International Gundam Society, Assemble!

[HellCat]

http://lh4.google.com/rgz91.gunota/R8Ewaadhr2I/AAAAAAAAACA/-9lZKiTVggc/jpf.jpg International Gundam Society revisited After first coming to public attention in May (http://aeug.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html#4601164517825632420), the academic study group known as the International Gundam Society was recently formally announced (http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn200807290033.html). And that leads to more English language coverage (Mainichi Daily News (http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080729p2a00m0na010000c.html), Breitbart.com (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D927V21O0&show_article=1&catnum=2)).

Interesting. It's always nice to see fans coming togethor and further taking their passion to try and really make something with it.
I wonder if they'll extend their membership to other countries.
Although...

"Ok, next item on the agenda-"
"I wanna make a Buster Rifle!"
"Will the American division please keep their members in check. Thank you".

[Harlan_Phoenix]

"Ok, next item on the agenda-"
"I wanna make a Buster Rifle!"
"Will the American division please keep their members in check. Thank you".

Yer just mad 'cause you know we can do it.

IN AMERICA!

[HellCat]

Yer just mad 'cause you know we can do it.

IN AMERICA!

"You made them a Buster Rifle?!"
"Nah"
"Oh...then what do they have?"
"A Super Soaker with some Christmas lights wrapped around the muzzle"
"Clever"
"Thank you"

[Harlan_Phoenix]

"You made them a Buster Rifle?!"
"Nah"
"Oh...then what do they have?"
"A Super Soaker with some Christmas lights wrapped around the muzzle"
"Clever"
"Thank you"

Cheap shot! You know we can't tell the difference!

...*shoots water at gopher. Sad face.*

[The Tyrant]

Do we get to pilot Gundams if we join? I call Turn A.

[garfield15]

I want Freedom.

What? You know that thing kicks ass.

[GWOtaku]

The possibility of Gundam robots isn't quite what they're going for here:


Subjects to be touched on:
The feasibility of the Universal Century (the possibility of space emigration due to overpopulation)
Human conflict on Earth and in space (a historical look at elitism)
The social psychology of spacenoids (the emergence of the Newtype)
Love of the Earth and home (the praxiology of being away from one's hometown)
The Zeon revolution (concerning the perpetuity of fascism)
The politics of the technocrat (Earth Federation)
The possibility of reforming human consciousness in the battlefield
The international spread and economic effect of Gundam

To me, this is the best thing ever. These are my people. Alas, they're an ocean and a language away. I hope this is just the beginning of such study. Maybe some of their future work will be translated and published in journals. Worst-case scenario, I guess I learn to read Japanese.

[XOMiss_Samantha]

...I smell a Gundam cult! Proof that our future is filled with giant robots and 'earth federations'.
I can already picture how it'll look. Their Gundam-speech turns my mind into pudding.

[HellCat]

Fascism...I take it then they aren't accepting the "Stupid gaijin! Gundam is for the Japanese!" fanbase?

[GWOtaku]

Fascism...I take it then they aren't accepting the "Stupid gaijin! Gundam is for the Japanese!" fanbase?

Fortunately not apparently, otherwise it wouldn't be much of an "international Gundam society."

Heck, let's face it, on some level we all know what Zeon is a caricature of.

[Juu-kuchi]

Nice. This is something if done properly on an international scale would be a rather big hit to Gundam aficionados everywhere.

Hopefully they expand into the Alternate Universes as time goes on, I've already got a nice topic idea that came up just a few minutes ago about the Limits of Genetic Enhancement (How far can it go and what limits it may hold) in regards to the Cosmic Era (which now that I think about was really swept under the rug as time goes on).

[Jacob T. Paschal]

Fortunately not apparently, otherwise it wouldn't be much of an "international Gundam society."

Heck, let's face it, on some level we all know what Zeon is a caricature of.

Dern Nazis...

This is interesting, alright.


Dibs on RX-78-2.

[bigdeath]

I call dibs on the DeathScythe H. I will become the Reaper, destroyer of life. :evil:

[HellCat]

I wonder what the application process for the think tank is.

"One one wall, a picture of an Acguy. On the other a naked woman. Which do you choose?"
*HC potters over to the Acguy*
"Welcome aboard, sir. We look forward to discussing these weighty issues with you"

Gah...the delicious discussion these people will have...Not fair!

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I wonder what the application process for the think tank is.

"One one wall, a picture of an Acguy. On the other a naked woman. Which do you choose?"
*HC potters over to the Acguy*
"Welcome aboard, sir. We look forward to discussing these weighty issues with you"

Gah...the delicious discussion these people will have...Not fair!

I propose a third wall is constructed in which the naked women is within the cock-pit of the Acguy.

[HellCat]

I wonder if they'd include AU concepts at a later date. That could broaden things, like CE's issue of genetic engineering.

"Guys, I'm getting a headache from all this heavy discussion. I'm gonna go chill in the G Gundam discussion for a while".

[Anyone00]

"Guys, I'm getting a headache from all this heavy discussion. I'm gonna go chill in the G Gundam discussion for a while".

And then the discussion turns to STDs.

They'll have to compete with the Star Trek people for funding but in the end I think the Warhammer 40k blokes will win out in in the battle for funding.

[Juu-kuchi]

I wonder if they'd include AU concepts at a later date. That could broaden things, like CE's issue of genetic engineering.

"Guys, I'm getting a headache from all this heavy discussion. I'm gonna go chill in the G Gundam discussion for a while". *flattens HC's androgynous face with a kayak paddle and points a few posts above* Hey if you're stealing ideas do it more subtly you.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

I sense A Clockwork Orange's reprogramming being intercut with a discussion on Articficial Newtypes.

[HellCat]

*flattens HC's androgynous face with a kayak paddle and points a few posts above* Hey if you're stealing ideas do it more subtly you.

I honestly didn't see your post. I was just trying to get things back on track, since it was turning into 'lol, what Gundam would you have?'

[Juu-kuchi]

I honestly didn't see your post. I was just trying to get things back on track, since it was turning into 'lol, what Gundam would you have?' Hm. Well it seemed that way, but it seemed rather odd, like "Hey that's a great idea, too bad it's not mine" and then twisted it around as such to make it like your own.

I'll drop it now.

[HellCat]

Joke thievery is low. I'll twist a joke from a TV show, movie, etc I've enjoyed but on an individual level I detest it. If someone's been witty, I'd rather give them praise than a slap in the face. Likewise good ideas in general. Like I said at the start, fans working togethor :)

[Juu-kuchi]

I know. But then there's always the problem that when an idea you postulated was taken either by mistake or purpose and then the people who see that first go down that discussion while leaving the person who originally said it in the dust because nobody was aware enough to see his first or if there's a sense of people associating more worth to the other person in regards to the initiation of discussion. (ie "I'm going to follow the lead of HC and GWO because they have more intrinsic worth for a meaningful Gundam discussion unlike those who are not on their level")

Since when did joke thievery become an issue?

[GWOtaku]

Seed certainly has a subject or two for serious discussion. The Eugenics issue makes it very timely, even in spite of Durandal's insane (IMO) Destiny plan. The idea that we could create a perceived "race" that would create even more problems and conflict for humanity is a pretty disturbing one to me.

[Juu-kuchi]

Seed certainly has a subject or two for serious discussion. The Eugenics issue makes it very timely, even in spite of Durandal's insane (IMO) Destiny plan. I'd like for them to also discuss the development of the Turn A world during the aftermath of the Dark History. And how long it'd take for humanity to move back to current times when all the technology is there and they didn't have to rebuild EVERYTHING.

[The Tyrant]

I'd like for them to also discuss the development of the Turn A world during the aftermath of the Dark History. And how long it'd take for humanity to move back to current times when all the technology is there and they didn't have to rebuild EVERYTHING.

Would this include the homogenization of humanity as a whole into that specific era as well?

[Gatomon41]

it's nice that Gundam is starting to get academic interest. Star Trek and Star Wars have long been discussed in journals and a number of books (though not all are very academic). Gundam has a ton of subjects that would be fun to study.

I wonder if they're going to study Colony Drops in detail, or even how Gundam particle beam weapons would revolutionize warfare.

[bigdeath]

it's nice that Gundam is starting to get academic interest. Star Trek and Star Wars have long been discussed in journals and a number of books (though not all are very academic). Gundam has a ton of subjects that would be fun to study.

I wonder if they're going to study Colony Drops in detail, or even how Gundam particle beam weapons would revolutionize warfare.

Colony drops would burn up in the atmosphere, be blown up by nukes or even just convention ground based missiles before they even got close or would cause a big impact but wouldn't cause anything close to a nuclear winter, not even several colony drops. Asteroids that can cause a nuclear winter are traveling extremely fast hence the massive damage they can do.

Particle beams are quite the cool bit of pseudoscience just like star treks warp engines are. Particles that are in a plasma form would naturally separate quickly especially in a vacuum like space. Its would be impossible to keep them together and magnetic fields are just to weak to keep such particles together unless your building some gigantic containment field (in theory that's what a fusion reactor would do) but at that size it would be impractical to use as a weapon. Plus, it wouldn't be a beam weapon anymore. It would be more like a missile. And in that case why not just use standard projectile ammo and explosives because particle weapons would just be overkill. Gaint Robot shows tend to have mecha have extra strong armor but the real life historic trend in the modern era is that firepower has increased far faster than armor technology.

[Gatomon41]

Colony drops would burn up in the atmosphere, be blown up by nukes or even just convention ground based missiles before they even got close
A few problems, a space colony is 20km long by 6 milies in diameter. Modern day nukes, especially in space, would not be able to destroy something like that. At best, they get a hole a few miles wide, but the material of space colonies would most likely resist the pressure and heat.

And even if you did blow it up, then the problem is Momentium conservation, in which the little peieces would still have the same impact as the a intact colony. It would be worse, since the damage would be now spread out.


or would cause a big impact but wouldn't cause anything close to a nuclear winter, not even several colony drops. Asteroids that can cause a nuclear winter are traveling extremely fast hence the massive damage they can doNaturally, th point of a colony drop is not causing nuclear winters.

It's about smiting your enemies with a large enough object from orbit. :p


Particle beams are quite the cool bit of pseudoscience just like star treks warp engines are. Particles that are in a plasma form would naturally separate quickly especially in a vacuum like space.
Its would be impossible to keep them together and magnetic fields are just to weak to keep such particles together unless your building some gigantic containment field (in theory that's what a fusion reactor would do) but at that size it would be impractical to use as a weapon. Plus, it wouldn't be a beam weapon anymore. It would be more like a missile. And in that case why not just use standard projectile ammo and explosives because particle weapons would just be overkill.I agree. The Atomic Rockets site discuss such plasma weapons and noted these problems. However, what about true particle beam accelerators? Would they been as useful as in Gundam?


Gaint Robot shows tend to have mecha have extra strong armor but the real life historic trend in the modern era is that firepower has increased far faster than armor technology.Trends could change over time, with new developments and technology.