Domon/Rain (G Gundam): You're my Strength (part 2)

[dropsofgleam.livejournal.com]

Title: You're my Strength
Author: Maria (frannie_arnoul@Yahoo.es)
Fandom: Kidou Butouden God Gundam/Mobile Fighter God Gundam/G-Gundam
Pairing: Domon Kasshu/Rain Mikamura (G Gundam)
Disclaimer: Yasuhiro Imagawa and Bandai pwn G Gundam, not me. Thank God. :P
Warning: Spoilers for the whole 49-episodes series. And all the images used here come from Gundam Plus

Thanks to people like sporkgoddess, straya and neptunesubmerge for their G Gundam information and fanwork, which helped out a DEAL!


**





You're My Strength: The Domon Kasshu x Rain Mikamura Ship Manifesto

My only hope,
(All the times I've tried)
My only peace,
(To walk away from you)
My only joy, my only strength,
(I fall into your abounding grace)

My only power, my only life,
(And love is where I am)
My only love..

-- Evanescence, "October"

Re-taking from where we left... Let's continue with Domon and Rain's story!

The Battlefield known as Earth: Storyline, Canon Hints and Evidences (part 2)

One would think that the end of the Earth arc is the end and all to the Domon/Rain stuff. But it's not. Actually, in episode 29 (Beautiful Fighter! Dangerous Allenby) we meet a certain lady named Allenby Biarzury, the Gundam Fighter for Neo Sweden. She's also pretty, tomboyish, spunky, impulsive, and has quite a crush on Domon. Which is understandable, given the life she has had until meeting him (she's an orphan raised by the Neo Swedish army, which has performed many experiments on her - more notably, using a Berserker System, they can make her use her abilities at a 120%, but losing all hold on her sanity in the process). Domon is the first true friend she ever has in her life, so she's soon crushed out on the Japanese Fighter - Domon doesn't seem to acknowledge such a thing, and Rain occasionally gets angry in a quite childish manner (like kicking both Domon and Ally out of the God Gundam's cockpit for trying to install stuff in it without her stamp of approval). Also, Domon has a very close male friend playing the occasional role of love rival: Chibodee Crocket, Shuffle Alliance's Queen of Spades and Fighter for Neo America, shows a quite open interest in Rain, specially in episode 31 (Dazzling Power Of The Clown! Get Mad, Gundam Maxter) where he asks her to sing a song that his deceased mother used to sing for him when he was a kid.

The most critical point for Domon and Rain's relationship happens in episode 39 (The Ultimate Attack! Duel With Master Asia). In the latest fight, Allenby has been seriously injured, and Domon leaves her in Rain's charge, but then she's kidnapped by a mysterious squad. When Domon finds out about it, he reacts in the worst way possible, laying all the guilt in Rain and even saying that she's not fit to be in his crew since she abandoned Allenby. He even comes to knock her to the ground when she tries to follow him. And when he comes back to the Neo Japanese HQ in episode 40 (The Ruthless Fight! Schwarz's Last Match), after another fight with Master Asia that concluded with both of them working together to survive a surprise attack, he finds out that Rain has resigned to the Team. Since he doesn't trust her anymore, his fights have now nothing to do with her. And Dr. Mikamura, Rain's father, says that it's all Domon's fault, since he pushed her too far and she got fed up.

Ironically, this incident finally brings up one of the most DomonxRain-ish moments ever in the series. Rain re-appears as the partner of Domon's mysterious friend/rival Schwarz Bruder, who also constantly taunts Domon through the Gundam Fight that follows, telling him repeatedly that he should ask her for help even after what he did to her. The crisis finally explodes when the God Gundam's arm has a short-circuit that prevents Domon from using his more powerful attacks, and Schwarz gets the upper hand. Domon realizes that he should trust the others and let them help him, and also remembers how he and Rain grew up together. Rain then tells him how to fix the short-circuit, Domon does so, and is able to fight Schwarz in equal conditions. Some time bombs placed in the arena explode, and the God Gundam survives the explosion; then, Domon and Rain hug each other.

The next arc brings up some extremely shocking revelations. Schwarz's true identity has had been revealed - and it's Kyoji Kasshu, Domon's supposedly evil brother. In episode 41 (Battle Royale Begins! Devil Gundam Revived) Rain says she'll try to sneak into the hospital Schwarz/Kyoji is now, and meanwhile Domon must leave to go to the Battle Royale which will define who will be the Gundam Fight Champion. As they hold each other, Rain asks him to come back alive, and Domon says he'll ask her something very important when he does. At this point, while none of them has said "I love you" out loud, from their speech patterns and attitudes one can tell they do mean it.

After this sweet scene, Hell Breaks Loose. Literally. Domon has to face not only his friends in the Battle Royale, but also old foes - like Marcelot from Neo Greece, Michelo Chariot from Neo Italy and Gentle Chapman from Neo England. All of those foes are in the side of the still-alive Devil Gundam and Master Asia. His friends try to help him as much as they can, but they're no match for them, and end up all very badly injured.

Meanwhile, in episode 42 (Assault Of The Four Heavenly Kings! Soaring Gundam Heaven's Sword) Rain manages to reach "Kyoji", and discovers that not only he's a DG Cell clone of the real Kyoji, who is still in the Devil Gundam's cockpit - but that all that she and Domon believed and fought for is... a lie. Actually, Raizo and Kyoji Kasshu are victims, not villains, since the real ones behind the whole Devil Gundam mess were Rain's father and Urube, who wanted to seize the Ultimate Gundam (Devil Gundam's original prototype form, built to restore Earth to its original form) for themselves and settled up a whole conspiration; the real Kyoji tried to escape from them, but the damaged Ultimate Gundam mutated into the Devil Gundam and ended up seizing him as its Seitai Unit (Living Unit) and pilot.

"Kyoji" then asks Rain to help him, and Rain agrees and calls on a Gundam that her father built for her as a support for Domon: the Rising Gundam. But before she can reach for Domon, she sees that Allenby has reappeared, and she's completely out of her mind, controlled by the Berserker System and the DG Cells, and as the pilot of the devilish Walter Gundam. From episodes 43 to 45, Rain and Allenby fight it out: Rain manages to drive Allenby away from Domon, then destroys the berserker signal receiving module with her Rising Arrow, and lastly destroys the Walter Gundam's head. She and her father then pull out a seriously injured Allenby from the cockpit, and Dr. Mikamura says she still has a chance to survive - and that he has seen how wrong he was, so he'll turn himself in and reveal the whole conspiration to the Neo Japanese authorities.

Soon after, the whole Battle Royale is over. Domon and his friends have survived but both Master Asia (who was revealed to be more of a terribly disenchanted person who lost his faith in humanity, than a real villain) and Kyoji (whose two selves merged into one after he told Domon the truth, and then had to die at the hands of Domon himself to be released from the Devil Gundam's clutches) are dead. In episode 46 (Rain's Crisis! Return Of The Devil Gundam), Domon hopes that he can tell Rain what he wanted to say, and start rebuilding his life by her side... but she's not there anymore. Allenby tells him that Rain has left to Neo Japan with her father, and she doesn't want to see Domon again - since she feels that her father's sins are her own. Some fans say this doesn't make sense - but we have to remember that, in Japanese society, the idea of honor is very strict, and if someone carries out an act that brings him or her GREAT shame, his/her whole family is "tainted". So, from a Japanese standpoint, Rain and Domon can't be together, since her father pretty much destroyed the Kasshu family. Domon tries to find her but he's too late, and is pretty much crushed when he sees the Neo Japanese fleet leave and unbeknownst to him, it also carries the rests of the Devil Gundam.

It seems it's all over... Or is it? Urube, the original traitor, is still in the Neo Japan staff, and he decides to continue with his plans. He tells the Mikamuras that he still can use the Devil Gundam for his ambitions, since it requires a woman (whose body is able to produce life) as a new Seitai Unit… and the perfect one is Rain. Dr. Mikamura is injured when he tries to save his daughter, so Rain is seized and pulled in the Devil Gundam's cockpit.

Meanwhile, Domon's friend tell him to go after Rain and bring her back, but he's heavily hesitant. He hears Rain's voice in his mind all of a sudden, and then receives a call from Dr. Mikamura telling him what happened. After some more pushing from everyone, Domon decides to fight for Rain, so he suits up and goes in the God Gundam, even getting the help from Fuunsaiki (Master Asia's loyal horse, which even has its own fighting suit). The Shuffle Alliance soon follows him, and so do several other Gundam Fighters that have decided to fight the Devil Gundam's menace - they find themselves fighting Urube and his Grand Master Gundam in the insides of the Neo Japanese Colony, before they can clear the path for Domon, so he can go and rescue Rain. Also, Dr. Mikamura has died, but not before he rescued Dr. Kasshu from Urube by releasing his capsule, which is retrieved by Domon's friends.

In the last episode (God Gundam's Great Triumph! A Hopeful Future.. Ready, Go!), we finally have what has been staged through the whole story. Domon has reached the Devil Gundam, where Rain is kept as a Seitai Unit - but it has reached its final evolution, so according to the now awake Raizo it's impossible to rescue Rain from it, and Domon almost gives up. All of a sudden, Allenby (who was with the Shuffle Alliance and the other Fighters who joined the battle) says that there's still a chance to save Rain, by releasing her of her guilt with Domon's love declaration. Domon accepts to do it, so he gets out of his cockpit and starts speaking, telling Rain what he feels for her. He practically pours his heart out as he talks about everything: how she's not to blame for anything, how her father died begging for forgiveness, what she means for him - and he ultimately says that he loves her. This finally shatters Rain's shell, and she manages to break free from the Devil Gundam, and Domon happily holds her in his arms. After that, Rain helps Domon to pull out the most powerful attack of the God Gundam, the very aptly named Bakunetsu God Finger Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken", and they destroy the Devil Gundam for good. As they say good-bye to their friends, Domon and Rain are reunited, and they go to Earth to start again.

Whoa, that was a long sort-of Gundam-esque fairy tale, eh? Now, let's go to my thoughts.






What do *I* have to say?

I like this couple for a simple reason: they balance and ground each other. Domon is harsh, impulsive, emotional; Rain is calm, collected, and rational. The weakness that one has (Domon never thinks before he acts, Rain hesitates and doubts) are smoothened by the other. As in many "tough hero/sweet heroine" pairings, Rain keeps Domon on Earth, reminding him of the reality around him; on the other hand, Domon's presence gives Rain a reason to act and focus herself - and it's not exactly the "love for the hero".

The love deal between Domon and Rain didn't come from the beginning. Domon, as it has been said, is very hard to deal with: even knowing his background, you often want to kick him. Rain knows what's going on (or so she thinks), so she tries to see beyond the mask and keep his mind in the mission - one wrong step, and his father will stay frozen forever. They both have too much to lose; Dr. Kasshu is the only relative Domon has left, and Rain is grateful to him for being such a good friend to her family.

Chris/Rand from the MAHQ (famous mecha headline site) defines this couple in a very nice phrase: "They're not Newtypes who magically reach an understanding of each other, they're normal people who have to develop their love over time." Domon and Rain have to practically build their story in the wasteland, after descending to Earth with practically only their Gundam as support. Rain must learn to speak more her mind and think more about herself; Domon must learn to develop his kinder side and regain his trust in others. And this does happen; through their journey, they slowly become so close, that in the end the love for Rain that Domon finally can speak about freely about, is what saves Rain *and the whole universe* from the Devil Gundam's upcoming reign of terror. They're each other's source of strength, hence the title of this manifesto.





Fanwork.


I have a love-hate relationship with the G Gundam fandom. On one hand, I know and trust several fanficcers, and adore their work; in the other... let's say it straight, the 90% of Domon/Rain fics absolutely suck, since their dynamic is often reduced to the infamous scheme of "Knight-in-Shining-Gundam!Domon must save Damsel-in-Distress!Rain". It's either that, or we have the fics where Domon is an evil girlfriend beater and Rain is his sort-of slave girl. Hum, NO!

Even then, there are some fanfic writers that try to go beyond this, and actually make efforts to portray them nicely. Some of the DomonxRain fics that fit in are the following ones:

To pimp my own DxR stuff... Those are the Domon x Rain fanfics I've written. Mostly for the fanfic challenge community 30_kisses.

A little girl's dream, by Dr Breif's Cat aka neptunesubmerge. Rain talks about Domon and her first crush.

Valentine's Day, also by neptunesubmerge. Valentines, G Gundam style. Sorta.

A Gilded Cage, also by neptunesubmerge. A view of episode 11. Saette friendly.

Silver's Spring, by sporkgoddess. Allenby's view of how Domon & Rain got together. Allenby friendly.

Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered, by sporkgoddess. What Chibodee has to say about Rain.

When I wake. By Jess Angel. What Domon sees first when he opens his eyes...




Related Links:

Beyond the 13th…. The biggest G Gundam C2 community in FF.net.

The Shuffle Alliance. straya's site. Best G Gundam fansite ever, IMHO.

Mecha and Anime HQ. One of the most complete mecha sites out there. Also has a very complete G Gundam section.

Gundam Plus. The site where I got all of the screencaps used here.



Thanks for your patience! I made you laugh, I made you cry... and now I say bye bye!

Comments

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful essay! I may not be the biggest fan of G Gundam, but I did like the relationship between Domon and Rain. Like any relationship, it's not perfect; it requires a lot of hard work. And I quite enjoyed all the images you posted of Domon and Rain.

[dropsofgleam.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your words. I did work quite hard in this, so! And Domon/Rain are my Gundam het OTP, I couldn't do less. :P

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

It definitely shows that you worked hard. Domon/Rain is one of the main focuses in G Gundam, so a long essay was to be expected. Since the characters/pairings I've written about aren't the main focus, my essays don't get quite as long. You should be proud of yourself.

[djablesse.livejournal.com]

*applauds* ^__^

This was my first OTP. It's such a nice feeling to have someone finally do them justice. Nice job, Mina!^^ And I love all the images scattered about.

[sir-hellsing.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched the series but you did an excellent essay and those pics were funny. :D