Mea Nihil said:
I would rather have Shinn than Kira on my side. Kira's treehugging personality nearly got him and a lot more people killed in several occasions, and he only got out of messy situations through godmoding, whereas for all that he made a Face Heel Turn, Shinn always placed his convictions above all else, even if that meant doing distasteful things.
Plus, at least Shinn has a female sidekick that can fight. Is Lacus useless eyecandy or what? At least Lunamaria threw her weight around...
Lacus WAS eyecandy... but she was also so much more. If you think about it, she was the consumate actress and manipulator of several key events. She only played dumb in the beginning, but when the shit hit the fan, she was able to organize a resistance, negotiate a peace, keep morale in soldiers against hopeless odds, and at the end of the series, she is rebuilding a civilization. I don't think you give her enough credit. She may not be an attacker, but she is excellent support. Just remember that for every fighting man, there's at least 5-6 people making sure he can fight.
Kira... I like him really. Yes, he was a tree-hugging pacifist... in the beginning. He earned his badass in combat. This is the same reason I like characters like Rodimus Prime or Simon. They weren't perfect, but they rose to the occasion as needed. In the end, Kira was still a pacifist, but he knew when to climb into the cockpit and shoot things. Shinn, on the other hand is the opposite. He let anger cloud his judgement. Yes he had conviction, and where did that lead him? He only became a tool. I'd rather that the guy piloting my unstoppable death machine was someone who listened to his conscience, and knew when to start shooting and when to quit.