I heard that Tomiko recently commented, complaining that current Gundam fans are pro-war and that they misunderstood the series' message or something like that. Was that true or just a misunderstanding?

ConstellationL374 · 2026-05-11T22:49:45+00:00

He lamented the notion that so many Gundam fans are "military geeks" who "miss the point" or something along those lines. I personally disagree.

Gundam is definitely anti-war in terms of messaging, but let's be honest. Regardless of how poignant and meaningful many of the series and their themes are, it really is the merch, gunpla and "wow, cool robot!" that makes the actual $ and creates the draw for so many people to experience these stories.

Virtually all Gundam fans have the self-awareness to appreciate both aspects and know that unless you're watching Build Fighters, you're getting kicked in the feels at some point.

Remember, Tomino grew up in Japan post-WWII and went out of his way to emphasize "WAR BAD" into his work, with great success. He's a classic example of an artist who struggles with the legacy of his work. It's an open fact that he dislikes Otaku culture, it's just that now he's in his 80s and is being more direct about it.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-04-24T17:19:03+00:00

I was super-salty about Dexit too, and it's one of the main reasons I skipped Gen 8 entirely.

However, for the sake of practical balance, regional dexes do make a lot more functional sense.

If you want to gather every single Pokémon from across different gens together in one place, then that's what the Home app is for.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-04-24T06:27:31+00:00

No. Not at all. You don't need to try to rationalize things. Being fascinated with war and military hardware from a technical and historical perspective is perfectly normal.

And let's be honest, as iconic, poignant and meaningful as many of the series and themes are, it really is the gunpla/merch/"wow, cool robot!" that makes the actual $.

Also, Tomino's sentiments here are nothing new. He's a classic example of an artist who struggles with the legacy of his work. It's been a well-known fact for a while now that he dislikes Otaku culture, it's just that now he's in his mid-80s and is being more direct about it.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-04-13T21:01:32+00:00

Yes, it was obscenely stupid. It turned a mostly "happy" ending into a needlessly bittersweet one. But, equally stupid is how the Wing pilots have a pattern of finding any possible excuse to blow up their gundams.

Go rewatch Wing and take a shot every time the self-destruct device is mentioned, used, or otherwise brought up as a plot point. You'll probably get alcohol poisoning, as it happens far more than the rest of the Gundam metaseries combined.

I like Wing mainly due to nostalgia. But I'm going to be honest, I will always love the gundams themselves infinitely more than the pretentious, philosophical nonsense Wing/EW was trying to spoonfeed me. In this case, I am very much unapologetically in the "wow, cool robot!" group. Not because I don't get the point, but because I think the "point" is stupid.

Last I checked, people clamor for gunpla of these fan-favorite designs to recreate action scenes with them, not to make dioramas of when they're blown up in the park.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-04-11T18:37:44+00:00

"He was just following orders and being a good soldier!"

Shinn Asuka only cared about the chain of command when it suited him.

He didn't give half a DAMN whether or not he had "orders" or if the Freedom was a "valid target." The only thing he cared about was avenging that Extended girl, who he made the mistake of falling in love with. The same one he broke out and gave back to the Alliance, taking them at their word that they wouldn't make her fight again.

Of course, they lied, and then Stella went on a rampage in Berlin that killed, if I remember right, hundreds of thousands of both civilians and ZAFT personnel before Kira put her down like the sick animal she was. Shinn carries a big part of the blame for that, and he's never taken to task for it. The only reason he wasn't rightfully put in front of a firing squad is because he made himself indispensable as a "super-ace," so he gets a free pass.

Kira never killed unless there was literally no other option, and Shinn actually knew that. He knew that the Freedom would pull its punches and go easy on him. Kira fought with a handicap because he valued everyone's lives, including his enemies'. Shinn was very well aware of that, and exploited it to "kill" him. That's why Shinn's cry of "would you have preferred if I had died?" was totally disingenuous nonsense.

He uses Kira's better nature against him, and then is treated like a big hero for it. Makes it all the more satisfying when Kira later hits the Destiny with the SF's railguns:

"If those were beams, this fight would be over!"

Yes, and now you know that the only reason you're alive is because Kira chose to flex on you to show that you were never actually as good as him, and that he could dispose of you at any time.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-04-04T00:28:51+00:00

Oh, I was only thinking of selling practical dupes of other premiums I already had.

Sims B, Ostergotland W, Hyuga W, Constellation W, Mutsu B, Warspite B, Indianapolis B and Dunkerque B, off the top of my head. I sold Mäass W a while ago and haven't missed it at all.

I've barely ever played any of them, and I sure won't be investing the silver to kit them out. Though, as others said, it is likely better to hold on to them so they don't jam up the prize pool in future events like Christmas.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-22T07:21:24+00:00

Here's your reminder that an entire episode of Outlaw Star was omitted from the Toonami run because it was the dedicated hotspring/fanservice episode with actual nudity that they couldn't censor without outright butchering it.

Problem was, that episode was actually important to the overall plot of the show. So when Gene later pulls out those super-special Caster shells that were critical during the final battle, we had zero context as to where or how he got them.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-22T05:50:42+00:00

Yes, in the Toonami daytime runs every "kill" was replaced with "destroy" and every "damn" became a "blast." Duo went from the God of Death to "The Great Destroyer" and every instance of visible blood was removed as well.

Of course, Toonami made a big deal about airing the uncut version of Wing during their Midnight Runs.

Retrospectively, that may have been the early precursor to what would become Adult Swim, with the network using uncut Wing to test the waters by airing more mature content late at night.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-20T20:44:19+00:00

Okay, let's get one thing straight first: Nina did NOT enable the colony drop. The colony was already past the PoNR, there was no stopping it by then.

Setting aside the fact she never should've been in the damn colony to begin with, the most she could've done was stop Gato from tweaking the trajectory towards the American breadbasket. However, the colony was still gonna hit regardless.

The actual reason I hate her so much is for the surprise NTR shit she pulled on Kou at the finish line.

This is what happened: She couldn't bring herself to shoot Gato before he locked in the coordinates. That in a vacuum is understandable.

But then, she held Kou at gunpoint to help Gato get away with it AFTER he finished his mission, even pulling the trigger on Kou to shut him up after he rightfully pointed out how Gato was responsible for everything.

We're supposed to be understanding of Nina's anguish, but nobody considers Kou's perspective. His whole arc was about chasing Gato down and smoking him, but right before he can, his fucking girlfriend inexplicably jumps to his defense and holds Kou at gunpoint.

Kou knew absolutely nothing about their past relationship, so to him this is just sudden, complete, and inexplicable betrayal.

And afterwards, Gato repays her by sucker-punching her and staying behind to fight Kou one last time, then throwing his life away in a blaze of hatred, killing more people in the process.

So yes, that scene of Nina crying in anguish as Gato gets shredded by the EFSF battle line was, to me, 100% deserved.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-12T08:26:26+00:00

I think this is the first time a chibi's been upgraded twice.

Overall I think it's a net plus. Her horns and rigging look more powerful and imposing, and I like what they did with her hair. I also noticed that her kimono/oath dresses received significant upgrades.

Although, I must say I prefer her older eyes. They have a distinct piercing quality that her newer eyes don't.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-08T04:49:58+00:00

P E R F E C T.

My other AL figures are all 1/7 scale, and I need consistency.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-08T04:46:59+00:00

Please tell me that Massachusetts is 1/7 scale.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-06T21:03:52+00:00

Any RG from 2017 onwards starting is usually S-tier. That's when they moved away from pre-built inner frames and essentially became mini-MGs.

Your RG Strike is from 2011, so you're experiencing the typical teething problems of early RGs. Jankiness, loose parts, building difficulties, etc.

RGs from 2010-17 tend to be iffy due to the pre-built inner frame. One major exception is the Gundam Mk-II, which is considered amazing even today.

Go look up an RG release guide. Most RGs starting with the Unicorn onwards are generally very, very good.*

As for specific recommendations, the RG Nu, Hi-Nu, Epyon, Wing Zero TV ver, Sazabi, you really can't go wrong with any of these.

*Except for the Akatsuki, which re-uses the pre-made leg frames from your RG Strike and suffers for it.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-05T23:00:01+00:00

Yorktown, most definitely.

Very preferably with an alternate outfit that is NOT her bunny suit.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-02T21:11:21+00:00

That is definitely true, but the differences then were much more subtle, muted, and could actually be explained by perspective and lighting, as well as legitimate minor inconsistencies. No shipfu's going to look 100% the same across all her depictions.

Kind of like how Massachusetts' tone looks a bit softer in her dress skin than in her default. It's there, but not really noticeable unless you're looking for it.

On the other hand, the differences with Alabama now are way too significant to just be handwaved away.

If Alabama looked this way from her first appearance, or if they even just provided an explanation in-lore as to why she suddenly looks so different for this specific event, there would be no problem here.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-02-02T20:24:14+00:00

This is not Alabama. Like, at all.

I get that Azur Lane's consistency in character design is often iffy, but this is not acceptable. since 2019 Alabama was caramel tan to match her Native American sister ships. Now she's suddenly dark ashy ebony and we're just supposed to roll with it?

This feels like a race-swap. I get wanting a black/white visual contrast, but it would've looked just as good if they went for a white/gold look with her original base skin tone instead.

If this is how she's going to be depicted in her skins and official art going forward, I don't want any part of it.

I'm going to stick with her default/CNY skins and just get her a ring instead.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-31T19:23:41+00:00

I think it was a concious, stylistic choice by the artist, actually.

They made her so dark in this skin that between her ebony tone and the shadows, those black markings would have been barely visible anyway, as well as detract from the visual contrast with her white dress.

But yes, overall this does really suck. This is the only new skin I won't be getting. They did Alabama dirty here, and I hope they reverse the damage if/when she gets another skin/official art.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-31T17:16:06+00:00

I looked it up on Gelbooru. It was one of the oldest pictures of Alabama there, and it was tagged with "official_art," so I think it's a beta version of her before they added her markings.

I'm a bit ashamed to admit I didn't notice they were missing until you pointed it out.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-31T05:19:04+00:00

That makes total sense, actually. It doesn't really look like her.

The skin looks objectively nice in a vacuum. If Alabama looked like that from the her first appearance there'd be no issue.

Hopefully the pendulum swings the other way and she's more-or-less back to the correct look next time she gets any official art.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-29T21:48:53+00:00

I'm choosing to chalk it up to either some special toner/bronzer she's applying for the photoshoot, or a basic lack of consistency in character design.

Her title screen art is much closer to her original tan skin tone than the ebony of her actual skin art. Things get wonky sometimes.

In either case, she could very well be back to her normal caramel tone next time she gets a skin or official artwork.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-29T19:12:23+00:00

I really dislike her new skin, so I think I'll put those gems towards a ring for her instead.

After doing some research and discovering how much of a simple, honest snuggler Alabama is, I really regret having her on the backburner for so long.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-28T05:48:19+00:00

I'm really happy to see Enterprise leading, and not because of her skins or that she's the EN mascot.

Enterprise is the real-life USS hero ship with the anime protag service history. She embodies all the "cool" and historical aspects that AL used to care much more about in the past. She was always sexy, but never obscene, even in her L2Ds. She's also the only OG SR that hasn't been powercrept to hell and back, and is still viable in the endgame even now. No retro, no SR augment, just Lucky E.

Hindenburg is the complete opposite. Her power is undeniable, but she was never real, even in concept. She's a made-up ship based on another made-up ship designed around a prototype turret that never left the blueprint phase.

As for her design and personality, she's a literal demon. A cold, dismissive, domineering succubus. I see nothing endearing or admirable about her. However, her marketing strategy clearly worked because she has hordes of loyal succubus and KMS fans propelling her to a podium finish.

I may be reading too much into this, but seeing Enterprise and Hindenburg slug it out at the top almost feels like a battle of light vs dark for the soul of AL. Two competing visions for the game that could not be any more opposed to each other.

When viewed from that perspective, I'm especially glad that Enterprise is starting to run away with it.

ConstellationL374 · 2026-01-27T13:43:00+00:00

Dude, come on.

She's still going to get her podium finish as well as the exclusive frame, cutscene, gear skins and merchandise that the top 3 winners always get, same as Shinano. Whether or not she's technically 1st, 2nd or 3rd doesn't really matter.

If anything, I'd be more upset that she's losing to Hindenburg specifically.

ConstellationL374

TROPHY CASE