobile suits; super weapons that can only be effectively controlled by the Genetically Superior Humans.

This all makes sense. And all that follows is logical. Of course the MS stay plugged in until the last possible second of launch, to maximize battery life. Of course they use physical weaponry, for the same reason.

And this in turn leads to the Earth Alliance developing weapons that have special armor that nullifies physical weapons. They perfect energy efficient beam weapons to have a one-up on their enemy, but their natural use OS isn’t perfected until the SUPER coordinator helps develop it. (Also maybe the neutral nation also develops it simultaneously, but I digress)

And the mobile suits of ZAFT are logical. Of course the ground types use a more stable quadruped design. Of course the underwater suits use a solid shell chassis, and sound-based weaponry.

I like how they draw attention to the fact that beam weaponry has a higher attenuation rate in atmosphere. I like how they make an issue that a mobile suit designed for space combat would need its auto-balancers readjusted for desert combat. I like how all the 1st gen Earth MS are based on the Strike, the one mobile suit they still had access to. (I like how the M1 Astrays are all based on the MBF prototypes for the same reason)

I enjoy how well thought out everything was and explained within the series and I get annoyed how it all gets sidelined for bigger spectacle and drama. And stuff stops making sense. I can see how Stargazer works; mirage colloid particles create a solar sail for interstellar travel when hit by a giant space laser. I can see that. So how does that turn into whatever the fuck the Destiny does? How is that the same system?

I hate how everything devolves into “everything is Gundam”. SEED has a spectacular MSV catalogue, but all the animation focuses on is Gundam Beam Spam. (And that’s a shame, because almost no other Gundam does large epic battlefields like SEED does.)

I dunno. The power scaling jumps the shark somewhere around the end of the first series, and by the time we get to SEED Freedom, it becomes basically meaningless.

I know other Gundam shows have fantastical technology; psycho-frames and GN Drives and GUND format and whatnot. But almost every time that stuff is baked in from the start and remains consistent throughout, or has some logical progression to it. SEED seems to just be chasing “how can we make this even more badass?” and it loses its credibility in the process. We’re left with Jesus Yamato in his rebaked Strike Freedom and his “beats everything” forehead laser. For a show that started on the premise of “let’s take away the nuclear-powered robots and see what happens” it seems like a betrayal of what was actually a beautifully grounded and self-actualized Gundam AU.

I still like SEED. I still think it’s deserving of its popularity. I’m just…disillusioned with it.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Another OTP of mine.  This one’s Kira and Fllay from Gundam SEED.

This one had such potential for the sequel series, it’s a shame they wasted all the character elements of, quite honestly, BOTH of them in Destiny.

 Wish I knew the source.  It’s so damn cute!

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Went into the Gundam Seed tag for the first time in a while, and the "What would Gundam Seed be like from Fllay's point of view?" anon is still active??? Tumblr is truly a liminal place~

[flayallstertorturedmind]

I wish Flay had survived Gundam Seed. She had so much potential. Would have loved to see her reuniting with Lacus and treating her better.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

What if 'Gundam SEED' was told from Flay's point of view? How would they approach it? Would it have been better?

Fmm, フレイの視点で語られたとしたら、さらに多面的で深みのある物語になったかもしれませんね

私もSEEDをリアルタイムで観ていたわけではなく、追っている最中なので、あまりエッジの効いたコメントはできないのです. フレイをもっと掘り下げて描写するのは良い方法だっただろうなと私も感じました

[flayallstertorturedmind]

What if 'Gundam SEED' was told from Flay's point of view? How would they approach it? Would it have been better?

I've been expecting you....

So- right off the bat I think SEED would 100% be improved by focusing more on Flay and coming from her PoV. Do I think the people who wrote SEED could pull that off? No, that would require actually empathizing with teenage girls. But for the sake of pretend, I'd imagine focus on the upbringing that Flay had and what kind of man her father was (who I do not think was a good person) and how she was brought up to hate. I'd also want to see more scenes of actual substance from her time with ZAFT, seeing her get used to being surrounded by Coordinators and not just getting manipulated by Rau.

Also for as much as I kinda dump on Lacus, I think it's a huge missed opportunity to never have them interact with the roles reversed from when Lacus was rescued by the Archangel. Have Flay interact with Lacus outside the context of Kira.

I also would hope that Flay-focused SEED would do more with her than just fridge her for Kira's sake. She had a lot of room to grow and develop outside of her relationship with Kira and it felt like they really wasted her potential as one of the more interesting characters on the show.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Okay so thoughts on Gundam SEED-

I want to start by saying I actually really enjoyed it! It was fun- and I kinda live for the trashy melodrama and soap opera writing. But it did take a while for me to get invested, I think around half way through the series it actually started to sink it's claws in me.

See, I really struggled to get invested during the first half of the show when it was just a beat-for-beat retelling of UC. If I wanted to watch Mobile Suit Gundam, I'd watch Mobile Suit Gundam. I understand that this may have been an effort to reintroduce MSG to new, younger audiences, but it felt more like they didn't have enough faith in their original material to let it stand on it's own (and for the record, I think the added framing of spacenoid eugenics is really dumb and really bad). And it's a bit of a shame because I think when the show does stand more on it's original material it's actually much better for it (minus the eugenics)!

Now I don't think SEED is a particularly smart show with a lot to say. I think it's honestly really dumb and has some... vaguely and uncomfortably nationalist undertones to it, but I did find it to be enjoyable. I absolutely live for the drama, I was on board for the romances and all of that. The way I legitimately gasped at the reveal of Rau's identity- it was engaging to me! It was fun! I've grown attached to this cast in a way I didn't think I would. Almost a shame though, because I hear Destiny is a pretty bad time for all of my favs.

Athrun and Cagalli were easily my favorite parts of the show. Imo, they are by far the most interesting characters (Flay too but they did her dirty). Athrun is much more of what I wanted out of a protagonist and I think that's the benefit of being a more original character. Kira always felt like Amuro 2.0 but with nothing really new to say. Athrun on the other hand has a real struggle! He's conflicted and messy and figuring shit out and I understand why he's not the main character but god I wish he was.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Did Kira ever find out Flay was manipulating him?

I honestly don't think he did. Kira breaks up with Flay EP 29, but it isn't because he thinks she was manipulating him. It was because he was done with the relationship and the stress it brought on. Kira is a volatile, emotional character and he was disassociating with everything around him at that point. We see that he still cares for Flay throughout Gundam SEED, and especially when she dies. Gundam SEED FREEDOM, we apparently can confirm based on Fukuda's comments that Kira has a picture of Flay that inspired Agnes to copy Flay's hair colour in hopes of attracting him. So it is safe to say that Kira continued to believe Flay loved him.

While she was manipulating him in the beginning, I think they both caught feelings early on and the feelings stayed. Kira liked Flay from Episode 1 onward. Flay did think Kira was cute but caught feelings later on. It was right person, wrong time. Very wrong time.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

If you'd like, you can explain why in the comments/reblogs.

[flayallstertorturedmind]

I just can't stop thinking about Flay's Cell DX card:

[flayallstertorturedmind]

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR GUNDAM SEED. -MISAKI

Keep reading

[flayallstertorturedmind]

Either of them will do.

seed enjoyers should i watch the original or the remaster

[flayallstertorturedmind]

So, just to be clear, Kira never knew he was being manipulated by Flay, right?

[flayallstertorturedmind]

seed enjoyers should i watch the original or the remaster

[flayallstertorturedmind]

So, just to be clear, Kira never knew he was being manipulated by Flay, right?

[flayallstertorturedmind]

How do you think it would have played out if Flay Allster somehow survived in Seed?

I like the Flay Allster questions. I think the biggest difference might have been that Kira wouldn't have spiralled so much and had so much depression and dependency in DESTINY and FREEDOM. Kira's biggest hang up is that the most important parts of his past never had closure. Flay? Dead before he could really have a final conversation with her. Rau? Dead in battle, before he could really understand what Rau meant. Durandal? Dead, before Kira could even find out if he really believed in absolute freedom of choice or if Durandal was right. He ends up being depressed and disclosed in Destiny because of it. The show won't go into detail, because we never see Kira bring up Flay, his childhood friends, or his trauma again... but it is quite obvious that Flay dying did damage to him. Damage that isn't fixed until Freedom, 3 years later. Even then, he has extreme co-dependency on Lacus and panics if she is taken away.

He would have had the chance to say goodbye to Flay, or to stay with her. He would have had the chance to really get closure with his friend group, or part of his past in Heliopolis.

I think if Flay had somehow survived, it would have been either Kira successfully rescuing her, or her never having been in Rau's way. She would have gotten aboard an Earth Forces vessel safely. Or aboard the Archangel. She would have had the chance to work past her issues.

I think in specific I would have liked this scenario:

When Flay is aboard the Dominion, she is released on a safety pod. Instead of being in harms way, Kira rescues the safety pod like he did the other time. It's a perfect call back to when he rescued Flay the first time. And he takes her back to the Archangel, where Flay is able to say her apologies to Sai and Miriallia. It gives her the opportunity to correct her wrongs there. When the battle ends, Kira also boards the Archangel, where he and Flay smile at each other - and the show ends with that.

I really, truly, 100% hope that Flay would have been able to apologize to Kira, and that they would try to build a relationship again. It is fanciful thinking, but she was a character who really pushed Kira's boundaries. In ways that no one else did. I also like to think that under these new circumstances, where she is finally moving on from her hatred of Coordinators, and her issues from earlier, she could connect to new characters. She and Cagalli have one thing in common at this point - both have lost a father who they loved, even if they saw them very little. It would be the perfect way to have Flay become involved in Orb's military, to find a role to suit her. I think even if Kira were to be with Lacus, she would have matured enough after everything she went through at the latter half of Seed.

In Destiny, it could have meant her being able to play a better supporting role.

But such things didn't happen. :(

Thank you for the question! I'm really enjoying these Gundam Seed questions.