Gundam Sentinel as Historical Allegory

[toysdream]

As some of you may have noticed, the English and Japanese Wikipedia pages devoted to Gundam Sentinel mention in passing that the story contains some parallels to the historical exploits of the elite warriors known as the Shinsengumi, who were active around the time of the Meiji Restoration. Sentinel author Masaya Takahashi discusses these parallels in an author's note in the Gundam Wars III book, comparing the events of Zeta Gundam to the "Bakumatsu" period in which the military rule of the shogunate was replaced by the restoration of imperial power. (Takahashi seems to be particularly fond of such historical parallels; a story he wrote for an earlier Gundam Wars book describes Haman Karn as a new Joan of Arc.)

By sheer coincidence, just as I was going over the Gundam Sentinel story to research some mecha profiles, I had to read up on the Shinsengumi for an unrelated project. And wow, Takahashi really isn't kidding about those historical parallels!

In the broadest sense, the political defeat of the Titans at the hands of the AEUG corresponds to the ouster of the shogun and the advent of the Meiji Restoration. The New Desides, as a hardcore group who oppose the "new government" even after the Titan cause is lost, obviously equate to the Shinsengumi ("New Chosen Group") who kept fighting for the shogunate even after the shogun himself had thrown in the towel. What's more, the named New Desides characters correspond to historical Shinsengumi members such as Kondo Isami, Hiijikata Toshizo, Okita Soji, Saito Hajime, and Serizawa Kamo.

The events and characters of Gundam Sentinel, meanwhile, parallel those of the Boshin War of 1868-1869. Brian Aeno, the Federation admiral who joins forces with the New Desides, is an homage to Enomoto Takeaki of the shogunate navy. The ten-day siege of Ayers City echoes the monthlong Battle of Aizu, and the New Desides' ally Kaiser Pinefield is modeled on Lord Matsudaira Katamori (matsu = pinetree, daira = flat plain, hence "Pinefield"), the patron of the Shinsengumi. Even the White Force of teenage soldiers that defends Ayers City is modeled on the Byakkotai, or "White Tiger Corps," that fought at Aizu.

And just as Enomoto and the remaining Shinsengumi eventually retreated to the island of Hokkaido, where they made their last stand at the star-shaped fortress Goryokaku, Brian Aeno and the remaining New Desides make their own last stand at the star-shaped space station Penta. Like his real-life model, Aeno even surrenders unharmed to the government forces, although if we're really following historical precedent then we should assume that Fast Side wasn't really killed in the explosion of the monster mobile armor Z'od-iacok.

-- Mark

[J-Lead]

Wow, never before had I heard of this. I love it when the plot of a story has historical inspirations behind it. Definitely something worth knowing, Mark.

[Kenji]

That's really interesting...!

Ever since I read up about Fukuda giving an interview that stated Durandal as the "good guy" of SEED Destiny, I've been looking at all prior Gundam series with a new lens, trying to go through the presentations and tones of the series themselves to the core plot and what must've been, especially in Tomino's UC stories, a sort of moral ambivalence that mirrors history.

That... might not have made much sense.

Anyway, I'm fascinated by Takahashi's comment on Haman Karn. If he considers her a "new age Jeanne d'Arc," then what would he interpret her intentions to be? Does Haman see herself as some equivalent of a messenger of God, born to bring about some drastic change?

(this only brings up the Zeta novel snippets and leads me to wonder of Tomino ever said anything on the subject...)

[toysdream]

Anyway, I'm fascinated by Takahashi's comment on Haman Karn. If he considers her a "new age Jeanne d'Arc," then what would he interpret her intentions to be?

The comparison is more about how Haman is regarded than her own intentions. In this story, titled "The First Step" and published in the first volume of Model Graphix's "Gundam Wars" series, Takahashi comments that the faction at Axis that hoped to restore the Zabi family hailed Haman as "the new century's Joan of Arc." Once you think about it, this analogy makes perfect sense; Mineva is the young dauphin, exiled from her rightful lands and surrounded by a court of schemers and fanatics who want to put her back on the throne. Then along comes a supernaturally gifted young woman, seemingly sent by a higher power, who dedicates herself to restoring the exiled monarch.

The historical Joan, of course, was used and then discarded by the royal court once she'd served her purpose. Haman is crafty enough to manipulate the Zabi loyalists for her own agenda. But this comparison helps explain the loyalty and reverence that the Axis forces show towards Haman, and I prefer it to the version we're getting in "Char's Deleted Affair."

(this only brings up the Zeta novel snippets and leads me to wonder of Tomino ever said anything on the subject...)

Tomino doesn't really address the subject in his novels. Although he provides some background on Haman's history and how she ended up at Axis - which, by the way, pretty much contradicts what we see in CDA - I don't think he really addresses the question of how Haman is seen by the rest of the Axis inhabitants.

-- Mark

[AmuroNT1]

I believe I remember Model Graphix saying that the names of the Sentinel cast are all based off of people who lived around the time the shogunate died out. For example, Josh Offshore was said to be derived from Souji Okita (Souji - Josu, Okita = off shore). Can you confirm that, Mark?

[Imperial]

Although he provides some background on Haman's history and how she ended up at Axis - which, by the way, pretty much contradicts what we see in CDA...

Oho?

Now you've gone and got me interested. Would you mind shedding some light on what it is Tomino has to say about Haman?

[Seraphic]

This is pretty nice. History is often much more interesting than fiction anyway!

I can't help but wonder if a thousand years from now, when some historian is trying to piece back records lost by then, people will mix up the two and believe that the Shinsengumi were mobile suit pilots?

[Albireo_818]

This is good history. There is so much to learn from the mistakes of th past....

However, i agree with Seraphic. We cant even piece together some things that happened a few years ago~(AHEM! Cough~Splutter COnspiracy!) DId you guys hear anything?

[Chris]

Oh and one more thing. WHATS THIS ABOUT DURANDAL BEING A GOOD GUY? Is this from a conmunist or democratic view?

I don't see what this has at all to do with a thread about Gundam Sentinel.

[NewtypeS3]

...holy crap, I'm gonna have to read that Gundam Sentinel translation Zeonic-Corps put out a while back, then.
While I'll admit my main experience with the era is through Rurouni Kenshin (Though a Shonen Anime, it's suprisingly similar to many real-life people - like Hajime Saito), I've always liked looking into the era anyhow...
Thanks, Mark. That's something I'd not even expected from Gundam, considering how it loves to allegate (if that's a word) to WWII.

[toysdream]

I believe I remember Model Graphix saying that the names of the Sentinel cast are all based off of people who lived around the time the shogunate died out. For example, Josh Offshore was said to be derived from Souji Okita (Souji - Josu, Okita = off shore). Can you confirm that, Mark?

Yep. See my original post above.

The historical parallels are strongest on the bad guys' side, as the major New Desides characters and their allies correspond to real people in their roles as well as their names. Most of the Taskforce Alpha characters seem to have names inspired by Meiji Restoration figures, but the resemblance generally ends there.

Now you've gone and got me interested. Would you mind shedding some light on what it is Tomino has to say about Haman?

It's been a little while since I last looked at the novels, and I never got around to translating the passage itself when I was doing my big Zeta novel roundup. But as I recall, Tomino says that Haman's sister insisted on going to Axis at the end of the war because she used to be Dozle's lover and had some kind of romantic loyalty to his surviving family. Haman thought this was pathetic, but went along because she found Char interesting. When Haman's sister died en route to Axis, Haman took over her role as a Zabi family retainer and realized that she could use her position to obtain control over Mineva and thus the other Axis remnants.

Although Tomino's account is fairly brief, he makes it clear that Haman has always been motivated by ambition and self-interest rather than family loyalty or puppy love. The depiction in CDA couldn't be more different.

Thanks, Mark. That's something I'd not even expected from Gundam, considering how it loves to allegate (if that's a word) to WWII.

The World War II parallels are strong, but they've never been the only influence on Gundam. The history of the Deikun and Zabi families always struck me as a mish-mash of twentieth-century Russian history, with Deikun the revered founding father (a combination of Karl Marx and Lenin), Gihren the Stalin-esque dictator who rules in his name, and Artesia Deikun as a kind of space-age Princess Anastasia.

-- Mark