Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

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Kratos
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Well, nobody lives in space anymore in Turn-A, except those on the moon. And they're all in cryosleep. Living in space was the condition for becoming a Newtype, so I guess they all died off.

I figure the ending of Unicorn could logically lead to the more incompetent, insignificant Federation seen in the later UC shows. They don't have much of a presence, do they? Maybe the revelation of the contents of Laplace's Box led to the Federation being more and more undermined as a governing entity.
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Hi_Nu_Gundam wrote:How did they drastically decrease? Remember Angel Halo from V, wasnt that thing powered by hundreds if not thousands of Newtypes?
They weren't "Newtypes" specifically. I believe they were merely called "psychickers" or something last I saw.
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sgegx
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Hey, I have one quick question about the ending of Gundam Unicorn. What happens to Micott?
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SadistikChick3n
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

sgegx wrote:Hey, I have one quick question about the ending of Gundam Unicorn. What happens to Micott?
And what exactly happens to Marida? I read on Gundam Wiki earlier today...
Spoiler
That she took a hit from Riddhe's Delta Plus' rifle and sacrificed herself to save the Nahel Argama from Riddhe's rampage of angst and dickishness or something like that...
But when I got on later today it was nowhere to be found. Strange.
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AmuroNT1
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

What I heard about Marida (second-hand, I note):
Spoiler
Riddhe ends up killing her for some reason and he gets the Banshee after that.
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

AmuroNT1 wrote:What I heard about Marida (second-hand, I note):
Spoiler
Riddhe ends up killing her for some reason and he gets the Banshee after that.
I heard that
Spoiler
it's Angelo, after Marida make Heel Face Turn.
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ZeonsSilverStar
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

I don't know all the details of the ending but I have heard that at some point in time
Spoiler
the Unicorn blocks a colony laser. From a picture I've seen from the novel a colony laser does exist. There's also a novel picture of Banagher and Riddhe doing a last shooting on an unseen foe.
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Just to add to the speculation, from what I remember of the novel-related discussion a couple of years back...
Spoiler
The colony laser is good old Gryps II from Zeta! Seemingly the Federation decommissioned it but didn't dismantle it - why they didn't use it on Axis back in '93, who knows... or on Axis in '88-89, back when Haman was being slightly mental.

Either way, if my memory is right, the Federation Forces turn Gryps II on the Unicorn, in a failed last-ditch attempt to prevent Laplace's Box being opened. It fails, it would seem.
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J-Lead
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

SadistikChick3n wrote:And what exactly happens to Marida? I read on Gundam Wiki earlier today...
Spoiler
That she took a hit from Riddhe's Delta Plus' rifle and sacrificed herself to save the Nahel Argama from Riddhe's rampage of angst and dickishness or something like that...
But when I got on later today it was nowhere to be found. Strange.
AmuroNT1 wrote:What I heard about Marida (second-hand, I note):
Spoiler
Riddhe ends up killing her for some reason and he gets the Banshee after that.
You're both half right;
Spoiler
Riddhe, by that point, has received the Banshee from Alberto. Turns out he can't handle the NT-D because lolnotanewtype and it ends up going all EVA-01 beast mode. Marida ends up sortieing in her old Kshatriya (sans binders) and sacrifices herself to protect...either Banagher or the Nahel Argama (I forget which) from the Banshee.
sgegx wrote:Hey, I have one quick question about the ending of Gundam Unicorn. What happens to Micott?
Spoiler
I think she just ends up hooking up with Takuya. Don't quote me on that.
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Rozario
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Hi :D , so in the end Banagher get in a comatose state or something similar? and what happen with ¨Audrey¨? Dissapear or something? :D
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schwarz ritter
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Spoiler
The novel's ending is open ended and disappointing. To put it in a way: after Banagher has basically what seem to be several Shinji-style wet dreams about humanity's history and the same Newtype hax crap we've gotten from Gundam so far, he flies off. The last line of the novel, or "line of dialogue", as far as I can remember ir "Audrey..."

-_- I'm surprised nobody brought up the similarities back then, but to be honest, meh, who cares. It all amounts to nothing anyways. Anything that happens in Unicorn will amount to nothing (other than the extinction of Zeon, of course).
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Kratos
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Well, aside from concluding the story itself in a satisfying fashion. I know that many take the position that prequels largely can't matter in the long run because the end result of what comes later can't be affected by their events; this is a position that I disagree to a certain degree on, but that aside, it absolutely does matter how the story plays out because it has its own set of characters, and events, and these have to be concluded and wrapped up and preferably should be done so in a satisfying manner. Prequels are stories like any others, and while they may not "matter" on the macro scale, that isn't the only scale that exists.

Anyways, it was mentioned some time ago that the ending to the OVA would be a departure from the novel's. I hope that remains true; that ending (if it does indeed end that way) is indeed disappointing, and Unicorn has been incredibly thematically sound and enjoyable thus far, at least as far as I'm concerned. It makes sense that such an ending would be rewritten, and lord knows that the OVA's staff hasn't shown themselves opposed to rewriting so far.
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schwarz ritter
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

I must disagree: an open ending is perhaps -at least in my very personal, humble opinion- one of the cheapest ways to end a work of art: whenever someone makes an open ending, it essentially feels like an "Eff You!" from the author's part. And Unicorn's ending felt just like that. There have been other, great prequels in Gundam, like 0083 (perhaps my favorite UC side-story) which neither feel like a big "Eff You!" from the creators' part, nor does it feel rushed. And Unicorn's ending was the exact opposite.

Also, wth is with
Spoiler
Unicorn shooting rainbows?! I suppose its due to the fact that the actual, mythological creature "generates" or whatever rainbows,
but seriously?


You must read it to believe it. I mean, the first half of the novel series was great, and so far the OVA has been the same, if not even better. I have the same hope as you that the staff changes the last volumes left: they're just too over-the-top. As much as I like Unicorn, it was so over-the-top, it felt like a parody. Hopefully, the changes won't make it feel like such.

But like I sait, it doesn't matter in the end, so meh.
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

That wasn't what I disagreed with. The ending that Unicorn has (or you claim has - my Japanese isn't nearly good enough for me to read the novels myself) is absolutely disappointing. What I disagreed with is the claim that it doesn't matter, because on the level of the series itself, it absolutely does matter what the ending is, epecially since Unicorn is actually saying something about and doing something with the concept of Newtypes. I'm not saying it will, because it's far too much to hope for, but this series could potentially affect how one views Newtypes in the two series that apparently "remove meaning" from Unicorn - especially considering the fact that neither F91 nor Victory actually have anything much to say about them. In fact, their lack of things to say is what makes Unicorn matter, because that means Unicorn is the (more or less) final word on Newtypes in the Universal Century. That makes what the ending has to say plenty important - maybe not enough to, say, file a federal complaint over if it sucks, but certainly deserving of more than a "meh".

As a sidenote, while I think it would be bad in the case of Unicorn, I don't think an open ending is always a bad thing. I always felt that the original ending to the Shaman King manga was far superior to the "finished" one that Hiroyuki Takei eventually wrote for the series.
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schwarz ritter
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

balofo made a thread about what's left for the OVAs to cover. You'll see there what I mean.

Perhaps I disagree when it comes to how much impact it will have, due to the fact that I simply don't care about Newtypes. In my very personal opinion, Newtypes are nothing more than humans with LSD imprinted in their genes, period. For me, they have nothing special other than shoot beam spam with the help of their psycommus and that's it.
I care more for characters who actually feel like real people, such as Emma, Al, Gato, Shiro, Bright or Kou, who don't rely on Newtype Hax to win their battles. Who cares if Newtypes are extinct (or, if not extinct, then nearly extinct) by the late Universal Century? It'll only prove further that Zeon Deikun was wrong and all of this crap about "a new level of understanding" was an illusion. I know many of you disregard X as that "very bad" series (which is beyond me), but
Spoiler
D.O.M.E. pretty much says that Newtypes are nothing more than mutants, and that everything both factions have been fighting so far is pointless.
Now, considering what you said, you seem to be the opposite: you believe in the concept of Newtypes. So its okay if you think it will (or has, depending on how different the OVA goes) have an everlasting impact in the future.

But like I said: I don't care about Newtypes. They're just genetically-embedded LSD humans.
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Andrew_Graruru
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

What I don't like about Unicorns portrayal of newtypes is how it seems to try and elevate them morally above the common-man. Banagher, who I guess is meant to embody the newtype-ideology, is a saint-like figure who can solve conflict with understanding and newtype-magic. The reveal of Laplaces Box is disturbing to me because
Spoiler
it seems to suggest that newtypes are inherently superior to oldtypes, and should be allowed easier acceptance into Government
I imagine the reveal of the box would really only deepen antagonism between oldtyps and newtypes, and cement radical beliefs. I could see it spurring on potential race-wars.

The rainbow stuff doesn't actually bother me. Isn't is just a powerful pscyho-wave?
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schwarz ritter
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Nope. Here it goes, Andrew, unless you REALLY want to be spoiled:
Spoiler
So after killing Full Frontal in the most unclimatic way, the Unicorn starts to "absorb" Banagher's sould (like how Shinji was absorbed in his own series). After he is, he is supposed to be the "embodiment" perfection: the combination of man and machine. Banagher then has a wet dream with Cardeas and Marida (just like those Shinji had with his mother in EoE), and discuss on whether the merger of Banagher and Unicorn is truly the embodiment of perfection. Afterwards, for some, mystical reason, Banagher sees the past, present and future of humanity, a lá Star-Gate from 2001. After seeing all of humanity's past (including the obligatory references to past UC products), Banagher then sees everything that happened in Unicorn and then sees further into the future, foreshadowing F90, F91, and all of the Crossbone mangas from what I could tell (for instance, he sees a Gundam in Mars and another in Jupiter). He is then take further into the future; a future in which there are no Newtypes whatsoever, and humans no longer live in space (implying Turn A); he is then taken even further into the future, one in which humanity has moved beyond the Solar System and colonized other parts of the Galaxy (implying Macross? LOL). However, just like in Evangelion, Banagher rejects the Unicorn (or some crap like that. I was bored when I read it), and so the "merger" stops. Afterwards, Unicorn says (not in the literal sense, of course) "screw humanity" and seals itself for good, allowing Banagher to regain his so-called individuality. He then flies off, as if nothing happened, to where Audrey is.
As for the rainbows,
Spoiler
I think its when he and Riddhe (who now has the Banshee) block a colony laser shot by creating a psycho-field.
Its pretty boring, to be honest. The only good part is
Spoiler
when Audrey is revealing Laplace's Box.
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Andrew_Graruru
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

I actually think Banagher seeing time could be kinda cool to see in animation. What's worrying me is the contents of the box. Doesn't it
Spoiler
grant newtypes privilege and easier access to government? That's just disturbing. It feels like racial politics, and almost like it'd turn oldtypes into a subclass of people.
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schwarz ritter
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

But it doesn't feel like Gundam at all! It feels more like...Evangelion...Ideon...Macross. It isn't Gundam. I mean, we've had enough of the mystical crap with Newtypes (like you say, in Unicorn, with the exception of Full Frontal and Loni in the OVA, they're basically Mary Sues). We don't need a lame Human Instrumentality knock-off as well!

From what I could gather concerning the Box, you're half-right:
Spoiler
it rather grants them a right to participate, not dominate. The only thing they are entitled to is to rule themselves and have just another voice in the Federation government. They don't declare them the "superior species" like Gihren did or anything.
Of course, I could be completely wrong. You'd have to ask Deacon Blues: he's more into Unicorn lore tham myself, hehe.

I still think Unicorn's conclusion is meh. Unless, of course, the OVA staff really disregards most of the last two volumes and make something completely new. But still, meh, who cares.
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Re: Gundam Unicorn Novel Ending

Andrew_Graruru wrote:I actually think Banagher seeing time could be kinda cool to see in animation. What's worrying me is the contents of the box. Doesn't it
Spoiler
grant newtypes privilege and easier access to government? That's just disturbing. It feels like racial politics, and almost like it'd turn oldtypes into a subclass of people.

The exact wording was this:
Spoiler
二項 将来、宇宙に適応した新人類の発生が認められた場合、その者達を優先的に政府運営に参画させることとする。

Which means: Second. In the future, in the event of confirming the development a space-adapted "new human" , these people must be allowed priority participation in the operation of the government. The real problem with this is, beyond implied superiority of spacenoids, is that it's really a MacGuffin. Even Ronan Mercanas himself, who tried to stop the box from opening, commented that people will forget about this incident in a few years, which makes no sense motivation wise. He fired a colony laser dangerously close to a colony for something that would probably not matter much in a few years?
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