MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING:
FIRST AIRING: April 1995
OVERVIEW: Where do you go after G Gundam, and I mean right after G Gundam, the week after it ends? Well, how about going back to the UC? Nah, we're doing the 08th MS Team OVA for that. Well, what about retelling the same basic story as the early UC only completely changing the perspective. What about if the space colonies developed the Gundams to get revenge on the United Earth Federations repeated attempts to squash independence, including killing their peace minded leader and silencing Earth leaders with the same outlook on peace? But what if the people behind the plan wanted something too drastic, like the complete annihilation of earth via repeated colony drops with five invincible Mobile Suits made out of a rare alloy called Gundanium handling the cleanup. What if the scientists who built the gundams decided to change the plan and send five pretty boys with orders to take out the players behind the scene, the global aristocrats who benefit most from a constant state of war and what would the response be from such an organization? Five teenagers with attitude it is then. Then what if the aristocracy pulls a coup using the Gundam boys to take control of the military and the earth government? What if the colonies turn against the boys and join the hegemony? What if a Char like figure shows up to lead the original rebellion with the intent of once again blowing up the earth? Well, you get Gundam Wing, the weird but kinda neat rehashing of MSG through Char's Counterattack in about a year's worth of episodes. Yes, a show of this scope is going to have pacing issues. Yes, like most Gundam shows to this point some of the character motivations are going to be bizarre or frankly unintelligible. But does it all work? Kinda! It looks totally different then what came before; the only way to do series back to back like this is to get a whole bunch of different people on it, and with Wing it really shows. You can squint at G Gundam and notice some character design similarities to Victory, only turned up to 11. But with Wing you get a show where it doesn't really look or sound anything like what came before. More realistic looking faces, more muted colors, it's like the first 90's Gundam show even though we've been in the 90's for awhile now. Some of the mecha look like what came before, Shenlong/Altron are basically a straight knockoff of the Dragon Gundam, Wing Gundam looks kinda like a kitbashed God Gundam but the non Gundam mobile suits look sleek and trim, with a bit of Battletech in there.
MECHA: This is a weird one for me. The Gundams are okay for the most part. Epyon is like an extra 90's version of Master Gundam crossed with a dragon. Wing/Wing Zero grows on you. Sandrock is just there. Heavyarms is a Gundam with guns. Shenlong is...The Dragon Gundam. Deathscythe is every 90's indie comic. But the non gundam mecha are outstanding. I love the zodiac suits, besides having one redundant extra water unit they all show logical progression in the changing realities of this conflict. They are sleek, they look like something a military might use in the weird case where bipedal robots were the solution. I super love the Tallgeese, probably my favorite suit in all of Gundam.
MAIN CAST: Heero Yui is the start of a new type of hero for gundam. The super quiet robot assassin who just wants to get his job done. The rest of the Gundam boys all fit into various stereotypes. The honor one, the smart shy one, the cool hair spy one, the 90's douchebag murder guy with a heart of gold. Releena Peacecraft is the other main character besides the boys and is basically the prototype for Lacus, only she's got more of that early Gundam insane motivation and drive. She goes from student, to would be revenge seeking assassin, to puppet queen of the earth, to a delegate for the new united government. The villains are okay. You get the first real Not Char in Milliardo Peacecraft/Zechs Marquise. He's a better person who also has a phase where he just has to drop a colony on the earth. His best friend/enemy Treize Khushrenada is a honor loving weirdo who might be playing 12th level chess to get ultimate peace or he might just be insane. His assistant had no chill until he taught her how to be chill, which is something. Most of the other hangers on are fun.
BRIGHT SPOT: Surprisingly difficult with this one. No one really stands out. Dorothy's eyebrows would be a great joke answer, but the real answer are the 5 Gundam Scientists. They made the suits. They changed the plan to get some actual justice done. They look like absolute mad scientists. They save the Gundam boys and upgrade the suits while working for the enemy. They go out like ballers. Howard can get an honorary place on their team.
SHOULD YOU WATCH IT?: If you're American/Canadian of a certain age and an anime fan then I daresay you already have! For everyone else though, maybe. The pacing is a bit messed up, understandable with how many facets of war they try to cram into less than 50 episodes. The characters have bizarre motivations, nothing that unusual for Gundam but if you're not prepared for it the actions of characters like Treize, Dorothy, and Releena can seem a bit...unrealistic to say the least.
WOULD I HANG OUT WITH THE MAIN CHARACTER? I like Heero. He's been through a lot. He also gets all the best lines and jokes. Amuro/Kamille never had a joke worth a damn. Domon isn't funny. Judau was. Uso was just too shook to be funny. Let's invite him over.
RANKING:
MOBILE FIGHTER G GUNDAM
MOBILE SUIT ZETA GUNDAM
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING
MOBILE SUIT VICTORY GUNDAM
MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM ZZ
NEXT TIME: War is hell, after war is cursed.