"Beyond Die Hard" (Ver. 1.5)

[The following is a section that was -- wisely -- cut from my "Beyond Die Hard" essay, published on Anime News Network on December 23, 2020. To fully enjoy this addendum, make sure you read the the original piece first.]

It’s not just the setting, though. Even the mechs benefit from this injection of flair. Consider Heero’s titular Wing Zero. Famously Hajime Katoki outfitted the redesigned Gundam with a magnificent set of angel wings. But they’re not just for show; more important, they function on a symbolic level. Like the “angelic intervention” featured in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Heero and the Wing Zero are saviors, defeating the separatists attempting to inaugurate tyranny. These pillowy white wings, while attached to a machine capable of enormous destruction, serve to reinforce the feelings of comfort established throughout the film.

This “sentimental humanitarianism” extends to its themes, too. Early in the movie Duo Maxwell, one of the five Gundam pilots, puts his finger on it when he comments, “We went to all that trouble just to obtain peace. Now someone’s gotta help maintain it, right?” His statement predicts the turn Endless Waltz takes in the final act. It shifts the attention away from these god-like pilots and puts the onus of responsibility on the people. As Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and their closest allies attempt to put down the coup, the masses rise up in action alongside the Gundams. The people collectively work together to thwart the Mariemaia Army.

After the dust settles, Dekim's defeated soldiers throw their weapons into communal bonfires that have been lit throughout the city. Reminiscent of the Christmas Armistice of 1914 (itself a subject of many holiday films), when French and German soldiers put down their weapons, exited their trenches, and celebrated together, this scene speaks volumes. Christine Agius points out that “the celebration of Christmas and fraternizing of the troops have served as a potent example of how humanity can overcome conflict, however briefly” (138). Similarly, the men and women of the After Colony timeline are breaking those cycles of violence together, which is thematically significant and eternally reassuring.

Granted, even within the generally secular world of Japanese animation, staples like Tokyo Godfathers, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, even The Big O’s “Deamonseed,” are standalone works that also take place during Christmas. However, I hesitate to call them the best representations of the genre because Christmas movies are, honestly, a little bit bad by design. They’re inherently disposable, meant to be watched once a year. They’re a blanket on a cold snowy day. And that’s Endless Waltz in a nutshell: delicious comfort food.

See ya, Die Hard.