Nostalgia Blinds

Or why I think it’s silly to harp on the past.

So, I was just minding my own business and hopping cheerily around a scenic garden with a group of bunny rabbits and frolicking deer, when “BAM!”, wildarmsheero launched a huge flaming fireball in my direction like one of those Undead Mages I had to fend off as a female Night Elf Rogue in World of Warcraft.

She is from the future!

He is hot and bothered mad about my choice of anime and blogging materials, particularly Gundam 00. It’s apparently because G00 is not “classic” enough for him. Although I do agree that G00 has more flaws than Michael Jackson‘s face, not being a “classic” is definitely not one of them.

Read his blog entry where he asserts that my blog “fucking sucks”, presumably because I blog about terrible shows that he hates with a zealous passion.

It’s the future!

Back in the Days…

First of all, wildarmheero makes the (bad) assumption that I am one of “those kids” who have never watched the original Gundam. This is how it always begins.

Personally, I like to think that I am pretty well acquainted with the franchise. Sure, I can’t rattle off the serial number of every bolt and nut on RX-78, but I did watch a good portion of the Gundam titles out there. I watched the original Mobile Suit Gundam and Zeta (which was supposed to be the best, or something?). I watched all the mini-series (0083, 0080, 08th, etcetera) and what not (e.g. Evolve), and I even enjoyed ∀, Wing and X.

After Zeta, I decided to give ZZ and V a pass. I’m sure they were all excellent and ground-breaking titles of their respective eras, but I can’t force myself to sit through them just to earn the right to boost about having watched every Gundam ever. Quite frankly, I thought the original Gundam was decently average but I didn’t like Zeta one bit. The mini-series are pretty awesome, though.

She’s not from the future. (But close enough.)

Again, I’m not saying that G00 is the greatest Gundam ever made. I wouldn’t even call it a “good” anime. I blog about it simply because I enjoy watching it. I love it just because it fills me with boyish glee every time it makes an allusion to real-life politics.

I don’t really give a damn about the actual Gundams at all. It’s like how I watched SEED (which wildarmsheero begrudgingly admits to have enjoyed) for the girls, and how people watch Wing (which wildarmsheero also enjoyed) for the fireworks.

Welcome to the world of tomorrow!

Selective Memory

Were things really better in the “good old days”? Do so-called “classics” really deserve the god-like status that fanboys like wildarmsheero bestow upon them? I don’t think so.

The original Mobile Suit Gundam was undeniably ahead of its time. But it is nowhere close to an Grade A anime by today’s standards. I can give it the respect that it deserves as a pioneering piece of work, but I honestly do not think that it can stand up to modern competitors. I definitely won’t recommend it to a friend. Certainly, Thomas Edison’s light bulb brought a new age upon humanity, but I prefer my compact fluorescent light, okay?

Space!

I think it’s very important to understand that the circumstances under which you first encounter a piece of work can pretty much determine how much you like it for the rest of your life. Paradigms shift; circumstances change. Medieval villagers would consider incandescent light bulbs to be witchery, 19th century folks considered them cutting edge science, and today we consider them technologically obsolete.

This is especially true for issues which are by definition subjective in nature. It’s futile to force people to see things your way when the opportunity to do so (i.e. the first impression) has long past.

I can’t wait till the future is here!

People tend to be biased about anime series from their early days as aspiring otakus. I do it too. I still hold Evangelion and Nadesico in high regards, but that doesn’t mean that I have to blog about them. (Exceptions made for remakes.) I have long come to the realization that most anime titles are pretty much shit in terms of literary value and the original Gundam certainly is no exception.

A Harmless Analogy

To put things in perspective… wildarmsheero spends an obscene amount of time talking about Kaede Fuyou, the absolute worst character (IMNSHO) from the PC-game-turn-anime SHUFFLE!. As someone who has purchased and played quite a few bishoujo games, I, DarkMirage, assert that SHUFFLE! is a terribly clichéd game and wildarmsheero “fucking sucks” for blogging about this horrible franchise which can’t hold even half a candle to the classics.

They are not from the future. (But they pwn Kaede.)

And in a similar fashion, it makes me very mad that wildarmsheero likes a messed-up character from a crappy series so much that he actually bought pillow covers of her. That’s right, it offends my sensibilities! We should all be blogging about awesome classics like Tokimeki Memorial and Sentimental Graffiti and hugging Shiori Fujisaki pillows instead! Oldies forever!!!…

…Doesn’t that sound awfully silly to you? Mr. Original Gundam Fan? ;) But that’s basically what UC purists are saying, except with less moé and more mecha.

Conclusion

I do in fact love SHUFFLE! a lot (just take a look at my posts tagged with “shuffle”). I enjoyed it in spite of its huge and glaring flaws, the same way I enjoy Gundam 00.

People should not be forced to limit what they like to the “best” or the “classics”, neither should classics be given special treatment just for being classics. The original Gundam is terrible when viewed today without a helpful dose of nostalgia to make up for its flaws.

Please get over this irrational obsession with the past. The old days only seem better after a makeover via selective memory. Stop judging every Gundam title based on how close it is to the original (or at least stop trying to convince me that there’s any logic to it). Thank you.

BAM! Your Gundam is dead!