Going Mecha

When I was young, I was a Gundam fan, like any other boy my age. My first taste of mecha anime was with the Gundam Wing series, which, despite its dark themes, was still pretty cool to watch. 

Like the rest, I also tried to draw and copy these robots, which I did quite well. I remember having several trading Gundam cards, cards which were usually sold outside school, and spending hours sketching figures, trying to make the legs and faces of my Gundams look right. 

Early on, I already imagined myself creating a comics series of my own, centered on mecha. I was in college then and I wanted to emulate what the Gundam series did: portray mature themes in a medium that was accessible and entertaining to people of my age group. One particular idea I had was weaving a story based on an alternate reality reflecting the more popular political trends of the period. What came out, after weeks of daydreaming, was a rough synopsis for a mecha graphic novel, titled 'The Adarna Chronicles'.

Looking back, the story I concocted then was pretty naive (What do I expect from a first year college student?). 

It centers on the intertwined lives of five elite pilots of the MAIAS (Mechanized and Armed Infantry Assault Suits. Wow. I can even remember my coined acronyms until now), over-sized robots which have garnered legendary reputations in a Philippines now torn apart by civil war. Various factions, each represented by a MAIA pilot, have conspired to break the country into several states. My main character is a rebel representing the Muslim secessionist movement. Another character, and his love interest, is a UN peacekeeper whose allegiance to peace is tested by her Lumad community's desire for autonomy and her own struggle for identity. The next character is a hotshot lieutenant from the Visayas, who is an icon for the separatist coalition (because of his numerous military exploits) but is secretly harboring doubts about his purpose and mission. The fourth character is the lieutenant's second-in-command, an aspiring soldier from the Cordilleras who grapples with the loss of her innocence as she faces the horrors of the war. Finally, the fifth character is a brilliant ex-general, with a tragic past, who is called upon by Imperial Manila to counter the insurgency threat.

As to whether I'll pursue this idea at all and bring it to reality by making an actual graphic novel, I honestly don't know. Maybe, I'm just too old to meddle with this stuff. Or maybe I'm simply too busy with more pressing matters.