‘Beauttocks’ is a perfect nickname. I second it Iknight.
Well since this is my first truly mecha-related post, i suppose I should fill you in. I have always feared to tread into the depths of mechadom. I suppose early in my life I watched Gundam Wing and just didn’t like it(not true, at one point I made my mom buy me enough hair gel so that I could slick my hair back like Chang Wufei). My loathing for all things mecha ran deep into my soul. I loved Fumoffu,but had to force myself to watch the first season of Full metal Panic. The action never really appealed to me I suppose. “How much talent is required to let a mecha fight for you” is how I used to think. Cut to me at the star of my senior year(fall 2007),my loathing of mecha had almost made me miss 2 brilliant shows(Gurren Lagann and Code Geass) simply because they involved mecha and I was being contrary to my friends recommendations. I decided to get over my hatred of the mecha genre by watching all of the Gundam franchise in chronological order. So here I am through 4 OVAs and 1 regular season(I am disregarding my previously watched seasons for times sake) and I’ve come to understand the love for the art of the mecha show. Massive humanoids annihilating each other in space with phallic guns and swords. Fighting for whats right or for whats wrong, being an utter badass(Char Aznable) or being utter faggots (anyone in the Zabi family rings a bell). Mecha seems to separate the /m/en from the /b/oys.
Words normally go here, but they would ruin the picture.
Now that the past is out of the way, let’s move onto the now. I’ve just watched Eureka Seven, and am catching up in Code Geass season 2. Which is what this post is about. In the first episode of Code Geass, when Lelouch is at his old chess playing against rich adult ways. He seems to share what Daniel has already posted as a Machiavellian syndrome. while it is true that Lelouch does display the tendencies of a machiavellian megalomaniac the man he faces of against in this particular game of chess displays a much more intriguing philosophy.
Slightly-limited GAR works
In book one of Plato’s republic, therien lies a discussion in the house of the wealthy aristocrat Cephalus(yes lol Syphilis) between Socrates, Cephalus, and a belligerent Sophist named Thrasymachus. In which Thrasymachus argues that “might is right”, and that”justice is in the interest of the stronger”. Interestingly enough 1500 2300 some odd years later these same philosophies are being spouted to show just how evil the main character of an anime actually is. Sure it came from the mouth of Lelouch’s opponent, but it seems to be a way for the creators to remind the audience how in spite of a recent mindwashing “arc”, Lelouch is an evil bastard. Just last season he was saying things just like this, and later in the same episode he says very similar things.
I needed a picture somewhere in this post just to show how much if a pussy Rollo is.
Why would the creators feel the need to maintain Lelouch’s asshole image? At first the episode felt a parallel universe. Lelouch has a brother? He’s a warm cuddly teddybear? It appears they want us to see how Lelouch could have turned out. The slightest little difference completely rewrites who we are.
June 10, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I like the idea that that first episode was not only a way to quickly set up the second, post-Black Rebellion, series, but also a sight of a different Lelouch, perhaps a happier one (albeit also one with more yaoi incest subtext).
People point to Social Darwinism to explain the Britannian Emperor, but as always it seems the Greeks got there first. (Are we not more than 1500 years later than Plato?) And Lelouch is rather like his father – I’ve noticed the idea that Emperor Charles may actually be training Lelouch as his successor in some vast and complicated challenge is spreading.
Also props &c for the Gundam. Though I’m not sure I’d tar all the Zabis with the same brush: Kycilia’s alright, managing to both headshot someone and then be headshot(ted?).
June 10, 2008 at 10:20 pm
@Iknight:wow that was fast, and thanks for correcting my math on that Plato was alive in the 428-348 period and for some reason I mistook that for AD instead of BC
I had never thought of Emperor Charles training him in some convoluted plan, but it makes sense.
good call with the Kycilia. I meant it more like Garma, or Gihren, but Kycilia and Dozle were ok.
June 11, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I suck at ancient philosophy, so I can’t really comment much regarding your post.
But Gundam Wing is brilliant. Or this is just the fanboy in me saying that.
June 18, 2008 at 5:16 am
You lost me at megalomaniac.
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Damnit Peggy, I don’t want you shopping at that Megalomart.
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Your opinions pointed out some things in Lelouch that I hadn’t been paying attention to. While being the lovable and strategically inclined main character that we all love, he is a Machiavellian prick. That loli princess did nothing to merit a good ol’ public relations marriage with a forty year old Britanian to be ruined by the hands of Zero the promise breaker.