This was one of the first anime I ever saw it it kind of got me into an anime (and mecha) obsession that would last from my childhood through most of my teens. It also got me into drawing, which I still do today.
Gundam Wing pulled me in with it's action and awesome mech designs. The characters were not so bad either. At the time, I liked protagonist Heero Yuy (more on this later) and his supporting cast.
I thought it was cool how each of the primary Gundam had its own unique style and weapons. Then later on in the series, the titular Gundam Wing is upgraded to Wing Zero and I have fond memories of losing my s**t over that. The development Tallgeese and later Epyon had a similar effect on me. I still remember my collection of poorly assembled and painted Gundam.
When I got older and the internet became more prominent for people sharing opinions, I noticed a lot of people did not like Gundam Wing that much. Usually it was cited as one of the weaker Gundam series. At first I didn't know what the big deal was, but looking back as an adult I noticed a lot of flaws.
The main gripe for me is the characters. Heero Yuy is pretty boring. The strong and silent type is a very played out trope. After a decade of video games and anime that made up my formative years, the character of Heero Yuy is probably one of the worst offenders of this trope. He is ‘strong and silent’ and not much else (I like it when he occasionally showed signs of life by going beserk). Plus, his default clothing of a green loose-fitting tank top tucked into tight-fitting bike shorts with high-top sneakers (boots?) with the socks showing is just weird, but I digress.
The characters of Trowa and Wufei are just variations of Heero. Trowa is even an even more silent, even stronger version of Heero and Wufei is more talkative Heero except he’s also a jerk. Duo has the most personality of all the pilots. Quatre Raberba Winner is bland but has the distinction of having the name that is the most fun to say out loud.
The antagonists, particularly Lady Une and Zechs Marquise (no spoilers I promise), are some of the most interesting characters in the series but don’t get as much screen time as the main pilots. The less said about Heero’s love interest, Relena, the better. She’s just very boring to say the least.
Through my innocent, prepubescent eyes, I never noticed the weird homosexual under currents of this show. All of the pilots, all male, have a counterpart who is either a rival or a friend whom they develop very close bonds with over the course of the series. The best example of this is the pairing of Heero and Zechs who long to fight each other since they share a kind of romantic love for the concept of dueling to the death. A similar relationship runs between Wufei and Treize. Less subtle, is the relationship of Quatre and Trowa who are very close. I can’t remember that well but Duo and Heero seemed to have their fair share of moments too.
The pilots are also given female love interests almost as if to counteract these male relationships but these women play second fiddle in terms of story and screen time. In some cases, the women are literally rejected by the men they pine for, who are focused on their own goals which usually involve their male rivals.
That is not to say that any of the homosexual themes are a problem. I call it weird because it is so implied and indirect rather than just making several of the characters homosexual or bisexual. I know that’s a big ask from a Japanese mainstream production but it would have honestly made the series more interesting, especially with all existing themes of identity and one’s true self.
That tangent aside, with so many characters and things going on, I could have done without all the political intrigue. I couldn’t keep track of the different rebellions, coups, armies, and factions that had a hand in the story. I just remember being glued to screen for all the fights and large-scale battles, many of which took place in space. Gundam Wing is at its best during these parts.
The art has been criticized as average or below average. I can see that, but it didn’t detract from the overall series for me. In the end, I can’t evaluate Gundam without my nostalgia lens. So even trying to be objective, I still think Gundam Wing is worth a glance but it might not be able to hold a lot of people’s attention over 49 episodes. It’s not great by any means. It might be best just to watch the Gundam Wing movie, “Endless Waltz”.
