[Potato]

Quote:

Originally Posted by badlander86

So how would you rank Gundam protagonists?

My fave is probably Setsuna F. Seiei from Gundam 00. He's one of the few non-Japanese main characters in the franchise (despite his weird-ass name) and one of the fewer Middle-Eastern characters portrayed in a balanced light.

I hated him outright at first. I felt his character was just a blatant cash-in on the use of the Middle East as a setting like almost every major video game, TV series and movie post-Afghanistan/pre-Iraq. His backstory annoyed me and as a character he was stoic and rather boring. But as the series progressed I realized his blank characterization was purposeful. Unlike most other Gundam pilots, Setsuna was a killer from the start. He didn't stumble upon a giant robot, he wasn't motivated by love or friendship (though that changes when we see the 2nd season), his belief in the dogma of Celestial Being and the power of the Gundam bordered on fanatical due to his on faith being twisted and shattered by Ali Al-Saarchez.

I think favorite Setsuna moment was probably when he had no choice but to kill Anew when she was about to kill Lyle. He even warned Lyle that when it came down to it, if she was a threat, he'd eliminate her. Other main characters would have fallen into some kind of internal turmoil at the choice. Setsuna killed her without flinching and Lyle beat the crap out of Setsuna for it but he took it without fighting back.

Agreed. Despite what UC purists say, I found 00 to be one of the best Gundam series. Is Celestial Being good or bad? I guess it depends on your point of view. I like how the Gundams are almost potrayed as a force of nature. The "horror-like" theme music that plays everytime they show up, vs uplifiting heroic music we expect to hear with protagonists. They make Gundams almost scary and very threatening for sure.