Ranked #377

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Even though the characters tend to have more one-dimensional personalities, it’s used effectively in a way where they can be distinctive and stand out, and serves as a motivation to develop the characters in their own way. All sides of the conflict have characters that have beliefs in why they do what they do, and you can sympathize with them. Certain characters will consistently change because a new revelation or turn of events will unveil that will impact them, and you can say it’s a reality of politics and war which I think is presented in a less complex manner in comparison to Tomino’s Gundams.

With the previous Gundam series, G Gundam being more hand to hand oriented, this series goes back to the traditional space battlefield with guns, lasers, and missiles, and are taken to a whole new extreme. The fights are fast paced and diverse with the many mobile suits that are present ,and the environments they all take place in such as land, sea, air, and space, are always exciting and you’re getting something different. With the use of coloring and resolution, it is easy to follow the fast paced action this series has to offer.

Like the characters, the mobile suits themselves that contain singular but yet distinguishing traits all have their uses and are given equal time to stand out. Like the Wing Gundam is the all rounder, the deathsytche being close range, and Heavyarms being long range, etc. And also, the skills of the pilot will also effect the outcome of how the mobile suit can be used. Such as when Heero had to pilot Heavyarms for example. And you also have the Mercurus and the Vayeate which represented offense and defense and I feel that the staff read the art of war first to apply some of the principles you see in this series.

The character design also brought in a traditional “bishounen” design to the franchise. Nothing wrong with that. They are also very diverse and distinctive in which once again their features are distinguished. I love how the expressions come across and the use of costumes. I also found it unique that this series plays homage to Char Aznable through Zechs Merquise with his get up so you’re basically getting Gundam, Zeta Gundam, and Char’s Counterattack all rolled into one with this series.

I’ll have to say that both the English and Japanese voice cast is probably the best I’ve heard in any anime in both name recognition and performance. On the Japanese side, you have big names like the multi-talented Midorikawa Hikaru playing Heero Yuy, and there’s also Mark Hildreth, the voice of Terry from Fatal Fury playing him in English. They both do a convincing job of making Heero coming across as something of an emotionless being who exclusively cares about what he’s doing. And the charismatic Koyasu Takehito is very menacing as Zechs, but I really like how Brian Drummond, the English actor does a much better job of bringing out his compassionate side. I also really enjoyed Brad Swale’s portrayal of Quatre, I thought it was far superior to Orikasa Ai’s performance. Granted Quatre is the most human, I just thought that even though he is played by a woman in the Japanese version, he sounded too feminine, but the English version was just perfect.

The music itself is classic and one of the most addicting soundtracks you’ll ever hear that also defines Jpop in the mid 90s. When it was on Toonami, I thought it was cool that whenever they played the opening themes, Just Communication and Rhythm Emotion as a background song, I thought it was awesome they retained it in American TV. If it were 4Kids, they change it to some lame rap. But I thought the music also defined the intense and adrenaline rush nature of the show.

Granted I do believe this series is a great gateway to the Gundam universe, I personally don’t believe it should be used as a barometer to what defines a great Gundam series. Each Gundam is different. You can’t compare this series to 08th MS Team, or Zeta Gundam. But this series does have its significant flaws like all other series have, and which is why I have never given any anime so far an overall perfect 10/10. But if anything annoyed me about this series, it is most certainly Relena. I remember after Gundam Wing aired, there were websites in dedication to her death. I’ll admit I was and still am one of those fan boys who wish Relena died. She’s like the Hillary Clinton of the anime universe. And I don’t mean that as a compliment. I find her to be annoying, and a hypocrite. If you have seen the series, you know what I’m talking about, and if you want to know, check this series out.
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Gundam Wing enjoys a hefty helping of popularity in the eyes of western otaku alongside with its brother, Gundam SEED (whether this is a pro or not, is up to the viewer). Wing can owe its success to one of many things. It began its American broadcast just as anime was starting to peak to the next generation, a large and somewhat epic plot contrasting many simple episodic American cartoons or, Wing could simply owe its success to the bad assery of Wing Zero (say what you will - those wings trounce 90% of the Gundams made).

Story
The story, like all Gundam plots revolve around war, two opposing factions of space and the earth, a boy and his chance encounter with a Gundam. At first, GW bombards you with the names of many factions and organizations that play a key role in making the world of GW what it is. When you truly begin to grasp what a certain organization is and what it stands for, it has just been defeated and wiped from the show. Although, quite annoying, GW exemplifies the concept that, those who don't evolve, won't survive. Throughout the first half of the series (before the emergence of Mobile Dolls), GW centralizes around world events caused in response to the happenings of the main characters and their actions. As the plot moves along, we take a more personal look at the main (~8) characters - why they fight, what their objectives are and who their allies/enemies are. In the final curtain, both these plots come together for the inevitable "Gundam Final Showdown." Action is spread out enough to keep the viewer entertained but remember; GW is not a shounen anime. The plot encompasses the soldiers of war and their actions for their respective sides.

Animation and Sound
This is no KyoAni work, but it's also nothing close to the bottom of the barrel. GW's animation is mid to high quality (even for 2007) thanks to Sunrise. Most scenes take place in the dark of a room or space so remember to turn up the brightness. Animation quality drops at points (a given) but even then, it's appealing enough to keep the screen on. GW isn't as clean as SEED nor do the mobile suits have the same shiny effect as G.U.N.D.A.M's but given the time difference, it's understandable. Most of the OST in GW consists of great battle music to fit the occasion. Battle armament sounds are top notch, especially Heavyarm's guns and Wing Zero's shoulder vulcans. The largest ball drop is the lack of music during most anti-climactic scenes - making them quite dull. As well as random sound effects when character comes to realization about something.

Characters
Ah, therein lies the success to any Gundam. As said before, those that don't evolve, won't survive. As such, each and every main character (8 by my count) goes through a change or situation where they must make a choice. This pseudo character development grants us a clearer view on each character's motives and reasoning behind their actions. GW sports a large cast where each main character is paired with another of the opposite sex for contrast/similarities. Not including the immense support cast, GW already has lots of names to remember. But don't be intimidated! Most non-essential characters die within a few episodes anyways. Jokes aside, it's very easy to remember all the important characters and the support character or the day.

Overall
Although I wasn't pumped for this review, GW is still a great watch. It's one of those anime's that suffers a lot of disdain for the popularity it gets. It's in the eye of the beholder whether you'll like it or not. The first 20 or so episodes is great - political manipulation and backstabbing at its finniest. Then the centrality shifts and once more towards the end - essentially, you may not like what you see at first but remember, there's about 3 "arcs" in which the genre wavers to appeal to more audiences. read more