Gundam is just the same as Jane Austen but happens to include giant mech suits

Gundam’s Politics, War, and Institutions

• Multiple comments stress that Gundam isn’t just “romance with robots” but a sustained anti‑war and class critique.
• Zeon is framed as “Space Nazis” with parallels to Imperial Japan; the shows humanize enemy grunts yet keep Zeon’s mass‑murder explicit.
• There’s recurring emphasis on corrupt leadership on all sides, corporations playing factions for profit, and wars that never really end.
• Iron-Blooded Orphans is highlighted as unusually bleak: child soldiers, a charismatic demagogue, and an ending where the establishment wins—yet some see it as ultimately hopeful and politically sophisticated.
• Others note this “establishment wins” theme appears across Gundam, where heroes often survive traumatized or worse off, and “good” armies slide into oppressive regimes in sequels.

Austen, Marriage, and Class Pressure

• Some readers think the article oversimplifies Austen, especially Elizabeth Bennet: she wants both respect and economic security, not pure romantic rebellion against her society.
• Others argue Austen’s happy endings depend on “magical alignment” of love and money that was rare in real life, making her heroines’ strategies high‑risk.
• Several comments praise Austen’s craft (free indirect style, rhythm approaching iambic pentameter) and her shrewdness about gender, money, and authorship.
• Austen’s enduring appeal is linked to middle‑class dilemmas: having choices but not enough power to escape social structures—paralleling the article’s framing of Gundam.

“Soap Opera,” Genre, and Story Patterns

• One thread debates whether calling everything “soap opera” (relationship‑focused) is meaningful; some push back that this flattens important differences.
• Others note that many character‑driven plots share similar underlying conflicts regardless of setting (small town vs starship).
• There’s a wish for more fiction that foregrounds worldbuilding and “what‑if” implications over character drama, with recommendations for works closer to that style.

How to Watch Gundam & Franchise Context

• For newcomers, suggested entry points vary:
  • Classic route: Mobile Suit Gundam (0079) then Zeta, ZZ, Char’s Counterattack as the thematic core of Universal Century.
  • Faster on‑ramps: 90s OVAs (War in the Pocket, 08th MS Team, Stardust Memory), or self‑contained series like 00, Iron-Blooded Orphans, or The Witch from Mercury.
• Some note the franchise’s origin as an engineering‑fantasy toy commercial that unexpectedly layered in serious politics and melodrama, then survived largely due to fans drawn to the relationship drama.