Sep 25, 2011

ベラミス - her multifacet character


(Screen shot from a scene showing Belamis' mother)
ベラミス Belamis projected herself to be a strong woman. Yet she has tender and soft spots inside, and pain spots.

Viewers saw a person with rich personality.

As the commander of Lacets and Gyuma Legion, she was brave, bold, confident and sometimes very arrogant.

Yet, throughout the original series, viewers also see that she was haunted with her painful memories of loosing her mother and her best friend (Episode 37 and 41). The emotional side of her intertwined with her calm and boldness as a fighter, making this character very interesting.

In Episode 41, as her memories of loosing her friend surfaced, she attempted to redeem herself by sheltering the Princess, even though Belamis was supposed to capture her.


(Scenes in episode 41showing Belamis with her friend Medona, in one of her few painful flashbacks)



She was the only character which was shown half naked (Episode 40) in the series, when the Princess pointed that she knew Belamis was woman. This was the moment she exploded in anguish, of how she would want to protect her home planet...and she sacrificed her womanhood by becoming a cyborg....


(Episode 40, composite showing Belamis naked body which she once enjoyed and her anguish)

There were many moments showing her in deep thoughts and sorrow, for example in episode 37, she remembering her home planet, in episode 41 her memories, episode 50 and 51, she carried the body of the Queen Lacets. These moments had her vulnerability and pain shown in full, the background music and her monologues are very emotional, which is in stark contrast with her calm and shrewdness when she is the Commander of the forces. Whilst in the series Kugo and their company was never aware of her pains, the viewers were allowed to see Belamis person in full. I think as these were revealed, people had more and more sympathy to her, instead of treating her like a villan.

Her inner conflicts, pains and loneliness actually gave Belamis a soul, and unlike each of the other characters in the series, she was both strong and vulnerable.

In the series, Belamis alone, buried three of her loved ones -- her pet friend, her friend in the legion, and finally Queen Lacets (though that was a misdirected love), and she witnessed the death of her mother and her friend. With so many of her loved ones torn away from her, she chose to endure loneliness and sorrow. She ran away from love and friendship, so that she could avoid pains of such loss -- perhaps deep inside she believed that she could no longer endure another loss.
(Episode 51, after she survived the explosion of Queen Lacet's planet, she realized she served an evil force, and cried as she drove her fighter pass a giant monster)

In short, her life was filled with heartbreaks and trauma. Apparently, she was not a cyborg before she looses her mother and her friend. She fought hard to save her planet but could not stop her destruction. Ironically she, perhaps the only cyborg of that planet survived, which added to her sense of guilt.

Yet despite of all these, she has a noble and pure soul.

She genuinely cares for other people, even if they are her rivals. In episode 36 midway of her fight with Kugo, she alerted them of danger and told them to run away. In episode 41, though she had furiously rebuked the princess, she protected her from harm, even though Belamis was supposed to capture the princess. In episode 46, she displayed her loyalty to her friend, and gave her necklace to her as gift, and buried her friend in a dignified manner. In episode 47, she helped a group of stranded aliens trapped with Kugo and friends in the bombs she planted, because even during combat she would not hurt innocent people, and she was the last to leave the danger, tailing behind the rest, making sure the others go first.
In episode 48, she saved Kugo and his fellow cyborgs from a horse like monster in the last minute. In the episode when the son of the King returned, she alone fought his warship, braving the fires from the gigantic canons. In episode 59, she braved the shootings of a bird like monster to create a diversion so that Kugo can attack.
She was a brave soul, and also a tormented soul.

She consistently displayed her courage, integrity, loyalty, altruism, chivalry, compassion, generosity and kindness, despite the pains inside her.

As a daughter she loved her parents, as a friend she is loyal and won't leave them alone at times of danger, as a fighter she shows courage and refuses to hurt the vulnerable, as a partner in combat she is the good comrade who will shelter her comrades, as a complete stranger she will protect you from danger chivalrously.

She was also sometimes hard necked, refusing to let her feelings out. Few people except perhaps Kugo understood her, and cared for her.

Inside her, she constantly struggled with her painful memories but she never compromised her integrity.

She has nobody to turn to, nobody to share her burden.

In the series, she is the person that sheds the most silent tears. She never wailed loudly, but often hold back her tears, to toughen up.

Yet when she met her true love (we all can see she has a crush on Kugo), it was too much for her. She knew (or she thought) she was no match for the princess.

She hides her feelings, because she is the tough warrior.

It was her fine character coupled with her tragic past that makes people loved her.

Belamis is the very complex, emotional a character that is so very human in the show.
Her own traumas and pains stood out as a unique story line among the entire show. It is sad that the producers stops developing her character and let her perish in episode 64. She would have been another success if they can develop on her...

I decided that there can be more stories, of how she can come to terms with her pains, her struggles, and alongside, perils from those "evil forces" who would exploit her weakness.

In my stories about her, she will have adventures, daring fights, but also moments when she is loved, she loved, and she suffered for love -- until that moment where she can break away from the nightmares that haunts her.

2 comments:

Wendolyn said...

Hey!!
Medora was her friend??
Sorry but, here in spanish Belamis said "youger sister"
It is a translate mistake??

大黃傻貓GARFIELD said...

In my part, we know they were best friends. In Japanese fanfic there are their stories when they attended school together