quick question

[ifonlyiwereclvr.livejournal.com]

does anyone know what the exact correlation is between the knightmare frames and the king Arthur legend?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Don't expect profound significance from japaneses. The fact that the Arturian Legend is important on (the fictional) Britannia, while has never been stated as fact, has definitely been hinted at in the series. Therefore, naming their new 7º generation Knightmares (which are the modern era knights of Britannia) with names from the legend seems just right. Now, for the particular names on themselves, I don’t think there’s much significance behind them, nor Suzaku nor Lelouch have much relation to either Lancelot or Gawain. The two are among the mightiest knights from the legend and it’s true that they ended up as enemies, but that’s it. Considering the machines specs, Lancelot seems a fine name for the knightmare, as it quickly becomes the best “knight” for Britannia and is equipped to fight on pretty much any situation (long range, middle range or close combat, defensive or offensive, etc), and in the legend Lancelot was considered the greatest of the knights and was also very skilled all around. But as far as the Gawain goes, the machine is definitely more tactical than anything (which suits Lelouch well), but the original knight from the legend was actually the contrary: powerful yet brash, loyal and friendly and overall, the strong yet not so bright type… in other words, nothing to do with either the machine or Lelouch. I myself would of have named it the Merlin or Morgana (although that name would be perfect for the last knightmare C.C. receives, if any).

[powercorrupts.livejournal.com]

I'd say there's some small amount of significance behind the names Gawain and Lancelot. The names smack, imo, of minimal research and a desire to throw in an easter egg that will amuse any fans that are actually familiar with the stories (of which there are probably far fewer in japan than in english-speaking audiences), but I think the names work reasonably well, all things considered.

I do agree with you on just about everything, but I think that the Gawain isn't so poorly represented by it's name - it's big and damaging, after all. Though unlike the Lancelot, I would say that the character it's named after has absolutely nothing in common with the characters who pilot it.

I expect that the Lancelot was supposed to be a rather direct comparison with Suzaku. His immediately obvious chivalry, his more hidden dishonor, and I expect his relationship with Euphie was also intended to be a faint parallel to the character of Lancelot. I agree about your interpretation about C.C., though I have no suspicions whether or not they intended any allusions for her. I've been wondering for a while if they intended to make any more obvious, or more correct comparisons to Arthurian legend ever since they named the cat, but I'm still not very sure on the matter.