Comparing two jerks: Nekki Basara and Lynn Kaifun

And yes, we are still talking about Macross. Because Macross is AWESOME.

Most of the time, when we talk about the most hated characters of the Macross series, two names will always constantly stand out. And no, we’re not talking about Ranka Lee (hated motly for her character design and BLATANT PANDERING  rather than force of character) and Alto-hime Grace “I’m a cookie-cutter villain” O’Connor (SHE IS NOT FUCKING IRISH, SHE IS FUCKING COOKIE-CUTTER VILLAIN).  I’m talking about NEKKI BASARA and Lynn Kaifun.

Ironically, Basara’s hate is extremely justified, even though I think he’s a wonderful character. He shows up late for concerts and practice sessions, scolds Mylene for no good reason (to be honest, Mylene kinda does the same to him), pisses off his fans for no apparent reason, and gets in the way of combat (there is a good reason why Gamlin initially hated this dickbutt).

Kaifun gets the same end of the stick. He hates Misa even though, you know SHE SAVES HIS ASS, beause he seems to hate the military ON PRINCIPLE. (Even though no one got hurt) He makes civilians sit in a WARZONE just to prove a point, he verbally abuses Hikaru even though he’s the one who protected Minmei before he even gets on board, and yeah, Kaifun, kissing a girl who does not wants to be kissed does count as rape in some countries.

However, when you do get down to it, Basara and Kaifun are completely different characters.

Basara may be a royal pain in the ass of a pacifist, but he actually cares for the people around him. And animals. He sang to a bunch of giant space DONGS whales, lectured (kinda) Mylene and Gamlin on respecting the environment (DON’T KILL THE ANIMAL IT IS ONLY ACTING ON ITS NATURAL INSTINCTS, while Gamlin is fighting the creature, but hey, Gamlin is an awesome pilot, so it evens out). He’s so conscious of civilians that he would take the battle AWAY from the civilians (LEETLE CHILDREN in one event) in order to not see them get harmed. He flies out into battle SINGING (taking “living your ideals” to the extreme) and disagrees on the creation of the Jamming Birds (to be honest, Captain Max and Dr. Chiba also agree with Basara on this) simply because Colonel Barton has gotten the wrong idea about the power of song (Gamlin suckerpunched that jerk, thankfully. It was either him or Millia. Personally, I wanted to see Millia break his nose.), and well, when you do finally get him to do something, he does it WITH ALL OF HIS HEART AND SOOOOOOOOOOOOUL. He also hates the fact he used force, and well, he does try to settle SOME disputes. He’s crazy enough to live his ideals (to the point where he actually disobeys orders from the military, another sticking point with a lot of people) to the point where everyone around him gradually come to like him because he’s just that earnest about it. Also of note: He does get slightly better as the show progresses.

Kaifun forced Minmay into kissing him, put a whole bunch of civilians in danger, pours out NERD RAGE on Misa for SAVING HIS ASS, and keeps going on about war sucks due to rocks fall, everyone dies from the safety of the Macross without risking his ass to protect people. (Unlike Basara who flies out and annoys all the military men, HEY, AT LEAST BASARA LIVES HIS IDEALS.) Can someone tell me how “pacifist” Kaifun is when he’s almost as warlike in personality as the Zentraedi?

To be honest though, he saves Minmei that one time. Probably the only redeeming thing I can say about him.

I know people hate Basara because he’s such a jerk at times, but really, when you see him pour out his HEART AND SOOOOOOOOOOOOOUL into everything he does (even to the enemy, note that when Gigil punches him, he just SINGS IN HIS FACE, forcing Gigil to SHED MANLY TEARS because of his HEART AND SOOOOOOOOOOOUL. Also, I don’t think Basara hates anyone, Colonel Barton excepting. Also he’s just tsundere for Mylene), you can’t help but feel your rage melt away just a little bit. Kaifun, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly have this for him.

So, um, who’s the bigger jerk here? My biased opinion here says Kaifun, on account for dissing Misa and the whole STAY IN THE WARZONE WE ARE GOING TO SING AS A FORM OF PROTEST AGAINST WAR thing. Even if Kaifun managed to play his role in helping some Zentraedi defect.

Kung-fu Dandy my ass. more like KUNG-FU JERKWAD.