Short Answer: Setsuna F. Seiei doesn’t literally want to become a giant machine; instead he wants to become what the Gundam means to him which is the means of eradicating war. He was brainwashed as a child and was made into a child-soldier for his war-torn country. In one of his battles, Setsuna was saved by a Gundam and he witnessed how the Gundam stopped the fighting. Because of this, Setsuna believes that the Gundams are the key to eliminating war.
Hi there! My name is Demby! Ever since I was a kid in the 4th grade, I’ve been hooked on Gundam and Mecha. It started with Zoids and Gundam SEED and ever since then, the fire and passion for the mecha genre has never gone out. Today I want to share with you the reasons why Setsuna F. Seiei, from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, wanted to become a Gundam. What it means to be a Gundam and How Setsuna was able to become a Gundam. Join me as we learn about this troubled but brave soldier and his quest to become a Gundam!
The wickedness ate him up
It’s sad if you think about it. Because of what he went through during childhood, the Setsuna we see is one who doesn’t really have much emotion. Have you seen the guy smile in the anime? He may have once or twice but it doesn’t really happen that often right? I mean, can you blame the guy? He was brainwashed by the warmonger Ali al-Saachez to fight in a war when he was still just a little boy. He even almost died. It’s hard to even tell if when he feels happiness since he’s so serious all the time.
“This battle is a holy war in the name of God. We shall strike down the infidels who disrespect our traditions and lay waste to the land of God.”
Ali al-Saachez
The worst thing he did in his past was intentionally kill his parents for God. But in that same age, in that same war, we see that the chaos and destruction already did damage to Setsuna’s mind. At such a young age, he already believed that God did not exist in this world. Even though he wasn’t really fully at fault cause he was a kid who was brainwashed, this still took a heavy toll in his mental health during his teen years. His mind is so messed up by war that sometimes his mind imagines the morbid version of pleasant things.
There’s even a scene in the show where he sees himself as a teen return back to that time and place where he shot his parents. Although he tried to stop his young self by blocking the young boy and taking the gun, what happens soon after is much to his surprise. Just by looking away for a few seconds, he hears a gunshot and then notices that the gun that he held was no longer in his hands. His imaginary young self, just as he did in real life, had killed his parents.
I like to think that this scene was the scene that made Setsuna realize that there is no changing the past… that you can’t keep blaming yourself or the past for what’s currently happening in the present. He realized that he just needs to take action in the present to make sure that the past doesn’t happen again and also that the future will be a peaceful one.
Celestial Being was a beacon of hope
It was this private armed group that gave him the sword he needed to cut through all the wickedness he faced in order to realize his dream. Celestial Being was the perfect group for him cause it shared the same thought process when it came to eradicating war. Just destroy anything that poses a threat of initiating war or in Setsuna’s case, anything wicked.
Celestial Being literally turned him into a child-soldier again as he was still a minor in season 1. Even so, we can see that Setsuna is grateful for it as he now has hope for the future.
Setsuna was determined to eradicate war no matter what
Throughout the anime, we can see that all the Gundam Meisters are so determined to eradicate war that they’ll do anything to accomplish that mission. Even if it means killing one of their own or giving up their own lives for it. Setsuna often displays this when he takes the lives of targets that are obviously no longer a match for him. He could disarm them, but I understand why he kills them. If I were in his shoes, and went through the same messed up childhood he did, I’d do anything to eradicate war for good as well. War breaks people… sometimes to the point where life is worse than death.
I find it so fascinating that the members of Celestial Being can be so carefree that for one, they don’t have a military system, or at the very least a Captain. The Gundam Meisters can simply do as they see fit. They can do whatever they think will advance the plan of Aeolia Schenberg.
Celestial Being was actually kept in the dark
During his time with Celestial Being, Setsuna never really felt the need to talk to his targets. He’d just go into the battlefield to eliminate his targets. To him, their deaths were necessary to achieve the eradication of war. And besides, the guy has been to hell and back. He’s had enough of talking. What he wanted was action. What he needed was getting things done. So he did what he had to. Often times, He would follow orders of their tactical forecaster without really questioning them, he would kill anyone who was a target and he kept safe the secrets of Celestial Being. That of course includes safeguarding his Gundam.
However, things got foggy for Celestial Being fast when the innovators started pulling the strings of war. Although the Innovators were doing things that weren’t part of what Celestial Being plans in order to accomplish Aeolia Schenberg’s plan, they stated that it was them who were really destined to carry out the Aeolia Schenberg plan. This led to mass confusion for the members of Celestial Being. Setsuna however, wasn’t really swayed by the words of the Innovators.
Did Setsuna F. Seiei become a Gundam?
Setsuna became what he was when he was still a teenage boy piloting the Gundam Exia. Although he was still human and wasn’t a giant machine, he was already doing what he felt was the definition of the word “Gundam”. Countless times on the show, Setsuna has saved his friends, including the Princess Royal of the nation of Azadistan, All throughout his time with Celestial Being, as one their Gundam Meisters, Setsuna was always looking for the answers to peace, and although their interventions back then would bring localized peace, it was only when Setsuna merged with the alien species known as ELS, did he truly become a Gundam. It was at this point as well where Setsuna truly understood Marina Ismail’s path to peace and how she was right all along.
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”
Albert Einstien
You might also like: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
If you are new to the mecha genre and your looking for more cool and exciting mecha anime to watch, look no more, Gundam Wing is a great mecha classic that is sure to keep you entertained with all it’s episodes. Just like most Gundam anime, it also features child-soldiers who fight for peace. However, unlike Mobile Suit Gundam 00, this anime doesn’t include powers or secretive private organizations. This is a classic story between the people of Earth and the people of the space colonies. In it, you will action, drama, tragedy, romance and a little bit of comedy maybe. Oh, and of course, let’s not forget that the Gundam designs here are still pretty amazing, even they come from an old Gundam anime.
If you want to read more about Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, you can click here to read more of our articles about it.
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