Gundam 00 Season 2 Anthology: Updated 7/15/09 (Alternatives)

[Imperial]

That last line is ten shades of awesome.

[Strike Zero]

Of this latest set of one shots, my favorite one is definitely the Allelujah/Hallelujah one. The idea of Allelujah being the one to disappear instead of Hallelujah is very interesting indeed. It probably would have made the show better too.

I mean, who would do you prefer? Hallelujah "I-Eat-Puppies" Haptism? Or... "MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE!!"

That said, I don't totally agree with the way you portrayed Hallelujah. I don't believe he would panic at the though of losing Allelujah--he hadn't shown enough caring to be able to have a reaction like that, or at least not have it to the level that you took it. If anything, I'd think he'd more so continue to call him a fool after he'd gone, not showing quite as much sorrow as he did.

Either way though, nice work. Good stuff!

[Dean_the_Young]

Of this latest set of one shots, my favorite one is definitely the Allelujah/Hallelujah one. The idea of Allelujah being the one to disappear instead of Hallelujah is very interesting indeed. It probably would have made the show better too.

I mean, who would do you prefer? Hallelujah "I-Eat-Puppies" Haptism? Or... "MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE! MARIE!!"

That said, I don't totally agree with the way you portrayed Hallelujah. I don't believe he would panic at the though of losing Allelujah--he hadn't shown enough caring to be able to have a reaction like that, or at least not have it to the level that you took it. If anything, I'd think he'd more so continue to call him a fool after he'd gone, not showing quite as much sorrow as he did.

Either way though, nice work. Good stuff!

Me? I love Hallelujah's voice in the Japanese version. Gives me goosebumps, in a good way.

The intent around the panic would be him worried that he would die as well, more than that Allelujah might die. The anger would be at Allelujah just giving up. The sorrow, though, was more the friendship-link that is debatable. I wrote that before watching today's episode, so I guess we'll see in the next couple episodes.

I burnt the midnight oil last night, hammering out episode 9's drabble. Expect that out tomorrow morning around 9-ish: it's pretty long, and in a style I haven't tried yet.

What? I don't make a drabble out of everything. Though I have too many ideas for the latest episode. I already want to make Anew Returner into a comforter/seductress character, and one who might actually come to have divided loyalties in favor of the Ptolemy crew.

[Dean_the_Young]

At 19 word pages, this was was less 'drabble' and more 'long-as-hell list of every dropped plot thread and plot hole I could think of,' but it was fun as hell to write up. If I anyone ever tries a rewrite of 00, they should look at it just to not make the same mistakes.

This one was inspired by and in the mold of Cracked.com’s famous lists. If you don’t know about them, go there. They are a wonderful mix of insight, comedy, hyperbole, and fact. That’s also why we are now talking in the plural.

No quote for this chapter, though I strongly suggest you go to their website.


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Most Useless Plot Threads/Twists/Holes of 00
(And How They Could Have Been Fixed)

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Now, we all love Gundam 00. That’s why we continue watching it, write about it, and take time from possibly being productive in life to reading and writing bad fanfiction on it. But loving something doesn’t mean we can’t lovingly point out its flaws and laugh at the absurdity of Japanese sci-fi, secure in the knowledge that Western sci-fi is immune to bad writing.

(Not pictured: Star Trek: Voyager)

Gundam 00, like many works, suffers from those embarrassing blemishes on its presentation. Like an unsightly zit begging to be popped by your locker room friend, these are the kind of plot tricks that keep you watching in suspense and then, after the run has concluded, leaves you asking yourself “WTF?”

Fortunately, we did not come here just to complain. We, the staff of writer chimps that work part time for the author, sat down to create both a detailed list and have come up with solutions to those mysteriously dangling and otherwise useless plot threads, twists, and holes of 00 that were left to wander in the back of our minds.

Actually, that was a lot of work, so we just took the series character list and thought up the bad or dropped plot twist/thread for each character, and how they could have been fixed. It was disturbingly easy.

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1. Schenberg: Still alive (in a world that hates you)

The Point: He’s still alive in season one, ready to be revived after Celestial Being makes the world hate their guts.

Problem: He’s the public face of Celestial Being, the man who first said “screw your international norms, peace keeping institutions, and peace treaties: we’re attacking.” He fate is to immediately be killed off without being revived (which, in the vacuum on the Moon’s surface, would have killed him anyway), just to prove how evil Alejandro is and give an excuse for the late-season trans-am upgrade.

The fix: Why bring him back in the first place? Veda could still have a tripwire to send out Aeolia’s message, and he would have died as a renowned hermit in a world that wouldn’t hate him for another two hundred ears.

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2. Setsuna: Remember the doll

The Point: You probably don’t, but remember back in the first episode, even before the credits, Setsuna sees a broken doll in the ruins of Kurdistan? Remember how that same doll showed up not once but twice in the opening each episode, first as a black and white image and then as a elusive image that Setsuna can’t grab, both symbolizing his connection to his past memories?

Problem: No? Well, neither did the writers. Since two of the three were in the opening, it really isn’t that big a gap in the series, but it does make you wonder why they spent the time to put it in the show’s opening credits if it was never going to show up or be mentioned again. Perhaps Patrick and the AEU would have liked a three-second spot in the opening?

The fix: Make it so. Why not put the doll in the series? It could have been one of Setsuna’s only keepsakes from Kurdistan, or another doll just like it could have shown up during the Azadistan intervention, such as after Setsuna’s failed attempt to be gundam. That would have been a nice link between the start of the series and Setsuna’s return to Kurdistan. It would have been fairly quick and easy, even if it were only a shocking image from ruins that sticks in Setsuna’s memory.

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3. Setsuna: I am a Meister

The Point: Setsuna meets a woman who gets him out of a speeding ticket. In exchange, he tells her that he is a world-wanted terrorist, gives her his code name, and might have given her his number and told her to call him if he had read that chapter of how to be James Bond.

The Problem: Was there anyone who didn’t cringe at the ham-fisted delivery? Did anyone else besides Marina not believe their ears? Was there any credible reason for the future equivalent of Osama bin Laden to go up to a woman and try and use his identity as a conversation starter?

The fix: Don’t do it, Duh. That’s a duh with a capital ‘d’. Marina was already likely to remember Setsuna because she said she didn’t see many Kurds outside of Kurdistan. If she really must find out his identity on their first meeting, why not find out by twist of fate, not open admission? If Setsuna got his motorcycle into a crash and Marina was to find (and hide from police) his nifty Celestial Being card, or perhaps see the Exia while taking a walk outside of the city, it would have been much less grating on our ears to hear Setsuna’s entire name for the 73’rd time in the series.

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4. Lockon: OMG, Twin Brother!

The Point: Lockon has a identical sibling, one who knows how smoking gives a -5 on all modern coolness roles.

The Problem: The delivery was flat, and they waited an entire season before going on it. We see the brothers at the same grave yard within the first ten episodes, but then the twin is never mentioned again until it’s time for season two, a gap of around fifteen episodes. When ‘Lockon’ returns, he gets about two episodes of doubts and mistrust from Celestial Being before everyone accepts him, even though they know he’s a spy.

The Solution: In the first season, this could have been addressed by giving the brother a few more appearances. Like if instead of spying on little children from his car, Lockon was seen as watching his own brother from afar, giving an entirely different creepy sexual deviant vibe from Lockon (and pushing back accusations of pedophilia to episode nine).

For second season, the situation is still salvageable. Though the he’s-not-the-Lockon-I-remember subplot was dropped, it could be re-raised along with suspicions about his true loyalties. But really, bring us back to the differences between the two, please.

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5. Allelujah: Highly Political and Nowhere to Go

The Point: Allelujah and some friends escape from the HRL Super Soldier Institute, where they got some of the best medical treatment in the world for free. Deciding that free government health care is government oppression, the kids steal some weapons, commandeer a ship at gunpoint, and then go meandering around space, eating all their bags of chips and running out of air.

The Problem: Allelujah says they had nowhere to go, but that isn’t really true: given how unpopular and controversial the super soldier institute was portrayed to have been, having to remain top secret even within the military and all, just publicly turning themselves to the League infront of live international cameras likely could have embarrassed the League into shutting down the program. Even better they could have gone to the Union or Europeans, who would have touted the tykes as proof of the evils of Asia and what not. But rather than bring the truth of the institute to light, the kids simply wander around and die and Allelujah doesn’t tell the world about the allegedly horrific experiments until years later, after the Institute has had another decade or so to pump children full of chemicals.

The Fix: Another two sentences. “We didn’t have enough fuel to reach Union or European space” would be one, and “Celestial Being told me not to tell the public until more evidence could be gathered” would be another.

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6. Tieria: Trial of the System

The Point: Tieria is special in that he pilots two Gundams. One is the Virtue, tactfully described as “big boned,” and inside it is the Seravee, the Hermaphrodite Gundam with the Trial System which can shut down any Gundam linked to Veda as a sort of trump-card against any stolen Gundams. Which is what the Exia was in terms of GN-Fields.

The Problem: The Trial System, used only once to no effect, requires the Virtue to shed all its armor and to lose most of the firepower that made it dangerous in the first place. Which begs the question of why it needs to shed the armor in the first place, as well as why you’d make it so the Gundam inside wouldn’t have any long-range weapons in case it cast off its armor in gravity. Surely if it were to be fighting a captured Gundam, it might also be fighting some non-Gundam that could shoot?

The Fix: Make the Trial System usable with the Virtue. Then you have the ultimate anti-Gundam countermeasure (unless someone is hacking your super computer), and you don’t have to trade away the beam spam.

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7. Trinities: Hi, space ship! Bye, space ship!

The Point: The Trinities are pretty cool, for a bunch of cold-blooded murderous revolutionaries. They have Gundams, get rock music playing in the back ground, and have their own space ship.

The Problem: Huh? They have a space ship? Indeed they do, and it only shows up for one episode, never to be seen again when, say, the massive distraction of a Gundam carrier might have put terror in the hearts of the Earth, or at least played giant target for the UN forces to shoot at.

The Fix: Why not involve the ship in a desperate ploy for the Thrones to survive? “Oh, we’ll send our mother ship to racing towards an orbital elevator, forcing the people hunting us to divert forces from our sorry asses to save the global economy, allowing us to get away.” Or maybe it could have had some role in the final battle. Or just show Nena on it in the epilogue, proving that at least it got put to some use.

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8. Nena: Run away meat shield

The Point: Setsuna goes down to Earth, to confront and talk to the Thrones. Presumably, because at least Sumeragi and Johan had some common sense, an alliance between the Meisters and Thrones could have been made in the name of, say mutual survival against the UN forces that are tearing into them. Too bad Ali continues on his kill stread with two of the three Trinities.

The Problem: After the battle in which past-flame Setsuna saves Nena from certain death, the young maiden proceeds to reward her rescuer and enemy of her brother’s killers by immediately fleeing without a word, even though said killer is in the immediate area as well.

(Not seen: Setsuna getting a hero’s reward.)

The Fix: Why not take Nena to space, to help in the fight against the UN Forces that want to wipe them all out? Then she could be confronted and made to answer for her past actions, could earn some redemption by defending the crew of the Ptolemy, and who knows? Maybe there could be some soft semi-romantic subtext between her and Setsuna if she, pardon us, reforms.

You know what? That would make an awesome fanfic. Someone should write that up, and not quit like wimp after only a few updates under such excuses as ‘school’ or ‘too little time.’

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9. Johan: One for All

The Point: Look how evil the Thrones are, attacking the military-industrial complex like that! Go Flag Fighter Graham, drive them away from Iris Corp, which makes tons of money in making explosives to kill people with!

The Problem: It’s just Johan. Who, immediately after retreating, hooks up with his siblings just in time to be confronted by the Exia in a one vs. three match. Where were Michael and Nena while Johan was fighting alone, huh? Come to that, why couldn’t Setsuna and Celestial Being have intervened against the Thrones over the skies of the US, demonstrating the difference between the mass-killing Thrones and the relatively benign Meisters?

The Fix: An even more awesome battle in which Graham charges all three Thrones as they attack the factory. Dodging attacks left and right, Graham still manages his coup against Johan, but as he coughs up blood Nena and Michael prepare to finish him. At which point Daryl, leading the Union Flag Fighters, arrive and attack the Gundams, giving Graham time to recover. Soon the Exia shows up saving Graham, and soon the Virtue and Dynames and other Union reinforcements as the biggest three-way mobile suit battle in history goes down over North America. We’d have tons of cool moves and a kick ass fight, massive casualities of the Union (which got off light in the show), the Meisters get good press compared to the Thrones, and we have the best brawl of the series .

And if a certain Howard Mason and Louise Halevy gets avenged during this fight, so much the better, right?

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10. Michael: KOC (Killed Out of Combat)

The Point: Ah, Michael Trinity. Hyper-aggressive, blood-thirsty even, and pulled a knife on Setsuna. He’s sure to go out fighting, right?

The Problem: Ali pretty much kills him on sight and pulls of the series first and only Gundam-jack, proceeding to kick more ass in the Zwei than Michael ever did. Which isn’t bad, per say, but there was a line of people who wanted to shoot down Michael and Ali effectively cut ahead by walking in the back door. It completely ruined the buildup that Michael was such a battle-hungry bugger, and while there is some poetic justice in how he was killed by an even bigger battle-hungry bastard, it left most of us scratching our heads wondering why.

Fix: Even if Ali can’t simple wrestle the Zwei to ground, rip open its cockpit, and kill Michael with his bare hands (the rest of us weaklings would probably want to do all that with a mobile suit or something), would it have been that much to ask that Michael get a chance to futilely fight to the death, even if hand to hand?

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11. Sumeragi: The AEU spy who wouldn’t shag Billy

The Point: Season Two spoiler: Sumeragi is actually from the AEU!

The Problem: Though never stated explicitly, all the implications pointed towards the Union. We knew Sumeragi went to college with Billy (a Canadian weapons designer) and personally knew Professor Eifman (world renowned American scientist), both of whom were people for whom security clearance level is somewhere around “Has you dog ever met a Chinese cat?” Just being in the same room with them both at the same time would have gotten Sumeragi a file with Union Intelligence. The heavy implication that Sumeragi went to a Union university (where else would Eifman teach?) and the fact that Union personnel like Graham had heard of ‘that incident’ had led most people to reasonably assume that Sumeragi had been in the Union military, not the AEU. Hearing otherwise was a plot twist that came out of nowhere, and seemed to serve no real purpose.

Well, it might have served one purpose. Ever notice the lack of characters from Europe, compared to the Union or League? Some have speculated that the writers, realizing this omission, changed Sumeragi’s back-story during the break between seasons in order to give more balance across the globe, taking advantage of the fact that the exact nature of the incident had yet to be revealed (and thus no contradiction).

But still, why bother against your own build up and implications?

The Fix: Either make it clear that Sumeragi was a transfer student, or have changed it to her being in the Union. While the Sumeragi-Kati friendship/rivalry was clearly planned to be built on, they don’t both have to be European tactical advisors. Kati could have been the only exchange student, and Sumeragi the native Union girl. It could have been a friendly-fire incident in a war game exercise between the two powers, one that Sumeragi felt incredibly guilty for starting an international incident/minor conflict over. Whatever it is, just be clear.

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12. Lichtendahl: Tragic robot past

The Point: It’s the countdown before the final battle. Wills are written. Prayers are said. Illicit, desperate affairs are slept before the battle is fought and people die. Personal secrets are told, tragic pasts of suffering in past wars are revealed. That guy you wanted to sue for sexual harassment is a robot.

Wait, what?

The Problem: Not only did we have no idea that cybernetic prosthetics existed in the modern world of 00, since we were told during Louise’s tragedy that limb regeneration is the state of the art medicine, but it hasn’t mattered or come up sense. It didn’t matter then, either, since we first saw Licht’s parts when he died failing to save Christina from death. Sort of like if the Terminator sacrificed himself to save a child, but the child was promptly run over by a car and no one ever mentioned the robot corpse ever again.

The Fix: As much fun as some people might get out of wondering whether Lichtendahl’s love gun was still all natural or mechanically improved, did it really matter? The failed meat-shield scene would have been just as (not) effective had it been actual meat and not metal shredded by the explosion, and the messy effects of a compromised space suit would be a nice change from all the other pilots who can survive explosions and the shrapnel damage to their space suits in the vacuum of space. As it was, it came out of nowhere, never showed up again, and now we have to wonder why everyone isn’t trying to re-enact Ghost in the Shell with those primitive AI’s that were referenced in episode nine by the HRL.

What, you don’t remember that either?

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13. Christina: Bad taste

The Point: Christina is your average self-insert Mary Sue in a Gundam series. Brilliant, cheerful, and amazingly well-endowed for her (or anyone’s) age, Christina goes off with lusting eyes for every single halfway hot guy in Celestial Being except the married head mechanic, his possibly gay Doctor friend, and that dweeb who has the audacity to talk to her.

Problem: Did we mention that the dweeb is the only one who cares about her, does nice things when she has a long day, and actually tries to sacrifice his life for her? Compare him to the possibly female effeminate male, the stoic child soldier, the older man who your younger (minor) friend has a crush on, the double-personality pilot who may or may not be flirting with your strategic coordinator, and the mysterious new comer pilot who turns out to be capable of cold-blooded mass murderer, and while technically bad taste isn’t a plot hole or dropped plot thread it is a major logical gap worthy of derision.

Plus, if a guy has to get himself killed to get a kind word from you, we have to wonder (a) if you’re worth it and (b) just how smart you actually are if you really didn’t see it beforehand.

The Fix: Make it a comedy in the back ground. Maybe have all the other crew members try and hook Christina up with Lichty, if only so she stops hitting on everyone with two legs and without a uterus. Or if you’re willing to not kill them off, keep them alive as is and watch them enjoy as perfectly happy and normal a relationship as a cyborg geek and a teenage female fantasy can have. Or did we already say make it a comedy?

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14. Feldt: Parents were in Gundam ( Manual)

The Point: Episode 9. Feldt cries cute jailbait tears on the anniversary of her parents death, and confides to Lockon that her parents were second generation Gundam Meisters. This scene inspires an entire pairing shipping, starts an unrequited one-sided crushing session, and later with the revealing of Trans-Am and its red hue reignites the debate as to who the real Ped Comet of 00 is.

The Problem: There were second generation Gundams?

This is a case of the anime trope known as “All in the manual,” in which relevant and sometimes critical information is in the extra material, action figures, or audio works. Of course, most in America never get access to these often Japanese-exclusive releases, and those who are stuck with only the anime itself for all their information…

The Fix: It’s not really important, since the point is that her parents died, not that they were Meisters, and the tragic part is that their child doesn’t even know how they died. We didn’t get the history of regular mobile suit development either, so the lack of dumbed-down suits is a minor hit. Just not mentioning that they were Gundam Meisters would solve this loose thread. But still, some subtle hint would have been nice. Perhaps if the stars outside the window had rearranged themselves to spell “Go Buy Gundam 00P”?

(Not pictured: The cosmos shifting to tell you to go buy more Japanese books and media.)

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15. Lasse: Explosions + Vacuum + Fragile pilot suits = cool scar.

The Point: Once upon a time, there was a chaotic and bloody battle for survival. The sides were blurred, good and evil impossible to tell, and many good men died. One cool man in particular, caught dead on by a powerful beam, had his cockpit explode around him, and his cracked helmet floated along in space. Two years later, that man had amnesia and a scar that allegedly made him look cooler.

Sorry, that was Gundam Seed Destiny. In Gundam 00’s first season something a lot like that happened, though, only with a guy who wasn’t quite as cool, there was no floating helmet in space, and he didn’t have amnesia as an excuse to have his overly-endowed captain try everything they could think of, and a few more out of the kama sutra, to return his memory.

(Not pictured: A helmet floating in space.)

The Problem: How does someone survive the equivalent of the interior of a car spontaneously exploding in on them? How could Lasse have gotten back to Celestial Being, when the UN forces won and could control the field and pick up survivors? How could Lasse survive exposure in the vacuum of space in a compromised space suit, what with all the tears and cracks the explosion would have torn in his suit and helmet?

Lasse is hardly the only one to survive this fate, mind you. It seems like the only one who did NOT survive their cockpit exploding around them in space was Alejandro, but the man was piloting a golden GM.

The Fix: Keep him dead. Lasse had even less reason to be kept alive than Christina and Lichtendahl (who had each other, finally), and could have been replaced on the bridge crew just as easily as they were. CB has the manpower: yes, I’m looking at you, Fereshte.

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16. Ian: Gundam invisibility

The Point: Ian is a pretty cool guy, for a mild-aged engineer in a terrorist organization. He’s a cool head of reason, dedicated and loyal, easy to get along with, and can always be counted on to pony up the next battle-winning weapon.

The Problem: He doesn’t remember all his own inventions (or at least we never get told). A little known ability of the Gundams is near-perfect optical camouflage, demonstrated at various points when the Gundams are sitting still. Then again, sometimes they don’t use it when they’re sitting still, which makes it an on-again, off-again tool never really explained on. Since they never told us it had limitations, it is our duty to wonder just why the Meisters didn’t fly around with it on all the time, killing aces left and right as invisible death.

The Fix: Alright, there’s probably those pesky details like optical camouflage loses its effectiveness the moment you start moving faster than a Tieren. But would it be so hard to tell us what those facts and limitations are?

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17. Wang Liu Mei: The maids

The Point: Wang Liu Mei has a large and devoted staff of maids (and a butler) to serve her every whim. (Episode 8, season one.)

The Problem: Liu Mei tells them to leave her to her work, and they never show up again. In all the times where the crew of the Ptolemy crashes at her place, relaxes on her private boat, and all the rest, they never make so much as a cameo.

The Fix: Why not throw them in? Doing chores in the background, staring in lust as Lasse does one handed pushups with his rippling muscles, or just for a laugh as Lichtendahl tries to hit on one of them. You can always say that they’re part of Celestial Being, there to serve as Liu Mei’s assistants, eyes, and ears.

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18. Hong Long: Incest is not best

The Point: Holy shit, Wang Liu Mei’s total beef cake of a bodyguard is her brother, as of a quarter of the way into season two!

The Problem: Couldn’t you have told us sooner? Show me the man who didn’t wonder for just what other duties Liu Mei kept Hong around for, and I’ll show you either a liar, a pre-adolescent, or a yaoi fan girl. You have a season and an intermission worth of hentai doujin out there now that has to be labeled ‘incest’ now because you couldn’t tell us sooner. Is this your idea of a sick joke?

The Fix: Well, it was sort of funny, but next time don’t try and make us break down certain societal norms. That is the sort of thing we would appreciate in episode one, first season.

It wouldn’t stop the doujin, of course, but the rest of us would feel a lot cleaner today.

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19. Corner: Corner is a villain

The Point: Corner, the villain! At episode 18, finally proof that he isn’t just part of a two-century long terrorist conspiracy, and that he might actually be up to something bad!

The Problem: As far as villains go, Corner was pathetically obvious by the law of cultural averages (Hispanic edge, rich and well educated/elitist, mysterious manservant) while having little actual foreshadowing of his schemes that wasn’t perfectly explainable by his alternative duties as a member of Celestial Being. Though his role in Azadistan is vaguely apparent strictly in hindsight, his first indication of acting outside of Celestial Being was when he left in episode 15, presumably to send in the Thrones. As it was, Corner was a villain whose reveal was both woefully under indicated and entirely over-suspected.

The Fix: More sinister foreshadowing, without making the man look even more like a walking Jewish conspiracy. Perhaps it was part voice acting, but a little more apparent sincerity would go a fair ways, as well as charity and generosity. Something to make his smirk during the Meister vs. Throne showdown a surprise.

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20. Ribbons: Killing Aeolia to fulfill Veda’s will to fulfill Aeolia’s will. Wait, wtf?

The Point: Ribbons is a scheming little git, but now we can finally place his modus operandi: Ribbons schemes and conspires to fulfill Veda’s goals, which in turn are meant to fulfill Aeolia’s goals.

The Problem: Since when was suicide one of Aeolia’s goals? Conspiring behind Alejandro’s own conspiracy, Ribbons brings forth Aeolia so that Alejandro can kill the man who went through a whole lot of trouble so that he could be woken up in the future.

The Fix: Have it revealed that Ribbons, and maybe even Veda, have subverted Aeolia’s intentions for their own gain. That might be hard for Veda, which has to date been nothing more than a giant desk top. But if Ribbons is just a power hungry bugger, then having Alejandro kill off Aeolia becomes something more than an exercise in head scratching on our part.

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21. Laguna: We knew him well

The Point: Not even worthy of Joshua or Ming’s two-episode presence, Laguna only had a single episode of face time, though he was central to a plot point was of Kinue’s near unraveling of the Corner conspiracy.

The Problem: Remember that single episode of face time? Laguna is shot immediately after, without even the chance to explain why he was a part of Alejandro’s conspiracy. He was effectively a one-episode middle man between Ali and the Alejandro/Ribbons conspiracy, and got knocked off, and his murder wasn’t even much in the way of shock value.

The Fix: Why bring him up in the first place, when the difference in plot would have been almost indistinguishable (except a bit more interesting for Kinue as she connected the dots) if Nena had said “Corner” instead of “Laguna”? Then Kinue would have effectively unraveled the Corner conspiracy, the conflict in Azadistan, and part of Celestial Being, rather than just died without learning anything other than Ali being a bastard.

(Not pictured: Ali NOT being a bastard.)

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22. That Nameless Realdo Pilot: Too dumb to get money

The Point: The very Realdo pilot who gives Laguna’s (Corner, please!) name to Kinue has a very silly reason to arguably betray his country and not report the money to his superiors: he wants money to throw his daughter a nice birthday party.

The Problem: That’s it? If he wanted money, he could have asked his superiors for a raise when reporting it. That kind of info, if not already getting him put on the promotion fast track and having a very nice bonus, would be enough for the government to pay him hush money for the rest of his life, and pay for his daughter’s child. Hell, they could convince a Congressman to show up at the kid’s birthday part. But no, clearly a civilian Japanese reporter can pay so much more money than the government, and with no possible repercussions from his chain of command.

The Fix: Have him already tell his government, and then want more money from Kinue because he got nothing and he still wants to throw the birthday party. The lead on more conspirators being suspected by the Three Powers would have fit into that dropped thread about Billy and Graham suspecting traitors in the Union military, and would have given the Union military members a season two connection to Sergei and Kati, who are suspicious of the A-LAWS already. Just imagine the fun if our military men and woman get together and add up the following equation.

Corner (UN elite with much influence, showed up out of nowhere with a ten GN-drive mobile armor)
+ Ribbons (former servant of Corner, now very influential man in A-LAW circles)
=???

Come on, admit it. You’d love to see the best of all three powers working together, rather than just Sergei and Kati with Graham and Billy somewhere else.

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23. Graham: Bleeding speed

The Point: Throughout the series, Graham’s need for speed and the threat of it to his body were a steadily increasing constant. Every battle, more and more speed has more and more effect on his body, and soon he’s coughing up blood.

The Problem: It had no relevance. For all Billy’s warnings that the G-system wasn’t safe enough, for Graham’s increasingly bloody fights with his high-speed Flag, the issue is never commented on again by anyone, and it serves no purpose other than to make him look cool. He coughs up blood, but none of his so-called friends go “Jesus Christ, get this man to a hospital for internal bleeding!” We writer chimps may not be trained medical professionals, but that doesn’t sound good to us.

The Fix: Put him in a hospital after facing down the Throne Eins, for reasons of coughing up blood. Ironically, this would also be the fix for Graham’s next absurdity, see below.

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24. Graham: Stay behind the battle for the GN-Flag

The Point: At Howard Mason’s grave, Graham swears to defeat a Gundam with a Flag, and then promptly proceeds to kick the Eins’ mechanical tush with just that. But when the gundam-level GN-X’s are revealed, Graham says “no thanks” and spends until the last episode doing absolutely nothing of value, presumably to make a point about his code of honor and promises and what not.

The Problem: Even ignoring that Graham could have just gone to space with his Overflag and fought well without a GN drive, the premise is blatantly artificial. The only reason Graham got a chance to use his GN-flag was because the Meisters had their own dues ex machina, trans-am, to make the fight against the UN forces close to even. Without trans-am, the UN forces would have won within three bouts and Darryl would have achieved Howard’s revenge before Graham even left Earth.

The Fix: See above. If Graham was in the hospital for pushing himself too far with his Flag, no one could blame him for not going into space. Nothing else would really be changed, and Graham saying “Billy, could you attach a GN-drive to my Flag by the time I’m able to break out of the hospital” would have been a lot more awesome than “I’ll stand back while my command, Flag Fighters all, are killed off to the man.” He could even send a message to Darryl from Earth saying he’s on his way, giving Darryl more impetus to avenge Howard before Graham shows up in his GN-Flag.

Basically, the Union could have been much more kickass, with wounded pilots breaking out of hospitals and running off for a epic battle of revenge, rather than Quixote prideful.

---

25. Joshua: Someone hates Graham?

The Point: Joshua is introduced as a Union-famous pilot, along with two other famous pilots who don’t even get faces. It’s clear he doesn’t like Graham, making him the first person to say so, and he reveals that Graham shot down a superior officer.

The Problem: No one else ever has a problem with Graham again, and the fratricide subplot is only brought up once more when Darryl says that it was just an accident. Nothing more is ever said on the subject.

This is actually another case of an “all in the manual” event, from a Gundam 00 audio CD. Roughly, the story goes that Graham upon entering the Union airforce is a certified genius pilot, pulling of the Graham Special mid-air transformation (1) that the Flag wasn’t designed to do, (2) on his very first flight, and (3) without even reading the Flag’s manual. Graham’s commander, also a drinking buddy, takes a liking to Graham, and says that Graham should marry his daughter. Graham declines, more because he thinks he isn’t of an acceptable social class (he’s an orphan who joined the military to fly) than because no one has asked the girl’s opinion on the matter. And we still never hear why Joshua cares.

The Fix: Keep Joshua around in the Flag Fighters for longer, forcing them to explain what did happen. Maybe Joshua is a friend of the late captain, or a friend/suitor of the young lady, or some combination thereof. Something to personally connect him to Graham, and give him a reason to dislike him. Joshua could be turned into something other than a made-to-be-hated character, perhaps coming to an understanding with Graham after seeing Graham’s own anger and grief over the deaths at MSWAD at the cemetery.

And while at it, you know what else could have been done there? Graham visiting the grave of his old Captain. Perhaps his confrontation with Joshua goes there. And who else should show up but a beautiful woman who greets Graham as her father’s daughter? More character development all around, and this could still tie in with the two above fixes.

---


26. Kati: Foreign exchange to the same Union university. What are the chances?

The point: Kati the Kickass and Sumeragi (Kujo) both go to the same Union university. What are the chances?

The Problem: What are the chances that two European strategic analysts would go to the same Union university, meet, and become friends, really? As far plot improbabilities go this isn’t that major, but it does beg the question of why they included it. Even if they did know each other from their days in the AEU military, is there a reason to have them both be foreign exchange students at the same university? They could have just been war buddies.

The Fix: If Sumeragi was actually Union, then it would raise a few less eyebrows on the statistics and chance board. It’s hardly anything critical, anyway, but it is a bit strange.

---

27. Patrick: Beam saber beat-down

The Point: in the Exia’s first appearance, it quickly chops up Patrick’s Enact both with its GN-blade and a beam saber.

The Problem: Two episodes later, both Graham and Sergei are amazed and taken by surprise that the Gundam Exia has beam sabers that are used to disarm them (literally, in Sergei’s case).

This is a plot hole in the first three episodes, even if the beam saber was a ‘blink and you miss it’ moment in Patrick’s overall humiliation. It possibly was an oversight by the animators and writing staff: the animators might have thought that the beam saber would be cool to show off, while the writers and planners had wanted to hold it back to episode three, and no one was talking to eachother.

The Fix: Change the animation of Patrick’s dismemberment. The Exia can easily take out Patrick with the GN-blade, and still look amazing and graceful while doing so. Or the Exia can grab the Enact’s severed arm and start beating down Patrick’s machine while yelling “Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!”

---

28. Sergei: Hero of which solar war?

The Point: Sergei is an accomplished, respected, and legendary hero of the 4th Solar War.

The Problem: There was more than one? The only Solar War we get any details on was the one in which Ali bombed Ireland, and that wasn’t even a fight between the three powers. Since apparently there were multiple of these conflicts, it would help if we knew the difference between them. Similarly, what role did Ali’s Aggressor play in one of those wars or another? Both Sergei and the Aggressor apparently made a name for themselves during the past.

The Fix: More backstory. Saji’s in a history/social science class in school, and Kinue worked as a reporter at a news station: use them! We aren’t asking for episode-long flashbacks, but just telling us what the war was about and who fought who would be an improvement. This would be a proper thing to be briefly (but concisely) touched on in the series and expounded on in extra material.

---

29. Soma: I like my name (let’s change it)

The Point: One reason that Soma declines Sergei’s initial offer for adoption was because she was attached to her name and identity as Peries. Sergei respects her feelings, and so she keeps her identity.

The Problem: The moment Ali wakes up Marie, it all gets thrown out of the window. Ali pursued Marie, and Soma Peries is thrown into the background with just her memories to Marie.

The Solution: Tricky. If Soma and Marie were a dual-personality like Allelujah/Hallelujah, they could keep the identity crisis/plot thread going for awhile longer. But too much difference, and Allelujah won’t know who he’s waking up next to every morning. Which would be interesting, mind you, especially with Hallelujah’s return.

---

30. Ming: Token Asian guy

The Point: Another of 00’s two-episode characters, Ming exists to be killed off and show Hallelujah to be the sadistic bastard he is, and to demonstrate Chinese honor and bravery.

The Problem: Just like his counterparts Joshua and Laguna, Ming serves no relevant role anywhere else in the series. Joshua existed to be hated and dig up Graham’s past, Laguna existed to be shot to cover up his involvement with Alejandro, and Ming existed to be sympathetic and show that Celestial Being really weren’t the good guys. We had no indication of him before episode 9, and only a single mourning mechanic mentions him after his death. Despite this, his episodes of mention portrayed him as Sergei’s right-hand man, and a brave and capable man to boot.

The Fix: Have Ming be more equivalent to what Howard Mason was to Graham: a reoccurring grunt who gets a few lines here and there before being killed. Putting Ming in scenes with Sergei as an aid and comrade between episodes one and eight wouldn’t have been too hard, and would have made his loss that much more dramatic. Sergei wouldn’t have to go on a revenge-crusade like Graham, but a mention here and there wouldn’t have been out of place either.

Heck, if you want to really bridge seasons, Ming could have known about Sergei’s son and family past, implying it once or twice. It would be a stretch, true, but he could have served as a bridge between Sergei and his son, Andrei.

---

31. Ali: Commander Ali, Mighty is He

Point: When Ali is introduced, he is not the Avatar of Chaos he becomes later in the series. He is a field commander in PMC Trust, commands his own band of loyal soldiers, and leads them into the Moralian conflict where he has them not lose a single mobile suit (mostly because he told them to stay put and out of the way). In the past he was a charismatic leader of the Kurdish guerillas, and during the Azadistan arc he once again has his own group of men working for him.

The Problem: They and their mobile suits are never seen again. Not as moving meat shields for Ali, not as cannon fodder, they aren’t even shot down and killed. They just… disappear. A few are killed during the rescue of Rasa, but that couldn’t have been all of them.

The Fix: Have them killed off a few at a time. Maybe during Moralia the Virtue comes over the ridge, sees them, and kills half of them while Ali makes a retreat after being taken by surprise. During the Azadistan arc, a few of the mutineer soldiers are shown to actually be Ali’s men placed in advance. At the hide out where Rasa is kept, another suit or two is kept in standby, and they promptly get killed by Setsuna. Use them, not just lose them.

---

32. Marina: My political arch-rival was my Sunday school teacher

Point: Alright, he’d probably not be called her Sunday school teacher, but Rasa was revealed to be a mentor and friend of Marina, even if he was her the face of her political enemies.

Problem: Like many good plot twists, it promptly gets dropped. No one else comments on it, instead focusing on the fact he’s the head of the traditionalists, and he himself never mentions a word of his connection to the princess even to his Celestial Being saviors.

The Fix: Drop it if you can’t develop or bring it up later in the series, and Rasa is going to die in the time skip anyways. Rasa doesn’t need to be personally connected to Marina to be the noble political adversary who disagrees with her policies.

--

33. Saji/Louise: The Mail Paradox

The Point: At the end of the first season Saji narrates a letter he wrote to Louise, tell her that he has gone to space and is waiting for her.

The Problem: During the A-LAW party in episode 8, Setsuna tells Louise that he met Saji in space and she is surprised. Which she wouldn’t have been, if she had read the mail he sent. The three explanations are that of plot hole (ugly), that Saji never sent the mail (doubtful, or else why would the epilogue have narrated it if it wasn’t sent?), or that the mail was intercepted before Louise could see it (possible).

The Fix: Make it so Ribbons used Veda’s connections to have the mail stopped so that he alone would have influence over Louise’s mindset and thoughts. If you really want to make a conspiracy out of it, Ribbons and Veda could also have arranged Saji’s arrest and transfer to Proud colony just before the first use of the automatons, intending to get him out of the way and unable to influence Louise.

---

34. Kinue: Taking rides from strangers

The Point: Desperate for a lead and suspecting a major international businessman of bankrolling a terrorist group, Kinue does what any sensible reporter would do: she runs in front of the first car to drive out of the office and asks to interview the driver about whether or not his boss is behind international terrorism. Said driver turns out to be Prince Ali, who’s done far more terrorism by the age of thirty than Laguna ever will. Kinue gets in the car, gets the interview of her life, and then is promptly shot for knowing too much (and presumably for not laughing at Ali’s dead baby jokes).

The problem: Everything. Kinue being the only one to know about Laguna was already touched on, but how bizarre does a universe have to be for any of that series of events to make sense?

Kinue stops Ali from going on his rampaging way by running in front of his moving vehicle: if he wasn’t on Laguna’s property, we all know Ali would have run her over.

(Not pictured: a Kinue-shaped imprint on the hood of Ali’s car.)

Then Kinue asks to interview a Laguna employee about whether Laguna is associated with terrorists. If that employee didn’t know, well, all and good. But if Laguna was working with terrorists, and this employee does know, then by extension doesn’t that mean he’s working with terrorists? That’s kind of like going to a stranger in a dark ally and asking “are you the kind of mass murderer who shoots people for asking questions?”

Then Kinue got into the car with a stranger for an impromptu interview, rather than penciling in an interview at another time and day where she wouldn’t be asking dangerous questions of a stranger with no security. That’s not just bad public safety skills that they teach kindergarteners, it’s also bad journalism.

To make a coup in the ludicrous, Ali then goes on to give her the interview in which he makes all sorts of incriminating remarks. Though he kills her to keep her silent afterwards, she still has her wallet in the ally, which also means she could have still had, say, a secret recorder hidden in her pocket, bra, and/or purse. And that she could have had a transmitter to send a live copy of their interview to a secure recorder, creating the perfect incriminating evidence against Laguna and Ali. All because Ali felt like running his mouth.

The Fix: Do away with the scene entirely, and have Kinue use contacts and bribes to break into Laguna’s office, find information, and then be caught by Ali who drives back after realizing he forgot his coat. Kinue gets her information, gets killed before she can send it somewhere safe, and doesn’t demonstrate the caution of a pre-schooler. Or, if bribes and contacts aren’t hot enough, Kinue could have dressed up in a black jumpsuit and used her Japanese female ninja reporter skills to break in. Mmm, female ninjas.

(Not pictured: Kinue in a ninja suit in Laguna’s office. Because she’s a ninja.)

---

35. Union: Map Quest

The Point: The Union, the first power to complete its elevator system and get power, unlimited power, is actually the least-unified power, with member states actively trying to break away. Irony of naming aside, the Union composes all of North and South America (except Greenland), and also covers the Western Pacific with an energy pipeline running from South America to Australia, Japan and… not the Philippines, even though the League tower is right beside Australia.

The Problem: Huh? That map makes little geopolitical sense to anyone with a understanding of economics and history, both in regards to the pacific and of the Northern Atlantic. As the first power to get its Solar Energy supplies operational and the American influence, North America would have been one of the first countries to get the solar energy, and it would only be a short hop over to Greenland and to finish the fortification of Fortress America. Instead Europe, which ten years after the League finished the Pillar of Heave still hasn’t completed their own tower, somehow got Greenland along. Deciding that Greenland is a channel too far, the Union proceeded to build a trans-Pacific pipeline to both Australia and Japan, but neglected the Philippines.

For those who are confused as to why this seems counter-intuitive (many don’t remember that the Philippines are also a US ally in the Pacific), dust off your text books and look at Japanese economics and history. Japan isn’t just an energy importer, it’s completely dependent on imports for raw and necessary resources period. Food, steel, you name it, Japan is always about a week from starvation. Secure sea lanes are a requirement, and the very reason Japan attacked the US in WW2 was because the Philippines sit on those sea lanes. So if the Union can pump energy to Japan AND Australia before the League, they should also be pumping energy to the Philippines or else Japan would starve into submission within weeks of any conflict as the only open sea lanes would be those all the way to the Americas. If the Philippines were allied, the Union could trade between Australia and Japan via the Philippines with a fair deal more safety.

Australia is also a curiosity, considering how close it is to the League’s tower. Australia is an obvious launching post for any Union attack on the League’s energy source, and so would have been a priority for the League to convince to join. The Philippines and Japan together can blockade the League’s Chinese coast, but the League is a land-based power anyway. The Union navy can be pushed back from the tower, but Australia is a continent-sized unsinkable aircraft carrier that heavy fighters and bombers can launch from. (Strangely, this is never touched upon in the series.)

The Fix: Since no plot-critical events would be changed, just re-color the map as needed. The Union should get Greenland regardless, while the Pacific should see either the Philipines go Union, Japan and Australia go League, or a sensible combination thereof.

---

36. AEU: Will sell Hellions for cheap(er)

The Point: In episode one, we see evil terrorists using Hellions to attack the League tower. Ignoring how Celestial Being just happened to know about the attack ahead of time, and how the attack just so happened to be at the exact same time as the European Enact trials in Africa, Sergei curses the AEU for selling Hellions to anyone who will buy them, even terrorists.

The Problem: Everyone else, terrorists, insurgents, and small countries alike, seems to use the League Anf’s instead. The only non-European force using Hellion’s after episode one are the terrorists Lockon kills in South America in episode 8. All the other countries and groups we see use Leage Anf’s (in the middle east especially), Teirens, or Union Realdos.

The Fix: More Hellions outside of the AEU, especially in Africa and the Middle East.

---

37. HRL: Commie space capitalists

The Point: The Human Reform League is given a strong Russian/Soviet Union vibe, with invocations of mother/father land, overly-strict military, comparatively primitive but durable weapons, and lots of saluting.

The Problem: The League and Soviet Union have almost nothing in common. The League ruling party is democratically elected, the country is by all appearances capitalist, and there are no signs that the League is just waiting to burst out in a wave of conquest over Eurasia. Come to that, Russia isn’t even in the League. European Russia, where most of the population, industry, history, and wealth are, is west of the Urals and is in the AEU. What the League controls is Siberia, which while containing many resources over its vast expanse, is also sparsely populated and likely always will be. It’s, like, really cold. The fact that Sergei is the Wild Bear of Russia in the Human Reform League is a marvel, since ethnic Russians would be the same kind of ethnic minority in the League that ethnic Hawaiins are in the United States.

The Fix: Russian stereotypes are awesome and all, but if you’re looking for something other than ‘Soviets with Chinese architecture’ you should focus a lot more on the Indian influence in the League. India has about the same population as China (in fact, India is going to surpass China in the next thirty years), but it has no cultural punch in the show. Why not show some ethnic Indians as well as your Chinese grunts? Let’s see some curry restaurants, or maybe Wang Liu Mei as a Bollywood star.

---


38. Those Terrorists: Underpants Political Activism

The Point: Terrorists hate other terrorists getting in on their act. At least that’s the message in episode eight, where an international terrorist group begins attacking civilian population centers until Celestial Being stops its interventions, because clearly the way to convince an ideological movement that has no concern about civilian casualties to stop is to blow up more civilians.

The Problem: Besides the fact that protests break out against Celestial Being, and not the bombers? This is what is referred to as underwear activism, which is a simple three-stage plan to ending any war.

(1)Set off bombs among innocent civilians
(2)???
(3)War ends, terrorists lay down arms

The name comes from the fact this is the sort of plan amateur revolutionaries like the Weatherman Underground think of early in the morning before they even put on their underpants.

The Fix: It would have been much more reasonable if the terrorist group had been using a copy-cat strategy, claiming to be Celestial Being for their attacks. Celestial Being gets the blame, while the terrorists further their own private goals. The three powers would quickly realize that it isn’t actually Celestial Being behind the attacks, and quietly give Celestial Being information needed to find the terrorists.

[Thundermuffin]

Awesome. Good points all.

I particularly like the one about Ali's men. That never occurred to me.

[Imperial]

I haven't had a chance to read the list in its entirety, but Number 5 jumps out at me.

I believe the novels or some other supplementary material tanked the idea of the Super Soldier children stealing that shuttle. They were set adrift in space for being defective products as a brutally appalling form of execution. They didn't botch an escape attempt. They were deliberately placed in a dire situation.

Edit:
-13 doesn't really jive for me. How is she at all a Mary Sue? She comes off as something of a coward during the HRL Gundam capture operation and vapid in her fickle interest in whatever hot guy is around this week. However, I do agree they should have done more with Lichty's failed crush. It was played for laughs for one episode and could have made a great running joke.

-Agreed on Lasse staying dead

-I never once got sexual vibes from Hong Long and Wang's relationship. He came across rather asexual. I figured he was a young veteran who served alongside her father and was now working to protect his old mentor's daughter. Cliche as hell, but it fit.

-I feel it's rather obvious that Ribbons has been twisting Aeolia's goals to suit his own vision of the world. Isn't that the crux of his character and the Innovator-Celestial Being conflict--each has a different idea of what it is to follow Aeolia's lead?

-Graham's childishness over the GN-X and the Flag worked for me. It was stupid as hell, but that's the point. Graham is a glory-hungry idiot. He is going to do things on his own terms. To hell with the consequences. The way he's been acting in Season 2 is really just an extension of these same patterns. He's spoiled, selfish, and just a jerk when you get right down to it.

-Agreed on the Union's territory not making any damn sense

[Dean_the_Young]

I haven't had a chance to read the list in its entirety, but Number 5 jumps out at me.

I believe the novels or some other supplementary material tanked the idea of the Super Soldier children stealing that shuttle. They were set adrift in space for being defective products as a brutally appalling form of execution. They didn't botch an escape attempt. They were deliberately placed in a dire situation.

Well, Allelujah tells Soma in episode seven that they stole a shuttle, and they were definitely seen running down the halls in the institute packing some deadly fire-power, so the cannon does say they stole the shuttle.

If they went to fix it in side-material, that just proves my point.

-13 doesn't really jive for me. How is she at all a Mary Sue? She comes off as something of a coward during the HRL Gundam capture operation and vapid in her fickle interest in whatever hot guy is around this week.

Just as shallow as most Mary Sues, and also in need of protection. Unreasonably attractive/endowed, brilliant to the point of hacking the AEU mainframe before breakfast, no real flaws besides being helpless in combat? That's the archetype of a Sue alright. (The 'Helpless Sue' subtype, one who is beautiful and kind and smart but useless in a fight, in fact.) Biggest difference was that all the males were NOT lining up to talk to her.

-I never once got sexual vibes from Hong Long and Wang's relationship. He came across rather asexual. I figured he was a young veteran who served alongside her father and was now working to protect his old mentor's daughter. Cliche as hell, but it fit.

To be honest, neither did I (then again I find Wang repulsive), but it was obviously something that would wind up in doujin and that people would think.

-I feel it's rather obvious that Ribbons has been twisting Aeolia's goals to suit his own vision of the world. Isn't that the crux of his character and the Innovator-Celestial Being conflict--each has a different idea of what it is to follow Aeolia's lead?

Part of Ribbon's salesmanship to Tieria is that he is the one actually working to fulfill Aeolia's goals, and at this point I haven't seen anything to convince me otherwise. Alejandro was just a petty power-hungry man, but I can see the Innovators, like Tieria, actually being convinced that they work to fulfill Aeolia's vision.

There's still time for more to be made clear, of course, but it was a bit of a hole in Ribbons argument. (Not that Tieria would know, mind you.)

-Graham's childishness over the GN-X and the Flag worked for me. It was stupid as hell, but that's the point. Graham is a glory-hungry idiot. He is going to do things on his own terms. To hell with the consequences. The way he's been acting in Season 2 is really just an extension of these same patterns. He's spoiled, selfish, and just a jerk when you get right down to it.

Well, I disagree on all those points except that it was a silly choice (I would have liked to see a Flag in space anyway), but then I gave an alternative that would have covered two bad plot threads with one change. I was actually hoping that Graham would lose his final fight because of coughing up blood, back in Season One.

-Agreed on the Union's territory not making any damn sense

I think it was partly in an attempt to balance the three sides. Europe already looks much too small compared to the League and Union, hence Greenland (which is actually tiny in terms of population or wealth, but large in land mass), while the writers might have thought that giving the Union Japan AND Australia AND the Philippines would have made the Union seem too powerful.

[Strike Zero]

You make several excellent points (though some of them aren't really all that important to the overall flow of the story). Some of them aren't necessary fixes, however, and there are three points in particular that I did have a problem with:

7: Nena was indeed shown on it during Setsuna's little reminiscing speech before the time-jump (at least, that's probably what that dark little room she was sitting in was). They also show it parked outside the asteroid they were keeping the 0 and 00 Gundam in during the post-timeskip preview, implying that they are in fact still using the thing.

8: If the second season is any indication, Celestial being still very much considers the Thrones to be their enemies. Setsuna in particular was very vehement about them "not being GUNDAMS" and whatnot. Frankly, I was more surprised that he didn't try to shoot her in the back as she flew away, never mind trying to take her back to their ship.

14: Why not mention they were Meisters? It makes them and the circumstances about their death all the more interesting, and there's really no point in complaining we don't get all the extra information because we don't have access to the "japanese-only releases" because, guess what? This is a show made for Japan, not America.

[Imperial]

Well, Allelujah tells Soma in episode seven that they stole a shuttle, and they were definitely seen running down the halls in the institute packing some deadly fire-power, so the cannon does say they stole the shuttle.

Now I feel silly.

Admittedly, I've only seen the first four episodes of the second season, gearing up for finals and all. Stealing the shuttle actually works a lot better, as I had always wondered why the HRL didn't simply shoot them and be done with it.

I suppose this is a case of the mainstream saying "that's just stupid" to the supplemental material.

Just as shallow as most Mary Sues, and also in need of protection. Unreasonably attractive/endowed, brilliant to the point of hacking the AEU mainframe before breakfast, no real flaws besides being helpless in combat? That's the archetype of a Sue alright. (The 'Helpless Sue' subtype, one who is beautiful and kind and smart but useless in a fight, in fact.)

I don't know about that, really. She struck out on the romantic front consistently, only becoming aware of a good match for herself when it was too late. A Sue would have had all of the Meisters swooning. It was really her own fault anyway, being so ready to brush him off without a thought. She has too many glaring flaws for me to think of her as any kind of Sue.

Besides, she's little more than a talking head. You might be able to make a case if she was the most important Celestial Being member next to the Meisters, but she wound up being a third-string character on a good day. I've always felt focus was a big part of making a Sue.

Really, freakishly developed, my-parents-were-Meisters, hacker-kid Feldt feels a lot more like a Sue than Christina, but that's an entirely separate matter.

Part of Ribbon's salesmanship to Tieria is that he is the one actually working to fulfill Aeolia's goals, and at this point I haven't seen anything to convince me otherwise.

I figured he was lying through his teeth. Alternatively, he feels he knows best, willing to sacrifice the man in order to realize the dream. Spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, so to speak. He probably thinks Aeolia would gladly die a martyr if it meant realizing his dream.

Then again, as you've alluded, we can't really say one way or the other on this particular thread at this point.

[Dean_the_Young]

You make several excellent points (though some of them aren't really all that important to the overall flow of the story). Some of them aren't necessary fixes, however, and there are three points in particular that I did have a problem with:

Thanks, on all accounts, Criticism is always appreciated.

7: Nena was indeed shown on it during Setsuna's little reminiscing speech before the time-jump (at least, that's probably what that dark little room she was sitting in was). They also show it parked outside the asteroid they were keeping the 0 and 00 Gundam in during the post-timeskip preview, implying that they are in fact still using the thing.

Was that it? (Checks)

...well, I'll be. The point that it didn't really play as much a role as it could have still stands, but there it is. Heh, I thought that Nena had just been in one of Wang's ready rooms, watching.

8: If the second season is any indication, Celestial being still very much considers the Thrones to be their enemies. Setsuna in particular was very vehement about them "not being GUNDAMS" and whatnot. Frankly, I was more surprised that he didn't try to shoot her in the back as she flew away, never mind trying to take her back to their ship.

I will admit that that was half shameless plug on my part. Still, the fact that she ran away when Setsuna and Lasse came to Earth to talk to/confront the Thrones is a bit shakey on the plot's part.

14: Why not mention they were Meisters? It makes them and the circumstances about their death all the more interesting, and there's really no point in complaining we don't get all the extra information because we don't have access to the "japanese-only releases" because, guess what? This is a show made for Japan, not America.

Call it cultural imperialism. I'm the kind of person who believes that even a minor plot points should, if not resolved in the first season, at least not be picked up and dropped in the same episode. I personally dislike the "All in the manual" trope, whether in Japanese or American media.

As you said, not all the issues were major or needed fixing. Feldt is actually one of the characters who has the fewest plot twists about her, so a dropped plot thread was about all I could come up with (and at that point I was determined to try for every single character I could).

Now I feel silly.

Admittedly, I've only seen the first four episodes of the second season, gearing up for finals and all. Stealing the shuttle actually works a lot better, as I had always wondered why the HRL didn't simply shoot them and be done with it.

I suppose this is a case of the mainstream saying "that's just stupid" to the supplemental material.

No biggie. Personally I had thought that being left to drift in space and burn up in the atmosphere would have been the reasonable way for the League to do it. A bit of moral handwaving, if you will. "We're not killing these failed experiments. They're just dying in the atmosphere, or from a lack of oxygen. They could be saved..."

I don't know about that, really. She struck out on the romantic front consistently, only becoming aware of a good match for herself when it was too late. A Sue would have had all of the Meisters swooning. It was really her own fault anyway, being so ready to brush him off without a thought. She has too many glaring flaws for me to think of her as any kind of Sue.

Besides, she's little more than a talking head. You might be able to make a case if she was the most important Celestial Being member next to the Meisters, but she wound up being a third-string character on a good day. I've always felt focus was a big part of making a Sue.

Really, freakishly developed, my-parents-were-Meisters, hacker-kid Feldt feels a lot more like a Sue than Christina, but that's an entirely separate matter.

Well, you're right about characters not fixating on her (see edit). If they had, though, she definitely would have been one.

As it was, I just threw in the Mary Sue comment as a jab at how beautiful and talented the CB bridge bunnies were. (I think I like Anew Returner because she/it doesn't have a bust the size of a football helmet.)

I figured he was lying through his teeth. Alternatively, he feels he knows best, willing to sacrifice the man in order to realize the dream. Spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law, so to speak. He probably thinks Aeolia would gladly die a martyr if it meant realizing his dream.

Then again, as you've alluded, we can't really say one way or the other on this particular thread at this point.

Rest assured, I'll be looking forward to it as well.

[Imperial]

Because I forgot to mention them earlier, there are two other things that come to mind about this latest stint.

Ali's men: They were under his command, true, but they were also PMC Trust employees. Their loyalty likely lay with the company rather than the man. Ali is in it for the thrill of the hunt. Those guys were looking for a quick buck, if I had to take a stab in the dark. They had little incentive to run off to the AEU along with Ali. He wasn't hunting the buck. He was hunting the Gundams.

The Trinity mothership: The idea of setting on a crash course with an orbital elevator in an elaborate diversion is an incredibly awesome idea. It's a bit too clever for the Trinitys, which is probably why it never happened, but I would have paid good money to see something like that. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would bet good money on that being the thing that allowed Lockon and the rest of Celestial Being to get out of the final battle relatively unscathed in your Reformation fic. Blowing up Gundams is all well and good, but the big three would probably be more interested in devoting all that newfound GN-X firepower to stopping a runaway space ship.

Or maybe I'm just thinking too hard on conspiracy theories because I'd really like to see more of Reformation.

[Dean_the_Young]

Inadvertant double post. Ignore.

[Dean_the_Young]

Because I forgot to mention them earlier, there are two other things that come to mind about this latest stint.

Ali's men: They were under his command, true, but they were also PMC Trust employees. Their loyalty likely lay with the company rather than the man. Ali is in it for the thrill of the hunt. Those guys were looking for a quick buck, if I had to take a stab in the dark. They had little incentive to run off to the AEU along with Ali. He wasn't hunting the buck. He was hunting the Gundams.

Well, the anime never quite makes clear. You could be absolutely correct, but on the other hand at the time Ali was being portrayed as a charismatic leader (ex: Kurdish war) and his men were gushing with praise at how only he could have stood up to the gundam. In that scene Ali also makes a comment about how it wouldn't have mattered if they had died, which while probably BS it also points towards maintaining personal devotion to him.

I'll also point out the PMC Trust is an umbrella organization of PMCs that choose to work together, not a top-down corporation. Ali's men would be the men he chose to have on board, not corporate hacks. PMC trust might offer a transfer soldier or two upon request as Ali loses his own, but PMC Trust largely just handles the high-cost end like dealing with mobile suits or pooling the good missions.

The Trinity mothership: The idea of setting on a crash course with an orbital elevator in an elaborate diversion is an incredibly awesome idea. It's a bit too clever for the Trinitys, which is probably why it never happened, but I would have paid good money to see something like that. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would bet good money on that being the thing that allowed Lockon and the rest of Celestial Being to get out of the final battle relatively unscathed in your Reformation fic. Blowing up Gundams is all well and good, but the big three would probably be more interested in devoting all that newfound GN-X firepower to stopping a runaway space ship.

Well, not quite like that, but yes, it serves as a diversion. (The Meisters would never try and destroy the world, after all.)

Or maybe I'm just thinking too hard on conspiracy theories because I'd really like to see more of Reformation.

You'll have to wait awhile, I'm afraid. Reformation is on a semi-indefinite hold. School is only going to get harder next semester, I do have other projects I'm trying to finish, and though I was optimistic at the beginning I overlooked one key detail: with each episode, Reformation gets farther and farther from the home plot. Soon enough the gap will be impossible to maintain just by running near parallel; with Soma still in the A-LAWS, Saji under Sergei's custody, and Nena not running important errands for Wang, it's only a matter of time before Reformation looks like a bizarro AU to the series.

Which isn't a bad thing, mind you, but it's harder and harder to factor in each new plot twist and challenge. Reformation is the sort of project you want to do after the series ends, not start at it's beginning and try and run parallel, just so you can plan around all the plot twists and secrets to-be-revealed. I didn't start it planning to try a full parallel-season, and even the backstory (like Lockon's life) only works because Season One has already been wrapped up.

I might pick it back up later, after the plot's developed a lot more. I'm definitely writing a planning outline on those lines. I may even go and explain the backstory before then (if I just don't post the plot outline). But as for going forward with it?

*Actually, for full disclosure, someone I know from another site has displayed interest in giving their own crack at writing the backstory and continuing it, once I do give them the plot of the end of season 1 and the planning to date. I might continue it myself much later, but if they do well... well, outsourcing and collaboration.*

[Dean_the_Young]

---

00 S2 Drabble 10

Nightmare

---

You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it.
-Anonymous

---

Kati Mannequin stares at the scene before her, and sees the past. Once again she is in a dirty white hospital tent, the kind that the wounded are brought to before they are either shipped to a real hospital to be repaired or put into the plentiful black body bags that line the floor.

The lone remaining GN-XIII, woefully obsolescent months ago, endures beam after beam. Its weak GN-barrier shield begins to falter as yet another shot hammers into it. But the enemy pilot, in a hurry to end the battle before reinforcements arrives, charges forward to administer a final blow and destroy the command vessel.

There is the strategic planner, bent over the broken and fading soldier, her back hiding him from view. That he is still alive was a miracle in itself, but a fading one. Even without seeing the face she can see the struggle to keep his lungs breathing, his heart beating.

The last guardian refuses to make way for the charging titan. Bringing its lance to bear, it parries the first, and then the second blow. But the difference between their qualities is too great as cracks appear, and the third blow shatters the entire arm.

There were the quiet words of trust and loyalty exchanged, loyalty freely given but not in the least deserved. A loyalty that traded one tragedy for another.

Not faltering, not giving a meter, he draws his beam saber, warning the Gundam against pressing the attack. With a single slash, it rewards him for his folly even as the crew of the bridge watch the battle on the other side of the battle-quality glass.

Kati knows what is going on through the analyst’s mind even as ever other bit of attention is focused on the dying man. “Where did I go wrong?” the strategic planner is asking herself. “Why did I not see it?” Kati herself has never faced such self-questioning, but she knows of it.

“Patrick!” Kati yells as the GN-XIII’s head is cleaved from its shoulders in a mighty blow. “Fifteen more seconds!” yells the combat controller, counting the time before the first mobile suit returns to fight off the Gundam’s surprise attack.

The setting is surreal, and Kati realizes that it is a dream because she hasn’t laid eyes on Kujo in years and yet the other woman still looks the same as on that day, recognizable even from behind.

“I’ll give you twenty, Commander!” the European ace boasts over the open link, as if his main cameras haven’t been torn off. With dexterity reminiscent of his days as a glorified exhibition pilot, he twists his suit and kicks one of the two gun-blades out of the Gundam’s hands.

“Is this why you joined them?” she asks, with curiously little venom to the woman who swore to end conflicts but now only prolongs them. “Because of one lost soldier?”

The leg is promptly lost as the other blade comes crashing down, and his beam saber is smashed out of his grip and into the depths of space. Undeterred, Patrick only turns that force into his own, landing a staggering roundhouse against the Gundam.

Kujo answers, but without any hint of the tears that Kati remembers from that day. “You know how I thought. That if I ended battles quickly enough, few would die. I invested into that belief, lived by it. Killed by it.”

It takes only a few seconds for the two-drived behemoth to regain its balance, but that is all the time Patrick needs to charge, tackling into the enemy and driving him away from the cruiser’s command bridge.

“And when you lost one man, you thought you would join Celestial Being and end all wars? Don’t make me laugh. You weren’t that naïve in college, Kujo.”

One tau-drive is no match for those two drives combined, though, and soon Patrick is pushed back even closer to the bridge than where he had started. A shrug of the Gundam’s arms frees it from the grapple, and once again Patrick is the only thing standing between it and the bridge, only this time he has no weapons left.

“Maybe I was, and you just didn’t realize,” she countered, and for a moment she was as strong and sure as she had ever been. “But Emilio…”

“Patrick!” Kati calls again, and no one on the bridge begrudges her as they watch the man take blow after blow. The Gundam is swinging, trying to land a final blow, but Patrick is too evasive. To say he dodges would be wrong. Patrick only avoids each fatal strike.

“Emilio believed in me, far more than I did myself. You respected me, our commanders praised me, but he believed I could do anything. He didn’t fight for the country, or for the mission. He fought for me. Do you have any idea what that meant to me? For me?”

“I!” he begins as the first slash takes what’s left of his lance arm. “Will!” The second rips a tear in the outer cockpit door, ripping it and the front cockpit screens into space. Patrick is fighting without cameras now, only from pure machine memory and his own view into space. “Protect!” The third takes his last leg. “The Commander!” he cries over the open channel, and Kati knows that she couldn’t order him to run away and live if she tried.

“When Emilio died, I wanted nothing more than to prove him right, but didn’t know how. I hated war, hated those meaningless battles in the name of national pride and self-interest. And so I left, and was offered a chance to honor his faith beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.”

The first beam blazes by as the reinforcements return. The Gundam pauses, its main camera turning towards the approaching A-LAWS in a passable imitation of surprise. Rallying to the reinforcements, Patrick lunges forward and lands a punch against the Gundam’s head with his one remaining arm. The GN-coated claws of the GN-XIII leave deep scratches against the Gundam’s face mask.

Kati narrows her eyes at Kujo’s back and walks forward towards her still un-turned back. “War has always been with us, and always will. Even after you unified the world against you, we’re still fighting and killing each other. Nothing changes just because you lose a member of your command, no matter how important he or she is to you.”

Kati and the bridge crew watch in a mix of horror and dread as the Gundam cuts off Patrick’s last arm. In a show of brute strength and brutality reminiscent of the worst battles of years ago, the Gundam slams its weaponless hand into the cockpit section of the GN-XIII and moves the ruined suit to act as a shield against the ever more accurate shots from the reinforcements. Letting go even as the first shot hits Patrick’s suit, spinning it around with each impact, the Gundam turns towards the bridge only meters away and draws back its sword in preparation for a lethal thrust.

“Do you really think that?” asks the woman in front of her as she steps ever closer. “Do you have any beliefs you would live, die, and kill for? Anyone you would fight against the world for? Do you have no regrets? Or have you never had anything to regret?”

How he managed to act with his body broken and his leg crushed is never reasonably explained. The pitiless claim that a friendly beam thrust him in the way, that he had no control, but Kati knows that it was no accident. What is clear is the final effect: Patrick intercepts the thrust with his own body uses his own rotation as torque to wrench the sword through the GN-XIII’s own ruined body and out of the Gundam’s hand, where it is promptly destroyed by a stray beam. With no weapons at hand and no time to draw any more before the reinforcements swarm it, the twin drive Gundam turns and flees.

“That’s enough excuses, Kujo!” Kati shouts, hand on the shoulder to turn the other woman...

“Patrick!” Kati cries for the third time in thirty seconds, the thirty seconds he bought for them all. More than one of the soldiers has already bowed his head in solemn respect, and even Colonel Lindt has no biting comment when Kati turns her head with tears already on the inside of her visor

and as the woman turns to face her it isn’t Kujo kneeling over a soldier, but Kati herself, and she realizes that it isn’t Emilio lying dead and dying on that cot because that hair is too red and Patrick, still in his piloting suit and bloody and he’s looking at her because he’s about to ask her why she let him die but

there is a gasp, and she looks and wishes she hadn’t because it’s only half of Patrick floating in front of the bride and she knows he isn’t dead yet because he’s looking at her and calling her name and he’s worried and she can tell because his voice is wavering and his face is concerned and still so clear because

it is hovering right in front of her own as he shakes the same shoulder she had put her hand on Kujo, close enough that when she startles awake she automatically lashes out and hits him in the face. He stumbles back, but doesn’t pay it any mind as she gets her breathing under control.

“Are you alright, Colonel?” he asks again, concern evident even though her blow is already leaving a red mark on his cheek.

Kati breathes and shivers at the cold sweat she can feel under her A-LAW uniform. “A dream,” she explains. “Just give me a moment.”

Patrick is many things, good and bad, but patient isn’t one of them. “Do you want me to go get the doctor? Do you want anything from the cafeteria? Do you want to talk about it?” he frets, making a convincing impression of a mother hen.

“I’m fine!” Kati snaps, and feels a pang of guilt at Patrick’s wounded expression. He’s only worried for her, and even if she can’t remember her dream it’s still no reason to snap at him. “I’m fine,” she says again, softer and more gently. “It was just a bad dream.”

He looks as convinced as she sounds. “Patrick, would you please bring me some stew from the mess hall?” she tries again, straightening her glasses on her face to regain her poise. “Perhaps I need something warm to eat.”

He immediately straightens at the chance to be helpful, and Kati almost smiles when he nearly runs into the door in his haste to get to the mess hall.

“Patrick?” she calls just he’s halfway out the door, quieter than her normal command voice that she’s so used to. She wouldn’t have blamed him if he hadn’t recognized or heard it. But Patrick hears her just the same and stops on a dime, leaning backwards into the room to look at her.

“When you get back, we can talk about transferring you to a better mobile suit.”

[Valmanway]

...

I'm speechless. That was pure distilled awesome.

[Ribbons Yukari]

Setsuna x Neena is best. Thank-you for being one of the (few) people in the English-speaking world to write about it.

*Deeeep Bow*

[Dean_the_Young]

...

I'm speechless. That was pure distilled awesome.

That makes... one person. Only other comment I got at FFN on this one was pretty much "haha, but Kati hates Patrick's guts."

Which is strange, because I thought this was one of my better ones, and I tried to have extra care in climax when Kati wakes and everything blurs together.

[Dean_the_Young]

Setsuna x Neena is best. Thank-you for being one of the (few) people in the English-speaking world to write about it.

*Deeeep Bow*

You do realize that to do that I blatantly had to shift Nena into OOC and then give her entirely un-canon character development to the point where it's effectively an entirely different character, right?

And even then, it's at best one-sided. Setsuna might tolerate, and even enjoy her presence, but it was never planned to become a WAFF romance.

[Ribbons Yukari]

You do realize that to do that I blatantly had to shift Nena into OOC and then give her entirely un-canon character development to the point where it's effectively an entirely different character, right?

Yes, I do. That's one of the reasons I like redemption so much. An alternative universe where Nena works to redeem herself... I don't see this Nena as an incredibly different character. Just what should have been.

And even then, it's at best one-sided. Setsuna might tolerate, and even enjoy her presence, but it was never planned to become a WAFF romance.

Hmm, true... I guess what I really enkoy most is just the fact that she gets to be good for once. A Nena who wouldn't have been hated by nearly *everyone* in the fandom.

Oh! Who would you have allowed her to end up with, since Setsuna doesn't really love her?

What's a WAFF romance?

[Dean_the_Young]

And even then, it's at best one-sided. Setsuna might tolerate, and even enjoy her presence, but it was never planned to become a WAFF romance.

Hmm, true... I guess what I really enkoy most is just the fact that she gets to be good for once. A Nena who wouldn't have been hated by nearly *everyone* in the fandom.

Oh! Who would you have allowed her to end up with, since Setsuna doesn't really love her?

What's a WAFF romance?

WAFF stands for Warm And Fluffy Feeling. A WAFF romance is a sugery sweet true love sort of thing (like Marie and Allelujah), and I really don't write that.

Nena likes him, both from the earlier (but faded) puppy level and as an ideal of Gundam. Several years makes him into a friend and companion, and gives a basis to work from. There's no real reason to force her on anyone else, though, nor any rule saying that if he doesn't love her then she'll only be happy with some other man. The entire point of calling it Reformation is that she's trying to make peace with herself and to become Gundam, which hardly requires a libido. But for now, in both series and where Reformation would be, neither one can honestly be said to have genuine love.

Whether that changes would depend on development. If Setsuna ever develops an honest romance with Marina (hardly a sure thing), then there's no reason he couldn't develop one with Nena. But it would be something built on a shared sense of justice and Gundam and understanding of eachother, not on physical attraction or puppy love.

Setsuna doesn't love her in Reformation, but then he doesn't love anyone in cannon except as platonic friends. In Reformation, they're close friends (or as close as Setsuna ever gets), easy. They've traveled for years, trust eachother, and so on. But he doesn't love her, and Nena is in the middle of replacing puppy love (holdover from her past self) for genuine love (more about the Gundam).


So, to answer the question, "no one in particular." If Nena doesn't deserve and earn Setsuna's affections, she'd likely settle for a sense of Gundam justice and look elsewhere when she wants. But that isn't to rule out that she and Setsuna couldn't form a relationship after building a stronger raport.