I usually don't want to get sucked into these sorts of debates because I find rarely does either side back down from their original position, but I just wanted to point out that there is no indication of her not overcoming her anxiety also. If there have been scenes in season 2 of Kudelia constantly bleeding indecisively then they certainly didn't stick in my mind. Also self doubt is not a character flaw. A perfectly rational person will always have some level of self doubt. There is a difference between self doubt and crippling anxiety.sdwoodchuck wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:34 am Continuing the Kudelia discussion, people seem to be weirdly conflating "getting things done" or "accomplishing goals" with character development. The majority of her screen time in Season 1 is a bunch of "am I doing the right thing" self doubt, which is anime easy-mode for pathos. There's no problem with self doubt, but there's no indication of her actually overcoming this. There's no indication that she actually comprehends or deals with the reality of her situation in any kind of hands-on way. She just doubts, doubts, doubts--meanwhile everybody else keeps talking KUDELIA AINA BERNSTEIN, and her position as a leader, and her work fighting for equality, and there's none of this on screen. There's just a anxious, nervous, self-doubting little girl, until the plot needs her to be strong, and then suddenly she has a backbone and she'll give a rousing speech, and everybody goes "whoa," and I guess the audience is supposed to think this is compelling development? It's nonsense. It's like the teen movie where the nerdy girl gets a makeover that consists of losing her glasses and letting her hair down, and suddenly she's a whole different person; Kudelia goes from weak, anxious, and ineffectual to charismatic leader based on nothing at all, except the plot demanding it.
All that said we had a whole season where Kudelia had to "man up". that was season 1. Season 2 is time skipped to Kudelia actually in her role as civic leader. A role that just recently forced her to cut ties with the people she considers family. We didn't see her on every step of her journey, but we had a time skip and we don't need to be lead by the hand in order to understand what a character is going through. I don't need to see everything she does to accept that she's doing them. I mean is that what you want out of a gundam show? A bunch of treaty meetings and handshakes.
I think this goes for most of the other characters. I'm not going to compare IBO with the great works of literature or anything (let's not get crazy), but I really appreciate how subtle it is with it's character development when most anime hit you over the head with it.
Are you sure you are not just disappointed because you expected a different journey for Kudelia? Perhaps you thought she was suppose to literally become a maiden of revolution. Charging on the front line with the soldiers. That would be her accepting fantasy as fact, which is the opposite of where her story is going. Kudelia's arc seems to be not only about maturing into a leader role, but also accepting the reality of the world over the fantasy she had in her head. She's walking down a path she believes will help improve the conditions on Mars more effectively. I think part of her being present during the Dort incident was suppose to show her just what bloody revolution can be like.
All that said there are still a few episodes left and she's still alive so we'll see where her character ends up.