First of all, I would like to make it clear that this thread is not merely a reply to another opposite thread, but rather, my exegesis on aspects of LUNAMARIA HAWKE's character and actions that were previously overlooked. She is not my favourite character in GSD, that would be Stellar Louissier, but, in my opinion, she's the one who really needs an exposition. It is time for a defense. It is therefore my task to defend a most misunderstood female in the Seed series. AN EXEGESIS TO THE " LUNA MARE."

Well, before I make my point clear, I'd like to say a few things that don't necessarily tie up with Lunamaria's character at first glance. First of all I don't think this post was really meant for character bashing and some words were used out of sheer emotion or just for kicks( even I had to restrain myself sometimes whenever I read statements that Kira Yamato is nothing short of a god, especially in GSD... so there you go, I'm NOT fond of Gundam Seed's main " protagonist ", but when I write my opinion about him, I normally try to refrain from using words that are obviously too emotionally colored... ). Then again the one who posted clearly stated that she/he would be open for dissenting opinions( here's hoping that she/he would answer this opinion of mine in kind, since its been a while when last I found a worthy opponent...hehe, sick ), so someone who does not agree with what was written should just take the pill and reason with tact and precision( something that few people consider when emotionally stricken... ). After thoroughly reading this reply and considering all the points that will be given, I hope she/he would answer each and everyone of my statements with the same objectiveness, so this is it for the long haul.

First, I would like to curb the impression that I'm most likely a Lunamaria fan, which is untrue( actually I'm a staunch supporter of the Shinn Asuka/Stellar Louissier pairing, and am under the impression that it was one of the few outstanding things in GSD... more on that on my review, so feel free to read it and then post a comment if you like ). However, some of the points given in the aforementioned post( and this is my opinion ), are somewhat invalid( which I will of course try to point out ), or a little too emotionally colored. Having read most of the replies regarding this subject matter, I get the impression that those opposed to how Lunamaria's character turned out seemed too angry or unobjective to convince me that they have a valid point pertaining to their opinion of her being " a shallow character ", as well as some of those who favor her. Having said this, I will declare first my stand on the matter. It is true that she had traits that are somewhat negative( but then, so has every other character in every other show that has been made since the dawn of television broadcast ), but we are human after all, as a rule, we are imperfect. Do those negative traits far out weigh the good ones in Lunamaria's case that she is, as some assert, a " pointless character "? For me, and I think for others with the same opinion as me, the answer is no.

Thus, I will be breaking down her character and her actions in various points during the series, so as to elaborate on my reasons for making such a stand on the matter.

First, all these statements will be guided by the following assumptions in context and reference.

1. This assuming that all of the events in Destiny actually happened, in order to prevent references to the makers, since the one who posted clearly mentioned that this is about how Lunamaria's character turned out, as opposed to what she might have been. If I deviate from this, I could elaborate on how the latter half of GSD was a poorly written, confusing and schizophrenic failure due to emphasis on marketing success rather than actual storytelling , but then, that would be beside the point. One does not simply avoid what he doesn't like, or simply write it off as terrible without validating his opinion objectively. So, we will leave Fukuda out of this, like we should( lucky for him ).

2. However, I would like to request that the other side do the same as well. I believe I read in the post that a statement from a staff member at Sunrise was cited to prove that Lunamaria and Shinn were not in a close relationship( I believe it was an interview ): i. e. " Shinn was never close to anyone on the Minerva. ". While some would most likely use this as a reference to support his/her opinion, it is not advisable to do so. The reasons are as follows:

A. The director of GS and GSD( Fukuda himself ) actually contradicted this with his statement in an interview. When asked about the romantic pairings in GSD, his reply was as follows: " I think, of all the [existing] couples in GSD, the only ones who are truly in love would be Shinn and Lunamaria, which was a pre-existing scenario even fron the beginning of the series. Kira and Lacus have already settle down, or have already passed the " in-love " stage, and Athrun and Cagalli's were almost exclusively on a comrade-in-arms level[ although this might be questioned by fans of the particular pair, since admittedlythe two did things that are mostly romance-related, if I may say so ]."
B. Another scenario writer pointed out in an interview that the Lunamaria and Shinn pairing had been conceived from the beginning of the series, not, as some claim, to be an abrupt replacement to the " aborted " Shinn and Stellar pairing, and further added that clues can be found even at the initial run of the series.

My point in citing these statements is to illustrate the fact that quotes from the makers should not be used to validate points regarding a character's motivations, actions or personality, especially when the person mentioned admits that she is talking about the " character herself". Simply put, if one could not cite Fukuda's inadequacies as director and overseer to be a reason for Lunamaria's flaws as a character, one could NOT also use interviews/statements from other members of the staff to validate their claims, since this would be a type of " double-standard "( i. e. we can use it but you can't ).

Keep in mind that statements made during interviews/documentaries can be merely opinions of the particular resource person himself/herself and could not be treated as absolute fact, since it would be only from that particular persons point of view and not a proven fact about the series itself( I remember reading a documentary on the film Schindler's List that Steven Spielberg cited Oskar as a "scoundrel saviour" and Amon Goeth as a "personification of evil", while his sriptwriter, Stephen Zaillian, commented on how Amon was just a " lost soul " and not on the same level as Lucifer , since neither opinion could be deemed wrong or right, I choose not to quote these statements as they would contradict each other.).
This would be applicable to statements of the production staff regarding aspects or characters of GSD.

With those points being made clear( I think ), let us proceed to prove or disprove the assertion that Lunamaria Hawke is " pointless " as a character and why I disagree. This conclusion, in my opinion is based on the following misunderstandings or contextual errors in interpretation of the character's actions or her personality itself:

MISINTERPRETATION #1: LUNAMARIA HAS A SERIOUS ROMANTIC DISPOSITION TOWARDS ATHRUN.

Since this is the most pervasive of the misinterpretations regarding Lunamaria's actions, I will make light of this first. Most viewers would likely assume this, either due to the fact that they like Athrun Zala, have not paid attention to contextual nuances or not paying attention to the new characters at all, which would be a shame, since I initially thought they were much better than the original cast. To set the record straight, it is clear that what Lunamaria had for Athrun could be analogous to a kohai's admiration to his/her senpai( as a user already pointed out ), which simply put, is admiration, mixed with the average woman's tendency to superficially prefer older or more "stable"( sometimes synonymous to "mature" ) guys than one from the same age bracket. The argument that it is "more than that " is non-sequitur because of the following reasons:

A) Lunamaria only started to show apparent interest(than what was normal) towards Athrun was when his real identity was revealed, since he went under the guise of "Alex deNon"( or Alex Dino/Alex Dean ). This can be expressed by her reaction when hearing his real name mentioned for the first time. ( Lunamaria: " Athrun Zala?[surprised]) If she was attracted by Athrun HIMSELF and not mainly by his reputation as an ace or a living legend for ZAFT during the previous war, the assertion that she was seriously "romantically attracted" to him might be justified. Alas, this was not the case.

B) Another, more stubborn reason for the " It is more than that " assertion regarding Lunamaria's feelings toward Athrun is THE "FACT" THAT SHE WAS JEALOUS OF MEER( which she initially mistook for Lacus ). Why have I placed quotations on the WHY? This is because it CANNOT be taken as a fact that her subsequent actions were mainly due to jealousy or frustration with her " failure to gain Athrun's attention" as some would interpret( of course, this is a rather easy way to interpret why a person is reacting negatively, this is where understanding motivations comes to fore, otherwise we will be left with only our assumptions ). If you've paid sufficient neutral attention to her actions during these events( especially after seeing Athrun and Meer ), her reaction was not one of obvious jealousy, in fact very little of it stemmed from jealousy at all. It was rather, a thinly disguised attempt at hiding a mixture of irritation, a tad of jealousy and a LOT of disappointment. Wait, disappointment? Why would she be disappointed with Athrun, or irritated for that matter? Didn't she admire him and on occassion, developed some superficial feelings( I use superficial as opposed to DEEP romantic feelings since this was obviously not the case. ) for him?

The answer can be found in the question itself. It can be noticed that Lunamaria projected Athrun to be more than he really is, as the case can be with people meeting a person they admired ( it is clear that Athrun's exploits are like legends to the ZAFT pilots, which would be reasonable, since almost everyone in the military, may it be soldiers of PLANT or the Earth Alliance, have heard of the " Three Shp Alliance's" [consequently, Athrun and Kira's] exploits during the previous war which culminated in the famous battle of Jachin Due...^_^)so much but never encountered in person. This is the case( in real life ) of my friend Carol Brigham and a senior who is a very famous varsity when we were freshmen( both of us are taking up Psychology ). Well, this senior, whom I will not name for privacy reasons( anyway, I thought he was really a numbskull when it comes to more serious aspects of life^^, he was just good-looking and and happened to be very talented at basketball, he's got great reflexes, smooth moves... oh, you get the picture...^^he wouldn't be interested in deep discussions like this...basically not my type^^, not to take anything away from Carol's preferences, hehe...) was a natural magnet for younger students( but not too young...sick^^). Carol developed somewhat of a crush on him, despite never having approached him personally ( up to this day, it still eludes me, maybe because she's still conservative in some ways, were from Missouri, not New York...^^), but asked his batchmates( the girls ) about personal details about him, the usual; what he likes, what he doesn't like, the works, until, she had herself a personal picture of him, not the correct one, mind you, but the "idealized"one that she projected, which will either be: too perfect or too critical. If it had been the latter, well it wouldn't be that bad. Unfortunately, what she projected( projection- to make out(psychological term), or to establish a mental portrait of; ) was too perfect and of course, failed to meet her expectations.

( This projection also applies to fans of an actor/actress who research too much about the details of their idol's life. Technically, not all characteristics of the famous person would be known by just researching or reading his biographies and profiles [ especially via the internet^^], so when they find out that he/or she is a rude to fans, or doesn't really mind them, or better yet extremely eccentric, they become somewhat disappointed, frustrated or irritated due to their "idealized " projection of the individual.) When Carol met him in person, he turned out to be a sort of dim person( but not in an amusing way^^), somewhat rude, and practically clueless in discussions besides basketball( I was there when he said that Badminton was for wimps, what a bright opinion, with a huge smirk on his face^^), and enjoyed having women fawn over him( how charming...xD). Needless to say, Carol was "turned off", and with good reason I might add. Anyway, if your'e going to say that I went too far using a personal matter like that as an example for a forul post, she is reading this over my shoulder now, to make sure I don't slander the facts. Hehe^^.( I'm using my laptop, we're both playing the part of owls researching Freud, only I've decided to take a break...^^)

How does this long "anecdote" connect to the Lunamaria discussion, you ask?

If you haven't figured the parallelism yet, here it is. Lunamaria Hawke new Athrun Zala indirectly, i.e. from hearsay, or from second-hand information, never having the chance to meet him in person prior to their encounter onboard the Minerva( in which she displayed the normal level of attention you would give to a stranger from Orb suddenly becoming a passenger to a ZAFT military vessel ). So, the picture that would normally be projected in her mind is an idealized impression. If the reason for this is still unclear, here is the step by steb recap:^^

A) Being trained as a member of an elite force, the crew of the Minerva, and any military personnel, for that matter, would be inclined to view discipline as a way to success( i.e., maintaining control of emotions[although Shinn is an exception, and is frequently reprimanded because of it], following orders explicitly, avoiding deviations in battle ). So, with Athrun's reputation as an ace pilot and a legendary fighter in the last war, the crew of the Minerva( except Shinn, Talia and Gilbert, if you want the reasons as to why they're exempted, read my review of Gundam Seed Destiny^^), having encountered him for the first time, would have projected him( i.e. formed a mental picture prior to actually meeting him) as a straight-laced, highly disciplined and idealized individual, in relation to his noteworthy accomplishments. You wouldn't assume outright that a very successful military commander would have unorthodox traits, because you actually assumed his personality according to his reputation, as opposed to the other way around. Lunamaria is no exception to this projection. She actually formed an idealized "version" of Athrun Zala based on what she knew about him from indirect sources, so that when she actually met him, she expected his personality to be exactly as she presumed.

Now, this brings us back to the reason as to why Lunamaria acted the way she did when she first saw Meer and Athrun together.
To those who haven't found the answer( or at least, a huge chunk of it )yet, she was for the most part frustrated and disappointed that her "idea" of Athrun's personality was off-base^^, which was understandable, since she saw only the incomplete picture, especially that scene when she saw Meer in Athrun's room in a very suggestive manner^^. Give the girl a break. The fact of the matter is, she assumed that Athrun Zala, the "legendary ZAFT pilot" was very conservative, hardly turned his attention to women, and was figuratively speaking, a very "stiff" and military-oriented person. This misconception was actually an honest mistake and is very humorous( at least for me)^^. So when she abruptly discovered that the real Athrun was still very close to a teen-ager emotionally and behaviour-wise, despite his legendary exploits, she was in a way, "turned-off" like my friend Carol. She probably thought that he was a sort of "ladies man", the type who enjoys women orbiting him like satellites.The way Athrun tried to set the record straight after the incident with Meer was actually entertaining.

After that she mostly resorted to ignoring this " discovery" about Athrun's personality and went about to focus on his more professional attributes, hence, the scenes in which she convinces the latter to try out some shooting exercises, the constant questions about his exploits as a pilot during the last war, and other sequences which were assumed as "flirting" by some viewers.
The perk is that whenever she sees Athrun with Meer, she feels a return of her previous frustration over her perceived "misconception" of Athrun's personality, and this prompts her to act negatively during such instances. In this aspect , Luna is different from Carol, who immediately erased the aforementioned "guy" from her memory banks after their first meeting, but then, the said person is definitely no Athrun Zala, and has no chance of being a legendary figure either^^. I hope I made the point clear about Luna's negative reaction not being primarily out of jealousy as others have hastily concluded.

MISINTERPRETATION # 2: LUNAMARIA WAS TERRIBLE TO HER SISTER MEYRIN

Another basis for some fans to attack Lunamaria's character would be the her supposed apathy toward her younger sister, Meyrin. This is actually based on the assumption that just because a sibling relationship does not adhere to certain stereotypes( i.e. the " doting sister stereotype ", the " obviously rivals " stereotype or the "dysfunctional setup" a la Rekka and Kurei-sama in Rekka no Honou ), then one of them must be a problematic character. This is the case between Lunamaria and Meyrin. Neither of them are particularly meticulous about each other, as Lunamaria is the sort of older sister that doesn't openly express feelings, and Meyrin is the type who would willingly just let her older sister go about her business, as opposed to the petulant and spoiled younger sibling stereotype. A perfect example of this would be their scenes in the Minerva. As for the scene were Luna "reprimanded" her sister for not visiting her in the infirmary, again, its just another proof that she fits the superficially hard-edged older sister type, which kinda reminds me of my own sister, three years older than me. She has a tendency to reprimand me for the smallest things, but never did I get the feeling that she "hated" me or was deliberately being stuck-up. It's amazing how few noticed that although Luna was like this, Meyrin didn't harbor any resent, and this is evidently not because she was just being nice ar simply " enduring the torture^^", but because she knew deep inside that although ner sister could be stubborn and immature sometimes, she genuinely loved her.

As for her apparent interest in Athrun that she sometimes ignores Meyrin, this actually happens in the initial episodes, so Lunamaria was still pretty much in " hero admiration mode ". However, some important sequences clearly illustrated that she truly valued her younger sister. During Athrun's escape attempt, when Meyrin came out of the shower and opened the door, Lunamaria remarked, "You look terrible." Other viewers simply took this as an insult to Meyrin, and just another case of Lunamaria being "stuck'up" or "mean" towards her sister. Keep in mind the context, Luna was escorted by gendarmes, and they would be blind not to see that she just hastily dressed after leaving the shower in a hurry. So, knowing Luna's personality( she actually resembles Shinn in the aspect that they are both bluntly direct and tactless when stating their opinions, which is not really that bothersome for me ), the " You look terrible. " comment was just her way of saying," What are you thinking, coming out looking like you just came out of the shower and barely dressed? Don't you see that the soldiers are gawking at you? ", which was sufficiently proven when she cleared the soldiers from the doorway. Taking into account that she didn't know her sister was covering for the defecting Athrun, I don't think her actions during this scene were "offensive", as some have asserted.
Another misconception is her lack of concern for Meyrin, especially when the latter defected, and was subsequently, labeled a traitor and reported KIA( as for the issue with Shinn, more on that after this...^^). First of all, it is evident that being a member of the elite forces, unlike Meyrin who was a CIC, Lunamaria received substantially higher levels of indoctrination. Simply hearing a conversation about assassination attempts, impersonations of Lacus Clyne and other things dicussed by Athrun and Kira during the secret meeting by the Orb waterline would be unlikely to instill sufficient doubt in her mind. Let me state it again, military indoctrination is not brainwashing, as some claim. This usually stems from the belief that individual opinions are a prime accommodation within the armed forces, caused by watching too many su-par war movies and unfamiliarity with hoe things work inside the military in real life. People, nowadays, especially those with no actual military knowledge whatsoever, think that soldiers can be made to question their training just by hearing a contrary or revelatory statement from an enemy. Sorry folks, my Grandpa actually participated during the Normandy offensive in WWII, he landed on a beach called Utah, and he used to tell us about how it really was during the war before he passed away. I wouldn't really talk in detail about this, since remembering him makes me sad. To be direct, he told us that some of the men in his company were born in Germany and Poland, and most likely they would be meeting their brothers or sisters in the front, since they would be fighting on different sides. He said these soldiers hate it, but they would kill their relatives on the other side if they are ordered upon to do so. It is sad, but this is the way real conflict unfolds. Hardly like in the movies where everyone is constantly questioning their reasons for going to war. For the most part, a soldier's primary concern is not getting killed before accomplishing his objective. Real war is seldom so dramatic. I suggest you read more about real warfare, tactics and experiences before watching the Seed series, otherwise you'll assume that real battle unfolds in the same way, which wouldn't be accurate, in any case.

Having stated this, It is obvious why Luna didn't became suspicious of ZAFT or Gilbert's intentions. Are we so naive to think that during training soldiers are not acquainted with the deceptive tactics that would normally be used by an enemy to instill doubt to the opposing force or weaken their resolve? In this case, the conversation was true, but any soldier of the opposing side worth his salt wouldn't buy that unless he/she was a barely-trained raw recruit^^.

The reason why Luna wasn't convinced even after Meyrin defected with Athrun, was that( understandably ), she was under the opinion that Athrun took advantage of Meyrin's minimal experience and naivete, forcing her into defecting with him. Again, it is clear that Lunamaria was just overprotective of her sister, a matter that I will discuss later on. She sees Meyrin as her responsibility, as according to the back story, they lost their parents at a young age( a fact that was not brought up during the series ). Remember her impression that Athrun somehow "failed" her projected "image" of him? Now, his defection, with Meyrin in tow, crushed that for good. Thr reason she blamed it on Athrun is because what he is doing directly contradicts what Luna expected him to be. She is angry and in denial, probably thinking: " The Athrun Zala that I thought I knew was a lie. The legend is just another fallible man, and a spineless and deceptive one at that( this in no way reflects my personal opinion of Athrun^^, I'm just getting inside Luna's head as she was at that point in time). Not only did he betray us, he took my sister as well( I will explain later why this is NOT a sign of Luna's jelousy of Meyrin, just bear with me until I get there.)! " She was actually worried about Meyrin, being naturally a trusting person and easily confused or persuaded, and the fact that Athrun "would make easy prey of her." These are not the thought patterns of an apathetic or uncaring person if you ask me.

MISINTERPRETATION # 3: THE FLASHBACKS AT THE FINALE

For me, these are the sequences from which most misconceptions about Lunamaria's character stemmed. Why she was thinking about what she was thinking during the finale, which apparently so many people misunderstood it's almost funny. As she attempts to egage Athrun in a fight during the Battle of Messiah( final episode and the extended version ), Lunamaria utters these words: " What I can't forgive is the fact that you took Meyrin!", and with the statement come a string of flashbacks about Meer.
How this could possibly prove that Luna does not care about her sister is beyond me. Again, as with all incomplete statements, some people really got it wrong, which kinda reminds me about how everyone missed the entire point of The Matrix Trilogy. The average viewer just fits the statement into what he/she is already thinking, rather than trying to see the statement within the context. Some have interpreted this as proof that Luna is jealous of Meyrin because Athrun chose her, which is downright ludicrous. Another misinterpretation is that Luna was still fuming over the Athrun and Meer thing , and I wouldn't even honor that with a reply. Let us be neutral and explore the true context of that scene:

A) It is unlikely that Lunamaria would be jealous of Meyrin and yet recall Meer at the same time. It is out of context.
Think about it, shouldn't she be visualizing scenarios about Athrun and her sister?

B) It is also non-sequitur to assume that if she's having flashbacks about Meer, then she must still be fuming about that. What she
said(shouted ) definitely debunked that. If youwant to read it again, see above .

*THE MEANING THAT MANY FAILED TO GET A HOLD OF:

Remember her belief that Athrun took advantage of her sister's innocence and naivete? Also the idea that Athrun is actually a deceptive person after his unpredictable behaviour? The fact that Luna mistook Meer for Lacus and(like any crew of the Minerva)thus assumed that he was engaged? Technically Luna assumed that Athrun was just deceiving Meyrin into believing that ZAFT was erring in their stand and beliefs, due to her more intensive indoctrination as an elite soldier.

Why the Meer flashback then?

After his defection, Athrun and Luna never really had communication with each other again, so her negative impressions of him since he left would more or less unchanged. When they met during the battle, be keen to note that Luna never showed immediate signs of extreme anger towards Athrun. Only when she recalled that he took Meyrin did we see her temper flaring.
For Luna, Athrun would only use Meyrin as she was under the impression that he was engaged to Lacus Clyne( technically she doesn't know about Cagalli). It's her way of saying: " YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU WANT DON'T YOU? YOU WANT TO DEFECT JUST LIKE THAT, YOU DID. YOU WANT TO JOIN THE ARCHANGEL AGAIN, FINE, YOU DID. BUT WHAT IS UNFORGIVABLE IS YOU BROUGHT MY SISTER WITH YOU! WHAT PLACE WILL SHE HAVE IN YOUR LIFE THEN, AS YOU'RE ALREADY COMMITED TO SOMEONE ELSE( flashbacks about Meer, since she has no idea that the latter has been killed)! ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A FOOL OF MY SISTER JUST BECAUSE SHE REALLY HAPPENS TO LIKE YOU AND WOULD SWALLOW EVERYTHING YOU SAY?"
Again, this is not the sentiments of one who is apathetic. The only thing that resulted in the misinterpretation of the statement and the sequence as a whole would be some viewers who already assumed what she wanted to say before she actually uttered it.

Personally, I prefer Lunamaria over Meyrin. I think she was just protecting her sister in her own way. I find Meyrin to be a little stereotypical as the shy girl who secretly falls for the hero, descreetly seeks his attention etc.

MISINTERPRETATION # 4: LUNA AND MEYRIN WERE BOTH VYING FOR ATHRUN'S ROMANTIC ATTENTION

This is another one for the ages . What made some people think that just because a girl/woman wants to gain a boy/man's attention, it can automatically be deduced that she is ROMANTICALLY interested in him. Again, see references to MISINTERPRETATION # 1. What she had for Athrun was like a kohai's admiration for a particularly famous senpai. As for scenes in which she overshadowed Meyrin with regards to addressing Athrun. It is obvious that Luna is the more straightforward and outspoken of the two. It is just a case of "your too trusting, let me do the talking.", as these traits are pretty obvious of Meyrin, paricularly how she really believes everything that Athrun said, just because he said it . Simply put, I would prefer girl characters who are frank and direct, but in reality are more cautious, other than one who seems shy and demure, but is actually more gullible and easily persuaded.

Again, Luna and Meyrin were not a typical sweet sister relationship, but one cannot deny that the former cared about her younger sister deeply. Unfortunately, some don't seem to realize this.

MISINTERPRETATION # 5: HER TRUE FEELINGS ABOUT SHINN AND VICE VERSA

This will be the most challenging subject of all, especially considering that it is one of the most common misconceptions and is composed of various elements. Thus, I will address each of these in sections:

A) That there are no clues pertaining to the Shinn and Lunamaria relationship prior to Stellar's death and Athrun and Meyrin's defection. For careful observers, even at the beginning of the series, there were numerous clues that point to these two as being a potential couple. Being familiar with the storyline developments of the numerous anime that I've watched, the probability is always high that two characters who seem mismatched but share qualities and an understanding of each other to some degree will most likely end up with each other. Although I will forever be a Stellar fan, her being one of the more memorable characters in GSD despite her limited role in the series, the truth is the criteria I've mentioned applies more applicably to Shinn and Lunamaria as a pairing. It is sort of like Shinji and Asuka, although many believed he would end up with Rei. Another example of that would be Cloud Strife and Aeris Gainsborough, although he later proved to be more compatible to Tifa Lockhart despite some protests from fans.
As a couple, Luna and Shinn had more experience together, having known each other since their days in the Academy. Also, Shinn's relationship with Stellar was more of a protective one rather than an actual "give and take" relationship. Stellar wasn't really capble of "giving back" since, sadly, her chance of living a normal life was forcibly stolen along with her memories. It wasn't her fault really, she was just a victim of conflict, which is ingrained in humanity since their early days of existence. Also, despite both having tragic pasts, Shinn and Stellar didn't have that much in common.
I believe that Shinn saw Stellar, in a very deep and profound way, as a focal point for his sorrow. She was a tragic figure, but also strangely innocent, the second coming of his beloved sister Mayu. Not a replacement, but a kindred spirit that needs protection most of all. When Stellar died Mayu died once more in Shinn's heart.

B) Shinn and Lunamaria's similarities.
Some viewers overlooked clues that were present even during the initial episodes in the series. It is clear that these two are people who blunt and direct when stating their opinions, but not about their true feelings for each other, which shouldn't come as a surprise. It kinda reminds me about Alucard and Integra, they can say what they want when in the company of other people but never their true views regarding each other. However, they have pretty much contrasting attitudes, and this leads to people thinking that they don't have anything in common at all, I'm talking about Shinn and Lunamaria here. She and Shinn are both very repressed people, meaning they tend to be bowled over by their emotions or their attempts to supress it that they have a hard time conveying them properly. Although in the case of Shinn, this is more obvious, due to his introverted nature, sharp remarks, and general animosity towards others. As for Lunamaria, she usually disguises her doubts, aggravations or true feelings in a facade of cheerfulness, thus some people would most likely find her to be a dunce, or interpret this as pretentiousness. Yes, it is true that she was still immature in some ways, stubborn and likely to jump into conclusions, but then, who among us was so well-rounded as an individual that we never passed this stage in life? We are, as I have said, human, quintessentially imperfect.

It can be noted that while no one else could get close to Shinn during his more "chaotic" phases, especially after Heine's death, and most instances were everyone's attitude toward him would be; " What the hell...let's come back when he's in a better mood. ", Lunamaria was the only one who could talk to him. Although most of the time Shinn would act nonchalant or bland towards her, it can be discerned that he doesn't really resent the attention given him by Lunamaria. He behaves like a stoic person who enjoys beautiful music but would not let it show in his face, which makes it somewhat amusing for me.

It is also hinted that during their days at the academy, Shinn, despite his fiery temper and acidic disposition, was somewhat admired by most female cadets, mainly due to his "bad-guy" attitide and superior skills as a pilot. Being essentially a person who does not readily show her true feelings, it took a long time for Lunamaria to actually admit to herself that she really cared more about Shinn than she thought. Her character is technically a girl who behaves like an attention-grabber on the outside, but is actually a conservative somewhere inside the core.^^

3) Shinn's true feelings:
It is obvious that Shinn was a lot closer to Luna than he would admit to himself. Essentially, he's really that sort of person, so, "Shikata ga nai".^^ It is actually one of the things that made him an interesting character. While he seems noncommital and coarse with regards to Lunamaria, he doesn't really resent her presence. Most of the time, only Luna could get close to him, besides Rey, when he is in a particularly dark mood.

Having said this, I don't think that their pairing was abrupt, or, as some term it, sick. What happened in the latter part of the series was simply a culmination of all the repressed feelings they had, being held back for a long period of time. It isn't that they suddenly realized that "they loved each other", rather they finally admitted to themselves that they have loved each other for a long time.

Another misconception is regarding her supposed lack of negative reaction over the fact that it was Shinn who executed the orderto terminate the defecting Athrun, and consequently, Meyrin( whom I think is too gullible for her own good...). Some claim that she is unjustified in blaming it all on Athrun. Strange, since HE was the one who defected and turned his back on ZAFT once again, so Luna would be very immature and unprofessional as a soldier not to take into account that there was an order from the High Command regarding traitors( I'm sure that members of the special forces are briefed about that during training, for more info on that, research on the policies of the CIA and the KGB regarding operatives who defect to the other side of the fence. ), and he couldn't change it even if he wanted to, not if he wanted to maintain his integrity as a soldier anyway.

She showed a flash of maturity in handling this situation. The assertion that they "suddenly" became close to each other after the incident is simply false. These two are like stars slowly moving toward each other since the beginning of the series. I preferred her reaction to the usual crying and screaming of " You killed _________! hate you!", and in this respect, I prefer Luna from Fllay Alster, whose character in my opinion was overdone( but not in a good way...).

Having said this, I don't think that Luna is "pointless" or a "useless" character. It's just that some people didn't really care to undertsand her motivations or actions that much, since they were so enamored with the old characters, or simply don't pay attention to subtle clues.

Anyway, let me know what you think, if you've actually managed to read this^^ without getting eyesores. It's just that I had a lot to say about the subject and focused on them in detail. Here's to understanding.^^
Have a nice day! Ganbarimasu!

Well i give you an advice... if you want us to make an opinion next time... try to er cut it short ... and i mean short

My view is that Lunamaria character has been overshadowed too much... and should have been focus on more than the others like Athrun... I believe all of us feel that the main characters of previous gundam seed series is dominating in season 2..
I would have love an episode of lunamaria tak on Athrun's behaviour and the fact that the chairman lie outright to the whole nation about the true Lacus and so forth.. which they did not and that is what flunctuated the popularity of the anime...

I stilll wonder how you get so much info of her and so forth and tell you the truth i am impressed... but i cant really make a stand on her character cause her character in the anime was really a shadow of the rest...

i love her !
i also like Meyrin but i think Lunamaria is the best Female Character in GSD !

Luna = the best.
l33t pilot girls are always cool =o but Luna take the cake for me.

I just wonder, however, why would people need to argue this in the first place...it seemed rather obvious to me, exactly what was described in the analysis. or maybe its cause I was psycho-analyzing my ex for fun before we broke up...(we used to have a love/hate relationship. actually, it was always like that.). or maybe its cause I have an older sister as well. "

I am _so_ justified in using Luna's name for games now =P

I love luna and her sister meyrin I could never understand why people don't like she is a pretty good pilot she sttood up against gaiai gundam when stellar went against her.

Whoa, didn't expect anyone to be able to bear with me regarding this loooong exposition. Sorry guys, I'll try to cut down on the length next time, I mean really cut down. I'm glad I put down my views into writing, though, since it sort of acts like a chimney . Anyway, I think Lunamaria as a character is all right, I think she did have good moments in the series.

Although now I can say something about how Mitsuo Fukuda ruined the latter half of the series for the new characters. It's a shame, hopefully, the next chapter in the Gundam Series will be a return to the aspects that made it a legend in the first place.

Again, thanks for the understanding in this matter. Ganbarimasu!

--
" Death is but perchance to dream. To dream for all eternity. "

o_- my eyes!