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Saw the "Gundam is anti-war" take on the TL again and since I've always believed that to be an extremely poor read of it, wanted to share a few unorganized thoughts 
1. Taking "Gundam" as a cohesive whole is already something very dangerous, and it's pretty easy to be wrong. Even if we restrict that to UC Tomino Gundam (which is pretty much what I'm going to do), you've got more than a decade of *very different* works
Assuming that Tomino's views didn't change over time, or even that it was always Tomino's personal views on a specific issue is a very dangerous trap to fall into
2. On the topic of "war" itself, I might reckon that most UC series aren't pro-war in the sense that they show its absurdity and violence...
BUT Gundam certainly isn't anti-conflict. Not being pro-war doesn't mean being anti-war, or being pacifist or nonviolent
BUT Gundam certainly isn't anti-conflict. Not being pro-war doesn't mean being anti-war, or being pacifist or nonviolent
To take a specific entry, 0079, and Amuro's arc all throughout the UC, is about finding a reason to fight, something valuable enough that he would be ready to make war for. That can be personal reasons (the White Base is my family) or political ones (space Nazis bad)
But either way, never does Amuro or his story explicitly and unambiguously state that becoming a pilot was a mistake, or that you shouldn't resist space Nazis, or that nonviolence is an answer
Yes, becoming a pilot was a source of trauma and hardship, and never does 0079 hide...
Yes, becoming a pilot was a source of trauma and hardship, and never does 0079 hide...
That war is traumatic and terrible and that we would be better off not doing it. But there comes a point when violence seems to be the last answer left
And even as a metaphor for the general hardships of life, war is what makes Amuro grow as a person and discover what's worth
And even as a metaphor for the general hardships of life, war is what makes Amuro grow as a person and discover what's worth
3. But then again, pro-conflict (in that sometimes conflict can be justified and necessary) doesn't mean pro-war either. What Gundam as a whole does, especially the early UC series, is put under focus the political, social and psychological structures that produce such violence
And that's where you can't reduce Gundam to its discourse on war. Amuro and Kamille have encountered violence before they encountered war, and it's paradoxically through making war that they can start making ties and establishing communities that help them escape interpersonal...
Violence. Kamille's search ends up being a failure, but in that regard, 0079's ending is unambiguously positive: politically, the space nazis have been defeated, and the victory of the Federation is the lesser evil
Personally, Amuro seems to have found in the White Base...
Personally, Amuro seems to have found in the White Base...
The love and trust he was always searching for
For a very different series, Victory's ending has the same meaning. And Victory is also very interesting when you considered this so-called antiwar discourse, bc it precisely shows that pacifism is utopic and you can't force it
For a very different series, Victory's ending has the same meaning. And Victory is also very interesting when you considered this so-called antiwar discourse, bc it precisely shows that pacifism is utopic and you can't force it
Violence, trauma, frustration and pain will always be at the core of interpersonal relationships and even if they cause war, you can't just put an end to them like that as the Zanscare Empire dreams of (a dream itself instrumentalized by power hungry old men, btw)
More than any other, I believe Victory shows that some sort of peace and understanding can only be achieved in small-scale communities - like the White Base was, or like the farm the characters end up living in. You may call that Tomino's "pessimism", but it's also realism
As much as we'd like Newtypes to be this messianic ideal that can bring peace to humanity, I think it's very clear from Victory that all of humanity will not become Newtypes like that and that their effects will only be very small-scale
5. In a way, I'd say the goal is not to end war - but to find ways to build alternative communities and ways of life in a world beset by violence in general. And you might have to resort to conflict in order to do that
The tragedy of Char is that he never even had the will...
The tragedy of Char is that he never even had the will...
To try that hard in the first place, and just ended up living in his dream world of frustration and manipulation
Kamille is also one who was never able to find or create such alternative ways of living. But Amuro, Judau and Uso did and that's what makes their stories so touching
Kamille is also one who was never able to find or create such alternative ways of living. But Amuro, Judau and Uso did and that's what makes their stories so touching
(Yeah this ended up being a small speedrun through my own philosophical perspectives as exemplified by Gundam but that's partly why I love it so much : it made my beliefs grow and helps me articulate them)
(Bc this is a bit improvised, sorry that there aren't very precise examples. I meant to do a longer and more detailed blog post on the subject but never found the time to properly articulate my points)
