which pilot has the closest connection to their gundam?

[Recon 5]

Just about the only thing Kira was close to by the time he got his first Freedom was Lacus. Everything else kind of became secondary after that.

I guess evaluating a pilot's connection to his mobile suit must begin with determining the nature of the connection. Does the pilot see the suit as a tool, a comfort item or a friend?

Most pilots (especially in Gundam) tend to fall into the first category, especially those who enter the war due to conscription. They just want to stay alive until they are discharged, after which they'll forget about their rides. On the other hand, the same category also includes pilots who see their suits as the means to an end (e.g. revenge). These pilots will have a closer connection to their suits than the former group. However, all pilots who view their suits as tools will have no problem leaving them behind once they're broken or no longer needed.

Pilots who see their suits as comfort items either view them as making up for personal deficiencies (e.g. a weakness of some sort) or as a shield from the horrors of war. They are emotionally dependent on their suits and will suffer severe personality damage when they lose their 'crutches'. Thankfully we haven't seen any of this type in Gundam (have we?) but they occur quite frequently in other mecha anime so the type is worth pointing out.

Pilots who view their suits as friends need no explanation. However, there is a difference between the veteran who really grows to like his 10- year old Zaku I and the greenie mech otaku who treats the GM he just received like a new girlfriend. The more dangerous condition should be quite obvious.

Lets try to look at pilot- MS relationships along these lines, shall we?

[Lans]

Well, since Recon5 raised the standard. How bout the weird relationship between pilots like Four Murasame and his Psycho Gundam. There is also another one in SEED Destiny who have the same role.

[mcred23]

How bout the weird relationship between pilots like Four Murasame and his Psycho Gundam.

That's more due to Four being a Newtype and her using those powers with the Newtype-intended Psycho to call it to her and use it to blow stuff up, not the kind of connection/relationship that's really being discussed.

[teslashark]

S.F.S:HEY,DON'T TOUCH ME......THE GUNDAM!

[Lans]

That's more due to Four being a Newtype and her using those powers with the Newtype-intended Psycho to call it to her and use it to blow stuff up, not the kind of connection/relationship that's really being discussed.

Seriously, I though there's more connection than that. But I'm arguing based my memory of Zeta Tv series which I seen in 1997, so yeah I dropped the case. On the other hand, how bout other non-pilot character like Nina Purpleton and her beloved Gundam from 0083 Stardust Memory? You could argue that he cried because of Kou and Gato fighting each other but there's also the fact the she loved her Gundam(s) so much. Like how she cried "my Gundam" when seeing GP01 fought against GP02 back in episode one, and how she burst in tears when saw their destructions in duel.

[Recon 5]

I think the designer/ researcher connection to a suit is quite different from that of a pilot. Sure, a MS would be like a child to these people, but they're not the ones entrusting their lives to it.

[Gadget]

I'm not in the Air Force, but I was told that the ground crew 'own' the plane. The pilot just 'borrowed' it.

Once again, reguler soilders in CE and UC got maintance crew to service the Gundams. G- Boys have to do it themselves, before they went into space and service by Howard.

Didn't a similer repose was seen in Macross Plus? (Cannot remember the names off hand.)

[G-Slayer]

I say that Kira got really attached to the Strike at first, evident by the fact that he used it as a living quarters and was dependent on the MS in protecting his friends. Then, faced with doubts about fighting other people, more specifically best bud Athrun, I think Kira was too busy with these feeling to care so much about the Strike after being separated from it, then giving it Mu.

Setsuna definitely has the strongest attachment to his Gundam. I think that what everyone else here fails to understand is that for Setsuna, the Gundam symbolizes the eradication of warfare. Of a Gundam isn't used to quell conflict, then it's not really a Gundam. And seeing the ugliness of war firsthand, Setsuna longs to symbolize this ideal himself. Thus, he wants to become the Gundam.

Aside from Quatre and Duo, Wufei was also attached to his MS as he saw it as a sword of justice against the evil that oppressed the colonies. Literally having nothing left after the Eve Wars, Wufei still fought with his Gundam in his search for true justice. Like with the other pilots, only after making peace with the world and himself was Wufei was finally able to let go, self-detonating his mech without a fuss.

[Dynames]

S.F.S:HEY,DON'T TOUCH ME......THE GUNDAM!

Very true, Setsuna has the closet connection heck the guy wants to be gundam

[Antares]

Hum. Setsuna wants to be Gundam, so is that actual attachment to Exia? Of course, Graham has an unhealthy attachment to the Gundams of other people.

Heero and Quattro, sure, I also tend for the latter there for being actually fond of the thing, whereas the prior seemed more obsessed than anything.

I don't think anyone in CE is really that attached to their Gundams; the Extendeds probably would caused mayhem with a lawnmower if they'd had to and TSA guys don't really look after their hardware that much. Shinn, well, maybe, but he had the mobile phone, and Kira back in the Strike might also qualify, but I think he viewed it as a means to an end, too. Technically one would've assumed that Cagalli had been attached to the Akatsuki, being his father's legacy and all, but apparently that wasn't the case either. Go figure.

[RedBlitz]

I would have to chose Heero and Wulfei from Wing Zero and the Gundam Meisters from 00.

Wing Zero is pretty much Heero's best friend, he even talks to it and asks for advice!! lol

As for Wufei... he basically thinks of his gundam as wife that passed away.

And the Gundam Meisters from 00 are also very close to their Gundams especially Setsuna and Tiera. Probaly because it's the only thing they have left, they all come from horrible backgrounds.

[Dean_the_Young]

What about Graham? He's been a trying to a seduce a gundam since just about episode 1 of 00. An amusing quirk that is.

[Neo_Senku]

What about Graham? He's been a trying to a seduce a gundam since just about episode 1 of 00. An amusing quirk that is.

Thats not an attachment so much as it is an obsession to overcome the strength of a gundam, though he does have a "strange love for the flag"

[Arsarcana]

Setsuna's been mentioned to death but he's the example in everyone's minds right now and he pretty much sees the Gundam a god so there you go (and in his case, it's pretty understandable).

Zero-equipped suits seem to be looked to for guidance. Heero says this in EW and Treize and Zechs both imply it so there's a connection too. Zechs also seemed quite attached to Tallgeese for pulling him through so many fights, right before he lost it.

Theoretically Cagalli should have had a comforting attachment to Akatsuki given that it was a gift from her dear departed dad but the writers forgot all about that one episode after giving it to her. Yes, I blame the writers given that she really did seem to have an attachment to the thing when she got it (and was basically written out of the story right afterwards in one of GSD's obvious mid-show rewrites).

Lastly, how about Ryu Roots and the Gundam that sacrificed itself for him?

[Dark Duel]

That one's a special case, as it isn't so much the pilot's attachment to his Gundam as it is ALICE/the Gundam becoming attached to its pilot.

Or at least that's the impression I'm getting from what little of Sentinel I've been able to read/find.

[Phantomexe87]

It does seem odd that so few Gundams have advanced AIs in these series, since most stories are set in at least the 22nd Century, and they're already developing advanced AI for fighters today. The ol' Stargazer was running a DOS-like system.

Though I don't recall Heero being too attached to his Gundam, and it did have a strong AI of sorts.

[Kuro No Sakura]

Kira do really attached to strike
but I think you guys missed the point that he is also attached to Freedom
why?
because it was the object of promise to love/marry Lacus give just like a ring
You can feel Kira so sad when he lost his freedom (I dont think that director able to put these stuff in but anyhow i still feel it)

I also put the money on Setsuna being most attached pilot for his gundam
I say even stronger then Domon since he more attached to his teacher Master Asia lol

[Heecarl_Reez]

Of course Setsuna seems on top of the list now(don't know 'bout Domon haven't watched G)..he says there's no god in this world,but Gundam already becames his god....

Supposedly Usso Evin too,The V2 was designed by his mother.Well perhaps he doesn't show it that much..But i think he does have that feeling(After he obtained it,he remembered her mother by using both of Gundam hands..)..

about Kira and Freedom,well...i thought he was sad because he can't do the beam spamming again..that was joke though...agreed with Kuro no Sakura anyway..

[Vate]

Heero mentions to Relena: "Life is cheap, especially mine." He has a lot of respect to Wing, and especially Wing 0, since it could 'talk back' to him so you could say that he's so attached to his Gundam that they're like one thing.

Lastly, how about Ryu Roots and the Gundam that sacrificed itself for him?

The tragedy here was that he never really knew that his Gundam was pretty much alive, kinda one sided relationship for the Gundam.

[wzy]

I would say Wufei has the closest connection to his suit, mainly because he renames it after his wife/fiance/whatever (Shenlong/Altron --> Nataku, which I believe to be her nickname).

Of course, we all know Setsuna has a pretty unhealthy connection to his Gundam too...kinda creepy...