[XW1n5t0nX]

At the same time though, Gundam in general is rather dark and violent. Aside from G a lot of the stories are specifically about war and the effects it has on the world and the people involved, most of the time kids. Heck I'm pretty sure I've seen somewhere Tomino saying the equivalent of "It's war, it's suppose to be brutal and disturbing." And he's right. Yes, Mika is a rather disturbed character. But even though the character is handled worse than Mika, the argument can be made that Heero was really brutal in that he WAS a mindless brainwashed killing machine terrorist. Mika's just doing what he has to do to survive in war and to help out a friend. Plus he is choosing to do so, whereas a character like Heero and probably a good deal of other pilots just sort of fall or get forced into the role.

We also have to remember that Japan's take on what is appropriate for kids is a lot different than ours in terms of television and media.