David Lerman wrote:

At 09:04 PM 8/1/98 EDT, AniManiacW@aol.com wrote:

<< >I decide to make them the Axis to keep the overall dark tone. Like I said
I

don't know if I'll work on this. If I do, it won't see the FFML for a long
time.

 "dark" is an understatement.  However, doesn't it also remove most of
whatever sympathy we may have for most of the characters?
 >>


I wouldn't think so.  I missed the origonal post, for some reason, but if
Shinji could be projected right, it could increase our sympathies.

Imagine a boy so starved for attention he'd be willing to go through not only
the hell of war, of also the war crimes against europe just to hear his

father

say "Good Job".  Rei... well, I can think of a couple of thousand
psychologically scaring events in her past would give her her normal
'sparkling personality'.  I think that it could be a great story,  if it's
played right

The above shows why reading the original posts is important.  I wasn't
saying that no one would be sympathetic, but rather that there would be
less sympathy for most of the characters.  As described in the original
post, only Shinji and Rei seem particulary deserving of sympathy.  For

Aren't they the ones who garner most of the sympathy in the original?

example, the death of Misato's father may not seem that tragic if he was
killed by Chinese defending their land against Japanese conquerors. 

It's still tragic for Misato.  

 As far

as Shinji, the phrase "to know all is to forgive all" is not appropriate in
the scenario you mention.  His childhood would explain his thinking, but I
would only have sympathy up to where he commits war crimes.

Few "warcrimes" were committed by tankers, and that's effectively what
a giant robot pilot would be.  For the most part he'd just be stomping
the American military.  

                                                dml