The overall story stands out from previous entries in the UC by portraying our main heroes as insurgents and emphasizing that people matter more than organization. Sure the earth government has some evil rulers, many of the ordinary soldier and several commanders are good people. Subsequently, this creates an interesting moral situation that asks who are the real heroes? Afterall, the Gundam pilots are well-intentioned individuals who commit morally ambiguous actions that would make them seem like terrorists. If anything this setting differs from the traditional clash of two factions.
Also while the characters have some decent amount of depth, they also have to deal with their own moral dilemmas. I really like Duo Maxwell because of how he has a dark tragic past yet still maintains an upbeat attitude to pull through whatever challenges he faces. Plus he has a cool Gundam with the Shinigami title. Likewise Treize works as a villain because of his charisma, sense of honor, and complex personality of a soldier who is secretly tormented by how his ideal views of warfare seem out of place. I even found Relena to be tolerable, at least compared to Lacus and Marina. The only character that doesn't work is Wufei because he's a condescending jerkass who hardly interacts with others.
Yet most importantly, Wing discusses ethical implications of modern warfare that still resonate in the post-9/11 setting. At one point, Treize Khushrenada opposed the usage of unmanned mobile suits, finding them to be dehumanizing and warns about the moral implications of warfare waged without human soldiers. This theme of unmanned warfare still resonates given the current human rights implication of using military attack drones in civilian populaces. If it weren't for the cheesy production values and timing, I would've mistaken this series for commentary piece on the War on Terror.
Also, this show has one of best soundtracks thanks to Kow Otani and Two-Mix.
