It's really getting me that the characters most resembling actual human beings are portrayed in a negative light. Flay comes across as a very realistic character, but she's put in a negative light. I can agree with Shinn's stance on war, that people must be willing to fight to protect their peace, but that's portrayed as being wrong by the anime. Natarle is supposed to be seen as misguided and the more maternal Murrue is the better captain. Hell, I'd argue Yuuna and his father have a point about how Lord Uzumi was willing to burn the country to the ground rather than compromise on his beliefs. That led to Shinn and who knows how many others losing their families, but they're as obviously evil as Dio Brando's face.
It just bugs me that the show does this while the heroes are...freaking anime characters. I mean, I know they're anime characters but they just seem to lack that human quality to their actions. I never get the feeling that there's this complex thought process going on with them, it's all just simplistic morals. Lacus is the worst, she dragged Kira down to her level.
There's also no consequences for their actions. Just picture this. If word got out that Kira and Lacus interferred in the attempt to capture Djibril, who later went on to use Requiem to destroy some of the PLANTs, do you think the PLANTs would want Lacus as Head Chairperson? Do you think long-serving members of ZAFT would accept Kira, someone who has fought against them in two wars, as a commanding officer? Of course not. Real people wouldn't accept that (or an 18 year old ex-pop star as their country's leader for that matter).
It's in direct contrast to Gundam 00, where in season 1 Celestial Being did Kira's routine and had the entire world on their ass. Graham laughs at the idea. And here's the thing, Aeolia's plan ultimately was the world would ultimately unite to defeat the Gundams, not accept them as heroes. Despite their intentions, they were still meant to be seen as the bad guys in the world. Because as the show states, you can build a lasting peace through military strength. You build it through understanding, something Lacus and Kira never attempted.
"A peace that has been formed through violence and force, is not the world that people had wished for.
Not-Setsuna says something to that effect in Celestial Being the Movie, depending on your subs. That pretty much sums up Kira and Lacus right there.
In every crossover game, Kira and Lacus get called out on their naive beliefs and actions. Hell, at times other mecha protagonists wonder if they're trying to take over the world. There's even a decent argument to be made they're like the Titans, in that they use force to get others to submit to their beliefs. They'll just say something's evil, start attacking and at the end tell the world how evil the defeated are. That's the peace the "heroes" of the Cosmic Era win.
You know, Gundam was revolutionary at the time because it decided to portray enemy soldiers as human beings, not evil henchmen. It humanized the enemy, which made us question some of Amuro's actions in wiping them out. It's not good versus evil, it's war. It's not something that's simple or with easy answers.
In the end of the day, the Cosmic era doesn't represent that. Instead, it seems to put idealized anime characters as superior to human beings. That fantasy is better than reality. And I can't take something like that seriously.
