basic quest overview
Begins as an aimless teen without any aspirations, feeling disjointed about the future he strives for nonetheless
Saves the jade eyed girl and encounters the world he feels he belongs but is too afraid of losing his future to pursue it
Becomes aware of being out of place in society and decides to involve himself in the danger of the jade eyed girl
The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry triggers the resurfacing of his memories and his awakening as a Newtype
Becomes entangled in war and destruction and his old life is completely destroyed but faces it with determination
Fully awakens and sheds his disjointedness after receiving the Unicorn to fight for the future and safety of the innocent and regains his memories; he finds his place in the world fighting for what he believes is right.
Saves the jade eyed girl and encounters the world he feels he belongs but is too afraid of losing his future to pursue it
Becomes aware of being out of place in society and decides to involve himself in the danger of the jade eyed girl
The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry triggers the resurfacing of his memories and his awakening as a Newtype
Becomes entangled in war and destruction and his old life is completely destroyed but faces it with determination
Fully awakens and sheds his disjointedness after receiving the Unicorn to fight for the future and safety of the innocent and regains his memories; he finds his place in the world fighting for what he believes is right.
disjointed
The "disjointed" feeling our protagonist Banagher is troubled by during this novel is a recurring event significant to Banagher's character. It's described by him as "different from feeling out of place." and "It felt like there was a place he should really be at, but that his mind and body was being separated from that place". This feeling occurs many times throughout the novel in conditions that seem to represent the "normal life" that he seeks, yet feels uncomfortable pursuing. He has no goal, no interests and just felt out of place as the days passed.
His disjointed feeling is related to thoughts such as these:
His disjointed feeling is related to thoughts such as these:
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This disjointed feeling is the main element to one of the novel's major themes; by living life not by how you think, but instead by how you feel, you will find your place in the world. As the novel progresses, Banagher's feeling of disjointedness is washed away more and more as he responds to the events around him. He later begins to find his place in the world from making the decisions he wants to, and fighting the expectations and norms of society.
the girl with the jade green eyes
After saving her from falling through the colony’s gravity free center just before the artificial sun would have killed them, the fateful encounter with this girl made everything in Banagher’s life slip into place and began to relinquish his disjointed feeling. After saving her, he was only able to catch a glimpse, what was most striking in her appearance were her jade green eyes as described in the quote, "However, the girl’s eyes made Banagher feel that things weren’t that simple. She had a strong will, but those eyes weren’t the eyes of a fanatic. It’s different from all the people he met till now. Those jade-green eyes had a strong allure to them." However, Banagher was unwilling to stay with her and guide her on her journey in fear of ruining his future, and she quickly left after calling him spineless. Following her fleeing, Banagher attempted to forget about her; to move on and go back to the life he was so aimlessly working for. But this event opened up a new world for him, a world where he felt he belonged. After saving her from Marida's pursuit, they ventured to the Magallanica. The first time he saw her smile, Banagher had a strange feeling that the artificial sun got brighter. Cheesiness aside, he’s falling for her, and as they enter the Magallanica, they both breathe the first breaths of a new world (the new segment of the colony that was just then completed and installed), symbolically representing the new world they entered together; where they belonged. "The earth rolled together with the ground, and the builder unit was trapped inside like a hill—this ‘creation of the earth’ seen was already a common sight to Banagher, but the majestic scene of this large movement would make anyone amazed no matter how many times he saw it… The glow let out by the jade colored eyes seemed to show an expression a person of her age should have." *not actual dialogue, but hey, crappy pick up lines* |
the blindfold is removed
In this story's universe, Newtypes are the people who have awakened the latent complete form of the human conscious and unlock the 6th sense like ability to sense others' thoughts and emotions. Banagher turns out to be a latent Newtype himself, and as the novels progress, we gradually observe more and more instances of his ability to feel a deeper connection to the human soul.
Upon discovering the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry in the Vist Mansion, Banagher mysteriously knows the meaning to the French writing on it; "A Mon de Désir" was "My only desire". He then begins to experience an odd, unidentifiable presences in his mind, in other words, the event of seeing this tapestry triggered the beginning of his awakening.
"Just as he’s thinking about this, his body and mind start to get used to this. Banagher notices that he’s already able to react calmly and accordingly rather than being drowned in the dissipated of the part. There’s no disjointedness there, and no suffocation. It’s like he’s awakened, or like a blindfold’s removed." - Banagher begins to react to war and destruction with ease as a result of his newtype awareness
"The pulsating spreads from his forehead to his temples, and each pulse causes his memories to become clearer. The tapestry in the Vist villa…the resounding piano tune in the wide room…the pianist was his mother. His mother was facing the piano and playing a clear tone. A voice can be heard with the sound, and wide arms are carrying him. The finger is pointing to a tapestry on the wall, the gentle voice is something that’s hard to understand." - Banagher begins to reclaim his memories of his mother, father, and the mansion with the tapestry as he completes his awakening.
Upon discovering the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry in the Vist Mansion, Banagher mysteriously knows the meaning to the French writing on it; "A Mon de Désir" was "My only desire". He then begins to experience an odd, unidentifiable presences in his mind, in other words, the event of seeing this tapestry triggered the beginning of his awakening.
"Just as he’s thinking about this, his body and mind start to get used to this. Banagher notices that he’s already able to react calmly and accordingly rather than being drowned in the dissipated of the part. There’s no disjointedness there, and no suffocation. It’s like he’s awakened, or like a blindfold’s removed." - Banagher begins to react to war and destruction with ease as a result of his newtype awareness
"The pulsating spreads from his forehead to his temples, and each pulse causes his memories to become clearer. The tapestry in the Vist villa…the resounding piano tune in the wide room…the pianist was his mother. His mother was facing the piano and playing a clear tone. A voice can be heard with the sound, and wide arms are carrying him. The finger is pointing to a tapestry on the wall, the gentle voice is something that’s hard to understand." - Banagher begins to reclaim his memories of his mother, father, and the mansion with the tapestry as he completes his awakening.
"The seal of his memories are released…no, it’s because the seal wasn’t complete that he just felt disjointed all this while."Banagher's disjointedness is washed away as he reclaims his memories and ascends to the life of a newtype. He now feels complete and where he belongs; fighting for the jade eyed girl and the innocent citizens of his colony
just a man, not a hero
Both the art above and the quote below describe the elements that contributed to his growth as a character in his quest. Most notably the unicorn, the jade eyed girl, and his own past.
"He remembers his hometown. The people who took the wrong path all ended up like that. 'Didn’t mum always say this? She wanted me to become an adult who understood how great an ordinary life is.' But with these words continued to surge in his heart, and Banagher refuted it. Whenever mom teaches me such thing, I just feel like something’s missing. It’s like his eyes were being shrouded, and something’s being taken away from me. And today, that blindfold seems to slip. That’s why he immediately saw a world he never saw before for an instant, a world where he didn’t feel disjointed. The determined jade-colored eyes, the unicorn tapestry, and the mobile suit with the unicorn horn."
| I felt this song related well to Banagher's quest. In the beginning it tells the story of a boy's father telling him to become the savior of the broken, to defeat his own demons, and that one day he would leave him. This bares a striking similarity to Banagher's forgotten past with Cardeas. Other lyrics such as "through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets" can relate to Banagher's experience of dealing with the loss and destruction war brought to his home. "A world that sends you reeling from decimated dreams" relates to Banagher's introduction to the world of war and how it destroyed his past's empty aspirations. And lastly, "On and on we carry through the fears, disappointed faces of your peers, take a look at me cause I could not care at all" is similar to his act of defying his fear of losing his normal future and his peers' conformity to the norms of life. |