Context:In Mobile Suit Gundam, the depiction of women evolves significantly across the series. Initially, in the original Gundam series, women are mostly relegated to traditional roles. Female characters like Fraw Bow and Mirai are seen performing domestic duties, supporting the male characters, and maintaining composure under stress. The exceptions are Matilda and Kycillia, who stand out for their competence and leadership.Zeta Gundam introduces more capable women in combat roles, such as Emma, Reccoa, Four, and Haman. Emma is particularly notable for her strength and moral integrity, maintaining her composure and not being defined by her romantic tension with Henken. In contrast, Reccoa serves as a tragic figure, manipulated by men and driven to betrayal due to emotional neglect and manipulation by characters like Quattro and Scirocco. This suggests a commentary on gender relations, with militaristic male villains exploiting emotionally vulnerable women as instruments of warfare.Tomino's portrayal of women in Zeta Gundam can be seen as a critique of a male-dominated society where women are often the most affected by power struggles. However, the focus on unstable, treacherous female characters, whether Cyber-Newtypes or not, complicates this message and can seem contradictory, making it unclear if the series genuinely advocates feminist ideals.L-Gaim, Zeta Gundam's Tomino-directed predecessor, presents a similar dynamic. It features an all-powerful male antagonist attempting to control women by offering them eternal youth, but these women ultimately rebel against him. ZZ, CCA, and F91 generally feature competent female characters who are both as interesting and dynamic as the male characters, with some notable exceptions like Quess. Once we get to Turn A, the female characters arguably surpass the males and take the spotlight. Bridging the gap between these two eras is Victory.
Victory Gundam is a logical development from the gender themes of Zeta and L-Gaim, presenting a conflict where the Zanscare Empire's ambition to establish a matriarchy plays a central role. This narrative can be seen as Tomino's self-aware critique of how women have been portrayed throughout the Gundam series. The Zanscare villains represent a violent, exaggerated form of matriarchy, aiming to control the Earth Sphere with female Newtypes at the helm. If Zeon represented Nazis, Zanscare could be seen as feminazis.Despite this extreme depiction, Tomino continues to explore anti-patriarchal themes similar to those in Zeta. Characters like Maria, Chronicle, and Katejina criticize the male-dominated Federation, and while their fanaticism is evident, there is some justification to their arguments. Yet, behind these women are manipulative men like Kagatie, Tassilo, Pippiniden, and Chronicle. Kagatie, following in the footsteps of Scirocco, successfully positions himself as the power behind a female ruler. The men use women like Fuala, Lupe, and Katejina as tools, highlighting the ongoing manipulation theme.Tomino doesn't entirely vilify the women, even though characters like Maria appear naively complicit in the empire's atrocities. This nuanced portrayal suggests a critical look at both genders' roles in societal structures.A telling exchange between Shakti and Suzy encapsulates the series' message on gender. Shakti, much like Fraw Bow and Fa Yuiry from earlier series, contributes domestically by caring for children. Initially, she doesn't see value in this, but Suzy does, acknowledging that while these tasks shouldn't be solely a woman's responsibility, they are still important. This scene reflects Tomino's concession to feminist critique while still valuing traditional gender roles.Shakti represents one model of femininity in Victory Gundam, emphasizing nurturing and domestic roles. Maria, with her naivety, symbolizes a less desirable form of femininity.
Both characters underscore the theme of motherhood—where the heroes exemplify its positive aspects, while Zanscare illustrates a distorted, oppressive version. This is the central theme of Victory Gundam which links back to previous works.The villains have complex and often negative relationships with motherhood:>Katejina initially takes in Karlmann but quickly abandons him to Shakti>Fuala becomes unhinged upon sensing Marbet's unborn child during battle>Lupe attempts to seduce Üso and expresses a twisted desire for him to be like a son, revealing this just before her death alongside Pippiniden>Maria aims for a peaceful world but resorts to harsh punishments to enforce her vision. Her use of the Angel Halo pacifies people but reduces them to a defenseless, infant-like stateConversely, the heroes demonstrate positive aspects of motherhood:>Shakti consistently cares for Karlmann and Suzy, embodying sensitivity and care>Marbet embraces her pregnancy, which contributes to Fuala's defeat>Üso's mother nurtures him and teaches survival skills, balancing care and independence>When Shakti uses the Angel Halo, its effect is more powerful and decisive without infantilizing people, helping the League MilitaireZanscare's women either reject motherhood (Katejina), go mad from a lack of it (Fuala and Lupe), or focus on its punitive side at the expense of nurturing (Maria). Maria is like a mother who harms by refusing to see her children as adults. In contrast, Shakti's maternal aspects, which seeks peace without control, is portrayed as purer and more powerful, reflected in her superior Newtype abilities.Tomino's portrayal ties a woman's virtue to her quality as a mother, a perspective unlikely to resonate with feminists who reject biological determinism. However, this theme, consistent from Zeta to Victory, highlights a nuanced exploration of gender roles, showing the necessity of nurturing aspects of motherhood in fostering genuine growth and peace.
OP is from a dumb blog btw
>>22696291It's one of the better analysis I've seen that doesn't just write the show off as misogynistic.
>>22696317Cool.
>>22696291You say this to every long threads
Actually, V is a misandrist show
>>22696291Yeah, ChatGPT would've made that shit easier to read at least.
>>22696287I never felt like Cronicle was manipulative, on the contrary, he truly believe his sister, but ended up manipulated by Katejina. He sealed his fate the moment he saved her.The mattriarchy itself, and Maria, are not really bad, it's the people who use it for their own power, no matter if it's men or women, who are
>>22696285>>22696287>>22696289Good analysis OP, but I have a few things to add.>Maria aims for a peaceful world but resorts to harsh punishments to enforce her vision. Her use of the Angel Halo pacifies people but reduces them to a defenseless, infant-like stateThis isnt quite right. Maria is extensively being manipulated by Kagatie and the rest of the male Zanscare top brass who hide and obfuscate the true extent of their cruel methods to her. They never really tell her about their extensive use of the Guillotine, the full details of the earth cleansing plan or the true effect the Angel Halo has on people, so its not the case that Maria herself becomes twisted but her naive desires are appropriated and misused by the the men that manipulate her. This is further emphasized when near the end we learn that Maria was just an ordinary fortune teller (although her psychic abilities are genuine) that was found by Kagatie and installed as monarch. I think shes similar to Reccoa in that both are defined by their manipulative relationships to men, but unlike Reccoa who participates in evil out of moral bankruptcy and indifference Maria does so out of innocence and naivete. You can read this uncharitably as Maria example reinforcing that women are too incompetent to act as leaders, but I'll choose to disregard this due to her ultimate redemption both as an actor in the war and as Shaktis mother.
>>22696285Sorry for your bad taste but the original Mobile Suit Gundam mogs everything beyond, no contest. You don't have to make the original sound worse than it is for its time.Just want to say, you jokers here have always claim to support ALL Gundam viewers but then anyone trying to explore their OG series cred or express themselves in ways that might not fit your blogpost sequel apologism are browbeat and shamed for being "close minded" or whatever. You know, I'm not gonna act like a lot of 0079 fans aren't total braindead sexist freaks when it comes to being bigots or the worst type of yaoi hipster retards, it totally happens and we don't claim them. What I'm not gonna do is suddenly start calling them weird shit like "AmuKai brainrotted fujoshis" or say all the female characters like Fraw and Sayla sucked because of that. Don't be so fucking ridiculous. Every fan of true culture knows Amuro was for Fraw if Tomino didn't sell his soul and become a hack pumping out all kinds of tragedy porn. Like regardless, it's bad enough Furuya had to cheat and we'll be losing a legend because he couldn't keep it in his pants to be decent, you don't have to keep rubbing our noses in piles of dogshit to defend your own dogshit sequels?I thought people on this site were mature enough to be above this shit but I guess you're all just schizo.
>would someone please think of the women?!
>>22696285I hope so.
>>22696654>you jokers here have always claim to support ALL Gundam viewersNo.
>>22696289tits or GTFO
>>22696667I think about women daily, their tits their ass their hair.
So is this thread just that faggot flip copy pasting his entire blogpost now instead of just dead dropping a link every week like they usually do?
>>22696714Could just be a anon who like to write long thead? Not all thread needs to be 2 sentences long
I'm slowly rewatching V Gundam, and I just got to the episode where the LM wipes out half of the Zanscare fleet with the cannon from the Keilas Guille fleetSo yes, the forces of the matriarchal society being vaporized by a giant penis shows clearly that V Gundam is misogynistic, which is why I like it so much
Also, WTF>Female characters like Fraw Bow and Mirai are seen performing domestic dutiesNo, Mirai is seen piloting the fucking White Base through a goddamn war zone. OP is being retarded
Here's the REAL question:Who would you rather be forced to deal with, Katejina, Nina or Quess?
>>22696744Deal in bed? Katejina. She probably has the pinkiest nipples.
>>22696744Katejina is a downright sociopath (even before being captured), Quess is a literal teenager, and Nina is a cheater with dubious morals.So Nina is obviously the pick
>>22696730It's a copy paste from a reddit comment AFAIK.
>>22696788Fucking, of course. Retards like that can't even come up with their own original takes and have to copy other pants shitting malding babies to cope with their Gundam sucking.
>>22696744Nina is the most mentally stable of the lot. She’s a dumb bitch but she can hold a conversation without going totally off the rails
>make an actual high effort analysis of thematic elements of a show instead of just spamming wojaks at people who disagree with me>/m/ loses their fucking mindsIt’s fucking over for this board
>>22696919Don't pretend like it's your thread.
>>22696919It's a post-stealing retard playing victim.
ain't gonna read all that
>>22696654>Sorry for your bad taste but the original Mobile Suit Gundam mogs everything beyond, no contest. YStopped reading right there.
>>22696919>>/m/ loses their fucking mindsDid this thread really do that? Some anons actually replied to you in earnest.
>>22696654>I thought people on this site were maturehahaha...oh holy shit you are new
>>22696285>must apply amerimutt current year culture war shit to japanese show from the 90sKill yourself OP and whoever you stole this shit post from.
