#Gundam Tristan

[gremoria411]

Alright, given that I haven’t rewatched Gundam Narrative yet, let’s talk about something I did watch this week.

*Spoilers ahead*

Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight Axis: Red Blur, an 26 minute ova which adds new scenes to the original Twilight Axis, making it actually coherent in the process. The plot of Gundam Twilight Axis concerns three main characters:

Mehmet Merca - Earth Federation special forces commander, who’s been tasked to investigate the remains of the Axis Asteroid base to recover any evidence of psycho-frame or other newtype weaponry. IE the wreckage of the Sazabi. Despite what you may think, he’s actually a very nice and reasonable guy.

Arlette Almage - Formerly Char’s personal mobile suit mechanic throughout the One Year War and Char’s Counterattack (Second Neo Zeon War), though she did not join him in the AEUG. Also a Newtype from the Flanagan Institute (though apparently not a patch on Lahlah, the star pupil of the Flanagan Institute). Char personally handpicked her from Zeon’s Flanagan Institute when she was a young girl, so she views him as something approaching a father figure (honestly it’s a little unclear). This translates to her wanting to know what happened to him, which is the reason she helps Mehmet Merca to help navigate Axis.

Danton Hyleg - Formerly Char’s personal test pilot. Happily retired with Arlette, and is mostly along to support her. As he’s significantly older than her (at least ten years), he has a more realistic view of Char, outright telling him around the time of CCA it would’ve been better if he hadn’t come back to them. A very good pilot, but unable to actually pull the trigger and kill someone.

Overall, I’d say it’s pretty good, it does just enough with the time it’s got for you to be invested in these characters, and it’s got some good action scenes. It can’t disguise the fact that it’s got a very low budget (there’s a lot of scenes where you can’t see people’s faces, so they don’t have to animate lip movements), but it knows where to prioritise. I do like how even though it’s technically a set up for a later antagonist, it keeps focus on the actual characters first. Twilight Axis was originally a light novel and was adapted into an OVA and Manga. I have read a translation of the Light Novel and found it very good, since it fleshes out a lot of stuff missing from the OVA (IE Birnam’s motivations), to the point where I could honestly consider twilight axis a very good advert for it. The Manga adaptation, which I haven’t read, also looks very good. I’m given to understand that Arlette and Danton also cameo in MSV-R: the Return of Johnny Ridden, which is neat. The reason I’m pairing it with Narrative is that I view them both in similar lights - after unicorn showed off how utterly ridiculous psycho-frames can be in the right hands, we’re left with the question of what happens between now and F91 onwards for it never to be used or spoken of again. Both Narrative and Twilight Axis deal with the fallout of Psycho-frame mobile suits such that we can understand why it was sealed away and not further developed. Or, as I like to think of them, they’re curatorial works, made to answer some lingering questions.

However, I have two main non-ms design criticisms of the story - The First, and most forgivable, is that we’re not really given any information on the enemy pilots, the Fermo Brothers. I’m more forgiving of this because I think the manga fleshed them out more, and you don’t really need that much information. The Second criticism is both petty and bothersome to me, because it’s entirely likely it’s borne from my own assumptions. The Flanagan Institute, where Char headhunts Arlette, is shown to be performing inhumane experiments on children, with one of the bosses explicitly mentioning “disposal”. What bothers me about this is that to my knowledge this is basically the only piece of evidence that ever shows the Flanagan Institute to be abusive. Why does that matter? Because central to Zeon’s stated philosophy is that of the newtype, a new type of human adapted for space with the ability to sense, communicate and emphasise with others over long distances. The Federations’ refusal to recognise the newtype is synonymous to their refusal to recognise the autonomy of the colonies. The Federation refuses to recognise the capacity of mankind to evolve past it’s need for the Earth, since (as many characters are fond of saying) their souls are still bound down by gravity. So the revelation that the Flanagan institute, Zeon’s shining beacon of Newtype advancement, needed to resort to the mass death of children for its newtypes just completely undermines that. We know newtypes can naturally awaken in combat, but nowhere is it suggested that they *need* to, with both Challia Bull and Paptimus Scirocco basically just showing up, with no indication of harrowing battles beforehand. Furthermore, it also completely undercuts another notable organisation in Gundam, the Titans, who actually do resort to the kind of inhumane practices shown here. Why? Because they view Newtypes as nothing more than weapons, further demonstrating their utter contempt for spacenoids, having twisted one of the central facets of spacenoid independence into just another tool of oppression, with all the dehumanisation that implies. But if they’re just following off Zeon’s playbook for the “production” of newtypes, then it implies that newtypes aren’t actually a development for humanity at all, simply a reaction to large-scale trauma. I know Victory and other later UC shows went back on the Newtype philosophy a bit, but they (Zeon) knew from essentially day one that it wasn’t it? It just throws into question why a lot of the success stories of the Flanagan institute would even stay with Zeon, if that’s how they were treated (and it turns newtypes into the whole “super soldiers through trauma” thing, which…. I see a lot in fiction, and I bothers me a little that this is the route they decided to go for).

But enough quibbling about a whole 14 seconds of animation, what do I think of the mobile suit designs? These are arranged favourite to least favourite (though to be honest I’m not particularly crazy about most of the offerings here), and do not include the R-Jarja (I’ll cover it if I ever talk about Neo Zeon/Axis Zeon or the Gyan). Given that most of these suits are variations, I’ll typically discuss my feelings on their original counterparts as well. I’m using the Novel Artwork, since I generally prefer it (and image limits), but this applies to both versions of the designs.

First up, the AMX-011S Zaku III Custom. Straight-up my favourite mobile suit here (though that doesn’t mean a whole lot….) I like the Zaku III because it’s chunky, well armed and proof that even Neo Zeon is not immune to nostalgia. True, it gets outclassed during the First Neo Zeon War by all the 4th-Gen mobile suits running around, but it’s still a very solid design. I like how the Zaku II-to-Hizack-to-Zaku III-to Geara Doga-to-Geara Zulu line plays out too, with each one having slightly different characteristics. I have a very mixed views on Char’s custom mobile suits - which I like, because I enjoy judging the suits mostly on their own merits, rather than on who’s piloting them (key word being “mostly”). That said, occasionally one of Char’s suits can end up being a really baller design, which I just adore. Sadly, the Zaku III Custom shown here is not one such design, though I do like the idea of Char Piloting a Zaku III for whatever reason, hence it’s inclusion here. It’s actually quite nice, since it’s a relic of Char that the two characters attach value to, a momento of their time together, that nonetheless must be left behind on Axis. Just like Char.

Note: GB02’s decision to spit out a Byarlant Isolde at me is essentially the reason for this entire post, since I was forced to actually formulate an opinion on the blasted thing, having been utterly apathetic towards it until now.

The Original Byarlant is a suit I’ve gone back-and-forth on over time, disliking to tolerating to (generally) liking. It’s got a very unique silhouette to it, and I like how it essentially ended up a high-mobility suit with so much of its body devoted to thrust, and you can believe it’s high mobility, since it’s so many thrusters that can move and swivel to precisely direct the suit where it needs to go. The head’s pretty gorgeous and I like how inhuman it is, along with the Byarlants hands and feet. It’s got a very minimalist armament - just two beam sabers and beam guns (strong beam guns, mind), but I find this only adds to its sleek feel. It looks like someone wanted a war machine that was also a race car. The colours are both villainous, appropriate for a Titans machine, and eye-catching, with the yellow drawing your eye to the face, and the red highlighting either thrusters or limbs, again emphasising it’s mobility. I do like how the feet look both delicate and weighty at the same time - they’re both designed for high speed and yet don’t look like they’d struggle to hold up the suit itself.

The Byarlant Isolde takes several features from the later Byarlant Custom - chiefly the shoulder thrusters and back fuel tanks, creating the sense that Birnam was able to get their hands on some new parts, but not enough to fully upgrade the Byarlant. I will say that I absolutely adore the new colour scheme - I didn’t expect to like a lilac and white mobile suit this much, but somehow the Isolde makes it all work. I should note that the Byarlant is similarly outdated to the rest of the mobile suits present, however, The Titans and Neo Zeon didn’t have that much of a tech gap, chiefly since Neo Zeon declared war basically right after the Titans defeat. They undoubtedly had an edge in Newtype weaponry and heavily armed mobile suits, but from a practical standpoint, a high performance suit from the latter days of the Gryps War is probably going to stand a better chance than a Grunt unit from the Neo Zeon war. The Byarlant was always a fast suit, so this makes even more sense. This is why it slightly baffles me that the Tristan is considered Birnam’s best unit, but I’ll talk more about that later. Though I do like the original Byarlant’s head, I find the Isolde’s Gundam-style head to be growing on me. It’s likely a more advanced head than the original Byarlant, and likely better suited for its environment of a dense asteroid base (in UC, Monoeyes tend to be better at range, whereas Twin-eyes are better in close quarters (it’s to do with target tracking at differing ranges), though it’s not a large enough difference for it to get called out). It was likely also chosen for the lingering psychological effects it may have on any former Zeon or Neo-Zeon personnel they might run into while investigating axis - appropriate, since the Titans also dabbled in that. I will say that the new head gives the Isolde and absolutely wonderful silhouette - the sunken red-on-white eyes make it look very imposing and it reminds me of some of the head designs from Gundam Sentinel (the geometric nature of its V-fin also helps with the intimidation factor in my opinion, though I’m not really certain why).

The Ahava Azieru is a weird one. I know basically nothing about the design or it’s origin, and even it’s general form is unclear. It’s a mobile armour that I can only assume is patterned after the Neue Ziel, but when I first read the novel, I assumed it was some sort of prototype to the Alpha Azieru, so I’ve no idea what it could be a derivative of. It’s very well armed, and it seems to have at least some common design features of Late-UC Mobile Armours. I do like how it can essentially afford to sit back and throw beams at its opponents, but it seems remarkably slow for a MA (though that could be down to the pilot). It seems to have the design of a dragon, with its large winglike shields and funnel tail, which is an odd decision, since it’s ally, the R-Jarja is mentioned multiple times as being a “Knight”, an enemy of a dragon. Yet Arlette uses it to communicate with the enemy pilot, so they don’t come into conflict? It’s an odd thing. I do very much love the head (perhaps I have a thing for inhuman head designs in Gundam, though it’s awkward to see in relation to the rest of it).

The Jegan (Birnam Type). It’s a purple Jegan with a custom visor and rifle, used by Birnam. While it’s nice that it’s giving us a preview of what the Crossbone Vanguard’s suits will eventually look like (it’s rifle resembles a shot lancer somewhat), it honestly doesn’t do anything. It could have been replaced with any other grunt suit and it would have been the same (I’ve gone off the Jegan’s design a touch as of late, so forgive me if I’ve little to say on this one).

Finally, the Gundam AN-01 “Tristan” (typically just called the Tristan) and Kurwenal. Since the Kurwenal is an add-on to the Tristan, I figured I’d cover them together. This is also because although the Kurwenal is my least favourite design, I have more to say on the Tristan itself. I find the Kurwenal to just be boring honestly. It’s a bunch of missiles and Newtype tech bolted to the Tristan, relying on overwhelming firepower as opposed to anything else. I don’t like it’s colour scheme or it’s form at all, it feels too much like a toy with its blue and red colours and blocky psycommu claws. While it’s 5-tube beam pods make for a good visual, I can’t really appreciate them because they’re just a box that shoots scattering beams. There’s no design or artistry to them like there is with funnels, those agile and adaptable little attack drones. Lastly, when it gets broken up the Tristan just sits there. I’m not saying I expected it to leap out and continue the fight, it just looked so very goofy that I couldn’t take it seriously as a weapon. Onto the actual Tristan then. The novel art does help it a little but……. It’s just so boring. It’s the NT-1 Alex repaired with parts that make it look more like the MK-II. Performance-wise, the Byarlant Isolde was probably better-performing than it. It looks very generic, especially when compared to other Gundam-type mobile suits. Part of it might be that it exists at a time when 4th-Gen MS are all the range, while it’s only a 2nd gen at best. But the way it’s presented as Birnam’s big trump card is just silly when it’s roughly two wars out of date. It almost got taken out immediately by the Zaku III custom and only survived because the pilot couldn’t pull the trigger. I guess it’s supposed to represent the Gundam’s legacy in the same way that the Zaku represents Char’s legacy? But it’s basically the only Gundam that neither Char or Amuro had anything to do with, so that line of thinking falls a bit flat. It’s just overall dull.

Oddly so, even, because despite it changing very little, I find that I prefer its predecessor, the Gundam NT-1 “Alex” considerably. Part of it might be the older style of design, the well-defined place that the Alex has - it’s a nice piece of Late-OYW design, being cutting-edge and (spec-wise) able to give pretty much anything of the same time period a run for it’s money in the right hands. It feels like something between the RX-78 and the Gundam Development Project (Gp01, etc) and I like how elegant it feels, without losing any of that all-important weight. It feels like a space-specialist Gundam, counterbalancing the Gundam Ground Types from 08th MS team, with its extra ambac thrusters, compact and powerful backpack and general blue colourscheme. It’s well-used, since it shows the Federation moving to capitalise on their strengths and how desperate Zeon is at that stage of the war to stop things getting any worse. It also further demonstrates the massive power disparity between a Gundam and many of Zeon’s mobile suits, only being destroyed through great sacrifice and luck. That might just be it, the Tristan has too many recycled elements for me to look at it as it’s own thing, and it’s missing all those finer details from the Alex, so it just looks lesser by comparison. It’s little more than a charismatic grunt, compared to the absolute terrifying monster that was the Alex.

[feyronsk]

Gundam Tristan Custom (Dagger Type)

[bumbleinmyrums]

A personal favorite project of mine, kitbashing the hg Tristan and MK II together for a really fun look

[therosecrest]

[ishneak]

Athrun/Cagalli: Duty and the death of love vs. Love and the death of duty in Gundam

about two years ago, i had an in-depth discussion on Reddit on the relationship between Athrun and Cagalli and how much it mirrors Tristan and Isolde (or Game Of Thrones' Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen if you'd like but i was never too pleased with the execution of the eventual conclusion of that show). in fact a lot of themes appear to be lifted off Richard Wagner's works specifically the names of some weapons or items in SEED/CE but what seems to be the most apparent is the uncanny similarity of the predicament that the Red Knight of ZAFT and the Orb Princess find themselves in (you could argue Athrun is a kind of Prince being the son of former Chairman Zala) like Wagner's tragic lovers fated to be kept apart.

Cagalli needed to reject Athrun (and the free spirited galivanting with her rebellious TSA friends) so she could focus on the grown-up role as head of state of Orb. at the same time she probably did not want to give Athrun a reason to fall behind, allowing him room to grow into his own person and tie up whatever loose ends he needed in ZAFT/PLANTs. this is pretty admirable in an adult sense, they're both being very mature by not being too clingy or needy of each other, allowing personal growth and some degree of independence but hopefully not too much as Athrun has willingly showed that after he finished what he needed to do, he went back to Orb and potentially be by Cagalli's side.

Cagalli tried to not be too reliant on Athrun herself attempting to take on the external and internal issues within Orb and the Seirans all by herself, but as soon as Athrun left she was the most vulnerable (hence the photo for this post) from still feeling the reigns all by herself. good thing she still had her twin brother and his friends around to catch her fall and by the time she acquired Akatsuki and established a determined resolve on leading her nation, she knew how to stand on her own two feet. whether Athrun still has a place to be beside her remains to be seen, we'll have to see how much he can contribute as a commander/general (i'm really hazy with the ranks in Orb especially when the lore is a little inconsistent) of Orb along with the Freedom movie's revelation that he has been reassigned (or was it his decision?) to Terminal, a third party branch of the Orb Army out of a sense of duty for Orb or Cagalli.

ultimately Tristan and Isolde had a depressing ending (both lovers cannot get out of their social and moral structures, Tristan gave up romantic love for his love of duty to his king, Isolde likewise felt obligated to stay with her king for her family and country to keep people from dying, then he later died tragically before he could be reunited with Isolde) but hopefully Fukuda will stop with the association before it gets to that. some wonder who Cagalli will go for in a political marriage next, will she marry for love or duty? and could Athrun come into his own (be powerful and influential enough) just in time to fulfill both? besides the moral of Tristan and Isolde has been to pursue a love that preserves rather than destroys, celebrates rather than abolishes individuality and seeks life rather than death--themes that Cagalli were desperate to uphold, at one time saving Athrun's life with it. if we are really sure we love who we want to love, we have to get out of the structure and go and fight for that love.

SOURCES [1] [2] [3]

[kachikirby]

Tam Lin Tristan in the Family Guy death pose

Blame @gundam-bailey for this.

[unfriendlyamazon]

creative talents of the ygos

yugi - fanfiction, fanart (he's not the best at either but he's earnest), also loves a magic act and i've never stopped thinking about the au where he's a drag magician, i think he knows a lot about fashion and modifies his own clothes so he's a fairly skilled sewer

joey - actually really good artist copies pictures of shoes out of magazines probably draws gundams or something obv posts saucy duel monsters fanart (bnf among panther warrior stans), i do want to write him as a sculptor too probably has a lot of fun with any creative endeavor, obsessed with joey loving cooking i think he gets really into it later

tristan - drag (won't elaborate), also plays the guitar (knows at least 3 chords) and sings (badly, but he does it goofy so it works), actually a pretty good dancer, happy homemaker and can cook a whole barbeque pig for his friends

anzu - dance, obvs, she wants to train to be a dancer and is going to school for it, but i think she's also got an eye for fashion and can size anyone up just by looking at them, she's great at makeup and it's makeover city for everyone

ryou - loves making models and painting things, i think likes three dimensional art a lot and probably also sculpts, i could see them getting into metal engraving too, though that might be low key triggering

duke - what can't duke do? they're not a great singer but can do a metal or rock voice really well, loves coming up with concepts for games and collaborating with the artist, loves makeup, probably also modifies their clothes (they're an original), also a drag artist in my head

serenity - i usually picture serenity as a writer, most of the time i give her an academic career so it's probably a lot of academic writing but i think she could get into it in other ways, terrible cook, burns microwave mac n cheese

seto - terrible artist, like can't draw a stick figure bad, but obv he's an amazing coder and i think he would be on neocities making his bewd shrine page, also an eye for fashion and loves being ostentatious with it, i flip flop on whether he can cook or not depending on the au and what i want him to do but i think baking in particular would appeal to him

mai - fashion, makeup, hair, obv, look at her, and i think she's been sewing her own clothes since she skipped out on her parents, her creativity is more sneaky since she's head to be creative a lot in her life, and you'd be amazed at what she can do.... but can't cook worth a damn

isis - not a lot to do in a tomb under the ground for most of your life but i really see her into needlework, embroideries, probably spends a lot of time doing anthropological research into traditional fiber thread art

zigfried - theater, opera, musicals (cannot act, or sing, or sew)

[unpopularshipbracket]

The bracket is here! I had A Time fitting everything on one page, but it should embiggen so that all the names are legible. Thank you to everyone who submitted! I'll try to have the polls up soon.

Also, feel free to submit propaganda or images for any of the ships. By the nature of the bracket, it might be kinda hard to find stuff lmao.

The masterpost for the first tournament can be found here

Round 1a

Aaron Soto/Thomas Reyes vs. Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger

Claude von Riegan/Flayn vs. Magic Brian/Brad Bradson

Kodiak Celius/Ambrose Cusk vs. Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill/Marco

Sam Lloyd/Evie O'Neill vs. Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs

Shang Qinghua/Noodle Guy vs. Dr. Alto Clef/Dr. Benjamin Kondraki

Jonathan Walsh/Ozzie Graham vs. Bart Curlish/Ken Adams

Blaze the Cat/Rouge the Bat vs. Grimlock/Starscream

Montrose/Ellis vs. John Doggett/Monica Reyes

Gwyneth/Huma Dragonbane/Magius vs. Luz Noceda/Hunter

Lulu/Yuna vs. Zachary Ezra Rawlins/Dorian

Vicki Appleby/Maureen Sampson vs. Todd Anderson/Charlie Dalton

Rosalina/Pauline vs. Tristan Taylor/Duke Devlin

Charlie Airstar/Tesla Magnets vs. Aone/Hinata

Haruto Keats/Theoto Rikka vs. Static Man/Nicholas Waters

Jeremy Fitzgerald/Fritz Smith (Not Michael Afton) vs. Breekon/Hope

Touko Kirigaya/Tsukushi Futaba/Mashiro Kurata vs. Death/Bunnymund

Round 1b

Rashmi Jamil/Amelie Macon vs. Liam Dunbar/Hayden Romero

Taissa Turner/Shauna Shipman vs. Milo/Piers

Kate Shadow/Emilyko vs. Jupiter/Neptune/Venus

Josh Levison/Sally Malik vs. Sasuke Uchiha/Suigetsu Hozuki

Frank Grunn/Harold Ivy vs. Kyo Sohma/Yuki Sohma

Haruhi Fujioka/Renge Houshakuji vs. Aleksander/Regina

Officer Lockstock/Officer Barrel vs. Mihashi/Tajima

Chad Cola/Deuu Dino vs. Dale Cooper/Harry Truman

Dee Eliade/Audrey Myers vs. Arthur Rimbaud/Paul Verlaine

Tsukuyo/Sacchan vs. Dark Mousy/Krad

Benjamin Deeds/Nathaniel Carver vs. C-53/Pleck Decksetter

Skeleteen/Ram Man II vs. Gundam Tanaka/Hajime Hinata

Kyoko/Ayaka vs. Char Aznable/Amuro Ray

Wocky Kitaki/Vera Misham vs. Robin/Demetrius

Norita Yuuji/Shiota Nagisa vs. Andrei Bolkonsky/Pierre Bezukhov

Terry McGinnis | Batman/Shaka Okoro | Stalker vs. Mina Murray Harker/Lucy Westenra

Round 2a

Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger vs. Magic Brian/Brad Bradson

Ax/Marco vs. Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs

Shang Qinghua/Noodle Guy vs. Bart Curlish/Ken Adams

Blaze the Cat/Rouge the Bat vs. Montrose/Ellis

Gwyneth/Huma Dragonbane/Magius vs. Lulu/Yuna

Todd Anderson/Charlie Dalton vs. Rosalina/Pauline

Aone/Hinata vs. Static Man/Nicholas Waters

Breekon/Hope vs. Death/Bunnymund

Round 2b

Rashmi Jamil/Amelie Macon vs. Milo/Piers

Kate Shadow/Emilyko vs. Sasuke Uchiha/Suigetsu Hozuki

Kyo Sohma/Yuki Sohma vs. Haruhi Fujioka/Renge Houshakuji

Mihashi/Tajima vs. Dale Cooper/Harry Truman

Arthur Rimbaud/Paul Verlaine vs. Dark Mousy/Krad

Benjamin Deeds/Nathaniel Carver vs. Gundam Tanaka/Hajime Hinata

Char Aznable/Amuro Ray vs. Wocky Kitaki/Vera Misham

Norita Yuuji/Shiota Nagisa vs. Mina Murray Harker/Lucy Westenra

Round 3

Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger vs Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs

Shang Qinghua/Noodle Guy vs. Blaze the Cat/Rouge the Bat

Lulu/Yuna vs. Rosalina/Pauline

Static Man/Nicholas Waters vs. Death/Bunnymund

Rashmi Jamil/Amelie Macon vs. Kate Shadow/Emilyko

Haruhi Fujioka/Renge Houshakuji vs. Mihashi/Tajima

Dark Mousy/Krad vs. Gundam Tanaka/Hajime Hinata

Char Aznable/Amuro Ray vs. Mina Murray Harker/Lucy Westenra

Round 4

Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs vs. Shang Qinghua/Noodle Guy

Rosalina/Pauline vs. Death/Bunnymund

Rashmi Jamil/Amelie Macon vs. Haruhi Fujioka/Renge Houshakuji

Gundam Tanaka/Hajime Hinata vs. Mina Murray Harker/Lucy Westenra

Semifinals

Sir Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs vs. Rosalina/Pauline

Haruhi Fujioka/Renge Houshakuji vs. Mina Murray Harker/Lucy Westenra

[mooved-nowon]

My oh-so-cool otp list: not ever finished

Haruspex x Bachelor (Pathologic (first one))

Steve x Jonathan (Stranger things)

Gonta x Korekiyo (Danganronpa)

Saihara Shuichi x K1-B0 (Danganronpa)

Gundam Tanaka x Soda Kazuichi (Danganronpa)

Evan x Connor (Dear Evan Hansen)

Phoenix Wright x Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)

Larry x Sal (Sally Face)

Nautica x Nightbeat (Transformers IDW) (friends w benefits + Nautica is more of a top)

Fulcrum x Misfire (Transformers IDW)

SIMPATICO/ Brainstorm x Perceptor (transformers IDW)

Prowl x Jazz (Transformers)

Starscream x Bumblebee (Transformers IDW)

Optimus Prime x Megatron (Transformers IDW & Transformers Animated)

Optimus Prime x Ratchet (Transformers Prime & Transformers IDW)

Hahahaha batjokes (do i really need to) (batman)

Deckard x Gunmax (Brave Police)

Duke x Shadowmaru (Brave Police)

Johnlock (oops) (Sherlock BBC)

Aziraphale x Crowley (oops) (Good Omens)

Jayce x Victor (Arcane & League of Legends)

Vi x Caitlyn (Arcane & League of Legends)

Jhin x Victor (MAJOR OOPS CRACK SHIP CRACK BESTIES threated seriously) (League of Legends)

Yuto Oui x Nio or Moroku (what is this oh my god) (1bitheart)

Netzach x Yesod x Chesed or any variation of em (Lobotomy corp. and Library of Ruina)

Yam x Milk (Cookierun)

Almond x Roguefort (Cookierun)

Phillip x Clarence (in a Venom way) (i am sick) (Penumbra)

Sigukin x Jack (marikin online 4)

Zakuro x Taiyo (marikin online 4) (zakuro top, taiyo powerbottom and hermaphrodite ikenumas implied)

Koritora x Otsukin (marikin online 4)

Paracelsus x Merlin (SUCH A CRACK SHIP... i love it tho) (Fate: Grand Order)

Bedivere x Tristan (Fate: Grand Order)

Ryuji x MC/Akira/Ren (Persona 5)

Yu Narukamu x Yosuke (Persona 4)

[moonlightrisingz]

Armored Core VI: Coral Dawn - [RX-78 AN-01 Gundam Tristan] Ch01 M01 - Il...

[gremoria411]

Huh, there’s an idea. I wonder what the overall casualty rate for Gundam Pilots is?

*The Following Contains Spoilers for pretty much every Gundam series, though I’ll try to keep them non-specific*

I’ll list each series, the number of Gundam’s in that series, and the amount of Gundam pilots that don’t make it to the end of the series. (Watch me regret this when I get to the really Gundam-Heavy series). However, I’m not including:

After War Gundam X and Turn A Gundam - I haven’t seen either of these yet.

G-Saviour

Igloo - No Gundams.

Gundam the Origin - Feels like cheating.

Gundam Thunderbolt - 1 Gundam Pilot in the OVA versus 9 at present in the Manga, which is still ongoing. It feels awkward to qualify.

If a pilot appears in multiple series, I’ll count them separately for each series, but they only get one mobile suit per series. For Example, Kira Yamato appears in Two Series, and has three mobile suits. Thus, he only counts twice.

In regards to what counts as a Gundam -

“Why is that?”

“Because I said so”

Delling Rembran, father of statistics, everyone. “What is a Gundam” is a delightful question, but it isn’t the focus of this exercise. My definitions of “Gundam” and “Gundam Pilot” exist because I needed a metric, they’re not really designed to stand up to much scrutiny. I’ve worked with enough statistics that I’m aware you can usually skew them without too much bother, which is also why I don’t feel too bad about leaving out Turn A and Gundam X.

Lastly, I’ve almost certainly missed something here, so feel free to message me and I’ll adjust it accordingly.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 - 1 Gundam (RX-78). 1/1 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - 6 Gundams (Three Mk-II’s, Zeta and Psycho Gundam’s 1&2). 2/5 Pilots Survive - 40% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit ZZ Gundam - 4 Gundams (ZZ, Zeta, Mk-II and Psycho Gundam Mk-II). 3/4 Pilots Survive - 75% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Char’s Counterattack - 1 Gundam (Nu) 0/1 Pilots Survive - 0% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket - 1 Gundam (NT-1 Alex). 1/1 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 - 1 Gundam (F91). 1/1 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory - 3 Gundams (Gp01,2 and 3). 1/2 Pilots Survive - 50% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam - Could someone who’s watched Victory lately come back to me with how many Gundam’s are in that series (and their pilots), because I’ve genuinely no clue off the top of my head. I know it’s at least Six (V, V2, Other V2, then at least three Victory Gundam Hexa’s).

Mobile Fighter G Gundam - 50 Gundams (Fuck that). 22/38 Pilots Survive - 57.89% Survival Rate.

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing - 11 Gundams (Wing, Deathscythe, Heavyarms, Sandrock, Shenlong, their upgrades and Epyon). 6/6 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz - 5 Gundams (as above, minus Epyon). 5/5 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team - 4 Gundams (Three Ground Types and EZ8). 3/3 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Gundam SEED - 11 Gundams (5 first gen, 3 second gen, Providence). 4/9 Pilots Survive - 44.44% Survival Rate.

Gundam SEED Destiny - 11 Gundams. 6/10 Pilots Survive - 60% Survival Rate

Gundam SEED C.E. 73: Stargazer - 4 Gundams. 3/5 Pilots Survive - 60% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - 14 Gundams. 5/11 Pilots Survive - 45.45% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer - 4 Gundams (00 Quanta, Zabanya, Harute and Raphael). 5/5 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn - 3 Gundams (Unicorn, Banshee and Delta Plus). 2/2 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative - 2 Gundams (Phenex and Narrative). 1/2 Pilots Survive - 50% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE - 5 Gundams (Four AGE’s and Legillis). 3/5 Pilots Survive - 60% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight Axis - 1 Gundam (Tristan). 1/1 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam G-Reconguista - 3 Gundams (G-Self, G-Arcane, G-Lucifer) 4/4 Pilots Survive - 100% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans - 12 Gundams (Barbatos, Gusion, Kimaris, Flauros and Bael). 1/6 Pilots Survive - 16.67% Survival Rate.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - 10 Gundams (Aerial’s, Lfrith’s, Schwarzette, Pharact and Calibarn). 5/11 Pilots Survive - 45.45% Chance Survival Rate.

Total Number of Gundams - 163

Overall Pilot Survival Rate - 85/138 Pilots Survive- 61.59% Chance Survival Rate.

(As above, not counting Turn A and Gundam X). That is lower than I expected. I believe it’s because most series either lose around half their pilots or few-to none at all. So either the series that keep all or most of their small amount of pilots will push the average up to over halfway, or the series that kill half or more of their pilots will pull the average down.

Highlights and anomalies.

All those odd little decisions that mess with the metrics of this exercise.

Pilot Survivability - Any cases where the survival of a character is ambiguous, but a later work clears it up, I went for the later interpretation, since I’m looking at overall survivability, so Milliardo and CCA Amuro get to count as alive and dead, respectively.

What is survival? - continued sentient existence, flesh not required. I really wasn’t expecting this to come up as much as it did. Tieria Erde (00) and Ericht Samaya (Wfm) both continue living as a virtual consciousness, so are classed as surviving for the purposes of this exercise. In the same vein, Kamille Bidan is counted as surviving (because I’m personally fond of the idea of him getting better).

Best Available Pilots - due to the precise shakedown of pairing pilots to mobile suits, both Lieutenant Quattro Bajeena and Lasse Aeon are on this list, under Zeta and 00, respectively. Quattro because he pilots one of the stolen Gundam Mk-II units briefly, and Lasse because though the 0 Gundam’s “main” pilot to my mind is Ribbons Almark, he already has the Reborns Gundam, and thus Lasse qualifies for the 0 Gundam.

SEED Destiny - I was really bad at remembering how many Gundam’s and how many pilots for this one. I fully forgot about Andrew Waltfeld and Mu La Flaga, and about how many Destroy Gundams the Earth Sphere alliance pulls out later in the series. I eventually just split the difference and added Andrew Waltfeld and a single Destroy Gundam (It was something like a 0.2 percent difference to the overall survival percentage).

Gundam 00 and Innovades - You can single-handedly mess up this entire excercise if you expand your qualification of Gundam to encompass the GNZ suits used by the Innovators in Gundam 00, since that includes the Gaga. You know, the suit that has a 95% casualty rate across literal hundreds of pilots? I’m not saying you should, but it was on my mind as I made this list.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam - was more complicated than expected. I was fully aware SEED Destiny would be tricky, but I forgot about G Gundam in the process. I’m reasonably confident in my count of Gundams - I only counted the Devil Gundam and Master Gundam once, not the Kowloon or Ultimate Gundam, and I didn’t count any of the combined units (like the Grand Master Gundam). I’ll list my Gundam Fighter math in a re-blog, since this is already a bit long.

I truly do not understand where the idea that most Gundam protagonists die came from. I’ve even seen self-proclaimed fans warn newcomers that almost every Gundam protagonist dies, when that is patently not true!

[gremoria411]

There is a problem with looking at so many mobile suit designs in that you can wander quite far sometimes. Sometimes to odd places. For instance, I’ve been wanting to watch Gundam Narrative recently, but ended up watching Gundam Twilight Axis instead (they have a similar plot to me). Twilight Axis has the Tristan, a derivative of the Alex. Another derivative of the Alex would be the Full Armour Alex, which appears along with the Striker Custom in Mobile Suit Gundam Katana.

I’m gonna get two things out of the way first: I haven’t finished reading Gundam Katana, because I don’t like Gundam Katana.

Oh, the arts wonderful and I like a lot of the original mechanics, but I absolutely despise the protagonist (the plot’s not great but it’s essentially a blip compared to how much the main character bothers me).

I don’t want this to be just a rant post so I’ll be brief; The Protagonist of Gundam Katana, Ittou Tsurugi, is a prick. In that way that only a brat with a silver spoon in their mouth (on in this case, at their side) can be. He’s handed a super custom ms and a force of followers that follow him absolutely, despite the fact that he has no experience with command (and more to the point, no experience with failure). In addition, he’s also got those bad reader self-insert characteristics (always in the right, excels at everything he strives to do, knows things that he probably shouldn’t at that point in time). Two examples I just want to call out, the first being when he gets mugged at the docks by a group of five. The muggers attempt to justify their behaviour because of the ongoing economic depression and the claim that the Earth Federation spends more on its military than on other things. Ittou defeats them easily (fair enough), but then has the gall to turn around to them and say that they should work harder because of the recession. Ittou, a military brat, heir to his household and with a legion of followers to cater to his every need. The second example is that after fighting Zeon Remnants on the Moon (which is a whole other thing), Ittou has a chance encounter at the flight terminal with none other than Quattro Bajeena, who’s on the moon on business. Now, Quattro’s real identity in Zeta eventually became an open secret within the AEUG until Char’s Dakar Address. However, many members of the AEUG suspect Char’s real identity (Blex), fought against him in the OYW (Bright) or eventually hear enough rumours that they suspect anyway (everyone else). Ittou has never met Char, never seen Char so there is no reason as to why he should be able to recognise someone who fought with a mask throughout the entire One Year War. But he does, because he’s apparently just that good. (As an aside, the whole deification of Char post-OYW as this ace of aces bothers me a little, since he’s only really relevant to the White Base crew and there were plenty of other aces running around. It makes sense post-Dakar and post-Gryps, but prior he should be just another ace).

Anywho, the reason I wanted to talk about Katana is because I like quite a lot of it’s original mechanics. I say original, because it uses a lot of units that were originally from videogames, so I’m only going to be talking about the Striker Custom, Full Armour Striker Custom, Full Armour Alex and GM Striker Custom.

The Striker Custom is the main mobile suit of the series (and yes, I did choose that second picture to show off its weaponry). It’s probably my weakness for close-quarters suits talking, but I really like it. It is essentially a GM Striker with a Gundam Head and new backpack, but as custom units go I find that honestly quite charming. Despite the two pictures shown here it’s actually quite well-armed, starting with the standard Vulcan guns and twin beam sabers. Following this it has a further two beam sabres, snazzier ones with a longer blade, that can be combined into a beam naginata. It is also armed with a set of Knuckle Daggers, mounted on the backpack when not in use, which are essentially a sort of axe-shaped beam blade mounted in the hands (they can be seen in the second picture). It can also be armed with the Spark Knuckle (essentially an electrified, handheld brass knuckle, based on the electrical weaponry Zeon used) and the Burst Knuckle (punch to attach mine, punch again to detonate, because there’s totally no way for that to go wrong). It can also be armed with a 100mm machine gun (or as GBO2 is wont to, a GM II Beam Rifle), but typically isn’t, because Ittou’s a lousy shot. I really like the knuckle daggers - I don’t really think that they’d be more practical than a beam saber (longer reach and all), but they are cool as heck, giving the suit a boxing vibe that I quite enjoy. The Spark and Burst knuckles are typically used sparingly, which helps my opinion of them - the spark knuckle’s lovely, but there isn’t much defence against electric weaponry other than range, so it’s good it doesn’t get overused. The Burst Knuckle…. I don’t dislike it, it just seems horribly impractical. That said, I can only really recall it being used once, so it’s not like I typically remember it. The Striker Custom is also fitted with a “Demon Blade” AI System, a derivative of the EXAM system (*shot*), whiiiiich…… is fine? It’s probably the fact that I stopped reading before it became a major factor (I remember it being introduced, but little else) but I don’t really have a big opinion on it. It makes sense for a close-quarters suit to have it, especially as a trump card to pull out in dire situations. It’s more of the “can be mastered” system than the “WILL mess you up” one though (the original EXAM system was pretty harrowing, as I understand it and the HADES aren’t exactly a nice walk in the park either).

Form and armour wise, it’s pretty good. A large part of that is going to be inherited from the GM striker, yes, but the Striker Custom feels very agile, and light on its feet. It probably is the boxer influence (even the head looks like it’s got a head guard on), but I like it because it feels like a very straightforward design - get close and hit things. Specifically, I like how it feels like a “gundam-ified” version of the GM Striker in the same vein that the Gundam Marine Type “Gundiver” is to the Aqua GM. It really sets your mind going as to what other “upgraded GM’s” there could be (like a Gundam Night Seeker, or Gundam Guard Type). I’m fine with the colours - I typically dislike it if a protagonist suit is “just” white and blue, but in this case it’s actually got a purpose because the main rival suit, the Full Armour Alex, is Red, so it shows the contrasting personalities of their pilots (and it works pretty well with its pink beam weapons). I will admit that I’ve repainted it to Titans Colours in GBO2 though - it’s about the right time period for them to be around (some even show up in the early chapters) and honestly I like imagining the AEUG stealing one (plus, I think it looks really nice).

Now if only it had a better pilot.

It’s upgraded form is the Full Armour Striker Custom, build with spare parts from the Full Armour Alex. Cards on the table, I haven’t read up to the part in the manga where this shows up, so this is purely on the design and it’s weaponry (as seen in GB02). I do like the bulkier look (the original has a nice agility to the design, but I don’t mind the additional weight), however I do think that it’s overarmed. This is a common problem I have with Full Armour upgrades - they just cram a bunch of additional weaponry on for the sake of it. I like heavily armed suits, but just adding bulk to an existing design doesn’t work for me because the end result just ends up looking sluggish. Speaking of those armaments, let’s run down the list, shall we? The Vulcan Guns remain, as per usual. As do the twin beam sabers, though one of them has been moved to the front of the right shoulder. The Knuckle Daggers are now mounted in the…. What is a apparently supposed to be a shield, but looks to me more like a weapons rack on the left arm. There’s an EXAM unit 3-style double beam cannon as it’s primary ranged armament on the right arm - that’s essentially standard armament for FA (Full Armour) Units, so absolutely no issues there. It’s also got a back rocket cannon and chest missile bays, likely modelled after the regular FA Gundam, and rounding out the loadout is a set of missile pods on the legs. In addition to all this, it’s armed with a brand new sword weapon called Fukusaku - a long sword roughly three-fifths the size of the mobile suit itself. I find it to be a textbook case of a mobile suit being overarmed. I can see how - the striker custom brings its close quarters weaponry and the FA Gundam Brings its long-range weaponry, but it just seems to be fighting for space on the suit - the Beam Saber on the front armour (a very dangerous position, given what happens to beam sabers when they’re shot) and the “shield” that’s essentially mounting two especially large beam sabers on the left arm are just the most obvious examples. Fukusaku is odd, because it looks completely unique, and all the sources I can find state that it’s a cold saber - essentially an electric saber, typically used when stealth is required, such as on the Efreet Nacht. Thing is, it looks to be an mobile suit sized Katana, meaning it was forged, but it still has beam effects over the…… Hamon? Of the sword (that wavy bit on katanas that’s formed as the sword cools). Oddities aside, it makes sense that the main suit in “Mobile Suit Gundam Katana” would recieve a fancy katana, but it doesn’t exactly help with the suit having two other paired melee weapons already. I do like the bulk added by the additional armour to the Full Armour Striker Custom, it creates the sense of a slower, more methodical fighting style (“one strong cut” to the striker custom’s barrage of punches), but I think the weapons weigh it down too much, especially since I know it’s going to be used in space. Honestly, I feel like if you took off the Knuckle Daggers and Chest Missile Bays, maybe moved the saber mountings around, it’d look much better. I like the splash of purple added in the paint scheme, but I don’t notice it’s absence much in GBO2. The Full Armour Striker Custom’s design is busier (especially around the chest), so it doesn’t look quite as good in Titan’s colours, but there’s some lovely details on the back (like the leg thrusters) that really pop.

The GM Striker and GM Striker Kai are largely identical, save for the backpack. Indeed, the Striker Custom is essentially a modified GM Striker Kai (with perhaps a little of the blue destiny units sprinkled in). They are armed differently however, with the GM Striker Kai being armed with beam sabers like the ones the Striker Custom has, and the regular GM Striker being armed with a twin beam spear that can convert into a scythe. I like the regular GM Striker, I think it’s an excellent up-armoured version of the GM, with the twin beam spear being an appropriately imposing melee weapon for it. I very much like the colours as well, with a lovely green, yellow and blue-grey scheme. The blue visor also draws attention nicely to the head. The GM Striker Kai is the space-use version, having the backpack of the Striker Custom in addition to its weaponry. Overall, I think it’s a nice GM unit with the additional armour doing a lot to distinguish it from the pack.

Lastly, the Full Armour Alex. I found it quite difficult to find a decent picture of the Version seen in Gundam Katana. The Full Armour Alex is…. a little of an odd one for me, because though I know it’s just differing artist interpretations, I tend to consider the original (Green and White, right) and the version seen in Gundam Katana (Red, Left) as separate designs (for the most part). I’ll go over the one seen in Gundam Katana first. It’s piloted by Kotetsu, a cyber-Newtype of True Federal in the series (True Federal have a vested interest in having as many newtypes on their side as possible, but they don’t seem to be going for the inhuman experimentation that the Titans did.) who functions as an early, personal foe for Ittou, here to drop subtle hints about the organisation and provide an actual challenge. The Full Armour Alex is essentially a brute - it’s got the strength and power to easily match most anything else in one-on-one combat, and functions as True Federal’s one-man clean-up crew. I think it’s used well in the series - it’s a FA unit, with lots of weaponry that’s geared towards ranged combat - a natural counter to the Striker Custom, which focuses on close-quarters. It spends much of its initial appearance holding Ittou back by sheer volume of fire alone - he’s forced to do little else but dodge. But it’s meaty firepower never allows it to feel unthreatening.

Design-wise….. it’s just fine. I like the red colour scheme in the context of their pilots - Kotetsu’s far more emotion-driven than Ittou, so it makes sense for their contrasting personalities. But in the context of red mobile suits in Gundam….. it doesn’t work. Red is a signifier of Char, or something related to Char (or a char clone), but the Full Armour Alex is neither. I have been seeing some “regular” rivals using it as of late (see the Pixy (LA), but in those cases it just comes off as forced. It’s just red because it’s a rival and rivals are red. The form and body’s fine - it’s a good example of the artist’s style and the muted colours really mean your attention’s drawn to the knees, skirt, head and gun. As a full armour unit, it doesn’t get many dynamic melee shots, so it’s imposing and weighty stature helps it look imposing, particularly the back rocket cannon and it’s targeting camera.

However, I must confess I completely prefer the Original (Green and White) design, as featured in Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 MSV. It just feels so much sleeker and faster, selling that the NT-1 is an improvement over the original Gundam. The green and white colour scheme is still eye catching, clearly drawing a distinction between the original and its additional parts, while helping to sell just how protective the armour would be, since the parts of the original Alex peeking through help emphasise just how beefed-up it is. Furthermore, you can easily believe that there’s space in the armour for the chest missile bays, without significantly compromising its protection. It’s only got two other integrated weapons - the back rocket cannon and the twin beam cannon, but it feels like an appropriate amount of additional firepower. It feels significant, since they’re both clearly visible on the design and the grey plays off the rest of the colour scheme - there’s only a few other small details, like the collar and “ribs”. The Full Armour Alex does retain its built-in arm gatlings, but they cannot be used since the armour covers them. I think the fact that the armour doesn’t cover the leg thrusters, and has dedicated gaps for the AMBAC system are why it feels so much sleeker to me - the Full Armour Alex was intended to be a backup plan for the Chobham Armour, and looking at it it might have even been more agile. I also very much like the head - I assume it was just artist interpretation, or perhaps the NT-1’s design hadn’t been finalised when it was made, but the yellow eyes, red forehead jewel and sleeker face really appeal to me, while helping it have its own identity other than “just the Alex, but bigger”. It’s just really rather neat.

[the-man-who-loved-major-kusanagi]

Gundam Tristan

[therosecrest]

[gundamngifs]

RX-78AN-01 Gundam AN-01 "Tristan"

[fauxzone]