[Anime Review] The Light of Hatred

The latter part of Mobile Suite Gundam 0079 achieves what is a common trope in the better sort of war sagas; it extends beyond the classical view of war as a thymotic struggle over perceived injustice towards an existential reflection upon the sense of life, death and the universe itself.

That it does so through the eyes of the young boy piloting Gundam reminds us that any possible enlightenment that an individual attains on this plane is not retained by the collectivity of humankind. Amuro must learn first hand the lesson of all wars. Humanity is trapped in a spiral of death which, like the universe itself, constantly expands through the progress of science. Tomino offers no hope that this spiral can be broken.

Or does he? The psychic empathy characteristic of Newtypes makes conflict between them increasingly difficult due to the intimate bonds it forges between opponents. A prerequisite for effective war is dehumanization of one's immediate adversary combined with a heightened sense of self-preservation. Empathy makes it difficult if not impossible to perform the basic function of war: killing.

Amuro's connection to Lala demonstrates this in practice. Not only is Amuro incapable of killing Lala in combat, she decides to give up her life to protect her beloved. Amuro's reaction upon accidentally killing her is to lament that he has done a truly bad thing. Looked at from our perspective, Amuro has done nothing more than to neutralize another enemy. That Amuro recognizes this particular kill as a truly bad thing is a function of his ever expanding Newtype abilities.

These abilities initially seem tailor made for war, they give Amuro the capacity to predict his opponents moves and defeat them on the battlefield. But as these psychic abilities progress, Amuro also develops deep bonds with his opponents on an intimate level. These bonds render him less effective as a soldier, but more effective as a human being.

Amuro's development as a human was, we must recall, hindered by the war and his forced conscription (which, to be fair, was a matter of pure necessity for survival). When he encounters his mother on Earth, Amuro is a fully fledged soldier. Any doubts he may have had about war were never the result of philosophical introspection, but a childhood rebellion against duty. By the meeting with his mother, he has overcome his adolescence and performs his duties. His mother is heart broken that the boy has lost his humanity and become a killer.

By series' end, Amuro comes full circle. His Newtype powers give him a link with all of humanity and he realizes the immorality and futility of war. In this sense, the further evolution of Newtypes (and Tomino's unique vision of their psychic abilities) suggests that the future of humanity may be peaceful if we cultivate a deep empathy. On the other hand, war never ends in the Gundam universe and Amuro's metaphysical discoveries may save his proverbial soul, but they are a long way from saving humanity which persists in war.