#even plenty of the most toyetic 1970s super robot shows had horrible death

[esperderek]

The Real Gundam?

I “love” how I’ve counted no less than four or five episodes of Witch From Mercury where you suddenly have assholes going “OH LOOK WEAKLINGS THE REAL GUNDAM STARTS HERE.” once it’s finished. That’s like basically a third of the series already aired, guys. The “Real Gundam” has been here for ages, and honestly the brutality on display on WfM is all the more potent in part because it’s been used sparingly and carefully. Like, SEEDs poppin’ people might be technically more graphic in terms of people dying, but it’s impossible to take seriously because it gets ridiculous.

I mean, that’s also ignoring the fact that Gundam has cast such a wide net that Gundam can literally be anything and in any tone. G Gundam was an over-the-top kung fu battle tournament where the main protagonist is comedically tortured with pizza in the first episode. Turn A Gundam spends plenty of time using its mech to help with laundry and watching a drunk idiot get into a barrel to float to Earth through space. The Build Fighter series is patterned after sports anime. Gundam Wing is a fever dream.

That’s not even getting into the stuff like SD Gundam, various video games (remember the JRPG on the PS2?), and other assorted media. 

And yet, somehow, it’s the Gundam series that stars a female protagonist who is in a relationship with another woman, a series that has attracted new viewers to a franchise that, lets face it, has kind of grown stagnant creatively since it retreated back into UC after Unicorn was a success. Gotta be gatekeeping, I guess.

And I mean, for fuck’s sakes, its not like Gundam is some hidden gem or long-lost series. It’s basically similar to goddamn Marvel or Final Fantasy or whatever. It’s mainstream, people pick it up from osmosis, they’re aware of its existence and that people die in it.