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The topics about anime and manga are tend to be those of the protagonist side and heroes, but the “bright side” can shine because “dark side” exists.
The 13th article of “The Lives of Villain Character ~What are Their Beliefs~?” picks up Kenneth from “Mobile Suit Gunam Hathaway”.

【WARNING】There is a spoiler of “Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway”.

Good enemies sympathize with the opponents while confronting them.

Ongoing popular animation movie “Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway”’s protagonist Hathaway Noa (Mafty Navue Erin) and Colonel Kenneth Sleg are the rivals, but also have a good friendship.

“Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway” revolves around Hathaway, who was connected to the protagonist Amuro and Char from “Mobile Suit Gundam” (also known as 1st Gundam), and is set in the world after Space Era. Hathaway becomes adult after getting involved in battles in “Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack”, and he fights by taking in the will of Amuro and Char.

The rival is called Kenneth from the Earth Federation Force. He confronts with Hathaway throughout the movie, but he understands Hathaway more than any other character. Although their positions are different, both characters agree and rage against world’s corruption, and they even begin to feel friendship.

Kenneth is the “mature” enemy of the protagonist who understands to compromise and the dirty part of the world. Because he is “mature”, he fulfills his “responsibility”.

■A story begins with the bitter enemies in the same boat
A story of “Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway” begins inside the space shuttle from the moon to the Earth. Hathaway and Kenneth are in the same spaceship, which eventually gets hijacked, but defeat the hijackers together without knowing about each other’s identity. They are similar in the way that they take leadership when facing problems and they both have ability and passion to accomplish it.

It is inevitable that the story begins with the bitter enemies in the same boat. Their rivalry is not based on difference in their beliefs or hatred, but their different position of a terrorist and the Earth Federation Force. They can be the good friends, if they are released from the regular positions that they are in as “the passengers”.

Hathaway is the leader of the terrorist group “Mafty”, which is the rebel group against the corrupted Earth Federation Force. While there are scenes that the ordinary citizens are involved in the activity of Mafty, the group gains support from the citizens as well.

Kenneth partly agrees with Mafty’s belief. He self-depreciates saying that as he cannot live freely due to strains from the community’s rule, he stays in the Earth Federation Force.

“He works as an army because it is mature to live with restrains of a community, and he cannot runaway from it. ‘If I could live freely, I would become the member of Mafty’”
(Quoted from the novel “Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway the Flash Vol. 1” Page 43)

He thinks so inside his head. Hathaway for him is a target of admire, who can live and act freely without any limitations.

He, who lives with limitations while partly giving up, is a realistic figure for the audience, even though he sometimes play too much with girls. He isn’t “pure” enough that he cannot runaway from the group, although he is already too tired of looking at corrupted organization.

Kenneth is not only a nice man. He does not hesitate to take a custody to accomplish his mission and is not merciful that he uses violence to gain information that he needs. This implicates that his actions are taken to reduce the risk of losing his men’s lives by raising the percentage of success for a mission. In other words, such actions are taken because he fully understands “responsibility” as a commander.

His “sense of responsibility” is the reason why he is suitable as the rival of the protagonist, Hathaway.

■Kenneth is proud of Hathaway as a friend
Hathaway is a son of Bright Noa, the soldier of the Earth Federation Force appeared since “Mobile Suit Gundam” (1st Gundam). Bright does not know that his son is the leader of anti-Federation organization. When Hathawy is captured, Kenneth learns that for some reason Bright is assigned in his position and Kenneth himself volunteers to terminate Hathaway’s life as a punishment.

“A smarter friend is a treasure that a man can show off. Kenneth, begins to feel such a complex feeling toward Hathaway.”
(Quoted from the novel “Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash Vol. 2” Page 33)

The death penalty of Hathaway is painful to Kenneth than anyone else, but the innocent Hathaway could be only stopped by ending his life. He also understands it is “his responsibility” as an adult to bring death to him.

After accomplishing his mission and being released from his burden, Kenneth implicates that he will inherit Hathaway’s wish. The fate of Hathaway and Kenneth is the respresenation of unreasonableness of the Space Era. World is cruel, but they have no other choice to keep living. The enemy will continue his rival’s life.

Because rivals are connected in some part.