Chris responds:
Well, Scirocco certainly doesn't have as much blood on his hands as Jamitov or Bask, but he's certainly not a good guy either. He manipulates his own people like chess pieces on a board. Yes, he certainly does show some emotion when Katz kills Sarah, but that's a rare display of emotion from him. As Emma said, no one would care about Reccoa when she died. And when she did die, Scirocco didn't even notice it. The biggest problem with Scirocco is his superiority complex. He sees himself as being so much better than others that he'd probably have no trouble stepping on people to achieve his goals. Also, part of that superiority comes from him being a Newtype. He mentions that Char is a failed, mongrel Newtype that needs to be put down. If Scirocco had come into power permanently, would he have had the same thinking as Gihren, where the weak are weeded out for a strong Master Race?

Chris responds:
1.The outline for the last batch of episodes for the 52 episode version was translated several years ago by Mark Simmons, so due credit goes to him for bringing us this information. I only mentioned the ending, but there are quite a few differences in the final arc, so I should go into them. After the Texas colony episodes, Kycilia launches an attack on Luna II. The White Base helps repel the attack, and later the Federation attacks Granada on takes it over to prepare for the attack on Side 3 (note: in this version, the Federation doesn't use Solomon). This would've all been interesting to see in the series, but it's after this that things become crazy.

During the final battle with Lalah, some Newtype candidate named Paccadelia assumes that Lalah is consorting with the enemy and blows her away. This is one of the biggest differences, and I think it plays out worse here. Amuro killing Lalah is a dramatic scene, and it's also a defining moment for his character. To have some Newtype cannon fodder do it really takes away from the power of that scene. There's another plot where Degwin comes aboard the White Base with a secretary named Kusko Al, whom Bright falls for (note: Kusko here is totally different from a character with the same name in the novels). The White Base leads an attack on the Jupiter Energy Fleet to strangle the Zeon of resources, but Kusko warns them and escape. Bright then leaves the ship to hunt her down and kill her. After that, Gihren blasts half the Federation fleet with the Solar Ray. Amuro sets off to find the weapon and duels Char one last time while Gihren destroys the other half of the Federation fleet. Amuro then beats (and injures) Char and destroys the Solar Ray. Char returns to Gihren and finds that he's helped the man who killed his father achieve victory over the Federation. The White Base then plows into A Baoa Qu, and the crew fights hand-to-hand to Gihren's hideout. Gihren is killed in a confrontation with Amuro, and the rest of the ending plays out like the anime version (for the most part).

So there's the difference between the original version and what we ended up with. Although I would've liked to have seen the bits about Luna II, Granada and the Jupiter Energy Fleet, I don't care much for the other changes. I prefer that Amuro is not the one to kill Gihren. I think his depiction as just one soldier fighting to survive in that massive battle works much better than him being the hero who confronts the big villain. I prefer that Amuro never even meets Gihren and instead is focused on Char, leaving Gihren to be handled by Kycilia. Overall, that's why I think the real ending works better.

2. It's pretty clearly explained in the series why they go off course. For Domon, it's because the first five countries he visits are supposed to have clues to the whereabouts of Kyoji. Given his single track mind, it would make sense that he'd rush right into Neo Italy rather than go to his homeland. As for Sai Saici, his situation is explained as an accidental separation during re-entry.

Chris responds:
1. While bit/funnel technology would certainly be very advanced, there are reasons why you wouldn't see them. First, bit/funnel weapons are controlled by Newtypes. As the UC timeline progresses, Newtypes seem to become rarer rather than more common. Why make weapons for pilots who would be hard to find? Yes, there were experiments with quasi-psycommu systems in the Neue Ziel and Hamma Hamma, but the research seems to have never gone beyond those two units. For another explanation, maybe Tomino just didn't want to keep using those technologies in battles. The first three series featured more than enough battles with bit/funnel weapons. That's why in the F91-Victory era, we see new weapons like shot lancers, VSBR, funky helicopters, etc. It would be boring and repetitive to just have Uso fighting more people with bits/funnels. As for I-fields, maybe you could put them on mobile suits, but it would probably come across as too futuristic if individual suits had force fields. It'd also make even grunts harder to kill too.

2. It's not exactly in ZAFT's interest to enter an alliance with Orb, nor is it on Orb's interest. Remember, Orb was attacked in SEED by the Atlantic Federation because they tried to maintain neutrality. That doesn't sit well with the Atlantics and their "you're with us or against us" mind set. In DESTINY, the specter of being attacked again by the Atlantic Federation is the main factor in deciding to join with them. If Orb joined with ZAFT, the Earth Alliance would immediately declare war on Orb. That would result in ZAFT being stuck in a long, costly battle to defend their new ally. Also, while ZAFT may have more advanced technology, they certain;y don't have the resources or soldiers that the entire Alliance does. Instead, ZAFT engaged the Alliance on the Eurasian front and liberated people there, winning hearts and minds and future support. By doing that and exposing Logos, the world viewed ZAFT in a positive light (making them ready for the Destiny Plan). If ZAFT were stuck just fighting in Orb, it wouldn't benefit Durandal's long-term plans.

Chris responds:
What you're referring to only happens with TV broadcasts on Cartoon Network. In Japan, the average anime opening sequence is 1:30. On CN, it tends to be about 30 seconds. That's a minute more of commercials you can sell. Most (but not all) anime broadcast on Cartoon Network tend to have abbreviated openings. It's not just Gundam. Fullmetal Alchemist, another long series, stuck to its first opening on TV as well. Eureka Seven has four openings and has had them change, but they're also abbreviated. Of course, on the DVD versions, you'll find all the correct, full length openings and endings.