Private Pyle I said cover you’re left eye with your left hand. Your military left! Any day now sweetheart…
One for the…For the love of Haruhi-sama! Pyle you will give me one pull up. Oh that’s right don’t put in any effort. If Haruhi-sama wanted you to be up here she you have miracled you by now!
Welcome Comrades! By the grace of Impz, patron of green haired traps, am I able to post up part two. Last time a lot of comments had sprouted up about having Lulu being compared to Gandhi. The original post is here. Unfortunately I was unable to articulate that the basis of comparison was not that Lulu is comparable to Gandhi, but rather their different approached to the same goal of a free nation were radically different. Lulu is not and will never be comparable to Gandhi. Also note my wisdom teeth are being removed via government sponsorship, suffice to say I apologize in advance for any confusion.
That’s it get off my roof! Move it spare ribs. St. Nagato-chi’s cardigan! You move like old people copulate you know that?! I said get OFF my roof!
Gandhi was superior and every way to our pouting megalomaniac loli-siscon prince. Gandhi’s strategy was bold, inspiring, and realistic for a nation where armed struggle had proven futile and wasteful. On the other hand, Lulu needs more and more miracles to keep his scheme going. The hope was to get the reader to question why Lulu’s way is portrayed as the only way in an allegedly pacifist society while the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi was ignored altogether.
This time I hope to discuss why the war genre and Code Geass in particular are stuck using the same methods in their portrayals of war. In the US and the West at large war movies are usually about a group of soldiers who are all some what ambivalent with partaking in the butchery of war. You have your motley crew with their quirks, faults, and strengths. However when combat is joined it is almost always a realistic portrayal of how real soldiers, sailors, and pilots fight.
The situation in anime is quite different and in all honesty much more romanticized than in the West. When I first saw Saving Private Ryan I was overwhelmed with the first sequence it was bloody, honest, brutal, and still sticks out to me as a faithful re-enactment of the blood bath that was Omaha beach on June 6, 1944. The Thin Red Line was also very frank about warfare; though a lot of drama was injected it did have a feel of authenticity.
I find that in anime the depiction of war has become increasingly appalling and unrealistic. While there is drama to be sure having a bit of authenticity can only increase the value of series in my opinion. War is complex and it can be explored in many ways in regards to human interaction, thoughts, emotions, and a host of other things. Just once I want something much more than the same old line that war is bad and has lots of fanservice.
War is bad it always has and will always be a brutal affair. However there is more to it, the tragic expenditure of lives when two commanders cannot agree on tactics or simply hate each other, political appointees, significant others breaking up via a letter to their ex on the front, people longing for their home, the poor souls who return but cannot readjust to their old life, the loss of friends and comrades, and that barely scratches the surface of what can be done with the theme.
Private Pyle what in the world are you doing to that patch of shrubbery? Do you feel nauseous? Do you feel faint? Tsuruya’s fang I think you have a hard on!
Warrior spirit can’t feed a horse; it can’t win a war either
Despite Lulu’s alleged strategic gifts his feats in chess do not make him by default a great strategist. Chess is more of a mathematical exercise than an accurate war simulation since most sane generals seek to have some sort of advantage over their opponents rather than have parity if superiority is possible. In addition in Chess you have perfect information there is no fog of war and no uncertainty about troop deployments. Overcoming this fog and knowing how to use it to his/her advantage is the hallmark of a competent strategist. Besides what general still lines up upon a field with regiments in full view these days anyway?
While quoting Sun Tzu is all good and well at the “Battle
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Comments (9)
“but instead he brilliantly attacks the peaceniks.”
Which he needs to do anyway.He has no need for peaceniks.They are an hindrance,thank god Euphie was killed in that “unfortunate accident”.
If we consider like Lelouch that WWIII is the best way to get what he wants then I consider he’s doing a good job.
Conclusion,the war needs to expand and fast.
ZeusIrae added these pithy words on Apr 26 07 at 9:12 amI agree with you about this. Code Geass is basically a “sensation-anime”, with as goal to be as dramatical and include as many sensations as possible in order to please the fanboys, while common sense is just ignored.
psgels added these pithy words on Apr 26 07 at 9:12 amYou need to chill and let the artists have their license to tell a story.
If you were to assume the realism above all philosophy in war fiction, there will never be any Mecha anime. Mecha is a stupid concept to bring to the battlefield when you can simply do more with a mix of other weapons more cost effectively.
While you might be inclined towards the really technical aspect of war strategy, viewers are not. People are interested in the drama. Watching 10000 calvalry charging at each other is fun; seeing some theoretical technical “information win” in some dark commanding post is not.
Look, there’s only 24 minutes per episode, you have to take it as a given that manual logistic issues are handled. That other activities are happening in the background without explicitly being shown. You simply have to accept that characters like Diethard represent the management function of 20 other people in RL. I mean are you interested in watching even for 3 seconds men ferrying supply off the trucks? I don’t think so.
Falen added these pithy words on Apr 26 07 at 10:44 amYou are simply not shown all the nitty gritty. If you look at the magazine article and related merchandize about the show, you’d realize ALOT more work was done in the background.
It is not that he is great at chess that he can just suddenly thrust himself into the position of the battlefield commander. Lelouch had been preparing for war. Geass simply “moved up his schedule” as he indicated to CC. That he can pilot a KM in episode 2 is not an accident. He had previously train himself for it. By the same account, he must have studied how to conduct a “modern military campaign” in Geass universe.
We get hints in the show about bits and pieces of daily activities of OoBK. We get to see minor talk of recruitment and budgetary issues. Lelouch and Diethard talks about organizational issues. Somewhere we noted that in fact control over the port and warehouse facilities all over the country is in fact an integral part of OoBK’s strategy.
Kyoto probably represents the “catch-all” logistic providers that can include foreign aid, local production and grass-root sympathizers. Again, you simply have to take it as a given that logistics are all taken care of in the background. We don’t really have time to enumerate all the different requirements. Besides, Lelouch can simply Geass his way around and cheat for whatever he needs.
Falen added these pithy words on Apr 26 07 at 11:11 am@ZeusIrae
I don’t think that they are entirely useless as if they are forced into enemy held territory they constitute as another mouth to feed and house. That takes up resources which are limited, hence they are not useless if used properly. Lulu doesn’t know how to use them so he kills them in his ignorance.
Part II will expand on how world wide revolution is going to have to be another Sunrise miracle. I don’t think
@psgels
Don’t for get the smut, lots of smut.
@Falen
I don’t think I have to chill, I am on pain meds and am pretty mellow as it is. 
I do not buy into the idea that Code Geass has had not option but to cut out the nitty gritty, after all we have had to sit through how many instances of fanservice with two Karen shower scenes and topless Viletta. To cut them some slack is being far too generous than they deserve given their record of time management.
I do not think that only people interested in drama are watching this show. That being said the hints thus far have been weak and get nary a mention afterwards. I find it hard to accept that Lulu could study all this stuff and have a near seamless transition into practical application. War is not something that you can study exclusively in a class room. I have been in logistical work for four years and let me tell you nothing ever really goes as planned in logistical work.
In Lord of the Rings, Tolkien was able to integrate ancient Saxon tactics into his works. One of the reasons why Tolkien is considered a great author is because he understood how armies fought during Saxon times. When Faramir ambushed the oliphaunt in the Two Towers the Southron commander made the right choice in trying to fight his way out of it by going forward. In the Silmarillion you had your shield walls and formations with your champions scattered about doing their thing.
To say that I need to buy products to get the nitty gritty of it all is galling in my opinion. We do not pay for books by the page, we pay for the whole thing. Harry Potter fans don’t have to buy book marks to get critical parts of the story so why the heck would I have to pay for superfluous items to see the whole story?
Since I have to assume so much to buy into Lulu = military genius, this is not good writing nor artistic license. Its is laziness, heck military manuals are written at a sixth grade level, there should be no excuse it doesn’t even cost much if anything at all. Heck the selling point of this was that it was serous, suffice to say it no longer is. however Code Geass is not the only series guilty of this. They are just the not so latest example.
Top down policy rarely ever works, but that is precisely what Lulu is doing. Boot camp is never boring, every person who goes through it remembers it in full detail.
I could cut them some slack, but I want to discuss the issue of how shallow the genre has gotten. It is not artistic license but laziness that has gotten us to this point in my opinion. Legend of the Galactic Heroes was able to integrate some realism, but not so with Sunrise in the post 8th MS Team age. I am skeptical of those who call themselves artists, if something looks half baked I will call them on it. Hence I am no fan of modern art. 
Besides artists are people too thus they are fallible, and not above scrutiny. We don’t hail Uwe Boll as a good director for his video game adaptations because he is an artist, so why should Sunrise get a break for churning out bad art?
Still thanks for the input.
Crusader added these pithy words on Apr 26 07 at 5:31 pm“I find that in anime the depiction of war has become increasingly appalling and unrealistic.”
…
Crusader, you’re looking for things that aren’t even supposed to be there. Code Geass uses elements of mecha and harem to attract mainstream audience who just want mindless entertainment of some actions and boobs. Questioning logistics and realistic military strategies and tactics is to me extremely retarded, its like accusing Pokemon of how pokemon battles never make sense (pikachu beats Rhydon anyone?). As for you wanting ’something much more than the same old line that war is bad and has lots of fanservice’ just for once, I recommend the anime Now and then here and there. And Grave of the Flies is said to be realistic portrayal of the bombings from a WW2 surviving viewer. But if you’re looking for an anime like Saving Private Ryan, no I think you’re wrong to look for it in anime. But I understand your pain. I want to watch a documentary anime on the wonders and beauties of insects (I like insects :D) and they never do it T_T.
@Crusader
Well,the problem is that it seems like a lost crusade.I agree with you that “war”(gundam,geass,etc)anime are getting ridiculous but it’s not going to end soon.
Logh was absolutely brilliant and if you liked it I advise you to watch Crest of the Star(if you didn’t see it already).Search for the hidden gems of the past,it’s your only hope.The future is dark for the mecha genre,(but don’t miss the glorious Bokurano).
ZeusIrae added these pithy words on Apr 27 07 at 3:20 amWell, Crusader, Gandhi was generally for peace, but you never hear about the few times he did sanction violence.
But hey, what do you expect a 16-18 year-old who has no practical experience with large-scale military tactics and/or logistics and stuff. Lulu’s playing everything by the book and his stupidity. He might have the supernatural edge, but well, he’s gonna have to wise up, eh? Or die trying. Even idiots learn. And well, even in Battletech, those lumbering hulks of war can, and sometimes do, with shocking regularity, get hijacked by bands of inssane infantry, in power armor or otherwise.
Also, remember this is new Sunrise, the company who brought you the failure that was CE Gundam and all that related shit (STARGAZER WAS THE EXCEPTION), and just turned an idol-raising game into something with robots. Why think so much? Hey, American comic artists and writers have zero grasp on technology too, so why not Japanese animation studios with war? Heck, I have not even begun to say how this is a slap to the occupied countries during World War 2. (tl;dr: You forgot insensitive. Also, LOL MERCHANDISE)
And yes Crusader, I agree, war is a terrible thing. However, sometimes, it has to be done. WW2 was unavoidable, WW1 was. And most of the lesser wars after WW2.
DrmChsr0 added these pithy words on Apr 30 07 at 8:14 amYou completely missed the points that Code Geass is making… It’s prabably the sub, there’s a lot of Japanese expression that can not be expressed in English…
Code Geass has at least 3 levels of comprehension to it. You are currently at level 0.
ppub added these pithy words on May 25 07 at 1:13 am