LogFAQs > #923610364

characters

Cosmo: I will say this show has more of an ensemble than Mobile Suit Gundam, so right away it's hard to say that Cosmo is the "main character" in the same way that Amuro is. they have some similarities and some differences. Cosmo has a pretty goofy character design but I think aside from that he's a very interesting character. One thing about Cosmo is that early on in the series he's fairly rebellious and reluctant. He is more eager to fight than Amuro but he does have the same sort of defiant streak at times... but in the later half, and especially the last 1/3 of the series... god... it's like Cosmo just kinda gives up. the amount of times he starts saying stuff like "there's nothing we can do about it. we just need to keep fighting." really got me at certain moments. I realized how much his character had changed due to the constant fighting and loss.

I think MSG is more overt with its themes, but Cosmo just fucking gives up. the subtlety of his character is a lot more harrowing than the overt nature of amuro and MSG. In the final episodes he goes out and slaughters people with no questions asked, and barely even has any kind of emotional reaction to what's going on around him. yeah you could chalk this up to weak writing or character inconsistency but given what we know of the theme of this series and other shows by Tomino, I think it's not an accident. mobile suit gundam is anti war. ideon is anti war. we're not supposed to think that cosmo going out and killing people makes him cooler. humanity and the buff clan are BOTH in the wrong, and this is very apparent in how the series portrays its themes and the ending. even his emotional reactions to tragedy become a lot more muted. the kid just dies inside and it's pretty dark. what a fantastic character.

the fact that I've written so much talking about just the first character is making me realize how great this series really is. wow.

Kasha: Kasha's greatest strength, and also her great sin, is that she never gives up on questioning authority or being skeptical of everything that is happening to them. I almost wonder what different direction the series would have went in if people took Kasha and her skepticism a bit more seriously at times. I think she is smarter than she lets on and this is really conveyed by how she often chooses to simplify things. Complicating ideas is the way that manipulative people get you to agree to things that are against your own interest. She really shows her intellect by choosing to acknowledge what is going on around them and focusing on the simple, discreet, and apparent truths they can observe.

Unfortunately I think this skepticism is one of the reasons the Ide could never fully be endeared to her character. I love that she doesn't bend over backwards for the earth military forces and you have to give credit to her influence into the final decisions made by Bes in pivotal moments like this. It just seems like among the council of people who always got to voice their opinion, Kasha was always outnumbered when it came to the Ideon. Still, she continued to go out and fight (for her own survival and to defend the other crew members) despite her feelings. But at the end of the day the Ide always seemed vindictive toward Kasha, especially in cases where the Ideon Gauge would randomly stop working or lose power. we know for sure that the Ide has a will of its own. with that knowledge, all of these moments suddenly have significance. when and why it chooses to bestow its power all tell us about the Ide's character.

If people would listen to Kasha they might have avoided a lot of problems, or maybe she was wrong and there was no way to escape the situation they were in. With the way things happened, though, it's partially because of Kasha that people never fully trusted the Ide, and they suffered even more for the "sin" of not blindly submitting to the will of the Ide.
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Reality seems very harsh
https://imgur.com/VRszIc8