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What's with Jap animus and featuring literal children in the military?
>>14178464
them shota dollars
Because anime is for kids and kids relate to fellow kids better.
>>14178476
As a former child myself, this is bullshit. As a kid I usually hated kid appeal characters because they were grating and stupid, just like real children.
>>14178464
It's the WWII meme
>>14178464
Michel was 18.
That's older than most Gundam protagonists, and also not an unrealistic age for a soldier - not just a conscripted one WWII style, but a modern one as well. You could go join the Marines and learn how to kill people (or maybe even actually kill people!) before you're old enough to even legally drink.
Also Michel was actually treated like a greenhorn kid by members of his squad, while once again many Gundam shows have the 16 year old MC act and be for all intentents and purposes a somewhat short, grown adult man.
>>14178506
>intentents
Meant intents of course. Sorry, tired.
I think the smoking age is 20 there so he's old enough for the military but not enough to smoke.
>>14178483
>As a kid I usually hated kid appeal characters because they were grating and stupid
Same.
What's with Western media and being about old people in the military?
>>14178580
well hard to believe an 18 year old general/admiral
>>14178589
Hard to believe a 40 year old cadet/ensign
Aimed at teens, teens are still growing so they have room for character development, and japs wish they were teens again.
>>14178464
I like it when they put in children characters in military settings so they can get killed off or get fucked up with with horrible trauma.
In the OYW specifically they resorted to children because they needed more soldiers. They even talk about it in first episode
>>14178464
Because it's easier to develop a kid's character than have some middle-aged guy blowing shit up every episode like real life.
>>14178627
But people change as they get older, almost regardless of age range. The you who is 22 will not be the same you who is 44.
>>14178464
kawaii knows no bounds
cuteness is driven so far into their culture you'd think they're run by middle-aged white women
it goes honor > family > cuteness > xenophobia repression > tea > zen, your results may vary
>>14178470
Translations never
>>14178589
Napoleon was a Brigadier General at 24.
>>14179083
Hit submit too early.
I was going to say and he didn't necesarily earn his rank, he bought a lot of his promotions because you were allowed to do that back then.
>>14178483
>As a kid I usually hated kid appeal characters because they were grating and stupid, just like real children.
I feel the same way about high-school aged characters.
In the OYW half of the human population is dead. Many of the casualties are soldiers. Many adults capable of fighting are already in the military and both sides are running low. This sort of thing has also happened in reality. For instance with Japan conscripting teenagers and even preparing pre-pubescent children for war.
In short, it never really bothered me. At least not in the OYW era anyways.
this is a real man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueY5Q4PclQ0
>>14178464
Makes perfect sense in Gundam seeing how desperate the war is most of the time
>>14178595
in the US military, a lot of NCOs become officers, especially in the Navy., so older junior officers aren't uncommon.
>>14179281
>In the OYW half of the human population is dead
God I really wish OYW was a 4-5 year war and we were actually in the middle at the start of 0079.
Current timeline is too dense with large scale murder and prototypes deployed.
>>14178506
>before you're old enough to even legally drink.
Or smoke tobacco, or buy e-cigs, or rent a car.
>>14178464
The excuse most of the time is that there would be somewhat of a desperation due to a shortage of people there. At least that was the excuse on Macross if I remember, since Max was accepted even though he wore glasses, and a lot of the the pilots like Hikaru, Max and I think Kakizaki were around 16.
>>14178464
Possibly World War 2, as the Japanese did use teenage soldiers as the war drew closer to the Japanese mainland. They were fully prepared for even teenage boys and girls to fight should the Allies reach the Japanese mainland but the surrender came before that.
>>14178506
>Michel was 18.
>Kamille was 17
>Roux was 17
>Seabook was 17
>Judau was was 14
>they all look older than Michel did
>>14180960
The problem is that was 4-6 years
for many parties involved. While the OYW was only one year.
>>14180982
Welcome to anime ages. Japan thinks that you need a teenage aged protagonist, both to draw in the teenage market and to serve as a base of highschool nostalgia for older fans.
But on the other hand, no one wants to see an ACTUAL teenager as a main character. Teenagers are awkward and gangly but also obnoxious, immature drama queens who are either too self-assured for their own good or incredible whiners (okay, that part often applies too).
So what happens instead is that we take a character with physical and emotional maturity of a 20-25 year old and say they're actually 16. It's not a realistic teenager, but an idealized one - what a teenager thinks they are (or should be, but let's not open a can of worms about media creating unrealistic expectations). It doesn't happen just in Gundam or mecha shows. It's typical for all kinds of media, tv shows, anime, western cartoons, you name it.
>>14181093
I dunno, 0079 was good about anime ages
>>14180982
This is why 00 is the best gundam. Setsuna may be an autist, but at least he's an adult autist.
>>14181093
Comics with loli banged by old men can get away with breaking the law because that kid is over 20 in setting
>>14181140
>This is why 00 is the best gundam. Setsuna may be an autist, but at least he's an adult autist.
Setsuna is 16
>>14181147
I'm not seeing the issue here, since they're only drawings.
>>14181140
you fucking wot m8
00 fags everybody
>>14178464
Because cartoons are for children and manchildren, even in Japan.
>>14178464
'cause the target demographic is 8-16 crowd and having young characters helps the majority of the audience to insert themselves as the characters so they feel an existential "connection" with the show.
Because mecha faces reality in a way that no other media is willing to.
Truly a mature, clear-eyed medium.
>>14185158
Can't even tell if this is supposed to be jokingly or not
>>14178464
Fuck this bothered me.
Not only is Michel a whiny bitch through and through, but refusing a smoke because you're underage?
You are the gunner and munitions engineer of a mechanised combat unit, fighting a ground war... step it up.
>>14180982
Judeau is 14? I'm so goddamn surprised, he was so much more independent and mature than other series protags, I thought he was at least 19.
>>14181140
Going by that metric, G Gundam is the best because Domon is basically a 19-20 year old edgelord, which is an absolutely realistic attitude for someone of that age. It's just a shame they had to excuse it with muh dead parents, muh crazy brother and muh raised by martial arts nutjob
>>14178589
Well it depends. In a really desperate war sending kinds to the front is not unheard of, even in the West. Having a 17year old become an officer in such a situation isn't impossible.
>>14185898
It's just another layer to his Mary Sueness.
>>14185898
He said that his folks sent him money for food and shelter. He skips middle school to gain enough money for his sister education.
>>14185978
>tfw no children's crusade mecha anime
>>14178464
>smol and compact
>underboob view
>>14181157
Guessing he's talking about S2 00 where I'm pretty sure Gundam-kun is like 20 years old.
>>14185927
>which is an absolutely realistic attitude for someone of that age
Is that so?
>>14180982
Michel is low test.
Drinking age != service eligible age
op is a fuckwit as usual
>>14186195
Kiki isn't even a proper servicewoman, she's a local collaborator/fucksleeve.
>>14179079
look at the smug bastard's expression, he knows he has a cool ass robot and he doesn't give a shit showing it off
